Music, Writings, drawing, people I know, people I don't know, movies, records, nurturing record players, flights on rockets to planets of dinosaurs, real fossils, word games, strolling with my best pal, Japanese cloisonne, long drives to pleasant surroundings, with a stack of CDs in tow, playing rhythmic, melodic music louder than anyone else wants me to, finding stuff and dragging it home, lots more.
I have been SO ... what? blessed? lucky? fortunate! That works! I've met some of my favorite people, idols no less, over the last few years. And some of them I am now proud to call friends! Wha..!?!? April Stevens, above all, has been so gracious and generous since we 'met' back in '96. How I love that dear woman! And with the internet making instant communication possible to all who want to partake, I can now count rock & roll royalty among my friends: Mark Wirtz,(who,contrary to what he wants you to think, is one of the dearest men on the planet), Denny Randell and Biddy Schippers, (classy, talented, and handsome/beautiful beyond all reason!) & Lauren Wood -- have all responded to my hero worship with genuine friendship.But for folks that I'd still like magic to intervene and assemble: Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Igor Stravinsky, Clive Barker, Terry Gilliam, Leonard Cohen, Ray Harryhausen, Jimmy Webb, Van Dyke Parks, & Bob Crewe, all in the same comfy living room, at the same time, and open to collaborating with each other artistically. Oops, I just boggled my own mind!
Wow. Mostly pop music writer/performers: The Beatles - individually & collectively. The 4 Seasons. Frankie Valli. Bob Crewe productions. Denny Randell & Biddy Schippers. The Toys. Mark Wirtz. The Shangri-Las. Trevor Horn. Jools Holland. Turley Richards: www.turleyrichards.com .The Marvelettes.
Lesley Gore.Mary Wells. Timi Yuro. The Firehouse 5 +2. The Searchers. Cliff Edwards. Leonard Cohen. Annie Lennox. Lauren Wood. Novi Novog. (in reverse order here) Bow down. Do it!Bowie. Ricky Gilmore. Murray Head. Ronnie Spector. The Bubble Puppy/Demian. Laurie Anderson. Miss Toni Fisher. Roxy Music. Brian Eno. Ellie Greenwich. Alan Shacklock. Andy Pratt. The Zombies. The Ventures. The Fleetwoods (no, not Mac, the real Fleetwoods).
Don Gibson. Gandalf. Scatman Crothers. Duke Ellington. Randy Newman. John D. Loudermilk. Dr. John. Gladys Knight. Barry Mann. Peggy March. The Four Tunes. The Four Tops. The Diamonds. Dr. Samuel Hoffman. John Eller. Eller/Lynch. The Picadors. Ravel. Rick Nelson. Badfinger. The Yardbirds. Tim Hardin. Jo Stafford.
Van Dyke Parks.Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry. Peggy Lee. Ella. The Move, ELO, Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne. Betty Hutton. Godley & Creme. Squeeze. Debussy. Oscar Peterson. Buddy Holly. Steely Dan. Murray Head. k d lang. The Browns. Joni Mitchell. Nat Cole. Jimmy Webb. Dion.Peggy March. The Kinks. John Cale. Spanky & Our Gang. Blue Man Group. Mike Batt. Pere Ubu. Denny Laine. Patti Page. Colin Blunstone. Stackridge. Danny Elfman. The Zombies. The Searchers. Yes. Bob Dylan. Pete Townshend. Genesis--thru Wind & Wuthering. Peter Gabriel. Roy Hamilton. Charlie Calello. Bob Crewe. Sam Cooke. The Dells. Gladys Knight. The Byrds. Benjamin Britten. Sam the Sham. Zappa. Aretha. Curtis Mayfield. The Everly Brothers. The Residents. Early Elvis. Perry Como. Can. John Cale. Tangerine Dream. Ernestine Anderson. Gwynplaine. Neil Sedaka. April Stevens. Nino Tempo: www.ninoandapril.com .Michael Nesmith. Bobbie Gentry. Little Richard. Ray Charles. City Boy. Ian Dury. Elvis Costello, The Hollies. Artie Shaw. Benny Goodman. Eddy Arnold. The Andrews Sisters. Judy Garland. In no particular order, and that's just for starters. I used to have over 8,000 45s, and 2,000 LPs. And it was NOT enough...but ultimately, Igor Stravinsky's 'Le Sacre du Printemps' is the most satisfying experience for me. Well, next to 'Marlena' by The 4 Seasons.
King Kong '33, (and any Willis O'Brien) King Kong '05. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. (and any Harryhausen). Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia + most of Disney animated. Monty Python. Metropolis. Terry Gilliam. The Lord of the Rings. and all of Peter Jackson's to date. Hitchcock. Lagaan. Most Robert Altman. Max Fleisher. Women in Love & most Ken Russell. X-Men. Gods & Monsters. W.C. Fields, Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Brothers. Waking Life. Any Sam Raimi film. Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow. The Dresser. Van Helsing. Sin City. Universal Horror films, and any Boris Karloff film. OK, Spielberg--with reservations. Geez, there are THOUsands. I'll get to 'em all in time. (Yeh, sure I will.)
Is expressly for watching favorite movies and playing video games on. Well, OK. I check out Jon Stewart & South Park with some regularity.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (a link to a great interview: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2002/09/16vonnegut1.html ), Clive Barker, Michael Sinclair, D.H. Lawrence, Victor Hugo, J R R Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, H.G. Wells, Joseph Heller, autobiographies, Ayn Rand, Evelyn Waugh, Roy Chapman Andrews, Edgar Rice Burroughs, paleontology, anthropology, Evelyn Sibley Lampman, early Marvel comics, Ray Bradbury, Graham Greene, So Long Ago.
My brother Den, Van Dyke Parks, John Lennon, Mark Wirtz, Peter Jesperson, the writers listed above, Walt Disney & The Nine Old Men, Willis O'Brien, Gandhi, Forry Ackerman, Stan Lee, Ray Harryhausen, Brian Wilson, Ellen, Bob Crewe, Steve Ditko, Ian McKellan, Charles Knight, Salvador Dali ...oh, and Popeye.