If someone did an astrological chart on the 2006 rainbow gathering in Colorado I think they would call it the year of the pirate. Was it the Waveland energy? Was it the heavy presence of Feds? Was it the air?  Mountains? Or perhaps all the pine smoke from the campfires? Hard to say but either way the ancestral pirates channeled through the rainbow gathering in oh so many ways. Their ancient energy and wisdom was evoked playfully throughout our cosmic days and our many ways. Or at least that is what the Captain tells me, matey! He is a bit gruff, but he sure loves to speak with the tongue of the new age.
This phenomenon seemed to arrr its way into the many moments of rainbow (supply runs, cooking, jokes, music, etc).  Each waking day I would think that hearing someone say “arrr!!!” had made me laugh for the last time; and then somebody, somewhere would let out an “arrr!!!” and once again laughter took center stage.  Here arrre 31 songs and poems for your enjoyment as you spend shore leave on the Internet. So relax your wooden leg and ease into the comfort within this ever-changing universe …………
Many thanks, to all the performers. Thanks for the magic!
Also I would like to offer this compilation in gratitude to all the loving brothers and sisters who spent time working in a variety of Kitchens and other causes helping the folks in Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Y’all rock!!!

This gathering contains 2 CDs. The First CD has 16 tracks on it and the second CD has 15 tracks.

When you want to download a song, right click and choose: "Save Target As..."

Cuando quieras bajar una canción, haz click con el botón derecho y escoge “Save Target As…”

1- Guru Strotam – Ariana Saraha

Recorded early morning on July 2nd at the Aloha Camp. Ariana sang this lovely chant with her own additional lyrics and melody as the sun was peaking out onto the big blue sky.  This song eased my transition from cozy campfire, to the trail and back to camp for some shuteye. The lyrics are very welcoming and warm, a fitting way to begin this collection of music.  The sample at the beginning of the song is from a random walkabout around the gathering.

2- Cello Solo – Brandon

Recorded on the night of July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner that Diamond Dave hosted. Each year Diamond Dave hosts an open mic somewhere and at some point and this year it was decided that the evening of July 5th at the Popcorner campfire (bliss pit) would make a great location. The open mic featured many wonderful performances from young to old, brother to sister, drum chants to guitar strummed folk songs, to acrobats in the trees to amazing cello pieces such as this one by Brandon. He had brought a small battery powered amplifier to the gathering and together with his exceptional playing he had as all hypnotized during his performance. The sample is from standing next to the Popcorner kitchen fire as popcorn does its poppin’ thing. The people and music in the background is at times hallucinating and hysterical.

3- A Hafiz Poem – Sara

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner. Sara adapted this Hafiz poem into song with the crackle of the fire guiding her way. The great Sufi poet Hafiz was born in the 14th century in Shiraz in south-central Iran. Like the other popular Sufi poet Rumi, little is known about him. Regardless, his poems have endured the test of time and they are multi-layered and contain many levels of meaning. The sample is from me sitting next to my tent recording the sounds of the neighborhood.

4- Together – Jaris & Peace Tribe

Recorded at the July 4th Variety show at the Granola Funk Thearrrte. Well the pirate ship was the stage and the performers seemed to feed off of that. And yes, As I said in the introduction to this years collection, it was the year of the pirate and pirates know how to jam and lay down the heartsong funk. Listen to this song and see for yourself. Great jam! The sample is from me sitting in a meadow with the sounds of a distant drum circle.

5- Chant & Marimba - Hadley

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner. Hadley is playing a marimba as he leads people into a glorious chant. We ate so much popcorn, drank loads of chai and grooved with a variety of music into the sunrise. The sample is from me sitting near the Gfunk teahouse.

6- Yemaya – Fantuzzi

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner. Another great jam from the Popcorner campfire with all of us singing and jammin’ along. Fantuzzi is a wonderful performer and he has the gift of bringing people singing and dancing together. This song is an Orisha(a spirit that reflects the manifestation of god) chant that originates from the Yoruba spiritualism in Africa. Yemaya is an Orisha of the oceans and seas. African slaves gave thanks to Yemaya for making the crossing alive. The sample is of a friend and I breathing and whistling with the morning birds during the July 5th sunrise. Ahhhhhhhhh……….

7- Earth Is The Gspot Of The Galaxy – Tofu Sue

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner. Yeah the jams kept coming and coming and coming that night. I was changing batteries and so I did not catch the first minute or so but I feel I recorded enough of it to tickle your toes. The sample is some random conversations at the gfunk teahouse.

