Mind Vomit by the ikss

rip lux interior

So very sad...

The Official Statement (from Girlie Action, The Cramps' media representatives):

For Immediate Release:
February 4, 2009

Lux Interior, lead singer of The Cramps, passed away this morning due to an existing heart condition at Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, California at 4:30 AM PST today. Lux has been an inspiration and influence to millions of artists and fans around the world. He and wife Poison Ivy's contributions with The Cramps have had an immeasurable impact on modern music.


The Cramps emerged from the original New York punk scene of CBGB and Max's Kansas City, with a singular sound and iconography. Their distinct take on rockabilly and surf along with their midnight movie imagery reminded us all just how exciting, dangerous, vital and sexy rock and roll should be and has spawned entire subcultures. Lux was a fearless frontman who transformed every stage he stepped on into a place of passion, abandon, and true freedom. He is a rare icon who will be missed dearly.


The family requests that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.

kris kristofferson

So last Friday night, I went to see Kris Kristofferson in a solo, acoustic show.

 

Wow. He was awesome!

 

After the weeklong depression that seeing Gordon Lightfoot had inspired in me the week prior, I had some trepidations about seeing Kris Kristofferson, who is in the same age bracket. Granted, one does not expect from Kris the same vocal abilities we have come to expect from Gordy, but did I have the emotional temerity to withstand another evening watching an old man totter across the stage to make one last, only slightly valiant, effort at singing in to a microphone, grasping at some former glory?

 

But what a difference. Kris seemed like a young man, especially by comparison. And his vocals were amazing! He has never made a recording of his voice which even comes close to capturing its’ true character and his unique style. What the hell? On recording, it seems to be all he can manage to carry his own tune! I don't even think he bothers to try, half the time. He didn’t miss a note live.

 

Well, except with his guitar playing which was…um…sub-par. Not so as to distract from the immense quality of his songs (some of which are among the best ever written, of any genre), but he is not exactly a guitar player’s guitar player, if you hear me.

 

It did make me feel a lot better about my playing in front of people, though. Seriously, if he has the balls to get up on stage with lose lazy fingers and miss all those notes, I need to grow a pair.

 

He played all of his favorites and hits made famous by other people, plus threw some more recent material in there. He talked politics, of course - he is Kris Kristofferson, after all – but I didn’t think he hit us over the head with anything…although, since he and I are of like minds when it comes to such things, I just may not have felt the hits. Also, he just genuinely seems like such a truly good person. I have always thought that when I see him give interviews…well, you know – over the past ten years or so. I’m sure when he was drinking and shooting heroin and beating up Rita Coolidge, he wasn’t the greatest of guys; but it is extremely heartening to see the personification of reform in the flesh.

 

In all, I just loved it and I had a great time. I cried several times, which I found to be very weird. Not that I don’t cry at concerts – I do. Often. It’s embarrassing, really. I am super-emotional and, you know - music means a lot to me. I did not expect to cry at his concert, though. I guess I really needed an experience like that – just a great songwriter with lots of character and even more heart; a guy who has lived a life and has the talent to talk about it in song – just him and his guitar, speaking truth we can all relate to.

Awesome.

no no mocos

So as it turns out, I am not singing with my old Mocositos buddies on Thursday night, after all. Long story short: Mike’s girlfriend hates me and he doesn’t want any drama. It’s all very junior high and not even worth writing about.

 

Yes, the whole thing is a bit disappointing, but really I am not surprised and I’m not exactly mad or anything of that sort. I guess I just have very low expectations when it comes to these people to begin with, which keeps me from getting mad every time something crappy happens...which is often...like almost every time. One of these days, I will just stop saying yes to begin with.

 

Plus, I may think Mike has no balls, but this woman is his girlfriend and he has chosen to make a life with her. They bought a house together and she is obviously not going anywhere soon. She really has to be his priority. I mean, if I didn't want the Old Man hanging out with some woman, for whatever stupid reason I may have, I would expect that he not hang out with her.

