Follow me to where the lotus grows,
it needs the mud to anchor down the song held firm inside its open rose.
-Otter-
Mudsong is what happened when we mixed The Wizard of Oz with the Spirit of the Northwoods and buttery slop of soul.
This song collection draws its inspiration from the timeless longing inside the spiritual Sometimes I feel like a motherless child......a story most notably rendered in The Wizard of Oz. Grounded in soul, rock and jazz, the songs parallel the quintessential search for home, with creatures and experiences of the Northwoods guiding the way.
As humans, we often take in good stories over and over as medicine to soothe our achy heart. The ancient folk tale of the motherless child, retold here as Mudsong, is one such story. Maybe you fell in love with it first disguised as The Wizard of Oz? Perhaps you'll notice its refrain in Because of Winn-Dixie or The Secret Life of Bees. It's likely you know a young person living it right now. Knowing many young people in this situation, I have written down these songs in part to honor the journey of healing lying in wait before them.
As artists, we often find ourselves the vehicles for something greater that yearns to be expressed. This story found us in the syncopated laters of jazz, rock, and soul. Whatever your experience with this tale, we hope its telling offers you, in some small way, a chance to celebrate the story of your own wild and precious life.
This activity was made possible, in part, by a Region 2 Arts Council Individual Artist Grant Award with funding from the McKnight Foundation.
This song collection draws its inspiration from the timeless longing inside the spiritual Sometimes I feel like a motherless child......a story most notably rendered in The Wizard of Oz. Grounded in soul, rock and jazz, the songs parallel the quintessential search for home, with creatures and experiences of the Northwoods guiding the way.
As humans, we often take in good stories over and over as medicine to soothe our achy heart. The ancient folk tale of the motherless child, retold here as Mudsong, is one such story. Maybe you fell in love with it first disguised as The Wizard of Oz? Perhaps you'll notice its refrain in Because of Winn-Dixie or The Secret Life of Bees. It's likely you know a young person living it right now. Knowing many young people in this situation, I have written down these songs in part to honor the journey of healing lying in wait before them.
As artists, we often find ourselves the vehicles for something greater that yearns to be expressed. This story found us in the syncopated laters of jazz, rock, and soul. Whatever your experience with this tale, we hope its telling offers you, in some small way, a chance to celebrate the story of your own wild and precious life.
This activity was made possible, in part, by a Region 2 Arts Council Individual Artist Grant Award with funding from the McKnight Foundation.
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We have what we seek, it is there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us. -Thomas Merton-
CHAPTER 1 • Mudsong {stories} The truth about stories is that's all we are. -Thomas King {Miss Lonely} As our tale begins, our young person-let's call her Dorothy, Elizabeth or ThunderBird Woman- bellows her personal brand of the orphan blues. {the otter's invitation} Munching on his dinner of fish and frogs, Otter hears the lament of the young person-- let's call her Raizy-- and invites her to come play in the mud. {Windland} From the West, the wind starts to whoop and holler, tossin' around our young person-- let's call him Joe-- in a wild, chaotic free jazz storm. CHAPTER 2 • Guides {cry of the loon} Deposited in the Land of the Northwoods, our young person-- let's call her Cheryl-- is grooved by Loon who reveals why you hear both the howl and hallelujah in his cry. {muskrat stomp} Following a rustle in the reeds, our young person-let's call him Alex-- meets an unlikely hero who shares his own trial and jubilation. {mallard love} Continuing on his journey, our young person- let's call him Terrance-- finds solace while eavesdropping on the wedded pair swimming shoreside. {snow} Our young person--- let's call her Chris-- rests a moment on the strength of snow. CHAPTER 3 • Asleep in the Poppies {swamped} We find the young person, let's call him Richey, faltering-- believing that somehow his loss is inconsolable, much too big for him to bear. {deep valley} He plunges straight into a swampy morass of despair. {Noozhek} As he wallows there, a hulky form of gospel Love crashes his pity party, brandishing her tambourine to knock some sense into him. CHAPTER 4 • Goin' Home {bemijigamaag} Rescued by the jump-joy blues, the young person--let's call her Tabitha-- discovers she's been delivered to the shores of her Emerald City. {the wizard} Crossing into the wizard's realm, the young person-- let's call him Mike- meets the steely-eved Wizard who delivers the sweet and low down on bein' low. {big Medicine} As our story comes to a close, our young person- let's call her Julia-- discovers how she's already home. |
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all music & lyrics © mudsong, 2011
recorded live @ the Cabin Coffeehouse, Bemidji • MN
for this project, mudsong was.....craig haugen {} keys+sax....pete mcdonnell {} drums.....mary overlie {} vox.....augusta volstad {} vox.....aaron schnackenberg {} bass.....aaron tank {} guitar.vox
recorded live @ the Cabin Coffeehouse, Bemidji • MN
for this project, mudsong was.....craig haugen {} keys+sax....pete mcdonnell {} drums.....mary overlie {} vox.....augusta volstad {} vox.....aaron schnackenberg {} bass.....aaron tank {} guitar.vox