Hello, dear peoples :-)

This website is just going up, Im excited and thrilled to have you here. It is nice to have ways to connect with you. My friends and I have made a record, that we are pleased with, proud of and eager to share with you. However, as it does not get released till the fall of this year, we have two older songs up for you to listen to now, and a few words to express the joy and gratitude of having willing ears out there in the world, to hear the music we have brought forth. With this blog, I hope to be able to let you know where in the world I find myself today, and what’s been on my mind and in my heart.

I am in New York, which has been my base for a year now. I have just come back from a tour with Iron and Wine. It was my second tour with this wonderful band. I was asked to come and be a member of the touring party for the newest Iron and Wine record Kiss Each Other Clean, along with my dear friend Aida Shahghasemi, who sings and plays with me in my band. The two of us sing backing vocals with Sam and are having so much fun traveling the world on a tour bus in the company of such nice people. Both of us have known and loved the music of Iron and Wine for some time now and it is such an honor to get to sing those songs night after night.

I miss the guys from The Swell Season, and think of them with much affection, as well as a growing sense of gratitude for all the magical times we have shared in the past and all the adventures we may yet know in one another’s company. For now I see everyone doing their own thing, whether that is relaxing at home with their families or accepting offers to collaborate with fellow musicians we hold in high regard, like me with Sam Beam and Glen with Eddie Vedder for instance, and am happy for us all. Rob Bochnik, who plays guitar in The Swell Season will actually be joining me for my solo project and closing the circle of a four-piece band that will in a few month’s time come to present Anar to all you, who care to hear the songs live. I am very happy to have Rob on board along with Aida on a persian drum Daf and vocals, and Tim Iseler, my other half, on bass guitar.

I am enjoying this time off within the comfort of my home, here in Brooklyn, New York. Having a base that feels like a safe and comfortable space to look forward to coming back to and relaxing in once travels are concluded is a very important factor in keeping this troubadour lifestyle enjoyable. Balance is necessary in all things. I do not have long here, only a week, but it is a week of Heaven, truly. I was welcomed by my dear friends who I’m living with that came to pick me up at the airport, and had a beautiful feast of fruits, nuts and chocolates prepared as well as a pot of tea brewing as soon as we arrived at the house. It was late at night and seemed a perfect display of treats to snack on. The room was filled with the fragrance of incense burning and flowers in their glass vase on the table. We sat until late into the night catching up, sharing stories from my life on the road and their life right here, in the time we were apart.

I was telling them, as I will tell you now, how I read a several interesting books while on tour. One of them was about dolphins and whales, called Before We Leave You. I picked it up because I loved its cover and wondered about the title, which seemed to suggest a thing I did not like at all-the end of those wonderful, mystical and very magical beings living in the oceanic world. I do not know how, but I was not aware of how close to extinction they were. I had not heard of the mass suicides of whales who wash themselves up upon the shores or the terrible slaughter of dolphins in Japan for example. I had not taken the reality of our polluting of the oceans seriously enough. Not for the lack of concern, but for the feeling of helplessness I felt upon hearing such things. Helplessness and powerlessness to make a change for the better, to stop practices that cause so much harm to ourselves, all other living beings that share this planet with us, and the planet herself. I have always been a believer that we each hold the power to make the changes that better our lives but when it came to matters of a larger, political or environmental, planetary scope, I felt overwhelmed and unsure how exactly one is to contribute to the overall wellness of the world. In the end I settled for hoping that if each individual lives responsibly, lovingly, with conscious awareness of all the he creates for himself and thereby for all, it will add up to making a difference. Reading this book, however, I realized that I need to do more. I can’t close my eyes to not see the things I do not like or become indifferent. I want to make the choice to be more active in affecting the change I want to see happening.

I’ve been thinking of all the ways I can live more consciously. First of all I really want to cut down on the amount of waste I create, the stuff I accumulate but do not truly need. They are simple things, but bringing my own cup to a coffee shop if I want a take-away tea, bringing my own bag to grocery shopping, not ordering books online if I can order them in book stores and therefore spare the world the waste of packaging, or shopping for the things I do need, in second hand stores will add up to something, I’m sure.

Yesterday, when I briefly mentioned this book and all the questions it was raising in my head, someone recommended watching The Cove, a documentary that I watched today, and another person suggested going vegan. In the past I’ve gone through periods of time being a vegetarian, but a vegan lifestyle seemed a little extreme for what I was accustomed to. However, I have to say that lately that is indeed what I feel myself being steered towards. Not because I do not like milk, eggs or meat every now and then, but because the cruelty human kind displays and practices towards other living beings feels more painful now than ever to witness and be part of. I think people are such beautiful beings, truly. The capacity of our hearts to love is boundless, and yet so much of our behavior is so obviously loveless. Giving thanks to the animal or plant that gives its life to nourish and sustain us is one thing, but killing more than we need and with cruelty and much pain is another. Of course most of us don’t actually kill anything or anyone. We are not directly to blame. But we are not innocent either. I would not like to advertise feeling guilt but rather to be aware of not disrupting the perfect balance by living in excess. And I am only preaching to myself here. It is only the changes I wish to make for myself I speak of. I have become excited about the ways I feel I can adjust my lifestyle in ways that gives me a sense of taking control of the things that matter to me. It makes me feel empowered, in the best sense possible. 

I would have you know that no matter what, I feel that life is too beautiful not to celebrate it. In the same way that I would like to be a responsible human being, I long to reserve the right to be childlike and playful too. There is so much beauty in the world. So much opportunity for joy concealed within each passing moment. The birds are chirping outsides. That, and the sound of children laughing in the playground is all I can hear right now, although I am in one of the busiest cities in the world. A little pocket of peace and calm this house is. I am blessed. I am sending you much love from this little sanctuary. :-)

Marketa