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Entry 21
London January 31 > Detroit February 4, 2009 It's just after midnight beginning the last day of January and I'll be on my way to Heathrow Airport in about five hours to catch my plane for Detroit and begin my pilgrimage to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, stopping in the former Motor City for four days to visit my daughters & granddaughter.
My daughter Celia has just celebrated her 39th birthday (on the 17th) by driving up to Detroit to see our peoples and meet me there. On Wednesday (4) she and I will leave Detroit and drive South so she can drop me off in Oxford, Mississippi to make my annual residency at the Two Stick with Chad Henson & Allison Borders and my godson, Isaac Sinclair Henson.
While I'm in Oxford Jsutin Showah and I are going to master the fourth volume of my blues work in verse, the saga of Muddy Waters titled Natural From Our Hearts, recorded in the summer of 2006 at Jimbo Mathus' Delta Recording Service in Clarksdale, Mississippi with Eric Deaton on guitar, Justin on bass, Kenny Kimbrough on drums, Jimbo on piano & harmonica, the Henson brothers on guitar, flute & percussions, and Will Dawson at the controls.
This will complete a massive project in music & verse that began with the composition of the first poems for Fattening Frogs For Snakes in Detroit in the spring of 1982. It took 20 years to complete the book and get it pubished in 2002 by Dennis Formento at the Surregional Press in New Orleans, and another six years to record all four sections of the book with appropriate musical accompaniment.
Volume One: The Delta Sound was recorded by Mark Bingham in New Orleans early in 2001 and produced by the great Andre “Mr. Rhythm” Williams with Bill Lynn, Jeff Grand and Everette Eglin on guitars, Tricky Dick Dixon or Bingham on bass, Mike Voelker on drums, Marc Adams on keys and Rockin' Jake on harmonica, with backing vocals by the trio known as ELS. It was released by Rooster Blues/Okra-Tone Records in 2002 just three months before they went out of business.
Volume Two: Country Blues was recorded by Mike Boulan at No Cover Studios in Oak Park, Michigan in 2005 and produced by Jeff Grand with Eddie Harsch on piano, Chris Rumel on bass and James Whalin on harmonica. No Cover released the CD in September 2005.
Volume Three: Don't Start Me To Talking was recorded and produced by Justin Showah at Voyagers Rest in Oxford, Mississippi in 2007 with Lightnin' Malcolm on guitar, Justin on bass, Wallace Lester on drums and Jim Dickinson on piano. We issued a small edition on CD last February as a Joint Production between Hill Country Records and Big Chief Products.
When Justin turns the last knob at Voyagers Rest sometime next month the whole thing will be accomplished, and HeadPress has pledged to bring the entire work out later this year as a boxed set containing the book and the four CDs—just the way the work was conceived some 27 years ago. Yes!
While I'm in Mississippi I'll be playing a date at the State Theatre in Starkville on the 10th with the Mississippi Blues Scholars and appearing on the Thacker Mt. Revue “live” radio show in Oxford for Mississippi Public Radio on Thursday the 12th, sitting in with Jim Dickinson's house band and hopefully getting to do a number with his sons in the North Mississippi All Stars as well.
On my way to New Orleans on the 14th I'll be stopping in Covington, Louisiana to play a Valentine's Day show with Carlo Ditta at a place called Etoile, then crossing the bridge into the Crescent City in time to make Unified Indian Practice at the Handa Wanda at 2nd & Dryades on Sunday night. I'll be in New Orleans from February 15-March 2, when I head back to Detroit for a few days before flying back to London on March 10th, and I hope to report from there.
My Mardi Gras report from last year's festivities, Go Get Your Big Chief, has just been published in Headpress 28 and may be ordered on-line at www.headpress.com along with copies of my new book IT'S ALL GOOD: A John Sinclair Reader.
Also, you can follow my movements On The Road in the calendar that runs along the left-hand side of this page, and read earlier entries in the On The Road Archive on the right-hand side. My radio programs may be accessed from this page now as well, and my boys at the John Sinclair Foundation in Amsterdam have created a YouTube channel where I'm posting performance videos from my travels as they accrue.
