3/27 - March Sadness

On my twins' eleventh-month day, music fans have learned that Gregg Allman is suffering from Hepatitis C and the band has cancelled its Beacon run and Wanee weekend gig in April. I'm not sure exactly what this means for the future of Gregg's health, but godspeed, Mr. A.

Will the Democratic Party finally take Hillary out back and put her down? While it's only March, there's no way in heck that any member of the Republican Party should be within twenty points of a Democrat in this year's race. As Eric Alterman noted two nights ago, Hillary is helping Americans really quickly forget the last eight years. I've been saying that, I believe, since January. Goodbye, Hillary, we hardly know ye.

I began setting up my classroom today and I need much more time. I'll probably have to head in over the weekend in order to organize folders, books, make copies and otherwise make my grand entrance a little more grand. In setting up my A/V things, I did play Annie Hall on the LCD projector onto the whiteboard screen to straighten up and balance the lens. I felt like I was actually in a theater thirty-one years ago, watching a giant Woody Allen, grainy picture quality and booming sound and all. Great viewing opportunity! I'll have to watch more films like this.

Lefty Brown, Carol King has always has held a special spot in my heart ever since I discovered her in college. After reading Jim Curtis' Rock Eras, the greatest cultural analysis of rock music ever written, I rushed out to scoop up a copy of Tapestry on vinyl. With the (then) twenty-someodd year old pops and cracks in the sound, the record transported me back to a different, albeit crazy in its own right time; before my own, though I feel I may claim a little piece of the early 70s since that is when I made my appearance. Every time I listen to it, I fall in love with a different song for a different reason. Maybe it's the pop hooks King had mastered in ten years' experience in Tin Pan Alley, the era's struggles with embracing feminism and real love, the simple yet solid musical performances on the record. To hear all of those amazing musicians, including James Taylor, craft such a deceptively simple record has only held up over time. Tapestry is always best played with the album cover visible on a nice cold, rainy day with a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket. Thanks, Chris, for the shot, and great hearing from you!

3/26 - Nine Days and Counting!

I've a renewed excitement for my two upcoming concerts; while I haven't the energy to pull late hours or all-nighters like I used to for shows while living in Fresno, I'm willing to sacrifice my sleep and weekend for another round of the Boss. Thus far, the second leg of the Magic tour is clobbering the first in terms of setlist change ups and an overall happier demeanor. Maybe the impending departure of Danny Federici weighed heavily on the band's mind but performing the new material could have also been it. Maybe it's the political season that has Bruce happy. All I know is that the certain slots in the setlist where classic songs or audibles, as they're called, show up, and, catching him on consecutive nights should guarantee two entirely different shows.

I haven't been doing very much this Spring Break. It's been almost boring, but I'm not complaining. I moved all of my furniture into my new classroom and tomorrow I will be spending most of the workday re-arranging and organizing it all. I don't have much storage space, so maybe this is a way of telling myself that less is more.

I have the privilege of seeing Eric Alterman speak last night in Berkeley's First Congregational Church. Pushing his new book, "Why We're Liberals", Alterman appears to be out to set the record straight. Of course, others with different political beliefs will argue against his behalf but the greatest ammunition Alterman carries is his footnotes. As Daniel Moynahan once said, "you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts". Alterman's citations are flawless; in all of the books, articles and blogging of his I've read, I've never once come across a single statement of fact that was challenged, questioned or denied. Maybe it's why I hold Alterman's opinions and theses in such high regard; his logic and argumentation is untouchable. Last night, Eric pressed the issues of the failure of the Bush Administration, conservative pundits and both the classic and modern definitions of liberalism. Without getting didactic, Alterman plowed through a century of liberal political thinking. In context, he outlined current conservative claims of "liberalism" as being the leper-like third rail political disaster is has been purported in the media. Having been handed eight years of disastrous neoconservative failings, Alterman also pointed to how the modern conservative movement is not one of political goals to be achieved but a group of ideological zealots looking to hijack the political process. Politics is the art of the compromise; the modern conservative movement, both political and social, however, has done nothing of the sort. If anything, the Bush Administration has shown itself to be nothing but a kakistocracy; a confederacy of dunces. Nepotistic to say the least, full of vengeance and desire to exact revenge for the sins of the fathers, the neocon Bushies have been willing to fail the country simply to paint political enemies as historically responsible for the damage. Alterman pulled no punches against liberals and progressives who wished to attack some of his public positions on past issues; he not only proved his arguments but showed how many others were nothing but houses of cards. During the conversation portion of the evening, I wished to ask a question but felt intellectually inferior to do so. I was able to talk briefly with him as he signed my books, so of course I had to bring up Bruce and the current tour. Maybe I'll be able to post a comment about my shows that he'll post on Altercation.

