I saw two women making music at Lytton Plaza on July 14, 2018 and thought they were great. I call them Top Hat and The Thin Man because I was on my way to watch some Fred Astaire movies at Stanford Theatre. Neither of them wore a top hat and although I did not scrutinize their bodies they seemed of normal and not thin build.
I’m not sure if their songs were original — maybe I heard a couple songs and then chatted them up a bit. I am sensing they played a mix of covers and originals. One of them sat on the bench, sang and strummed a guitar but not a banjo. The other sang and tapped a rhythm on tamborine. I’ll say “top hat” was the guitarist and “thin man” was the percussionist.
Their lyrics were something like
……seventeen hours/
rock me like a wagon wheel/
rock me mama any way you feel/
Hey, mama, rock me.
Maybe the internet will tell me who wrote this, if not these two rising stars of street music.
addendumri:
If it was never new and never gets old its a folk song
and1:
Ladies and gentlemen, or anything in between, via the magic of the mediation of technology and Marianne Chowning’s father and his FM stuff, here they are, in 2008, yet still timely, the Rebecca Riots (briefly known as Final Girl)
edit to add, meta-note: I don’t know why first you see the video (or rr) and then you only see the link,but I will try and try, and try and try, again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRrh6Xy9WsQ
edit to add, a day or two later (during the lucid dreaming collective stage known as social distancing): also, Bob Dylan at his concert at Stanford’s Frost Amphitheatre about six months ago used “Ballad of A Thin Man” as his encore — so there’s another connection between the movie marquee, by catch of Ana and The MRI, Bob Dylan and the apocalypse.
Something’s happening but we don’t know what it is. If not the answer, live music is a pretty good guess.
(I have to admit it took me a minute to realize this is a reunion shot — then Stanford greatest product and Palo Alto education activist — responding to my prompt — Kathy Jordan texted back the original photo link
in a related story I realize that Jill of Palo Alto is the daughter of the first agent who launched professionalism in men’s tennis back in 1940.
Also since today is Chabot I will tie in the fact that a friend of mine said is DNA test reveals that he is 13 percent Jewish. I said claim you’re 18 percent Jewish
Or as Phil silvers says to Jonathan Winters 1963 mad mad mad: try me I’m pretty gullible
Stella Brooks was a singer from San Francisco who was big in the 1940s and her signature song was “I’m a Little Piece of Leather Don’t You Know (well put together don’t you know” which became a British dance Northern Soul hit later, the Beatles did a snippet at a soundcheck, but was also a Peetie Wheatstraw/public domain song;
Connie Han is a rising star as a jazz piano player, from LA, on Mack Avenue a good label, but I question her sartorial choices — both of her cds have her pictured on the cover in leather, maybe pleather, or tight-fitting or ripped jeans;
Blanca Cecelia is a classical violinist from Queens College Music School — aka Aaron copland school, originally from Colombia and I found this cool video of her interacting with a street musician in a small gallery – she’s wearing leather, a leather jacket, but it says “fonzie” more than “floozy”.
Or maybe I can just trade him for my archive of 7000 photographs
Terry texted me a link to some citation on the Internet about her and when I clicked on it, it’s a used book seller selling a file from the archive of the recently deceased and very esteemed critic and curator Peter Selz (Berkeley Art Museum —I think we actually bodies by auger fee er bought his autobiography.
So I’m querying the guy and suggest that we might be interested at roughly 60 percent of what he’s advertising it for. Likely we have all the ephemeral —postcards, announcements maybe a clipping or whatever. And the compliment is already taken that there was a file in Peter’s archive.
Or it’s fun to imagine his notes: I’ve met the most amazing female artist and nurse if I weren’t so happily married I would drop everything to help her full-time —maybe someday some nice concert promoter guy will do so.
spokesman for Alan Wofsy says that they are selling piecemeal the files of Peter Selz which they claim were donated to Academy of Art college who then sold it to a bookstore upon which Alan and his team found it and they’re trying to unlock it’s true value. at Donkey Mill Art Center 2013:
Maki is a choreographer, dancer, coffee farmer and mom in Kona Hawaii by way of Purchase, NYC and Seattle. I don’t believe I’ve met her but Terry and I visited her family’s art studio in 2011. I am wondering if she could improvise on a cold reed, like a sun-e painting, A combination recollection of this dance she made from nine years ago and her reaction to Dave Douglas moonshine title track for three minutes and 24 seconds in honor of Dave’s birthday or I guess it could be 57 seconds recorded on a smart phone with there without any other morinuyes participation
edit to add:
I forgot that this was composed to accompany a fat arbuckle short about a bootlegger — are we certain it was not meant to be about a thin coffee growers daughter on a hill on an island?
Or the Aoife O’Donvan Time Warp Tour
Dave Douglas sent around to his mailing list a version of exquisite Barbara Allenism, with Aoife O’Donvan, the singer from Bluegrass band escaping Crooked Still, she’s neither. it’s doesn’t ring true like something in my bone, in the lew welch sense, but the title rings a bell and the style does. Maybe I heard it in some movie? Also, I did peak at the Frank Turner version but didn’t stay, the first time I noticed the link. By the way, it does not seem to be on ITunes by Apple, tho other words by A’Od thar they blow.
I was going to listen to next one or nine other versions: Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Frank Turner, John Travolta, Dolly Parton – -I thought of sending this to AJ Lee of Blue Summit — Norah Jones with Billie Joe from Green Day, Art Garfunkel, Everly Brothers, Colin Meloy — from the Live album which someone comped me at NPR SXSW in 2009 — or maybe I was going to contrast “Barbara Ann” with Itunes helpful suggestion “Barbara Ann” but then something weird and Plastic Altan happened, my laptop started playing KC Moan by Memphis Jug Band.
One is quaint and historical and the other exquisite. Maybe it’s randomness or AI or Russian hackers — Wired says that anyone who ever ran for public office is being stalker cyberly by the Ruskies — or maybe there’s wisdom and order since one of the few things I have ever downloaded to my now-defunct Apple lap top is Harry Smith, the famous anthology of 50 years ago catching songs from 100 years ago or so. Whereas my phone now has 3,000 songs — I pay $10 per month but I am still waiting for the sticker shock bill for $3,019. Then even weirdlier I hear my own laugh over my subvocalize pecking away at the keyboard — another thing on here are my own imports about 10 fiels from my cellphone to my blog, including 30 minutes of Patricia Barber in Occidental, CA and I laugh at her intro*. For the record I don’t beleive her yard that she was blackballed by Clear Channel for being smart or funny or gay — it’s just not their tea, sis.
I still don’t know the story of Dave Douglas and Aiofe O’Donvan – is she guesting on his session or he playing on hers? I came to hear his conversation with Aubrey Johnson — tho even that I digressed into trying to reach out to my hookup from my Deadhead days,I was adjunct member of something called AWBY.
Dave Douglas with a bluegrass singer is like chamber jazz for blue grass. Chamber grass?
Memphis Jug Band is vernacular music, the old weird America that Bob Dylan or Greil Marcus speak of. Also: I ran thru Coen Brothers Inside Llewyn Davis again and now want to hang with the dude – -I almost wrote Hagan with the Dude — because that is Kenny Rogers checking what condition our condition is in. Or as Faulkner famously said: Man will not only cough, he will produce.
*My Frere Lady
this is a dif knit cap than in the video — I actually thought jazz guys wearing knit caps was invented by Danton Boller, John Ellis in winter 2003
I’ve been thinking about Monk. BLUF Not sure my tech devices get me any closer to the urban or southrern or blacker essenses of these jazz places, from my insular and easy suburban shelter and place.
Still trying to train my ears. There’s also an Allen Touissant cd called “Bright Mississippi” with a slew of guests, I guess Nick Payton is the horn on this track. I started this exercise by scrutinizing a tower of cds in my office, while putting on my shoes — my office is a spare bedroom of our home — and then switched to loading the tracks into my smartphone. And now I am running such while lacing my runners. But there is a litle video of Monk band –and I admit I cannot immediately name the sax, bass and drums — and he is wearing a knit cap — which reminds me of the Remi Wolf Youtube I was listening to list night. tho I doubt Remi knows Monk. Maybe the tv show. Remi says she made her knit cap. Now T is walking around the bandstand while the bassist is soloing and doing a little jerky quasi dance. The bass sounds a bit muddy. I can slide the lever back to 6:18 piano to re-view the antics. More relevantly I saw Touissant at Stanford a few years back, I don’t recall if he played this. He certainly did not write it, I checked. A weird tech anomoly – – my smart phone will not let me screen capture the image of Monk and them I am describing. (Tho I can likely find the same piece on Youtube per se). Im guessing the drummer is Philly Joe Jones? Ties back to my quasi theme of Philadelphia. The TPE was from 2001 and besides Andy Blackman Hurwitz of RAD there is also as producer per se AL Levinson, whose class I took at UArts. Another page on my smarkpone has Monk ‘s Dream album, the one I literally have and it has 3 versions of this track. Now I’m playing the 3. Two other points: I had to use my cell phone torch to read the labels in the early morning March low light cloudy day, and old guy eyes. I reached for my laptop computer to jot these notes while my bare toesies dnagle in the wind or wiggle — i meant this as shoe tying music.
