DRINKING FROM THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE
A man, a woman, a snake and an apple walk into a bar...
You know how this goes. Some sort of he-said-she-said-the-snake-said kerfluffle ensued and the ending isn’t exactly a punch line.
In fact, the outcome was so not funny, Biblical scholars suggest that the man went off with the apple looking to chill and came back with cider.
Like the rest of the story, this could be total hog wash. But on the other hand, maybe it’s God’s honest truth. Seeing as cider is an actual thing, perhaps we have all the proof we need.
Back to the facts; from the original garden of fermentation right up to today, apples make numerous notable appearances in their migration from Kazakhstan to Oregon. The Romans, no doubt thirsty from all of their conquesting, were thrilled when they rallied into England in 55BC and found locals kicking back with tasty cider. No joke.
Always ready for adventure, apples and their rambunctious sister, Cider, migrated across the pond and established themselves just about everywhere. When the Northwest Territory was a shiny, new (to Europeans) thing, homesteaders were required to plant 50 or more apple or pear trees to claim their land. In those days, far more apples were brewed into cider than were employed to keep the doctor away.
Since local waters were basically seething with creepy crawlies capable of liquidating one’s insides, having a safe, attitude adjusting beverage was a total win. In fact, researchers of American History suggest that early settlers happily drank a pint of cider or more each day (probably a polite underestimate).
Similar to apples, music exhibits characteristics unique to location, artist and cultivation. Discerning listeners (and sippers) find subtleties linking people, place and time together in the creation of something new. And like apple seeds, each note in a song contains traces of all the notes that came before but is ultimately unique in its ability to propagate a wild array of new sounds.
In fact, music’s history might even eclipse cider’s origin story. “In the beginning was noise, noise begat rhythm and rhythm begat all else…”. Mickey Hart, Grateful Dead drummer and musicologist said that, so it must be true. The “all else” part alludes to Chapter Two, where we started this romp, with the man/woman/snake/apple situation.
These two ancient crafts, cider and music, will be served together in harmony this Saturday at Mancos’ Fenceline Cidery. The Lindell Band, a trio who’s sound delivers a true sense of place with complex touches of red rock canyons accented by soft, plush notes from high mountain meadows and highlighting a relaxing sense of community, wellness and joy, will pair perfectly with the Colorado Plateau’s unique and historic flavors represented by Fenceline’s artisan approach to creating fine local ciders.
Come take a sip from our homegrown tree of knowledge, enjoy a spring fling with local music and see if you can figure out what that snake was talking about.
