Jesse, Otis, Ragtime and the Dock of the Bay
“There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.”― Jack Kerouac
Jesse Fuller addendum: My friend Luther Dickinson is in town playing a few shows with his band The North Mississippi All-Stars. We were sitting having a drink at the Paper Mill Creek Saloon talking about Jesse Fuller…talking about the box instrument he made…the fotdella: turns out someone made one for Luther to use, and due to bad timing Luther was never able to pick it up.
But what he DID pick up was a story from his father, legendary producer Jim Dickinson, who had a theory that is worth retelling. The story revolves around Otis Redding and his time in the Bay Area when he wrote Sitting On the Dock of The Bay (a song discussed on The Signal on the 55th anniversary of Redding’s death). In 1967, when Redding was out San Francisco way, Fuller was still busking up and down the east and west bay areas. Jim surmised that Redding must have seen Fuller play…was inspired by him (as most anyone was who saw him play) and his ragtime-era chord changes which he wound up weaving into the song that he was creating in his head. Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay sounds like nothing else in Redding’s catalog…and it showcases chord changes that are akin to those found in classic ragtime music. To Jim, it is obvious the impact Fuller’s artistry had on the great soul singer.
MEANWHILE IN GRUNGE WORLD, Mudhoney is gearing up for a new record, Plastic Eternity, out April 7th, while Mudhoney guitar slinger Steve Turner is readying for a June release of his memoir/history lesson Mudride: A Messy Trip Through The Grunge Explosion. Starting with the new Mudhoney record, the band has dropped two songs over the past month leading up to the long-player release. Both tracks, Almost Everything and Move Under are classic Mudhoney dark, fuzzed-out groovers, some of the best recordings the band has released in years (Mark told me when they were last gigging in town that the juices were flowing freely during the Plastic Eternity sessions, producing more killer keeper tracks than expected). Veering away from the more full-on punk influences found on their last couple of concerns (check out their performance on Pressure Drop TV to see some of that goodness), the two songs released so far seem like the natural next chapter of their final Reprise record Tomorrow Hit Today…a record that I A&Red…that was produced by…yes…Jim Dickinson (without any ragtime inspiration…or maybe….).
And speaking of Tomorrow Hit Today, there is an early review of Steve Turner’s memoir in Seattles weekly rag, The Stranger, that lays out what looks to be one hell of an insightful yarn about the early days of Seattle punk rock and the birth (and death?) of grunge. Turner had a front seat ride from the very beginning with his early band Mr. Epp and the Calculations (with Mark Arm) to his tenure in Green River (with Mark Arm) to his legacy with Mudhoney (with Mark Arm) and dozens of bands and his own record label in between. The article points to his and Mudhoney’s “frustrating dalliance with Reprise Records” so we shall see if I have to go underground after the book’s publication (I doubt it…but one never knows!). You can pre-order your copy NOW.
Well, I am off to Spring Training with my son. I got tickets in the exact same seats my Dad and I used to sit in. Looking forward to a great weekend. GO GIANTS!
**Also thinking of my mother-n-law and wishing her a continued recovery. Sending healing vibes her way.
Shabbes!
Producer Ken Scott explains the reason why there’s a phone ringing at the end of Life On Mars?
And old article that I just stumbled upon. Worth a read!!
Trouser Press: The Origin Story
The Trouser Press encyclopedia of independent music was a bible for me as a kid…and wayyyy before they published it, they were one of the original rock and roll fanzines. This is a great article mapping out their beginnings. And watch out, the website is a rabbit hole featuring all of their issues on-line to explore. And suddenly, your weekend melts away…
CANADIAN POLICE ARREST 8 IN “BIGGEST ART FRAUD IN WORLD HISTORY”
DAMN: “Police believe the fraudsters were involved in the creation and circulation of between 4,000 and 6,500 forged Morisseau works, with an estimated low total value of $100 milllion. Many of the paintings are said to have been created by children forced into sweatshop labor, and still others by young Indigenous artists of whom the accused took advantage.
‘I want to write and I am going to write’: The lost world of Zelda Fitzgerald
“Her husband F Scott Fitzgerald called her ‘America’s first flapper’, but Zelda Fitzgerald, who died 75 years ago, was much more than the tragic wife and muse of a famous male writer. Kat Lister explores her literary legacy”
Boom! Japanese astronomer catches meteorite smashing into the moon
“A Japanese astronomer captured the telltale flash of a meteorite impacting the moon, causing a brief flash on our celestial neighbor's nightside. Daichi Fujii, curator of the Hiratsuka City Museum, recorded the event using cameras set to monitor the moon. The time of the flash was 20:14:30.8 Japan Standard Time (7:14 a.m. EST, or 1114 GMT) on Feb. 23. The meteorite appears to have struck near Ideler L crater, slightly northwest of Pitiscus crater, Fujii said.”
Truth Serum
By: Naomi Shihab Nye
We made it from the ground-up corn in the old back pasture.
Pinched a scent of night jasmine billowing off the fence,
popped it right in.
That frog song wanting nothing but echo?
We used that.
Stirred it widely. Noticed the clouds while stirring.
Called upon our ancient great aunts and their long slow eyes
of summer. Dropped in their names.
Added a mint leaf now and then
to hearten the broth. Added a note of cheer and worry.
Orange butterfly between the claps of thunder?
Perfect. And once we had it,
had smelled and tasted the fragrant syrup,
placing the pan on a back burner for keeping,
the sorrow lifted in small ways.
We boiled down the lies in another pan till they disappeared.
We washed that pan.