I am hearing a bit of singing along, in the Keith Jarrett sense.
It reminds me a bit of Sweet Georgia Brown, in the way that In Walked Bud by Helen Sung reminded a friend of mine of “Linus and Lucy”. Which Ethan Iverson says is a redo of Cast Your Fate to the Wind and someone else claims that In Walked Bud is contrafact of Blue Skies, which is also a Willie Nelson jam, which had me ringing Jack Walrath, tho yesterday I made a bad joke about Ballin the Jack. dig? and all this before coffee, bank or walking the dogs
Joel Selvin mentions that Pumpsie Green was a truant officer, chasing kids from Provo Park, near Berkeley High, in 1970, and maybe knew the stabbing victim who died at Altamont, Meredith Murdock, Hunter (Selvin, 2006: Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels, And the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day, p. 157). This helps explain Pumpsie’s lack of interest in helping a musical namesake tribute to him, the Pumpsie Green (band) that featured, for one gig, Henry Butler on weighted key electronic board and Etienne de Rocher on electric and accoustic guitar; actually come to think of it, Etienne dragged into Cafe DuNord that night some weird mechanical bass, like the fodella that blues legend “San Franicisco Bay Blues” played.
I just posted this to Youtube, under Etch’s video.
Part of the kismet of this is Cake playing at the Greek, and Bruce Solar getting us back stage passes, which took a while to get sorted. There was some talk about Henry sitting in with Cake someday, and Henry imagining what parts he could play undernear or in between the radio friendly but not really jam band stuff — actually Dan Adams when Cake played the Cub — and excuse the digression — suggested to Todd Roper — in 1995 or 1996 – one or the other show, probably 1995 — that he thought of Funky Meters. And Cake and Etienne were both managed in those days by Bonnie Simmons, who I think of as a KPFA Thursday night DJ but others knew her since her KSAN days. I’m a serious baseball fan –I’m wearing a Bob Melvin game-worn jersey as I write this –years later — who buys the jersey of the Manager? Well, he’s my age, or so, and grew up around here — there were kids in my high school who played with Bob Melvin on Palo Alto Post 375 national finalists — and as I write this I am also half-watching or using as friendly white noise the tape of the Lincecum no-hitter– I was actually there — you can sort of see me, along the right field splash zone standing-room-only fellows – I’m literally the guy on the end, past the foul pole even. And yeah, where, as David Shields says I am writing about Etienne De Rocher or Joel Selvin or Murdock Hunter or Henry Butler I am writing about myself. So I remember that Vida Blue played the Fillmore and I didn’t have a ticket and I ran into Dan Prothero — who I didn’t or do not know very well — I know he is Brown and not Big Green — but he said he didn’t think he could help me get in. At times I was down with the Fillmore and BGP people — Joe Paganelli, I saw Morgan Pittmen at Pollstar recently — but I was not a made person there. (Actually I got 86’d from the officers by Bobby Bell the bouncer and nearly thrown down the stairs like in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka when I was pleading my case that Train should play my series even though their agent somehow lost the depost, the cashier’s check. I took too literally the Tom Peters rule of business success that an in person meeting is a good thing. In fact, the Train show at Cubberley — Gregg Rolie’s one time high school – -I wonder if he played that room? — was the same month as Etienne De Rocher opening for The Mother Hips. And Tim Bluhm just last week at Mitchell Park El Palo Alto Room — the new Cubberley Sessions, Earthwise at The Mitch — said that that was where he met the Moore Brothers. Anyhoo, I had noted gleefully despite the shutout at The Fillmore that Trey from Phish had a side project with Mississippi Allstars or someone called Vida Blue. So I thought of Pumpsie Green. Like a pump organ. Like the Guy from Greyboy Allstars or something with Henry. And somehow Etienne joined the conversation, like I said they were in sort of overlapping circles, or I was. So I noticed that Green the first black player on the Red Sox — who were the last team to integrate — Common Ground — was giving a talk at the El Cerritto library and I went and got his autograph and ran