BLUF: Lynn Schwarz nee Wilkens of Bottom of The Hill in San Francisco, where I had my Earthwise 10th and 15th anniversary shows, wrote back to say that she believes Anthony her former co-worker is doing well, 10 years since his medical emergency.

Last autumn, KALX DJ Anthony Bonet, aka Sex 14Teens, suffered a massive aneurysm, followed by approximately eight strokes. He won’t walk again, and, being uninsured, his significant other is now wading through such foul waters as Medi-Cal paperwork and housing issues. If you’d like to help funnel coin to the cause of moving expenses, assisted technology, transportation devices, etc., consider attending the Benefit for Anthony Bonet Friday night at Bottom of the Hill, where he was a booking assistant. The lineup is full-on stellar Bay Area twang, with Red Meat, Hammerdown Turpentine, and Jeffrey Luck Lucas and the Sorrows. $8 and up, 10 p.m., 21 and over. 415-621-4455 or ASingleStep.org/AnthonyBonet.htm (Stefanie Kalem, East Bay Express)

Anthony Bonet was totally on one day at a music panel, I think SFO1. I put out a newsletter, precursor to Plastic Alto, that lauded him. Because I am working on an event at Bottom of The Hill, I sent out a couple feelers about him. The above from East Bay Express summarizes what I know or knew.
The late Mark O’Brien I never knew. But I was Jessica Yu’s editor her junior year at Gunn High (of Palo Alto) The Oracle and arranged a screening of her Academy Award winning short doc “Breathing Lessons” that raised $50K for Gunn arts new building after a fire. Gold circle ticketing plus matching grant that Leon Kaplan of COPA got from the Packard Foundation.

More on BOTH later. Anthony if you can hear me, say hi.

bw 

The Amazing Gaye Adegbalola nee Todd, former VA teacher of the Year,uppity blues woman and Lions With Wings / Vizztone recording artist

My actual to do list, on cards:

1. Paul Oscher “Bet on The Blues” re Monk (review for Plastic Alto, to come);

2. Giorgio Moroder Italian electronic music guru, and Blondie and Curve and Donna Summer (review in part of Sylvie Simmons on Blondie Debbie Harry vs John Chowning);

3. Lady Blackbird, produced by Chris Seefried, possible SFJazz play, maybe in Palo Alto, overlapping with Noise Pop window;

4. Laura Chavez, my former client, catching up with, possible Palo Alto play;

5. New Guild Theatre, Menlo Park, 949 El Camino, Drew Dunlevie president Peninsula Arts Guild, article in Almanac by Kate Bradshaw (my fellow Dartmouthian) 11/5/21 with onsales December 1 i.e. three weeks out but schedule including STRFKR no clue 1/18 opening night; Son Volt, Molly Tuttle (who played The Mitch in November, 2019 — 1/29 the night I have Greaseland All Stars and or Caroline Davis residency at the Mitch); Charlie Hunter — who played my Cubberley Sessions five times with five different lineups and more than anyone else broke it down the value of a listening room, as distinct from the club Dunlevie and them are building; Robert Glasper; The Blasters. They have 14 shows announced. I meanwhile have three onsales this month plus another 10 or so planned for December, January, February and March — I tend not to work more than 90 days out, especially now with still a fair amount of white noise and chaos. The Guild even if they find 10 shows a month is not really competition except on certain days — I would not normally want to miss a Molly Tuttle or a Charlie Hunter show – which in effect means I will NOT  book a 2/5/22 show, and maybe will change my time of 1/29 Caroline Davis to catch Molly; in this case its an experiment doing a fly-in and three-show residency for a rather unknown jazz musician — not as well known as Glasper or Hunter, clearly. And precedent was I moved Dayna Stephens to a matinee on August 18, 2019 who could forget that date when the Rolling Stones moved their date to compete with my deal. 

I wish them luck. I think live music at the club level is deep enough that the Peninsula could support both 30 shows a year at The Mitch and 10 shows a month at The Guild. I still think especially having finally made it to (La Doña, La Santa Cecilia) The UC Theatre — David Mayeri’s x-BGP same business model more or less as Dunlevie) that leadership here should talk Chop Keenan into letting someone take over The Varsity 456 University. Also, Marc Geiger a Paly grad and former head of world wide booking for William Morris Endeavor has $300m of other people’s money he is investing in about 50 venues the nearest to here is Monterey The Golden Gate – he thinks Live Nation (The Fillmore), AEG Goldenvoice (The Warfield) and APE (The Independent SF — ironic name) will enforce 90 mile radius clauses that wood doom efforts like The Guild Dunlevie. 

