Voice Seeker

Dandelion Lakewood

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.

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

    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
  2. Gracie Caggiano [Voice Seeker #8 Autumnal Equinox 2024]

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

    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
  4. Florida [Voice Seeker #6 Spring Equinox 2024]

    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

About

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.