my idea by him. “I’ll have to check with my wife” he said, and gave me his number. When I called back in a few weeks he said thanks but no thanks and that was the end of that. Henry by the way had deeper collaborations with Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne – which is well-documented on youtube — and Steven Bernstein. I got to know both Steven and Mali due to having been HB’s pm. Which also reminds me: Mitch Woods has a video of collaborating with Dan Bartholmew and members of Fat’s Domino band. We call him “Antoine” the way we call Dr John “Mac” and the way we stress the article in “the Mardi Gras”. I first heard of Henry Butler because I had bookd Blind Boys to play a free concert at Mitchell Park outdoors underwritten by Hear Music stores but bailed to join the Tom Petty tour on 10 dates had to play all 10 dates and Danny Scher, Paly grad, tried to intervene on my behalf with Chris Goldsmith to no avail but then with the same money I hired Maria Muldaur to fill that date, plus Femi Kuti at The Cub and Henry with my own money around that time. I recall Danny pulling the cd out of his custom cd cabinet with smooth gliding doors. Henry and I later had lunch up there with him, and I caught maybe two of those benefits he would throw in his garden. Danny who I had met when he and his son were shopping for sneakers at Palo Alto Sport and Toy and I was putting up flyers for a Ledisi-Galactic-Broun Fellinis show. I just put this on Youtube — all this is sparked by reading about Altamont, Selvin’s book. Selvin I met when I was in YAD the Young Adults Division of the San Franicsco Jewish Federation and I organized a speakers series or an authors series, and Joel spoke. I later wanted to work with Dr David Smith to do something with the same people when Graham Bill passed, and called Joel but he actually spoke against it. I hit up Joel — who likely does not remember all this, about Lew Welch and Huey Lewis, but he said it was not his bag of bones, man. I think Castilleja should enlist Grace Wing Slick Kantner to help them push threw their proposal for a giant parking garage under the softball fields: FUCK YOU, WE DO WHAT WE WANT! Maybe I’ll make a fake endorsement with her HS picture and the line, which is a Starship lyric — one of the best shows of my life — with Huey, actually — what a weird Palo Alto connection — her hometown and that of his stepfather. I sort of dissent from Selvin’s indication that while at the time Jefferson Airplane were bigger than the Dead that after the beat down of Marty Balin and Spencer Dryden being left to fend that it was all downhill. A lot of bands have ups and downs and Starship and especially their new wave and 80s stuff was still pretty decent. I mean, lots of bands have personnel issues and ebbs and flows. I think its a strong song “Stairway to Cleveland” and sort of anticipates REM “End of the World” and well, Trump CoVid19 and all. By the way, a guy named Bo Crane – whose dad played football at Stanford with Bill Kreutzman’s dad — gave the keynote to Palo Alto History Association annual dinner and published a chap book about Palo Alto Rock History, which includes a funny riff about The Donnas versus The Rolling Stones. I said: She’s Like a Rainbow was about a woman from Palo Alto named Marlinda Fitzgerald. Ok, a woman from the LA scene who five years later moved to Palo Alto, and built a rock garden– boulders — on Greer Street.
Also: Etienne De Rocher was briefly in a band with Henry Butler called Pumpsie Green, that played exactly one show, at Cafe duNord, for 20 people, but then Pumpsie Green, a former major league baseball player who was, unbeknownst to us, also a truant officer, meaning not too hip, nixed the idea — true dat it was a reaction to Vida Blue, the Phish sideproject named for another East Bay baseball legend, that played the Fillmore around that time and another Fog City band was the opener.
edit to add, coda, and1:
this has nothing to do with Pumpsie Green or Altamont and I had already used up my allotment of digressions and non sequitars and free association but:
I woke up this morning thinking I could, after 26 years change my name from Earthwise to Ears Wide or Earswide in that “big ears” is jargon for having diverse interests in music and “wide” is a play on “big”. Not that I am abandoning an interest in the environment (“green” “sustainable” et cetera) but is secondary and generally has been.
