STS9 Eulogy

STS9 Eulogy

There were so many ethereal moments that seem only fragments of a wonderful dream that was the ephemeral nature of their music. They were Sound Tribe as much as Sector Nine so we were all crushed when they cancelled the Pow Wow when Murph walked out on his band. How could I explain to the layman the arcane bliss shared by those who celebrated STS9. Here are a few moments flaked from the paste off the mural of memories. New Years Eve at the Regency Ballroom in the frenetic midnight, Morgan came out of her tag and slipped away into the maelstrom leaving me holding nothing but a brown patch with the Levi’s logo. Eventually I found my elusive lover groping the monolithic crystals at the foot of the stage. Back then the boys still adhered to the Mayan calendar and favored more effervescent jams and on that particular evening our souls were flooded with tranquil turquoise light, after the show we walked the streets of San Francisco in the rain. There were many similar nights where we came together in ecstasy evolving simultaneously with their music. At its core it was always gathering with the community, especially my loved ones that defined the STS9 experience. In the fathomless trance pocket one could shuck their ego and rejoin the totality of existence. Flash to High Sierra 2003 when Morgan paid a bouncer to get us all in the side door (no hippies use side door jokes please!) where we nestled in the corner all night as translucent sonic waves crashed over us until dawn. After I split with Morgan it was difficult to see the band but eventually I went on to catch their sunrise set in Japan and Regeneration in Oregon with my brother. What hurts the most about the break up is that the fellows were also brothers and after Murph beat cancer the future looked bright, another lesson in impermanence and the transitory nature of form. 

This is a poem written after Regeneration…

Regeneration

Dedicated to Tyler Grossman and David Murphy

In Memory of: Phyllis Rossman, Matt Rossi, and Cynthia Barton Rabe

“Life is a never ending process of letting go” Julia Butterfly

Re-Emergence from

pods in

emerald fern forest

we

assemble together

below a sundog

clutching

the dream molecule,

rolling in the sand.

When The Dust Settles

around my green cloak

Moonsockets

pound the pines,

a tsunami of

pain

revealed in the scars

on Murph’s head.

fear collects

in murky pools

a cancer in my soul,

but Hunter’s guitar

pierces my dark bubble

reaching my origin

with a peculiar smile

that glows

while the boys play

telepathically

for the maitreya.

dancing with a goddess

under Ursa Major

I am caught between

birth and death

Regeneration was a festival hosted by STS9 at Horning’s Hideout in North Plains Oregon, June 23-26 2011. Sundog is a rainbow ring around the sun. Maitreya is the future Buddha expected to come to earth. Ursa Major is the Big Dipper or Great Bear Constellation.