Crush Rigo Head

I am a big fan of Rigo.
I met him a couple years ago when I was helping Charles Linder. I had borrowed my dad’s Mitsubishi van to help Charles and Rigo move a bunch of panels that were part of a pubic art installation on Market in SF. What is notable about that day is that the three of us were sitting in Muddy Waters cafe in the Mission and Charles jumped up screaming “that’s my bike” and ran out the door. I ran for the van and pulled a U-ey and caught up to Charles –at full sprint — and a bicyclist a couple hundred yards up (south) Mission. I cut the bike off just as Charles had overtaken the rider. Charles grabbed the bike by the handlebars and said “This is my bike!”. He pulled about 50 dollars from his wallet and forced the exchange on the biker, who said he had bought at a flea market. The bike was handmade of zinc. It took an amazing combination of an artist’s eye and an athletes prowess to recover the bike like that — Charles had told me previously that he was a state finalist in high school track back in Alabama.

I dig the “one tree” and the “innercity home” Rigo stuff. I actually didn’t realize until it had been installed for a couple years and I finally sought it out that the San Jose State tribute to the 1968 Olympics — black gloves — was by Rigo.

Terry bought me a box set of Rigo chapbooks.

A recent trip to SFMOMA, maybe to see the Richard Serras, I caught about two minutes of this Rigo interview. Would love to see more of his work.

I saw a print of a similar shot of this at Pacific Art League and pulled this from my cell, from months prior:

edit to add, after blowing another half hour bouncing around or sufring:

I got a snap shot of the emerging art scene by hanging out at Charles Linder’s Refusalon, on Natoma, in the early 1990s, directly before starting Earthwise Productions as a concert entity, transitioning out of ad agency mindset. I recall Charles L came to an early show, maybe the Mudwimin.  But I only met Charles Linder because a former ad agency colleague set me up on a date with Jennifer Goldman whose brother Charles Goldman organized a show at Refusalon; it says that was 1994. Charles Goldman designed the first Earthwise logo, for a set of notecards that I had the press run twice because they printed it glossy when I wanted matte: I am still getting rid of those. Goldman deserves the full Plastic Alto treatment someday. (I remember taking Jennifer Goldman to the Prawn Song launch party so I guess I was sort of tracking music — more about I had met Lane Wurster randomly in 1991 than I was researching the local music scene).

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Jurassic 5 meets Tortilla Phlat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2pNVAzIhF4

OR, WHERE CHALI CAME IN BEARING A BAG OF MACKERELS
When Chali 2na (“Charlie Tuna”, Charles Stewart to some — news 2 me — not the fictional animated corporate pitchman, but a very real larger than life rapper, writer activist and band leader) spits, on his 2000 Interscope release “Quality Control” in track #2, “The Influence” “easily, 2na be, cleverly” (swelling his treasury), I naturally, Weissily, stupidly, wish- and wistfully heard “easily, tunily, CUBBERLEY” blah blah blah (as opposed to bee bee bah).

I was promoting all kinds of acts at the defunct high school theatre and multi-purpose room. Ozomatli, Chali 2na’s other vehicle had just played the theatre. The auditorium, where Cake, blink 182 and Broun Fellinis all played, did host some hip hop. I caught at a Japanese cultural event Shing02 playing a matinee under the name Terra Cotta Troops. I booked, because of my relationship with Bay Area Action stalwart Heru Hall, recently profiled in The Palo Alto Weekly, something called Black Male Renaissance Project (BMRP) of East Palo Alto, including an act called Whichicallit and Dem. (That was the kind of show wherein anybody that was part of the draw was also on the guest list; if you knew who was playing or at least could claim you knew someone who knew someone who knew (or was related, by birth, surrogate or by “it takes a village) someone, you were in, saving the five dollars, and you got a free poster, which cost me about two dollars a pop — it featured (euphemism for “I stole it”) the famous Miles Davis photo, that Joey Piziali recently helped me remember, because I asked him about the stencil art, near his mural, on Cali (not Chali) Ave, here. (Actually, “here” here right this minute — 12:58 on Monday, January 23, 2012 — means that same Cubberley — I am writing this on a public computer, at the temporary Palo Alto library, in the old high school auditorium, where John Neumann and Andy Zenoff and I once went to a high school dance, and yes, I am within fifty feet of the stage that the above-stated rappers and rockers, well, rocked.

I found in a pile, in a box, in a storage locker, not the jewel case just the disc, the Jurassic 5 bomb, my one and one-ly, and played that bit for the first time in a few years. And then, of course, found the video and lyrics for the first time.

I thought of this in reference to my study of John Steinbeck’s “Tortilla Flat” — Tortilla Phlat I call it above, yo — and the fellowship of the subculture of men in this case and their pursuit of not the Holy Grail but what’s inside, as Stew would say, or The Beatles’ “Revolver”, the wine.

I just came back from making a 45 minute presentation with my group: Penka, Eli, Milena and me. We rocked it! Jurassic 5 claims, in track #1, that they can rock it without a rehearsal, but we actually rehearsed — this was our firstiest hit. My girlfriend — that’s no lady — bought me a Foster’s 40 for the 49ers game but I punted it in deference to my gig. It was an interesting group: we come from four different continents and speak between us seven languages, and it took some doing to learn, indeed, to rif off each other and build and not compete. That Penka is a concert pianist, and Milena sings in a cover band — and writes her own stuff, she says — and I, of course, sang once — twice even, with the Foothill Chorus, made me want to work up a few songs –like a group sing of Sublime’s “What I Got” but we will have to wait for a command encore or something. But there was definitely and undeniably a group dynamic that we worked on and worked up. And it worked! In my mind and our minds, regardless if The State could feel us truly. Truly, easily, tunily, Foothilly, rock-abilly, Bah dah dah dah dee dee dee dee and all that.

But don’t take my word on it, C 4 your shelf:

http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Control-Jurassic-5/dp/B00004THKW

 

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Travels with Frida

and a Spaniel riding shot-gun

The clubhouse manager of my apartment complex told me Christmas Eve that I could come back in the morning and commandeer The New York Times, which would otherwise sit all day or be wasted. Because I don’t actually live in my apartment –long story — I woke up on December 25, 2012 and loaded my dear friend Frida (the cocker spaniel) into the car and zipped back to Oak Creek, about three miles. I thought: what a perfect Christmas present for this non-Christian! But I was slightly meshuganah in that out of the 700 residents of my complex someone else got up earlier and beat me to the prize.

I then realized that my gift that morning was my friendship with or moment with Frida. (My girlfriend had to work that day and had left a couple hours earlier).

Better to travel hopefully especially with a cocker spaniel than to arrive…

Foreshadowing my Steinbeck project….

Or did I make all this up?

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3 Short Posts about Jason Mraz, SF Public Press and Dr. Dawn Norfleet jazz

Rushing back to my secret (wired) hideout to prepare for a presentation Monday on Steinbeck’s “Tortilla Flat”, I wrote in my head two short posts for “Plastic Alto.” But then, and only because I have known Matt Nathanson since he was in short pants, I listened to the final two minutes of a song to hear it back announced. It was “I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Mraz. All I can say about Jason Mraz is that he was said to worship Stew when Stew was my client and was a nobody (which is redundant: aren’t all my clients nobodys?) and I wonder if he is related to jazz bassist George Mraz. The video about has five million plays while Matt’s biggest hit has a mere 3.5 million plays.

II.

Spoke for about 24 minutes and 16 seconds to Michael Stoll the executive director of the group that puts out San Francisco Public Press reader-supported ad-free newspaper. We spoke about the “diminution” of the fourth estate: Bagdikian, Chomsky, “Page One”, Project Censored, Jeff Adachi, Matt Gonzalez and David Eggers –he asked me about David Bergin, who I don’t know. Also: Anne Grimes of Stanford communications.