The actual reference, three comments ago and 11 days ago, was to the Kubrik film “Eyes Wide Shut” which I think is about lucid dreaming and maybe going to parties. (I said Yoshi Kato in his preview to the Parlour Game show that never happened could have been more definitive in his praise or critique of the group. I was going to say that going to our event might be like going to that party in the Tom Cruise movie. Now I would joke about Eyes Wide Shut-In. (posted that on PAW article by Yoshi Kato about Earthwise VS Parlour Game).
Andand:
Wrote a note to Keith Hagan the former Mammoth Records publicist about Kenny Rogers, his name in the obit, recapping my 919s. I never realized that Kenny Rogers was the voice of the song in the dream sequence for Big Lebowski. What condition your condition was in. Makes me want to view that movie.
I bought a ticket for Cautius Clay because Remi Wolf was on the tour, but got too busy to see the show — that plus I’m middleaged. I’ve known Remi since her junior year in high school. I met she and Chloe at Philz Coffee open mic — I think I did a set of not funny comedy called “Harbaugina Monologue”. She was playing Gotye Somebody I used to know. I wanted to write Tom Windish, his agent. Years later, she graduated USC and tours fairly regularly, booked by an agent in the same shop, Paradigm. Here is a song she did a few months ago, on tour, in Portland.
actually the auto-generated links below yield that I shot them and wrote about them in November 2012.
Getting back to the subject at hand, Remi and Chloe are one of the most promising teen acts I have seen in a while. They pick good covers and are writing their own music. I think their parents have the right mix of being helpful and supportive but not pushy. I saw the girls at Camille Townsend’s kickoff event and understand they also stumped for Melissa Baten — both re-elected for school board.
Remi Wolf in 2012 at the former Varsity Theatre, or busking in front of such
Mr. Sharpe, who was well known in the Bay Area for his wacky interviews and also as a jazz trombonist, died on March 10 at his home in Berkeley, Calif. He was 83. His daughter, Jennifer Sharpe, said his health had diminished since he underwent heart surgery three and a half years ago.
(this thing might hang together slightly better if I mention that I once spoofed Shepard Fairey and Mal Sharpe by cajoling Rob Syrett to do a depiction of Mal Sharpe — the humorist, radio host and trombone musician — a la Fairey and his Andre the Giant Has A Posse campaign AND I had uploaded that image rather than this other Syrett masterpiece… for the sake of argument lets say creature on the right is me and creature on the left, the tall distinguished looking one is my trombone teacher Mal Sharpe)
— On Mon, 11/1/10, Garchik, Leah wrote:
From: Garchik, Leah
Subject: RE: swordfish trombone
To: “mark weiss”
Date: Monday, November 1, 2010, 4:03 PM
Thanks Mark. Jacob just played here last week in SFJAZZ, with Steve Lehmann octet. Very proud mom,
Leah Garchik
San Francisco Chronicle
—–Original Message—–
From: mark weiss [mailto:earwopa@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 4:00 PM
To: Garchik, Leah
Subject: swordfish trombone
you look too well preserved for anyone to guess you gave birth to a trombone…
mark weiss
and here is my post on wedge’s site:
This entry had me wondering the name of the female trombone player who collaborates with Jeff Parker in Isotope — Sara P. Smith — something common like that, Baker, Smith, whatever, and then somehow led me to discover that Leah Garchik, the Sf Chronicle gossip columnist, has a son Jacob Garchik who plays the bone
And he plays radio producer
Passing
I track First Amendment (no establishment, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech) especially as it pertains to the arts. As such I want to add this to the data-base — it belongs with today’s main post about the Buskers congress but I am hedging so I am tucking it safely back here. Meanwhile, I am seeing R
submitted this sort of to garchik today:
definitely want to see ochs film, hope to make it for director appearance.
good quote in garchik garymey today about rock of ages — i had a funny conversation with an older lady doing phone sales for SHN who i had to explain that it was “R E O Speedwagon” and not “Rio Speedwagon”…
mark weiss
Leave a Redeemed patch
edit to add, the next day:
mark, why don’t you put me on the guest list, if you don’t mind–if you have one. I want to see this art piece. For some reason I reallly have a connection with Andre the Giant although I cannot remember what it is. I remember when he was wrestling etc. what is this art piece anyhow?
On Jan 23, 2008 5:46 PM, mark weiss wrote:
Hi, Brad.
