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Strum Diesel was on exceptional form on Wednesday delivering his original songs with passion to a very appreciative audience at Syl Darcy Art Gallery ! I have heard him two or three times before and each time my respect for him as a performer grows !
His songs are full of social comment derived from personal experiences. His lyrics are full of wit, humour and irreverence, with some serious messages about ridiculous or unacceptable aspects our lives.
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His first song Lights Out Sleeping was a lively introduction, voice and keyboards producing an orchestral sound ...
...
the time is lights out sleepin' baby
sleepin' on me, on me, on me
...
si dom pom pom pi di pom pom
...
hupiddy hup oh yeah !!!
Strum is a master of scat ! ... vocal improvisation using nonsense syllables :))
" What's goin' on ? Good to see you ! "
" There's a lot going on in my little life lately ... my awesome aunt hooked me up with a car as soon as I got here to Georgia "
... and on piano he sang a song about some touring he wants to do -
I'm gonna hit this road so hard that all the cracks will connect
see all the people I've never seen
yeah yeah meet the me I've never met
build myself a memory that's impossible to forget
get lost in beauty's random wake
as headlights zip down inter-states
.... ... ..
lot o' changes gonna knock on your door...
it just won't be what you expected
it just won't be what you expect
.... ... ..
This song was slower, thoughtful and reflective, flowing beautifully. Quieter sections balanced with the bursts of strength and power which characterise Strum's singing and piano playing.
There are three songs which epitomise Strum for me. His next song, about money and the fear of losing it was one of these ... fast moving and bouncy, played strong on piano and sung loud ...
There are people shouldn't die in the name o' fear and money ....
gotta hold o' your mind with the state of the market
as your blood pressure rises
breakin' sweat in pocket ....
got jobs that we hate that we need to survive
we're feelin dead but that's what it's like to be alive ....
if it's on the news it must be true
100 million kids with nothin' to do
but play x-box and eat processed foods
and search the net for celebrity nudes
the little bump sticker didn't do a thing
it peels off quicker with the acid rain ....
it's a lie
to our own judge
our own jury
our own attorney
our own trial
the courthouse of the brain ....
gotta hold o' your mind, a hold o' your mind, a hold o' your mind, yeah !
you break in sweat in pocket, yeah
you break in sweat in pocket, yeah
you break in sweat in pocket, pocket, pocket.
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| Syl Darcy - Gallery Owner |
" Well Jess and Christopher thank you very muchly for those fabulous tippages and thank you all for bein' here and hangin' out ... "
Then another slow, thoughtful song, this time about honesty ....
Mom always told me,
there ain't nothing worse than a lie
but bein' honest isn't easy
it can even make you cry ...
Make sure is what is in your heart is what comes out of your face ...
Everything we do is an act of truth ........... It's a way of life ...
There was a good crowd of 21 people in the audience :))
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| Happy Rezz Day Buster Sideshow ! |
" What's up Buster ? Yesterday was Rester's err.., yesterday was Re Re .... Yesterday was Buster's rezz day .... That is kinda hard to say ! Happy rezz day Buster :)) You may spank me ! "
Strum is great fun :)))
Here's one about contradictions and hypocracies, and the need to accept differences -
Well I've seen reality on tv
and make-believe in the streets
and people bein' friends although they'll never meet
but there were 40,000 souls ... hardly any one did pray
but they all jumped at the chance to send one hell-bound on his way
I've seen a 3-piece on a woman
a 2-piece on a man
a clean junkie white as snow
and a dirty virgin with a tan !!
Strum is full of energy ... he bangs out the notes and chords with unflagging resolve !
Another of my favourite Strum's songs is this next one -
He's old enough to know now
that life is quickening
after decades of denyin' that very thing
And for all the joy you gave him
it was a price to pay
but I thought he could afford it
the joy was worth it anyway
And life can be a shit-hole ... we shovel our way through
and sometimes we end up lost in all that we do
And he's gonna think I'm crazy
because I think he should forget
himself for the blame that he took on as a kid
Yes the time is always nearing
when we all leave this dance
we leave behind all of the drama and risk and cha... yeah yeah yeahoo !!
cos life can be a shit-hole that we shovel our way through
So dad know there's no failure
in light of our mistakes
it's all the good that you did that a good life makes
So just relax and breathe deeply yeah
and soak in the night ..... .... ...