I've been ballyhooing IT'S ALL GOOD in Amsterdam and London since my last report in December, having a great time and enjoying the warmest of receptions everywhere I've been. While I was in Amsterdam we made the last episode of 2008 (§241) of the John Sinclair Radio Show for Radio Free Amsterdam at the 420 Café:
The John Sinclair Foundation Presents:
John Sinclair Radio Show 241
420 Café, Amsterdam
Monday, December 22, 2008 @ 11:00-12:00 pm [20-0861]
Larry Hayden and Steve Fly and I gathered at the 420 Café this fine Monday evening before Christmas to celebrate our existence, enjoy some Opening Tokes of New York Skunk, shoot the shit and play some music by Radio I Ching, the Howlin' Diablos, Harmonica Shah, Little Junior Cannady, the Butler Twins, Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder, the Up, Uprising, and the great James Semark with John Dana & Ronnie Johnson from the Detroit Artists Workshop around this time of year in 1964. Merry Christmas, everybody!
Playlist 241
[01] Opening Music: Radio I Ching: Radio Groove
[02] John Sinclair Intro & Opening Tokes with Steve Fly
[03] Howlin' Diablos: Back Door Santa
[04] Harmonica Shah: The Life of Every Party
[05] Little Junior Cannady: Everybody Likes What I Got
[06] Butler Twins: Might As Well
[07] John Sinclair Conversation with Steve Fly
[08] Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder: Rock & Roll
[09] Up: Come On
[10] Uprising: Long Hard Road
[11] John Sinclair Conversation with Steve Fly
[12] James Semark: John Coltrane Rhythm Ballad for All
[13] John Sinclair Closing Comments & Outro
[14] Closing Music: Howlin' Diablos: X-Mas in Jail
[15] Baba Israel Outro > RFA Tag
Hosted by John Sinclair for Radio Free Amsterdam
Produced, edited & assembled by John Sinclair
Recorded & posted by Larry Hayden
Executive Producer: Larry Hayden
Special thanks to Steve Fly at the 420 Café
Looking at my logs for 2008 at the end of the year I was gassed to think back on all the places I'd made episodes of the show during the year, starting and ending at the 420 Café and hitting other Amsterdam spots like the Rock-It Coffeeshop on the Nieuwmarkt, The Dolphins by the Leidseplein, Coffeeshop Basjoe, Eat at Jo's in the Melkweg, Hempshopper on the Singel canal, Overtoom 301, OCCII, and the Cannabis College.
On my travels I made programs at WWOZ Radio, Piety Street Recording, Handa Wanda's, and in the streets of New Orleans on Mardi Gras; at the Butchers inn, No Cover Studio, the Holice P. Woods Studio, the Jazz Loft and the Bohemian National Home in Detroit; SkyDog Tower in Paris; Tokyo Hipsters Club and the Ooze Charm Coffeeshop in Tokyo; the ZXZW Festival in Tillburg and Megaplaten in Utrecht, NL; Pheasant Hollow Winery in Wittenburg IL; Common Ground on the Hill and the Roots Music & Arts Festival in Westminster MD; Piazza del Erbe and Cafe Mentelocale at the International Poetry Festival in Genoa; Lee Harris' Croft in East Anglia UK and a ton of shows in London including the HeadPress Bunker, Royal Festival Hall, City Inn Art Cafe, CafÈ Oto, World's End Tavern, Raindance Film Festival HQs, Biddle Bros. Bar, Second Layer Records, Rough Trade Records, Bamalama Poster Shop, Big Green Books, Waterstones Books and Resonance Radio at The Foundry.
Man! No wonder they call me the Hardest Working Poet in Show Business. That's covering a lot of ground for a man who made 67 years old last October 2nd, if I do say so myself.
I was enjoying a very relaxing holiday season at my new residence in Amsterdam near the Oosterpark where Steve Fly & Sweet Jane have made a room for me when all of a sudden both of my hosts were gone to visit their families in England and Norway, respectively, and I was all alone on Christmas Eve. To keep from getting lonely I thought I should begin a major year-end-type project and, after bringing all my files as up-to-date as I could manage, I took on the exhilarating task of assembling a new book from my 44-year treasure trove of writings.
