Album Notes

100% natural, real California music. No loops, samples, or sythesizers used. All instruments performed by The Hippy Coyote in Montrose, California during the "Station Fire," August of 2009. This led to the name change of, "Flintridge Fire," for the full Spanish classical song included on American Zen's 4th album, LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy PART 1: King Solomon's Temple.

During this recording, Coyote was also the Organist of Freemason Lodge 513, the "Panamericana Lodge" of the California Free & Accepted Masons. Instead of playing organ for the Mason Lodge, as Wolfgang Mozart once did, Coyote performed flute and acoustic guitar during the Masonic rituals and ceremonies. Coincidentally, Panamericana Lodge is a Spanish speaking lodge and they enjoyed the performances of this song, "Cinco de Mayo," and "Flintridge Fire," as Coyote prepared to record it on his American Zen album.

"Cinco de Mayo" tells the stories of Coyote's Spanish heritage and imagination. The song takes twists and turns, falls down, then gets back up and runs for the finish line. Balboa, Cortez, and the Catholic San Diego Mission de Alcala are interwomen in this Spanish classical song by Richard Del Connor, The Hippy Coyote of American Zen.

"I couldn't find my castanets, so I cut a half-dozen tracks of finger snaps. This song could've been recorded or performed two hundred years ago. Handclaps, fingersnaps, tambourines and my Alvarez acoustic guitar were recorded watching the "Station Fire," burn down the hill towards my home."

The manner in which the song calms down and then springs back to life--was inspired by the fire embers springing back to life and consuming more of the hill towards Coyote's home.