I wish them well, but I knew they would not, per their hype, get Taylor Swift or Willie Nelson at their opening. Or stay tuned. 

Who is STRFKER? Who is Sarah Shook? 

6. Rumor is that Tuck and Patti will be playing both The Mitch and The Guild this winter. We shall see who gets them first. Tuck by the way was on the guest list when Charlie Hunter played The Cub in 1995. And played Twilight for the City of Palo Alto a couple years back. I met Michael Hedges widow at The Varsity about two years ago, Mindy. Doing as I do, looking around, shaking her head. Shake tush, not head, peoples. 

7. I’m also a candidate for Palo Alto Park and Rec commission on a music in the parks, First Amendment platform if that impacts any of this beyond the bully pulpit. 

8. Leonard Cohen, November 12; at The Mitch, the Mitchell Park Community Center El Palo Alto room, tickets on sale now at EventBrite;

The great Diunna Greenleaf graces The Mitch on November 18

9. Greaseland All Stars, Sunday Jan. 30, 2022; featuring Kid Andersen and Linda Leuschner; 

10. Diunna Greenleaf, November 18, 2021; the People’s Queen of the Blues, from Houston but recording at Greaseland in San Jose, for Little Village Music Foundation; 

11. Barbara Manning SF Seals, The Corner Laughers; Clean Girl and the or her Dirty Dishes, November 20, doing 30-year performance of “This Perfect Green Blanket”; eventBrite;

12. Belly of the Beast film, Cynthia Chandler attorney advocate, something about women prisoners; see also “The Mars Room” novel by Rachel Kushner an ally of Chandler, she says; Terry and I saw this film and met Chandler at UNAFF.

13. Bolero Figueroa from the 562 I met at BOTH, former SFAI studnet, yes stud, uses the or a net, to hold his hair, unless that’s only on Halloweenie. Like when we met recently;

…The wind is kicking up here at Ramona, a Pixies song, and a pizza parlor turned sports bar, Raiders are on, when are the 49ers? and Coupa and the Team Time I tried for first time with 

Oliver from Stanford plays Harp;

…and Nola TOO LOUD their sound system — hello, Greg St. Claire, can you hear me?

14. Charles Rumback – Chicago musician – it just might be that Guild with $50m investment in bricks and mortar and some impetus to program and not become a disco will push me to change my business plan more to things like having a Chicago presence or road work or PM or my label; I mean I like working my ass off to gross $5,000 per show and 30 shows per year and whatever effort that entails as compared to being a $120B guy like the other Mark who I met one night when the mural was installed;

15. Chicago 2022 9512 not sure what this means but I will print it; Palstic Alto is a series of public viewable rough drafts and dreamsongs ala John Berryman; I was born in Chicago at 95th and Bennett, I think that means;

which reminds me

16. Al Young; our state poet laureate, who died earlier this year and people are remembering him and honoring his memory in various ways; I’d like to produce an event that furthers that;

17. The Weekly and Almanac are a hotter mess considered side by side – -why not combine? — but I note now that aforementioned wind blows my hard copy that Heather Zimmerman has a story on EPA Center of the Arts 1950 Bay Road — talk about tale of two cities. I am trying to donate 3 shows there, outdoors, amphitheatre, about $20k in-kind, thru Regina Wallace Jones and or Nadine Rambeau. And are the two Wallace sources in HZ’s story the children of the mayor? I.e comparing the $30m Menlo Guild which I think is a ground lease via Mr. Crittendon, and the EPA Center which was from a grant by the Goldman Foundation plus some sort of $500K programming or operating grant from the Hewletts, I believe; as compared to founders of Yahoo giving back  — I use Yahoo from my mail at earwopa@yahoo.com;

18. Clay Carson MLK; possiby tabling at Diunna Greenleaf on November 18. She wants that; and eighteen means life in Hebrew;

19. Cochiti Bang Bang, Mateo Romero;

20. Delbert Anderson Don Cherry “I Still Got It” ibid; I read just now that Delbert and his DDAT group won a grant from South Arts to visit five indigenous groups and play them jazz. Yo, go, Delbert!

cf Mali Obomsawin;

21.Enorchestra, Doug Hilsinger, Gary Floyd’s Hard Again; The Hall Flowers; my former client; not sure he is that anxious to play Palo Alto; Enorchestra not eager, I could say;

cd Victor Krummenaker ex CVB, A Great Laugh played the Cub;

22. Cooley Center in EPA nice little room would like to use; was satellite at Jasmina Bojic’s great UNAFF film festival; especially with local climate activists – Earthwise is a spin-off of Bay Area Action Acterra;

23. Tuck and Patti, tba;

24. Esther Berndt, my Gunn classmate, getting a PHD in education and a pretty good sax player in her day; cf Art Pepper, Frank Morgan;

25. Gaye Adegbalola, former Saffire Uppity Blues Women founder or cofounder, recorded a song suite for Lions With Wings, “Tell Mamala” on Vizztone Records, possible Bay Area tour or residency; I met by cold calling her after noticing a section about her in Bruce Iglauer’s memoir;

26. The Hop/Coast Dartmouth Taylor Ho Bynum, various deeds and dreams; cf Messier modernclassical; Mali Obosmsawin; 

not be be confused even in Plasty to Classical Revolution Charith which appears Friday here as a trio for Leonard Cohen tribute and allegedly includes a Palo Altan;

27. Jeff Parker has appeared with Dave Douglas and twice with Scott Amendola for Earthwise at The Lyt, The Mitch and Art Center; I’d love to have him lead…love to love you baby…LA, VA or Chicago roux. I think Jeff Parker is co-leading a group or project booked into the new Guild Theatre; 

Both. One, cats are busy. Two, there’s no money [laughs]. I actually feel kind of guilty about having these musicians come in and perform, and then I’ll move things around, and make it into something that I approve, you know? It’s really hard for me to make music where I’m writing everything and choosing everything that everyone’s playing, and giving people specific directions. But I kind of confronted it head-on to prove to myself that I could do it, because I had never done it before. I used to not even really believe in having a “solo career.” I make music with my friends.

Hi, Jeff

28. Johnny A, returning for his two-year migration to The Mitch, this time possibly 2/11/22 — ie. between Charlie Hunter and Robert Glasper at The Guild Dunlevie — doing a Van Halen tribute referncing my Gunn and Terman and Fremont Hills classmate and friend the late Mark Leland – we used to play air guitars on tennis racquets to Van Halen I in 1978 as delinquents, drinking vodka purloined this was before Tito or when Tito was just a dictator. There might be some blues dudes from SF opening, I saw in North Beach last week, retired school teacher. Or maybe he is January 11, I should get this straight; 

29. Jules Indelicato is a sound person at BOTH and went to SF Conservatory and I hope to do something with her for Lions With Wings; also, gave birth in indirect way to the Lisa Fay Beatty “Save Me Yeah” event coming together for 11/28/21 in SF;

30. Kassi Valazza – -came and went, unless Wayne Horvitz bites; one of these days;

31. Little Village Foundation with Jimmy Pugh and Airlene Espiritu – -is also putting out the Diunna Greenleaf session that I claim is the shot heard around the world or will be;

Good to hear from Marc Geiger Paly ’80 and former WME honcho who was Tommy Jordan’s manager for Sound Castle or something back in 1980; Marc and Greg Kurstin were sitting around Napa wondering about Tommy and that led Marc to hit me up here in Plasty;

Chris Seefried, not to be confused with Chris Fry Bread, was in a band with my cousin Craig Ruda called Godschild (and also Joe 90) but is producing music for Trombone Shorty and many more, and I caught up to him by phone recently which might yield results although it is still true that time doesn’t know when it’s time for us all to go or know;

32. MC Lars — possible show at the Mitch on 3/11. Possible Van Halen commission like with Johnny A. Mark Leland my late friend also attended RLS in Carmel when young Lars was in diapers. Lars also has a song about math, that I’d like to license for Lions With Wings, which has two songs about math;

33. Megan Keely, of Portola Valley, Bert Keely’s girl, coming soon.

34. Marcus Shelby– Terry and I drove thru or near Healdsburg just yesterday, also Duncan’s Mill, Sebastopol, Russian River, Forestville, Les Claypool’s extraordinary slurp lounge open til six catch you next time hey smiley — has a deposit on his books for a April, 2020 show and is sort of ghosting me and I keep meaning to clear off my desk and write up the 10 or so ideas I’ve suggested as make good. I saw him with Gregory Porter at Frost, which by the way IS NOT IN PALO ALTO. But could be, if they let us put on a tax or surcharge, for Twilight Series music in the parks IN PALO ALTO. Frost is in Stanford, CA. Dunlevie and the New Guild Alliance are invited by the way to cross the creek and do shows here; more the merrier, dancing to same revolution; and I do or will do a few shows at Cafe Zoe, as I have;

35. Nancy Wright possible residency, in SF or here; we were discussing “don’t advertise your man” which I am sort of violating here. It is not clear whether blogging, like masturbation, increases the likelihood of said fantasy or lets the wind out of your sail, so to speak. 

