I just found out that Rick Jones of
Song of the Lakes (and myriad other artistic endeavors) passed away in May.
WIAA, the local public radio station from the Grand Traverse area, has a
bit of a retrospective, including two hours of audio I will listen too soon. While I have a closer connection to Ingemar and Lisa Johansson (he coached soccer for me, she taught my sister Suzuki Flute, and we knew their kids growing up), Song of the Lakes was one of the defining sounds of my adolescence. Just thinking about
Rising of the Moon I can feel the sound of his bodhrán drumming in my chest. One of the transcendental musical moments of my life was listening to Song of the Lakes in what is now Roadhouse (don't recall which restaurant/music venue it was that year) with AB the week I was graduating from high school. I knew I was getting away from the town that I had grown up in, and when they played
Fire in the Sky I felt transported, that I was the fire in the sky, that I was the bird flying away. While a couple of their songs have lyrics that now leave me uncomfortable due to being artifacts of an earlier age (Rolling Down to Old Maui & Dancer in particular), the rest hold up and their albums are something I routinely return to when I want some music. When I want the feel of the good parts of growing up where I did
Benzie Rover,
Pearl of America,
Horndance or
Michigan Farmer will instantly transport me back.
Stand Up and
Twentieth Century Immigrant remind me of people striving for the good things in this world and what America purports to be about. Stand Up in particular is a timeless protest song and on my mind during current events.
For those unfamiliar with Song of the Lakes they play 'sea' shanties (mostly about the Great Lakes, so that 'sea' is missing most of its salt), traditional Irish tunes and music they wrote in those styles. Voices, flute, guitar, bodhrán, mandolin etc.
I attended the
Benzie Area Symphony Orchestra concert with Song of the Lakes last year, Rick was not able to play with them that day and missed the rolling thrum of his drumming. He will be missed and Song of the Lakes will never sound the same again.
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