A Drummer For All Seasons (RIP)
"Art is not simply works of art; it is the spirit that knows Beauty, that has music in its being and the color of sunsets in its headkerchiefs."-W.E.B. Du Bois
While on the family trip, we learned the tragic news that drummer Joe Haener had died in a freak accident when pulling his car into the driveway of his farm in Oregon as he was hit by another driver. He was only 41 and was engaged to be married in a number of months. While Joe was in many a great band in the Bay Area scene (The Dodos, The Rock N Roll Adventure Kids, Blanche Devereaux), I met him during his tenure in The Gris Gris, a band whose two studio albums (and one live record and a few singles) I released on Birdman Records.
Joe was a soft-spoken person, kind, amiable with a warm, sweet smile. Behind the drums, he was a monster and oh so versatile, being able to bash out complex rhythms just to turn on a dime to play a fragile conversation with his bandmates until switching to a Mo Tucker-style relentless tribal beat, often using classical mallets to give his hits a darker cadence. He played like a river careers. And he hit those drums hard, often having to pull them back towards him during a set because he had pushed them away with his ferocity.
I have spent the last few days listening to those old Gris Gris records, being reminded at why they were some of the favorites I had put out. The Gris Gris performed the kind of psychedelic music that I have loved since I was a kid. While most bands who call themselves “psychedelic” in the modern era lack many of the qualities of what makes a great band of the genre, the Gris Gris had it all: vintage, fuzzed-out green and dark purple sounding guitars, swirling mind-bending improvisational jams reverbed out and dreamy, unexpected musical twists and turns, framed by incredible songwriting and dark, poetic lyrics.
The Gris Gris were the link between The Chocolate Watchband, The Electric Prunes, the 13th Floor Elevators and the present. But they were more than just a link: leader and singer Greg Ashley composed music that shifted from straight vintage verse/chorus garage rock, like the song Necessary Separation from their debut self-titled album, to wonderfully complex structures where he would infuse folk and eastern influences, like on the title track of their second record, For The Season. And speaking of that record, For The Season boasts a Side A side-long composition that is nothing short of breathtaking: a suite of songs that flow into each other, from the noised-out Hawkwind-ish rocker Ecks Em Eye to the lysergic heaviness Cuerpos Haran Amor Extrano to the finale, the triumphantly driving Year Zero—which leads to the heroic, ecstatically exhausting ending of the side: For The Season is a fantastic listening experience, one that is anchored by the genius drumming of Joe Haener, who provided the emotion for each track, emoting through his kit as he shifted the feel through his kit as each song led into the next. There is no way those records could have been as good without his playing.
The Gris Gris were so close to breaking through before their untimely break-up. They came home from the first tour where they made money, I gave them the advance for their next record, and they disbanded the next day. I have only seen Joe a few times since he left the band. He always greeted me with that sweet warm smile and comforting, soft demeanor. A great soul.
My heart goes out to Shannon Shaw, his fiancé, his family and his friends. What a loss.
Watch Restored Rolling Stones Promo For 1967’s Celebrated ‘We Love You’
EXTRA EXTRA, FANTASTIC BRIAN JONES-ERA STONES FOOTAGE RELEASED: From the press release: “The Rolling Stones and ABKCO Music & Records Inc. have released the official music video for ‘We Love You,’ originally filmed in 1967. The Peter Whitehead-directed ‘promotional film’ (as videos were referred to in the pre-MTV era) has been newly restored in 4K . The ‘We Love You’ video includes visual references to the infamous Redlands bust of February 1967, involving Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and singer Marianne Faithfull, the subsequent criminal trial, as well as the drug bust of Brian Jones later that same year.”
IDLE HANDS: Surrealism versus the work ethic
A new book by Abigail Susik look at the anti-work aesthetics of the surrealists…and the article uses the subject as an opportunity to exhibit some beautiful pieces of art as well as stories from the movement. While journalist Kaegan Sparks has a slightly obtuse writing style, it is still worth the time…
Joyce Carol Oates and Margaret Atwood on All Things Evil
An incredible conversation between two literary giants. And yes, they DO go dark, digging into some of the subjects that deformatize the plots their novels. Stunning. And then there is this but of sweetness:
OATES: I still feel I’m about 14 years old. I feel that I’ve always been at the margin of everything. When I walk into a library, I remember when I was a girl, seeing these shelves of books. Just like a wonderland or a treasure trove. But if I walk in a library now, I can find my own name there. It seems like some strange violation of the norm.
What W. E. B. Du Bois’s Forgotten Romance Novel Taught Me About Writing
On the eve of the anniversary of Du Bois death, Akil Kumarasamy talks of being inspired by his novel, Dark Princess: “what excited me was its radical understanding of romance as a possible force for change….Romance, with its tendency toward coincidences and melodrama, gave Du Bois’s characters the freedom to live and dream in a way that realist writing could not.”
See the James Webb Space Telescope’s Stunning New Images of Jupiter
Incredible.
The Spirit of New Orleans Travels All the Way to Napa
If Harry Duncan is involved in a New Orleans live event, it must be terrific. Harry has worked with the greatest New Orleans musicians during his career, when not carousing with the likes of Doug Sahm (who I believe is the person who introduced us). Anyway, The Spirit Of New Orleans is THIS WEEKEND and it should be incredible for those in Northern California who can make it.
Ocean of Earth
BY GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE
