Next Wednesday I am driving due North to Hambone Wilson‘s farm to start preproduction on my song ‘Winston’ that I wrote furiously on a break in the wake of The Neo Nazis marching on Charlottesville.
Hambone has a pretty incredible vision of casting the song in light evoking the great Anti-Fascists, Pink Floyd.
Roger Waters not only made a whole movie warning us of such an Orwellian plight, he still stands up to the Monsters and his own fans to this day. Justin Armstrong showed me some pretty amazing phone footage of Roger laughing off the boos of fans in a New Orleans arena as he made it clear that the rise of Trump and MAGA was depicted quite clearly in his film, The Wall and the worn torn pages of history.
I recognized The Wall in footage of every Trump rally with shame and terror.
Churchill was no Angel. He did not die beatified in a river of his own blood like a Saint. He poured plenty. Dresden was horrific. Humanity was liquefied.
But he was crystal clear about the crushing Nazis and the dangers of Fascism, to the point his only martyrdom was symbolic and literary, when George Orwell named his tragic hero Winston in his honor. The death was of Freedom. Today the threat is our freedom of privacy, which is Liberty and the end of truth, which is our broken sword against tyranny.
Hambone Wilson is a Virginian by the grace of God, and a historian by pedigree. His father was policy wonk for Presidents, a man who knew the score and more than he should for his eyes were as open as his ears were sharp.
When I first told Hambone about the tune at his home on the farm, he smiled and led me to Churchill’s volumes of history he wrote in his pen, which took up more than a shelf.
Hambone’s stance is clear in his kinship as a musician and friend with Daryl Davis, the African American blues piano man that befriends Klansman and then collects the robes they surrender in a cocktail of quilt and self realization.
Meet Daryl Davis:
Like Churchill himself, I know Mein Kamf is trash, and so is the writer. But I don’t dismiss the intentions of its contents. Hitler was a b☆tch full of bluster, but he was not bluffing.
Because it is said that if History does not repeat it sure as hell rhymes. Right now it’s double dutching in double time. Our economy accelerating past the fingertips of the poor and middle classed.
Scapegoats tied to Rupert Murdoch’s bumper, gagged and tied.
Hambone and I shall explore if Rock & Roll still has a couple cannon balls left and if greats songs even matter to a Nation suckling at the swollen teet of mediocrity.
Stay tuned.
Davin’s new song has been released and has become a global earworm and Caribbean dancehall hit. Listen here on Reggaeville: DAVIN MICHAEL STEDMAN & ANTHONY RED ROSE – FREE YOUR MIND FEAT. SLY & ROBBIE WITH LENKY MARSDEN. The video is now available on Youtube.
– Musician and writer Davin Michael Stedman has many ventures, such as the AMAZING blog, 100milesofmusic.com, and is one of the driving forces behind the Staxx Brothers. This past spring he spent weeks networking in and reporting from Kingston, Jamaica. He will retun there soon for more recording. His single with British band Sherlock Soul is now available as well.
