The Blame Game: They're Missing the Point

Very good and dare I say fair and somewhat balanced report on Obama’s policy in Mideast and South Asia war zones.  Whose strategy would you prefer?  

Fact Check: Did Obama Withdraw From Iraq Too Soon, Allowing ISIS To Grow?

Heard a BBC story earlier this morning about group think and the Army’s retrospection on how could they have gotten it so wrong (i.e. going into Iraq unprepared for the occupation following cessation of combat).  They interviewed an Army colonel who was to the Iraq war what John Paul Vann was to Viet Nam (Bright Shiny Lie Lt. Col. whose reports to Pentagon as early as mid 1960s went ignored).  This Army intelligence officer spoke of being in Kuwait during the run up to war and how his unit worked along CIA operatives “preparing” for aftermath of invasion.  He came in contact with the Shiite Muslim cleric that the CIA was working with to be the pro U.S. Imam and therefore head Shiite cleric in Post war Iraq.  The imam asked the Colonel how long the U.S. was preparing to stay in Iraq following the cessation of combat.  The Colonel deferred by asking back how long the imam thought we should stay.  The imam stated that it would take at least as long as we have stayed in Germany following WWII.  Unfortunately for the imam his prediction looks accurate.  He was killed in Iraq on the steps to a mosque in the weeks following the invasion. 

Listen to BBC story on Group Thinking starting at 4minute 45 second mark or Download MP3

One must never forget it was Bush (Cheney and Rumsfeld) who disregarded their hand picked General, Jay Garner’s call for 300,000 U.S. troops to manage the occupation, fired the General and replaced him with the State Dept. manikin, Paul Bremer.  Bremer was sent in with a set of General Orders scripted by the White House that disbanded the Iraqi Army which had a general waiting on standby to recall his troops and work with us on restoring order to Post war Iraq.  Bremer also brought in that piece of Shiite Chawallabee (sp)aka Ahmad Chalabi  who had the White House believing would be the prodigal son returned from exile in the West to lead the Iraqi people to Democracy.  Only problem for the Bushies was they did not vette this imbecile or would of known he fled Iraq back in the 80s not because of Saddam so much as because he was a much hated fraudster who had bilked many Iraqis out of their investments and therefore had absolutely no credibility with the Iraqi people.  When we cut off his stipend of over $300,000.00 per month and had the Iraqi government issue a warrant for his arrest he promptly fled next door to Iran and leaked secret intelligence methods and practices he learned from an intoxicated general at a Bush admin era White House Dinner Party.  

I could go on and on but the cold hard facts are unquestionably that the GW Bush Administration, unlike his father’s administration, (which knew of the downsides of bringing down Saddam and creating a vacuum for an even more dangerous enemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and wisely decided against it and actively attempted to dissuade his son from it), forged ahead in the biggest foreign policy debacle in our nation’s history.  Therefore for the Republican Presidential candidates to flail away at the current administration and blame President Obama or by proxy former Secretary of State Clinton for the disaster that is the Middle East, is not only pathetic but misses the point:  unless you are ready to commit to the long term occupation of a defeated foe by hundreds of thousands of troops at the cost of American lives and our country’s treasure, be careful of regime toppling, the new boss could be much worse than the old boss, to misquote the Who lyric.

When you take the two stories, from different sources (NPR and BBC) and from slightly different perspectives (U.S. vs. U.K.) I think you will agree it is a much more complicated fix then Republican bromide of blame Obama and if anything it is much more accurate, but not any more helpful, to blame GW Bush.  Like most real world problems it comes down to a choice in the form of least bad alternatives and currently the Obama Administration approach of a light footprint and not feeding into the ISIS narrative is the least bad of many bad alternatives the Bush Administration left us with.

New Orleans Music Impresario Allen Toussaint January 14, 1938-November 10, 2015

It is with profound sadness that I report the passing of one of America's greatest musicians.  A performer, arranger, songwriter, producer and New Orleans music impresario, Allen Toussaint, died of a heart attack following a concert today in Madrid, Spain.  God bless you Allen and thank you for a lifetime of class, creativity and elegance.

