SHOT OF SNAKE BLOOD, ANYONE?

Months before we arrived in Indonesia, we received an invitation to a party at a fan's home. We did not realize at the time, but this was no ordinary fan and this would be no ordinary party. The fan was Setiwan Djody, a Metal fan in the same league as David Bowie and Mick Jagger, his friends and also occasional houseguests! It was rumored he had a room in his palace with a stage, gear and even a replica of Eddie Van Halen's stage gear! His family owned a tankard-as in frikken-big ships-company and was very influential. Could it be true?? He was having a party for us?

We drove through Jakarta at night, into the neighborhoods of private, small homes, turning this way and that, weaving through the little streets. We came to stop at the entrance of the Djody home, in the midst of the neighborhoods...we were not expecting to walk into a palace, but that is what awaited us! We passed giant stone panthers, saw a zoo and carved wooden furniture. It was amazing and we felt very honored to be invited into Mr. Djody's private home.

Stone Panther

Receiving a warm welcome, we were relaxing with good food and drink. Action was everywhere and we were like children at Disneyland! The band was invited into the private, mini-venue for a jam session. It was true! Eddie Van Halen's exact rack and and all the trimmings lay at the mercy of Sepultura! They rocked the kazbah with their Brasilian Metal!!

After the jam , we were lead outside for some entertainment. I heard someone say there was a drink going around that was good for your lungs. Being asthmatic since the age of 3 months, I decided this was right up my alley, so the guys and me headed for the magic drink.

We approached a table set up near a young girl. She had a bag on the ground that was squirming and we were curious as to what could be inside. She soon pulled out an albino cobra and we got our answer!

She carefully but comfortably pulled the snakes one by one, cut their heads off on a cutting board and squeezed their blood into a glass that had a dark liquid in it. I was game, as was Andreas and Nino, our wild sound man. The drink did not have the best flavor, but we all got it down. As soon as we drank it, Andreas and I looked at each other and at the same time said "do snakes have AIDS?" We decided they didn't and laughed it off. A woman came up to me and said "only men drink that." I was like "oh thanks for letting me know!" I had only drank it because of my lungs! Also, I was holding a secret, I was 4 months pregnant with Zyon! I decided the snake would do no harm and we went on to the next festivity!

Next up was a Debus presentation, for our entertainment. We had never heard of it before. It was basically an Indonesian ancient way of possession and miracles we witnessed before our eyes. A group of men with a small boy were brought in. We sat on chairs and they were on the stairs and marble porch in front of us. We could actually see their transformation into other people...a man became possessed by a woman's spirit and believe me, we could watch her climb into his being!

We were speechless except for some squeamish "oh's" and "ah's" that escaped our lips. The men cooked an egg on the young boy's head; they peeled coconuts with their teeth! They punctured and pierced themselves. Razor blade after razor blade slid down their throats, along with numerous glass shards! We were cringing in imagined pain! It was the reality that these were men like us who were so much more in tune with their minds and bodies, it was amazing to think about!

We left the party feeling fantastic! We had been treated so lovingly and tried to let our host know how much his hospitality meant to us, but our words seemed meager to the experience we had enjoyed!

And the snake blood? It came back to haunt me in the form of the worst heartburn ever!! haha!! Now that's a party!!

Class dismissed...