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Rocker-T and Joan Baez Perform Live Duet at Northern California's 31st Annual Harmony Festival

Rocker-T, the internationally-renowned, ground-breaking, and award-winning Reggae and World Music recording artist, delivered an unexpected and exhilarating live acoustic performance of his new single, "The Way Life Should Be..." to the capacity crowd at Northern California’s 31st Annual Harmony Festival accompanied by singer and human rights activist Joan Baez with Gabriel Harris, Joan's son, on percussion. And for those that don’t believe “lighting strikes twice,” the duo delivered a surprise and equally rousing second live performance of the song later the same evening. "The Way Life Should Be..." is from the new Epiphyte Records EP release, featuring five mixes of the duet single "Luv is the Foundation" written and performed by Rocker-T with Joan Baez.

The first early afternoon mainstage set featured Rocker-T, backed by a 50 voice Choir, performing “Rise Up and Stand” to the audience of approximately 3,000. In the first of the two impromptu guest performances, Joan then joined Rocker-T on stage to perform her legendary "Gracias" before the two segued into "The Way Life Should Be..." The set ended with a powerful version of "Amazing Grace" which, backed by the Choir, was the high point of their first performance together.

Rocker-T opened his second evening set with his longtime classic, "Tru Ganjaman" and then another rousing performance of “Rise Up and Stand.” Rocker-T then introduced Joan who performed Steve Earle’s "God is God" and "Gracias" before the two joined in the duet of "The Way Life Should Be..." to close out their set.

At the day’s end, Rocker-T said, “The on-stage chemistry between Joan and I, fed by the audience’s energy, has left us all with a deep and gratifying feeling of elation. I hope that this will be the first of many more live collaborations between Joan and I.” A beaming Joan Baez stated, “I had a wonderful day.”

Other artists featured on this year’s event included: Michael Franti, India.Arie, Matisyahu, Cake, K’Naan, Kitaro, Steve Kimock, Dead Kennedys, and the Bad Brains.

Rocker-T and the More Luv Band will perform at Temple in San Francisco on August 13, 2009, as part of an Epiphyte Records label showcase/release party for “Luv is the Foundation.”

The Annual Harmony Festival, described as a hybrid between Burning Man and Bioneers – and the longest running festival on the West Coast - is a celebration of new ideas, community activism, eco-awareness, uplifting music, and more, in a green, family-friendly environment.

For more info, to request a review copy of “Luv is the Foundation”, or arrange an interview with Rocker-T, please contact Christopher Buttner, at chris@prthatrocks.com.

CDs of this EP release are available in fine retail stores everywhere or directly from Epiphyte Records website. Digital downloads of the EP are also available now on I-tunes and other digital music stores worldwide.

From here on out, each installment of this column will feature at least one (and occasionally several) songs that I would put on my own funeral playlist. The first two go together - both on the album (where they appear back to back), and thematically (because they articulate complimentary forms of wisdom).

Cake - End of the Movie
People you love
Will turn their backs on you
You'll lose your hair
Your teeth
Your knife will fall out of its sheath
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
People you hate will get their hooks into you
They'll pull you down
You'll frown
They'll tar you and drag you through town
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
No you still don't like to leave before the end of the show
People you hate will get their hooks into you
They'll pull you down
You'll frown
They'll tar you and drag you through town
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
No you still don't like to leave before the end of the show

Cake - Tougher Than It Is
Well there is no such thing as you
It doesn't matter what you do
The more you try to qualify
The more it all will pass you by
Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is
Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is
Well the more you try to shake the cat
The more the thing will bite and scratch
It's best I think to leave its fur and to listen to its silky purr
Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is
Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is
Well there is no such thing as you
It doesn't matter what you do
The more you try to qualify
The more it all will pass you by
Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is
Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is
Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is

It's a little weird to hear something so profound from Cake, those kings of swinger kitsch and self-conscious, ironic cool, but I'm always up for such a pleasant surprise. "End of the Movie" reminds me not to bitch so much about living if, no matter how much I suffer, I never ask for the check before dessert. Contrasting John McCrea's deadpan delivery with bouncing, cartoony concertina and mandolin accompaniment, it also seems to poke fun at my clinging to a world that abuses me; I can't listen to this without a poignant laugh at the human condition. One hand slaps me around and reminding me of the gruesome truth, while the other holds me like an infant. This song states the double-bind of life with such utter simplicity, such matter-of-factness, that it leaves no room for rebuttal. There's no way to argue either point, and there's no reason to. Because: shhhh...it's okay.

And then we trade out for "Tougher Than It Is," which wakes up in bits and pieces like a stirring groovy angel and then pops without warning straight into a divine transmission along the lines of what a person might expect, were this laconic pop group temporarily possessed by the Buddha. This is Cake's version of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," suddenly and surprisingly deep and wise, after an album's worth of goofing around. Paired with "End of the Movie," this couplet is an excellent presentation of the First, Second, and Third Noble Truths of Buddhism (that we suffer, that we suffer because of craving and ignorance, and that we can transcend suffering). "Tougher Than It Is" is also kind of set of pop "pointing-out instructions" - a quick-and-easy version of the Fourth Noble Truth that reminds us how to reconnect with our enlightened awareness (through attentiveness and openness, rather than trying to push around a universe that tends to fight back).

Oh, Cake. Few other artists have rendered humanity with such ruthless acceptance. Almost none have managed to do it with such catchy tunes. These two songs would be the cathartic first play at my funeral - just tragic enough to squeeze the tears out, and just comic enough to loosen people up for the rest of the playlist.

More on that soon.

Previous articles in this series:

PART I: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, I: Playing DJ To The Bereaved
PART II: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, II: Putting Death in a Box
PART III: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, III: Do It For The World

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Garfield is intent on demonstrating that everything is equally art, science, and spiritual practice - to revive cultural and individual investment in the renaissance thinking that finds equal value in thinking and feeling, description and experience. Working as a scientific illustrator and essayist by day, and a live electronic musician and performance painter by night, Michael divides his attentions between exploring and celebrating the vast complex vibratory spectacle that is our musical universe. His work has been featured at integralnaked.org, realitysandwich.com, and paullonely.com, and in Cause & Effect Magazine, iMAGE Magazine, and H+. Links to his painting gallery, live and studio recordings, and visionary music blog can be found at myspace.com/michaelgarfield.

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