Music of late:

Bruce - Born to Run
Stones - Beggars Banquet
Ryan Adams - Cold Roses (portion)
Bruce - Lucky Town
Traveling Wilburys - Vol. I
Ryan Adams - Gold
Jackson Browne - Late For the Sky
JB - The Pretender
Phish - Rift
Sheryl Crow - Detours
Black Crowes - Warpaint
Rod Stewart - Gasoline Alley
RS - first album
RS - Every Picture Tells a Story
RS - Never a Dull Moment
The Faces - disc three of Five Guys Walk Into a Bar
Jim Croce - Greatest Hits
James Taylor - Greatest Hits
Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
Tift Merritt - Another Country
Emmylou Harris - Pieces of the Sky
Stones - Goats Head Soup
Bruce - The River
Bruce - Magic

and more that I can't think of.

Easter was a great weekend. We all traveled to Twain Harte and celebrated the holiday watching my son throw snowballs at his brother and sister. We briefly sledded, dyed Easter eggs, played on the deck and made an Easter basket. What a great time.
Tomorrow my twins turn eleven months old. Can't believe we're already planning their birthday party!

3/18 You Gotta Serve Somebody

I need to call in fifteen minutes as to whether I will be selected to serve jury duty. Ugh, as the family has been battling the stomach flu. Oh so fun. Erin Go Bragh yesterday was tempered with unhappy babies and a sick three year old. The weekend wasn't much better, either.
Bush signed an executive order stripping an investigative agency powers to carry through with its findings. That's great. Fascism at its best. Those who rail against welfare, Section 8 or handouts will be throttled after seeing how the Fed bailed out Bear Stearns this week. How can a company with such economic power, its executives being paid so much and it earning such a reputation for solidity be stripped and sold as junk? Two dollars a share? This sure has made my teaching the Depression unit easy. Oh well. Always nice to listen to my retired father talk about needing to return to work. Enough politics. Will try to see Obama's speech on race.

Over the last couple of days:

Richie Havens - Mixed Bags
Beatles - Yellow Submarine
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
Yes - Close To the Edge
Artie Shaw - Star Dust
Nipper's Greatest Hits of the '30s, Vol. I
Hollywood's Best: The Thirties
Jelly Roll Morton - Jazz King of New Orleans
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Through the Years
U2 - Wide Awake In America
U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
Van Morrison - Moondance
Greenfire - Celtic String Ensemble
Bruce Springsteen - Live In Dublin
Van Morrison - St. Dominic's Preview
Van - Veedon Fleece
U2 - Paris, 7/4/87 DVD

Happy St. Paddy's Day.

3/13

As I celebrate the 37th birthday of the Fillmore East concerts by the greatest band in history, I learn of bad news tonight. Saxophonist Martin Fierro passed away after battling cancer for a brief time. He played with the Legion of Mary and with the Dead on and off for several years. I first saw him playing with the Derek Trucks Band in September of 1999 and again with the Allman Brothers in June, 2002 at the Warfield. While sometimes I found Fierro's playing a little too eccentric for my tastes, I appreciated his contribution to the fibrant music scene of so many great bands.
The Warfield is closing, though the reasons are unknown. I had learned a couple of years ago that the venue had acquired the next door business (hopefully the porn house) and was going to expand the concert hall to bring in bigger acts. I personally think this would be a great idea. The Warfield was getting a tad too cramped for my tastes. While I love the old theater, the bathrooms were atrocious, the floor was disgusting, the balcony seats a tad tight. I'll be curious to see the venue, which is supposed to be blown up to fit over 4,000 people, will be designed like a a modern Winterland - open with room for great views all around.

