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About Shawn's 25th Anniversary
Tour to Positano: "The first thing I have to do, in any
mention of our
trip to Positano, is to thank Marco Aonzo, and his
sister Monica, of the Hotel Poseidon, for flying us
there and putting us up in their magnificent hotel. If
anyone who reads this letter, has a chance to go to
this slice of paradise on earth, I recommend you stay
with them. Marco has shown himself to be a true
friend, in all senses of the word. He even managed to
find a promoter to cover the logistics of the concerts
I did while there. No mean feat in Italy, on short
notice.
The concerts themselves were so amazing. On the beach in
Positano, the sound reverberated off the
mountainside, and it seemed the entire world was
filled with music. In Naples, the audience was
absolutely silent throughout the whole show. For
Italians to be that quiet, was a mark of respect for
my work, that was greatly appreciated.
I had the honor of seeing people that I had known for
13 years, and even more amazing was the fact that they
remembered me, as if I had never left. People come and go to
that place, and are forgotten, and it was a lesson in humility
for me.
For 10 of the years I lived there, I lived with a
woman named Carla Pravetone, who had a son, Simone. He was 10
months old when we got together, and I raised him to a young man
of 11. On the day we arrived, a knock came at the door, and I
opened it to see this man standing there. I said, "Can I help
you"? he said, "What? You don't recognize me"? I said, No,
should I"? He said, "It's Simone"!!! You could not have
flattened me any more, if you hit me with a hammer. He turned
out to be a well spoken, intelligent man, with his head on
straight, and I am very proud of him. He said I was the best
Father he ever had.
One of the things that one becomes aware of, if you
visit, is the energy force that exists there. I now
understand why so much music was inspired, and written in that
beauteous place.
I often dreamed of returning to Positano, but my
fathers voice echoed in my head. "Never go back, and
listen for voices that you will never hear again". I
went back, and I heard new voices that pave the way
for the future. " Shawn Phillips
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Arlo's account of being on tour
during the birth of a new nation:
"....And I, I walked over to the, to the bench
there, and there is, Group W's where they put you if you may not be
moral enough to join the army after committing your special crime, and
there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly looking people on the bench
there....sitting on the bench next to me......." Arlo
Guthrie, Alice's Restaurant
read Shawn's experience
on the Group W bench!
"Lebanon is a beautiful country to visit, and
have a vacation in. It's cuisine is delicious, and it's people for the
most part are wonderful, and friendly. It is a Phoenix rising from the
ashes of many years of war, but is in a geographical position that is
highly unstable. Israel, and Jordan to the south, and southeast. Syria
to the north, and Iraq to the east. Because of this, the evidence of
arms bearing soldiers are everywhere, and they run the country.
f you intend to work there, and someone has
obtained a work permit for you, they do not have time to differentiate
between the various fields of entertainment that may be your particular
craft. Whether you are a legitimate musician, actor, author, lecturer,
you will be subjected to many hours of seemingly chaotic immigration
bureaucracy. You will be forced to sign a paper stating you are
immigrating to Lebanon. It doesn't matter that you are going to be there
only a few days, they will treat it as if you are moving there
permanently. They will classify you as an "Artist", and you will be
placed in the same physical space with all the Russian, and Lebanese
pimps, and their girls whom they are trying to get into the country for
purposes of prostitution. Although this is not said, the girls are
called "Dancers", therefore they are classified as "Artists". You are
one of them, and will be treated as such." Shawn
Phillips
Update from Arlo Hennings: "We now
know that many things have changed for the better in Lebanon with the
end of the Syria's military control over the country. Shawn
Phillips has had many wonderful experiences performing for fans in
Lebanon and hopes to
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