Bowled Over

Saturday, December 10th, 2005

By Carolin Vesely

You've heard of musicians playing the spoons? David Hickey plays the bowls -- more than 30 in a single show.

But his are not your typical vessels of sustenance. They're made of quartz crystal and they feed your soul with their healing tones and vibrational energy.

The Hamilton, Ont., native's instrument is a modern version of the ancient Tibetan "singing bowls," traditionally made of metal, which can be found in Buddhist temples, monasteries and meditation halls around the world.

The humming or chanting sounds created when the bowls are rubbed along their rims or struck with a mallet are believed to clear space of negative energy. They are said to induce deep relaxation and meditative states.

Hickey, 38, however, is not a Buddhist monk, but rather a former health-care worker and devoted fan of the band the Grateful Dead. He's currently on a six-month Crystal Journey tour to spread a vibe of peace, harmony and healing to Canadians from coast to coast.

His bowl-filled Dodge van stops in Winnipeg tomorrow, when he'll perform at the Ellice Cafe & Theatre. Show starts at 7:30 p.m., tickets are $15 and available at the door.

We rang up Hickey on the road to get the scoop on Sunday's "mystical escape."

CV: Is this anything like that water-glass xylophone the guy plays in the McCain's fruit juice commercial?

DH: Yeah, some of the old-school people remember people who used to play the wine glasses. There was actually an orchestra called the Glass Orchestra. The difference is those are lead crystal; these are quartz crystal.

Each bowl is a pure tone -- purer than a piano or a harp.

CV: We're not talking about cereal bowls here. How big are these things?

DH: The smallest is eight inches in diameter and the largest I tour with is 18 inches. You could bathe a baby in it. It's about 25, 30 pounds and it's pure quartz crystal, so it's pretty big. They cost between $250 and $1,000, so they're pretty expensive, too.

CV: Why crystal quartz? Can't Pyrex mixing bowls sing?

DH: Quartz crystal is a receiver and conductor of energy and stores information. That's why they use it for computer chips.

Our body is crystalline in its structure, so the vibrations and the healing quality of the quartz, combined with it being turned into a musical instrument, help to realign the chakras, or energy centers, in our body.

CV: Wait a sec. You're not saying the computer industry is interested in re-aligning our chakras.

DH: These bowls actually came from the computer industry in Silicon Valley about 30, 35 years ago because they're used to grow silicon chips in. The chips are manufactured and then put inside the bowls because the bowls are such a pure frequency that they tune the computer chips.

Somebody in California, a metaphysical healer, got ahold of the bowl and...

CV: Are you in a meditative state when you play?

DH: I'm in very meditative state.

Setting up is my meditation; it takes about an hour. It's very Zen-like, setting the bowls up, creating the sacred space. I put tapestries up, the bowls are lit up by candles... it's very, very intimate.

CV: I'm already chilling out. Does the audience tend to go all Zen?

DH: We typically encourage people to bring yoga mats and blankets so they can lie down and some people do go to sleep. I've had people snoring.

I've said all along I might be the only musician who's happy if his audience is sleeping.

CV: OK, gotta ask. Who are your musical influences?

DH: My biggest influence musically was the Grateful Dead. When I first heard them and saw them play, I was transformed so much that I quit my job and went on tour and followed them for 10 years. I saw them 140 times.

On this tour, John Lennon and George Harrison have come forefront in bringing the energy of their spirit and music to what I'm doing. I've been opening my shows with Imagine by Lennon and playing the bowls while that song is playing. It's a pure message of peace and that's our mission statement.

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