I'm tired of watching the Clinton campaign feel that this election is Hillary's and anyone in the way should be destroyed. I, on principle, can not vote for someone that's running a campaign like a Bush or Nixon administration and feel that Hillary will be just as divisive as the last sixteen years this poor old country has had to put up with. Ferraro, be smart, not hypocritical.

Miles Davis - Cookin' With
Allman Brothers Band - Live at Fillmore East
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Willie Nile - Streets of New York
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Tom Waits - Closing Time

3/10

Well, Elliot Spitzer bit the dust today. $5,500 an HOUR hookers? I wonder if they prorate...

Hillary had the gall to offer Obama the veep spot. Considering she's behind in the delegate count and that she charged that he wasn't qualified to lead, I'd say that the Clinton camp is showing signs of fatigue. Pulling out a page from the Rove playbook with the 3 a.m. garbage ad and now this, we're seeing the Clintonian politics of self-centeredness; her antics, if successful, will not only divide the nation against her but also her own party.

The Black Crowes' new album is exactly like the best of their previous records: the best you've ever heard with a couple of songs that are so Crowes-y meandery that one wonders just how they ended up on the album over the discarded ones. And yet, the "good" ones are songs that keep you in the faithful rock and roll fold, swearing that there is nothing better than this band in the pocket and always wishing they'd offer you the open guitar slot next year...

BC - Warpaint
Sheryl Crow - Detours (beginning to grow)
Miles Davis (first quintet) - Cookin With and Steamin' With (if one doesn't own these and considers oneself a jazz fan, there's part of life that's missing).

My Yellow Submarine just arrived tonight and I scanned it for my son. We surely have a different sensibility than previous generations regarding violence; I cringed at a couple of scenes for my son that I watched at the same exact age. Are we a better generation or a more 'wussified' one? Either way, I'll be hitting the fast-forward button a couple of times in the film.

Keep your schedule open: Tailgaters on Friday, April 25th, from 8:00 'til midnight. The Shui is in the house!

3/9 - The Phoenix

Has risen from the ashes. Funk Shui dusted off its business cards and playbills and knocked out a two-hour set with all-new cover band material. We had a blast; whether we sounded tight may be a different story. By the end of the evening, we had landed two gigs, so apparently things weren't all bad. My new guitar carried the evening, though I'm still not used to playing a Les Paul-type guitar. The pick ups are fat and beefy, in a completely different league than any Fender I own. I haven't even changed the strings on it; I'd hate to see how bright the attack is on the strings when they're new. Anywho, I hope that now, we can play the park again, play some bars and restaraunts and make a little spending money. Check this out and tell me what you think!

Took my elder son to the zoo. He's loving African animals right now so everything's African safari here at home. Heading to Oakland, then, he thought he was on the savanna, which was really cute. He brought his stuffed animal "Elefant-e" with him to show the little toy its real-life family. Then the gig. Today, church with a massive headache and an hour's sleep lost; today, errands and yardwork. I did get the chance to finally pick up Warpaint, the latest by the Black Crowes. My love for that band needs no explanation; I've been faithfully following these guys since college. They're everything a true classic rock band should be. I'm only four songs in and already I'm thinking, 'boys, it's glad to see you back', since this is the first album in almost eight years and several lineup changes. In typical fashion, the artwork and packaging suck, with no liner credits and silly, nonsensical and pointless "artwork". Lions had terrible sleeves, Three Snakes and A Charm offered hardly anything as well. By Your Side was okay but too glossy and overproduced and the double album released a couple of years ago lacked any sort of explanation of the history of two shelved albums other than, "it was time" sort of thing. Only the band's first three records have anything resembling great artwork and packaging. Then again, who cares? This band cooks. So hard, in fact, that tickets to their show at the Fillmore next week are unattainable. Bummer; this will be the first time in quite a while that I'll have to miss them.

Barack Obama won the Wyoming caucus this weekend, picking up a t-shirt and a dozen cookies. When will we get past this religious adherence to federalism only when it works to protect ridiculously small Republican-controlled meaningless entities like Wyoming? Fresno has more people in it than Wyoming and yet the dumb state has three heads of representation in Congress and the Electoral College. For a half-million residents, it's a pretty darn good deal. Consider that with California, with forty million people and fifty-five members in Congress. Do your math and you'll see that fair representation is a myth, just as much as the importance of the right as the popular vote, as Democrats are proving yet again with the disastrous Florida and Michigan delegate situations. By the way, where's the story about why Florida's being punished? Anyone raising a stink about the Democratic primary being moved to January without DNC permission by a Republican-controlled state government?

