This memorial day, I want to take a moment to think about the sacrifices made by ALL of our veterans and their families.

"The Great Goodnight", (all 34+ minutes of it) is a tribute to the loss of my brother Jack, killed in a battle action May 20, 1966 in Vietnam.
Now, as I think again about ALL veterans - and their continued willingness to do what needs to be done, I am even more proud of him. Please, do something to let a veteran know what they mean to you. All those incredibly selfless soldiers should never be forgotten as we enjoy the benefits of freedom. - Trent Gardner

The Great Goodnight

I was only four
I don't remember you
I have seen your pictures my whole life

Brother... in this great goodnight.
A black frame still protects those two
Letters from the President
They start out: On this day in May 1966
For wounds received in action
Still hanging here after all of this time
Right next to your Purple Heart
In this great goodnight.

I do have this one hazy memory
I think you had me up on your shoulders
Playing on top of the world for a moment
That couldn't last (it never does)
I love this black and white of you
Playing the harmonica like a giant at our old house
Sitting on that green sofa
You were only 19 but to this kid
You were probably more like 43.

I read an old clipping from the paper
It said they prayed for you
At the church
Now I know everyone
In the photograph
Long before the memorial rose
Looking so much different than today
I haven't touched that stone of names
But I have a tracing of yours

On this day in May 1966
For wounds received in action
Still hanging here after all of this time
Right next to your Purple Heart
In this great goodnight

But for some unknown reason
We never discussed it much growing up
I pieced together the
Whole story out of
That old trunk left in the attic

You'd been gone only 6 weeks
When the Army brass came
To the door knocking
Breaking the news -breaking our hearts
They broke the new to mom
She took it worse than anyone
She really believed- 'he didn't have to go
The draft missed him by a mile'
You could have walked away
But instead you had your final day in Vietnam

When they broke the new to mom
All I can say... she took it worse than anyone
She really believed he would make it back home
'He didn't have to go to Vietnam'

Here is what they said:
The Claymore went off and you went down
And you would have been OK
You would have been all right
But they could not get to you
The VC were everywhere
So the orders came....

We can't pull Jack out
For him it's getting late
But a hundred men
Won't see tomorrow
If we don't quietly wait

'We can't pull Jack out'...

You knew exactly
What was happening
-why nobody came
You were a good soldier,
Keeping still
Holding out as long as you did

On this day in May 1966...

Within an hour you relaxed
Somehow everything seemed ok
Cause in your soul you knew
Your time in Nam had passed away

...My brother.

With your shirt wet with blood
And your forehead cool
You thanked the Lord
For this Great Goodnight
In this moment of acceptance
This Great Goodnight
Brought you a peace
You'd never known
In this Great Goodnight
The war raging on
In this Great Goodnight
.....My brother....

But brother let me tell you
It's what I know
So maybe one day
We can fill in the blanks

Until we meet again - brother
I'll choose this memory
We'll keep remembering
What you did
In that great goodnight

You couldn't hear the medic
Yelling in your ear
While you dreamed of this
Kid back at home
Saying, "Pick me up,
So we can play."
Brother let me tell you -
I remember
And I think you made it
In that Great Goodnight
In fact, it's the only thing
I remember
From that Great Goodnight

Well brother let me tell you...
It's what I know.
Maybe one day we will
Stand together
Until we meet again
I'll choose this memory
And thank you guys
For what you did
And what you tried to do
In this Great Goodnight

On this day in May
For wounds received in action
...and now I see, my brother

This is for you.

And someday you will see that this song
Was for you, my brother.

Now that Dad has joined you -
I'm sure that he would agree
Got a son on my shoulder
And lots of work to do, brother.
...like was done with me.

Well, since we're in the political season...Here is a song I am working on. Fyi, this is only an excerpt, the track will cut off abruptly. Why? That's as far as I've written! Anyway, I'll revisit this tune after I finish producing other Magellan material in the pipeline.

Run To The Center
He is a chameleon -camouflaged
in red white and blue
Beating steady rhythms on a war drum
All his riffs are see-through

Beltway smooth -double blind mastermind
ya, and he's winning
But winds rip at his mask-
and he chokes hard on the political flask
as human nature reigns...

All he needs now
is your money in spades
watch him run hard to the center
Glamorized - franchised
Savvy and centralized
Hey -I think we've got us a winner

He's in way too deep
just a bottomless pit
Intoxicated - tasting the power
Media - puppet institutions
bury his bones in November
(to be continued)
Trent Gardner
2012 Soul Of The Sasquatch Music, BMI

During my recent collaboration with Robert Lamm (iconic group Chicago) I would create "Magellan-style" arrangements which included me singing, playing keys, trombone,etc. first. This process involved me working independently - then sending my results to Robert for further discussion/editing/etc. I learned much from him that I will use to make future Magellan albums even better. For example, he might write back - "beat 3 - g7 #9". Thats it. I would do it. Sometimes I would seem to know telepathically what he would say on a chord substitution. Other times I was far out in prog rock land.

As I worked thru the composition process, I kept thinking about all the other bits from "A Hit By Varese" (Chicago V) to the Robert Lamm standards we all know from Beginnings, Saturday In The Park, 25 Or 6 To 4,Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, etc His history and compositional success is mind boggling.

Anyway, in a very rare piece of footage, here is a glimpse into the process Robert & I used on my two contributions (and many more in the pipeline) to his most recent solo work. Thank you, Robert! Your faith in the process made all the difference!

Robert Lamm's track record of writing hits -and his incredible understanding of "what people like" (not quite a Magellan trait -ha ha) made the collaboration electric.

Please forgive the low res audio and video. This was captured on a cell phone. I am playing my demo back thru the monitors and then doing the key section live. There were several more instrumental passages we whittled out to bring the final cut on his album to under 10 minutes. What do you expect from a prog guy! Robert showed me a few tricks to the arrangement process, so Magellan fans -I just became a little more dangerous. More to follow....This video is dedicated to my older brother Jack, KIA in vietnam May 20, 1966 God bless our veterans.

Trent

I took a screen shot -as it has to compete with mastercard ads, etc -but at least it is being seen. Downloads suddenly spiked this morning! What? ya.

I was recently thinking about the 3rd verse of the Kerry Livgren timeless classic, "Dust In The Wind" ;

"Now, don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky   It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy"

I can't explain it, but everything I have always loved about music, was suddenly reinvigorated. There is something so spiritual and correct in that lyrical expression, it is pointless to use any additional words but "Thank You Kerry!" I am blown away by the focus of that song. Its that simple.  Before I knew it, I had an arrangement and single done.

My good friend Rob Lopez does a bang up job on the vocal too!

And now to switch gears... an "Inert Momentum" update! The album is finally written (after several rewrites) -but unfortunately, not yet recorded! I have received much support in various forms from many kind people .These efforts have made all the difference in laying the initial groundwork for the album. As life unfolds in its dynamic fashion, so will adjustments related to my music endeavors.

Why the delay? I am in the midst of PRIVATE projects that consume all of my available time.  In a way, this has always been the case for Magellan. Over the years, failures and obstacles both in the performance and production of the music, as well as how it was promoted, have always kept the musical ideas in my head from being fully realized.

I decided I would simply put a stop to goals always being "just out of reach". However, this does NOT mean there will be no new Magellan music coming! Quite the contrary. I have simply decided to enjoy writing music to my satisfaction FIRST, now being an independent musician and not having to meet record label deadlines.

Part of my new "relaxed experimentation process" is working on lyrics.. You will find "We Wait", "What Happens Now?", and "Ancient Waves" in the "Ideas In Progress" section of this website. These are Magellan lyrics I will be writing music for when I "feel the spirit" to do so, perhaps adding to the "Inert Momentum collection".

Actually, I have written about 2 hours of music over the last year alone, so there is a lot to draw from. I also recently located a very rough instrumental demo I will post in the same website section. I will post audio snippets of new things as I go and will most likely release individual tracks for a while. I have found this helps me stay motivated.

I hope all Magellanheads accept my apologies for seemingly dropping off the map since 2007. In reality, I've never worked harder in music, it simply hasn't been on Magellan, primarily. Make no mistake though, every experience I have had will make
Chapter 2 even better. Not everything will be prog, but few know that Magellan was NEVER intended to be a "prog only" venture. I was simply trapped in a contrived situation with labels who could see nothing beyond that world. I still love it, but balance and growth is essential for me to stay alive as a musician. One example of this is my recent collaboration with Robert Lamm from the legendary band -Chicago for his solo album, "Living Proof". I guess with my past as a trombone player, and as a lover of anything with horns, that part of me ain't gonna die easy!

Lastly, this time -I promise to keep the Magellan site alive - and to write music for the remainder of my time on earth. That's all anyone can do, right? I will post anything that sounds decent. I will sell some things and others I will give away for free.

Please let everyone you can know about this new (and permanent) home for Magellan. I will do my best to offer something worthwhile. If I can't, I won't add to the endless pile of music out there as everybody (and their uncle) has an album now - thanks to technology.

I guess its a narcissists world and to tell you the truth, its a little embarrassing to release music in this over crowded environment, but I feel to driven to do "something". I'm still a long way off from my own Magnum Opus. We all learn at our own pace...ha ha

I'll just fall back to Kerry's lyric as a fail safe. Magellan, just like everything else, will end up as dust in the wind -but not yet, dammit!

Musically (I hope)

Trent Gardner
Magellan