When I get a minute —

He said it is not Palo Alto but they made a video about Redwood City salt flats, climate best by government test:

I thought this video was informative if a little timid about calling a spade a spade or a backhoe a backhoe; there is considerable pressure by powerful entities to milk huge profits out of desirable bay front property, and lip service to doing so in a smart or environmental manner. I thought the photos by Ian Nemuda were excellent and the music by a cadre of what seem to be local or indie new age or classical composers. When I get a minute — and I was interrupted for at least an hour by a call, above – I look forward to reading San Francisco Public Press and coresponding with Mr. Stoll, as appropriate. (Now back to Monterey and “Tortilla Flat” — good thing Cargill didn’t get their grubby paws on it).

The vid:

III:

I spoke to jazz musician, educator and tall drink of water Dr. Dawn Norfleet for about two minutes and 20 seconds yesterday. She was driving. We are both too busy to resume the interview other than to say she has three big and differing gigs if you are in LA and need some jazz. I met Dr. Dawn at IAJE which tells you how long ago that was since IAJE is a defunct organization, hopefully replaced by something a little more defunctier. As I recall she is a Wellesley and Columbia grad – I recall meeting USC/Wellesley doubler Tierney Sutton in the same setting or sitting — and her plethora of current projects include educational outreach to children, the World Stage of LA, Andy Milne, friends of Michael Jackson and The Grammy’s – a whole plethora of good stuff. You go, girl! I mean, proceed, Doctor!

(I was going to ask her if people confuse her with Denny Zeitlin. Or Dr. Billy Taylor. Or who are your influences? How tall are you? Who does your hair? Monk or Mingus? That kind of thing. TBC)

Ok, back to “Tortilla Flat” which rumor says is soon to be a James Franco vehichle, as it bridges “Pineapple Express” with “Your Highness” (plus the Steinbeck angle fits in with his Ginsberg and his Hart Crane).

edit to add at 4:20 on a Friday which for me means walk the dog and hit the books, sorry, Charlie.

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I (heart) Clare Rojas

Clare Rojas did this (detail)

I was the nerd who gave Clare Rojas a purple rose of friendship at the opening event at Paule Anglim Gallery.

Clare told me that she was not actively pursuing her music activities but that she had recently posted new music under the name Peggy Honeywell. The gallery supposedly links to it.
I enjoyed meeting and not to gossip someone who I think is her partner, the painter known as Barry McGee. He said he wants a commission to tag the Palo Alto Caltrain station. On it, bro.

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John Edward Buchanan, Jr (1938- 30 December 2011)

The mass of  people who gathered Wednesday at San Francisco’s glorious Grace Cathedral, for the Requiem Eucharist for John Buchanan, were given a small print of one of the Venetian masterworks currently on view in the flesh at the Legion of Honor — canvas is flesh, you bet your sweet tuckas it is; and oil is blood, of a sort. Does a tube not bleed if it is pricked?  The Very Reverend Dr. Jane Shaw presiding recalled Buchanan and his talent for provoking thought and wonder about art, rather than lecturing or dictating or pontificating about art (or running on, as I do). She suggested, for example, that he would have or did ask whether the dark area (not pictured above; the image above is a detail; the crop was done on the De Young website — sister institution to the Legion – they were both under Buchanan’s tutelage) was a reference to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. I was just telling a very learned and experienced and committed new friend about the concept — the cave concept — so that part resonated with me. Or maybe my new friend was just acting like she didn’t know about the cave, so as to let me elaborate?

I recall meeting Legion of Honor curator Lynn Federle Orr last summer at Andrea Fisher Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Lynn lives in Palo Alto, just a few blocks from my crib. I saw the big write-up in the Pink but have not seen the show. Now I will most def see the show and think about Buchanan and the work – plus they recommend Tintorettos “Suzanne” — the one that mixes nudity and the Bible —  book of Daniel.

I never met John Buchanan but have gotten to know, on behalf of my parents and their Paul E. and Barbara H. Weiss Pueblo Pottery collection, several of Buchanan’s team. My mom used to tell a story about John so graciously and charmingly trying to serve her seconds of the family-style meal they shared at the De Young the day they broke bread together and sealed their deal.

