Page 32 - Black Velvet Issue 94

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went through a divorce with an 8- end and got out the other side and laughed felt like I’ve observed myself do that to my-
“Iyear relationship with someone that about it and I continued talking about my life, self and I think we all do that a little bit, or a
I was very close with, so it was a very painful sharing with them.” lot, depending on the degree or the person.
time for me going into this record,” says This moment inspired a song on the new When you see the image there’s a contrast
Jonny. “That was coming to an end, and it album entitled ‘Tunnels’. It starts off with in the black hand versus the white body. In a
was for the best, and I think it’s a really good Jonny singing, ‘In the tunnels of life, we hold lot of our lyrics and things that have inspired
thing, but at that time I had to make a deci- our breath,’ while at the very end notes, ‘I feel us, they seem to relate a lot to the ideas that
sion to either use all that negative, emotional the light lifting me.’ we took from Carl Jung, who had the con-
energy and sadness for something, or let it “I thought about how I felt exactly like cept of the shadow and how the shadow is
start eating me from the inside out. So, at that at that time. It was like I was going pretty much always present in your exis-
that time, I made a big through that tence, and is a part of you that basically is
change and made a “That light is sometimes the only tunnel and if I always concealing things and making things
commitment to spend thing you’ve got when you’ve got all could just hang harder to see by covering your eyes with a
an hour or more, five in there and get variety of things, whether it’s desires or illu-
days a week, in the those feelings in your body telling to the other sions or making you think that someone else
gym or do something side, that light is is really the problem when really it’s you, if
physical, whether it you to get out and run away and sometimes the you could really step out of yourself and look
was Jiu Jitsu or obsta- quit,” - Jonny Hawkins only thing at it clearly. This whole record is just a fight
cle course training or you’ve got when to see things clearly, so I think that ties in
the gym. I just had to you’ve got all with that image of the starting situation of
go there and get my emotions vented into those feelings in your body telling you to get the whole process of the record.”
something positive. So that was a big out and run away and quit.”
change that I made recently, and it’s actually The couple tried to save their relation- arl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist
been the biggest change in my mental ship, even going to couples counseling, but Cand psychologist. He was one of the
health, happiness, stability, emotionally… all unfortunately, this didn’t help. first people to define introversion and extra-
those things have been changed dramati- “It actually had the reverse effect, it version. His written word has inspired Noth-
cally ever since I made that commitment to brought a lot of things to the surface that ing More along with philosophers like Alan
myself to do that.” made it clear to both of us that things would Watt, Eckharte Tolle and others. Out of
Jonny’s relationship had been breaking be better parting ways,” says Jonny. “But I everyone, Jonny says that Alan Watts has
down for a while. When we begin relation- kept going individually afterwards, and I probably been the most inspirational in his
ships, everything seems so wonderful, excit- found that those counseling sessions were thinking. “What I like about him though, is
ing and thrilling, but as time goes on, the some of the most enlightening moments that that he’s pushing and sharing ideas in the
excitement fades, and cracks eventually ap- I’ve had in a long time, where I really realized same way that every other leader/philoso-
pear. From pher is doing,
then on, you but he’s very
can either work acutely aware
to cement of how those
those cracks, ideas are not
or watch them him. He doesn’t
grow bigger. identify with
“I was on a them; he just
trip with some plays with them
buddies of in his mind, like
mine up in Col- a child would
orado and I play with a bub-
was talking to ble floating
them with what through the air
I was strug- in front of them.
gling with at And so there’s
the time, which not this identifi-
was before my cation with the
relationship ideas in a way
ended with my where he pulls
ex, but we were himself into
kind of on the thinking that
downward spi- he’s some kind
ral, is what it of savior, he’s
felt like, and I more a person
was having a who just shares
real tough time very openly and
struggling with realizes how
it and I was human he is
opening up to amongst every
them and in the other human.”
middle of dis- We ask if
cussing what Jonny has ever
was going on been puzzled by
in my life, we started going through a tunnel. how many forces were at play underneath anything Alan has said.
It was an old train tunnel that had been the surface in my own personhood and I’ve “Yes,” replies Jonny. “He’s definitely
carved out through the mountain, so it was just been digging deep into that lately. said some things that took me quite a while
a pretty long one and a pretty dark and deep There’s a song called ‘Funny Little Crea- to digest… I think one of the biggest things
tunnel, so we all said, “Hold that thought.” tures’ on the record that really dives into a that puzzled me about what he would say is
So we all held our breaths like people often lot of those realizations from those counsel- oftentimes how counter-intuitive many
do when they’re driving through tunnels and ing sessions.” things in life appear to be, in a sense that he
saw who could hold their breath to the very ‘Funny Little Creatures’ begins with the would say… In general, he puzzled me with
end. I remember thinking, “I don’t know if I lyric, ‘It’s funny how I can give the best ad- a reverse way of thinking about things. Like
can hold my breath any longer.” It was start- vice, but I can’t follow…’ while the ideas how in the West, ‘empty’ is usually a nega-
ing to get so painful and unbearable and within ‘Funny Little Creatures’ also inspired tive word and it has a negative feeling tied to
then I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the artwork of the album. The cover sees two it, so if someone says ‘I feel so empty,’ it usu-
and as we were doing that we came to the hands over someone’s eyes. Jonny says, “I ally means they’re void of important things
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