Common Ground
The Bay Area’s Magazine for Conscious Community
The Bay Area’s Magazine for Conscious Community
by Lloyd Barde
With a storied Bay Area career dating back to the feminist folk trio Rebecca Riots, Eve Decker has emerged with a new CD that offers a broad scope, from neopolitical to Buddhist spokeswoman, with a flair for songs that bring forth “dharma folk”. At her recent Freight and Salvage CD release party, she had a fabulous band (which appears on the CD), a joyfully sweet vibe, and each song was an expression of Buddhist teachings on love, death, service, surrender, tending the Earth, aging, and living with joy. From the cover art by the noted Irene Young to production by Julie Wolf (Indigo Girls, Ani DiFranco) and the title song produced by long time admirer and friend Jennifer Berezan, this is a beautiful offering and a treasure to savor. Jennifer writes, “Eve Decker’s music has been a source of living dharma for me. I am inspired, calmed, and reminded of what truly matters when I listen to her wonderful songs.”
Eve sings and writes songs around themes found in Buddhist philosophy within the context of ordinary human experience. This album also involves re-recordings of a number of songs she wrote during her time with Rebecca Riots. “Gardener” is about how our intentions can shape our experience. “Cemetery” reflects using and understanding of impermanence to love more fully. The anthem “Women’s Bodies” moves past toxic conditioning about what makes female bodies more beautiful, instead seeing their beauty as they are. There is also a version of the “Dedication of Merit” (a beautiful prayer wishing all beings well) by Reverend Heng Sure (the abbot of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery) with music by Loreena McKennit. Throughout the songs are great lines and lyrics galore. “The Buddha would dig it!” says the Marin Independent. I promise that you will too.