A Farewell Tribute; The Oregon Country Fair

      Let me dance like a prodigy, with leg kicks and supernatural twirls, flamboyant upon my interpretational instincts, a kid of 10 and a man of 40 who reshapes the less than rigid boundaries of cultural exploitations. Perhaps I shall sing with a tone no one has heard and a lyrically dignified intonation that makes my songs explode with furry and remain decades forth. I shall wear what I please, conceivably taking a thousand stars from the sky and pressing them onto a single white glove that shall flash with greatness as does my performance. Upon my death shall be redemption, a remembrance of provision instead of controversy, a return to wholeness of music.

Photos from here, here and here at Google images.

The pop king now rests but his music continues and that is a very clear representation of musical fluidity. Even if you’re not a Michael Jackson fan you have to appreciate the fact that music never stops, it is an omnipresent beat.

     On a much happier note, I managed to make it to the Oregon Country Fair Sunday, July 12th. The fair is always seen as a time to “connect” with our mother earth, and lets say the pouring rain, thunder and lightning definitely connected my physical awareness with the nature. The spectra of music at the fair ranges so vastly and that’s what I love about it. I walked along the muddy paths and from corner to corner was able to enter into sounds of different backgrounds and developmental foundations. Music is a story on many different levels. The lyrical suggestions generally provide a very clear interpretation, but a lot of music is wordless or is in a different language whereas in this case the words provide melodic structure rather than literal definitions. Almost all of the music I experienced at the fair was wordless or in different languages, yet I was still able to grasp a very clear interpretation of the artists presentation. I feel that the tone of music provides the most powerful story line. What I mean is that no matter what words are used or not used, the tones in which the songs are played provide the powerful connection between what the artist is feeling and what the listeners attain as they hear the music.
   

      At one corner of the fair were 4 young kids, each seemingly unskilled as musicians. One held a guitar and plucked a few notes, another banged two drum sticks against the guitar case with a lack of rhythmic finesse, one held and randomly played a harmonica while another tapped a glass jar. Even though the sounds provided no real structure, it still provided a sequential musical tone that created an atmosphere in that one space and time. You could feel their love for music, so much in fact that they were willing to sit in the rain and make due with what they had.  Their story was heard and carried.

     Other music that I heard and loved was the Umbrella Piano Man, the UFO drummer, the Zimbabwe band, the Rainy Day Tuba player, and the Hopeful singers. I don’t know any of their real names, but the stories I got from their music allowed a self-entitled name disclosure. The UFO drummer had this crazy medal drum (that looked like a flying saucer) and played for a small crowd under a sheltering tree. I had never heard anything like it, but I know I’ll be looking around for a drum like that.The Umbrella Piano Man had his piano practically set up in a mud swamp, had a large umbrella outstretched over his beautiful wood piano and played jazzy tunes even in the torrential down pours.  The Zimbabwe band played on the main stage. They were awesome and everyone couldn’t help but dance. They had a number of hand drums, some authentic wooden vibes and an acoustic guitar. Their lyrics weren’t in English and I felt that added to the rhythmic dialect and cultural experience. The Rainy Day tuba player and the Hopeful singers were seen on the side of the path on my way out. They of course were playing and singing, “you are my sunshine, my only sunshine…” as the thunder roared on. Overall the fair was another great musical experience and definitely got me dancing in the rain a few times.

(Final 3 Photos by Tyler Woodke)