Helene
Day 127. We’re all safe. Cell service just came on last night. Still no power and no roads. Flooding. Buildings destroyed. Bridges gone. But we’re all safe. I was standing on my porch in the middle of the night. There is no power in Western North Carolina and no town lights - and I had never seen so many stars.
Day 128. Year of Queens. Helene. I think anyone sitting on a porch - especially with a group of friends - playing music - is creating community and building strength and healing. It’s always been this way. The mountains need some music.
Day 129. We’re gonna try to all meet up and play on this porch this Sunday. If you feel a gentle magic in the air - that’s us.
Day 130. This is Dark City Kings. People from around the country have come to the mountains - there’s rescue trucks from New England in the parking lot of the local BBQ joint. We’re not going to get power for another two weeks - water and sewage is out too - but there’s an abundance of provisions and human kindness. We’re gonna play music on Sunday afternoon at an old homestead in the Swannanoa Mountains above a washed out road and a devastated town. If you want - play music with us - just sitting on your porch on Sunday afternoon.
Day 131. Year of Queens. There is music in the mountains.
Year of Queens. Day 132. It was a strange afternoon - to have a collection of songs about these mountains and about connection and disconnection and play them in the aftermath.
Day 133. Year of Queens. Black Mountain. After Helene we were nearly closed off from the rest of the world. Interstate 40 was shut down to the east because of a massive mudslide. Highway 9 was washed out to the south. Interstate 26 was closed to the north of Asheville. Interstate 40 was closed to the west of Asheville. US 70 was barely passable in Swannanoa. We had no power or water or communications. The @whitehorseblackmtn and @lookoutbrewing opened their doors and gave away free beer. We are grateful.
Year of Queens. Day 134. We will have power and then sewage and water in the next week or two. There will be a public event to mark this flood. And then there will be music. There will be a lot of music this Fall and Winter and into 2025 - maybe even more music. Music from us, to us, and for us. It will be a very powerful time. It will be drunken and emotional and happy and sad and quiet and expressive and brave and defiant.
Day 135. Year of Queens. No power for two weeks. It makes us notice the change in season more intently. The first cool night. The abundance of stars in the sky. Washing the dog in the creek. The creek seems more alive. Lighting the wood stove in the morning. The coffee tastes better. Days last longer. The forest seems to change color one leaf at a time.
