Oct 2, 2018
Raised in Indiana, Myskin's first experience
with desert was on family vacations. "A famous family story is: as
a child, I would run to the top of the tallest rock I could and
scream, 'I'm in heaven!' I think I really appreciated the
desert from a young age". And many years later, finds herself
living in the desert.
Before coming to live in the desert, Myshkin was
a traveler, leaving Indiana at the age of 22, with her guitar,
writing and playing music. She toured throughout the states and
overseas; either booking her own gigs or luckily traveling with
friends who knew locals. She lived in New Orleans for awhile, then
traded the humidity for cooler, greener climes in
Oregon.
What she wouldn't know until later, was that she
and her future lover and wife, were traveling in each other's
universes for a long time. When Myshkin played a tour stop in
Joshua Tree, a mutual friend introduced Myshkin to Jenny Qaqundah -
sparks flew and a few months later, Myshkin was leaving Oregon to
live in Joshua Tree.
Neither of them could have foreseen the
formidable challenge they would soon face. After a simple surgery,
Jenny (podcast Ep 28) contracted
sepsis, was in a coma for six to seven days, in the hospital for
months, resulting in the loss of her legs from the knees down.
Myshkin and Jenny persevered and have taken this harrowing
experience, so early in their relationship, and created great
beauty from it. Jenny wrote about her own experiences and invited
friends in the community to contribute their points of view, which
culminated in her recently released book, 'Held
Together'. Myshkin's recently released record,
'Trust and the High Wire' is
their love story, one that started in a dream before they'd ever
met.
Myshkin, who once thought she'd be an actor, is writing, working
on a musical theatre piece and is putting more theatrics along side
her live music performances to immerse the audience more fully in
her dense lyrics and haunting melodies. And, learning patience
through parenting - something she'd never thought she'd be doing -
and loving every minute of it.
Photo credit: Heike Binder
Altziebler