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Best of
Richie Havens - Mixed Bag
Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall
Tift Merritt - Another Country
Joe Lovano - Joyous Encounter

3/6

For the sake of a little nostalgia as well as for drawing comparisons, I'm reading David Halberstam's The Unfinished Odyssey of Robert Kennedy. Halberstam was one,excuse me, IS, one of my favorite journalist/historians and I was crushed when he died in a car accident the week my babies were born. Some of his books have been monumentally important on my career as a teacher, and this book is helping me make some direct correlations and comparisons to the current phenomenon of Barack Obama. I'm surprised more people haven't made a connection between RFK and Obama - the hype, the dynamic campaign, the hope their followers possess(ed), and the opposing candidates of monolithic status quo they face(d). I'd like for the connections to end there; obviously we're marking the 40th anniversary of RFK's assassination. This is where the nostalgia kicks in, but I've always been fascinated by the Bobby phenomenon. Maybe because he was cut down or maybe because he was a man of privilege and power who sought to understand life from those who were neither; the politician/plebian/poet, who could quote Aeschylus or Shaw and then sit with Cesar Chavez; one who attended Harvard and then worked in inner-city Chicago neighborhood service organizations. Lawyers both, Kennedy and Obama have, apparently, what such a large minority of Americans seek - charisma, passion, youth, vitality. Neither Clinton or McCain possess a passionate image of vision, and that will be the downfall of both. Whether Obama receives the Democratic nod, he is a future star of the party and a force to be reckoned with, if he continues to elevate the country on the back of his political career.
Finishing The Song Remains the Same, I've decided that, as Robert Cristgau described the band being "Genius Dumb", Led Zeppelin are STILL untouchable. Not heavy metal per se but true rocking, driving, rootsy and bluesy music. The video is terribly dated, but the most unfortunate aspect of viewing this concert film is the fact that there aren't any current bands that possess the talent, ability and drive to make such a spectacle. Say what one will about Zeppelin "possessing neither restraint nor taste", what they did possess was IT.


Duke Ellington - Masterpieces By Ellington
Count Basie and His Orchestra - April In Paris
Woody Allen - 's Movie Music

3/5

Well, the Dems, in typical fashion, are all willy-nilly and need a little more time to figure things out. In the meantime, John McCain decides to show up to the White House and have George W. Bush endorse him as president. Whether the Democratic Party gets its stuff together, John McCain just slit his own throat. He has tacitly just stated that he plans to run on a platform of the status quo, maintaining as much of the last eight years as possible, most likely contradicting most of the independent-minded aspects of his own Senate career. McCain the Maverick is what makes him attractive to independents and people who respect free thinking; McCain the Monkey grinder is exactly the opposite of what people have been wanting. The Democratic Party should be able to bury John McCain with the events of today; does this country really need or want more of the same? One hundred more years in Iraq, cowtowing to the fundamentalist right, making the elite's tax cuts permanent while ignoring the middle class. Is this what Americans want?

The Song Remains the Same continues to stun. It's amazing. And as overblown as Jimmy Page's soloing may be, there isn't any one player or band out there today with the energy or character as Led Zeppelin from 1973. Steve, this may be blasphemy, but the '73 run may top the '77 tour. Who knows?

Woody Guthrie - The Asch Recordings Vol. I
Tift Merritt - Another Country

Tonight, on the radio on the way home from band pratice, I was listening to KPFA's "Sing Out!". Starting the set was a fabulous acoustic version of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" which challenges Van's original. Just beautiful.

