When I was a two-year-old, I had a severe fear of being
sucked down the drain at the local
swimming pool. I suppose it was my second experience with irrational fear (phobias...
my first phobia was of the Boogieman). The fear of being pulled in by the draining water's
whirlpool led to other fears. As my phobia grew, the drain became home to alligators...
and electric eels soon guarded the perimeter.
But, I loved the pool. I really loved the deep-end. Would I let irrational fear rule my life?
I thought "not". Instead, I developed superpowers:
The next year, we moved to a new town... and the phobia faded away. Thirty years passed
before I gave any thought to the emotions created by the deep-end of that swimming pool.
Then, through a series of very bizarre circumstances, it bubbled to the surface of my
psyche.
During a musical recording session... in that very same neighborhood of Philadelphia
(Roxborough)... a spontaneous jam started coming from out of nowhere. A mystical
rhythm formed from the sound of an acoustic guitar and congas.
Lyrics started flowing into the air, "The water's
slowly spinning round and round. Heading, heading ever... forever down. I hope I don't
get sucked quite "right in."
An American Gallic Folk n' Reggae song was born. The concept of the Labyrinth started
catching on in the local village.
Friends and relatives started contributing ideas and
musical talents.
Soon, a website came to life... with sound and multimedia. And, the children started
requesting the song as part of their bedtime ritual.
It wasn't long before they became *part* of the song, too.
Each night a new set of fears is addressed and conquered. The children tell of their inner
demons... and we all help knock them down. A few examples include:
And, that is how this Folk Song was born. Though the form of the song is ever changing,
the heart remains the same -- "if you try... try to use your mind's eye, you can make the
walls come tumbling down... all around."
Why not see where the passages will take us next?
One thought was to cut a demo in the studio... and sort-of
like what Bob Dylan did with The Band or Jimi Hendrix -- let
others help give it a new life.
When it came to making the demo,
we didn't want to loose the feeling of "being in a labyrinth."
So, we took the studio on the road. All the performances in the video are live.