A major historic event took place last night in my adopted hometown of Memphis, TN. After a unanimous City Council vote, monuments dedicated to Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis were removed and relocated to an undisclosed location. A step in the right direction, to say the least. Forrest was a Confederate Army general during the Civil War and an early leader (first Grand Wizard) of the Ku Klux Klan. Davis was the President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. The presence of their statues cast a dark cloud over the parks where they were displayed, and throughout the city. Their absence is a much appreciated breath of fresh air. This is especially relevant when taking into consideration the upcoming 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, who was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Needless to say, last night marked an important moral victory for Memphis and for America. I’m looking forward to more in the near future.
War is a racket
“I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”
- Smedley Butler
Save the internet, please!
URGENT! Net Neutrality is an important issue. Please read, sign and share the below document.
For more info: battleforthenet.com
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeg--PCgm2ux-sgJGDA8jYoxTHaW9OvtazEW9k-1hIcDVkF_A/viewform
Save the internet!
Net neutrality is an important issue. Please sign and share the document below.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeg--PCgm2ux-sgJGDA8jYoxTHaW9OvtazEW9k-1hIcDVkF_A/viewform
Jack And Meg...
...is the new Jack And Jill.
At the drive-in.
I went to my first drive-in double feature last night. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and Last Man On Earth. Awesome!
Hunt!
Hunt Sales is in Memphis this weekend! Last night I saw him at Railgarten on guitar and lead vocals AND playing drums. Legendary badass.
Quote of the day
Hard choices, easy life.
Easy choices, hard life.
- Jerzy Gregorek
Iceland
I returned home last week from a trip to Iceland. It was amazing! We stayed in Reykjavik and travelled around the island. There were glaciers, waterfalls, rainbows, black sand beaches and so many other beautiful sites.
Mawwiage
Stephen & Abby
October 8, 2017
Memphis, TN
One week. Two concerts.
It was a good week for great concerts in Memphis.
Happy Jack
Big thanks to my friend Jack Silbert for including me on his Aquarium Playlist! Listen from the Dropbox link below, and check out the playlist here...
saltinwound.com/2017/09/19/aquarium-playlist-91917
Also be sure to peruse his Salt In Wound website for lots of great writing.
dropbox.com/s/mztx8kyz5u5dugv/ken%20burns%20episode%20%289-19-17%29.mp3?dl=0
Sam Phillips
Earlier this month, I had the privilege of recording at Sam Phillips in Memphis, TN. It was an amazing experience. So much history there, and lots more to be made.
Still Life
Scene from a rehearsal studio.
MTV VMAs?
It seems strange to me that MTV still hosts the Video Music Awards. (Key word here is "video".)
Tourganic Podcast
I was recently interviewed for the Tourganic Podcast! Dave Bailis and I had a great conversation about music, touring, food, mediation, exercise, and lots more. Check out Episode 6 from any of the following links. Please be sure to leave a comment and/or subscribe if you like what you hear. Thanks for listening!!
tourganic.libsyn.com
tourganic.com/ttp-6-stephen-chopek
itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tourganic-healthy-living-on-the-road/id1249586072
Studio inspiration
I've been shopping around for gear to start my home studio, and got inspired by this classic pic of Pete Townsend, circa 1970.
Stand with Trans Rights TODAY on Bandcamp
"Bandcamp is a platform for artistic expression, and all manner of variance in experience and identity, including gender and sexuality, is welcome here. We support our LGBT+ users and staff, and we stand against any person or group that would see them further marginalized. This includes the current U.S. administration, and its recent capricious declaration that transgender troops will no longer be able to serve in the military. That this announcement was motivated in part to help fund the border wall exposes it as part of the administration’s cynical, discriminatory agenda."
For more info...
https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/07/31/this-friday-stand-with-bandcamp-in-support-of-trans-rights/
Metta
I retuned home yesterday from a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat. I've been attending about once a year since 2009, and there's always something new to learn. If you'd like to know about the practice, visit the website at dhamma.org/en-US/index
Vipassana
Taking a road trip tomorrow from Tennessee to Illinois for a 10-day Vipassana mediation retreat. I'll be off the grid from July 12th to July 23rd. See you on the flip side.