Music Lovers Lend Me Your Eyes: No Depression Back in Print

No Depression magazine, the authority in roots music, is back in print after a seven year hiatus during which time they built up an online presence that is second to none.  The good news is that the new print edition is Gob Smack gorgeous.  When my copy arrived yesterday in the mail I thought this must be some kind of mistake because I received a book.  At a time when my other magazine subscriptions have become so thin and the content mostly advertisements, the quality and depth of No Depression's first quarterly edition is truly impressive.

Packed with beautiful photography with quirky subjects such as rarely seen by the general public green rooms of famous venues.  My personal favorite photo in the new edition was taken by Sandy Dyas and caption by Kim Ruehl, and is a subject that I am intimately familiar with.  It is a picture of the Motley Motel in Motely, MN which I have driven by countless of times on my way to visit my former receptionist Bernice's family farm just outside of Motley or on my way to see Coach in Nimrod.

The good news is that the original community editor, Kim Ruehl, is now the editor in chief and has done an admirable job to date in making the transition.  The sad news is the departure of long time publisher Kyla Fairchild, who along with co-founder editors Peter Blackstock and Grant Alden put No Depression on the music world's map.  Kyla was truly a gem and will be sorely missed.

The magazine new stable of writers include Terry Roland who has a great article on Robert Earl Keen in the Fall 2015 edition.  Roland has impecable taste and his articles are always worth the read.

My only concern going forward is that No Depression will loose some of its alternative or progressive roots as it seems to be heading for more of a mainstream bluegrass and traditional country focus, possibly due to the fact that the publisher is now Fresh Grass the longtime online bluegrass publisher.  Let's hope that this isn't the case.  After all, it was No Depression's early focus on artists like Wilco and Alejandro Escovedo, who early on it named its artist of the decade, that gave No Depression its cred and readership among music heads.

All in all the return of No Depression is a triumph for all concerned but especially for the music listening public.

The Mastersons Live at the Barrymore Theater: Give Them Half an Hour to Earn Your Love

Let's get one thing clear from the outset, I love this band!  I have been trying to write this review for a couple of weeks now but have not quite been able to pull the trigger.  No, it’s not a case of writer's block. I just cannot find anything to be critical about alt country's most talented duo. So with that as a disclaimer I throw objectivity and caution to the wind.

The venue is the Barrymore Theater, in Madison Wisconsin.  For the uninitiated, the Barrymore is a funky throwback to the late 60's, no pretentions, proudly not fancy.  Just a great place to see live music for a reasonable price with a nice selection of craft beers.  Although it is about an 8 hour drive for me roundtrip, a show at the Barrymore is well worth it and has quickly become one of my favorite venues to see music.

Taking the stage promptly at 8 PM, The Mastersons are introduced by the night's headliner, Steve Earle.  After pimping the meat loaf at the little place across the street and proclaiming his love for the venue, Mr. Earle expresses his admiration for the husband and wife duo that also make up one-half of his band the Dukes.  Wasting no time, the Mastersons tear into one of the gems off their latest cd, "Nobody Knows".   As much as I love the full band version on the disc and Chris Mastersons beautiful electric guitar work, Eleanor Whitmore's beautifully strong voice and perfect melodies with Mr. Masterson will soon have you forgetting about versions and instrumentation and just digging the music.  Between songs Eleanor explains they get only about half an hour to win us over before setting up the next number.  She dedicates "Cautionary Tale" to all the people she sees in restaurants and bars who are buried in their hand held devices and smart phones instead of paying attention to the person they are out with.  Being I was sitting fairly close to the stage holding two devices, one to take notes and the other to take pictures, she made me feel ridiculous and self-conscious, touché.

