published works
Why the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville Mattered
Variety
March 14, 2022
Writer Matt Powell penned an eloquent appreciation of the shop that Variety is sharing here:
I arrived at the turn of the century, time enough to catch the falling tail of the old Nashville, with its honky-tonk music and easy charm.
Nailing the Score
Emmys.com
June 23, 2020
From total control to collaboration, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross move smoothly between worlds.
The Paradox of Place: Teaching Community One Tower at A Time
Community Works Journal
May 29, 2020
Sabato Rodia was 15 when he left his native Italy for the New World. He wandered the Americas for decades, from Canada to Brazil, working odd jobs, getting married and divorced, drinking too much and generally drifting without purpose. He eventually settled in a funky corner of Los Angeles called Watts, where he worked as a tile setter. In 1921, at age 42, Sabato Rodia began to build something curious in his yard. He did not stop for 33 years. What he built continues to amaze, confound and inspire.
What are Sabato Rodia’s “Watts Towers”? What do they teach us about Rodia, and what can Rodia teach us about learning?
plugged in
No Depression
Fall 2018, Innovate
Ernest Tubb and Muddy Waters represent two sides of the same musical coin. They entered and left this world a year apart from one another. They both grew up in poverty, picking cotton as sharecroppers in Texas and Mississippi, respectively. They saw their music as a means to a better life, and they each developed their sound initially by copying established musical elders with whom they had some form of direct contact (Jimmie Rodgers for Tubb, Son House for Waters). Even their surnames evoke a certain symbiosis.
beyond and back: war stories at the roxy
Scanner Zine
November 9, 2018
Only the occasional green-haired weirdo or leather dominatrix crawls along the Sunset Strip and into the Roxy Theatre this night, their scant numbers a faint reminder of a time when the streets of Hollywood were flooded with freaks peacocking their membership in a special, sacred order.
A glorious sunset sprawls across the October sky, orange and pink and baby blue, so clean and bright. Like the emerging poshness of the new Sunset Strip itself, it is almost too pretty for tonight.
Such is the modern world.
Big Jay McNeely: Drop Everything and Blow
No Depression
September 18, 2018
Cecil “Big Jay” McNeely passed away Sunday from prostate cancer. The last surviving link to Los Angeles’ thriving Central Avenue jazz and R&B lifeforce was 91.
McNeely was born in Watts in 1927, when it was rural and milk was delivered by horse and buggy. Known then as “Mudtown,” Watts was an unincorporated outpost on the southern edge of Los Angeles where immigrants and migrants settled, and where art and music flourished.
the swingingest street in the world
No Depression Print Journal
Summer, 2018, (Im)migration
No second line carried Jelly Roll Morton to the other side when he died in 1941. Among his pallbearers and few mourners at the subdued ceremony were the originators of New Orleans jazz. They buried Morton not in his hometown of New Orleans, but under the bright sunshine in the hilly green lawns of Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles. Twenty years earlier, in 1921, six of these mourners—Kid Ory, Mutt Carey, Dink Johnson, Fred Washington, Ed Garland, and Ben Borders—preserved the first recording of a black jazz band on wax.
Acting with Authority
Emmys.com
March 29, 2018
Lance Reddick is an actor's character actor.
"Traditionally, in Hollywood, I feel like the term 'character actor' meant a certain type of look," says Reddick, "But to me a character actor means someone who likes to transform into different characters, someone who isn't always playing themselves."
A New Point of View
Emmys.com
February 5, 2018
Ed Solomon is changing the way he tells stories.
The writer of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Men in Black, and It's Garry Shandling's Show, partnered with director Steven Soderbergh and producer Casey Silver to create Mosaic — the story of a celebrity children's book author (Sharon Stone) who is mysteriously murdered in an idyllic mountain town.
But Mosaic is no mere who-done-it.
Kris Kristofferson at the Belly Up (Jan. 15, 2018)
No Depression
January 15, 2018
Kris Kristofferson takes a final pull from a bottle of beer and tosses it at the trash. It misses. The glass bottle hits the concrete floor with an echo loud enough to turn heads, but it doesn’t break.
He shrugs, “It was empty,” he says.
Waiting to take the stage at the sold-out Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach in his trademark black shirt and jacket and a pair of worn out boots he plans to ride to the end, Kristofferson is surrounded by friends and family, jovial, funny, and engaged.
