Beyond the Will of God

Joni Mitchell Speaking About Meeting Jimi Hendrix

~ davidbiddle ~ 4 Comments
For the next few months I am going to periodically offer commentary on video clips by famous artists on what it was like to meet Jimi Hendrix and what he meant to them. You can find most of these clips easily enough on YouTube, but there are special ones I want to highlight here at my website because of the special insights they give us into the creative process. Great artists speaking about other great artists provides us with unguarded insights into the life of the creative spirit.
 
Joni Mitchell
Cover of Joni Mitchell

Below is the first clip I want to offer. It starts out with a Joni Mitchell interview and ends with a weird video rendition of “Voodoo Chile.” Note how “Mitch” appears to know Italian. That’s impressive as hell.

Joni and Jimi were both on the rise in the late 1960s when they met. We all know how much Jimi revered the Beatles and Bob Dylan. It’s likely he respected a lot of the other innovators of that era as well. And there were many. Certainly by the time Jimi and Joni met, it was clear that Joni’s ability to mix complex melodies with real poetry (not just lyrics) was worthy of Hendrix’s attention.

Joni says that Jimi recorded her concert using a big reel-to-reel tape recorder and Continue reading →

The Rhythms Fall Slow

~ davidbiddle ~ 2 Comments
Source: purpleclover.com

A friend recently sent me a link to a very moving first-hand remembrance of Jeff Buckley called “Be Your Husband” from over at PurpleClover.com. The piece stayed with me all day until I recalled an alternative prologue to my novel Beyond the Will of God written a few years before I went to press with it. I decided against this particular prologue because at the time I didn’t want to insult the memory of Jeff. I hope that is not your perception here. I offer it just because I think it’s a great tribute in and of itself, and, in the end, this same spirit finds its way into my novel — a spirit you should not forget.

The Rhythms Fall Slow: On Jeff Buckley and the Eternal Life of Music

On May 29, 1997, exactly 660 days after the day Jerry Garcia died, Jeff Buckley decided to cool off in the Mississippi River on his way to a recording session in Memphis, Tennessee. According to the only eyewitness, Buckley, fully clothed, waded into the Mississippi for a swim right around dusk. He went out to where the water came up to his waist, lay back, began to float and sing at the top of Continue reading →

E-Book Pricing In the Modern World: Addendum

~ davidbiddle ~ 1 Comment
English: Congestion Pricing Equilibrium
English: Congestion Pricing Equilibrium (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Things move so fast for writers who have taken publishing into their own hands. Since posting my latest “Talking Indies” column on E-Book pricing at TalkingWriting.com, I got to thinking about the need to be more creative about pricing. I knew that Smashwords had a system that allowed for that to a certain extent. But Smashwords is a bit scary when you first check it out. They have formatting requirements that sound a bit Gestapo-esque. And yet, they are known for being part of the new writer’s liberation front. Hmm…

You need to grow a pair or two if you want to be a writer in the 21st century. Right? It Continue reading →

Origins of a Psychedelic Novel: The Backstory on Beyond the Will of God

~ davidbiddle ~ 4 Comments
[Added note, 6/15/14: you can download “Beyond the Will of God” at NoiseTrade.com as a digital book for free right now…hurry because the offer will close soon…this was originally posted at the website Behind Blue Eyes, as noted at the end here, but the deals for digital downloads no longer apply. Still, go to NoiseTrade and it’s all free]
 
Jimi Hendrix (figure@Strobist #2)
Jimi Hendrix (figure@Strobist #2) (Photo credit: Jen Son)

It has to be admitted upfront that I was in an altered state of mind when I first came up with the idea for Beyond the Will of God. It was 1975. I was 17 and had just discovered the raw power of crazed electric guitar (Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Hot Tuna, and Jefferson Airplane to be precise—all night long). Until that weird autumn evening I had no idea how far the mind could go into the soul…and all just through letting loud guitar music take you over.

The next morning I was listening to Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland. The song “1983…(a Merman I Should Turn to Be)” came on. The best way to describe what Continue reading →

The Body Era: Blog Entry at Cabin Goddess

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Image

Check out the creative piece I did to promote Beyond the Will of God at CabinGoddess.com.

http://cabingoddess.com/2012/09/the-body-era-david-biddle-visits-for-fourth-wall-friday/

Kriss Morton is awesome.

If you’re up for something different, Beyond the Will of God is it. 

Awesome Indies Reviews My Novel BEYOND THE WILL OF GOD

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My little novel about really big issues has been reviewed by Awesome Indies. I’m pleased to announce it made the cut to be posted at their site. Check out the review…

http://awesomeindies.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/review-beyond-the-will-of-god-by-david-biddle-speculative-fictionmystery/