Thanks for doing this. Let me know if you want to be
the mc like we discussed or just want to be on guest
list. I’m happy to keep a low profile at event, run
around the house checking on other stuff.
Mark
Here is the press release for show. If you want to do
more research you can try Glenn Hartman at
504-#$^&**##% and Steven Bernstein at l;akdf;lksadj.
I can get you the cd somehow if there is still time to
use that. It came out Tuesday, Jan. 22 and Steve sent
me a few copies.
EARTHWISE PRODUCTIONS JAZZ SHOWCASE AT BOTTOM OF THE
HILL
The show is:
Sunday, Jan. 27 at Bottom of the Hill: Earthwise
Productions Jazz Showcase featuring Steven Bernstein’s
Diaspora Suite, Glenn Hartman Jazz Playboys. Doors, 7
p.m. Show, 8 p.m. $10. 21+ Info: (650) 857-xxxx.
Bottom of the Hill is 1233 17th Street San Francisco.
Steven Bernstein cd comes out Jan. 22, 2008 on Tzadik
Records. The live band features nine musicians
including Steven Bernstein, Jeff Cressman, Scott
Amendola, Ben Goldberg, Josh Jones, Devin Hoff, Paul
Hanson, John Schott & David James. The cd is fourth in
a series of “Diaspora” sessions.
Glenn Hartman is founding member of New Orleans
Klezmer All-Stars. He relocated to San Francisco in
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He is the
“Professor Longhair of accordion,” some they say.
Earthwise Productions is concert and artist management
company founded in Palo Alto in 1994 by Mark Weiss. It
produced a fabled series of more than 150 concerts at
Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto. This is
“Earthwise Productions 10-Year Anniversary Show.”
There will also be a special art auction to benefit
Habitat For Humanity New Orleans Musicians Village
featuring pieces created or donated by Robert Syrette,
Eric Cohen and others: “Mal Sharpe Has A Posse.”
For more info, contact Mark Weiss at (650) 857-xxxx.
I’ve known Steven for about 10 years. I interviewed
him for my radio show, by phone, about a year ago. I
have never worked with him before this event, however.
I first heard about him because Sex Mob was booked by
my friend Eric Hanson, from whom I got shows by Steve
Lacy and Tin Hat Trio, and because his first cds were
on Ropeadope who at the time were a small label run by
friends of Medeski Martin and Wood, who had played
Cubberley, in 1997. I saw him play a couple times in
New York, at Tonic and Jazz Standard, during my
sabbatical in Brooklyn in winter, 2001. Also, he knows
Henry Butler from their days together in the “Kansas
City” the movie Altman film band, and I bonded with
him in that context during my stint as Henry’s
manager, in 2002. I saw him at Charlie Hunter Band
show at Yoshi’s last month and that gave me the idea
of bringing him out for this event.
Glenn Hartman was also a recent guest, and played live
on the air, on my KZSU show. I knew Glenn because
NOKAS had played Cubberley twice, back in the day.
About a year and a half ago, the Klezmers were on
Sedge Thompson’s show and I happened to catch it.
Sedge introduced the band and Glenn said “I relocated
to San Francisco after Katrina so call me if anybody
has some gigs.” When I heard that I vowed I would
reach out to him as my own little reaction to what
happened in NOLA.
Please note also that there is an art auction as part
of the proceedings. That event is called “Mal Sharpe
Has A Posse.” The centerpiece of the show is a piece
also called “Mal Sharpe Has A Posse,” by the Palo Alto
based visual artist Robert Syrette. Robert works at
Accent Arts and did a poster for me this summer. The
concept of the piece is that a guy named Shepherd
Fairey become somewhat famous for a series of pieces
called either “Obey the Giant” or “Andre the Giant Has
a Posse.” We are sort of riffing on that. I saw Mal
Sharpe at the Charlie Hunter show and since I am an
admirer of his, I chatted with both Steven and Charlie
backstage about the fact that Mal was in the house.
Mal doesn’t know, I don’t think, that he is somehow
represented at my event. His KCSM show, which of
course is called “Back On Basin Street”, runs from 9
to 11 on Sundays, so he probably couldn’t make the
event. I was thinking of inviting him to soundcheck,
especially to see the piece (maybe he will buy it…).