Jerry Lee Lewis at The Theater at Ace Hotel (nov. 24, 2017)
No Depression
November 27, 2017
Jerry Lee Lewis knows he is going straight to hell. So he plays. And he stays alive.
Jerry Lee Lewis is a self-proclaimed stylist. According to the Killer himself, there are only four original American voices: Al Jolson, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams – and Jerry Lee Lewis.
He may be right.
umbria in blue
No Depression Print Journal
Summer 2017, Over Yonder
It is a cold and quiet Tuesday evening in that magical, nebulous week between Christmas and the New Year, when time and reality seem to hang in suspended animation. The city of Orvieto, Italy, shimmers with a celestial twinkle, small white lights strung across the high-walled streets like icicles, illuminating the dark cobblestones in a silver glow. Christmas trees stand majestic in the piazzas and "Christmas cribs" of all manner and size are erected in every crevice. There is little indication that Italy's leading jazz festival—that any festival—is afoot. Soon the sound of distant drums floats across the small city
Casting Michael
Emmys.com
May 22, 2017
Kimberly Hardin brings characters to life.
The veteran casting director has amassed over 50 credits in her 25-plus year career, including Hustle & Flow, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Cadillac Records.
Recently, Hardin was tasked with casting legendary pop superstar Michael Jackson in the television biopic, Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland, airing May 29 on Lifetime.
The art of casting requires a subtly different approach for each project. “Every casting director has their own style, their own pace,” says Hardin.
One of the greatest challenges for a casting director is balancing competing interests.
Songs of the Mystic
No Depression
March 10, 2017
Many times man lives and dies
Between his two eternities,
That of race and that of soul,
And ancient Ireland knew it all.
Under Ben Bulben, by W.B. Yeats
Irish music and history has no shortage of subjects. There are songs of immigration, discrimination, civil rights, civil war, resistance, and revolution.
But first, let’s go back. Way, way back. To an Ireland before Patrick. To an ancient land of warriors and wizards, giants and faeries.
Let’s go into the mystic.
Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin at Whittier College (Feb. 18, 2017)
No Depression
February 19, 2017
The brothers Alvin ceased playing music together, for the most part, in the 1980s when Dave left the Blasters. Dave forged a rich and acclaimed solo career, while Phil continued with various incarnations of the Blasters, and released two excellent solo records. In 2014, they got together for the first time as a duo and cut a record of mostly acoustic Big Bill Broonzy songs, Common Ground. They toured, and kept enjoying themselves, so they cut a second record, the mostly electric Lost Time, the following year.
Curtis Harding
Buck Mason Journal
February 2017
Curtis Harding doesn’t believe in labels.
The soulful singer-songwriter grew up on the road with his mother, a professional gospel singer. His nomadic childhood informs his music - a mix of American roots he calls ‘slop ‘n’ soul.’
“Labels only exist in music to package and sell it,” he says, “‘Slop ‘n’ soul’ is something I came up with because if I didn’t call it something, somebody else would have.”
Soul music is an American allegory:
escondido
Buck Mason Journal
November 2016
Escondido take their name from a town in Southern California meaning “hidden.” The name invokes the indie-folk duo’s atmospheric Southwestern ambiance and, in a way, their fortuitous origins.
We caught up with Escondido’s Jessica Maros and Tyler James in Los Angeles, as they were heading into the studio to begin recording their third album together.
World Builder
Emmys.com
September 14, 2016
Greg Yaitanes builds worlds.
The Emmy Award-winning director and producer developed his 20-year career in television with shows including House (for which he won an Emmy in 2008), Lost, Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy and Bones.
His current upcoming projects – Quarry and Manifesto - are period dramas, one set in the 1970s and one in the 1990s.
Harry Dean Stanton Award at The Theater at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
No Depression
October 26, 2016
The Spanish Gothic United Artists Building, the current Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, was the perfect setting for the Vidiots Foundation's inaugural Harry Dean Stanton Award - presented to its nonagenarian namesake Sunday evening as the first in an annual recognition of artists who have helped define American cinema.
