Devi

Talking With Vodou Priestess Sallie Glassman for HeadCount

Posted on 24. Sep, 2009 by debra.

I crushed on New Orleans music from the moment I heard Dr. John growling “I was in the right place, but it musta been the wrong time” when I was a little kid, lolling in the sun listening to my yellow ball-shaped radio. Then I heard Lee Dorsey (”ride your pony, get on your pony and ride”) and fell helplessly in love.

When I wrote The Language of the Blues (foreword by Dr. John!) I discovered that the Vodou religion is the pulse of that fonky beat. Some people might’ve hoped for Vodou to have been washed away by Hurricane Katrina, but it’s the strength of the city and it’s coming back. Check out my story for HeadCount on the upcoming Anbo Dlo festival and interview with priestess Sallie Glassman. And groove to the Night Tripper and the Meters.

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9/11 song: “Welcome to the Boneyard”

Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by debra.

In honor of those who died on 9/11 and those battling 9/11-related illnesses, here’s a free download of the Devi song “Welcome to the Boneyard” and an important video from George Tabb, one of many Ground Zero volunteers and recovery workers with severely compromised health.

The morning of 9/11/2001, I was heading out the door of my Hoboken apartment to meet a friend when I flipped on the radio and heard that a bomb had gone off at the World Trade Center. I came back inside and turned on the TV. I watched in shock as smoke poured out of the north tower, thinking this was some terrible accident…then I saw the second plane ram into the south tower. When the north tower imploded and crumbled into a cloud of dust, I ran outside, jumped onto my bike and rode to the riverfront, with some vague idea of praying for the people who had just been immolated. By the time I got there, I saw not one, but two massive white clouds across the river. The south tower had just fallen, too. A young Indian man standing next to me said “my aunt and uncle work in that tower.”

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Blogging for a Good Cause – HeadCount.org

Posted on 29. Jul, 2009 by debra.

I’m one of HeadCount’s new bloggers! HeadCount is an amazing grass roots organization that partnered with bands like Phish and DMB to register thousands of voters for the presidential election. Wow.

Now HeadCount is focusing on six critical issues: Food and Farm Policy, Gulf Coast Recovery, Health Care Reform, Human Rights, Personal Liberty and Sustainability and Conservation. All while rocking the rock.

Here’s the archive of posts I’ve written for HeadCount so far. And check out HeadCount’s intrepid Man on the Lot getting his groove on to Devi’s “Demon in the Sack.”

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