I met the artist Priyanka Rana at Johnson Park where a sculpture of hers had been on display for a few months, thanks to City of Palo Alto public art program. Her piece featured an assemblage of toys, that she installed in a frame of wood, that she gathered nearby and scorched using a Japanese technique, she said. I saw her spray-painting the toys a blue color, perhaps to connote our planet, which is three-fourths water. I also thought of David Middlebrooks, Anish Kapoor, Tom Friedman, David Smith is it.
Today the piece was gone — she mentioned something about the Menlo College show — and there was a set of objects in the footprint of her former artwork: some books, a mug, some plastic figurines. I mean to check back later.
I bought this artwork called hip-hop heads from Gwen Crawford Gasque of Letter Perfect yesterday. It says it is scaled based on the number of unique words in their first 25,000 recorded words.
This is a portrait I took of Jimmie Dale Gilmore in 1998 in Palo Alto, in the green room of the old Spangenberg Auditorium at Gunn High. It’s not very good. It’s like the Shroud of Turin. You have to be looking for Jimmie Dale to see him. On the same roll, maybe the next frame or exposure, taken by an unknown photographer is a wonderful group portrait of Jimmie Dale, myself and Robyn Israel of the Weekly. We look like a million bucks, each. Or three million bucks split three ways.
In the R District of Sacramento is an artist loft and retail mall including a record store run by Marty DeAnda the founder of Dig Records. On the wall near the reg is a small guitar signed, it claims by musicians from the 2002 Russian River Blues festival: Debbie Coleman, Elvin Bishop and more. It reminded me that in 2003 I toured several dates with my then-client Henry Butler and those two musicians, Front Porch Blues Tour. I went to the 2004 Russian River Festival while auditioning to manage Roy Tyler, of Gospel Hummingbirds, who had a new record out on Severn Records.
I disagree with Denny Freidenrich, who lauds the Supreme Court decision on paying NCAA athletes. If i were a college President I’d recommend dropping football entirely before having professional athletes represent the school and displacing students athletes. Denny’s brother was chair of the Stanford board and chair of their most successful capital campaign. I recommended “Freidenrich” as the name for what is now Greene Middle School. I don’t see the rules change as paying Jim Plunkett for value created I see it displacing him for someone more mercenary
Plunkett was already famous as a high school player
Rich Outzen ‘89 is a retired colonel in the US Army and a language scholar and diplomat. At Dartmouth he was a lineman on the football team and a reporter for The Dartmouth; he used my notes to finish my story on the 15th reunion of the 1970 team, Lambert Trophy winners — I had interviewed Murry Bowden and Willie Bogan by phone but overdosed on tricyclics and was renditioned to Dick’s House to sleep it off like it was so much Rapier Punch.
Outzen was the star of Brian Moore’s documentary about ROTC “Army Green”.
Might be fun to update “Army Green” 36 years later, 18 up.
I wonder what Outzen would make of Hakan Sukur’s cafe on Bryant Street in Palo Alto;
I’d love to get him on a panel with Michael McFaul.
What does Rich Outzen think — or tweet — about the January 6 events?
Outzen attended Aragon of San Mateo whose alumni include musicians Pegi Young and Neal Schon, comic book Superhero creator Darick Robertson and filmmaker Brad Lewis (Ratatouille).
I met Sharon Benitez and her sister Tanya Benitez Sunday busking on University Avenue, near Oren’s Hummus. They peform in a grupo called Los Panaderos (The Bread-makers) and also teach folkloric dance to children under the name Quetzal. They were here as part of the World Music Day/World Music Month activities that are sponsored by Palo Alto Recreation Foundation and City of Palo Alto (our version of Fete De La Music / Make Music Palo Alto / World-Wide Music Day, held ten times on Father’s Day since 2009, when I was on the committee with Claude Ezran). I saw Los Panaderos doing a traditional version of “La Bamba” which people (Anglos) know from Richie Valens, Los Lobos and a movie also called “La Bamba”. They had a platform for Mexican clog dancing, which got hacked by some Asian guys who were also B-Boys – I got a bit of that on film. Sharon has a degree in ethnomusicology from Santa Clara University and a budding career as an artist/educator/activist and producer. I sent this tape to Tommy Manzi who manages Cake and to Bruce Solar, their agent. Cake played twice in my Cubberley Sessions, back in the day — I mean fall, 1995 and summer, 1996. They almost played here about 10 years ago, a benefit for solar power — not their agent, the thing from which we all derive our power. I would love to have Los Panaderos record “Mexico” by John McCrea and Cake for my Lions With Wings Bandcamp label. Meanwhile, you can catch Los Panaderos again Saturday, June 26 — this Saturday — from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on University, maybe near Oren’s or maybe near Cafe Venetia – -they are sharing the street with the Mark Wong-VanHaren family band also known as Camacu.
PS: Cake uses a Vibra-slap, which imitates quijada, made from the jaw of a mule. There is no Vibra-slap in either “Mexico” or “You Part the Waters”. “Is This Love”, yes. I’d like to see the Benitez sisters and maybe their whole band have a side project that does nothing but Cake covers with accentuated Mexican flourishes. Although I have to also add, as an Old G Cake fan, that the band uses the word more like “caked with mud” like if you stepped into some fine dust and your boot was coated or caked with earth; intense. Layered. Vale?
And1: Oren’s Hummus features pita. I spoke to the manager who said he is open-minded to spornsoring or at least not thwarting a continued music presence next to his parklet of tables in the streets, this summer.
Andand: I spoke briefly with Sharon Benitez about her fellow musician Cecilia Peña-Govea also known as La Doña — I had come from the Ledisi/The Seshen/La Doña event at Stern Grove (see the laminate I’m wearing, with my Superchunk hoodie).
andandand:
This is from today’s email message to Miguel Govea, father of La Doña; I hereby induct Los Panaderos, Tanya Benitez and Sharon Benitez into the pantheon:
I already list La Doña in my pantheon of legendary Bay Area and Latin projects, or that I’ve worked with (as a promoter) including: John Santos*, Orixa*, Bloque*, Ozomatli*, Rupa and the April Fishes, Beth Custer Doña Luz 30 Bezos*, Beth Custer and Octavio Solis, Los Mocosos, Santana, Greg Landau, Chris Strachwitz, Chuy Varela, Laura Chavez, Danilo Perez*, Adam Cruz*, Luciana Souza*, Vivendo De Pao*, Marco Diaz Melecio Magdaluyo duo*, Marta Sanchez Roman Filiu duo*, Juan L. Sanchez Trova Latina,* Los Lobos, The Blues Experience*, B-Side Players*.* denotes artists who’ve appeared in Earthwise Productions; also: Sal Gaeta and Sandy Lunares’ Acoustic Paradise — played my first show, on referral by Juan Sanchez — plus Sandy worked the door for about 100 shows.
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 