Jessy Chick (Jessica Chick)

Hmmmm... this one is a toughy... just because I try and give an honest unbiased type article, but I've grown to Love her so much. Perhaps I touch on this as I write. I first met Jess about 2 and 1/2 years ago. My newish friend Joe Carlino said he knew where we could get a marijuana cake thing and it was known to debilitate even the master druggie stoners... even Pacific North Westerners. Shout out to the Seattle, B.C. and Portland friends. So me and Joe went to the place where Jessie worked.  Cakes and shit aren't terribly common given many folks don't have ovens out here in the jungle? Maybe too much space? Maybe too much propane? I dunno so it's not common. Anyhow, I had small expectations of our 50 dollar cake thing. Jessie sauntered out... always pleasant, she has this certain caring nature to her. She is a curvy little woman. I remember a black dress once... the gravity immediately glued my hand to her most voluptuous booty. She gave me a look... like "I liked that but I'll slap you in the face if you do that again." So Joe and I got our cake. It was too expensive per piece for broke ass stoners to afford... cause this tiny little... nothing sized piece of cake would cause hallucinations.  Against Jess' warnings we ate this whole fucking cake over the next 30 hours or so.  We were incapacitated for 4 or 5 days... I can't even remember  ... Joe turned to me at one point and muttered, "Loveless, I don't want to be stoned anymore... fuck Loveless make it stop!". I gave him a blank drooling look.

So we all understand Jess knows her THC brain games and is a good cook. I didn't see much of Jess the first year I was here. I'd see her pass on her bicycle in a hippy kind of passing image. Her skirt would blow in the wind, her full brown locks would swing to catch up with her glance, as she'd give a huge smile before being hailed by some other fan or friend. When I started constructing the recording studio with "Rocking J", I started to hear talk of this amazing talent. Who was this girl? Why hadn't I met her? Well, I already knew her... but apparently too full of myself and my own projects to notice. Soon enough I started to follow the trail. Jess had a blooming rock-star life blossoming in this paradise before I even thought about the studio here. So, I would ask her to come meet with me sometime and record some music. She'd always say something like, "Well, I have a gig that night, and I have to work before that, and I have 2 gigs the next day, then I'm working a double the day after that... but I'll try and cross paths with you when I can." She's a busy girl.

Eventually I meandered into Lazy Mon for open mic night. Jessy played keys and had a star presence on the mic. Her songs are lyrically rich and original. Her voice is smokey and smooth. Her strokes are delicate and intentional. She has been the organizing engine behind the open mic nights at Lazy Mon... along with a few others. As far as a potential famous super star... I don't see how that wouldn't happen. I would rank her as one of the top three or four musical artists in our town. She's only recorded one song in the studio with me so far... and we're missing a duet. Recently she's been pondering a European tour... may be with a Loveless. Shall be seen. These days you can find her working at Lazy Mon, bar-tending or singing songs in one of the many upscale restaurants in Puerto Viejo or Cocles.

Marc Rustigan

So Marc Rustigan. Who is Marc? So the first time I saw Marc was playing guitar in "Rockstar J's" band RAW. He has a certain humbleness in in stage presence, yet a gentle self assurance. As the band started to get the set moving, around the second or third song. I could not take my eyes off the guy wielding the ax beside the front-man. He started to enter a trance like state swaying his head back and forth, eyes pointed at the floor, he would occasionally glance out at us in the bar. Occasionally, a quick grin would flash on his face and back into the trance he would go. As my stay turned from tourist into main stay drop out. I saw more and more of Marc's musical gift. On several occasions I can remember standing on my chair in the crowded bar giving "devil horn salute" and undivided attention to the wizard. He has a style similar to the jazz men I saw play in New Orleans. Although, his technique is tight and precise... it had a certain dirtiness to it. I call that "soul". Like many superstars I've seen throughout my middle aged life I could see right off this man was completely plugged into his guitar. There was only Marc... there was only music. He was his guitar, and his guitar was him. It's beautiful this connection people have with music. These are the artists that change the world.

In time... I got to know more of Marc. Like most of us creative free thinkers, sometimes we suffer with serious drug or alcohol problems. Marc was no exception. His "kryptonite" was a stiff drink... or a gallon or 2 of stiff drinks. I think Guaro is his poison of choice these days. Strong and cheap... but that hangover is a real doozie... even for me. It's sugar cane based. I digress, Marc was in one of the original Puerto Viejo rockstar groups with Eric Haller called "Action Pants". I never personally had the pleasure of hearing them... but I hear Marc was playing a stand up bass with electric out. I've only heard of the legend. Never the sound. Apparently Caribbean climate is strenuous on wood string instruments.  It has, since past on, to where dead instruments call Heaven, I assume. It was a legend in it's own right apparently had an interesting rock-star life in the hands of Marc. The band was gonna re-join about 2 months ago for Rocking J's birthday party. It never vaporized... something about permits? Anyhow... it's a small town with massive world wide foot traffic. So people passing through still tell me stories of some legendary live sets.

So Marc, of course has rock-star taste in women, so his will obviously make him a stronger artist but emotionally tormented at the same time. Graciela his wife is an eccentric, crazy, smart, witty, rock-star doctor. Loves loud music and tormented men. She's a handful for herself... so with Marc trying to rein her in... you can imagine. HOW MUCH I WANNA GET HIM RECORDED! LOL. He's an emotional basket case with that girl. Amen. Marc... nothing but LOVE.   I do how ever feel like this place usually manifests everything you want but it comes with consequences. The girl of his dreams is the girl i n his nightmares too. Pura vida!