There is some kind of theme or promoter’s conceit or
construct about Steven’s work being called “diaspora”
and Glenn having fled New Orleans because of the
flood. Mal Sharpe does indeed have a posse in that a
lot of musicians who are loosely related to each other
are concerned about the fate of our country, our
scene, jazz and New Orleans.
This is about the 250th Earthwise concert, I think.
I’ve lost exact count. It’s the first one in a while.
Also, if it does well, I hope Ramona Downey of Bottom
of the Hill will let me do another one.
The show will also feature some “earth-motif” balloons
courtesy of The Balloon Lady, my neighbor Marie
Mandoli. Maybe there will be enough for everyone to
take one as a party favor.
Thanks for doing this, and for working for scale.
Mark Weiss
dba Earthwise
Feel free to quote from this as necessary.
I think Duck Baker is writing on this if you want to
trade notes with him.
-30-
very intriguing. see you there.
On 1/24/08, mark weiss wrote:
Hi, Mal.
Thanks for NOT picking me up over your head and
twirling me like a rag doll and then smashing me down
to the matt like the — I think they call it a
helicopter — bad little
danny-scher-was-better-than-that-booking-his-junior-high-combo-into-pizza-parlors
fake music imp that I am.
Of course you could be on the list! You can welcome
the peeps, if you like — if you can wrestle the mic
away from Brad Kava, that is. Like I said, I can see
about you sneaking into soundcheck, to see Bernstein.
(just don’t stare at his trombone player!)
Maybe we can give you a live update to “Basin Street”
via cell phone.
You can bug Robert Syrette at 650.XXX-XXXX* if you have
any further info on the ACTUAL Mal Sharpe – Andre the
Giant connection. Once again, life imitates art
imitates life imitates crab or something.
Mark Weiss
in addition to the being on the guest list, there is a
dollar rebate in cash for anybody who brings in the
Jewish Music Festival “enewsletter” — that’s better
than free!!
Also, I’ll forward you the email file that Robert did
for another poster this summer.
too late to play it on the show. What time should I show up at bottom of the hill. I am done at the No Name at 6:30.
On 1/24/08, mark weiss wrote:
that’s entertainment…
or it could also be “tikkum olam” the jewish concept
of repairing the world….
i like my line about “life imitating art imitating
life imitating crab” — to risk being too
self-impressed. I wish I had said “imitating Crazy
Crab” the SF Giants mock-mascot — invented, I
believe, by Jon Crawford — now that is a work.
I am just the poor man’s (meaning born too late to
benefit directly from Reagonomics) Danny Scher…
you are on the list.,,i’ll update you about the
soundchecks if you might want to hear the headliners,
also i can let you have a copy of the cd you might
play on your show…
mbw
i have sworn off mc’ing anything anymore. i just want to be the fly on the wall except with my band which is no burden for me. Is the mal’s possee thing on the scale of andre the giant or just some piece for this event. I can’t picture being the bizarre image that Andre is or was.
On Jan 24, 2008 3:53 PM, mark weiss wrote:
man you are one busy dude on sundays. come any time.
for general public it is doors at 7 but you are
special category, or staff/talent or guest. hartmans
play at 8 and bernsteins at 915.
bottom is easy access from 280 mariposa exit. from
golden gate bridge etc maybe you want to take 19th
avenue to 280 and double back? but it is easy access
to freeway. 1233 17th street in potrero hill.
maybe you want to narrate the art auction and describe
what you see in each piece, including the “mal sharpe
has a posse” piece. not conduct an auction — its
silent — just add some commentary. let me know.
there’s hopefully four or five pieces.
mark
Mark—I apologize for being a no show last night. I finished playing at the No Name and headed towards the Golden Gate Bridge—the wind and rain was so fierce as I was leaving Sausalito that I had to turn back and go home to Berkeley via the San Raphael Bridge. That was no picnic either. I owe you one and thanks for doing your best to accommodate me. Let me know when you’re doing another event and I will give you big, big plug. I hope the music went well and that the folks who braved the storm enjoyed themselves. cheers–Mal
On Jan 25, 2008 11:36 AM, mark weiss wrote:
Mr. Sharpe:
Please come as our guest. I realize that Sundays are
quite tightly booked for you, but isn’t it great that
The Bottom of The Hill seems to route so conveniently
between No Name and KCSM?