The Music of the Coen Brothers – Part III
Humor in America
September 22, 2016
Joel and Ethan Coen’s previous film won four of its eight Oscar nominations. They followed the most acclaimed – and bleakest – film of their career with a return to what they do better than anyone – a screwball black comedy based on an original story.
In fact, Burn After Reading (2008) was the first film based on an original story by Joel and Ethan Coen since 2001’s The Man Who Wasn’t There.
The Music of the Coen Brothers – Part II
Humor in America
August 25, 2016
The Invocation of the Muse, swinging picks building into rhythm, human voices chanting in song – the sound of the men working on the chain gang. Black men in black and white stripes, washed out color film.
And so the Coen Brothers begin the new millennium with a retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey, set in Depression-era Mississippi – as a musical comedy.
The Music of the Coen Brothers – Part I
Humor in America
July 14, 2016
From their debut, Blood Simple, through their most recent release, Hail, Caesar!, Joel and Ethan Coen have established themselves as one of American cinema’s unique voices.
Their films reveal a host of influences, especially an inimitable fusing of the absurdist screwball comedy of Preston Sturges with the dark moral lessons of film noir. The films of the Coen Brothers – whether
Pale blue eyes
Angels Flight literary west
July 14, 2016
The old men would nod and turn their heads as we passed. My grandfather at the wheel, cruising through Downey in his 1957 T-bird hardtop convertible. It was black when I was a boy, but by then it had been sprayed god only knows how many times. Even as a kid, I could feel the sense of wonder and inimitable cool — the round portal windows, the all-metal dash, the musty, beautiful smell.
My grandfather bought the Thunderbird in the early 1960s in the parking lot of his pizza place in Downey, Sal’s Italian Market. The man who worked at the bank next door pulled it into the parking lot, freshly repossessed from some unfortunate soul and ready for auction. My grandfather took cash from the floor safe that sat in between the sausage prep table and the walk-in freezer, handed it to the banker and said, sold. That’s how my grandfather was: impulsive and with a lust for life, and always looking for a deal.
blood harmony
No Depression print journal,
Summer 2016, Homegrown
Ira Louvin had just left a solo gig at the Chestnut Inn in Kansas City when a drunk driver struck his car head-on. His brother Charlie was on tour when he heard that his older brother had bled to death in the back seat of that car, along Highway 70, in an accident where whiskey and blood ran together. Charlie headed back to Nashville to arrange the funeral. But first, he finished his show.
Amanda's Worlds
Emmys.com
June 2016
Amanda Schull’s worlds are full of strong, smart women.
Schull stars as virologist Dr. Cassandra “Cassie” Railly in the Syfy channel thriller 12 Monkeys.
She can also be seen as Assistant Attorney General Melissa Danson in the third season of the criminal justice procedural Murder in the First, currently on TNT, as well as in the USA Network stylized legal drama Suits, playing corporate attorney Katrina Bennett.
Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips
Humor in America
June 2, 2016
Spring is here. In fact, it’s almost gone. But the tulips remain in bloom.
“Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips with Me” was not written as a comedy song necessarily, but it has been used for comedic effect through the decades. Al Dubin (“I Only Have Eyes For You,” “September in the Rain”) and Joe Burke (“Rambling Rose,” “Moon Over Miami”) composed “Tulips” for the 1929 musical comedy, Gold Diggers of Broadway, staring Nick Lucas, “The Crooning Troubadour.”
Every Man, Everywhere
Emmys.com
May 2016
Tim Griffin has been in everything.
“When it rains it pours,” says the veteran actor of his upcoming on-screen summer, which includes roles in the sophomore seasons of Wayward Pines, Aquarius and the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart buddy-cop comedy feature, Central Intelligence.
In the second season of the Fox hit thriller Wayward Pines, Griffin reprises his role of Secret Service agent Adam Hassler.
Songs of Hunger
No Depression
March 11, 2016
“Those in power write the history, those who suffer write the songs.” - Frank Harte
All across America on March 17 people will don Leprechaun hats of cheap green plastic and drink cups of cheap green beer and otherwise carry on in foolish revelry caricaturing a culture they know little about, without any appreciation of how so many Irish came to be in America in the first place.
The long, sad song of Ireland is a mournful and a nuanced one. Rather than attempt to expound on its whole, let us take a look at a single event – the most significant in Irish history. An event that spurred the mass emigration that forever changed
Scarecrow: The Music and Murder of Stringbean Akeman
Humor in America
March 10, 2016
The little cabin in Ridgetop, Tennessee hadn’t held a soul in over twenty years. The crime scene chalk and blood were wiped away and the cabin shuttered for some time.
The man renting the place went to light a fire in the large fireplace. Small bits of paper escaped from its mouth, softly falling from the brick façade like volcanic ash in the still cabin air. It was money. Tens of thousands of dollars floating in worthless portions, gathered gently on the cabin floor.
Stringbean’s fortune.
The Man Who Killed America's Optimism
Emmys.com
February 22, 2016
Television adaptations of Stephen King novels are nothing new.
The "King of Horror" has a knack for manipulating our curiosity with his storytelling, bringing his often disturbing tales into our living rooms. It, Salem's Lot and The Stand were all big television events.
But 11.22.63 is something different. King's 2011 novel is part thriller, horror, historical fiction, time traveling sci fi, and period piece. The story centers on a modern day school teacher who is sent back in time to prevent the assassination of JFK.
How Bill Withers Saved My Life
Angels Flight literary west
February 14, 2016
“Bill Withers!” I yelled, finally.
“Winters?” one of them yelled back.
“WiTHers!” I yelled again.
It was the third time they had asked. There were only four of us in the place, including the bartender, and I wasn’t feeling much like conversation.
The Red Garter was one of the last holdouts of the classic Angeleno corner bar. A lost art. A poor man’s paradise. A place where everybody knows your name; a place where nobody knows your name. Your call. A place to sit and think. A place to not be found for a while.
A Modest Success
Emmys.com
February 4, 2016
Mayim Bialik started big. In 1988, at the age of 12, she was cast to play the young Bette Midler character in Beaches. Two years later she was the lead in a hit NBC sitcom and a cultural icon.
Growing up as a slightly awkward girl, Bialik did not see female leads on television that she could relate to. She knew she was different – in appearance and in substance - from her peers and, especially, from the female characters her age on television. Young female roles were reduced to archetypes of the pretty blonde cheerleader or the homely, nerdy friend.
Blossom bridged this gap.
Christopher Guest…and Guests
Humor in America
March 26, 2015
In 1984, a young filmmaker and a group of musically gifted comedians set out to make a low budget comedy and ended up inventing a genre. This is Spinal Tap was the directorial debut from Rob Reiner, who was then primarily known from his role as Michael “Meathead” Stivic from All In the Family. Reiner would go on to direct Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and Misery, among many other classic films.
This is Spinal Tap was filmed in a mere 25 days and was almost entirely improvised.
Bob Dylan - Shadows in the Night
No Depression
February 6, 2015
If a Dylan-does-Sinatra record sounds like a bad idea that's because it probably is. But whatever Shadows in the Night is, it isn’t that. Not in the obvious way at least.
The Unbearable Lightness of Don Rickles
Humor in America
January 15, 2015
Don Rickles is bigger than stand-up comedy. The same way Frank Sinatra is bigger than singing. They each developed a style which would, in essence, become its own genre. They were both actors and, more accurately, entertainers. And they both forged their respective careers by refusing to compromise or vainly chase ephemeral trends. Such stuff as icons are made.
Brian Wilson at Carpenter Performing Arts Center (Oct. 11, 2014)
No Depression
October 17, 2014
Brian Wilson has never been much of a performer. Even in the early years, before a nervous breakdown forced him to retire from touring with the Beach Boys in favor of staying in the studio, he never seemed that comfortable on stage. The Beach Boys were Brian’s band, but he gladly left the frontman duties to his more personable cousin, Mike Love. Among the three Wilson brothers, Brian was the genius, Carl was the soul, and Dennis was the cool. But, in the beginning, Brian was shy and awkward, Carl was still a kid and yet to come into his own. And Dennis was stuck behind the drums. They needed cousin Mike and neighborhood friend Al Jardine up there, out front.
Psycho! – Music and Manipulation in Hitchcock’s Great Comedy
Humor in America
October 16, 2014
Psycho has a very interesting construction and that game with the audience was fascinating. I was directing the viewers. You might say I was playing them, like an organ. – Alfred Hitchcock
[Hitchcock] only finishes a picture 60%. I have to finish it for him. – Bernard Herrmann
It’s almost Halloween, and nothing says Halloween like Alfred Hitchcock. So let’s take a look at the music in Hitchcock’s great comedy, Psycho.
