Cremation Piece (On Neal's Ashes)

Neal Leon Cassady February 8, 1926 – February 4, 1968

This is the anniversary of the death of Neal Cassady, secret hero of Howl- “cocksman and Adonis of Denver”- metaphysician of railroad beatitude, chaperone and bus driver of infant Bay Area counterculture; having seen his last sunflower and whose pollen sweetened sunset and sunrise; who didn’t need to write wrongs and was minted in profile upon mythonoir coin flip frozen in spacetime from hand of galactic Edward G Robinson, original gangster; found dead on this day on the outskirts San Miguel Allende on the tracks where he’d gone wanderin’ after wedding party under the care of phenobarbital and god, like a piece of magic coal fallen from the slow-train-comin’ of pure form. Oh, Neal. You are loved in heaven and on earth. There is no hell except the closed heart! Your destiny manifest in every moment a kid looks down the road and says- “Freedom!”

This is a piece I and No Land created for Allen Ginsberg's The Fall of America Volume II compilation released by the Ginsberg Estate . I composed the music to be an audio cremation ceremony and No Land wove words from Allen’s book into her own laurel-crown poem with sacred whisper around Allen reading his poem to Neal. We were honored to honor our elders.