Static Live Magazine August 2019

One of my favorite scientists, Carl Sagan, stated,
“Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers,
and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long
enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are
ready at last to set sail for the stars.” I can only assume
that this way of thinking led Hiram Bingham to drop his
comfortable American lifestyle as a professor at Yale and
“set sail” in search of the “Lost City” of the Andes. The
1911 expedition began with eight people, yet after weeks
of steep hiking and unknown creatures of the rainforests,
Hiram Bingham was one of only three who did not
give up. Today, the discovery of Bingham is known as
Machu Picchu and probably one of the most significant
archeological sites in the world. I am thankful that
Bingham decided to venture into the wild to the unknown
Peruvian Andes; his discovery is what allowed me to
stand on the very ground of the Ancient Incan City.
In May of 2019 I decided that It was time for me to set
sail to the longest continental mountain range in the
world, the Andes. There are three ways to get to Machu
Picchu, by bus, the famous Incan Trail or the Salkantay
Trail. The Salkantay Trek was the route I chose; it’s
an alternative to the Inca Trek and is sometimes even
considered better, especially if you enjoy becoming
integrated in the changing of ecosystems from one
day to the next. This hike was a 5-day hike through the
Andes valleys, glaciers and rainforests, hiking a total of
approximately 50 miles.
The first day of the hike takes you through grasslands,
lakes and forest. By the end of the day you arrive at your
first campsite nesting in the valley below two enormous
glaciers. The third day is by far the most challenging, which
is also why you get a shirt that says “I made it through the
seven snakes.” The seven snakes are deadly mountain
switchbacks with a drastic altitude change and hiking
through them will make you feel like your calves are falling
off. This day sure was a rough one! After completing the
switch backs you empty into a valley to find out you still
have to hike a steep 1,640 feet to the Salkantay Pass,
which rests at 15,000 feet. This was not an easy adaptation
for this Florida girl. In fact, in the Valley I truly thought I
wouldn’t make it. Well, you know what? I MADE IT! Thanks
to my childhood memories of the little engine that could,
“I think I can”. After Machu Picchu I spent most
of my time in Cusco, the Incan capital of Peru.
There was dancing, art, music and alpacas.
Alpacas really enjoy cliff bars and are drawn to
the sounds of wrappers, hoping they will get the
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next bite. Peruvian music possesses an Andean influence
including wind instruments and melodies of folk. Peruvian
instruments include panpipes and flutes of Native Andean
origin. The wankara is a large drum used in traditional
Peruvian music and is usually made of camel skin or, for
the Ancient Incan manufacturing, sometimes made from
the human skin of enemies conquered. Music in Peru has
always been imperative for Incan rituals. Today the music
relies heavily on the cultural mixing of Peru’s Andean,
Spanish and African roots.
Peru is magical. The experience
of my first solo travel was so
welcoming from the locals, as
well as pachamama (mother
Earth). From spending time eating
traditional Peruvian food like cuy,
listening to the wonderful whispers
of Andean flute music and hiking
through the Andes, this is a place
I would wander to again.
By Hank Harrison
Everybody knows Nirvana was a drop-dead classic band, but Steve Albini,
their best producer, is a sound maker who goes back to Big Black and
remains an all around Zen Master. In fact, Albini, who hates the system with
integrity, has survived more than two decades managing to turn on second
generation fans, old Jazz farts like me, and curious listeners from Brazil to
Moscow.
Steve was born in Pasadena, California, but by 1974 he wound up in
Missoula, Montana, of all strange places, making guitars, of all strange things.
In High School, he began taking bass lessons while recovering from a broken
leg. This was right in the middle of the punk wave and The Ramons banged
him at age 15. That exposure fed red meat to his lust for sound, which, in
turn, led him to The Stooges. Soon after a mix of really complex and mostly
experimental bands arrived. This early list included Suicide, Wire, The Fall,
The Velvet Underground, Throbbing Gristle, Kraftwerk, The Birthday Party,
Pere Ubu, Public Image, Rudimentary Peni, and Killing Joke. These bands
also gave the vision to see beyond the commercial and for-profit world.
After graduating High School, Steve moved to Evanston, Illinois when he
got accepted to school at Northwestern. I assume he got a top test score
because he moved away from mom and dad at that point. A few years went
by and Albini showed he was tolerant of idiots by graduating. He often said he
learned more about Art than Journalism at Northwestern. I can see where he
got his eclectic education but the school still has a whole lot going
for it on many levels; even the football team is pretty good most
seasons. Once he hit the bricks, Albini started writing for several
Chicago ZzzINES and created a small sensation by writing, “Where
to hear the hottest bands”, articles for Forced Exposure.
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