HEAVY MEDICINE

POLLEN is a unique rock/alternative project inspired by and dedicated to the music and memory of Daeron Skye, a recently deceased Vancouver musician who left behind a wealth of unrealized material. The project features many of Skye’s songs as interpreted and performed by friends and fellow musicians Eddy Bugnut (guitars/vocals) and David Jones (drums). "We feel it’s important that Skye’s music gets out in the world," says Bugnut. "For many years he inspired us with his enthusiasm and belief that we could be awesome. These songs are great and deserve to see the light of day."

POLLEN is the first of two tributes set for Skye. The second, Patos, will feature Skye performing his own material.

Leper born in the sink so what do I know?
Just split the war head in two and come ‘n love me
Don’t send me back to the days of tricky hand-outs
Take my woman “it’s true” she don’t love me

I fell in love with the strangest girl
I knew her reputation was earned but what do I know?
I thought somebody could change her combination
The second one to the left is still a virgin

Our fallen angel is fate
Your fucking lies help
Keep me happy
I mean, oh what do I know
I’m sick of following you through pretty gardens
I’ll find someone with a noose
But not too high!!
Ya

Assured I’ll want your gun in late June
Come n’ love in a fragrance of true bloom
Bitch your water is tainted like fluoride
I’m sick of needing a loan to pay for true love

One on one was the greatest until now
So split the war head in two ‘n come n’ love me
Don’t send me back to the days of what do I know
I found someone with a noose
But not too high!!
Ya

Unsure of it all because I hate you
You need somebody to counsel your day
“Well” I know somebody who needs some conversation
Confess an arm and a leg but not too proud
I’d like somebody to gain in my relations
So split the war head in two and come n’ love me
Send me back to the days of what do I know
I’ll find someone with a noose but not too high
Ya

Leper born in the sink so what do I know?
Leper born in the sink so what do I know?
Leper born in the sink so what do I know?
Leper born in the sink so what do I know?

Although it was terrific fun walking around town shooting up cop cars while armed with two hot chicks and some paint-ball guns, I decided we should quit while we were ahead, go to the mountain and finish off the Jack Daniels. There, in the drunkenness of the early morning, I began to climb down the dark mountain side. I was hoping the girls would follow me so I could ask them important questions like why their shoes didn’t match their hair. It was then I lost my rapport with gravity and tumbled head over heels a hundred and fifty feet down the mountain. I was lucky to land on top of a lonely tree.

It was on that lonely tree where I began to reflect on my life which, up to then, had been completely devoted to music. If that sounds like a noble thing, I can assure you it is not. My biggest mistake was trying to create music for the art of it. I realize now that music and art have nothing to do with each other. I have since checked my idealism at the door, along with my soul.

I got into music because I thought it would be a good way to express myself. I have always valued individuality. As a kid I constantly strived to express it. Recently though, I have come to the conclusion that musicians these days must essentially be characterless. Why try to create something new and original when it is so much easier, and the rewards are potentially so much greater, to copy something that has already been accepted?

I often become frustrated when I realize how many aspects of my life I have sacrificed in order to try to create something new and interesting only to show up to a gig and have some chick say, “Oh, he’s so cute.”

Fuck off.

“I like the way he makes that little pouty face.”

Fuck off.

“But I wish he would smile more.”

Fuck off.

“What’s with the hair?”

“That’s alright,” I tell myself. “One day there will be a beautiful princess who will get it. She’ll understand and appreciate the thought and dedication that has gone into doing what it is I do. She will be the one.”

But if there is one thing I learned during my recent conversations with God, who I affectionately refer to as the “Ol’ Cocksucker”, it is that I have been dreaming, and there is precious little space reserved in this world for dreamers.

On the lonely tree I thought about a girl I used to know. She was the most beautiful girl I ever saw. Not that I would ever tell her that. She knows. They all know, even the ugly ones. I imagine it must be somewhat disappointing to them when they first realize how simple men really are. I wonder why I never tried harder to get her. I’ve never been one to be afraid of girls and sometimes I actually find them to be quite amusing. Maybe I feared the disappointment that was sure to follow when I discovered that even the most beautiful girl in the world didn’t get it.

Sometimes I wonder what is so special about being human. Like monkeys we spend enormous amounts of time mimicking other monkeys we see on TV. If I was in charge of the world, which will probably never happen because you have to know the right people to get that job, and I wanted to control the other monkeys I’d make sure there were plenty of examples on TV for the other monkeys to follow.

I would reward psychotic behaviors of all kinds. I would feed the monkeys drugs then lock them up for being evil enough to use them. I would encourage the monkeys to fight each other over such stupid things as the color of their fur. If I was feeling especially energetic I would start a religion. I would say, “I know you’re a monkey, but pretend you’re not. Just sacrifice all your monkeying around in this life then in the next one you will have a hundred monkey-whores feeding you grapes.” Then, just when the monkeys were about to give up their hopes and dreams and their faith in the greatness of monkeykind, I would fake a Mars landing.