I don’t really speak Episcopalian so some of the finer points were lost on me. I substituted “Lord” for “Christ” and only loud enough to encourage my row, not drown them out. I am saving my first Episcopalian blessing for another event — Lord willing, but made note of what the readers and leaders demonstrated to be the international sign for “I would like a blessing but will skip the communion bread and wine part”. (Meanwhile, it was only natural to briefly flash to my coursework at Foothill College on Steinbeck’s “Tortilla Flat” and the Holy Grail symbol and theme therein, right?).

Meanwhile the vice president of the United States (the VPOTUS?) was across the way at the Mark Hopkins (or did I almost call it the Mark Hopter?) and men in blue were all over, but not enough to scare me and our companion from sneaking into the otherwise closed or restricted Venetian Room and Tonga Room. I asked our companion if she knew many Tongans.

I wore what I feared was a perhaps too gay tie but it was bought for me by my girlfriend TAD from the De Young gift shop — it is supposed to be a Amish design with pinks, purples and blues – at least eight colors, I see, now that I look at it — but Julian Cox the curator gave me his blessings AND the bell hop at the Fairmont complimented me and got almost as big an earful on JEB2 as you my dearly beloved and perhaps also mourning readers.

The four of us went to the Fairmont and ate blue cheese hamburgers and toasted to life, “To Life.”

The Three Philosophers by Giorgio da Castelfranco, called Giorgione, ca. 1509. Oil on canvas. Gemaldegalerie of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna but on view at SF Fine Arts Museums Palace of Legion of Honor in San Francisco through February.

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Lemon Twist meets Aussie not-green not-bitter; more on The Kent Lockhart Legend

i made a little chap book with this info, for eric, and then bored Reeves with the story so here goes:

She comes in colors. She’s like a rainbow. This Stones lyric I truly believe is about the mother of my high school basketball teammate Kent Lockhart, Marlinda Fitzgerald. Marlinda was a go-go dancer in LA in the days of the Stones pre-Altamont. They moved to NorCal — marlinda and Kent — in about 1974; he went on to become a high school All America, first team All-WAC for UTEP, drafted by the Knicks in the NBA draft, then went to Australia and was first team all Australia ( and a teammate of future U.S Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan who Kent described recently as “heady” — natch, dude went to Harvard — “left-handed” and “slightly pigeon-toed”) and then became a high school art teacher (as well as a coach, for example for Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks). Not that his hoops credentials add any particular credibility to his story, but why would they lie?

The story is that Marlinda was invited to a fancy party but she had to wear this outfit made of little tiny mirrors — maybe they were glued to her skin or just a body suit. And people were I guess tripping on something. So when she made her entrance they shined a spot on her and the little mirrors all refracted — that’s why she was like a rainbow — the writer – keith mick whoever, not muddy waters we presume — was describing the chick with the mirrors outfit or his drug experience.

