Voice Seeker

Dandelion Lakewood

5.0 (1)
DOCUMENTARY

A novel documentary audio-collage magazine composed with voice memos from friends, memories, fragments, interviews, music, and field recordings from the travels of nomadic bard Dandelion Lakewood. To be published quarterly on Solstices and Equinoxes.

12/20/2025

Mikael Gunter: Freedom, travel, and mysticism [Voice Seeker #13, Winter Solstice 2025]

I met Mikael Gunter at a communal camp in Albania during the global lockdown. We bonded over music, tesseracts, and the quest for freedom. Here is our conversation. 00:00:00 - Introductions, our meeting in Albania 00:04:07 - Alone on Winter Solstice 00:07:00 - Staying in Albanian bunkers 00:13:10 - Balkan conquests, appearances vs reality of living in a country 00:20:16 - Returning to Australia after 10 years 00:23:02 - Termites = didgeridoos 00:28:46 - Herniated disc 00:30:54 - Healthcare and employment in Australia 00:35:16 - Cultural cringe 00:40:35 - Some technical difficulties and a brief history of this podcast 00:43:20 - Extended travel: how to live abroad indefinitely without employment 00:48:43 - Technology addiction 00:52:24 - Multidimensionality 00:55:18 - Psychonaut explorations 01:04:36 - Food quality in USA vs Europe 01:10:01 - Mikael's current situation "in the bush" 01:11:35 - Busking at home vs abroad 01:13:10 - Our shared busking experience in Skopje 01:16:21 - Balkan issues 01:21:50 - Belief vs knowledge of presented information 01:27:40 - Observing the cosmos 01:45:57 - Placebo, belief, power of consciousness 01:55:17 - What's next? Final thoughts

1h 60m
09/20/2025

A bardic journey with Metka Knap [Voice Seeker #12, Autumnal Equinox 2025]

Metka Knap is a folklorist, musician, and visual artist from Slovenia. We met in 2022 in Macedonia and took a bardic journey to Prague and beyond. Unfortunately, the conversation takes place over a Zoom chat with Metka being in a remote cabin in Slovenia, so the fidelity of the connection is at times spotty. Hopefully you will still be able to glean some interesting insights from our conversation. https://www.instagram.com/vrabovka/ https://www.instagram.com/tjulnica/ https://www.instagram.com/izpodkorenin/ https://www.instagram.com/gruntuntun/ 00:00:00 - Introduction, urban vs rural for artists 00:09:44 - Does the USA have more opportunities for artists? 00:16:04 - Metka's musical journey 00:22:18 - Floating Castle Festival 00:26:25 - How did we meet? 00:29:24 - Dandy's banjo 00:31:43 - More instruments 00:35:54 - At the meditation center in Serbia 00:38:38 - Recording "More Izgrejala" 00:41:28 - Onward toward Prague 00:44:39 - Our concert in Ljubljana 00:48:05 - Balkan rainbow in Serbia 00:53:31 - Future plans 00:58:39 - Visual art, a safe place for creativity 01:02:31 - The other band, Grunt 01:05:32 - Final messages

1h 10m
06/19/2025

Remembering hitchhiking w/ Saša Hajzler [Voice Seeker # 11, Summer Solstice 2025]

For this Summer Solstice episode of Voice Seeker, I am pleased to welcome my good friend and traveling companion, Saša Hajzler. She is an avid conversationalist, traveler, thinker, and phd student. In this conversation we recollect some moments from our hitchhiking travels through Morocco. We also talk about Yugoslavia, private equity enshittification, the fool's journey, and more.Enjoy! ~Dandelion 00:00:00 - Introduction via Skopje 00:02:49 - Meeting in Morocco 00:04:54 - The allure of Fez 00:08:06 - A Moroccan encounter in Istanbul 00:11:28 - From Turkiye to Morocco 00:13:29 - Arriving via ferryboat to Tangier 00:17:15 - the origin of Sasha's miraculous quest 00:27:32 - From Tangier to Merzouga 00:37:11 - Moroccan Rainbow Gathering 00:39:46 - So many dudes 00:42:06 - Back to Casablanca 00:43:45 - Yugostalgia 00:50:16 - Private equity enshittification 00:54:03 - Things made to last, or at least deteriorate slowly 00:57:40 - Growing up at the end of Yugoslavia 01:05:45 - Class solidarity with Moroccans and beyond 01:12:04 - Back to the hitchhiking adventure 01:17:49 - Food memories 01:25:02 - Communication without language 01:28:29 - A shepherd dog in a field at night 01:34:01 - Hitchhiking a fairy boat 01:38:28 - The instructional act of being a fool 01:48:54 - Wrap up

1h 52m
03/19/2025

Elexa Dawson: native wisdom, contemporary action [Voice Seeker #10, Spring Equinox 2025]