8- Don’t Blame Me I Voted For Willie – Human

Recorded at the July 4th Variety show at the Granola Funk Thearrrte.  Human along with a variety of musical support cast sang this song in honor of the legendary singer-songwriter Willie Nelson and the potential of having this legend as president. Hell, anyone that supports the farmers would do much better then the current chump. Regardless, this is a great country & western hoedown. The sample is of some morning birds and distant campfire singing.

9- Wheels Of Motion – Bojangles

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner. Bojangles delivered this exceptional spoken word late in the open mic evening. Awesome words. Highest praise to all the slam poets, revolution through art I dare say. The sample is from the Popcorner campfire.

10- Will Of Jah Will Survive – Shandapanda

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner.  Shandapanda shared this beautiful song accompanying her with a djembe. She mentioned that the song was written by Aslan Funk, which was performed in his former band Natural Healing. The sample is from some sisters singing at the Popcorner kitchen campfire.

11- The Innocent To The Innocent – Shiner

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner. A gorgeous heartsong performed by Shiner. The beautiful mandolin solo is from Diego and the thumping upright bass that you hear in this and many of my rainbow recordings is by Andius. Shiner mentioned that this song is from all the innocent civilians of this country to all the innocent civilians of Iraq that have suffered more then any of us comfortable Americans have ever known. This is his prayer song that love continues to grow despite the senselessness of the violence. The sample is Shiner telling a joke at the Popcorner campfire.

12- Balalaika – The Gypsies

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner. Isabella spun this tale upon all our curious ears. There are three questions to be answered and I suggest giving a listen to find out. However, in doing so don’t forget to do the balalaika. The sample is of a fire dancer at Gfunk accompanied by an accordion player. If you listen closely you can hear the sounds of the fire spinner.

13- Bolero – Hadley

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner.  Hadley played a Bolero on his marimba with several folks joining in. Bolero is a ¾ dance from 18th century Spain that has been added to throughout the years and nowadays its influence can be found in many musical traditions such as the American ballroom, the Cuban bolero and even into some modern day pop songs. The sample is some random conversations at the Gfunk teahouse.

14- Over The Rainbow – Henry The Fiddler

Recorded at the July 4th Variety show at the Granola Funk Thearrrte. We have all heard this song from the Wizard Of Oz, but have you heard it played on a musical saw? Well Henry played this song as others held up a large photo of a hot air balloon that floated over tipi circle at the 1979 Arizona rainbow gathering. The photo was in honor of Grey Eagle who has recently passed away. He was a long time rainbow photographer and a ceremony in honor of him was held July 2nd near the Welcome Home trailhead. There is no sample here as it simply leads right into the next.

15- Freedom – Bear & Bird

Recorded at the July 4th Variety show at the Granola Funk Thearrrte. These sisters stood upon the pirate ship singing and drumming their hearts out. There is a long history of female pirates in this world and for a moment I was transcended to that land of old. The sample is from random talk at the Gfunk variety show on July 4th.

16- Support The People – Diamond Dave

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner. Diamond Dave closed the open mic evening with this inspirational poem. I found it fitting to close this cd with these words. May they touch you as wise and true as they have touched me. Now onwarrrds we go to cd two. Arrr!!

1- Cello Solo 2 - Brandon

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner.  The 2nd cello solo piece from Brandon and this time he is bowing his way to the sublime. The sample is a recording of me walking from one creek to the next ending at Yoga Healing Arts Camp.

2- Communtication – Human

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner.  Human offered this song at the Popcorner jam. A great jam that features many players. He spins his tale of reflecting love upon all things, even things that may be uncomfortable for us.  The sample is of me sitting in a meadow near Granola Funk recording the distant bagpipes being played at the Bread Of Life kitchen.

3- Jig – Free Range Pickers

Recorded July 3rd at Musical Veggie. Musical Veggie kitchen has a tradition of cooking Italian cuisine on July 3rd and word gets out and many attend. After dinner several folks got together for a jam just outside the kitchen. They more or less warmed up with this jig and continued into the night.  I wish I could have stayed but the cold night was approaching and my flashlight and warm clothes were several camps away. The sample is some unknown randomness at the Gfunk variety show on July 4th. Sounds like a Balinese monkey chant.

