I was born on Hope Street in Los Angeles and grew up in the all-white town of Burbank. My parents were politically conservative and taught me to be self-reliant, hard working and responsible for myself. My father, Frank Lloyd Snow, was a professional musician with Kay Kyser and his Kollege of Musical Knowledge. He played stand up bass and tuba. He had a big barrel chest from playing the tuba and it was filled with his hot air! My dad loved to argue, especially with a willing daughter – ME! Dad traveled all over the country and he would always bring me back stacks of 78 records, which I played constantly, learning all the songs and styles of the day. I could imitate anyone. I sang wherever and whenever I could. My brother, Bill, once remarked, being tired of hearing me warble, that what he liked about a radio was that you could turn it off.

My mother, Ardath Shaw Snow, was a secretary for a surgeon. She got home at 6 pm every night, made dinner, was exhausted as she found her rocker and watched television or read or entertained herself for a few hours after we three children went to bed. She was reserved and a martyr but honest and reliable. She was intelligent and I always felt that she could have done so much more with her life. I vowed to never have a routine life. I have been successful!

My sister, Sue, was nearly four years older than I and I always looked up to her. She was loving, outgoing, fun to be with and had lots of friends. Throughout her life, she was supportive of me, the black sheep of the family, and non-judgmental. She helped me out and was there for me when my father had enough of my sassy mouth. He didn't like me to stand up to him, but I was an early feminist and could be just as “right” as he could be. Sue continued to be a good friend to me and in our adult years, we took several trips together. The first was in 1988 when a choir that I sang with in Arcata traveled to Holland, France and Germany to perform. She was our bag lady and protector of material possessions. In 1993, we took our second trip together with her church choir to Israel and Egypt. We spent days wandering the streets, churches and religious sites of Jerusalem, baptized each other in the Jordan River, walked the long trail down from Masada, bathed in the Dead Sea, prayed at the Western or Wailing Wall, marveled at the beautiful men in Cairo, motor-boated across the Nile and took a night train from the Pyramids to Luxor. What an experience and blessing. The following December, she collapsed from a heart attack and never graced this world again except once when I saw her spirit at the funeral of a friend. She was smiling and glowing.

I knew that one day my younger brother, Bill, would grow taller and bigger than me and I'd have to stop teasing him. He was/is very ticklish and I took advantage of that. We loved to wrestle and his good nature never stayed angry with me for long. He and mom didn't like to argue so they left that to the rest of us. We used to have fun with mom by all singing a song in different, discordant keys until she cried “uncle.” Bill was a natural athlete but he wasn't competitive like Sue and me. He didn't like to be pushed. He always had a joke and a smile and he still does today. He is sincere, caring and a bit gullible. He trusts that people will be as honest as he is. He is a good husband, father, friend and brother. Everyone likes good ole Bill!

Jeff Blackburn and I met at a club called The Pawn when I was a student at San Jose State University in 1963. Besides studying, I was a local folksinger and he was an emerging singer/songwriter and part owner of the club. Jeff and I hung out and became friends. A while later, he left the area, traveling across the country, ramblin' and enjoying life as a free spirit. I dropped out of college in 1964, partly influenced by my folky and peacenik friends, Paul Kantner, David Freiberg and others, and partly because I was ready to pursue my singing career, which I had been preparing for since I was a young girl. I moved to San Francisco, lived in a bed-sit, met some jazz musicians, explored the city, and eventually moved to Venice beach in Southern California with Paul, Ginger and Steve Schuster. We spent time with David Crosby and the Byrds, made lots of music and did what all young hip people did at the time. Eventually, we moved back to San Francisco, rented a flat with a few other musicians, and talked, ate and breathed music. Jeff reappeared in SF and we began playing and singing together his latest songs. Harmony has always been my musical strength and his music gave me plenty of space to bend the notes and resolve the intervals.

I moved to Berkeley to be nearer to Jeff so that we could practice more regularly. We fell in love and then formed a band, sang at some of the local clubs, went through a series of musicians, including Chicken Hirsch who eventually was the drummer for Country Joe and the Fish. All of us would-be-famous folk/rock groups knew each other, sang at the Human Be-ins in Golden Gate Park, partied and enjoyed the good life.