For some years now I've wanted to make a book of my writings from and about New Orleans called Mardi Gras to the World, and once I put my nose to the grindstone I had a ball digging out everything I could find in my files, knocking the dust off, up-dating and beating up the writing a little bit and stitching the pieces together to make up a fairly coherent compendium of stories from 1976-2008, as follows:
MARDI GRAS TO THE WORLD
By John Sinclair
A HeadPress Book
[01] Mardi Gras to the World: Running the Streets of the Crescent City
[02] Make A Joyful Noise: New Orleans Calling
[03] Keeping Jazz Funerals Alive: Brass Bands & Backstreet Culture
[04] Big Chief Got A Golden Crown: The Wild Indians of New Orleans
[05] The Bach of Rock: Professor Longhair
[06] Stone Originators: Dave Bartholomew & Earl Palmer
[07] How Long Must I Wait? Tommy Ridgley
[08] Soul Queen of New Orleans: Irma Thomas
[09] Give Me My Flowers Now: Johnny Adams
[10] Unsung Heroes: Chuck Carbo, Eddie Bo, Deacon John, Snooks Eaglin
[11] Ain't Gonna Be No Stopping: Ernie K-Doe
[12] The Wolfman Is at Your Door: Walter “Wolfman” Washington
[13] Fiyo on the Bayou: The Meters
[14] Yellow Moon Rising: The Neville Brothers
[15] Prophets with Honor: Harold Battiste & Wardell Quezergue
[16] Turn On Your Volume Baby: New Orleans on the Radio
[17] Record Men of the '90s: Carlo Ditta, Gary Edwards, Harris Rea
[18] Remember Me? Roland Stone
[19] Louisiana Medicine Man: Coco Robicheaux
[20] Invitation to a Ghost Dance: White Buffalo Prayer
[21] Carrying It On: Updating the Traditions
[22] A Very Joyful Kind of Thing: The New Orleans Nightcrawlers
[23] Born with the Funk: Davell Crawford
[24] Jazz Funk from the Future: Michael Ray & the Cosmic Krewe
[25] 21st Century Blues: Chris Thomas King
[26] Wade in the Water: Notes from New Orleans After the Flood
[27] Go Get Your Big Chief: Mardi Gras in New Orleans 2008
[28] Provenance & Publishing Credits
© 2009 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved.
While I was sorting through my materials I flashed on another book to make that would collect all the liner notes I've written for albums over the years, including the series of notes composed for my own productions in the 1990s on the MC-5, Up, Rationals, Detroit Featuring Mitch Ryder, and the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festivals of 1972-73-74, plus my own series of albums for Alive, Total Energy, Schoolkids, New Alliance, SpyBoy, Okra-Tone, LocoGnosis and No Cover Records between 1994-2008.
LINER NOTES
By John Sinclair
A HeadPress Book
I—SOUNDS OF NEW ORLEANS
[01] Life Is A Carnival: Wild Magnolias
[02] Rollin': Re-Birth Brass Band
[03] Funk Is in the House: Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters
[04] Barefootin': Robert Parker
[05] Piano Night at Tipitina's 1994 & 1995
[06] Live at the Old Point. New Orleans Nightcrawlers
[07] Here Come The Indians Now: Flaming Arrows
[08] A Calm in the Fire of Dances: Rumba Profunda
[09] Live at Jimmy's: Michael Ray & the Cosmic Krewe
[10] Pocket Full of Funk: Brotherhood of Groove
[11] Stavin' Chain
[12] The Orleans Records Story
[13] Saxy Sounds: Jerry Embree
[14] Let's Go Get 'Em: The Rockin' Jake Band
[15] Walkin' with Freddie: Little Freddie King
[16] 300 Miles > Plays the Classics: Les Getrex
[17] Bourbon Street Blues: Milton Batiste & the Magnificent 7ths
[18] Livin' the Dream: New Orleans Juice
[19] Goin' Home to Mama: Timothea
[20] Doin' the Funky Thing: Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters
II—FANFARE FOR THE WARRIORS
[01] Fanfare for the Warriors: Art Ensemble of Chicago
[02] Soul '69: Aretha Franklin
[03] Soul of the Blues: Solomon Burke
[04] When a Cajun Man Gets the Blues: Tab Benoit
[05] Ella & Louis Again: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
[06] Kulture Jazz: Wadada Leo Smith
[07] Baby, I Love You So: Joe Weaver
[08] If You Don't Know Me By Now: Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
[09] Beautiful Ballads: The Isley Brothers
[10] Saturday Night Special: Lyman Woodard Organization
[11] Alligator Records 30th Anniversary Album
[12] 35th Anniversary Jam: James Cotton
[13] Too Much Fun: Billy C. Farlow
[14] Watch Yourself: Henry Gray & the Cats
[15] Gonna Be Trouble in Here Tonight: Eric Deaton
[16] Somethin' in the Air: Mike Younger
[17] East Coast Funk: Boston Horns
[18] Open the Doors: Sun Sounds Orchestra
