My Few Days with Alex...

Hi!

I hope you’re doing well! It is so incredible to realize that this is already my last Club Missive of the month! So many unforgettable things have happened ever since it started, and it simply went by so fast, like a whisper, until I had the chance to see Alex, something that happened last on January 30th for me, as he was back from his pre-surgery tests, and I was about to leave for three weeks in Tangier. Almost two months went by already, during which I had the huge privilege to travel and where he was focused on recovering. An insane clash… Realities and worlds were finally about to collide!

I’m very blessed to already be back in Tangier with Miss Isabel for ten days, as we’re finalizing some renovations and re-decorating some rooms. I also have a few friends visiting from Europe whom I just had to meet! It’s Saturday morning right now, and I’m sitting right next to the pool, listening to nothing else but the birds and nature, all embracing what will be such a lovely day under a classic Tangier clear blue sky as it’s already 25°C at 9am!

It was last Sunday, March 19th, that I woke up at 8am in a house I had rented in Austin, Texas, with a few other friends in the music industry, as I had a 12pm flight for Virginia! Finally! This day was happening, after three weeks of three different music conferences in a row. Completely exhausted, I woke up smiling, knowing I’d be spending a few days in the mountains of Virginia with Alex, whom I hadn’t seen for a long time! I couldn’t wait, and I also had so many great stories to share following hundreds of meetings I have had over the past three weeks. 

My flight was easy and quick; the only thing I did was sleep, pretty much! But the moment I arrived at the foot of the hill leading to Alex’s house, as the sun was going down, this smell, this vibe, this feeling of arriving home left for so long, was incredible! As soon as I got out of the car, I was intensively welcomed by those two hairy twins named Leonard and MacKaye, who are usually quite excited, but this time they were literally over-excited! It was quite heartwarming for me! It added so much to the already amazing vibe and scenery!

Then, Alex arrived! All smiles, as I was, we hugged each other as if it had been a decade we hadn’t seen each other! Alex told me right off the bat, “You can’t hug me too hard” which was kinda obvious, but sometimes, when we’re pretty excited, going through a moment we couldn’t wait to live, well, we lose all sense of logic and common sense! At least I do…! :) This moment was incredible, even if the weather was a bit chilly, and dark already by then, we couldn’t go inside right away: we just were happy to see each other! 

I always really like to get into Alex’s house, especially after a little while, as it feels like walking back centuries but with a great artistic touch of modernity, signed Alex Henry Foster! I could hear Nick Cave playing in the living room. I could also see the flames of the fireplace warming up the entire home. Here we were, in the middle of the entry hall, where a glass of tequila awaited me – Alex had a glass of orange juice – and a “Welcome back home, brother!” toast quickly came through! I couldn’t believe it. I had to hug Alex again and the two boys couldn't stop making this amazing sound, like a mixture of crying and barking, adding a lot of vibe and soul to this already emotional moment! I couldn’t have felt more welcome than this!

We all sat by the fire where some delights had been cautiously prepared, and some more glasses of tequila were raised to a couple more memorable toasts (Alex maintained his orange juice journey all evening, of course)! 

I was very glad to see that Alex was able to stay with me for a little while that evening. I was expecting him to be a little more tired and still weakened by the crazy surgery he went through. I also was very happy to hear how his voice was getting pretty close to what it originally is, as this is something that had been terrifying me for weeks. Every time I was speaking with him, it always sounded so far from coming back to what it should be, it always got me worried. But now, even if it’s still not there yet, it’s getting closer to it and it is quite a great thing to see happen.

His health is getting better and better every day, even if the healing process is much slower than firstly expected, and this even from a doctor’s point of view. His health condition and heart surgery took longer and were more intense than previously anticipated from all the tests they’d been running on Alex, tests that started as he came back from our last summer tour. The healing process will take longer than we thought and planned, but the great news is, and always will be, he’s healing and, at some point, will be healthier than ever! This is a true miracle, as we’ve been very fortunate to go through the entire tour, to go through all those trips we did last fall, because if the doctors truly knew the reality of his condition, he would’ve been under surgery a very long time ago. I’ll let Alex share about it all, but I’m telling you: all of it is a real miracle!

The following day, we gathered in his office at around 1pm and stayed there, talking without pretty much moving, until past 8pm that evening. We simply couldn’t stop sharing all those long days which had been separating us – they felt like years, almost – and it was so great to simply sit there, surrounded by thousands of his books, his soulful silkscreened posters of Wilco, The Cure, The Cramps, the two twin brothers sleeping deeply at our feet and both of us sipping coffee (decaf for Alex) and some tea all afternoon, talking about music, life, what Alex went through, my hundreds of meetings, and how we envision what’s ahead…!

I like to say that Alex is an old soul with the heart of a kid, and that afternoon, this was even more obvious and more tangible. He went through something terrible and suffering, but he was even more thankful, grateful, and hopeful toward what he himself calls a second chance at living! I could feel and hear how much this is a journey he’s been on ever since he woke up all wired up at the hospital weeks ago, and how this is a journey he’s far from taking lightly! It is truly inspiring, as I think I can understand some parts of it, but the truth is I can’t, as I haven’t encountered any of it, but he did. These thoughts and conversations simply can’t leave my mind, and this is something I’ve been thinking and meditating about a lot since I left Virginia a few days ago already…

This journey has already started and I truly can’t wait to share more with you! I’m so thankful for those few days, and I can’t wait for our paths to cross again as I already had to leave, unfortunately. Even if we had the chance to share a lot together, this was way too short..!

I’ll be with Alex again after Tangier, but I can’t tell you more for now! Trust me, though; it’s worth the wait!!!!

Thank you always for the kind messages you’re sending me every time! I’m always delighted and fortunate to read your beautiful thoughts!

Let’s be great to one another!

Your Host and Friend,
Jeff