where we are now is where the 1st presidential debate is supposed to happen the following night. so the town is preparing for the onslaught of course. there is some talk that it might not happen because the government is squirming to figure out how to deal with a 700 billion dollar bailout to avoid complete collapse of the economic system. capitalism is on its broken hinges at the moment.

but i have never been to Mississippi before and i take the opportunity to indulge in a walk to William Faulkner’s house, rowan oak, for a behind the scenes tour and enjoy the amazing foliage along the way.

we leave the bus in a party, me and neko and some of her band. my band is still somewhere driving their way here from st. louis. it’s the logistical spoink of this tour that i ride on the bus with neko and her band and my band takes a look around this country of ours in a separate rented car and zips along that way.

so we walk and take in the sweet splendor of the southern fauna. i take a lot of lectures of the houses. different neighborhoods harbor the same political signs in their lawn. first we pass a bunch of mcain, then a slew of obama.

after a day of walking around town and taking in the scene of a town strung with banners and camera people everywhere interviewing all manner of folks with flags flying everywhere, we are asked to take part in jim dickinson’s radio show which is usually aired live from a little book store.

but tonight, because of all the ruckus here, it is going to be held on a stage built on the town square smack dab in the center of the brewing cluster surrounding the debate which is now, of course, debatable it might happen.

i get unusually nervous about all this. what song should i play? i am asked to play just one song for the occasion, as well as neko. she is calm and cool and catching up on some reading just prior to hitting that stage, but i am rapt with the hour of history and its making me nuts. i don’t wanna sing a preachy song and i can’t ignore the moment of humanity hanging in the balance either with whomever the next president is going to be.

it just seems that whatever any of us do in these times we should do with the notion that every moment counts.

so i take the stage and say hello to my old friend and producer jim dickinson. from the chore of enchantment record. and i then spring into a better man then me, a new song that i wrote a couple weeks ago at john parish’s house.

it goes over pretty good i think. the crowd ranges from 5 to 95 and mixed with mcain and obama supporters.
a relief to deliver the goods. and so good to see jim again.
he tells me as i am leaving that he loved what i did with ‘chore of enchantment’, been listening to it and loves it. but at first he was angry cause i cut it all up and mixed it all around, since it ended up having 3 different producers on it and me co-producing.

then he said as he listened several times he got it. and he loved it. i had no idea. either he didn’t like it or he did, but was so comforting to hear now.

so ok, neko gets up next and delivers a fine version of that teenage feeling from her last record.
that woman can sing.

and then we have some chill time before our set begins at the venue. we take the stage and deliver the goods in bulk this time. it’s a very good set and the southern folk seem as into our music as i genuinely was into them. there is a pretty young girl in the center of the stage who is obviously there to see neko and not us, but i ask her anyway “how are you ?” cause she looks a lot like the girl i asked to dance when i was 12 years old, and she says she is fine and could we please play something from ramp.

that stumbles me in surprise, being that record came out in 1991. anyhow i try and then morph into something else. it’s a wonderful night.

i think i should get drunk after the set. the boys have to leave right away because of the long drive to oklahoma city the next night. and i am left there to attempt a whiskey and a spontaneous interview by an italian crew following obama and then argue with some young republicans in the late night pizza shop while getting my slice. it’s a full life this day. i am well taken my the flavors of this area.

but now its time to go. and so i do. and the bus pulls out into the night. and we all linger in the bus eating that pizza and enjoying the wane of the tour with each other’s company as the brave danes courage the night and make some tracks.