Roman Rhodes & The Born Again Pagans

The first lines for snake eyes actually came from a summation of my first apartment in Japan: the kerosene heater was the gas bomb, the shoji, the paper walls. But obviously the meaning changed immediately into the politics of the times: fertilizer and petrol bombs of local militias and the thin paper treaties that try to hold back or stop the tanks and guns and anger of years of oppression. The Eden myth is obvious and places this in a Middle Eastern context, and yes I was referring the to first Gulf war. In fact one of my most memorable times of the band playing this is when a Desert Storm veteran got up on stage with us in The Dubliner's Irish Pub Osaka and starting singing along into the mic, "I'm a survivor, I'm a survivor!" totally adding to the proper cacophony desired in the song.  In the recording I think Paul Fleisher's dueling saxes capture this with an almost ancient Persian warfare feel; you can imagine elephants losing control and crashing through entire legions. And of course as a Pagan I read Eve's part in the myth very positively.  As Dr. Lionel Sanders, my history advisor said, "Eve is a culture hero, a bringer of knowledge. Why has the Judeo-Christian tradition made out knowledge to be a bad thing?" It is not some other worldly or natural evil, nor chance that brings about our endless stupid cycle of hereditary violence: its ignorance, fear and greed. It's our choice. The tree, the snake, eve are all positive symbols of our ability through knowledge to stop violence and bring about peace. The song is in part a critique of religious violence and the celebration of ignorance rampant in among the religious right wing in the U.S. that allows wars to continue.