Music

Terry (my Terrydactyl) and I had a band called Ashley Park. We had many great adventures playing and recording music. We even got to perform at the 100 club in London, standing on the same stage where Muddy Waters, the Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols once played. It was before a show in Edinburgh, just outside the castle, where I saw my first ancient pet cemetery. (We played in a ‘dodgy bar’, not the castle, to be clear).

Terry now makes films. Great films. But, I still love music, and wanted to continue making it. I wasn’t sure I could, but when I pulled an animal spirit guide card from my ‘Medicine Cards’ deck, I pulled the antelope. Its message was this: ‘Do it now. Don’t wait any longer. Antelope knows the way, and so do you. Take courage and leap; your sense of timing is perfect. (*For the record, I have really shitty timing), but the book assured me: ‘When Antelope has bounded into your cards, the time is NOW, the power is you.” With this, I got myself to the mall, post haste, bought myself a new Mac laptop, and began my solo recording project. It was exciting to see how similar making music is to painting. Layers upon layers of sound, instead of paint. I wrote and recorded an album of songs with a little help from my fuzzy little friend.

… You might love it, you might hate it, or you might just think it’s ok…

COUNTRY WESTERN STAR Starring Kelly Haigh With Frances the Singing Dog!

Country Western Star

COUNTRY WESTERN STAR walks in the shadowlands, singing her songs to the critters of the forest, and tending to vast gardens filled with unmarked graves. She is the keeper of justice, guided by her trusted compass, which is not marked with the usual North, East, West or South, but instead bears the letters L, M, F, and R, for LOVE, MURDER, FORGIVENESS, REVENGE.

“I awoke to find myself in a field at the edge of a forest. I heard seagulls overhead and the smell of salt air filled my nose. The ocean must be close. There was a ramshackle house in the near distance. Claps of thunder filled and ominous and darkened sky. My eyes were still wet with tears from the night before. I sat up, leaning forward to wipe my face with my sleeve, as I lowered my arm, a small fox appeared before me. The fox wore a crown of stars, and spoke these words:

Cry, til you can’t cry anymore.

Bleed, till you don’t bleed anymore.

Weep, till you wake up on the floor,

That’s when you’ll know you’re ok…

That’s when you’ll know you’re ok…

That’s when you’ll know…”

Its words trailed off as it disappeared into the tall thick grass toward the ramshackle house. The sky opened up as I stood to follow. The cold rain ran down my forehead, tickling my nose. I had always wanted to see the inside of an old house like this, a shell of memories, containing within its walls so many untold stories… Would I feel them? The door creaked, and there was no sign of the fox. The house was dark and empty except for one tall mirror that stood near the main window of the sitting room. Most of the silver had worn away from the back of the mirror, but I could still make out my reflection. Although I wore blue jeans, the girl staring back at me was dressed in a long pale blue gown. I could see that she must have recently lost her head, as the stitches now holding it in place looked quite new. She opened her mouth and began to sing, and as she walked toward me, she left behind her reflection merging into my skin. My head was suddenly full of songs I’d never heard before. Songs I felt I’d known my whole life. There was a strong breeze coming in from the cracks in the walls, which made the fabric of that pale blue gown flap and flow, tickling my legs, I looked down to see it spilling over my feet onto the floor, and I smiled. I ran to the kitchen in search of something I somehow knew I would find. There, in the back of a dusty old cupboard sat one lone teacup. It was pink and white, and trimmed in gold. I took it with me, and when I forget myself, I drink from it. I drink from that cup to be reminded, and then I sing. I sing, and never forget the words the little fox spoke to me. That’s when I remember… To remember who I am.

THESE ARE THE SONGS OF COUNTRY WESTERN STAR

Performed by Kelly Haigh with Frances the Singing Dog.