I would love to be able to report on the next several songs they performed but thanks to Eleanor's "Cautionary Tale" and her gravitas, I cannot read the cryptic notes I sneaked to peck into my iPod whenever she was looking the other way, resulting in unintelligible gibberish.  That and the fact that I have reached that stage in life where my medium term memory is not as good as it used to be, I am left with that corollary to the Rumsfeld Doctrine, "I Only Know What I Know". Consequently, what I do know is that Eleanor introduced their final number, the title track to their latest work, "Good Luck Charm" by explaining the inspiration for it came from Texas politics and the shenanigans that the party in power pulled a few years back (if I am not mistaken I believe the overreaching conduct was recently overturned by the courts) and by the reaction of the audience, something most Wisconsinites can relate to as well.

Gregg Allman and the Restorative Powers of Music

One of my most cherished bootlegs is a dub of the board tape from the Scorpion from the opening (and closing) night of the Nighthawks and special guest Gregg Allman tour.  I was waiting in line outside the Bayou in D.C. the next night, a line  that stretched all the way down the block and will never forget the bouncer coming out and telling everyone to go home as Gregg was a no show or as I like to say "he was doing a mean impression of No Show Jones".  

Gregg has more than made up for that disappointment over the years including most memorably the night after John Lennon was murdered.  It was December 9, 1980 and the Allman Brothers were playing the Met Center in Bloomington Minnesota and just like everybody in the audience that night, you could tell the band was hurting and confused.  But instead of wallowing in the hurt and pain of it all, that night the Allmans provided "musical healing" to paraphrase Marvin and got us through the day we truly thought the music had died.  (That same night in downtown Mpls Curtiss A and his band turned the night into a tribute to Lennon and has played a Lennon tribute show at First Ave every Dec. 9th since, again proving the healing powers of music.) 

And just to prove there was no hard feelings,  in 1986, some 8 years after walking off his tour with the Nighthawks, Gregg was a special guest at what was then thought to be the Nighthawks farewell show at the Carter Baron Amphitheater in D.C.  As it turned out, reports of the bands demise following the departure of Jimmy Thackery from the Hawks  had been greatly exaggerated.  The Hawks resurrected like a Phoenix and have been burning it up ever since.

Perhaps Gregg's greatest legacy is his resilience.  I cannot think of another musician who has suffered as much tragedy, personal setbacks and most recently health battles that would have sapped the  life out of most people, but he keeps coming back, coming back for more.  I gotta believe Gregg perseveres due in large part to the restorative powers of his music.  And for that I thank him.

Steve Earle & the Dukes Give Madison the Blues: Live at the Barrymore Theater, Madison, WI August 8, 2015

"Well did you ever wake up with that one woman on your mind? Sit there laughing, laughing just to keep from crying? "   William Harris knew it.  Steve Earle knew it more times than he would probably care to remember (6 to be precise, but hey, whose counting?)

Elmore James knew it too: "...ahh, you cats with your Madison shoes we do this thing we call the Madison Blues we do the Madison Blues ...we do the Madison Blues baby rock away your blues".

Returning to one of his "favorite places to play", the Barrymore Theater in Madison. WI, a jovial and truly inspired Steve Earle turned a night dedicated to the blues into a joyous occasion that will be forever cherished by all those in attendance.  No, Mr. Earle and company did not play the William Harris song popularized by Canned Heat/Gallagher/Thackery and a songwriter as gifted as Steve doesnt need to stoop to something as hackneyed as playing the great Elmore James song In a city named Madison, leave that to the amateur music critics. 

What America’s most interesting songwriter and his crack band consisting of long time rhythm section of Kelly Looney on upright and electric bass, Will Rigby on drums and the incredibly talented husband and wife duo of Eleanor Whitmore on vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, violin and keyboards and the country’s most versatile, tasteful, ensemble or lead playing guitar genius, Chris Masterson on vocals, acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitars (aka the Mastersons) did do was over 3 hours (including the Mastersons shimmering beautiful opening set) of blues music showcasing Earle’s mastery of the genre from all periods of his career. 