Maybe comedy is a bit of a stretch. But Hitchcock himself has long held that his low budget, black and white 1960 thriller, which literally invented the genre of slasher films, is a comedy.
What did Hitchcock mean by this exactly?
Cole Porter and the Gods of Gossamer
Humor in America
August 21, 2014
The strange change from major to minor runs throughout Cole Porter’s life and work. Harmonically, it was the signature of his sound. Personally, he was the toast of town; even in a wheelchair, having suffered a crippling riding accident that would eventually cost him his right leg; or in shadow, his homosexuality not proper upper-set cocktail conversation.
Buddy, that Suit is You: Shopping for Clothes with Kent “Boogaloo” Harris
Humor in America
February 28, 2014
Influence often subsists in the shadows. Behind every mainstream success there is likely a relative, teacher, local celebrity musician, obscure genre artist, or forgotten one-time star that helped shape their sensibilities. In 1956 a gifted but relatively obscure R&B singer and songwriter from San Diego by way of Oklahoma with a colorful sense of humor named Kent Harris recorded and released one of the more influential 45s of the mid-50’s R&B and early rock ‘n’ roll era. He did so under his equally unsung stage name: Boogaloo and His Gallant Crew. The single’s A-side was only a minor local R&B hit in Los Angeles but the 45 was a hugely influential two-sided record that would inspire Bo Diddley, The Rolling Stones, and, indirectly, The Coasters to record their own versions of the songs.
Smile — and Perhaps, a Tear: the Music of Charlie Chaplin
Humor in America
January 30, 2014
Charles Chaplin was one of cinema’s first — and perhaps still its greatest — auteur. He starred in, produced, directed, edited, wrote and scored the majority of his films, all while inventing the language of film. He did so as he defined the silent era, as well as transitioning into the modern times of talking pictures with inventiveness and artistic, if not mass commercial, achievement.
The side of Chaplin that is least appreciated or discussed is his role as music composer. Chaplin scored 18 of his feature films. He rescored several of his early “Little Tramp” silents in later decades, rereleasing the films with the newly recorded score, breathing into them new life which propelled them further into the modern era. At least four of the musical themes in his films were retailored into pop songs, at least one of which remains a timeless staple of the Great American Songbook.
Bo Diddley, Santa Claus
Humor in America
December 19, 2013
Bo Diddley just may be the most original artist in all of rock ‘n’ roll. He took the bravado and first person narrative tradition of the great blues artists he worshiped to a whole different level, then married that with an original sound based around his distinctive “Bo Diddley beat.” Like all great artists, Bo took from all the influences around him to create his own unique stew. Bo was born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago’s South Side. Although he grew up in a poor and vicious neighborhood, the local Baptist church sprang for violin lessons for the young lad. When he first started playing guitar he tuned it to an open chord, in the tradition of the delta bluesmen, and attacked the strings as if he were bowing a violin.
Funny How Time Slips Away: Remembering Billy Walker
No Depression
May 20, 2014
Billy Walker was killed eight years ago today--May 21, 2006--when he lost control of his van and slid off I-65 near Fort Deposit, Ala. The one-car crash also killed Walker’s wife Bettie, bassist Charles Lilly Jr., and guitar player Daniel Patton, and injured his grandson. Billy Walker was on his way back to Nashville from one of the many countless road gigs in his life to appear on the Grand Ole Opry that Saturday night. He was 77.
Touch My Heart: The Artistry of Ray Price
No Depression
December 17, 2013
Ray Price died yesterday afternoon, one day after initial false media reports surfaced, creating a sort of accidental vigil as tributes flowed upon hearing the erroneous news of his passing on Sunday. I think the error, while certainly distressing to his family, was a wonderful gift. Having literally watched loved ones pass away before me, I am fully aware of the power of sending energy to those on the threshold. All that energy and love does make a difference in the comfort of the afflicted in their final hours so I am glad that his fans were able to send Ray Price off with such tribute. A graceful ending to an artist who brought grace to everything he touched.