 

Jeff and I moved to Marin County where we met Frank Werber, manager of the Kingston Trio. He liked our sound and we signed a contract in 1966 as Blackburn & Snow. We sang at the hungry i, a famous, intimate nightclub in SF and other small clubs around the city and the Bay Area. We recorded nearly 20 songs in the Trident studios and released two 45 singles, neither of which were well promoted nor heard. We eventually left Trident Productions and continued to play locally, but when we parted as a couple, the band disintegrated. After over three years, B & S were no more. In 1999, Ace Records released all the songs from those 1966/67 recording sessions on a CD called “Something Good for Your Head,” which was the original title for our album. I hadn't seen nor heard from Jeff in over 30 years but through a series of fateful connections, we met again and have been in regular contact ever since.

I was living in Marin County, in a small house in the canyon of Larkspur when I saw an advertisement in the newspaper that Dan Hicks was looking for two girl singers for his band, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. I could see myself as a Lickette, so my friend, Christina, and I auditioned. He liked what he heard and we began rehearsals for his first record. Within three months we were recording in Los Angeles, meeting other groups and performers who were recording there, too, like the Animals and folk music legend, Burl Ives. I loved recording, the intensity of it, and it was good to be back in the studio. The LP came out in 1968 and had some success on the West Coast. We began performing at the Fillmore Auditorium, Avalon and other clubs around the Bay Area.

We took this picture, which later was redone by Dan and his new girls for the cover of “Where's the Money,” as a publicity photo but it was never used. That's Jimmy the Talkin' Dummy on the floor. He was always smiling. After two years with the band, going through different life changes, different diets (I was a vegetarian, then Macrobiotic, then fruitarian), and spiritual experiences, I had an inner receiving that showed me it was time to move on from the music business. So I told Dan I needed to leave and after our engagement in Los Angeles at the popular Troubadour, I left to totally change my life.

In 1965, I joined the spiritual association of Subud. Subud is a way of receiving inner understanding and guidance, a kind of reawakening of the soul from God or Divine Spirit. Through surrendering one's desires, thoughts and emotions, a vibration or energy arises from within that moves the inner feeling. It is an allowing rather than a doing. Through the practice of Subud, each person evolves in accordance with his or her own nature, in harmony with their own deep inner being.

This photo was taken in 1970 at a Subud community in Virginia where I lived for a short time. Many of my friends today lived at “Skymont” and we have remained close, seeing each other at National and International gatherings all over the world.

After living for 6 months at the Subud community near Jakarta, the capitol of Indonesia on the island of Java, I moved to London and worked as a preschool teacher for a Subud friend whose large flat I lived in with her and several other women. She was able to sponsor me and get me a work permit. We had an active Subud group and this photo is of me as the Enchantress in the Hans Christian Anderson play, The Snow Queen. A Subud woman adapted it and we performed it for our friends.

I lived in north London for 3 years near Highgate and the Hampstead Heath, a large parkland with swimming holes, a multitude of native and non-native trees, walking paths and surrealistic views of the city. Eventually I moved south of London to the beautiful small town of Tunbridge Wells to run a Subud nursery school. This was one of the intense times of my life where I worked with a team of friends to help guide the lives of these lovely young people.

Living those 5 years in England helped me temper my extrovert personality, learn to be more sensitive toward others and to listen before I leap.

Both my sons were born in Perthshire, Scotland. We lived in a 5 bedroom home called Shepherd's Cottage. Balquhidder is a village of 100 people in central Scotland, a sheep farming community and the local farmer built our house originally for his shepherd. My husband was a potter and we ran our business from our home.

The boys were very free to roam the countryside and play in the trees, in the snow during the cold winter and create their own world. We had large gardens, which provided us with food for most of the year.

In 1983, we moved to Arcata, CA. Denver graduated from Arcata High School. He played soccer and because of his easy-going manner, he has always had a lot of friends. He went to DeVry Institute of Technology (now called DeVry University), studied Computer Science and now works in southern California for an engineering firm as an IT Network Administrator. Denver is very creative and a problem-solver.

