Ken Arkind

A great poet that should be checked out by one and all is Ken Arkind. A slam poet from Denver, he is the two thousand six national poetry slam winner and a social activist. A red bearded, younger looking, loud person that grabs your attention with his popping words and keeps you interested with his flow. I watched an interview with him by a poet named Eric Zork. Who is another interesting poet from White Plains New York. After watching some of Ken's pieces online I am a little inspired to write some slam poetry myself. I've never tried it. Ken travels a lot with his poetry and if you ever have a chance to see him you should check him out.

Read some poetry and never stop.

Ah!

Well, things have been pretty hectic for me lately. Still with this cough, it get's so annoying to try and sing and then start coughing and lose the feeling.

Some amazing things have been going on in my life. At the orchard, I'll be working till next summer so I have a steady paycheck until then. That should help me be able to afford the adventure van. I can't wait to paint a delectable peace sign on it. Now at work whenever I am outside doing something I notice so many vans parked and then these people get into them and I just want to rush over and ask them if I can get in and then ask if we could drive to Montana.

So on Saturday night I did something I thought I would never do. I thought I would perform an anthropological study and attend an Insane Clown Posse concert. Yeah that's right. Those guys from Detroit that wear make up like clowns. Those guys that were blamed for the riots at the last Woodstock concert.

I thought the show was amazing. It was at the Webster theater in Hartford, CT. I went into it with an open mind because besides Eric and Dennis I have never known anyone that liked ICP. The people that did in my school's that I attended were always the ones that others mocked for wearing a lot of black. When I got to the show I saw a lot of people with their faces painted like clowns. Eric explained that it was because the whole thing is supposed to be like a carnival. The show was just like that. There were "sideshows" right up on stage that danced to the whole show. They were an "ape boy" and a guy with more than one face called "many faces."

The show started with us drinking Pabst in the over twenty one area. I saw an old bartender that I used to talk too and everyone seemed in a very friendly mood. It was like standing around at a big family reunion. Everyone is saying hi to people that haven't seen in a very long time. Eric explained that this is what makes "Juggaloes" who they are. They have an extreme sense of togetherness. Often they chant FA MA LY! in almost any situation. After drinking a little I went to the bathroom at the place was a madhouse. They were chanting and dancing in there. All the boys were drunk as hell and others smoked as they stood at the urinal. Some of them smoked pot while sitting on the toilet. It was horrendously exhilarating. I waited in line and as I did a bouncer came in and saw a kid smoking. The bouncer proceeded to flick the kids butt out and was polite and let him finish urinating. Then he physically dragged him out of the place and threw him out onto the street. Bummer for that kid. He missed a hell of a show.

The Posse came out and sprayed us for two hours with Faygo soda. It is a brand from the midwest that whenever the clowns have a show they spray into the crowd for effect and to have an awesome time. I was soaking wet with dollar diet root beer and loved it. When the show was over we left and I have to say it's one of the best shows I have ever been too.

Eric mentioned something called the Gathering where all the juggaloes get together and have a huge festival with all the bands of psychopathic records. I know that I will attend that someday. I need too.

Till next time.

Read a book.

The Boys will play

We have decided that we need to get some experience playing in front of an audience so the boys and I are going to the Pine Loft on the Berlin Turn Pike. It's a log cabin that smells very pine like. Not a surprise I know.

The people playing will be Myself playing a little guitar, Dennis St. Pierre and Eric Krampitz as well. Although Dennis might be in jail tomorrow because of some loitering fine he didn't pay so we might be short. Chris Lumbra will be there playing my djembe.

The guy that runs the open mike is the father of my friend Brian's drummer in Brian's band. The father is very much into Jimmy Buffet and vagina jokes. He always makes the night interesting.

We have decided to play two songs that we have practiced the most on. One is called "The Third Person Perspective." Dennis say's it's a working title, but as all my experiences so far in music, it will probably just stay that. The other song is called "finger picking madness." I don't know if it really is that mad. I would say it's kind of light and reserved. It should be a fun night all around. I am going to have a blue moon there. Not many things are better than the smell of a log cabin and wheat beer taste in your mouth.

Money saved so far for trip: $24.18 and some change I started keeping in an large empty Gatorade container.

Starting to hate sickness

With all the cases of Swine Flu going around it is actually a little scary being sick. I don't want to go to the doctor and find out I have something like that. I just hope I feel better soon.

This weekend work was crazy. It's starting to get very cold and tons of people wanted apples from the orchard. I sat in the pick your own booth and was amazed on how busy it became.

After work on Sunday some friends and I went camping on Ragged mountain. It's a range near my house that I've been hiking up since my childhood. It was very cold and I got even sicker because of it. I did however, love sleeping next to a cliff overlooking three towns and watching the sun rise over a large lake. The mist on the top of the lake looked like people dancing the way that it moved around.

So, the bands still playing. I get encouraged, then discouraged. I don't know if I can pull singing off. I still need to try. The boys want to buy a bus. I want the traveling van to be a daily driver though so there will be no large tour bus. I just want to find a bus I can paint a large mural on. Something that will turn heads when we cruise through a small town.

So the idea for all this hopefully with end with a book being written. If anyone donates to this trip they will receive a free book and if they donate enough some kind of money back to what they contributed.

mucho musica

We have been practicing a lot of music lately. We sit in candle light in Dennis' living room because he is too broke to afford electricity. I love spending time in that ramshackle hell hole. The cops are always chasing someone and the drunks upstairs are always laughing their heads off. I would love to live there with Dennis, but I wouldn't have a room. The apartment is basically two living rooms and a kitchen. I can't wait to say goodbye to it and hit the road. I have had some sort of flu lately and writing has been the last thing on my mind. First thing? Apples. That's all I do all day. I just bring apples down from a cooler into a store. I can't wait to leave the Orchard again.

Amount Saved for trip: $21.41
Donations appreciated.

Twine-a-thon

So there are two new members of my little adventure. Both my friends Dennis St. Pierre, an ex-crane operator and a young man named Eric Krampitz, a meat clerk at BJ’s will be joining me on my trip. They are both great guys and I have known Dennis almost my entire life.

We recently started practicing music as we hang out together on many a boring weeknight. I have often wished that I put my free time to better use and I feel that I am now that I am trying to learn the guitar. All of us decided that we are going to play as a band along the way as a means to generate funds. Also as a means to keep sane. Or go insane. Who knows?

So I have also started researching the places that I want to go on this little adventure. I was looking on Roadsideamerica.com, which is a site dedicated to eccentric and off beat tourist attractions located in the United States. I came across the old cliché of the world’s largest ball of twine. It seems to me that whenever there is any kind of story about traveling there is always the small stop off at the worlds largest ball of twine. It is located in Cawker City, Kansas. I for one want to see it. I think it is interesting that it was started in the fifties and when the single man producing it couldn’t do it anymore he turned it over to the town. They pulled together and created the annual, “Twine-a-thon.” Every year anyone in town, including tourists can wrap twine around the behemoth. I for one am making this one of the destinations of this trip.

Thanks for reading.
James