 

But eyah - I don't exactly feel like going out there and acting like a fan at this point, so I won’t be going to the gig.

gordon lightfoot

So on Friday night, I went to see Gordon Lightfoot.

 

Wow. That was depressing.

 

Now, I will say in his defense that the man has had a very tough road these past few years. He had an aneurism and stomach cancer. He is not even supposed to be alive at this point, let alone be up on stage singing in front of a few thousand people.

 

But still…it was very sad to watch.

 

I have seen Gordon Lightfoot in concert more than I have anybody else – even Bruce Springsteen. I have seen him literally dozens of times, dating back to when I was a small child. Unlike Springsteen, you see, who only came to town when promoting his latest album, Gordon Lightfoot came to town every summer, whether he had just released a new album or not. He was a workhorse as far as touring goes.

 

My point is that I have seen Gordon many times while he was in his prime. To see him now, as a frail old man who appears to weigh about a buck ten, was upsetting. His voice was extremely weak, especially when he tried to hit the high notes. Why he didn’t just give up and perform many of his songs in a different, lower key, I don’t understand.

 

I could not help but compare him to Merle Haggard, whom I saw two years ago. They are about the same age, I’m sure; yet Merle’s voice still sounded like that of a young man, except wiser for the years he has behind him.

 

On the other hand, I should be happy for Gordy, that he is well enough to be touring and performing at all…

 

It was just, again, very sad. It all upset my blonde sister most especially. She has seen him even more times than I.

His music has just been such a loud backdrop to so much in our lives, and his concerts have been marking points. They are remembered fondly, along with the people we shared them with. This is especially true for my blonde sister. Seeing Gordy in this frail condition was especially poignant for her.

Add this to the fact that the Big Man had to sit down through much of the Springsteen show I saw in town recently and it’s enough to make a gal feel very old.

lucinda williams

If y'all have not yet checked out the Lucinda Williams Listening Party yet, you really should. You can listen to five songs from her upcoming CD, Little Honey - all of which are fabulous and one of which has Elvis Costello sitting in on vocals.

I am really looking forward to hearing the entire CD now.

on new jobs, old friends and honky-tonkin

The Old Man is starting a new job today. This will be his third job since we moved to the OC, which was not even two months ago. Not that I blame him for leaving the other jobs. They were not even worth waking up for; but I sure hope this one sticks ‘cuz I am getting very tired of paying for his stinkin’ COBRA insurance. It appears promising. If nothing else, he is working across the street from the ocean.

Location is everything, you understand.

Hey so now he’ll be The Old Man and the Sea.

(Well, I found that amusing…)

I saw my old friend Nancy this weekend. She came down to the OC and we went to lunch and hung out for a while. I always love seeing her. I am not exactly sure of her age, cuz I was never rude enough to ask, but she is a good twenty years older than I. Although we used to work together (she left the former workplace about two years before I did), she worked in the music business during the seventies.

And oh, the stories she has to tell...

Although I have known her for quite some time, it seems every time we get together I still end up hearing new stories. We hung out regularly when we worked together; since she quit we still try to get together about once/month or so. Even through all of that time spent with one another, I must have known her a good two years before she told me she was in the studio with the Rolling Stones while they recorded an album in the seventies. I mean, were I she I would introduce myself to people by saying, “Hi, I’m Karen and I was in the studio with the Rolling Stones when they recorded…”

The exact album she was on hand for escapes me at the moment, but you get me.

Anyway, this weekend we were talking about her halcyon days living in Venice Beach and a gal she was roommates with for much of that time. This being the 70’s and Nancy being…well, Nancy, there were of course a plethora of both legal and illegal substances being used. Anyway, she spent some time recently with her old roommate and that woman now has only half of her teeth and looks like seven sacks of shit. She apparently left her teeth in the gutter somewhere, after passing out in it.

Nice.

