be perceived. Did he sympathetically summarize the pandemic experience? he wonders. And the track had to serve as the disc’ s coda, he swears, even though his bout with 2020 was decidedly different than many other folks’.

defense system, and you have to build up antibodies for these things, not a chemical that you introduce into yourself. So I went that route, and I got it. I got it REAL bad.” For ten drawn-out days, Ash was incapacitated by Covid, barely able to move and sleeping 18 hours a day.“ And then suddenly, I came out of it,” he recalls.“ But could see how people who don’ t eat right and drink Coca- Cola all day, and are overweight? It can kill‘ em, because( Bovid) WAS extreme, and it WAS surreal. And it’ s like nothing I’ ve ever experienced since, the sensation of it— you were so delirious, with zero energy for nearly two weeks. But I got through it, naturally.” Ash is pretty sure where he contracted the virus— at a busy gas station, which he had to patronize to put petrol in one of his many motorcycles. He

Ashes and Diamonds

Again, it’ s just the way he views the world, he says, and he’ s up front about it.“ Because I was NOT into the Vaxx at all, because I’ m a huge believer in natural defenses,” he says.“ And my doctor is homeopathic, so he was saying,‘ This is so overblown.’ So I WANTED to get( the coronavirus), because I wanted to get it out of the way, and I wanted my natural internal defense system, my antibodies, to fight it, but naturally. I’ m a huge believer in that— that you have to build up antibodies, that you actually have your own

had no choice. He went on to catch Covid three more times, but he no longer had any mortal fear.“ So now it’ s like a walk in the park— it’ s nothing, because I’ ve built up a natural immunity.” Because once you’ ve had it, you have the antibodies,” he says. So does our current National Health Honcho Kennedy have some solid ideas?“ I think so,” Ash acknowledges, then pauses.” But I don’ t wanna get political. So I am DEFINITELY not getting political about it. Let’ s just say that I’ m a huge believer in natural

medicine, and homeopathy has worked really, really well for me. So generally,( it’ s) alternative medicine in preference to Western medicine, although I’ m not averse to Western medicine, and sometimes I think it’ s good to combine the two, as well.” Is Ash worried about the next potential pandemic that will eventually hit humanity? And what we should be doing now to prepare for it, in advance? Again, he sighs; he wants to skirt any divisive politics altogether. Besides, that’ s not what fans are expecting from him and Ashes and Diamonds.“ I’ m in the business of fantasy and escapism, and I mean that,” he declares with a tangible air of finality.“ I’ m

not joking. I’ m a big believer in escapism and fantasy, specifically with music. And I always have been.” He spoke to the IE about pretty much everything BUT politics in this recent, nearly hourlong chat.

IE: You just turned 68 on July 31. Where did you go to celebrate and why? DANIEL ASH: What did I do, where did I go, and why? I have no memory of what I did on my birthday at all. But knowing me, I would have gone for a motorcycle ride, because I’ m not into birthdays, especially my own. I mean, other people, sure. But I just wait until the day’ s over