An open letter to the CMA and Country Music Hall of Fame on behalf of Johnny Horton
No Depression
November 3, 2013
Last week the newest members to the hallowed Country Music Hall of Fame were officially inducted. The three artists selected by the CMA for induction this year are all unquestionably deserving of the honor. And yet I find myself, as with every year, in utter disbelief at a continuing, inexcusable oversight. One of the most popular, influential, innovative, and lasting country music stars of the 1950’s and early 1960’s remains excluded. That artist is Johnny Horton.
Murder and Blueberry Pies: Shel Silverstein as Songwriter
Humor in America
August 19, 2013
There is a philosophy to Shel Silverstein. The uninhibited way in which he lived his life, as well as his insatiable thirst for it, permeates the tone of his work. There is an adultness to his acclaimed books of children’s poems and stories, which elevates them to the universally recognized status they enjoy to this day. Rather than pandering down to children, he spoke to them on their level, unashamedly employing occasional crude humor to bolster morals and learning lessons. As a weird and bearded, dope-smoking, bohemian songwriter of adult country music, he resorted to colorful childlike humor to tell tales of loss, substance abuse, neglect, and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. In Shel Silverstein’s world nothing is conventional and everything is possible.
Porter Playing Poker: The Transcendental Kitsch Art of an American Icon
No Depression
August 12, 2013
Elvis Costello looked at me as if I had produced the Holy Grail. His eyes lit up like a schoolboy at the sight of the Porter Wagoner figurines we had on the shelf in the store. After the initial shock had worn down, he confided in me that he was in the midst of an internal crisis and sought my counsel. “I’m rather unsure if I should get the large one or the small one.” I looked at Elvis square in the eye and said, “If you’re going to go there, go all the way.” “I think you’re right,” he said with an affirmative nod and reached for the larger, ten-inch model.
And that really is the essence of Porter Wagoner. If you’re going to be ridiculous, do it big.
There Ain’t No Cure for the Summertime Blues
Humor in America
July 25, 2013
We’re smack dab in the middle of those lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer, and with it an incurable affliction – the Summertime Blues.
The title to Eddie Cochran’s 1958 masterpiece is intriguing, almost incongruous. Rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950’s was teenage music and, for teenagers, summertime is that magic time of year when school is out, the weather is nice, the livin’ is easy, and your mama’s good looking. What’s there to be blue about? Ah, of course: those pesky summer jobs. Can’t get the night off to go on a date. Even appeals to the United Nations or congressional representatives prove fruitless – “I’d like to help you son but you’re too young to vote.”
Eddie Cochran was a musical genius and guitar prodigy whose infectious anthems of teenage frustration made him a star before his tragic death made him immortal. Dead at the age of 21, he left a monumental legacy that influenced countless musicians from The Beatles to Brian Setzer, Sid Vicious to Jack White.
Yo’ Mama Don’t Wear No Drawers: Singing the Dozens
Humor in America
June 27, 2013
The art of the “yo’ mama” joke is a sociological phenomenon dating back centuries. According to The Dozens: A History of Rap’s Mama by Elijah Wald, the tradition has its roots in ancient Africa and pre-Islamic Arab societies, with traces found in those parts of Europe such as Spain and France once conquered by the Moors. Even Shakespeare was fond of the word “whoreson."
Roller Skating in a Buffalo Herd
Humor in America
March 28, 2013
Roger Miller had no off switch. In a career that took him from the dive bars of Lower Broad to the Broadway stage – amassing 11 Grammy Awards, a Tony, and his rightful place in the Country Music Hall of Fame (1995) and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1973) – he was one of those live wires directly tapped in to the pulsating energy that holds the universe together, burning white hot bright and all too brief. When asked, those who knew him universally remember his relentless spontaneity, genius and humor.
Will the Real Andy Kaufman Please Stand Up?
Humor in America
January 31, 2013
The 1973 Orson Welles film F For Fake strings together several stories, including controversial author Clifford Irving’s biography of noted art forger Elmyr de Hory (whose works were a hoax) as well as his “authorized” biography of the reclusive Howard Hughes (itself a hoax). Welles reminds us that he himself burst into the public consciousness via a hoax – his 1938 radio adaptation of War of the Worlds. The broadcast was presented as a live news report detailing an alien invasion in New Jersey. It was so convincing people reportedly committed suicide in the face of the news that little green men from Mars were overtaking the planet.