[19] Live at the Montreaux-Detroit Jazz Festival: Lyman Woodard Organization
[20] Alabama Jubilee
[21] Soledad Brothers
[22] Soul of a New Machine: Delta 72
[23] The War of Sound: Nawfel
[24] Concert of Colors: Don Was Detroit Super Session
III—TOTAL ASSAULT ON THE CULTURE
[01] Separation Is Doom: MC5
[02] Power Trip: MC-5
[03] Starship: MC-5
[04] Ice Pick Slim: MC-5
[05] Temptation's 'Bout To Get Me: The Rationals
[06] American Ruse: MC-5
[07] Teen Age Lust: MC-5
[08] Human Being Lawn Mower: MC-5
[09] Killer Up: The Up
[10] Get Out the Vote: Detroit Featuring Mitch Ryder
[11] Ethnic Folk-Dance Music: Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1972
[12] Blues With a Feeling: Little Sonny 1972
[13] Life Is Splendid: Sun Ra & His Solar Myth Arkestra 1972
[14] Bap-Tizum: Art Ensemble of Chicago 1972
[15] Well All Right! Original King Biscuit Boys & Big Walter Horton 1973
[16] Outer Space Employment Agency: Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Discipline Arkestra 1973
[17] Grind It! Roosevelt Sykes & Victoria Spivey 1973
[18] Please Mr. Foreman: Motor City Blues 1973
[19] It Is Forbidden: Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Arkestra 1974
[20] thelonious: a book of monk—volume one: john sinclair
[21] If I Could Be With You: John Sinclair with Ed Moss & the Society Jazz Orchestra
[22] Full Moon Night: John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars
[23] Full Circle: John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars Featuring Wayne Kramer
[24] Underground Issues: John Sinclair
[25] The Delta Sound: John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars
[26] Tearing Down the Shrine of Truth & Beauty: John Sinclair & the Pinkeye Orchestra
[27] Detroit Life: John Sinclair & His Motor City Blues Scholars
© 2009 John Sinclair
I worked continuously on these two compilations from Christmas Eve until I left Amsterdam for London on January 12th and then finished them up at the HeadPress Bunker and delivered them to my publisher, Nick Smith. He's now looking at bringing out Liner Notes as early as April 2009, the Fattening Frogs For Snakes box set in August or September, and Mardi Gras to the World for Mardi Gras 2010. Now you're talking!
This concentrated labor didn't leave time for much else before I left Amsterdam except the Café Nieuwe Anita screening of TWENTY TO LIFE on January 5th and a careful grilling of the subject—that would be me—afterwards, and the making of my first two radio shows of 2009:
John Sinclair Radio Show 242
420 Café, Amsterdam
Saturday, January 10, 2009 @ 9:00-10:00 pm [20-0901]
Our first show of 2009 comes from our home base, the 420 Café in Amsterdam, where Dr. Larry Hayden and I are joined by my pal Phil Demetrion and his wife Marty from Paris; the fine singer from London now based in Amsterdam, Carole Denis; and beatbox man Thumpah Lee, an American now resident outside of Dusseldorf, Germany. We're looking forward to the January 20 inauguration of the new American president, Barack Obama, and we've got music from Boogie Bob Baldori, The Love Experience, Jeanette Jones, 87th Off Broadway, the Detroit Cobras, The Woolies, Bob Seeley, the Prime Mates, the Backyard Heavies, Bo Jr, Thumpah Lee & John Sinclair “live,” and from the new Big City Blues Sampler #5: Clarence Fountain, Alexis P. Suter, and Preston Shannon. B.B. Daddy and Marvin Gaye close out the show.
Playlist 242
[01] Opening Music: Bob Baldori: Hyper Inflation Boogie
[02] John Sinclair Intro, Comments & Opening Tokes with Phil Demetrion
[03] The Love Experience: Are You Together For The New Day?
[04] Jeanette Jones: You'd Be Good For Me
[05] 87th Off Broadway: Can't Get Enough
[06] John Sinclair Comments & Conversation with Phil Demetrion
[07] Detroit Cobras: Village of Love
[08] The Woolies: Who Do You Love?
[09] Bob Baldori: Bunuel Shuffle
[10] Bob Seeley: Swingin' the Boogie
[11] John Sinclair Comments & Conversation with Carole Denis
[12] Prime Mates: Hot Tamales (Part I)
[13] Backyard Heavies: Chitlin' Strut
[14] Bo Jr:.Coffee Pot (Part I)
[15] John Sinclair Comments & Conversation with Carole Denis >
[16] Thumpah Lee & John Sinclair: bloomdido > Comments
[17] Clarence Fountain: It's a Different World Now
[18] Alexis P. Suter: The Hole That I'm In
[19] Preston Shannon: The Fool's Way Out
[20] John Sinclair Closing Comments & Outro
[21] B.B. Daddy: Down in a Bag
[22] Closing Music: Marviin Gaye: What's Happening Brother?
