Stand in the middle while the Wheel spins round and round

So… what’s happening on Tuesday? Let me tell you a story.

In October of 2022, after several years of battling a genetic illness, I found myself in the emergency ICU, barely functioning. I now had a new battle – a rare, aggressive case of The Thing Nobody Wants To Get. Each day became a fight to hold on.

Struggling in the ICU, I readied myself for unbeing. If it was time, it was time. There was pain, but also zen and love.

A phrase from Kafka embedded in my mind, glowing endlessly with perspective both personal and historical: “The meaning of life is that it ends.”

But, unraveled as I was, it was not yet my time. I’m now in a bonus round. I’m still here because of my superhero wife, incredible luck (like rolling three sixes in a row), and the Da Vinci Xi surgical robot.

Months later, while I recovered, Cynthia started instigating, as she does. She reconnected the members of Splashdown and suggested we create something. Somehow, enough time had passed, and the planets were aligned. It happened.

“Metamorphosis” is a brand new song, written for these events. The chord progression appeared in my fingers in one sitting (the only other time that happened was Mayan Pilot). I had a conversation with Melissa about my experience, and she conjured lyrics that captured it perfectly.

You can read the song as a dialogue between us. There are thoughts about the vastness of the human experience and our tiny place within it (first verse). Marveling at survival (second verse). I believe that after death there is nothing, and Melissa responded with the idea that energy can’t be destroyed, only changed (that’s the bridge). And so on.

I hope Splashdown listeners find as much meaning in the song as I do.

The gate is ajar, and we are working on more songs. I make no promises there, excited though I am. I’m astounded we even got to this point. Let’s see!

We are also addressing some other unfinished business: “Nomadic.” We played this song live a few times, but never released a studio version. The backing tracks are from 2000, but the sitar-ish guitar, the vocals, and the bass were done this year. It only says “demo” after the title because the backing tracks were embedded onto the tape, and there are some arrangement choices we’d make differently now. It’s a hybrid of our past selves and our present.

Clif at Stoltze Design Group, who was our partner all through the Castle von Buhler years and whose team designed the Splashdown visuals, joined in to create the new cover art. And while we were at it, we decided to make a limited run of posters.

Shout out to Jason Sakos, who played drums on “Metamorphosis.”

So that’s the story. Two new songs, more in the works.

Let’s see what happens next.

a field from sight

a picogram in the mighty infinite

keeps on messing with my head OH

the butterfly that moves its wings

in the minute intricate

causes hurricanes on the other side of the world 

when you’re facing the wall

at the edge of it all 

the meaning of life’s that it ends

Kafka said 

transformation, changes

the black and white 

the in between 

in the law of opposites

keeps things spinning in the arms of a milky whirl 

hello goodbye 

yeah I’m still here

as a thread of confluence 

in the infinite emptiness that’s fuller than we know

when you’re nothing at all

you’ll be everything OH

the meaning of life’s that it ends 

Kafka says

I don’t think it ends

it’s just metamorphosis

(my friend)

Can’t destroy it

can’t create it

energy energy energy I am energy energy energy OH

its just transforming 

to new creations 

energy energy energy I am energy energy energy OH

OH it’s metamorphosis, it’s just metamorphosis, it’s metamorphosis

(sending light, love, and peace to you my friend)

(wish you didn’t have to leave so soon)

p.s. Blueshift, if you haven’t found it already.

p.p.s. If you’re blood type O positive, and feel like you have too many healthy kidneys, let me know…