This is slow, sensitive, sentimental, swaying song with a beautiful melody :))
Piano starts playing and Strum sings a high-pitched ......... ooo ooo ooo ooooooooooo yeah !!
" I need to get on this side of the chair and I need turn up the piano and I need to rock ... come on dang it !! "
and so began the third of my favourite Strum Diesel songs -
While this earth is all I am
is a thin layer of crust
just burstin' at the seams with the lava in my guts
I been here forever at least that is to you
but on another plane I'm just a speck o' nothin too
cultivated and invaded, drilled until I gave
ironically I'm also what everyone wants to save
and ruled and owned antique galactic home
which is really kind o' sad because I float out here alone
I'm Mother Earth bitch !
I'm here to stay
there ain't nothin you can do to make me go away
I'm as unpredictable as your most fascinating stars
and when you're long gone I'll just be filled
with your bones and your plastics and your piles o' cars yeah
...... ..... ....
I guess mother nature can be considered a terrorist too then err !!
...
Well I'm goin out to kick some butts !!!
This is almost 4 minutes of, fast-moving, relentless out-of-breath singing full of humour and surprises ... and Strum excels at this brilliant stuff !!
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| Gallery host - Mathew Clarence |
His 8th was a swipe at the American establishment .....
'cos I can say what's right and I can say what's wrong
but I'm crossin' a line if I say it in a song
and we are the proud, we are the strong
and if you disagree it's un-american
and I's a manifest our destiny
we lock up half the country to protect the free
an industry built on punishin' the sick
is gonna get what's comin' to them rather quick
........
come on stand up and rise it now
it's time to legalise it yeah
ok alright ok alright !!
Silence from Strum while he takes a deep breath .....
Finally he sang Dottie's favourite - Hocus Pocus
This is another one with orchestral sounds on keyboards. It starts slow and quietly with developing rhythm and power. Then a bouncy, infectious melody , and scat !! And a crescendo of exhortation producing a brilliant finale !!
It's been so long and I'm not old
time will have it's waywith my blood and my bones
and everything I say
yes and I'm dreamin about somethin'
that makes sense but all worked out yeah
.............
nothin' concrete I really been after
just a general sense o' laughter
at the end of every day
I don't really want to prove a thing to ya, yeah
I just wanna pass through yeah, all
at the end of every day
I don't really want to prove a thing to ya, yeah
I just wanna pass through yeah, all
a figurin out my way
a figurin out my way
a figurin out my way
.............
and it's not black
and it's not white
and it's not a good or a bad thing
yeah justice and I just try
to accept the best that I can bring
nothin' concrete I really been after
yeah justice and I just try
to accept the best that I can bring
nothin' concrete I really been after
just a general sense of laughter
at the end of every day
I don't really want to prove a thing to ya
.............
at the end of every day
I don't really want to prove a thing to ya
.............
yes and all that we call disaster
is at the hands of the master
this game that's bein' played
.............
this game that's bein' played
.............
well the truth is that we all know better !!
.............
so strip your heart of all that fear !!
and tell yourself why you are here !!
.............
and tell yourself why you are here !!
.............
" Awesome !! "
" Amazing !! "
" Bravo !! "
And with that, his 10th song of the show, and perhaps the most powerful, he finished out of breath and exhausted !!
Strum has great talent as a writer, singer, pianist, and is a very unique, distinctive, varied and entertaining performer. He's among the very best in SL !!
From Dottie and I ... Thank you Strum !!!
Further information about Strum Diesel can be found in our linked blog HERE
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| Eliza Cabassoun and Stirred Diesel |
This beautiful venue is owned by and is a credit to Miss Syl Darcy. Her talent as an artist is on show also and her real life artworks brought inworld are on sale here.
Thank you Syl :))
Here's the SLurl to get to The Syl Darcy Art Gallery
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