She also has a story about borrowing tons and tons of boulders from William Randolph Hearst from San Simeon – and he was on horseback — and she ended up using these on her garden at 3134 Greer Road in Palo Alto – Lockhart claims that he, as a teenager had to move and place all these boulders, bigger than basketball, weighing up to 100 pounds each, and that was equivalent to so many hours in the gym weight room. He was a fiercesome specimen – this was way before the era of doping I mean steroids. He probably benched about 350 and he was about 180 to 200 pounds himself, about 6 foot 4. I recall he showed me the spot on is arm where the rim would him him — he could jump six or seven inches above the rim, so that the rim would come to about halfway between palm and elbow and he had just been named MVP of the SF Pro Am league – this was 1988 or so — at Kezar near what is now Amoeba Records — and he said “when I get my leap to HERE” (pointing about halfway between that spot and the elbow — like if he added another inch or two of vertical leap – he was probably around 25 to 30 inches already I would guesss — “they will HAVE TO take me” meaning let him sign a free agent contract. Although he played for Phil Jackson and Cazzie Russell in the US minor leagues and legendary coach Don Harris I mean Don Haskins at UTEP — in his book on “Glory Days” and the first all black national champions Haskins lists Lockhart among his greats all time — and Lock is among the three top players in Palo Alto history, with Jeremy Lin of Palo Alto High who had a cup of green tea with the Warriors recently – the NBA has more teams now than in 1985 — and “Jungle Jim” Luscutoff, another Paly High guy – we, Kent and I, he of the 1700 plus career points and me of a grand total of 4 varsity points – went to Gunn High, the “red and black” — Paly wore or wears green — he never got another look from the NBA and loves it in Australia. He makes folk sculpture reptiles that i am dying to get my hands on one. When Sports Illustrated wrote about the 1984-1985 UTEP team — they were four or top five in the country – they never actually mentioned Kent Lockhart’s position (small forward, shooting guard, 3 or 2 if you follow hoops parlance) but they mentioned Marlinda’s go-go dancing (but not the song) and show one of Kent’s canvasses, rather Klee-esque. After being Pro Am MVP but before opting for Down Under I, being an advertising copywriter haunting North Beach shops, suggested to Kent that he sent little promotional posters of himself — not unlike Eric’s little doodle of the footballer – they call it “gridiron” in Melbourne – Dandenong actually, he works for the Murdoch School named for the mother of the media baron–speaking of Mothers (or in this case “Mother——–s”– I suggested he draw some chickens and say “YOU NEED A 2-GUARD WHO CAN REALLY DRAW FOWLS”. Marlinda said “Listen to him” (meaning me) and “They are not like us” meaning, in this case, if I understand or understood, although it sounded bonkers to Kent maybe I — the Ivy Grad — was right, and it would work.

That’s my story.

Mark Weiss

how much for your “She’s Like a Rainbow” drawing. I mean special price for me?

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Adventures in Potrerolandia

 

On my way into the City this fine sunny yet cold morning, I shot Richard Serra’s “Ballast” — I was reminded of its existential 160-ton weight on the world by a brochure I got earlier in the month at his big gig at SFMOMA.  The Mission Bay Serra has been here about five years but I never actually saw it until today, seeking it.

Richard Serra "Ballast" near the ballpark

Later, in chapter ten or twelve of my adventures today, I briefly met the artist Carol Selter as she was apparently documenting her own science-and-nature themed-show at Gallery 16. I name-dropped Tony May and added the important fact that he and I share the upcoming birthday of January 28. Then I shot the ultra-sneaky snap of her from outside the gallery, on the steps looking back in.

artist scientist Carol Selter at work

(Both of these episodes took place in SOMA more than Potrero Hill, but I am sticking with my somewhat misleading yet ever so trendy headline, a reference to the IFC Carrie Brownstein Fred Armisen vehicle; I have gotten into at least two conversations about it; once, when the dj Mia^1 (mia to the power of one) said that the Rob Syrett opening, in its minimalist charm, was like “Portlandia” and secondly, there at Gallery 16 when Katy Meacham said she was from Portland before SF).

What drew me into the City and Potrero Hill actually Dogpatch was the chance to meet one of my Chicago correspondents, the playwright and musician Terry Abrahamson, who I first was put in touch with because he wrote a tribute to my former client Stella Brooks, “Jazz Funeral for Stella Brooks.” What I didn’t realize until today is that not only did he know JC Brooks (and that in itself is another weird coincidence that I just noticed, the surnames of Stella and JC who Terry calls “Jason”) but that JC Brooks recorded some of the demos of what became the music for “Jazz Funeral….” Meanwhile, Terry was unclear on “Passing Strange” until I set him straight this a.m. — JC Brooks played the narrator during a recent mounting of “Passing Strange” in Chicago. Today over eggs and crab cake (me; he had sausages) we schemed about trying to bring his sixties paranoia piece “Doo Lister’s Blues” to the Bay Area, even as a one-man show or a staged reading.  Abrahamson also gave me a great line or point-of-view when he said he doubts he will outlive his ideas; he’s prolific and generates more projects than he could possible finish or actualize. Here he is holding a book of his blues photos, which make me want to put him in touch with Jay Blakesburg:

Chicago underground legend Terry Abrahamson at Just For You

This has nothing to do with me, my day or Potrero Hill, but Ramon and Jessica remind me, in this moment, of the lesbian book store skit in “Portlandia.” Here is a quote from their actual press release:

Coda: …and if you’re wondering, Dina is Ramon and Jesse is Jessica

(I met Dina McAbee thru Beth Custer a couple years prior and then sort of bumped into her again recently with Jewlia Eisenberg at the pop up Jewish Music Store in the Mission but my best Ramon and Jessica story or association was how a friend of mine thought their song prolonged the life of their dying hound; I spun the same song once on KZSU).