Hello, I Must Be Going: The Musicianship of the Marx Brothers
January 3, 2013
Humor in America
Few artists create something so wholly original that they themselves become their own genre. This is certainly true of the Marx Brothers. The family of Jewish immigrant entertainers came from the vaudeville stage tradition – which included sight gags, one-liners, and musical and dance numbers – yet the brothers remain utterly unique, even among the vast variety inherent in vaudeville. There is a certain serendipity in these geniuses developing their craft at a pivotal moment in emerging media. The Marx Brothers were able to perfectly bridge an old-fashioned stage routine with the relatively newer medium of talking film, bringing an otherwise antiquated form of entertainment into the modern age seamlessly.
There’s A Riot Goin’ On: Leiber & Stoller Behind Bars
Humor in America
August 3, 2012
It may seem odd that one of the most prolific and commercially successful songwriting teams of the second half of the 20th Century wrote almost exclusively comedy songs – and odder still when considering how many of those comedy songs take place inside a prison – but Leiber and Stoller were nothing if not original.
What A Glorious Feeling: The Gene Kelly Centenary
Humor in America
August 23, 2012
Legendary dancer, actor, singer, choreographer, producer and director Gene Kelly was born 100 years ago today. Although his career included several dramatic roles – including a memorable performance as a reporter based on H.L. Mencken in 1960’s Inherit the Wind – Kelly is best known for his immense contribution to that uniquely American art form – the musical comedy.
Andy Griffith: The Music of Mayberry and Beyond
Humor in America,
July 13, 2012
Had Andy Griffith lived one day longer, he would have died on the 4th of July. This seems fitting for a man as American as apple pie, yet his simple modesty would never have allowed it. Thus, Andy Griffith passed away last week on July 3, one month into his 86th year, leaving a monumental contribution to American culture behind him.
The Case for Kinky Friedman
Humor in America
June 22, 2012
It has been said if Kinky Friedman didn’t exist, someone would have to invent him. I’m just not sure who – other than The Kinkster himself – is capable. Richard “Kinky” Friedman, who is currently engaged in his June “Bi-Polar Tour,” is a man who has worn a lot of ten-gallon hats in his varied career: humorist, songwriter, country music outsider, bestselling mystery writer, columnist, failed gubernatorial candidate, animal rights activist and, most recently, tequila mogul. Just behind the surface of his irreverent outward persona – a sort of hillbilly-Groucho hybrid – lies the heart and soul of a true poet, thinker and humanitarian. As The Kinkster himself has said, “I like to be as misunderstood as the next guy.”
Mojo Medicine: Humor, Healing and the Blues
Humor in America
June 1, 2012
I’ve often thought that if blues musicians would just sleep in they would be happier. So many blues songs begin with “I woke up this morning…” only to be followed by a litany of frustrating events. Of course, to be a blues musician one must have the blues and to have the blues I suppose one must get out of bed and face the world. Might as well get an early start. Unhappiness as a raison d’être may seem like an unhealthy exercise until considering the cathartic power of music. Perhaps blues musicians are on to something.
A Way to Survive: Ray Price at Galaxy Theater (Dec. 5, 2009)
No Depression
January 11, 2012
Hank Williams died on New Year's Day, 1953, and Ray Price has been around long enough to have roomed with the legend for a year before his death; yet somehow, inexplicable still to any sort of reason my mind can conceive, I stood with my dad a mere 15 feet from Ray Price last night at a club in Santa Ana (as my dad pointed out, we were as close to him as his drummer) and watched him do what he's been doing professionally for nearly 60 years.
in The Wire, through The Whine: Glen Campbell at Club Nokia (Oct. 6, 2011)
No Depression
November 18, 2011
The secret to happiness lies in the extent to which one can manage expectations. It's a delicate trick. Expect too much, and you will surely be disappointed. Trudge through life expecting nothing, and that is what you will find. The man who runs across the railroad tracks without looking may get flattened by a passing locomotive. The man too afraid to ever cross will never experience what is on the other side.
Any appearance by an ageing artist is always an exercise in managing expectations. Glen Campbell's appearance at Club Nokia - the LA stop on his farewell tour - was no exception.