Before I begin today’s entry, I quickly wanted to acknowledge the sad passing of Christina Burbano -Jeffrey. I accepted a friend request from her soon after this year’s Cruise to the Edge, but sadly did not a chance to get to know her. I have read through many tributes posted by friends and am so sorry that her life was cut so tragically short. I am keeping a thought for her family and friends, for sure.
With that, on Day 4 of the prog rock camp with Steve Rothery and Dave Foster, and the final day of my intercontinental prog adventure, we started the day by trading off a pad of paper where we wrote our names underneath the song we wanted to play on during the final performance at the end of the day. I went with “Runaway,” with that being my favorite of the three song choices. After we reconvened downstairs for the last time, went over one more song, this one being “Old Man of the Sea,” a track off Steve’s solo album The Ghosts of Pripyat. This was, for me, the most technical song of the three we learned, especially with it being an instrumental. Like the other songs, it involves fragmented chords and a recurring picking pattern in the first part, with a guitar solo played over it. Personally, this section reminds me of the “Vapour Trails in the Sky” segment from the Marillion song “The Leavers,” featured on their album F.E.A.R, which was released two years after The Ghosts of Pripyat.
This was another song where I wasn’t willing to try my hand at doing any lead work, so I stuck to the picking patterns, and then the chord sequence in the second part of the song. I, once again, traded off between doing guitar and bass duties. It was a beautiful experience getting to hear each person add their own touch to these songs as we played through them.
I think the above photo was from when we were playing “Sugar Mice.” Thanks to Geoff for the photo! The audience mainly consisted of the other camp attendees, but a few spouses and WaterBear personnel showed up for support, as well.
The above image is actually a screenshot I took from a video of “Old Man of the Sea,” so sorry if it’s a little blurry.
Being back on a stage after so many years gave me mixed feelings. On one end, I was happy to be doing it, but on another end, it forced me to reconnect with my teen version of myself, a version I’d prefer to forget. But sadly, you can’t run away from yourself. I feel like that may have been at least part of the reason I distanced myself from music. I hated being reminded of those years, so did some things to reinvent my identity. I cut my hair short and stopped going by my middle name, but I also ended up ditching one of the things that added joy to my life. I have regrets that I did that and, admittedly, am still haunted by wonders of how things may have turned out for me had I stuck with it. I know it’s not good to dwell on the past and all, but it’s still something I struggle with. It was nice to set those worries aside and just jam for a bit with new friends, united in our love of music.
Steve and Dave closed out the camp with one more surprise for us: a performance of the old Marillion B-side, “Three Boats Down from the Candy,” with Steve on guitar, Dave on bass, and Jay absolutely owning the Fish-style vocals. It had been x number of decades, I think, since that song was last played in any way, so it was a ton of fun getting to hear it live in some form. Dave and Steve ended the camp a little earlier, at 4:30, to allow time for them to pack up their equipment and drive home. Steve and I shared one last hug and brief chat before I left, promising to see him and the band next March in Port Zelande for my first Marillion Weekend.
Experiences like this truly come once in a lifetime, so I’m glad I took the chance and went well out of my comfort zone to attend this, while also traveling internationally for the first time in 14 years.
The Girl in the Scarf 
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