75 Years Ago Today

History ushered in the mantra of change and hope: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". Three quarters of century ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the thirty-second president of the United States and helped create a political party that sought to help those that historically have been held down. FDR helped restore the power of a presidency and government in the eyes of most Americans as well as steer the nation towards a century of leadership and example. He may not have been the best president nor the single example of a political savior; however, as we are rapt in the primary season, we continue to seek hope and leadership in political candidates that, while never being perfect, have the opportunity to create inspirational change and new vision for the nation. Whether any of the candidates have it, what needs to happen this fall is the same that took place seventy five years ago last November. We need a leader with a great vision or at least a greater vision than the president who sought to preserve status quo at the expense of the nation and its future.

In an act of self indulgence, I picked up the newly-remastered The Song Remains the Same, in name, to show my students. Truly lame, as I hit the 1970s, Led Zeppelin reins supreme over the decade. The class is a half-hour into the film and it's fantastic. The picture and sound quality are top-notch. To hear the audience cheering throughout the songs make one feel like one is in the MSG in the Spring of '73. I was elsewhere getting ready to make my grand appearance - though I was there in spirit. Tomorrow, the Rain Song, TSRTS, No Quarter, Stairway. It'll be a good first period.

Bruce - The Seeger Sessions
Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
James Taylor - October Road

I don't think I wrote about last night - two fantastic shows on PBS on two legendary musicians, important for different reasons. The first was a documentary on Pete Seeger, the true VOICE of the PEOPLE for the 20th century - from the 1930s to today, Seeger continues to show singers that the message IS bigger than the messenger. Of course, the Boss was included in the documentary and of course he delivered some of the more poignant words of Seeger's music and the power of music and message. He also aimed and fired at the Bush Administration in a comparison to Seeger's HUAC days where the powers of authoritarian regimes can and do kill with relish voices they disagree with.
The second show was on JT himself. The One Man Band concert that we all can pick up at our local struggling Starbucks. Worth it to see James solo but an hour doesn't deliver exactly what an incredible performance James really puts on. I've seen him twice and while that's nowhere the record number of my friend Chris at over twenty, I've enjoyed the two and a half-hour performances that I've seen. James is great and consistently solid. Solo, however, he demonstrates an uncanny ability to make his band irrelevant. Similar to another East Coast singer songwriter I love...

3/2

Good news from the doctor!

Learned today that guitarist Jeff Healey died this afternoon of cancer. What a loss. I remember Healey from his 1988 hit, "Angel Eyes" and I have his first record. Full of great blues, it's an amazing testimony to a fantastic player. I saw him live twice; once in 1990, opening up for ZZ Top and again in '93 at Laguna Seca Daze. RIP, Jeff.
Buddy Miles, too. Now that's a drag.
Enjoyed a great weekend; kite flying weather and a chance to see a couple of interesting films - Volver, with Penelope Cruz (!) and The Namesake, an Indian film. The latter was great, the former, only pretty good. Picked up some new music, and it's all great. Tift Merritt's new album is stellar. Much better than what I heard from her Myspace page. An absolute doll and amazing musician. The Robert Plant/Alison Krauss record's really cool - AND my wife wants to see them at the Greek!!! How's that? I also picked up (and here's where people need to tell me, DUH, I could have told you that!!!!!') Elvis Costello's first record, My Aim Is True. Listening to it twice this weekend, I had one of those moments where my world got just a little bigger because of what I was listening to. This deluxe edition has several outtakes and two live performances. If anything's anywhere remotely close to the studio album, this one will remain in rotation for quite a very long time. Where should I go next with Elvis?
Good listening weekend:

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Curtis Mayfield - Curtis
Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Sheryl Crow - Detours
Hank Mobley - Soul Station
Ravi Shankar - Three Ragas
Tift Merritt - Another Country
Richie Havens - Mixed Bag
REM - Green
Bruce - D&D
Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
Madeleine Peyroux - Half the Perfect World
Plant/Krauss - Raising Sand
Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
Benny Golson - Groovin' With Golson
Richie Havens - Grace of the Sun

with a little Edith Piaf and jazz as well.

I've really been enjoying Richie Havens' material. I recently read his memoir and have been inspired by the great Village scene and how he has come to make the music he has. Whether or not he ever attained "rock star" status after Woodstock is irrelevant. His music gives me a sense of peace and understanding of things that other music has yet to provide me. Whether it's his first or most recent record, the songs tell stories and capture feelings that I've felt but have needed someone to sing to me.

Well, Tuesday will be big for the Dems. Here goes nothing...