Hosted by John Sinclair for Radio Free Amsterdam
Produced, edited & assembled by John Sinclair
Recorded & posted by Larry Hayden
Executive Producer: Larry Hayden
Special thanks to Sweet Jane at the 420 Café, Jeff Kabik, Phil & Marty, Carole Denis and Thumpah Lee
John Sinclair Radio Show 243
Eat at Jo's, Amsterdam
Sunday, January 11, 2009 @ 7:00-8:00 pm [20-0902]
Sunday afternoon took the Radio Free Amsterdam krewe to our other home base in town, Eat at Jo's in the Melkweg, for a show with Steve Fly punctuated by a conversation with Phil Demetrion about Chess records from the night before at the 420 Café. There's an opening set of music by the O'Jahs, Wally Cox & the Natives, Snooky & the Cosmic Flowers and Ruby Delicious, and then an incredible string of Chess, Checker and Aristocrat 78s and 45s from Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Sunnyland Slim, Clarence Samuels, Koko Taylor, Little Joe Blue, Etta James, Buddy Guy, Lowell Fulson and Elmore James. Yeah!
Playlist 243
[01] Opening Music: The O'Jahs: Roadside '75
[02] John Sinclair Intro & Opening Comments with Steve Fly
[03] Wally Cox & the Natives: House Party
[04] Snooky & the Cosmic Flowers: Mini Skirts
[05] Ruby Delicious: Rock Steady
[06] John Sinclair Comments
[07] Muddy Waters: Rolling Stone
[08] Howlin' Wolf: Down in the Bottom
[09] Sonny Boy Williamson: I Don't Know
[10] Little Walter: Got to Find My Baby
[11] John Sinclair Conversation with Phil Demetrion
[12] Chuck Berry: School Day
[13] Bo Diddley: Who Do You Love
[14] Sunnyland Slim: Johnson Machine Gun
[15] Clarence Samuels: Lollipop Mama
[16] John Sinclair Conversation with Phil Demetrion
[17] Koko Taylor: Wang Dang Doodle
[18] Little Joe Blue: Dirty Work at the Crossroads
[19] Etta James: Something's Got a Hold on Me
[20] Buddy Guy: First Time I Met the Blues
[21] Lowell Fulson: Reconsider Baby
[22] Elmore James: Whose Muddy Shoes
[23] Closing Music: Little Walter: Lights Out
Hosted by John Sinclair for Radio Free Amsterdam
Produced, edited & assembled by John Sinclair
Recorded & posted by Larry Hayden
Executive Producer: Larry Hayden
Special thanks to Steve Fly and to Mary Jo & Eric at Eat at Jo's
I got into London on the train late Monday night on January 12th, had a day off and starting working Wednesday night with a visit to Resonance Radio for Ivor Kallin's Ambrosia Rasputin Show:
John Sinclair Radio Show 244
Resonance Radio > Longcat Studio, London
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 @ 9:00-10:00 pm [20-0903]
I met Ivor Kallin when I performed with the London Improvisers Orchestra at the Café Oto last fall. When I got to London this time, he invited me to guest on his Resonance Radio program, the Ambrosia Rasputin Show. Most of the hour-long program is incorporated herein, including a pair of elongated conversations, the John Sinclair & Pinkeye recording of “Smells Like Sulfur Here” and the MC-5 “live” at the Saginaw Civic Center on New Year's Day 1970. Ivor and I perform a duet with his violin and my poem “april in paris,” and this episode of my show closes with the first half of Robbie Knight's videocast, Longcat Weekly 136, a duet with Robbie and myself on my poem “Fat Boy,” recorded at Longcat Studio in Turnpike Lane on January 21, 2009.
Playlist 244
[00] RFA Tag > Unabonger: Opening Tokes
[01] John Sinclair & Ivor Kallin: Opening Conversation
[02] John Sinclair with Pinkeye Orchestra: Smells Like Sulfur Here
[03] John Sinclair & Ivor Kallin: Conversation-2
[04] MC5: Starship > Kick Out the Jams > Black to Comm
[05] John Sinclair & Ivor Kallin: Conversation-3
[06] John Sinclair & Ivor Kallin: april in paris “live”
[07] John Sinclair & Robbie Knight: Intro > Fat Boy
[08] Baba Israel: Respect to the DJ > RFA Tag
Hosted by John Sinclair for Radio Free Amsterdam
Produced, recorded, edited & assembled by John Sinclair
Longcat Weekly 136 recorded by Robbie Knight at Longcat Studio
Posted by Larry Hayden
Executive Producer: Larry Hayden
Special thanks to Ivor Kallin, Robbie Knight, Bianca Curacao-Nicholls & Samantha
© 2009 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved. |
