I enjoy Live Theater, Live Music, and the magic of making films. I've got an old Gibson ES-150 safely tucked away in the closet that I've been meaning to learn how to play again for many years. If someone were to inspire me to dust it off and re-string it, they'd quickly become one of my closest friends... and I'd probably never get any work done around here again.About a year before she died (I'm thinkin' maybe five years ago) my Grandmother asked me what I wanted to do with the rest of my life... I told her "Grandmother... when I grow up, I want to be an Old Black Man. I want to wear a Panama Hat, and smoke a Cuban Cigar. I want to sit on the porch, and play the guitar" She said "Why do you want to smoke cigars?"
Actors, Artists, Filmmakers, Writers, Musicians, and Neurotic or Exotic Dancers (Take your pick)
I grew up listening to Jazz, and that’s where my roots are, but I enjoy a wide variety of music. My mother worked in a Music Store when I was a kid. If you were a musician, and you needed a new guitar, a set of drums, a harp, kazoo, or a grand piano, you probably ran into my mom when you went shopping. My parents would hang out in nightclubs on Friday or Saturday nights, listening to people my mom met at work, and it wasn’t uncommon for my parents to come home with a bunch of Jazz Musicians in tow… They’d sit around the living room where a piano and a couple of guitars were permanent fixtures and jam till the sun came up. After paying off the babysitter and sending her on her way, my mom would come check up on me… then she’d leave my bedroom door ajar, so I could listen to the live music coming from down the hall.Rock, Surf, Classical, Rockabilly, R&B, and ambient music are all favorites. Don’t ask me to listen to (and pretend to enjoy) Reggae, Country & (or) Western, or Rapp, and we’ll get along just fine.Some of my favorite musicians (and groups) are: Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, John Coletrane, George Benson, Liz Story, Mark Isham, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola, Jean-Luc Ponty, and more. Shall I make a list? I could include people like Jac Zinder, or Martin Denny, Nora Jones, Les Baxter, or even Yma Sumac. Chris Isaak, Carl Perkins, Marcia Ball, Tracy Chapman, and Sam Phillips. The Mermen are pretty cool, as are Los StraightJackets, The Aqua Velvets, BullMoose Jackson, ShadowFax, and Moby Grape. Speaking of Moby Grape… Alexander (Skip) Spence is kinda out there isn’t he? I think it’s kind of ironic that Dick Dale lived at the beach in San Diego, but eventually moved to the desert. He said he just couldn’t stand all the people any more. Somehow I understand… I mean, after all, I fled the crowds and traffic of San Diego as well… but I moved to the beach. At first glance, Melbourne Beach is a quiet little Florida Beach Town… but if you live here long enough, you can learn to see the entire area as one big desert wasteland. Thank God there’s music… and Jazz stations… even if you have to drive to Orlando to find them.I could go on. I could reminisce about the three times I saw Jimmi Hendrix Live in Concert… and the time that some brand new group called Jethro Tull opened for him. Or the time I was forced to sit and listen to Donovan (He had hits like “I Love My Shirt†, “Marjorie Margarine†, “There Is A Mountainâ€, “There Is An Ocean†and “Barabajagalâ€â€¦ you know… the tune that includes that ever popular line “Goo goo, goo goo Barabajagal was his name nowâ€) Just so that I could see the final performance of “Cream†when they wrapped up their Final World Tour, and made San Diego their Last U.S. Stop. I thought… “That’s it… we’ll never hear Cream again… the world is losing such an important musical group†Less than a year later Eric Clapton started his Solo Career, and I realized that without him, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce were nothing (Well… ok… they were a famous drummer and equally famous bassist, but STILL they were nothing). Eric Clapton is a God.I enjoy esoteric bands… groups like Brave Combo. They’ve performed with a variety of famous musicians, and perhaps one of the more amusing collaborations they did was with Tiny Tim… He actually cut an album with them, in which he performed tunes like “Hey Jude†and “Girl†by the Beatles, That famous Led Zeppelin Tune “Stairway To Heaven†and a truly Rockin’ (or perhaps insane) rendition of “Over The Rainbowâ€. I suppose you could put “The Klezmatics†up there in the esoteric grouping as well… along with Toby Twining, FSK, Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven and Spain.Brian Stezer and his Orchestra, Big Bad VooDoo Daddy, Royal Crown Review, and Astor Piazolla make me want to dance… but you won’t find me trying to put Swing and the Tango together at the same time.Morphine makes me want to dance too… but in a different sort of way… Whoda’ thunk you could form a successful band with just a two string bass, a baritone sax, and drums? Must be the vocals…Did I mention Adrian Legg, Alex De Grassi, Secret Garden, King Crimsom, Loreena McKennett, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, Solas, or Danny Elfman?