1997

1997

THE SMATTER DECLARATION

What I got from Rainer in the last 20 years was pure trajectory. Bits and pieces of his sonic flecks led me down a more righteous path of high fidelity, me always trailing along, like an-over amped little brother. His patience with my scattered direction and experimental spoilings was crucial. He'd constantly toss me treasured nuggets like JB Lenoir and Jimmie Rodgers.... pointing out brilliance in the middle of songs by Robert Johnson and Robert Zimmerman. His obsession with zither music, opera, and early techno made perfect sense. Plus, in his non-music life, he managed to raise a family (three kids) and stay with the same wife (Patty, over 17 years) in a teeny two-room house they all live in to this day. In other words he showed us what was possible in the seemingly impossible path we had all chosen.

We, the people of Tucson, regard him as our most beloved practioner of rhythm, word toss, and spell of tone. He has a centifrugal force that is evident in this grouping of players.

Most of 1996 proved hazardous to a lot of folks here on the planet. For a while, it seemed those drenched in abnormal amount of their own insane difficulties were alone. Slowly, the more people talked about their own brush with hardship and loss, the more it became apparent this was a global trend. Evidence of this was collected firsthand from the tales of fans and friends around the world. weird. Maybe it was the invisible ripple effect of Shoemaker-Levy 9 finally hitting our shoreline. Maybe it was some kind of training from the powers-that-be (beyond). A drag that had to occur by the process of elimination. But of the many difficulties to hit us here in Tucson, the worst was our friend Rainer's affliction. And now after a year of fighting for life, it's time to celebrate that fight. Everybody's. This record is about that. Whether this season here is the calm of the aftermath, or just the eye of the storm, it is still a time to gather up the survivors and relish the spark after such a dark year.

So besides this record being a way and means to help out Rainer and his family with their incurred bills, it also serves as your own personal radio station, dishing out the soundtrack of a dangerous year survived. And for those who didn't make it, a sing-song prayer with stellar hopes for their scatter.

I'd like to thank everybody for jumping on board this project, especially Victoria Williams and John Parish who were the very first to get involved while we were still reeling in shock of Rainer's diagnosis. And rightously to Robert Plant, Rainer's buddy, who gave it his immediate attention, and in turn, found it a home in Atlantic Records as well as gave it crucial momentum in such a seemless fashion. And thanks to Kate Hyman and Yves Beauvais (and their helpmates Paul Higgins and Rachel Fite) for carrying the ball with this thing when our hands were so full. And ultimately to Patty  Keating who in between nursing their newborn daughter and raising their two big sons remained vigilant, overseeing endlessly the exhausting path that would allow her husband to heal

XOXOXO, HOWE