Paranoid monkeys have a fancy word for this type of thing, and it’s the paranoid monkeys who know what’s really going on. They call it “imprinting”. They say imprinting is used by the head monkeys in order to encourage certain types of behavior in lower class monkeys, like musicians. I dare say that if the whole idea of imprinting doesn’t deeply disturb you, it probably hasn’t dawned on you yet.

Just then I heard a concerned voice call from the top of the mountain. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t know yet,” I answered as I checked for broken bones. My right knee appeared to take the worst of it but my ego also took a bruise.

“Good thing you’re so cute cuz you’re dumb as shit.”

As I climbed down the lonely tree I began to understand why the Ol’ Cocksucker invented Jack Daniels. I started my gallant quest towards the top of the mountain but this time I was especially careful because just like art and music, gravity and Jack Daniels don’t mix.

On July 23, 2010 the world lost a truly unique and special individual in Daeron Skye, a.k.a Ham Salad, but best known as Skye.  He was undoubtedly my biggest music influence. Ten years ago he helped me transform everything I thought I knew about music into a brand new paradigm. This is the first in a series of posts that I will use to document my relationship with Skye and the music secrets I learned from him.

I first met Skye while working at The Sanctuary Studio, an old church in Vancouver that had been converted into a recording studio by engineer, David Jones. I was asked by David to come in and help get guitar sounds for a project on which he had been working.  When I got there I met this character who was unlike any human I had ever met.  I honestly couldn’t figure him out.  He wore a purple silk disco-shirt and a cheap cowboy hat. He talked Negro and seemed high.

During a break in the session Skye proceeded to tell me how he used to be kind of a jazz snob and then one day after breaking up with his girlfriend he heard the song “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers. He said it was then he realized that whether it was Charlie Parker, Miles Davis or Kurt Cobain it all came from the same place.  From then on every time we hung out I listened to Skye lecture me about music.  He enjoyed sharing his insights.

Skye was a master at the theory of music and he loved learning as much as he loved teaching.  He took it very seriously. Skye’s approach to music and theory was completely different from what is taught in music schools and colleges. He discovered hidden music secrets through his own experimentation and desperately wanted to share them with anyone who had the ability to understand. Most musicians try to hide their secrets and pass them off as ”black art”. Skye though felt obligated to share them. “Music is free,” he would say. His was no scarcity mentality.

After learning about this new approach to music my entire method for creating and listening to it changed .  I studied Charlie Parker and realized the secrets.  I studied Nirvana and Black Sabbath and J.S. Bach and realized the secrets.  According to Skye, Igor Stravinsky was the greatest.

It is somewhat tragic that for all his eagerness to learn and his extreme attention to detail Skye never found a way to put it all together for the world to hear. Instead he lived his life constantly experimenting and trying to take his discoveries to the next level.  Occasionally, he talked about “taking over the world” and “becoming famous” but I don’t think he ever really wanted to do that.  I think he just enjoyed making discoveries.

He spoke constantly about music and what he had learned.  There was the time when the band Yes had locked out the studio to write its album. Skye used to spend a lot of time bustling about on the streets downtown.  He had great rapport with the street community and less fortunate folks in general.  One day he came in off the street. He had been gone for 3 days and was dirty and on edge. Steve Howe, the guitarist for Yes and one of the world’s top guitar players gave Skye a condescending and disapproving look.   Oblivious, Skye took a classical guitar and started ripping “Confirmation” by Charlie Parker note for note. Steve Howe and Skye became friends after that.

There was also the time when Allan Holdsworth was in town. Back then a strong argument could be made that Holdsworth was the greatest guitar player in the world.  Skye began pointing out  mistakes that were in Holdworth’s book of transcriptions called “Reaching for the Uncommon Chord” which contained some of the most complex music ever written.  Even Holdsworth acknowledged the errors.

I am thankful that Skye chose me to be one to whom he revealed his music secrets. He left me with charts and recordings for pretty much every note he wrote.  He also left me with sheet music of classical pieces he thought I should learn and study. He especially thought that  “Cordoba” by Albeniz was an important piece. I hope I will prove to be a worthy steward for this material.  Skye went out of his way to compliment me when he thought I had done something well. There was no political agenda behind his appraisal.  If he liked it, he said it.  He was very positive and he inspired me to work harder so that I could come up with something else he might like. His approval was a great reward. In closing I want to thank you Skye for the music, the inspiration, the encouragement, the positive words and the attitude. You were a true original and are a big part of every note I play.

Eddy Bugnut’s song “Amazing” is set to the 1937 cartoon called Educated Fish. (Creative Commons License)