“Mal Sharpe Has A Posse” is an immense underground art
conspiracy. It started with a piece by Robert Syrett,
but has expanded to include an entire art event
spanning over two or three whole hours with works by
Syrett, Matt Gonzales (whose contribution is more
abstract, more like a collage), Cassie Gay (whose
contribution is more floral and fauna-esque than
Warholian or Shepherd Fairey-esque) and Eric Cohen
(whose piece is called “unfinished sketch for
unfinished sculpture called ‘chocolate city'”) but we
will let the listeners decide for themselves who or
what is more bizarre compared to life itself or Andre
The Giant.
Capish?
Mark Weiss
I hope I am not scaring you off. I also just invited
my old boss J_____ and said I will match his
contribution if he buys “Mal Sharpe Has A Posse.”
After more than a year, we are heading back to Enrico’s. Yes, this Sunday, March 8, Big Money in Jazz will playing for the debut of the mouthwatering new Sunday Brunch at Enrico’s; 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Make reservations at…
We’ll have the same band that played there for over 10 years. Lawrence Hyman on trumpet. He studied with the great Rex Stewart of the Ellington Band. Lawrence usually brings his New York savor faire to the proceedings although rumor has it he has his traded in his savor faire for a Prius. (Savor Faire never got him anywhere anyhow.)
On guitar, Bill DeKuiper. Bill is the backbone and tibia of our band. He toured with Dan Hicks and has his own world renowned group, Hot House. There’s a Bill with the Parrots but that’s not him.
The Femur of the band is David Giampietro on clarinet. In North Beach he is known as David Antipasto. Subtle sounds with hint of Garlic. (He promises to gargle before the gig.) David will play the tune he wrote for Peggy Lee, “You Give me Femur.”
The Clavicle, will be our drummer, Carmen Cansino. Those are not drumsticks, they are clavicles—stolen from the graveyard of dead drummers in Colma. That is why Colma is called “The City that never sleeps.”
On the bass, we have a relative new comer although he is not a relative, he’s is Blake Richardson. He is the backbone of the Christmas Jug Band which sells out venues around Northern California during the Xmas season. Since we already have a backbone, he will be the sternum of the group. I always enjoy his wicked smile or perhaps it just that his jawbone is broken.
Then there is me, Mal Sharpe—because I am the bandleader, most of the musicians know me as the thigh bone; that’s because I am connected to the hip bone which is connected to the trombone. (I just drifted into this bone thing but check out this fantastic link)
Enrico’s is a great place to be for a noontime brunch—new menu, new Mimosas and Bloody Marys. The new chef has received great reviews. The staff is friendly. You can look out at the hoi poli strolling down Broadway, and up above there’s the TransAmerica Tower… and out there, in the blue yonder, is the ever changing SF skyline…. and behind the band, the Mural from the Old Spaghetti Factory with it’s Greek chorus of 1958 bohemians checking out the latest hipsters to hit North Beach. Hey, that’s you.
MEANWHILE, WE ARE STILL AT THE SAVOY-TIVOLI EVERY SATURDAY FROM 3-6PM… THE NO NAME BAR EVERY SUNDAY, EXCEPT THIS ONE, FROM 3-6PM… AND WE WILL BE AT ANNA’S JAZZ ISLAND ON SATURDAY MARCH 8 WITH SOME SPECIAL FRIENDS (NO JOKE) FROM FRANCE AND OAKLAND… A NEW CD ON THE WAY TOO.
Maki is a choreographer, dancer, coffee farmer and mom in Kona Hawaii by way of Purchase, NYC and Seattle.
I don’t believe I’ve met her but Terry and I visited her family’s art studio in 2011.
I am wondering if she could improvise on a cold reed, like a sun-e painting, A combination recollection of this dance she made from nine years ago and her reaction to Dave Douglas moonshine title track for three minutes and 24 seconds in honor of Dave’s birthday or I guess it could be 57 seconds recorded on a smart phone with there without any other morinuyes participation
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 
Passing
I track First Amendment (no establishment, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech) especially as it pertains to the arts. As such I want to add this to the data-base — it belongs with today’s main post about the Buskers congress but I am hedging so I am tucking it safely back here. Meanwhile, I am seeing R
submitted this sort of to garchik today:
definitely want to see ochs film, hope to make it for director appearance.
good quote in garchik garymey today about rock of ages — i had a funny conversation with an older lady doing phone sales for SHN who i had to explain that it was “R E O Speedwagon” and not “Rio Speedwagon”…
mark weiss