Reflections on a visit to the Flea Circus For years, Pete Siers has wanted to follow in the footsteps of master percussionists J.C. Heard and Roy Brooks by collaborating one-on-one with Mr. B. Flea Circus is their stroll through the endlessly rewarding gardens of our traditional culture. Everything that grows here is nourished and sustained by the honesty born of lessons learned from life in the real world. 'Little Brother' is the kind of music that grows directly from personal experience; in this case, B's longtime friendship with Eurreal Wilford Little Brother Montgomery. The affection they shared comes through without one iota of affectation. "Brother was not a showoff" says B. "He was the antidote to showing off". Montgomery made it clear to B that the heart and soul of 'Vicksburg Blues' came right out of church. In fact both of these pieces are anchored by a strong spiritual component, which B describes as "pure truth of vision and beauty". 'Tremblin' Blues' is credited to Cooney Vaughn, who recorded in 1936 with a trio billed as the Mississippi Jook Band. B says the slow rumination presented here is a direct result of hearing Cooney’s tune played in person by Little Brother. 'Jimmy's Stuff' is by one of B's earliest inspirations, Jimmy Yancey. His specialty was to infuse the blues with a Caribbean habanera rhythm, like an aria from Bizet's opera Carmen, or the bridge in W.C. Handy’s ‘St. Louis Blues’. 'Do Me Like You Did' is a modified title for one of Roosevelt Sykes' catchiest Louisiana dance tunes. It invokes the sort of magically effulgent intimacy that lingers only to return in daydreams garnished with smiles of retrospective contentment. This version of 'When I Lost My Baby' traces back to one night in Chicago when young B played it on the piano in Blind John Davis' flat while Davis accompanied him on a melodica. 'What Was I Thinking Of?' is the tale of a guy whose rational thought processes became flummoxed by an encounter with a strikingly attractive woman. It is B’s cleverly worded paean to the inner hormonal cocktail. 'Kirksey Flash' is dedicated to B's personal hero, longtime Ann Arborite and American basketball legend Web Kirksey. Pete explains: "Web does not only hear the music, he feels it. I met him through B, and felt an immediate connection on several fronts. For one thing, B’s from Flint but Web and I are both from Saginaw. His friendship has schooled me about the history of Saginaw that could only be told by someone who grew up on the other side of the tracks. In fact he didn't know there was another side of the tracks until riots broke out in the 1960s. Every time I am with him I leave with an expanded view of the world. Web Kirksey: acquaintance, friend, older brother, father, grandfather, guru, mystic, deity." B discovered the gospel tune 'Never Would Have Made It' while immobilized, recuperating from a motorcycle mishap. It features trombonist Chris Smith. Pete says "Marcus Belgrave was to blow on this, but he passed too soon. He really meant a lot to us."'Ypsi Gypsi' is a healthy postmodern experiment combining jaw harp, hambone, sampling, scratch, piano and real-deal drums sounding like techno. Pete again: "The music took on a world of its own and began to tell us what to do next. The title is a bit of a play on this rite of passage personality that seems to roll through these parts so often." arwulf arwulf – autumn 2015