My photo of Mia and Rob is somehow stuck in my stupid cell, but Rob’s picture of me, next to a piece of his that sold to a local super duper architect, and featuring some balloons donated by the super duper nice people at The Balloon Lady — is that Dogpatch or Sunnyside? — came out, so to speak. They actually donated a cool frog balloon but in my best clown moment it lasted less than two minutes at Caffe Centro before I fed it to the ceiling fan.

 
edit to add, Feb. 7, 2012, about three weeks later: catching up again with Terry Abrahamson, and telling him about this post, I felt bad my photo had a flaw that made him look like a Edgar Bergen colleague, so he sent along a better one:

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Self-portrait with John Wilson and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

I remember the hour or so Terry and I spent at The Hood Museum last June during my Dartmouth 25 year reunion, but it wasn’t until this morning when I transferred an image from my little crappy Samsung to the MacBook that I realized the image was a self-portrait as we can see my reflection in the glass that protect Dartmouth’s copy of the John Wilson tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Now that I take a good look at it, I can also see Lucien Freud’s “Lord Goodman” hung directly across from John Wilson’s work.

John Wilson is a 90-year-old artist from Roxbury, Massachusetts who recently was commssioned by his home town to create this seven foot bust, called “Eternal Presence”.

edit to add, April 11, 2012: My recent post about Dartmouth classmate Bjong Yeigh is getting traffic thanks to Dartblog, which itself led me to read that it is Leon Black the Wall Street financier who is the one underwriting Dartmouth’s new art building — he who at one time was said to have a $4 Billion net worth and $1 billion tied up in art. Article says the building will include a Elsworth Kelly commission; dude’s 88 years old, not sure he is up to it, but God Bless. I would have gone with David Hess, of course. You could do about 50 David Hess works for the same price, but Hess will have to donate his spread outside Baltimore to the public good for that to ever happen, a site with 50 Hess-bots. See also: “Red” at Berkeley Rep regarding Rothko and Seagrams, circa 1958. Apparently Ellsworth Kelly had a big public piece in Philly that was disassembled and moved or deaccessed? Bonus: my Dartmouth class had a Kelly Elsworth, confusing enough.

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Yuan Yuan and Dan Dan

YUAN CAN DANCE

I am sort of watching and sort of listening to a PBS cast of SF Ballet “The Little Mermaid” starring Yuan Yuan Tan, while I try to blast (see “cast” vs “blast” and file under “Words”) about Syrett and Mia^1 tomorrow in SF.

1) Boy, I could blog about Yuan Yuan Tan everyday!
2) score by Lera Auerbach, a Russian born in 1973 and I checked no relation to Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who was picture on the cover, gonna by five copies for his mother, Rolling Stone.
3) Reminds of the butoh dancer with Idiot Flesh at Fillmore Sessions in 1998 or so
4) What about mash up of this broadcast and “El Camino” by Black Keys?
5) I recall ads warning that this “Little Mermaid” is not the children’s one by Disney;
6) Reminds me that I am meaning to finish Elif Batuman and the complete study of Russian literature, New Year’s resolution, right next to my Mexico initiiative, and my Africa one.
6) met a Bulgarian pianist and composer named Penka and want to commission her to write for Plastic Alto about the music and music supervision of “Casablanca” just saw twice at Stanford Theatre/Packard Foundation — spurred by the Bulgarian couple and “Sacha you crazy Russian” bartender.

7) I saw the Black Keys at the Billions party, unless it was the Windish party, at SXSW in 2004 or so, from twenty feet away, and only because I know Ralph Carney the uncle of the drummer, Pat Carney.

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