Passages Of The Labyrinth
(based on the labyrinth of walls that we build around ourselves)

When I was a two-year-old, I had a severe fear of being sucked down the drain at the swimming pool. I suppose it was my second experience with irrational fear (phobias... my first phobia was of the Boogieman). The fear of being pulled in by the draining water's whirlpool led to other fears. As my phobia grew, the drain became home to alligators... and electric eels soon guarded the perimeter.

But, I loved the pool. I really loved the deep-end. Would I let irrational fear rule my life? I thought "not". Instead, I developed superpowers:

  1. the ability to *ZAP* the electricity out of the eels
  2. the strength to strangle the 'gators
  3. and, the wisdom to know that by swimming with the current of the water's vortex, I could accelerate to safety.

The next year, we moved to a new town... and the phobia faded away. Thirty years passed before I gave any thought to the emotions created by the deep-end of that swimming pool. Then, through a series of very bizarre circumstances, it bubbled to the surface of my psyche.

During a musical recording session... in that very same neighborhood of Philadelphia (Roxborough)... a spontaneous jam started coming from out of nowhere. A mystical rhythm formed from the sound of an acoustic guitar and congas. Lyrics started flowing into the air, "The water's slowly spinning round and round. Heading, heading ever... forever down. I hope I don't get sucked quite "right in."

An American Gallic Folk n' Reggae song was born. The concept of the Labyrinth started catching on in the local village. Friends and relatives started contributing ideas and musical talents.

Soon, a website came to life... with sound and multimedia. And, the children started requesting the song as part of their bedtime ritual. It wasn't long before they became *part* of the song, too.

Each night a new set of fears is addressed and conquered. The children tell of their inner demons... and we all help knock them down. A few examples include:

  1. alligators
  2. a loud rock band with terrible voices 720k .avi
  3. red bottoms (what happens when you get a spanking) turn into fire361k .avi

And, that is how this Folk Song was born. Though the form of the song is ever changing, the heart remains the same -- "if you try... try to use your mind's eye, you can make the walls come tumbling down... all around."

Live Down Home

Here are a coupla' live renditions of the Labyrinth:
  1. The Wall of the Labyrinth 2.9M .avi
    Recorded during The Wall sessions, this version has a spiritual quality. The recording location was in front of an old fireplace located in a smokehouse. The musicians included: C. Moore on vocals and electric guitar, Krishna on kanjeer (a drum thingie), Wally on acoustic guitar, and Sidd as 2nd grip. If you listen close, you can hear some sort of strange, unidentified instrument playing along with us.

  2. Attack of the Killer Band 6.2M .avi
    This version is just plain fun. The musicians included: Chris on moroccos, C. Moore on vocals and guitar, Capn on bongos, Wally on acoustic guitar, and Sidd as 2nd grip.
  3. Solo Acoustic Guitar in the Summer 8.7M mpeg4
    This mpeg4 .avi has a 720x480 screen size and "CD" quality sound.

The New Demo Download

4M .avi
6.4M mpeg4

Now that we're having so much fun with the project, we'd like to see what we can do with it... and what you can do with it. One thought was to cut a demo in the studio... and sort- of like what Bob Dylan did with the Byrds or Jimi Hendrix, let others help produce a quality recording. But, when it came to do things in the studio, we didn't want the song to loose the quality of "being in a labyrinth." So, we took the studio on the road. All the performances in the video demo are live. There was no lip-synching. Their were no air- guitars.

Track List:

What's Next?

We've asked some of our friends including, Peter Cross, Surveyor, and Rocko, to give us a hand with the next phase of development. We'd love to have you join us, too... just email cmoore@membrane.com.

Random Passages into the Labyrinth

Try Me?