Chasing The Ghost Of Kerouac (Chapter Three)

This is the last installment in a concise three part series documenting my search for the ghost of Jack Kerouac.

To The Home of The Beats

When I first arrived in San Francisco, Kerouac was three years dead and the Beat movement long past, having given birth to a newer generation of free spirited youth ---- the dreadful Hippies. Of course, the apex of the 'Love Generation' had come and gone as well, leaving Haight Street choking on it's own vomit and the city reeling under the deluge of long hairs. Much larger in scope than the Beat influx of the decade prior, the Hippies were more of an occupation, drawing participants from the far-flung corners of the globe; the afterbirth of the cool. My reason for touching down in ol' Frisco had more to do with the legacy of the Beat poets than a journey to the Mecca of Flower Power. Obviously, I couldn't help but be involved with the new scene. After all, it was my generation! My hair was longish, although I tended to gravitate toward baggy cuffed slacks, button-down shirt collars and slope shouldered sport coats over buckskins and beads; a sort of professorial hipster. Because the San Francisco Hippies were more involved with dressing in period costume as Frank Zappa often satirized, I was accepted by my peers as long as I demonstrated a sympatico relationship with the patchouli crowd. I sought out many of the alleyways and after-hour jazz joints that I had read about in Kerouac's books, ferreting the backstreets, but disappointed to find the jazz clubs mostly silent, boarded and ghostly. Vesuvio's became a spiritual touchstone, as did the neighboring City Lights just across the back lane (now called Kerouac Alley). And then of course there was Jack's beloved Third Street, the skid row of elegant Frisco. Far from 'Love Central,' the SOMA district of Kerouac's railroad days was a decidedly unfashionable, down and out part of town. It still was in 1971, although today you'd be hard pressed to find any of the same pedigree of earthly humanity that so fascinated and inspired Jack in his time. The rents were still cheap, as was the food. The climate still temperate and the living free, but it was a new time, a new scene, and a new generation that I encountered. The clubs where I saw many a great show and befriended many a good soul, now flourished with acid rock and light shows, the vibe being altogether beatific, though not quite Beat. However, out on the streets and in the alleyways roamed the restless ghost of Kerouac, a spirit that continues to haunt me still today.

Memory Babe

Jack Kerouac is the de-facto poster child for the Beat Generation, as iconic as Che Guevara, Bob Dylan, FDR or JFK. Largely dismissed by the staid literati of his day, his writings (as well as those of his contemporaries) are now acknowledged for the revolutionary genius that they brought to American literature. But for all the reverence that Kerouac's ghost commands today, he was not entirely the kingly hipster saint for which he is often portrayed. In fact, he was quite human and terribly flawed, perhaps his greatest sin being his cruel and complete rejection of his very lovely daughter, Jan Kerouac, a tragic and talented writer herself. Despite Jack's reputation for freewheeling kicks, sexual experimentation and global travel, it was that and the frequent returns to the apron strings of his mother, Gabrielle that frequently get overlooked by those who deify him. I sometimes think that if I had met him in his element, I would not have liked him for the man he was. Of course, if I had met Jack in his element, I would have been a different person that I am today, and therefore may have felt much differently. But it has always been the power of his writing that has enamored me, rather than the romance of his beatific legacy. I am fortunate that Kerouac's jazz voice spoke to an element within me that has in fact, shaped who I am today, and for that, I am eternally grateful. Can you dig it?

