Catch a flight from Portland to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Tel Aviv. Take the highway to Jerusalem and check into our hotel, one chosen by our travel agent, the "American Colony" (not too crazy about his selection). This is how I will spend the next 30 hours or so.
Last minute packing details. Let's see, did I throw in an extra set of guitar strings? Yup. Good thing too since guitar strings, like nearly everything else but sand, are pretty scarce in most of the places I'll be going. An extra battery, no, make it two extra batteries, for my digital camera. Throw in the extra memory chip because I plan to take lots of pictures.
Any point in packing the cell phone? I'm told that service is scarce and the roaming charges will eat you alive. As a habitual last minute packer, the fact that I'm posting a blog at this critical moment tells you a lot about Americana Dan's commitment to posting on a weekly basis (I've been waiting for 21 weeks to refer to myself in the third person---I promise never to to do it again).
So many people ask "Aren't you worried about your safety?" Not really. We were reminded a couple days ago that not all terrorists worship Allah. Some are normal-seeming Americans who root for their local football team, graduate college and just go crazy, leaving this world tragically in bloodshed, violence and death nobody saw coming. When your times up, its up.
I'm not sure whether next week's post will come from Israel or Jordan, but if I can find internet access, I'll be here. I hope to have stories of exotic sites and interesting musical experiences. May we all travel safely, whether home or abroad.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Valentine's Day: Love and Birth
For most folks, Valentine's Day is a day of love. For some, it's a day of birth. And since birth should be a product of love, any birth on Valentine's Day represents a harmonic convergence. Love and birth, a transcendent combination, a divine intervention.
For my family, this Valentine's Day will forever shine brighter than any such day in our history. Why? Because today, my brother and his wife produced twins, a boy and a girl. Talk about hitting the Valentine's Day jackpot. We share their joy for an occasion that promises many happy returns. One thing is for sure----Valentine's Day will never be quite the same in his happy household. Birthday cakes, not chocolates. Birthday parties, not quiet, romantic dinners. Birthday presents AND Valentine's Day presents (for his wife) if my brother is half as smart as I think he is.
Not all Valentine's Day births involve babies. As a native Oregonian, one of those rare fifth-generation Oregonians no less, I am very aware that February 14th is Oregon's birthday. On February 14, 1859 Oregon became the 33rd state to be admitted to the Union. Next year, Oregonians will celebrate their sesquicentennial as my niece and nephew celebrate their first birthday. I love Oregon and gladly celebrate it's birthday every Valentine's Day. I love it so much I even wrote a song about it (called "Oregon"; the song is more original than the title suggests). Now I have something new to celebrate every February 14.
So much music involves the topic of love, so little deals with the topic of birth, and that's probably a good thing. Now, as for songs about twins, I did a little research today and found a pretty blank slate. Aside from the old Doublemint jingle ("double your pleasure, double your fun with Doublemint Doublemint Doublemint gum") songs about twins are almost non-existent. Maybe it's time for a new era of songwriting involving twins, triplets and the more painful and risky variations of childbirth---quads, quints, etc. As for me, I think I'll limit my creative endeavors to other topics. My final thought on this Valentine's Day: Here's wishing that on this Valentine's Day and forever, my brother's new twins double his pleasure and double his fun. I don't see gum having a prime role in this happy arrangement.
For my family, this Valentine's Day will forever shine brighter than any such day in our history. Why? Because today, my brother and his wife produced twins, a boy and a girl. Talk about hitting the Valentine's Day jackpot. We share their joy for an occasion that promises many happy returns. One thing is for sure----Valentine's Day will never be quite the same in his happy household. Birthday cakes, not chocolates. Birthday parties, not quiet, romantic dinners. Birthday presents AND Valentine's Day presents (for his wife) if my brother is half as smart as I think he is.
Not all Valentine's Day births involve babies. As a native Oregonian, one of those rare fifth-generation Oregonians no less, I am very aware that February 14th is Oregon's birthday. On February 14, 1859 Oregon became the 33rd state to be admitted to the Union. Next year, Oregonians will celebrate their sesquicentennial as my niece and nephew celebrate their first birthday. I love Oregon and gladly celebrate it's birthday every Valentine's Day. I love it so much I even wrote a song about it (called "Oregon"; the song is more original than the title suggests). Now I have something new to celebrate every February 14.