Tonight, I am goin’ honky-tonkin’. Gonna see my latest obsession, Mike Stinson at the Redwood Bar and Grill, downtown (LA). I am looking forward to it, even if it means I shall be staying out incredibly late for a school night. My soon-to-be-married niece and her honey-bun are meeting me there. My soon-to-be-married niece even has a friend who tends bar there (of course. She has friends who tend pretty much every bar in the city).

By the by: I am listening to Bruce’s latest album right now, Magic. It is really a work of genius.



**P.S. I really HATE the supposed "improvements" Typepad has made to their new composition editor!!!!!!!!

old 97's - blame it on gravity

I find it amusing that when I uploaded Old 97's latest CD, Blame it on Gravity, to my Windows Media Player, it was automatically designated as "Country".

This ain't country. It's good ol' Americana rock and roll.

It's good, though. It's a lot of fun and the songwriting is much better than on albums past.

me...and ikea

Hey - IKEA may soon stock solar panels.

OK, I no longer find their stores (and those HUGE catalogues they insist on mailing to me, no matter how many times I ask them not to) quite so annoying. If they’d knock off the catalogues, I may just step inside a store.

But back to what I really intended to write about today – ME and my musical state.

After I went on a self-pity rampage a couple of weeks ago, I decided to bite the proverbial bullet and make a concerted effort to find myself a band, or at least a few musicians who wouldn’t mind hanging out with me and making some music. To that end, I have been talking with two bands: A country cover band and a blues-based rock band which needs a lyricist and singer.

I met (and sang) with the country cover band last week, but am not going to pursue anything with them. They were all super-nice gentlemen, but the "country" music they like is…well, it’s everything I hate about country music. I have never in my life seen a song list so heavily weighted in favor of Brooks and Dunn. Oh and? Toby Keith. Toby-freakin'-Keith, people! You have no idea how...dirty...I felt, singing "Little Less Talk". It was like singing a passage from the Satanic bible or something.

I thought about doing it anyway, but I know it would drive me crazy to sing those lame-ass songs all the time, so I bowed out. It would have been the country equivalent to singing Britney Spears, if you get me. I'm not sure which is worse - singing crap or not singing at all. In the end, I decided I am not quite desperate enough to sing the crap.

The other band is headed up by a guy I used to work with. Thus far, he’s staying true to the musicians’ reputation of being a bit of a flake, but I’m practicing that virtue known as patience…it takes a lot of practice, for me.

In other news – I am so over Summer already. Come back fog and 70 degree weather!

mike stinson

Yo, kids.

So Friday night I took Dr. Niece and her BFF Mimi to Culver City to see Mr. Mike Stinson. Um…I got home at 5am Saturday.

Not only did I get home at an ungodly hour but, because he had to work, The Old Man’s alarm went off at 6:30am. Ninety minutes after I got home. And then, of course, we had to start talking to each other. By the time the dude left for work, I was wide awake and although I tried my gall-darndest, I never went back to sleep. Instead, I worked from home (have we discussed the fact that I am fed up with my job?) and piddly-farted around the house until the Old Man got home and we went to have fish tacos for linner (late lunch/early dinner)*.

Good lord, I was tuckered.

I got lots of sleep Saturday night, though. Like 13 hours or something. I didn’t wake up Sunday until 11am.

The more important topic of discussion, though, is Mr. Stinson himself, who just utterly rocks. You know, like only a country boy can rock. I have not seen him in over two years and am now kicking myself that I haven’t been going out to see him, like, once a week. It really should be part of my routine. I left the bar worn out but energized and just loving life in a way that only really great music can make me love it.

gordy on peter case's blog

Hmm…so Peter Case reprints an interview (or part of one) with a certain Mr. Gordon Lightfoot on his blog.

Well, that's just delightful! :) I happen to love Gordy, but as I am one of only a hand full of Americans who do, I always find it exciting when others show their appreciation of him. The fact that this appreciation comes from another songwriter whom I revere is just...well...delightful!

(or is it a show of appreciation? I mean, really, Peter Case just reprinting an article having to do with songwriting...

I choose to think Mr. Case loves Mr. Lightfoot)