"Harmonic Convergence/Piano"

I guess this one is pretty self-explanatory, but the story behind the first ink drawing in the “Trips, etc” collection of my Art Gallery is about occurrences on the night of the Harmonic Convergence (August 16-17, 1987).

My band at the time, Miracle Room, was scheduled to play the night of the 16th. We had heard about the supposed significant alignment of planets on that date, and were aware that people were planning to meditate for peace all around the globe. I wanted to take part in that global movement somehow (the world at the time was under the influence of Reagan, which had increased anxiety about a nuclear showdown with the Soviet Union), But I also had a perverse streak, and knew that meditative music was not going to go over in a live club setting.

Our friend John Hawkins had arranged with a local piano repair person to retrieve an upright piano that the owner had left behind, but he had no way of moving it. All he wanted of the piano was the soundboard anyway, so we arranged to move the piano for him if he would allow us to use it in a performance first. We used bassist Ed Greer’s pickup (our usual band mode of transporting equipment) without the camper shell on it to pick up and transport the beast.

We set up the piano on the stage of the Cave Club in Austin, Texas that afternoon, and placed microphones around it. We also had our usual metal percussion (oil drums, etc) and a 5 gallon water bottle with a mic plugged into a Grundig tube tape recorder preamp, plus our homemade stringed instruments of the time (partial doors strung with screen door springs and piano wire) plugged into amps, in case the sound of the piano wasn’t enough to carry the event.

The show began with feedback, and drummer Richard “Runt” Smith pounding a tribal rhythm on the cans. Then Ed and I proceeded to attack the piano with circular saws, crow bars and sledge hammers. At some point, Richard became frustrated at the lack of extreme damage being done, and bored from being stuck behind the drums, and pulled the piano over onto its back. And then it was on! It was glorious! Stomping, smashing, chopping and wrecking! For a video record of the event, click Miracle Room at the Cave Club.

After the show, we cleaned up, and then a few of us went to Bastrop State Park, took mushrooms and watched the sun come up over a pond while meditating on the beauty and peace.