Music, Sex and Poetry

Chasing the Muse in Two Bunch Palms


I’m here in Two Bunch Palms writing some new songs. Two Bunch Palms is in the desert, two hours out of Los Angeles. It was once a sacred Indian healing ground; it has a hot mineral spring. It is a wonderland covered with lemon groves and lilac trees. It’s a sensual and emotional land and it has been the special sanctuary for the world’s artistic community since the 1930’s. In the Golden Age of Hollywood, stars would often hide away here for their secret liaisons. In 1983, the Rolling Stones rented the whole property for two weeks. Alison Morrissette is said to have been out here writing. Neil Young has stayed and Ozzie Osborn has been a regular guest. It is a retreat for the soul.
It has a truly mystical vibe, enough to inspire the soul of a poet. You can literally feel the old Indian spirits on the breeze as you melt away into the healing waters. It has been a magnificent experience to write here. There is a community of extraordinary healing artists who work on all aspects of body, mind and spirit.
I am fascinated by the energy here. The native Indian healers who work here say this is Shamanistic land. The Shaman in the old tribes were the guides and visionaries of the spirit world, and I have certainly found writing here to be very easy, so I am inclined to agree.
I love to be in places full of history and vibe; I find it stirs my creative soul and gives me a sense of a moment in time -- the passing of the baton from one generation of artists to another. Records, of course, are written in the unseen world; as Frederick Nitchze said, “You who has the will to create, go far from the marketplace where the air is clear.” I find remote places where my mind can unwind and go back to the collective consciousness and become one with God, or Great Spirit as the Indian people would say; these are the places I like to write in. I have been doing a lot of energy work with a woman from the Cherokee tribe and she says that the tribes are very concerned with the state of Mother Earth. She has told me that the Cuji Indians who are at the heart of the world feel we are out of touch with the collective heartbeat that should beat in sync with the heartbeat of Mother Earth.
And so, inspired by this idea, my working title for this set of songs is “Heartbeat of the World.” I hope to shed some compassionate light on Mother Earth and I have written a song for Bono called “Heart of the World” taking about hunger issues that we need to embrace as a community. Two Bunch has been a welcome break from the pace of life in Los Angeles, and it has been a great experience to be a part of this healing arts community and think about bigger things, less about my own little problems and more about the big picture. I have spent many hours wandering around the Two Bunch Palms desert, went on a vision quest for three days after doing “Ceremony” with a Indian medicine woman, and most of my album was written during the three-day vision quest in one long stream of consciousness.
It came to me like a flash – a really extraordinary experience. I can only put it down to the magic out here because, of course, the desert has always been a very spiritual place to retreat. I have felt strongly the feel of the Great Spirit here. The native Indians say that “Ceremony” thins the veil between heaven and earth, and it has been a very mystical experience for me to be here and feel the magic of the earth, the people and the creator. I wold recommend to anyone to who has lost touch with themselves a spell in a spiritual retreat.
All my thanks to the people of Two Bunch Palms who are supporting me through the birthing process of my new songs. A special thanks to John King, new owner of Two Bunch Palms Resort & Spa.
Love,
Zoe
P.S. To my band back in town, I hope you’re keeping your chops up!