Loren was a good musician and athlete but gave up his piano for the soccer ball. He lived in The Hague, Netherlands at 16 to play soccer on a club team and returned to the US a year later, but moved to Santa Rosa, CA to pursue his soccer ambitions. He attended Chico State University and played soccer on the college team, but soon discovered his real passion for politics. He graduated in 2002 with a BA in Psychology and minor in Political Science. Loren works in Washington DC and works for a political polling and campaigning firm called Greenberg Research.

In 1987, I returned to college to complete my degree in Philosophy. I attended Humboldt State University and graduated in 1990. I began to volunteer at the campus public radio station, KHSU, the year before that because I knew the general manager, Parker, and he always needed more assistance. I worked in the office and music department a few days a week, making myself useful. Even though I was techno phobic, I took a radio production class to overcome my obstacles. It worked! I loved producing tapes, splicing and recording. I began to engineer a few programs at the station and then a music slot became available so a friend and I wrote a proposal for us to be alternate hosts of a show we called "Ethnic Excursions." Through several incarnations, I have been hosting the show for over 12 years. It is fantastic to learn about the music and cultures of this diverse planet. I feel privileged to have this opportunity to express myself through the music that I play and to bring some joy and peace to the listeners.

I love to travel and have visited many countries; most recently I went to Brazil. Subud holds a “World Congress” every four years in a different country. In 2001 this event was held in Bali. I saw a lot of cultural events in Bali including the Wayang Kulit or shadow puppet theatre, the Wayang Orang, the Kecak or Monkey Dance, the Fire Dance on hot coals and other performances. I took a picture of some of the dancers one night and they took a picture of me with them. Is that a halo over my head??

In October 2002, I threw my family, my friends and myself a big decade birthday party at the Portuguese Hall in Arcata. Over 200 people attended. We had decorated the hall for days with thousands of small, white Christmas lights; a disco-mirrored rotating ball; candles; materials from distant lands; flowers and plants; photographs, and all things glittering. We danced to Chubritza, the local, international folk band. The Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir and Please Help Tony performed, and the Horn Band took us swing dancing into the night. There were toasts and roasts, a cake for me and one to celebrate the birthdays of my other Libran friends. My brother, my nieces, Stacey and Lisa and their families, my brother-in-law, Bob and many friends from out of the area, like long time friend, Luzita, flew or drove for hours to honor me at the party.

The weekend after the riots in Los Angeles protesting the verdict in the Rodney King trial, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir sang at Humboldt State University and the following morning the community held a Prayer Breakfast with OIGC as the honored guests. There were speakers, much music, good food and fellowship. The event culminated with the joining of hands around the room and singing "We Shall Overcome." It was an emotional time and we were all moved by the experience.

Afterward, a group of us approached the organizers of the event and suggested that we get together to form a choir that would celebrate diversity and multiculturalism within our community. That was 1992 and the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir, whose mission is to spread joy, love, harmony and unity in Spirit through black gospel music, is celebrating 12 years of making holy music. As a founding member of the choir, I have experienced the true love of a close family. We perform at festivals, churches, benefits, fairs and memorial services. It is a blessing to bring peace and joy through music

Since 1997 I have worked for the Mainstream Media Project. It is a nonprofit, public education and strategic communications organization that uses the mainstream broadcast media to raise public awareness about new approaches to longstanding societal problems and introduce new voices and innovative approaches to the most urgent challenges facing us as a nation and species. I send out media alerts to radio stations, both commercial and public, about breaking news events - environmental, security, economic and social issues - booking radio interviews with experts, policy analysts, leading authorities on these topics. We also produce a weekly radio program called “A World of Possibilities” which is syndicated throughout the country. It is a fantastic job and compliments my interest in radio and political action. We all work as a cohesive team, doing our part to affect social change in the United States. To find out more, visit our website: www.mainstream-media.net

Christmas is a big holiday in the life of the Collingwood clan. I always decorate the outside of my house, climbing a 20-foot ladder to the top of the house to put up the lights. Inside are the many Santa Clauses and other ornaments that I have collected over the years. It is a time for celebrating with family and long time friends, feeling grateful for all we have been given in our lives and reflecting on the days ahead.

Each New Year brings us the opportunity to rededicate our lives to the Joy of Life and Peace on Earth!