On the 10th episode of Voice Seeker, we have a wide-ranging discussion with Elexa Dawson: musician, songwriter, speaker, mother, gardener, Potawatomi Citizen, and all around awesome human being. Elexa Dawson is a practitioner of the soul. Her red-dirt honey vocals and rhythmic guitar style deliver a sound that hits home. Both familiar and intriguing, her songs speak of the earth and community, and celebrate all relationships, from mother and child to friend and lover. Kansas-based and Oklahoma-born, Elexa is a songwriter, educator, community organizer, Folk Alliance Region Midwest's Board President, and serves on the Board of Directors of Music to Life. Elexa is a Kansas Touring Roster Artist, Music to Life's Juried Artist, and Mid-America Arts Alliance Interchange Fellow. Former fellowships include First Peoples Fund and Western Arts Alliance Native Launchpad. Elexa is the founder and director of Good Way Gardens, a land-based arts organization, and is co-founder of Weda Skirts, one of Kansas' best-beloved female folk ensembles. She runs an independent label, Turns Out Records. She’s also a founding member of popular folk groups The Power Lilies and Heyleon. https://www.elexadawson.com/ https://www.patreon.com/elexadawson Native Heritage and Place in the Flint Hills presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJPFaBuC73c (00:00:00) - INTRODUCTION (00:04:10) - PRACTITIONER OF THE SOUL (00:08:19) - SINGING TOGETHER (00:10:47) - MUSICAL BACKGROUND (00:15:14) - WINFIELD (00:17:42) - THE CITIZEN POTAWATOMI NATION (00:26:30) - INDIGENOUS EARTH (00:32:40) - INSPIRATION, APPROPRIATION, FETISHIZATION (00:42:22) - SHAPED BY NATIVE HERITAGE (00:42:44) - INDIGENOUS FOODS MOVEMENT (00:47:10) - FOOD SOVEREIGNTY (00:52:11) - A WORLD OF ABUNDANCE (00:57:38) - ABANDONING THE PATRIARCHY (01:02:58) - IF EVERYONE'S A MILLIONAIRE, WHO'S SPECIAL? (01:05:24) - WOMEN'S HOMES (01:09:24) - EDUCATION (01:18:35) - POTAWATOMI LANGUAGE (01:21:07) - MUSICAL MEMORY (01:22:58) - GOODWAY GARDEN AND MORE (01:26:10) - PETER OVIATT, STANLEY HOTEL (01:31:30) - ARTIST RECOMMENDATIONS (01:33:44) - WORDS OF ADVICE FOR YOUNGER CREATIVES

1h 37m
12/23/2024

Kansas City Sufis [Voice Seeker #9, Winter Solstice 2024]

An informal discussion with some members of the Shining Heart Sufi Community in Kansas City. Topics include: Dances of Universal Peace, Sufism, Turkiye, Konya, Alevi music, and more. https://www.shiningheartcommunity.org/ 00:00:00 Invocation 00:00:25 Solstice time 00:02:26 Introductions 00:05:54 Kurbanlar Tiğlanıp 00:12:42 Dandy's encounter with the Sufis 00:27:24 Some other Sufi stories 00:50:22 Joel Kraft's song 00:53:22 Thy Light Is In All Forms 00:59:38 Karşidan Görunen Hey Dost 01:06:40 Dandy's pilgrimage to Konya 01:17:40 Marty's Sufi story 01:22:00 Closing the circle 01:24:00 Outward

1h 26m
09/25/2024

Gracie Caggiano [Voice Seeker #8 Autumnal Equinox 2024]

Welcome to Voice Seeker, I’m your host, Dandelion Lakewood. In this episode, I sat down with songwriter, composer, and performer Gracie Caggiano. We cover a broad spectrum of topics including perfectionism, suffering, joy, death, poetry, perspective, and life as an artist with a disability. You will have an opportunity to hear some of Gracies original compositions throughout the episode. The recording quality fits the conversation about imperfection, it’s a bit noisy, you can hear the echo of the room and Gracie’s upstairs neighbors stomping around sometimes. Listening through the foggy lens of those flaws, you will hopefully discover some gems in our conversation. (00:00:00) Psalm of Recognition (00:01:03) Introduction (00:01:48) Beginnings, journals as a living document (00:08:40) Sad girl starter pack (00:10:01) Omniscient algorithms (00:10:35) Adrienne Lenker and the value of imperfect aesthetics (00:17:40) The elusive "perfect version" (00:26:50) After I die, what's going to happen to my music? (00:30:45) The value of creative work (00:34:48) How to market authenticity (00:41:11) How many artists actually live off of their creative work? (00:47:00) The making of an album (00:58:30) The element of surprise (01:01:50) Musical influences (01:06:35) Listening to music as a musician (01:15:46) Themes of decay and disability (01:15:05) Presence in grief (01:26:19) The poems of Mary Oliver (01: 28:18) Emily Dickenson (01:29:20) The inevitability of death (01:34:28) The Book of Delights (01:38:07) Positivity vs reality and the role of art in discourse (01:44:17) War, murder, and death (01:52:21) Intersectionality and artistic performance (02:01:33) Conceptual space making and community (02:08:23) Words to a future fan (02:09:21) Rilke's Book of a Monastic Life

