American Zen was created in 1991 when The Hippy Coyote became stranded in Utah with his daughter. Acting in the roles of all four musicians, he thought it was temporary and his bandmates would eventually return. The Coyote lived the lives of all four American Zen musicians through the eight level spiritual journey of Shaolin Zen Buddhism including his Vision Quest with the Lakota Sioux on the Pineridge Reservation and battling with the Mormons of Utah. This 8-LEVEL spiritual journey of American Zen ended with the Memorial Day Album with stories of WWII, Vietnam and the Middle East War.