So much music involves the topic of love, so little deals with the topic of birth, and that's probably a good thing. Now, as for songs about twins, I did a little research today and found a pretty blank slate. Aside from the old Doublemint jingle ("double your pleasure, double your fun with Doublemint Doublemint Doublemint gum") songs about twins are almost non-existent. Maybe it's time for a new era of songwriting involving twins, triplets and the more painful and risky variations of childbirth---quads, quints, etc. As for me, I think I'll limit my creative endeavors to other topics. My final thought on this Valentine's Day: Here's wishing that on this Valentine's Day and forever, my brother's new twins double his pleasure and double his fun. I don't see gum having a prime role in this happy arrangement.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Upcoming Tour To Israel, Jordan and Egypt
It's not the most dangerous place on earth. But you can see it from there. I'm calling it the stealth tour. I guess not everyone in the Mideast embraces American cultural values and for some, the more American something is, the less they like it.
And after all, you may wonder, what could be more American than Americana music? There's a simple solution---I won't call it that. The label "folk rock" will do just fine. Some of my material calls into question American government policy. Nothing like a good protest song to turn an audience in your favor, provided they agree with your point of view. Some of my material is more likely to get a hostile reaction in Washington D.C. than in the Mideast. I feel good about that.
Of all my songs, the one most likely to resonate with Mideastern sensibilities is almost certainly "Crawford" which you can hear at www.myspace.com/danneal. Whenever I perform "Crawford" in the U.S., I get a rousing response (every now and then, the odd W-supporter takes umbrage, but my odds of winning such people over was never good, and I don't really mind losing such folks as fans---I was bound to piss them off sooner or later). Folks love to hear a good lampooning of W in song and, if I do say so myself, "Crawford" delivers the goods. So I'm betting that in the Mideast, I'll make new friends every time I play it.
My tour starts in Jerusalem, then proceeds to the Dead Sea and Armageddon and Tel Aviv. Why Israel? I don't happen to be Jewish but my Jewish friends confirm what I've always believed about Israel, namely, that it's fascinating for its history, archeology and culture.
In Israel, we don't plan any excursions to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. This means that our odds of having a dangerous encounter are better than if we took an accidental detour from Brooklyn to the Bronx.
After Israel, we will spend a few days in Jordan where a visit to Petra promises to be the high point. If you don't know about this wonder of the ancient world, Google it. Jordan is known as being more pro-western than most countries in the Mideast, which may not be saying much.
From Jordan, we head to Egypt with stops in Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, a few days on the Nile and then to Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea. By the time we leave, I'm hoping to hear hundreds of folks from the Mideast singing "Why don't you go back to Crawford, and leave us alone"----lyrics I'm pretty sure will be richly embraced throughout the region.
Provided I can get internet access, I'll send regular weekly posts from the Mideast. I'll admit to being giddy about the prospect of performing in foreign lands, seeing countless archeological wonders and gaining new cultural insights. I can hardly wait.
And after all, you may wonder, what could be more American than Americana music? There's a simple solution---I won't call it that. The label "folk rock" will do just fine. Some of my material calls into question American government policy. Nothing like a good protest song to turn an audience in your favor, provided they agree with your point of view. Some of my material is more likely to get a hostile reaction in Washington D.C. than in the Mideast. I feel good about that.
Of all my songs, the one most likely to resonate with Mideastern sensibilities is almost certainly "Crawford" which you can hear at www.myspace.com/danneal. Whenever I perform "Crawford" in the U.S., I get a rousing response (every now and then, the odd W-supporter takes umbrage, but my odds of winning such people over was never good, and I don't really mind losing such folks as fans---I was bound to piss them off sooner or later). Folks love to hear a good lampooning of W in song and, if I do say so myself, "Crawford" delivers the goods. So I'm betting that in the Mideast, I'll make new friends every time I play it.
My tour starts in Jerusalem, then proceeds to the Dead Sea and Armageddon and Tel Aviv. Why Israel? I don't happen to be Jewish but my Jewish friends confirm what I've always believed about Israel, namely, that it's fascinating for its history, archeology and culture.
In Israel, we don't plan any excursions to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. This means that our odds of having a dangerous encounter are better than if we took an accidental detour from Brooklyn to the Bronx.
After Israel, we will spend a few days in Jordan where a visit to Petra promises to be the high point. If you don't know about this wonder of the ancient world, Google it. Jordan is known as being more pro-western than most countries in the Mideast, which may not be saying much.
From Jordan, we head to Egypt with stops in Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, a few days on the Nile and then to Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea. By the time we leave, I'm hoping to hear hundreds of folks from the Mideast singing "Why don't you go back to Crawford, and leave us alone"----lyrics I'm pretty sure will be richly embraced throughout the region.
Provided I can get internet access, I'll send regular weekly posts from the Mideast. I'll admit to being giddy about the prospect of performing in foreign lands, seeing countless archeological wonders and gaining new cultural insights. I can hardly wait.
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