2h 10m
06/20/2024

Folk Alliance International Mixtape [Voice Seeker #7 Summer Solstice 2024]

A bardic quest mixtape featuring the various performers who assembled at the 2024 Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City. (00:00:00) Intro(00:03:00) 1st night: arriving at FAI(00:06:38) Westin Lobby(00:07:37) Bose Lounge open mic(00:08:16) Scott Strickland(00:13:27) Ellie James(00:17:18) Eddy DJ E(00:20:18) Rachel Sage(00:24:50) Bandits on the Run(00:28:46) Kristin Rebecca(00:32:38) Dandelion Lakewood(00:36:57) Joey Forever(00:41:27) Christina Eltrevoog(00:47:39) 2nd night: bardic quest(00:49:03) Bards at the gate (with Cowboy Aiden)(00:57:16) The Foggy Memory Boys(01:03:08) Darbuka in the hallway with Robert(01:08:57) Paula Boggs Band(01:13:04) True Lions(01:16:31) Laura Taubman(01:19:54) Ethno Room 1st jam(01:23:33) Late night lobby bluegrass(01:36:53) 4am diary(01:38:43) 3rd night: Lobby clogging with Sophie Mae Wellington(01:43:53) Laytha(01:48:59) Ingrid Yasmin(01:52:10) Kelly Love Jones(01:56:46) Echo chamber interview with Billy Two Rivers(02:04:42) Ila Barker(02:10:25) Elevator check ins(02:13:52) Pow wow dancers(02:16:07) Chatting with Mitsune(02:19:54) Slava(02:28:34) 2nd Ethno Room jam(02:30:49) Epic late night lobby jam(02:33:38) Nani(02:38:24) Ensemble Sangineto(02:40:30) Mitsune(02:44:30) Clement Brothers(02:49:16) Sneaki Bandit interview(02:57:42) World of Plenty(03:01:08) Final Jam in the Ethno room highlights(03:13:45) Universal Lover(03:23:22) Midnight Special(03:28:42) Elexa Dawson's love letter(03:36:10) Brief chat with Nimkii(03:38:00) Interviewing Win(03:44:00) Petit Solo and Klara Ahlersten(03:47:54) Ashley Virginia(03:52:28) End notes

3h 56m
03/19/2024

Florida [Voice Seeker #6 Spring Equinox 2024]

Florida Voice Seeker #6 Spring Equinox 2024 A journey around the peninsula of Florida with music and conversations of various sorts. (0:00:00) Intro (0:02:34) A Walmart parking lot in Birmingham, Alabama (0:05:50) Beach diary (0:06:34) Orlando diary (0:08:38) Tampa windy boat ramp (0:11:39) Trans girls rule (0:15:40) Bee and Ri (0:17:23) School Palooza (0:25:30) Self-directed learning (0:28:40) Trail trekking (0:33:18) Trauma relativity (0:37:23) Emergency on the trail (0:42:21) Living out of comfort and trail magic (0:47:11) Isolation (0:50:26) Bee’s eclectic work history (0:55:32) Granny energy (0:56:38) The gift economy (1:03:03) Piper and Kirst at La Teresita (1:12:12) Food treasure maps (1:14:40) Losing a father (1:22:22) Food and family trauma (1:28:18) Kimchee and fermentation (1:33:37) Intense hobbies (1:36:32) The genius of construction (1:37:36) Creative time management (1:40:40) The dream of buying a village (1:46:43) The work ethic of a meth head (1:48:16) Challenges of community (1:49:43) Board games and the apocalypse (1:51:27) Struggle over communal space (1:54:26) Spiritual space (1:57:39) Ugh not this talk (2:00:46) Apocalyptic strategies (2:04:00) A future without slaves (2:07:29) Our imagined reality (2:10:08) Objects vs experiences (2:12:16) Critique of board games (2:16:26) A sample of Piper’s performance (2:19:42) ASMR late night Atlantic skinny dip (2:25:48) Florida earth skills gathering (2:28:24) On the way to volunteer in the kitchen (2:30:04) Kitchen talk with Addie and Joe (2:35:52) Bulgarian soups (2:39:02) What’s the most people you’ve cooked for? (2:41:33) First food memories (2:45:12) Fireside old time with Bronwyn (2:47:46) Interview with Shaye and Bronwyn (The Little Mercies) (3:02:06) Walkthru (3:05:59) Waiting in line for dinner (3:10:36) Salem and witches (3:17:00) Advanced kids (3:21:03) Old time music (3:29:36) Little Mercies campfire music (3:37:23) Drum circle

3h 42m

A novel documentary audio-collage magazine composed with voice memos from friends, memories, fragments, interviews, music, and field recordings from the travels of nomadic bard Dandelion Lakewood. To be published quarterly on Solstices and Equinoxes.

Creator

Dandelion Lakewood
Years Active

2022 - 2025
Episodes

13
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Dandelion Lakewood
Show Website

Voice Seeker