Along the way a down right chatty Mr. Earle took the time to put his songs into context whether reminding audience members that this was not his first foray into the blues before playing an old chestnut like “My Old Friend the Blues” or how he knew exactly where he was when he wrote the next song because it was the first song he wrote sober.  There was acknowledgement of his recent divorce which served as the inspiration for doing a “blues” album but it was never mean or bitter just brutally honest, which is the hallmark of any songwriter who is worth a damn.

Of course he had to throw the obligatory Copperhead bone but for a change he did it fairly early in the show thus setting up the reference to that part of his fan base stuck in the past and the punch line, “this next one is for those of you who need to get home early because you’re on probation or electric home monitoring,  the rest of you stick around because we have a lot more to do”.

Another highlight for me was the ferocious version of the Chester Burnett classic “44 Blues” that had Steve channeling the Wolf both on vocals and with some nasty harmonica and Mr. Masterson playing slide like the great Lowell George.  Always the respectful one, Steve paid tribute to the late King of the Blues, B.B. before sequing into a rip snorting electric blues finale including a refreshing and interesting version of “Hey Joe” thanks to the aforementioned Mr. Masterson.  The encores were broken up with a beautiful instrumental that a fellow concert goer and the one kind enough to let me take a picture of the official set list, said was a Donovan cover which got me thinking if it was the same Donovan number referred to in the Mother Jones interview that got him kicked out of his first blues band at the age of 13?  

The crowd just wouldn’t let the band leave summoning them back for more.  This time we got a real treat, a brand new protest song that they played only for the second time and one they planned to release as a single this week:  Mississippi Take It Down.  Again proving why he is the best songwriter out there it is a great song telling the Governor and people of Mississippi that it is time to retire the Confederate Stars and Bars as part of their state flag.  In light of the debate set for this week in the Mississippi legislature, this one is sure to garner attention and sales.  Next up was the soon to be election year call to arms, the “Revolution Starts Now” before ending with the Troggs “Wild Thing” that had Will Rigby using 2 sticks in one hand bashing out the cymbals like Nick the Bruiser.

Donovan song?Mississippi Take It Down

Down the Road I go

The Revolution Starts Now

Wild Thing

This is the second time that my son and I have made what now can only be described as a pilgrimage from Minneapolis to Madison to see Steve & the Dukes with the Mastersons at the charmingly friendly and funky Barrymore Theater.  Because we had  been listening to Terraplane since it came out and read Steve’s published interviews including the excellent Steve Earle interview in Mother Jones (April 2015) by Jacob Blickenstaff  we knew this tour, like the album, was going to be about the blues.  The running joke this trip was “we were on a mission from God”.   

On our first trip almost two years ago to the day, we fell in love with Madison, a progressive jewel of a city in a state that, sadly, remains under the control of a failed regime and its despotic ruler.  While Wisconsin's weak chinned look-a-like to Syria's Assad hasn't resorted to dropping barrel bombs on his own citizens (at least not yet) he has fired off defamatory missives in Trump like fashion; most infamously equating his states hard working and underpaid public sector employees to Isis fighters.  Like Steve and the Dukes we share an admiration and respect for the oppressed working class citizens of Madison and the State of Wisconsin.  As anyone who read my review of the 2013 show knows, that show was held in such high regard, we thought it would be almost impossible to match so we had prepared ourselves for a letdown.  Little did we know that Steve and the Dukes had other plans.

