“Keep Travelin On” Steve Gardner, Tokyo 2011 Earthquake Blog #2

[Rambling Steve Gardner]

“I’m a stranger here, nobody knows my name. I’ve got a head full of hurt and a heart full of pain, but I keep travelin’ on. I keep travelin’ on. My way might be dark but I won’t give up my load”. 

 

“Keep Travelin On”

Steve Gardner, Tokyo 2011

 

More than a month has passed since northern Japan was shaken down to its very foundation by a 7+ magnitude earthquake. The quake spawned a powerful Tsunami- a thirty foot high wall of water, more like a giant, steel bull dozer blade than a wave- which flooded communities, scraping and washing away all in its path: cars, homes and individuals all washed out to sea, many into early graves. 

 

The earthquake which struck on March 11, 2011 was one of the biggest disasters to affect Japan since World War II. The earthquake and tsunami left countless numbers of Japanese and foreigners alike, homeless, lost, injured, desperate, with no homes or towns to return to. 

 

Most of the survivors of the earthquake have been forced to live in shelters, many located in the shadow of the damaged TEPCO nuclear power plant; which has slowly been melting down and releasing radioactivity into the atmosphere with no quick fix or end in sight. 

 

With the rest of the world lending a hand or looking on, Japan has balanced doubt and uncertainty over the handling of this triple disaster with more than enough fingers to point blame and very few fingers if any, to point to the safe way out of this mess.

 

There have been several 6+ and 7+ “after shocks” since March 11 and the national and international response to the earthquake and nuclear plant melt down has been as varied as the members of the population and their proximity to the crisis. We’ve seen sheer panic, depression and denial, blame, aimless flight all combined with a kind of suicidal stubbornness. Many continue to feel guilty at their sheer good fortune while they see or read about others who are suffering so severely. For awhile most of us just sat spell bound in front of the television set as the news channels broadcast images from the earthquake which filled our minds and hearts to over flowing with the stories of tragedy, death and  destruction.  

 

Outside the quake zone, there have been some rolling “brown outs” but not that many, as most everyone has pitched in to conserve electricity. Escalators in most train stations, electrical signs, along with decorative lighting everywhere from Tokyo tower to the swankiest boutiques have been switched off; night baseball games have been cancelled and many businesses and clubs have been closing early. Trains have been running without full interior lighting or heating.   

 

Food stores, for the most part, are reasonably well stocked with the batteries, rice and paper products that were depilated just after the earthquake although there is some rationing of milk and dairy products. One positive point in all of this “switching off” is that many businesses have turned off their awful in store Muzak. Stores now are filled with quiet voices and laughter along with the sounds of squeaky rubber sole shoes on polished tile chasing shopping carts with wheels crying for oil.

 

Tokyo for the most part has been spared hardship. Some homes and building constructed on reclaimed land near Tokyo Bay will have to be knocked down or rebuilt and there is some doubt as to the safety of the water supply due to radioactive fall out. 

 

After the March 11 earthquake many live shows were cancelled while most night clubs and live house  have been empty or closing up early. Attendance to all types of events from school graduations to art exhibitions has been down all around. This is due in part to: the uncertainty of public transportation; the continuing strong after shocks occurring on an almost daily basis; along with a  general depression or  feeling of helplessness which has fallen over most of us here like a  dark cloud. It seems that nobody really has  felt much like partying. Even the parks where most Japanese gather in the spring to view the cherry blossoms have been relatively quiet. 

 

This year’s 10th Annual Yokohama Jug Band Festival, which we played on the first weekend in April, usually hosts 60 or more bands from all over Japan. This year the festival hosted only about 40 bands. There were five stages as usual, but due to the fear of another strong after shock along with radioactive fall out from the light rain, the main outdoor stage was moved indoors. Attendance was also about thirty percent less than in years past.

We held a small fund raiser on March 28 in Tokyo at the launch of our fifth CD, WOOLY BULLY EXPRESS. We were so worried that the event would be “browned out” as there was a power cut on the schedule for that evening. The “brown out” was cancelled and we went on with the show. We had fewer than 150 in attendance, we had planed on 250 before the earthquake. But those who did come to the show seemed to have a great time. Most told me afterward, “Thank you for going on with the show. We really needed that.”  I did too!

 

  It has become impractical to manage physical donations for the earthquake survivors, as their physical needs change so frequently. We have instead opted to raise money to support specific communities and specific charities. We are supporting the small community of Minami Soma, which sustained damages from the quake, Tsunami and is in the radioactive fallout evacuation zone. We are also supporting PEACE BOAT and SECOND HARVEST. These groups are shipping food and maintaining a hot meal services for the areas not being served by the Japanese Government relief.

 

We want to be a part of the solution rather than contributing to the problem. However we hope that we might take a tour of musicians up to the quake region to entertain those still living in shelters or unable to get out.

 

 

We’ve received requests from some of our friends up that way who have kept their sense of humour while looking hard times right square in the face. Here’s one such request from Sendai, an area near the heart of the quake: “No more instant noodles...music please!”

 

Times are hard and will be getting harder, but we take joy in the fact that we are alive and  fine. From here, we are seeking to be our “best selves on some of our worst days.” 

 

 

I have put together two new story tunes, which have been fairly successful in concerts here. One is based on the Randy Newman tune, “You’ve Got A Friend In Me”.  I have added some simple verses and the tune goes something like this.

 

“You got a friend in me”

“You got a friend in me”

“When the earth begins to shake and you think your heart might break”

“You got a friend in me”

 

 

The last couple of times that I’ve played “You got a friend in me”, especially at my big concert on March 28, we all got teared up and kind of sniffled through to the last few verses at the end.

 

The other tune that I put together is based on an old Mississippi Sheiks number, “Still I’m Travelin’ On”. You see more than ever I feel that music is a “living” thing, a looking glass to see our lives, the lives of others and big events like this earthquake more clearly. Here at least I figure that maybe the best thing that I can do is to “tell the story” and see about cheering people up. 

 

I have always heard that “Life is the part in the middle”. The beginning is set because we are here, and the end is set because we know that sooner or later we won’t be here. SO it’s what we do and make of the part in the middle that really counts and sets us apart.

 

Most of my stories and songs are quick looks at the middle told from the middle. I seek out the fleeting memory or the  phrase almost lost in the flickering light, after all, no matter what your troubles: “the way might be dark ...don’t give up your load.”

 

Steve Gardner

Tokyo, Japan

April 2011