4- Some Words For Rainbow – MC She

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner. MC She shared this colorful poem about the rainbow life. I love variety and I am glad to have been able to record as much poetry as I did. Poetry is an expression that can sometimes be overlooked and I give thanks to all the poets of the world for keeping the beat thumping. The sample is from main circle after dinner as a capoeira group plays nearby.

5- Spirit Of Love - Fantuzzi

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner. Fantuzzi lifted our hearts and minds with this awesome song. It may be correctly titled as Tribal Revival. Either way we were all singing and smiling along. The sample is from very early morning on July 5th of a variety of folks chatting around the Popcorner kitchen fire. Hmmmm….

6- Don’t Ignore - Human

Recorded on July 1st at Popcorner. Human offered this song in reverence to the indigenous peoples of the world. Far too often our society tends to overlook the wisdom of indigenous, however as far as I am concerned may they live on and be strong with respect and dignity. The sample is from main circle during the serving of food. Those at the gathering will certainly remember some moments.

7- Jai Ambe Jagadambe - Arian Saraha

Recorded at Aloha on July 3rd. Ariana sang this chant at the Aloha campfire. Another chant from Ariana sung as the morning comes. Near the end of this song you can hear the birds slowly singing their rising song. The sample is from me sitting in the meadow near Popcorner on the morning of July 5th during sunrise.

8- Women Are Like Trees – Jasmine

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner. Jasmine read this poem by Matthew Conley. I have not heard the original but I love her version. The sample is of the afternoon birds on some sunny day at the gathering. From there I sample in a quick funk jam at the Gfunk.

9- Cello Solo 3 – Brandon

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner. The final cello piece by Brandon at the open mic as the memorization continued. I enjoy the interplay of heavy metal and baroque. That combination creates a awesome and bizarre piece of music. The sample is from Aaron Funk exchanging arrrs with the gfunk audience.

10- Everything Is Nothing – Double Dose

Recorded at Popcorner on I believe June 30th. I like the playful nature of the lyrics. These twin brothers have been jamming at rainbow for many years and it is always a pleasure to hear them around the campfire. The sample is some random sounds from around the Gfunk teahouse.

11- Trippin’ Rainbow – Everyone At Gfunk Theatre

Recorded on July 1st at the Gfunk original songwriters night. Well, this piece of whatever you call it needs some explaining. Several folks at Gfunk had the idea to do a pirate style song at songwriters night. In addition to the song was the idea to run out into the audience and grab some folks. Then the plan was to take them captive and bring them onto the pirate ship as the crew sings the famous sea shantie ‘What would You Do With A Drunken Sailor?  (Including additional rainbow-style lyrics).  Just prior to them performing this several folks at Tea Time Teahouse (tea starts wars ya know…) raided the pirate ship in hopes of grabbing the pirate flag. A hilarious moment erupts with a struggle to snatch the flag off the pole but in the end Gfunk defends the ship and the flag and Tea Time is made to walk the plank. Arrr!!! Anyways, despite the chaos and hilarity the Gfunk manage to sing this funny sea shantie. The sample is of a fiddle jam after the July 4th meditation circle.

12- I Am Electrified – Bojangles

Recorded at the July 4th Variety show at the Granola Funk Thearrrte. Bojangles electrifies us with a spoken word. Great flow! The sample is from the Gfunk teahouse as several folks are preparing a soup and zuzus(sweet treats).

13- Touch You Like That – David

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner. David shares this extra erotic cosmic slenderness of a poem for all our tickled ears. One of my favorite poems from that fine evening and his words are truly juicy. The sample is the sounds of sitting beside a warm fire.

14- Rocky Mountain High – Joosh

Recorded July 5th at an open mic at Popcorner. Joosh mentioned that John Denver wrote this song at the first rainbow gathering in 1972 in Colorado. Whether that’s true or not is for the rumor control folks. Either way Joosh offered this song with some additional updated freestyle verses. I love the gentle singing from those sitting around the fire. Puts a smile on my face every time. The sample is of some morning birds singing their lovely birdsong.

15- We Were Born To Love You – Diego

Recorded at Aloha very very very early on the morning of July 5th. This song is Diego singing a gentle ballad around the fire after a night of chai and rainbow magic. This is his attempt at trying to get everyone singing the words correctly. It was a hilarious moment and in its own light I find it to be very charming. This is the kind of stuff that is so hard to bring into the studio. The song ends with a signature greeting at the gathering. I will let you figure that out…Ok y’all there ya be with some more songs. May the songs tickle your toes, brighten your eyes and guide your moments along and along and along…