The Truths We Hold - An American Journey by Kamala Harris

 

Having made history by being elected the first woman (!) of color (!!) as the Vice President of the United States, I thought that I should learn a bit more about Ms. Harris, other than that she's the woman who made Brett Kavanaugh cry! Written as she was preparing to run for president, this is as much of an introduction to the woman as it is a stump speech, but it is a good one.

Her Jamacan father and East Indian mother were both brilliant students when they met in California and were deeply involved in the civil rights movement of the 60's. Kamala's passion for justice was instilled in her early and although her parents split up, her mother remained vitally involved in equal rights as she did in science. Music was also a big part of the family, with her father diggin' hip jazz - Monk, Coltrane, etc. - and her mom singing along to Aretha Franklin and the Edwin Hawkins singers! Harris even admits an early crush on Tito Jackson of the Jackson 5!

With so many friends and family in the civil rights movement, it is inevitable that they would sometimes need lawyers and there were some in their circle of friends that everyone looked up to and sought their advice and Kamal decided that is what she wanted to be, as well. From there she worked her way up until she became a senator, always working - per her own autobiography, so you have to take everything with a grain of salt, although her record is public - for the rights of others, be it the LGBTQ community, women's rights, immigrant's rights or the many other injustices in this country. She glosses over/ignores some of her more controversial portions of her life, which might have been a good idea to tackle, but maybe she doesn't have answers for some of those questions. As with any politician, or any person period, she is not perfect, nor do I agree with her on everything, but she does appear to have her heart in the right place and I believe that she will do what she can in her capacity as VP to help those in need, as she seems to have tried to do throughout her career.

The book is very well written - Kamala is obviously quite intelligent - but also pretty depressing. The amount of work that Biden and Harris have in front of them is staggering, especially considering the amount of sabotage that Trump is doing to hinder their administration, and the repugs have already said that they will do everything they can to block any meaningful work, but at least we will have an administration working for America again, instead of a traitor-in-chief. Best of luck to them!

Rock'n'Roll Sweepstakes, the Authorized Biography of Ian Hunter by Campbell Devine

 

Although I didn't realize it when I bought this new bio, Devine also wrote a book on Mott the Hoople, All the Young Dudes, the Biography, which I enjoyed, so I think that this tome is already in good company. I have been fascinated with Ian and MTH since I first heard "All the Young Dudes" and I have played their records probably every week of my life since then!

A bit of a loner as a child, Ian drifted towards music and then was completely enthralled when rock'n'roll hit the British shores while he was a teenager, being especially enamored with Jerry Lee Lewis and the wildman Little Richard. Despite disappointing his parents, he had to join in and was soon playing'n'singing in local bands. As I've said numerous times, I always love reading about the rabidly exciting days of r'n'r in the 60's and Ian's tale is certainly no different - he played in all types of bands, including a Screamin' Lord Sutch take-off that sounds like it was literally out of control!

Of course, Devine brings in the other MTH members around this time, giving their convoluted, intertwined, innumerable bands-histories. There's a nice aside when the pre-Ian band, then called The Silence, played in Germany and Overend raves about the Monks! The Silence is eventually picked up by Guy Stevens and signed to Island records on the condition that they change out their singer - Guy famously desired a band that was a combination of the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan and that's where Ian Hunter came in and the rest is rock'n'roll history.

Recording four albums in reasonably quick succession, Guy Stevens' production sometimes hampers the group (he seems to have been literally teetering on the brink of insanity) and sometimes lets them go fairly berserk and the material varies dramatically from blistering rock'n'roll that obviously influenced punk bands, especially the Sex Pistols (Ian notes this, as well), to Dylan-ish ballads to country rock!

Although the albums were not big sellers, the band grew into a monstrous live act with a rabid fan base. The early albums are now considered classics, with their mix of blazingly hot rockers and Ian's more mellow ballads that are indeed, Dylan-esque. Unfortunately, they did not sell and the band had actually broken up when they got a call from David Bowie who offered them "All the Young Dudes" and sudden stardom. Everything moved at lightning speed, with big shows, tours, another critically acclaimed album, Mott, that produced a couple more (Ian-penned) hits (although I'm fairly flabbergasted that the group did not like the American album cover, with a fantastic photo of them looking ultra-rock'n'roll and preferred the blase, unexciting British version) followed by the departure of their incredible guitarist, Mick Ralphs. After already having lost organist Verden Allen after ATYD, this huge loss could have meant the end for them but they rush-procured former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor and renamed him Ariel Bender. Unfortunately, although they put out an album and toured with Luther, he never really clicked with them (I never really cared for him in the band and feel a bit vindicated by this book's interviews that showed that the band agreed, despite their public approval) and he was asked to leave, with the plan to bring in Mick Ronson. This combo, which seemed perfect on paper, literally only lasted weeks, ending with the demise of the band altogether.

This books really is the story of MTH, with a sequel due in 2021 concentrating on Hunter's solo career. Devine does a great job of gathering everyone's input, especially Ian's, and putting the tale together in a highly enjoyable way. MTH created an incredible amount of fantastic r'n'r in a mere 5 years (boggling how short their career was!) and any fan of real rock'n'roll music should own all of their albums and this book!

recommended gigs

11-21-20 - Johnny Zig and the Force LIVE at GOAT 

11-23-20 Thee Swank Bastards LIVE at the Golden Tiki

11-25-20 - *CANCELLED* the Delta Bombers, Shanda and the Howlers and the Ryolite Sound LIVE at the Fremont Country Club

11-30-20 Thee Swank Bastards LIVE at the Golden Tiki

The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa and Peter Occhiogrosso

 I first heard Zappa when my sister brought home the Mothers of Invention's We're Only In It For the Money and was fairly well freaked out'n'fascinated. Then in my teens a good friend was a Zappa fanatic and we used to go see him whenever we could in Chicago, which was fairly often. I didn't really pay attention to him after the 70's, but always respected the man and his works. I have been revisiting him somewhat due to my more recent obsession with Captain Beefheart and this bio randomly came across my attention so I decided to check it out.

Turns out it's an autobiography in which Peter would prompt Frank and record his answers and compile them in a reasonably coherent form. This is actually pretty entertaining, actually, as you feel like Frank is simply talking with you. He goes on tangents and fiddles with chronology but Peter keeps the storyline pretty much under control.

As a pre-rock'n'roll teen, Zappa was enamored by Rhythm'n'Blues but one day discovered a record by avant composer Varese entitled "Ionisation" and this changed his concepts of what music could be. He never lost his R'n'B roots, though, and through them he formed various groups and became friends with another local loon, the afore-mentioned Captain. Eventually, he graduated, went through various odd jobs and by chance ended up owning a home made recording studio where he would work out his own compositions.

At some point he sat in and took over a group which became the Mothers and, due to record company insistance, the Mothers of Invention. Surprisingly, this collection of oddballs got signed to a major label and was able to release a double album as their debut! I love to hear anyone's recollections of my adopted home town of LA/Hollywood in the 60's and Zappa, naturally, has his own unique take on it. Funnily, although he has always disparaged hippies in general, he was obviously proud of LA and thought that it was more individualistic than other cities, such as San Francisco.

From there, the rest of the book is not a biography at all but simply Frank’s “philosophy of the world”. Fair enough, it's his book and he's always intelligent and highly opinionated and while I don't always agree with him, he's not boring! But, boy, when he goes on about how stupid America is, I can't even imagine what he would think in this time of the Trump cult! Of course, there is a chapter on the PMRC - remember them? This bit of censorship from Tipper Gore (among other things, of course) quite possibly cost Al the presidency.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book where Frank does give a bit of info about his life and while I mostly (not completely) agree with his philosophy of life, his proselytizing throughout the later part of the book does get somewhat tiresome - I would have preferred more concentration on his music. But I sure would have liked to have seen the TV show that he talks about pitching - sort of a musical version of the Daily Show, sorta/kinda! Too bad that didn't happen!

In any case, fans have probably already seen this book since it was released over 30 years (!!) ago, but it's a good read overall. 

Mockingbird Wish Me Luck - Charles Bukowski

 

Yeah, I'm on a Bukowski re-reading kick while I'm waiting for book orders to arrive in the mail. This 1972 poetry release must have come out about the time of the first record I heard from him, so these resonate pretty strongly with me and I hear his voice and his cadence every time I read them. 

Here he was still living in small rooms in Hollywood, with wild women, hippies, and drunks'n'druggies for company, whether he wanted it or not. Here he's still hungry, more than a little mad, drunk on cheap crap but laying down the strong lines about his view on life, his women, the racetrack, jail, other poets, cheap rooms, death and whatever fantasies pop into his demented mind. At times he becomes uncharacteristically sentimental when talking about his daughter and, when things were good, his love at the time, the sculptress Linda King.

While our personalities are nothing alike and my life has been nowhere near as extreme as his, I did live in the same neighborhoods, although not at the same time, and I have felt the sting of madness now'n'again, and certainly plenty of dark depressions, so there are bits'n'pieces I can relate to, and his words always ring true'n'powerful.

I dunno if I've read anything of his that I thought was bad, but this is a damn good one. Man, I miss the days of walking over to Red's bookstore and picking up the latest Buk release! 

Betting on the Muse by Charles Bukowski

 

This 1996 release - a couple years after his death - is a collection of poems and prose put together by Bukowski's wife, Linda, from unpublished works he left to be released posthumously. Here the writing is a bit more - hell, I guess mature might be the word. Bukowski is pleased with the words and doesn't mind saying so, which can be a bit tiresome and self-conscious at times, but when he's just letting the words flow, whether in poem form or short story, it truly is some of his better writing. Not as raw as in his youth, and maybe a bit more polished, but still strong. I like that there are poems and stories (very short) combined and it's interesting that he jumps from reminiscing about his youth to talking about the hear'n'now - on his personal computer in his private room in his (relatively) expensive house, with fine wine, 6 cats, and a very understanding wife. He understands his age and that death might arrive at any time, but he still hopes for the future, much more so than he ever did in his younger days - in fact in 1994 he mentions wanting to make it to 2020 - funny reading that now! He is continuously looking back on his life while also dwelling on his own mortality but now he remembers the good times (although he would still write of the hard times) and he is not talking of taking his own life but is sad to think of life leaving him due to sickness and age.

I've repeatedly said that I would most likely not want to meet the man, but his words on paper have been an important part of my life for a number of decades now. I got this when it came out and just re-read it while between other books, but this makes me wanna look out to see what I'm still missing from his repertoire, although I have enough of his books to be embarrassing already.

Most likely you already know whether or not you like his work - if you do, this is another good one, but for beginners, I'd start with something earlier - maybe Post Office, Women or Factotum for the novels. I dig it, though.

RIP Ken Hensley

Former URIAH HEEP Keyboardist KEN HENSLEY Dead At 75

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I can't say that I was a huge Uriah Heep fan, but Demons and Wizards was certainly an important album back in the day and "Easy Living" and "The Wizard" were great songs!

recommended gigs and live streams

 11-7-20 - Suburban Resistance, Soldiers of Destruction, Gob Patrol LIVE at the Dive Bar

11-9-20 Thee Swank Bastards LIVE at the Golden Tiki

11-16-20 Thee Swank Bastards LIVE at the Golden Tiki

11-23-20 Thee Swank Bastards LIVE at the Golden Tiki

11-25-20 - the Delta Bombers, Shanda and the Howlers and the Ryolite Sound LIVE at the Fremont Country Club

11-30-20 Thee Swank Bastards LIVE at the Golden Tiki

Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent by Vincent Price

 This was a completely random buy after I had perused the internet for books on these two 50's cats on a whim, most likely after listening to some CD comp I made with their tunes. Surprisingly, I did not find a lot out there and this one was reasonably priced so I copped it.

It's a tiny one - a mere 82 pages of reasonably large print and even just a handful of pages in, the writing is pretty awkward with lots of repetition, punctuation errors, odd references and a lot more filler than real biographical information. Price suddenly jumps into a narrative storyline regarding Cochran and a friend without introducing the pal, but apparently he was close to Eddie and their stories intertwined a bit and his friend helped Cochran's family after his untimely death.

Gene Vincent is given equally short shift, if not more so, with very little info and a rushed run-through of his life, his connection to Cochran (leading to even more repetition) and his death in 1971.

There are some neat photos reproduced here, although there are no accompanying notes so there's no way to know who else is appearing in them, and there's discographies of both gents.

Really not much here to recommend though, I'm sorry to say.

Who's Crazee Now? by Noddy Holder

 

Since they never really had any hits in the States, I don't think that I had heard Slade before they showed up on Friday night on either the In Concert TV show or Midnight Special. But once I saw them, I was hooked! I loved their wildly outrageous look (especially lead guitarist Dave Hill) and their fantastically rockin' yet melodic songs - "Cum On Feel the Noize" was a real anthem! The next day I went to the local record shop and had to order Slayed - my little town was nowhere hip enough to already have it - and got whatever I could find after that. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to see them - apparently, they were already on the way down the charts by this time - but I still listen to them regularly.

I found Dave Hill's autobiography a couple of years ago but haven't gotten anyone else (all four have 'em now) until I discovered this at a reasonable rate. Noddy, like most chaps his age, fell in love with rock'n'roll when it hit England in his early teen years and he started a band as soon as he was able. His first proper group actually became a reasonably popular cover band that did the British circuit and even a stint in Germany. He then wanted a change and bumped into Dave and Don Powell (drummer), who were ready to depart from the 'N Betweens and had already recruited bassist Jimmy Lea, and the rest, as they say...

They eventually hooked up with Chas Chadler, who had just ended his management with Jimi Hendrix, they recorded a couple of albums, had a bit of an image quandary, and eventually had a smash hit (except in America) with "Coz I Luv You" and then the Slade Alive album, and those two records changed their lives practically overnight. From there they had a blitz of Number 1's in England and Europe, although they barely scratched the charts in the States. At their height, drummer Don Powell had a horrible auto accident in which he almost died and which caused him to lose his short term memory, but he was back on the drum stool in record time and they recorded their biggest British hit, "Merry Xmas" just in time for the season. Again, this is a funny one for me, as I never even heard the song until the last few years - just shows how something can be massive in Europe and go nowhere in the States.

That was their pinnacle and though they had some ups'n'downs and even a couple of lesser hits, things were never the same and, after a initial demise and revival, they called it quits for good with Noddy and Jim retiring from music altogether (as the songwriters, they still see good money from the band) while Dave and Don continue on as Slade 2. Noddy's post-Slade work in British radio and TV did not captivate me but good to know that he can still live a comfortable life.

I was surprised that this book was released in 2000 - 20 years old now! - and I hadn't seen it before now, but glad that I found it! While it is a small (romance novel-sized), inexpensively-produced paperback, it is pretty packed with crazee tales, although he does drop in plenty of British references that he doesn't bother to explain and expects you to know. Regardless, it's a fun one and definitely more light-hearted than Dave Hill's surprisingly somber bio. Fans should definitely get it!