Rupa Marya, Casti grad but has never played Palo Alto; that might change in 2022, signs portend; and its #36 on my todo list or index cards with color Sharpie hues, which is double life to Jews like me;

I heard a woman mention Sandy Ostrow selling out her paintings at Dolby Chadwick perhaps and would love to get a poster art from her someday and she has a lovely daughter who sings;

Nancy Wright played at Lytton Plaza part of the now famous Together Again Palo Alto with help from Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Tom Dubois on Election Day and I left the show between sets to go vote, at Cubberley, in the basketball room, weird nightmare of references;

37. Oliver Harp; Come as You Are; Smells Like Teen Spirit; your choice;

38. candidate for Palo Alto Parks commission; my 10th or 11th such effort; bully pulpit if not actual direct action or becoming leadership;

39. Reggie Austin, a piano player from Berkeley area I met at UNAFF;

40. Reuvenation, is losing its lease but might have a show — its a neat room and I am all about bringing music to Uni Ave if I don’t actually have a corporate division;

41. Scott Amendola, continuing his Earthwise residency and therefore surpassing Charlie Hunter in the leaderboards: December 15, 2021 with Amendola Vs Blades at The Mitch, onsale Tuesday, 11/9; January 23, 2022 with Ben Goldberg and the great Todd Sickafoos (“Hadestown”) on bass: Plays Monk; includes #42;

I thought of something else but it went away…

43. Sharon Benitez and her sister of Los Panadores who I met at the weirdly run Palo Alto World Music Day or Month 2021, doing a cover of Cake, “Mexico” but original arrangment that sounds like someone who has heard or played Mexican music or what I call folklorico — cf La Marisol of La Santa Cecilia band, hope to get her or them here, too.

44. Shelly Doty, who played the Cub solo with Pele Juju filling in for Ben Barnes Rilke Strings who struck or were struck and also played a showcase or series I did on Bascom in the 408 Cafe T, hope to bring her back or do some studio work with; see also LVMF;

45. Taylor Goss, LSU/CCRMA, and maybe Chowning;

46. Tommy Jordan, who ever you are or will be; maybe remounted Geggy Tah with Greg Brown ex-Cake or Greg Camp of Smashmouth;

47. UnAFF satelitte events or joint venture in 2022 with Earthwise; Jasmina I met at a Train show in 1999; although maybe I scotched the deal so to speak by pointing out that the Swiss tv tabloid pablum show was like the blood libel in that it seems to blame the Jews for some other complicated outcome or situation; or as I said, aloud, in between hissing and boing: “but for the Jews my mistress and I were so happy”;

Loved the Wes Anderson joint about the fictional French New Yorker, my first movie in 19 months;

48. Something in north north CA like Humboldt or Arcata and maybe just learning the difference between Humboldt and Arcata and indigenous and justice and MC Lars and Andre Cramblitt and I met Eleanor Kraft whose daughter the attorney Kathleen Bryson went to Gunn, played Volleyball and badminton; 

49. Steve Zukowsky, Gunn ’80 possible Van Halen tribute;

50.Some guy with unusual name friend of Jacob Savage plays guitar, I saw play in street, maybe for ibid; This falls under a project that is both personal growth opportunity turned into a music project, which is what Earthwise 1994-2021 is, regarding in this case the late Mark Leland;

51. Will Bernard; live or in studio;

I’m here all week. Try the fish.

Good luck to The Guild.

Good luck to Gunn football in CCS. (Note: I got the word later than morning or early afternoon that Gunn Titans, 8-2 despite a three-way tie for El Camino Division league championship with Los Altos and Cupertinno, were left out of the CCS football draw;

Go, Niners. (they lost to Cardinals, even playing withou Kyler Murray their star);

outro: Nina Simone “Save Me”