Last Words On The Music

Gil Scott-Heron has admirably kept the spirit of poetry and music alive in the latter half of the 20th Century with his many fine recordings, particularly those on the Flying Dutchman label. Bob Dorough has always been a hipster and lived through the the same period as Kerouac, as did Lenny Bruce who unfortunately passed far too soon. Jackie McLean, also gone, was the ultimate in coolness with his jagged tone and dark demeanor and is represented here with 'Inding.' Allen Ginsberg, Young Tom Waits and Thelonious Monk return with additional contributions to the canon, as does the comedy of Del Close and John Brent with their hilarious send-up of hipster, Geets Romo struggling in vain to explain hep lingo to his hopelessly straight laced interviewer. Poet, Michael McClure howls with the king of beasts in the den of lions at the controversial San Francisco Zoo, and Yours Truly contributes one last piece to round out the proceedings. J.J. Johnson, Bobby Jaspar, Gigi Gryce, Phineas Newborn and Kenneth Patchen also help out. Did I forget Sarah Webster Fabio? Oop-Pop-Pa-Da!

1) The Rat Race Blues/Gigi Gryce

2) Shorty Petterstein Interview/Lenny Bruce
3) Inding/Jackie McLean
4) The Revolution Will Not Be Televised/Gil Scott-Heron
5) The Loose Wig/Del Close & John Brent
6) America/Allen Ginsberg
with New Blues/Phineas Newborn Jr.
7) Hollywood And Vine/Miles Mellough
8) As I Opened The Window/Kenneth Patchen w/Alan Neil
9) Sweet Songs/Sarah Webster Fabio
10) Lucien Midnight, Pt.1/Jack Kerouac
11) Double Up/Bobby Jaspar
12) Put-On, Putdown, Come-On, Comedown, Bringdown
/Del Close & John Brent
13) Charles Yardbird Parker Was His Name/Bob Dorough
14) Misterioso/J.J. Johnson
15) Diamonds On My Windshield/Young Tom Waits
16) Grahhh! Michael In The Lion's Den/Michael McClure
17) No Knock/Gil Scott-Heron
18) Ruby, My Dear/Thelonious Monk

To download, click here. Collect all 3 compilations and be the hippest cat (or kitty) on the block!

Chasing The Ghost Of Kerouac (Chapter Two)

Last week I waxed poetic, offering an extremely brief overview of the players in the American Beat movement, as well as the circumstances, events and literature that so intrigued my once tender mind. Together they circuitously led me to became an aficionado of Beat poetry, literature and ethos, possessing a penchant for the writing of one particular iconoclastic author. I now pick up where I left off, chasing the ghost of Jack Kerouac.

Finding The Beat Within The Rock

Within a few years, now a little older and a bit wiser, I graduated from comic books to serious literature and slowly began devouring the works of Kerouac, Ginsberg and their contemporaries, while those around me were grooving to Iron Butterfly and the Vanilla Fudge. Although I did listen to psychedelic sounds, I was simultaneously beginning my first flirtations with jazz via Wes Montgomery and Thelonious Monk.

I had come to Monk in an equally innocent and roundabout way, as had been my introduction to the Beats. T was featured on the cover of Time magazine about the same time as the events I recalled last week. I remember returning to that issue repeatedly, staring intensely at the photo of this most mysterious looking man with the blackest of skin and a wispy goatee, wearing some goofy hat and the banner reading, 'Thelonious Sphere Monk, The High Priest of Bop.' "Wow! What universe was this!?," I thought to myself. "Look at this guy! A priest of some sort and that name! This is crazy! Even Maynard idolized him! This guy is definitely Beat!" My fragile ten-year-old mind was forever ruptured.