On as a Jedi... he has, a Grammy reputation as a sound engineer. He's hopefully gonna be the mastering dude on my first LP. If he doesn't fall through the Vortex before I do. Marc is an amazing guitarist, has written articles for major music magazines, and is genuinely connect rockstar with the likes of Sublime under his belt.  He's truly gifted and sometimes truly tormented. A truly amazing musical genius with a true rock-star sensibility. We'll see if we can manifest an "Action Pants" reunion  someday with a wood stand-up bass.

Rockstar J (not to be confused with "Rocking J") - Eccentric/Painter/Frontman/Musician/Philosopher

I call him "Rockstar J" an older free thinking eccentric artsit. I've called him jackass, drunk, friend, rockstar, devil, and family. Like me, J has a certain way of living by his rules and only his rules. That is, unless he's doing the morning cleaning of Tex Mex(the bar in the center of town, on the edge of the Vortex). He takes his duties here very seriously, although... more than once, I've seen him fall flat on his face in mid step and in mid task. Hey everybody likes a good stiff buzz, I say. Anyhow, I first encountered "Rockstar J" while performing with his band "RAW" at Rocking J's Hammock Hostel. He has a raspy smokey voice. He likes to scream, "Welcome to Hell Mother Fuckers!" several times throughout his gigs.  He's right, of course. Like his day job, I've seen him fall flat on his face more than once... mid sentence, mid song. CLASSIC! Beyond the apparently and acceptable rockstar sized alcoholism. J is a masterful artist and colorful addiction to the music and art scene of the twisted little Caribbean paradise.

Rockstar J lives in a colorful little house in the center of town. It would be hard to miss if the yard were kept at all. Behind the green weeds and vines, grows a vibrantly airbrushed house completely stacked full of art supplies and signature "J" artifacts. Every table is completely cluttered with every color of the rainbow chalks, pastels, pens, pencils, and gem stone. He plays bass and masterfully belts out his versions of Johnny Cash, Rolling Stones, and Doors... when he's in between drunk and sober somewhere. Otherwise he can turn into an ornery ass "mother fucker"... lol.

Like many of us castaways, J has found a way to survive here. It's not always an easy path, but some how, he survives, he smiles, he yells at people, he stumbles, and he makes amazing art pieces. He is a master airbrush artist.  He loves giving weird and quite unusual gifts. Each completely unique in its conception and execution. He once gave me a 3 dimensional dihedral thinga majig... so proud was his explanation how how difficult it was to construct such an unusual shape while keeping all the angles correct. It's hanging in "Rocking J's Hammock Hostel" these days. One night, he was wearing these ABSOLUTELY SIC ASS pair of airbrushed bell bottoms. They had clouds and stars painted all over them.  After talking with me and Carrie Alexander, one night, he walked away wearing these pants and across the rear stated, "KISS MY ASS"! We both immediately bowed down and started exclaiming "Oh shit! Rockstar! Classic!" while giving devil horn salutes. I bought those pants a week later. I call them my Rolling Stone magazine cover pants.

The town is very accepting to folks like me and "J". We can be complete jackass drunks, and the following day... the town treats us with a fresh blank white canvas to start on.  This place and people like "Rockstar J" feed and breed free thinking creativity. Now.. at this moment, 7:00 am at Tex Mex, J putters around with broom in hand and a familiar hacking(we all smoke too  much). It's a good life in this little INTENSE Carribean town... may you all have the privilege of experiencing such a movie like rock n roll people and places like this place. nothing but love J... those are my "cover" pants. amen to you... devil horn salute.

Queen Luana - Painter/Goddess/Free Spirit

When first visiting Puerto Viejo I met this lovely young woman with jewels glued to her face. She wore brightly colored clothing made from scraps of other clothes and vibrant rags. I never saw Luana without a paint brush in her hands unless she was eating and even then sometimes she'd be painting away. Luana was a special kind of character. She had the worst ADD and seemed to always be dreaming with a glazy look in her eyes. The more I got to know her, the more respect I gained for her as an artist and painter. This girl had a unique style of bold graphics, cartoony surrealism, nature inspired and femininity oozed from every piece. Overtime I became familiar with Luana's style. I could spot a piece from a mile away... which is actually pretty easy to do... considering her paintings were mostly large scale murals.
Luana was a special kind of artist, a living canvas. She left a trail of signature "Queen Luana" art work everywhere she walked. It was like a trail of bread crumbs leading to her presence. The fresher the paint, the closer she was. She wore a dress made out of old tin cans and road a bicycle brightly colored in ribbons and trinkets. She always seemed to have some kind of sparkling jewels adorning her body. Often, when speaking with Luana, she'd space out after the third or fourth sentence, if I was lucky. She has this amazing ability to paint seemingly without looking at what she was working on. I grabbed a brush more than once and participated in her murals. It's quite easy to fall into a groove painting along side this young master. Luana is one of the most prolific artists per square meter I've had the pleasure of knowing at this point in my journey. It seemed fairly easy for Luana to make, at least, a meager living being an artist. Everyone with a hotel or a sign in town had to wait, but not too long, as she was super fast at the production of the large scale murals and signs. She also made a living doing face paint on Friday nights or special occasions.
Luana is now in KHO Phangan, Thailand, painting her way across the globe. Everyone that knows her is a fan of her as an artist and a person. She's what I label "The Greatest Artist of All Time"... which represents a person that "IS" art. May you all have the honored privilege of meeting this amazing young woman as she paints her way to a town near you.