Friday, April 27, 2012



       “In Search of Cosmic America” is a project that will be a two-week pilgrimage across the southern United States from Waycross, GA to Joshua Tree, California, in honor of the musician Gram Parsons. The journey will stretch from his hometown to the site of his passing, in search of the influence of his cosmic American style of music along his path; and also in the hometown of his yearly tribute festival, The Gram Parsons Guitar Pull.
       The journey is to include “Uncle” Dave Griffin: a well loved and widely known singer/songwriter from Waycross, GA and also the man behind the creation of The Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival; Sean Clark: the forerunner of the Waycross music scene who is always rallying for support of the local community and the brainchild of this project. Last but not the least (I’d like to think anyway ;) myself, Sherry D. Deal: an avid photographer with big dreams - stricken with wanderlust and a newly inspired interest in adding more than just the still image to my gallery of experiences.
       When Sean first approached me about this project a few months ago it was a 10-year dream in the making for him. I immediately felt this project HAD to happen! What a great thing it could do for Waycross as a community, alone. I have lived in this area for 30 years and was only recently introduced to this amazing group of talented musicians who live and breathe their craft. Their energy and lust for life is contagious. :)
       The trek will be completed in late July, just before the 15th anniversary of The Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival commences on October 12, 2012. What better way to celebrate its success over the years than to showcase and highlight how it came about with a documentary film and a coffee table book of photography dedicated to the man behind it all and all of the amazing talent in his hometown that Gram still inspires to this day. I have faith in the intentions of the idea that shares a story of musical heritage and helps bring light to the current musical talent of a small rural community’s generation.
       Our budget is based on gas, food and maybe a room here and there. We plan to camp and stay with friends along the way as well. If our goal is reached, the journey will begin July 4, 2012. Dave and Sean will be playing gigs along the way, writing music, and interviewing some of Gram's band mates, friends and fans across the country. As we stretch through great cities such as New Orleans, Lafayette, Houston, Joshua Tree, L.A., Las Vegas, Memphis, and Tupelo, our journey will wind down through Atlanta and back home to Waycross.
       In our film, you will meet many of Georgia’s local bands connected with the Waycross music scene family such as Jack Cadillac, The Woodgrains, The Bearfoot Hookers, The Traveling Riverside Band, The Newfanglers, Uncle Dave and the Younguns, John Carter, Laney Strickland, Bubba Strickland, Honey Blue, Ashton Herrin, Dirty Uncle Bob, Mojo Bone, and Ian Dunlop, and also include performers of GPGP including Jim Lauderdale and Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys.
       Whether you are also an artist/musician/photographer/traveler or just a fan of music we want you to be a part of the experience! We want to invite anyone interested in the project to contact us or come out to meet with us on our trip or at this years festival in south Georgia to hear the music! 
      We will be keeping up with our followers by uploading some of our photos and clips from the road through our facebook community page https://www.facebook.com/InSearchOfCosmicAmerica and our blog at http://insearchofcosmicamerica.blogspot.com/.
       Every donation warrants a reward for your kind gesture of faith! The more you give, the more you get! We want to express our appreciation in advance for all of the love and support extended to us to make this dream, this project, a reality.

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