Meanwhile back in late teenville, it was the writing of Jack Kerouac that resonated most deeply within me. I was fortunate enough to have heard the jazz within his prose and recognize his breaking of conventional norms. Not that I was alone. His tales of freedom and travel had inspired an entire generation of youth before me who were galvanized by his words in much the same way that The Beatles and Dylan would a decade later. In fact (and you know this), the Beats directly influenced the following and equally significant cultural sea change --- the dreadful Hippies. A bit out of sync, my friends were perplexed by the allure of my Beat preoccupation, but tolerant nonetheless (as any good aspiring Hippie should have been). Having become a connoisseur of Beat literature, I still felt drawn to the world of cool jazz and kicks that epitomized the elder hipsters of past. But in another cosmic goof of life, now that I was ready to explore the world that had sparked my imagination, it was no longer to be found or perhaps more accurately, had become something more. The subterranean world had risen overground with the volcanic eruption and enormity of the 'Love Generation,' the kicks were now elevated to a new 'high' so to speak, and the jazz joints for which I craved had become the dance halls and ballrooms of the rock age. A fair trade perhaps, but not the one I was looking for. It was not that I was so naive as to think that the world had frozen with the infamous Six Gallery readings of 1955. I had seen the 'Twilight Zone,' but knew better than to believe that world I had hoped to experience was some interactive museum exhibit through which I could vicariously participate. I was merely disappointed by the speed with which the Beats heritage became consumed and compromised. Although I readily found my own niche within the promise of the new day, I still felt as though I were a man out of time; in my generation, but not of it.

Looking to experience the wellspring of Kerouac's 'spontaneous prose,' I began hitchhiking across the country during school breaks, traveling the blue highways and back roads of the no name towns of an America that I was eager to embrace. Rather than the more worldly adventures of my contemporaries who hatched plans to travel Mexico, Thailand, Morocco and India for the obvious reasons, my route led me through Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans and St. Louis. From there, I pressed westward covering San Antone, Santa Fe, Nevada and California. In between, I met the salt of the earth in any number of small towns, drowsy communities and wide spots on the road that dot our vast continent. Hitching was easy in those days and so was making money, probably the last of the simpler times. Knocking on the door of a farmhouse and offering to perform some menial labor in exchange for a dry place to sleep and a warm meal to fortify me, often saw me through a coast-to-coast journey. And if I happened to receive a few dollar bills in the process, it was all the better. Sadly, encounters with the mythical 'farmer's daughter' never materialized to my dismay. I did find however that the America I was eager to embrace was not quite as eager to embrace me. Occasionally finding trouble, I quickly learned that by trimming my hair to resemble that of a Beatniks length, ironically portrayed me as less threatening than the newer cultural menace they had spawned --- again, the dreadful Hippies!

...to be continued next week

A Few More Words About The Music

Chet Baker was always a favorite of Kerouac and the Beats by way of his own cool, as were the West Coast sounds of Stan Levey and Dexter Gordon. 'Hūm Bom!' may not be the best work by Allen Ginsberg, but Steve Swallow's laid-back disco-ized arrangement beneath it makes for some powerful propaganda. Fictional hipster, Geets Romo returns to explain the meaning of cool and uncool, as does Tom Waits with his musical dissertation on the nocturnal activities of everyman 'Putnam County.' The sensational, Mark Murphy recorded two entire records dedicated to the spirit of Kerouac and contributes several selections with excepts of Jack's written word. Yours Truly also returns with two pieces, one like Murphy with a bit of Kerouac's verbiage set to music, the other, an original. Enjoy.

1) Solar/Chet Baker

2) Ballad Of The Sad Young Men/Mark Murphy
3) Hūm Bom!/Allen Ginsberg
4) Poems (Fragments)/Jack Kerouac
with It Could Happen To You/Sonny Clark
5) Medley: Jack & Neil/California, Here I Come/Tom Waits
6) Body And Fender (Body And Soul)/Miles Mellough
7) Cool/Del Close & John Brent
8) Tune Up/Stan Levey Sextet
9) Vision Of Rotterdam/Gregory Corso
10) San Francisco/Mark Murphy
11) November In The Snow/Mark Murphy
12) Uncool/Del Close & John Brent
13) Jack's History Of Jazz/Miles Mellough
14) Visions Of Cody & On The Road/Jack Kerouac w/Steve Allen
15) Orient/Ernie Henry
16) Putnam County/Tom Waits
17) Kerouac/Morphine
18) American Haikus (Excerpts)/Jack Kerouac w/Zoot Sims & Al Cohn

To download, click here.

Chasing The Ghost Of Kerouac (Chapter One)

This Is The Beat Generation

People are drawn to San Francisco for many reasons; the weather, the sophistication, the politics, the lifestyle. The city holds much the same attraction for me as well, but there is one additional reason for which I feel affection; my lifelong interest in Beat literature and Beat culture. You see, San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood in the mid 1950's was the epicenter of the cultural renaissance now known as the 'Beat Movement,' attracting dreamers, writers, poets and painters to it's warm climes, cheap food and free living. Among the literati who briefly made the city their home were the architects and most well known names of the mid-century poetry renaissance; Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Gary Snyder and of course, Jack Kerouac. Others were already an organic part of the growing community like, Kenneth Rexroth, Michael McClure, Kirby Doyle, Philip Lamantia and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. In time, poet and jazz drummer Harold Hart, along with David Meltzer, Jack Micheline and the wonderful Bob Kaufman drifted into the scene to further enrich it. Though primarily a boy's club, there were many talented women who were part of the circle as well; Ann Charters, Joyce Johnson, ruth weiss, Diana DiPrima and Hettie Jones most notably. Collectively, although largely due to the writings of Kerouac, this group comprised the core of the 'Beat Movement' and they, along with other disenfranchised youth who were drawn to their ethos, made for the larger and culturally significant 'Beat Generation.' It is their past presence that has made San Francisco rich with the history and myth of the Beat poets, and like any student of history enamored with a period or place, I marvel at my opportunity and ability to travel the same streets and alleyways that my heroes once traversed and wrote about in the books I love, passing many of the same cultural cornerstones as I do today in my search for the ghost of Jack Kerouac.

My Beginnings In Beat

My fascination with Beat culture began quite young and embarrassingly not through academic study, but rather within the pages of a comic book. As a pipsqueak, the bible by which I lived could be found on the racks of any neighborhood newsstand under the guise of Alfred E. Newman's 'Mad' magazine. During the fifties, the irreverent publication often satirized the Beat culture with characterizations of the most cliché and dubious aspects of the beatnik lifestyle. Along with the then popular television series, 'Dobie Gillis' with his perpetually unemployed and Beat friend, Maynard G. Krebs, my fascination with all things Beat was set in motion. I certainly knew nothing of the Beat writers or the jazz musicians who inspired them. Perhaps it was merely the goatees or the bongos that intrigued me. Who knows? All I did know was that those way-out, wacky hipsters seemed to be the livin' end! You dig?

It was in this same window of time that I experienced a great and significant cosmic goof of life in some strange confluence of environment, circumstance, happenstance and luck. Riding our bicycles along the pathways of the nearby college campus, my best friend, Manny and I happened into a chance encounter with an honest-to-goodness, real-life hipster who along with the previously mentioned influences, forever altered my life in ways that can only be described as profound. The pedestrian walkways of the university grounds were a favorite course of ours for their gentle rolling slopes, scenic spoils and lack of motorized traffic. Zooming along for what felt like hours, we serendipitously screeched to a halt to lay in the shade of a Maple tree to catch our breath. We were lost in the moment of a late summer day when from the basement light well of a nearby building, we heard the sound of an impossibly weird configuration of sound filtering through the window grates; the syncopation of modern jazz. We craned our necks to find the source of this vibration and squeezed into the snug window well that overlooked what turned out to be the studios of the campus radio station. In hushed but excited tones, we speculated on the risks of getting busted for attempting to sneak in for a closer inspection. Suddenly and without warning, a lean, wavy-haired slightly disheveled young man entered the room and into my ten-year-old world; Jay Diamond --- bon vivant, student of literature, broadcasting and more importantly, beatnik! I couldn't contain myself! Making more noise than I should have, he looked up to spy us and with a wave of his hand, we scattered for a speedy escape to our bicycles. Unbeknownst to us, his gesture was a welcoming one rather than bothersome. From the window, he yelled out to us with a magnanimous invitation to come inside and have a look around and with that, I came face to face with the two forces that shaped my adult life --- radio and the Beat Generation!

Jay opened the studio to us for return visits, allowing us to witness the inner workings of an actual radio station, albeit a college radio station with a 50-watt signal, but a station nonetheless. In a very short period of time, Manny and I came to think the world of Jay as both our friend and mentor, as he was the first 'old guy' we'd ever met to show us any amount of interest, other than our relatives. Rather than dismissing us as pesky kids, we were treated with sincerity and respect, our inquisitions welcomed. He was also absolutely the 'coolest' person we had ever encountered. Despite our constant hounding in the months that followed, Jay always found the time to hear us out between his studies, exams or whatever other activities he engaged in, sharing his taste in music and views on life.* So enamored were we, when it come time for him to graduate the following spring, we pulled together our resources and bought him a going away present --- a shiny new Silver Dollar. Knocking on his door to personally deliver our flashy gift, his roommate, 'Powderkeg' (don't even ask!) answered, barely containing himself from uproarious laughter at our escapade. I recall him stammering something along the lines of "Ah, crazy man, like Jay's not here right now, but aah... like ahh, why don't you fellas fall by later on 'cause the Jayman, like, will probably really want to see this, man!" I'm sure it wasn't quite like that, but in my mind, I had officially entered into the realm of Beat.

...to be continued next week

A Word About The Music And Poetry

In addition to Jack Kerouac's recitations, the selections in this weeks mix include many of the musicians whose work was popular with Jack and the Beats in the 1950's. The inclusion of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell goes without saying, and although Louie Jordan was probably not a favorite of most beatniks, Kerouac thought him the cat's meow. The continental, way-out, swingin', finger poppin' and hilarious Babs Gonzales was not a Beat, but was certainly a hipster of the highest order, as was the great raconteur, Lord Buckley. I've also incorporated a few of the later artists who were directly inspired by the Beats and their cultural contribution. Tom Waits obviously did an outstanding job of carrying the torch in his earlier incarnation and recordings, and therefore is represented twice. Dylan in his own way did a good job too, but Zimmerman is a universe unto himself and therefore not included. I've also included two selections by Yours Truly which I hope contribute more to the subject at hand, than simply my vanity. '(I Remember) Saint Jack K' is a live recording from a PBS radio broadcast that was held in conjunction with the opening of a major exhibit of Beat related artifacts, paintings and memorabilia at the prestigious, H.M. deYoung Museum of Art in San Francisco. I had been invited to participate in the program, sharing the stage with David Amram, ruth weiss, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Hettie Jones and others. It was a thrilling experience for me, and one in which I feel deeply honored to have been a part. The piece was written especially for the occasion in the voice of Kerouac, and debuted with a band of musicians that had never performed together previously, much less heard the material. It was jazz in its purist form! I bring this up because since the piece had never been rehearsed, I had no idea just exactly how long it would run. The producers agreed that it would be a good segment to closeout the program, so I launched into the unknown as the final performance of the day. Three quarters of the way through the number, the stage director began giving me all manner of 'wrap it up' hand signals known to mankind, and what was I to do? To end prematurely would have no sense at all and destroyed the piece entirely, leaving my closing moment of glory broken and reduced to "sorry clay-like rubble." Those minutes remain ingrained in my memory, as the directors eyes shot daggers, the band looking to me for the signal to bring it down, and the audience seemingly more entertained than they were just minutes prior. The end result --- for better or for worse ---- is what you hear, editing as I read aloud, and the house pianist deftly sliding onto the piano bench to take the program to its conclusion as the final words spilled from my mouth.

By the way, the players on this piece included the wonderful Ken French at the piano, the masterful Marcus Shelby on bass, and the gentlemanly sophistication of Brian Bowman on drums.

1) Introspection/Thelonious Monk

2) October In The Railroad Earth/Jack Kerouac w/Steve Allen
3) Kim/Charlie Parker
4) Step Right Up/Tom Waits
5) Dem Jive New York People/Babs Gonzales
6) Medley: Ornithology/Bud Powell
and Compulsion/Miles Davis
with The Beat Generation
and The Early History Of Bop/Jack Kerouac
7) Basic Hip/Del Close & John Brent
8) (I Remember) Saint Jack K/The Author
9) Ain't We Got Fun/Jack Kerouac
10) Saturday Night Fish Fry/Louis Jordan
11) Jonah & The Whale/Lord Buckley
12) 4 Poems In a Blues Mood/Kenneth Patchen w/The Alan Neil Quartet
13) The Subterraneans/Jack Kerouac
14) I'll Remember April/Charlie Parker w/Strings
15) Greenwich Village Poets/Charles Kuralt
16) Emotional Weather Report/Tom Waits
17) The Blue Blue Third/Miles Mellough

To download, click here and unzip for an expoobident experience. Crazy, man!

*Jay eventually went on to teach Middle School with the N.Y.C. Public School system.

Q & A With The Author Of 'Birds With Broken Wings'

Q: With so many blogs out there, why should anyone take the time to read yours?
A: Good question. Well, it appears that not many are. The last time I checked, I had something like 23 subscribers. That's nothing really. A grain of sand. I mean, out of the entire world wide web, apparently only less than two dozen people have found it interesting enough to permanently bookmark. So in the larger scheme of things, it's a drop in the ocean. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, I don't know. One guy did tell me however that he subscribed just to impress some new girl he met, hoping maybe to get laid or something. I said, "Christ! What makes you think that? I write the damn thing and it hasn't helped me any!" Most likely it's just taking its time finding an audience. People have a lot of choices, you know? I hope in time they'll choose mine. I do get a lot of hits, but I'm judging my effectiveness on the number of downloads my mixes receive. It is the music I want people to experience after all, but I would also like them to hear what I have to say as well. I mean, I'm relatively articulate and engaging, and I certainly don't refer to everything as a 'classic' or a 'masterpiece.' Those terms get thrown around literally like confetti these days!

So why should people read it? Well, I think I've lived a pretty interesting life. I've met some interesting people and done some interesting things along the way.

Q: Like what?
A: Oh you know, the opium trade, sub-Sahara gun runner, plastic surgery. Regular stuff.

Q: Really!?
A: No. (Long pause) I mean, I'm not Jack Kerouac or anything, but my experiences count for something. I've got a thousand and one stories to tell. Good ones too, and they've never failed me yet. You know... like at parties, bars, cafes, places like that. Plus there are more in the making as we speak. And oh yeah, I have a fairly big record collection to share.

Q: Why do you think it's taking readers so long to come around?
A: Well, although it's primarily a music blog, I do write a lot of prose each week. Most other music bloggers just say a few lines about the tunes and then post their MP3's. Some don't even bother to say anything at all, other than post the title! But I like to do something more and maybe that's where the problem lays. You see the longer I do this, and it hasn't been long, I'm learning that the majority of those who come to music blogs don't really come to read! They simply come to find some new music. The text is secondary. Others often come only for the free download of something that isn't already in their library, period. The latter group can often be selfish about it too! I think that any music blogger would tell you that for every 100 downloads of their MP3 posts, only 3 people actually take the time to leave a comment. It was the same in radio. One written letter represented eight dozen listeners, or something. But I don't think that music blogs should be thought of as the 'free crate' at a sidewalk sale. It is free, yes, but an encouraging comment or a thank you isn't much to ask for in return. I mean, a lot of work goes into it. I put a lot of time into mine. I could be doin' something else constructive, like working toward world peace, or sheltering animals, or making some money, you know? I just hope that readers will appreciate the dedication it takes for any blogger to crank this stuff out. But people are people, you know? Hoping for that is probably as likely as the Crips forming a book club.

I think it's also because I post mixes instead of complete LP's too, and a lot of people can't bothered with that, you know? I understand that. It's difficult to imagine what a mix might sound like, especially if you aren't already familiar the material. You probably ask yourself, "Well who are these guys? Will I like it?" Or maybe, "I already have some of that stuff, why should I bother?," etcetera. Reading a track list can be misleading. All it takes is the inclusion of just one name that raises a flag and the whole thing gets rejected. People are fickle that way. It's what they call 'button pushers' in radio, people in their cars who tune out at the first song that doesn't grab them. But it's like trying on a pair of shoes, you know? It only takes two minutes to download the file and if you don't like what you hear, you delete it! Or just delete the offending song! I know from experience that there has to be a certain level of trust or faith in the presenter to assure someone that a particular persons take on programming is worth the effort to investigate it. My hope is that the mix will serve to whet, rather than sate the appetite for more, and that's why I post compilations over full length recordings.

Q: How did you get into blogging?
A: Well actually, I got into computers pretty late. For years I was looking around for ways to reconstruct my world. I tried writing, playing music, graphic arts, being a bum, everything. I explored nearly every creative path short of rebuilding the world with Popsicle sticks and Elmer's glue. Then I discovered computers shortly after the rest of the universe and realized what an enabler it could be. Early on, I stumbled onto a few blogs that were like, "Today I walked the dog and twisted my ankle on a crack in the sidewalk" or "Our little Evan took his first baby steps today!" Pedestrian stuff. Journal entries really, and I thought, "Well this isn't for me." Later, I went looking for something more engaging and found things like, 'Dr. Eugene Soskin Explains Molecular Physics And Wave-Particle Duality For Laymen And Other Mortals' or something like that. Well, I am a layman, but the duality part just went right over my head. Eventually, I clicked on a link that led me to a music blog --- JR's, 'The Heat Warps' --- and I thought, "Now this looks interesting." It was well written and his taste in music was pretty exceptional and it looked good too. I figured I'd try it myself. JR was actually pretty helpful in offering me some advice when I started my own.

Q: So what kind of computer do you use?
A: I've got a little MacBook. It's a pretty functional unit, at least for the things I do with it. It's never given me any trouble. I like it. It's a pretty good little machine. Balances my checkbook, keeps me in touch with old friends, repairs the handle on my toilet tank. Kind of like an all purpose toolbox in a white plastic shell.

Q: Why did you choose Megaupload as your file host?
A: Crap shoot really. I didn't know one host site from another. I just tossed a dart. Someday I'd like to find one of those that doesn't make you wait a million hours before you can download another file. And one that automatically opens in another window, so that the reader isn't directed away from my site. There's probably an easy way to do that, but I just haven't figured it out yet.

Q: Since your site focuses on music, do you consider yourself a musicologist or merely a fan?
A: A little of both really. I've always been involved with music on a professional level in some way or another. It's been a big part of my life, but I can't honestly say that I'm an expert or anything. I remain faithful to the artists that move me, but I'm afraid there is little of anything new that really grabs me these days. Pop music has been languishing in a great lull for some time now. Maybe all the good songs have already been written. Most of what I hear really is really tepid. I do like Red Runner though. They seem pretty real.

Q: I've never heard of them.
A: Oh! Well, I'm not surprised. I just made them up. I didn't think you'd actually call me on it. I mean the point is, I'd like to be able to drop a bunch of names and be like some streetwise talent scout, but there's so little out there. I don't automatically gravitate to new artists just because they're new. Take Hootie and The Crayfish for instance, or whatever family of fish they were. Or that group that had some kid dressed up like a bumblebee with Buddy Holly glasses. There were big for about a minute and a half and where are they today? How many of those 'hot commodities' over the last ten years are still around or making relevant music? There's always the underground stuff, but I need some melody in my pop music. Ultimately, I listen to whatever inspires me. Thelonious Monk has always been a big hero of mine. Marvin Gaye's work still sounds good to me. Van Morrison, Waits, Aretha's Columbia and Atlantic recordings, Brian Wilson. In a sense, they're all poets at what they do. Of course I mentioned last week that NRBQ can do no wrong in my book. Even the worst of their output I still find satisfying. Well, maybe not all of it. I take that back. Other blogs have introduced me to some new things, or reminded me of things I haven't listened to in awhile, but I try to avoid embracing something just because it's new. It has to be good! For instance, in one of my past posts, I showcased some of the current San Francisco bands that I liked. My one foray into new music equaled the least number of downloads or interest. Maybe they weren't the 'hottest' acts, you know, but I think they're good. I try to go with what I know best, much like my record collection. It's big, but it's personal. There are some rarities in it, but mostly it's just stuff that I truly like or that has deeply moved me. I'm not interested in collecting just for the sake of collecting or wowing my friends.

In 'Birds With Broken Wings,' I offer custom mixes almost exclusively, and I do that for two reasons. Number one, it's to approximate the sound of eclectic radio programming where the listener hears variety within a contextual format. I try to throw in the unexpected when I can. I enjoy the element of surprise as long as it's not jarring, and I hope that any sophisticated listener can be appreciative of that. Secondly, I hope that if someone is curious enough to learn more about the work of any given artist I've featured, they'll be motivated to go out and actually buy something of whoever it was that caught their ear, maybe see a show. At least support them in some way. I think it's unfair to everyone to post entire LP's or CD's top to bottom. I'll only feature a full album if it's out of print and unavailable. Last week however I did something different, a mix comprised entirely of one band.* It was a lot of material and some people may find that satisfying enough. But I hope not. I have conflicting feelings about what I did. I mean, they're friends of mine and I'd like people to know about them and patronize them, but don't stop with the download. It's just there to interest you further. Go check them out! But you know what? That mix saw a lot of action, but not one person responded! So how am I to interpret that? Did I fail to convince anyone or did I simply give the whole store away at the bands expense? Without feedback, there's no way of knowing and that's what I find most frustrating about this blogging stuff.

But getting back to what I said earlier regarding mixes. I think that all music buffs like to believe their taste is impeccable, but there is a certain art to effectively stringing music together, whether it's one artist or a variety. For instance, just look at the set list below. Could you conjure a more disparate inventory of artists? On paper it just doesn't make sense, but if it's constructed properly, a mix like that can really sing. (Pause) People have generally liked my choices in the past. I mean, I did hold a radio career for many years in which I solely was responsible for the selections that got played. Not the charts, not a computer generated playlist, not the competition. Not even the music director! But when it comes to listening, it's always subjective.

Q: One last question. Many bloggers don't reveal their real identities. Is that actually you in the photo at the top of the page?
A: Yeah, it is. It's a promo shot that never got used when my band was touring a few years back. It's funny to look at it now. I always thought I was taller, and better looking. At least my hair was decent.

1) You Wreck Me/Tom Petty

2) Out In The Street/The Who
3) Jackson Kent Blues/The Steve Miller Band
4) Kosmos/Paul Weller
5) Interlude #1
6 & 7) Struck : Rough And Tumble/Joe Henry
8) The Black Messiah/George Duke
9) Sweet Surrender/Sarah McLachlan
10) You Get What You Give/The New Radicals
11) Couldn't I Just Tell You/Todd Rundgren
12) When It Rains/Brad Mehldau
13) Interlude #2
14) Joy/Lucinda Williams
15) Country Darkness/Elvis Costello
16) Looking For A Kiss/The New York Dolls
17) Never Before/Deep Purple
18) Since I've Been Loving You/Corrine Bailey Rae
19) Deuteronomy: Niggerman/MéShell Ndegéocello

To download, click here. Comments are welcomed.

*Actually, once previously as well.