Daevid Allen, an obituary
Oh shit...
Sorry for that. Anger, disbelief, sadness, a rush of emotions. Of course, every train eventually pulls into the station one last time, and my thoughts are for those closest to him, and to his bravery.
I can't think of many (any?) from Daevid Allen's generation that have influenced so many, not just musically, but on that oh so slippery slope that I'll call “the spiritual level”. Perhaps that's why we all take the news so personal? I mean there's so many of us, and only one of him. Queue up “Zion my T-shirt” from the new album...
Myself, I'm not sure when I started listening to Gong in the 70s; or was it Soft Machine first? I do remember my dad coming back from a business trip to France with an armful of LPs. Imagine that, Mr. Businessman walking into a record shop in Paris, asking for Gong albums for his teenage son in the US, and purchasing everything in the rack. Thanks Dad! I listened to every note, read every lyric, studied every album cover. Don't know why, but it just stuck with me. The silliness, the seriousness beneath all that silliness, most of all the sound...
For this ex Catholic boy, Daevid's message came at the right time. "Take the most serious things in life the least serious and the least serious things the most seriously". And later, "I am my own roadie". EDIT "You never blow yr trip forever".
Angels Egg was an instant favorite as was Gong is Mort/Viva Gong 2LP. Magick Brother Mystic Sister on Affinity, I used to play guitar to that one. Of course the music was always superb, even when it wasn't. So much to collect, so much to listen to, such a fun journey for so many years: BYG albums, Charly Records, GAS tapes, Mantra CDs, Voiceprint, side projects, solo albums, collaborations, UofErr, ICOT-TVB, and now, Daevid's swan song, I See You. The whole entire-tea of Gong, hook, line and sinker, I collected everything, found the (mostly) good in it and listened... I always listened.
I remember first seeing Gong live in Los Angeles in 1995, the "return" tour, with my pal Richard Derrick at Luna Park. Daevid signed a few things for me, I of course was starstruck, kneeling before the high priest before he offered me a chair and said "It's the CIA man, the CIA!" as I related my story. The tours became regular, every year or so, and the fun didn't stop: the in-store at Aaron's where he whipped out his dick, or backstage at the Coach House, I'll never forget the look he and Gilli shot me! The last of that era was in Milwaukee at Shank Hall. Not content with just the night before here in Chicago, I'm glad we made it back to my home town, Mary did need some convincing. And yes, we made the pilgrimage to Amsterdam for the Unconvention in 2006. What an adventure, before the big adventure. Even think there's a quote on the dvd from me.
When Lucy was born, the one lullaby I sang to her over and over, was "Love is how you make it", or the "la la song" as it was to be known in our house. I commissioned Daevid to create a piece of art for her, because, well, I could, and I just wanted her to have something so unique, from me to her, via Daevid. Penny's commission took a little longer for him to complete, but it made the perfect pair, yes, to my perfect pair. So there's comfort in having them hanging in the girl's rooms after all these years, unconsciously guiding them somewhere, or not.
Is it odd to say, Daevid Allen taught me that being weird is okay? Or did Gong just give me the confidence to just be me?
Ding dang dong... let's keep singing that song.
