Dan Blakeslee walked into Laconia State Prison last year, not knowing what to expect. Hed always admired Johnny Cash and his affection for the underdog. Similar to Cash at Folsom Prison, Blakeslee was about to perform live for a house full of murderers and felons. Behind closed doors he could hear the prisoners chant, and he felt as though he was about to be fed to the wolves. But instead of inciting a riot, Blakeslee anesthetized the prisoners with his crooning voice and delicate charms, slowly calling out angels and demons alike with equal regard for both. Blakeslee walked out with a homemade recording of the event that night (Live at Laconia State Prison), a perfect blueprint of his own complicated soul. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The last great American Renaissance man is gone, but his likeness lives on the shores of Newburyport, Massachusetts. Equal parts musician and artist, Dan Blakeslee's soul core is woven from the fabric of his surroundings. More specifically, the tangled fields and forests from the town where he was raised, South Berwick, Maine. This enchanted farming community also schizophrenically possesses an artists spirit, which, is embedded deep within him. While Blakeslee learned his Yankee ingenuity from the farmers, it was his parents who infused music and art into his being by singing the young Blakeslee to sleep every night as a child.~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The skies over the Blakeslee childhood home hung heavy with stars. Anyone who has ever looked into a night sky unfetter