To see the full review go to:  http://nodepression.com/live-review/steve-earle-dukes-give-madison-blues-live-barrymore-theater-madison-wi

Lakers Back in Mpls: Secret Stash Records Revue Takes Over First Ave

There’s a new juggernaut in town.  The Lakers dynasty is back in Minneapolis where it all started.  No, I’m not talking about that current bunch of bums also known as Kobe & Kompany.   No, I’m not even talking about the storied NBA franchise led by big George Mikan and Coach John Kundla that won 1 BAA, 1 NBL and 5 NBA titles in Minneapolis before moving to Los Angeles in 1961.   What I’m talkin’ ‘bout Willis is none other than Secret Stash Records Sonny Knight and the Lakers who along with their stable mates took over and then blew the roof off the house that Prince built, First Ave, in downtown Minneapolis last Knight. 

I had been a little depressed lately about the state of soul music in this country.  With the exception of the great Billy Price/Otis Clay cd project, “This Time for Real”, that came out in May things had been pretty bleak in the world of soul music.  Doesn’t seem like a week goes by that I don’t read of the passing of another one of my soul idols like most recently Don Covay and Mighty Sam McClain.  That’s what makes this story so sweet and why one Sonny Knight, a formerly obscure survivor of the Twin Cities little known soul and funk scene of the 60s and 70s, at the age of 67 and at the zenith of his career, the happiest man on earth.  Pops may have sang “…when you’re smiling the whole world smiles with you…” but last Knight Sonny had them believing and smiling.

But first a little of the back story:

Twin cities drummer Eric Goss,  who along with Cory Wong founded Secret Stash Records, is my new hero (sorry Jimmy, but Eric if you read this please give Mr. Litwin a call).  Move over Scott Bomar and the Bo-Keys there’s a new man (band) in town.  (That one’s for Mighty Sam.)

to be continued

DOJ cites Ferguson for deploying snipers. Assad in MO?

1. The Great Roll Call ‏@Mghtyfieldofvsn  6s6 seconds ago

   #DOJ cites Ferguson for deploying snipers during unrest. Didn't know Assad in MO. Stop Militarization of U.S. Police

   

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Make No Mistake, Price and Clay Put the Music World on Notice With “This Time For Real”

About every five years or so a Soul album comes out that is so good, so right, that you are scared your turntable’s stylus will melt down.  I think of Eddie Floyd’s, William Bell’s and Otis Reddings great records on Stax in the 1960s, Al Green and the Hi Rhythm sections records produced by Willie Mitchell in the 70’s, out on the West Coast it was  Charles Wright and the Watts  103rd Street Rhythm Band.  You can’t forget Tyrone Davis, ZZ Hill,  Syl Johnson or Mr. Bobby Bland down South. Back East you had Gene Chandler and Curtis Mayfield in fact sometimes it was hard to tell them apart.  Down in New Orleans there was Eddie Bo, Willie Tee, the Meters and later the Nevilles.  God I love sweet soul music.  I sure wish they still made music like that... 

Well my Christmas wish came early this year or more precisely on May 19, 2015 because that is the day that two of my favorite soul singers still fighting the good fight, Otis Clay and Billy Price joined forces and released their absolutely wonderful new album, “This Time for Real”.

I know coming from me, you’re thinking “For Real?”  No Really, it is that good.  From the opening strains of “Somebody Changing My Sweet Baby’s Mind” you are transported to that musical Loveland where songs like Davis’ “Can I change My Mind”” and Floyd’s “I Never Found A Girl” serve as sweet inspiration, all the way through to the albums last track, an inspired version of “You Got Me Hummin’” that finds Clay and Price channeling Sam and Dave so authentically it is downright spooky.  Along the way the former Hi Records stable mate to Al Green and the Hodges and Billy Price aka William Pollak of Roy Buchannan and the Keystone Rhythm Band fame prove.

Everything works on this disc, ably produced by Duke Robillard a man who knows just a little about working with great horn sections.  Robillard, a cofounder of Roomful of Blues,  tapped two of the current members of Roomful, Doug Woolverton on trumpet and Mark Earley on Saxes , to round out his current band of Mark Teixiera on drums, Brad Hallen on bass, Bruce Bears on keys and of course Duke handling all guitars.  Add the excellent backup vocals trio of Theresa Davis, Dianne Madison, