By 9am I had already finished my second cup of coffee, read a few poems, and tried to write a few reasonable lines: something about a Carolina moon, the warmth of late September, drinking wine from mason jars on a wooden porch. The lines went nowhere. I read six or seven poems from my draft…
Category: Music
When in SF…
When I woke up on Saturday morning and left my house for the Haight where I help out with a food pantry, I hadn’t planned on spending the next twelve or thirteen hours in that part of the city. In fact, I had started walking home around 11am thinking I’d have some lunch and go…
That Sounds Like…
The song in my head was “On the Road Again” by Canned Heat. But then the song morphed to “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing” by Chris Isaak. It morphed one more time to “Gold on the Ceiling” by the Black Keys. Of the three, the Black Keys song is the least similar. Where my…
S.O.B. I Love Live Shows
Over the weekend, I went to a concert. I had a decent seat in the front row of the loge. For the duration of the opening act and much of the main act, there was only one other person in my row – another guy, about my age, and like me, drinking a tall IPA….
Rainy Day Blues
The morning rain slants against the living room window. Seagulls fly above the houses arcing and floating in the blustery wind. Ever since listening to an interview with the philosopher-poet David Whyte, I’ve been turning over in my mind this coin of an idea that we’re all dancing towards our own disappearance. Last night I…
A Little Philly Special Sauce in the Bay
Last night I went to another show. I had been sitting at my bar a week ago when I saw that G Love would be in town. G Love is a blues/rap/rock singer from Philly. His band is called Special Sauce. They’re touring in celebration of their 30th anniversary. Sitting alone at the corner of…
Soundtracks, Beaches, Beats, and Awe
On Saturday, after lazing around the apartment, I walked to the beach (by the Bay, not the ocean) where I read, wrote, and watched people and dogs and kids at play. I came home, had dinner, and then walked to the Mission District to see the band Too Many Zooz. Walking along that beating artery…
Unexpected Bursts of Joy
No sooner did I “complain” about treating my body like a frat house (as opposed to the temple that it should be), I found my way into a Kansas City dive bar where they had live music. I drank a few beers, and ate a meatloaf sandwich. Perhaps this isn’t the leg of the trip…
Goin’ Down South
Last week, I took a few days off and went down to Clarksdale, MS for their annual Juke Joint Festival. I flew in to Memphis on Thursday, met up with Stacy, got some BBQ, and walked around downtown. We then made our way south to Clarksdale – down highway 61, a fairly desolate stretch of…
In Stereo Edition
Last night I hooked up the stereo. I’ve missed the rich sounds of actual speakers (compared to just an Alexa). I haven’t used my stereo since leaving Yardley. There are entire albums (Michael Kiwanuka and Glass Animals) that I’ve listened to a lot, but not through decent speakers. The apartment in Memphis was supposed to…
Music & Technology
I like music. That’s not the boldest statement to make, but it’s a true one. I don’t know much about music or the music industry which makes it the perfect subject to opine about. If you’ve read a significant portion of this blog, or if you know me personally, or if you just have a…