The Sun and the Moon
The Dog Days of summer ended right on schedule in the Northeast with the sultry heatwave breaking overnight on August 14th, if you subscribe to Dog Days as defined by Old Timers as the period July 15-August 15, which I do. August for me has always been that transition month of high to low summer— what New Hampshire poet Laureate Donald Hall termed a New England “in between season.” We still have summer, but with hints of changes to come. The weather usually dries out, the sun is noticeably lower, and the moon seems to take on a subtle, telling glow.
I’ve always felt excitement with the coming of fall. That notion that “things” are about to begin again. Of course, as a child, we returned to school, but there were also the Harvest Fairs, the hustle and bustle of post-summer productivity— that feeling of starting again. The Low Summer In-between Season is the pre-cursor to all that, and it’s a time when New Englanders are called to get their last tastes of summer before surrendering to the fall-to-summer period of productivity. Do we still feel this, or is that a vestige of the industrial era?
We still run the van Gogh Brothers clock on Industrial Time, with gigs and album releases usually between September and May. The Pandemic has blurred the lines, and I’ve slipped back into the Agricultural Era with my work at Magical Moon Farm, the Summer music series, and the cadence of life following the growth cycle in the Northeast. Donna and I decided to end the summer music series at the Farm in August this year, with a final free van Gogh Brothers show on the 7th and two ticketed shows by Sam Luke Chase and Chuck McDermott on the 15th and 22nd. We may or may not hold music events in September and October— it will depend on the vibe and the length of the Low Summer In-between Season.
On September 11th, we return to our Lifetime Residency at Vincent’s Worcester (captured above mid-summer by the amazing Ted THeodore) each 2nd Saturday of the month with Andy Plaisted resuming drum duties. We will also “officially” release “Ghost,” our 15th full-length album, and will include songs from that album, old favorites, and new songs, as we continue our aggressive writing and recording jag that started in 2019 with the release of Love Letters. Paul, Clayton and I have jumped deep into the creativity pool over the last 2-3 years, and the Pandemic only seemed to accelerate things. As I look out into 2022, I am hoping to expand our live shows somewhat and would love to hear from any of you with ideas for cool original music venues within 50 miles of Boston.
We hope to see all of you at one of our Vincent’s shows this fall. In the meantime, enjoy the Low Summer season wherever you are, and stay tuned here for more news and musings about life and music.
Love,
JC