Image: Some artwork I commissioned in 22 by Julius Maximilian Strohlein depicting Hadder and his tyme seer.
Good morning, It’s Friday. My first post for 23. Great to back in the tower. All my pilgrimage travels for 22 are behind me and all my gear is packed away now. I’m full time in the Hadder universe these first weeks of 23. Here is a little update on things.
About 23: Well, this year I’ve begun the switch back to Hadder things. Each year I get away the last few months and pour gasoline on some other fires I have burning. It’s a ritual with me, part of my season. You can think of it like a yearly winter of my life. After all the work I did last year bringing this Hadder tale to paper and writing the first Diamonds Hadder record… it was time to step away and reflect. On my way back from a last winter trip to see Zabble, who took the form of an eagle and joined me in the snowy sierra a few days… a new surge of hadder things started filling my blood and bones as my tires were turning and dicing through Icey mud puddles, I felt the end of that pilgrimage like a slap in the face. It was that sudden of a feeling as I watched the mountain peeks drift away in my rear-view mirror. It was the end of a lot of things and the beginning of others. I left that lake where a coin resides. Thanks Zabble.
Music and Things: Well, where do I start. The record may be just about complete but there are some T’s to cross and some I’s to dot… and of course I’ve yet to release it or press records. Then there’s Ramsay/Evermore material and another record to start. I have endless ideas from my morning singing routines… they all seem to point to a more operatic story like, heavy play of sorts, focused on the Diamonds hadder tale. Like phantom of the opera meets the trans-Siberian orchestra meets a fantasy version of annie. We’ll see. Before I start that of course, capping the dead rabbit and some mixing chores are in order this early part of the year to finally release the first record through proper channels and platforms. At this time my focus is on what I can do, what I enjoy doing and not what other people could or might do. That is a very important statement moving forward with all this Hadder stuff. I’m building something and I’m building it my way at a pace dictated my sanity and passion. The doors are unlocked and travelers are welcome in the mud room at any time. Leave your things at the door and feel free to look around. I have a lot to do here in 23.
The Novel: Well 2022 was a big year for the novel. The years before are when some of the stories and ideas first started appearing to me… but late 21 and 22 are when the words and stories found their inquisitive way to digital paper. What will 23 bring? Well, it’s started with me doing some of the narrations for the tales. Several have been uploaded to the Field Notes page. Each little stroke I do for this endeavor adds a little more wonder. The narrations were done by a man I stumbled upon in a tavern in BOK… called the “The Grassy Skull”. His name was Litto Biskernat, He was an English chap and he had a perfectly grand voice for this project, a vocal character mixed wonderfully with cigar smoke and dark whiskey tones. He liked what I was selling and so he decided to read a little for me. We bartered with old willow leaves and some used scaled from Ezras winter shedding. It was a match made in heaven and Ezra even felt like she contributed to the project. Her excitement came in the form of a, you guessed it, “Grumble Grumble”. So, without further addo… fell free to “listen” to Litto read some of the stories now when you like. I think he’s done 5 or or 6 of them this week, with another 5 or 6 each week till I catch up… and then I’ll begin some new stories for 23. Lord Skynn and Hadder are about to reach the gates of Europa… so much will happen there. A few flash backs to Hadders childhood will surely take place, the coin hadder wears around his neck will be explained, A queen and mother will appear, Lord bane and his own dark council will finally discuss their own plans and desires and Master Zabble, Ezra and maybe even Ezras 2 lost siblings will show up in a story or two… then there’s the strange Bailey Barton and the cypress swamps, the grasslanders and their role in this tale and finally John Hadder flashbacks to Lord Krell’s shipping issues and the Warmoth wars…. Hmmm…. finally,… Erza’s father is out there and some other surprises along the way are bound to appear. I doubt I’ll get to it all in 23, but it will be fun trying. Small steps in the same direction… they do chip away at large tasks.
Artwork: Well, I left off last year with the new “concept artwork” page being added to the hadder website. Behind the scenes in 22 I gathered more artwork than I know what to do with. A combination of commissioned pieces from very talented artists who I hope to continue working with in the future, as well as my own creations. All this artwork was for the Novel and for merchandise that I want to add to the site. Concert shirts in particular, and simple coffee mugs. Just some easy things that I want available when the record finally hits all platforms. 22 was a time of gathering, 23 I hope will be a time of creating things with what I’ve gathered and planted. Novel and Music related. I’ll chip away at all this as the weeks stack and the moons of 23 drift overhead. Last thing on the topic of artwork, my good friend Jules, an amazingly talented and kind hearted illustrator from Germany, who has done about 6 or 7 pieces for me to date… has been re-commissioned to do artwork for the narrations in the Hadder tale… he’s working on the first “Zabble and the castle Fanglor” as we speak. Hopefully by the end of 23, if he’s up for the task all year, we will have a Jules Illustration style, NON AI piece of art for each tale. How exciting.
Rehearsals: Over the last 3 months I’ve investigated a few places for rehearsals, nothing yet that tickled my fancy, I’m kind of particular when it comes to spaces and energies for what I’m crafting… I’m sure something will open soon, 408 is still on the mind each morning and I’m hoping that tower will clear soon and make room for me. No hurry I suppose as the wheels on the bus go round and round. Rehearsals will start when rehearsals start.
Closing thoughts: I just wanted to mention this as it was a very powerful dream I had this week and I wanted to remember it. I saw the future I think… it was a long dream and so incredibly vivid I couldn’t whipe the smile from my face all day. Hadder was there going through a crowd of people… some large event… helped through the crowd by some lovely large people… on the way to a stage… it was such a vivid and powerful moment, such a path… I swear it was a real moment yet to happen. I could smell the auditorium and feel the rumble of thousands of people cramming into this echoing chamber… the smoke.. the noise… the energy was electric, like a physical thing in the air that you had to wade through. Scary yet exhilarating. Why do I see these things in my dreams… I don’t ask for them when I fall asleep. why are they so focused and detailed and real to me. It came at a good time.. almost like clockwork, as the church bells of 23 began ringing high atop my white mountain. I hope it fuels me this year and keeps me focused on the things that are important to me. May you have the same energy and focus on your own dreams and goal this year. If you’ve come this far today, I thank you so much for caring and reading about this personal journey I’m on and I hope you find little things that inspire your own path and pursuits. No one’s coming to save you friend, it’s you who has to save yourself. I’ll meet you in the dark. I truly wish you all your own kind winter of reflection, feel free to reach out any time and good luck to you on the start of this new year. Rise and shine friend.
-j
Image: A narration for the first field note, Lord Zabble and the castle Fanglore. More at www.diamondshadder.com/fieldnotes