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The Cockatoo loves the flute! |
More Music Please! |
Mary Youngblood |
Mary playing in the Cavern |
Mary's Audience |
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Loping Wolf |
More Loping Wolf |
After Mary's Concert |
Two Flutes |
Robin, Lynn and Dan |
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Cody - New Loping Wolfer |
Mary and Loping Wolf |
Mary and NCFC Members |
Maryam,Kevon,
Dan & Sheree |
Robin |
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Dan Two Flutes |
Darlene & Simone |
Frankie & Rita |
Cody, Mary-Ann & Lynn "Jammin" |
Cody, Mary-Ann & Lynn |
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M o a n i n g C a v e r n |
Dear Mary's Flute People,
Well, Mary did it again - she really wow'd us. She took 30 members of the Northern California Flute Circle to Moaning Cavern on August 12 - back to where she recorded her first album "The Offering". Mary's concert was sold out to about 40 people.
(If you have not heard "The Offering" with head phones, try it, and listen for the dripping water. We were sitting under some of those drips - about one every few minutes. Refreshing! Robin said it was as if the cavern were baptizing us. Sheree was annoyed at first by a drip that hit her square on her head and dripped down her nose. But she realized Robin was right, and let the water bless her.)
As Mary said, we were in the belly of Mother Earth 165 feet below the surface, down inside a crystalline cavern so tall it could hold the Statue of Liberty. (Now, how many of you have ever BEEN to the Statue of Liberty? It is - dare I use the "A" word - AWESOME!)
Mary's first song was a solo - at least that is what I thought. But when her soul blew through her flute the cavern came alive and sang along with her. Mary played that cavern as if she were playing two instruments. She purposefully varied her familiar songs just enough to allow the cavern to play with her and it was absolutely wonderful. Her whole concert was like that. The two of them played together just as Creator must have envisioned.
I was sitting right behind Mary and marveled at how she was able to fade away to less than a whisper as she allowed the cavern to hold their final notes until the ultimate moment of completion. The audience responded perfectly with silence as they, too, listened for how the cavern chose to end the song. It was magical.
Mary then "trio'd" with the cavern and Dan Ricketts from the Joaquin Clan, followed by a trio with Frankie Sierra and his didgeridoo from the Bay Clan. Lynn Wrench dueted with the cavern after her pre-show performance with the cockatoo up in the parking lot. (Actually, Frankie played with that cockatoo, too.) And Loping Wolf's newest member, Cody, wow'd us with his neat cavern duet. (Cody HAD to join Loping Wolf two hours before, because he showed up, coincidently wearing the same Loping Wolf T-shirt. (I know, Dusty, there are NO coincidences - "Life" is a "CO-incident") Cody is a delightful player, so his matching shirt was just the icing on the cake.) Then we were treated to the "Frankie and Rita Sierra's Saucy Sassy Samba Band" - I just made that title up. But they were so good.
Mary then introduced Loping Wolf - our flute circle newly formed a few months ago. We played our version of the Zuni Sunrise song and our own song "The Loping Wolf Stomp". AND WE SOUNDED GOOD. The cavern is very giving - except to drums. One Horn started Zuni with our drum beat that went "fla-fla-fla." Mary so wonderfully explained to the audience that the humidity stretched our drum head. It sounded like playing a wet pillow case - while it was still in the laundry basket. Luckily for us, Robin and Donna (Cody's Aunt) had survival drums and the show went on. OH, and if you ever need a little Latin twist to your next musical affair, call Rita. She was "zesty" on that little ribbed gourd thing.
Then Mary had her famous impromptu jam with audience participation on rhythm instruments. It was so neat. Oh, back to Frankie - at one point he picked up his Ocean Drum and I thought the cavern was coming down on us. But no, it was just Frankie playing his ocean drum. Thank you, Creator.
Then it was over. We stood around and took pictures and none of the 30 musicians wanted to leave. Check out our photos Sheree posted on our Web page [lopingwolf DOT com].
We'd been down there almost three hours and it was over. And we didn't even have to really go to the bathroom, like we thought we would have to do because the bathroom was - remember? - 165 feet above us. AND Creator sent us angels - two staff members repelled down into the cavern in a spectacular display, only to offer to carry our gear back up the stairs for us. They ran up. Show-offs. (Man, they are in good shape.)
We finally got back up and drove home. Loping Wolf is still high from the great time we had. (And our thighs are still sore.)
If you get a chance, check out the Moaning Cavern Web page at [www DOT caverntours DOT com SLASH MoCavRt DOT htm] to try to get a feel of where we were. However, nothing could describe the experience of hearing Mary play in an underground cavern any better than actually being there.
Thank you, Mary, for taking us with you. We love you.
-Dan DiCicco of Loping Wolf
We have another two new fluties who live in Las Vegas. If you know of any contacts there, please let us know. Thank you.
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