THE TRUE STORY OF THE MOONDOG
THE MOONDOG: LIBERTARIAN BOOT
TODAY I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MOONDOG, A SHORT-STEMMED BOOT THAT SHARES A VERY FAMILIAR DESIGN WITH OUR FABULOUS GIGI. ITS 7 CM HEEL AND THE MATERIALS USED IN ITS MANUFACTURE ARE STRONG SIGNALS THAT YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE IT.
APART FROM THAT, MOONDOG IS ALSO THE STAGE NAME OF LOUIS THOMAS HARDIN, WHOSE PATH I CROSSED A FEW DECADES AGO WHEN MY FRIEND ILONA GOEBEL ASKED ME TO LET HIM STAY AT MY HOUSE WHILE HE STUDIED THE GREAT EUROPEAN MELODISTS, IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT TUNE.
WHEN I SAW HIM ARRIVED AT THE GARE DE L'EST, I WAS IMPRESSED BY HIS STATURE.
HE WAS A GOOD TWO METRES TALL, AS WAS HIS ATTIRE, FOR HE WORE A HELMET WITH TWO HORNS ON HIS HEAD, AND HIS SHOULDERS WERE COVERED BY A LARGE LEATHER CAPE THAT COVERED HIM FROM HEAD TO TOE. I WAS JUST EIGHTEEN AND HAD JUST GIVEN BIRTH TO MY SON. I LIVED IN A STUDIO BARELY BIGGER THAN A RENAULT ESPACE CAR.
But since my friend insisted, I managed to make all the room he needed to feel at home in my little room with his giant xylophone, from which he was never far away. Being blind and unfamiliar with the city, he requisitioned me to guide him to meet other musicians, so they could talk about their shared passion for sound research.
FORTUNATELY AT THE TIME I WAS WORKING PART-TIME IN INSURANCE FOR AN IRASCIBLE BOSS WHO SPENT HIS TIME YELLING AT ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HIS INSTRUCTIONS. AND THE COMPANY OF MOONDOG COUPLED WITH MY NEWBORN BABY'S FIRST MOMENTS OF LIFE DIDN'T HELP MY UNDERSTANDING OF ANYTHING.
WHEN MY BABY WOKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, MY GUEST WOULD TAKE OUT HIS HARMONICA, ACCOMPANY HIM AND RECORD THE WHOLE THING ON TAPE TO CREATE A SOUND BANK FOR FUTURE RECORDINGS, HE WOULD TELL ME.
ADDED TO THIS WAS HIS ALMOST DAILY CONSUMPTION OF AYAHUASCA, A DRINK MADE FROM THE WOOL OF TROPICAL TREES, WHICH ENABLED HIM TO CONNECT WITH HIS TUTELARY DOUBLE, WHO WATCHED OVER HIM FROM A PARALLEL DIMENSION.
AS I WAS NOT FAINT-HEARTED, AS SOON AS MY SON WAS LOOKED AFTER BY MY PARENTS, I WOULD RUSH TO TASTE ONE OF HIS PREPARATIONS, THE LAST OF WHICH ALMOST KEPT ME FOREVER STUCK IN A WORLD WHERE I WAS A BLUE-EYED SEA LION PRACTICING NUCLEAR PHYSICS.
Finally, after almost a year at home, he returned to Germany, borrowing my son from me while he taught him the rudiments of music theory and self-awareness. As he wasn't yet at school, I agreed, knowing that my friend Ilona would make sure nothing untoward happened to him.
THAT'S WHY, A FEW YEARS LATER, I WANTED ONE OF MY CREATIONS TO BEAR THE NAME OF THIS MUSICIAN, RECOGNIZED BY ALL, SAMPLED BY ALL AND STUDIED IN THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES.
