THE DAILY GRIST…
”You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”
— William W. Purkey
The first time I saw Dancing John was about fourteen years ago at live Oak. That’s a festival in the lower part of the state close to Solvang, a festival where you’re likely to hear most every kind of music from bluegrass to Chicago jazz, from rockabilly to cowboy music, from folk to gospel.
John was hard to miss. He was standing by the gate that held back the crowd from the audience area of the main stage, sporting a long, thick black beard, a red bathrobe and a wooden staff. I asked him what he was doing. He said something to the effect that “I’m Moses getting ready to part the red sea and let all the people pass over into the promised land.”, and sure enough he did, at the crack of, or around 8:30 A.M. pulling back the fence and holding out his staff to let the people pass.
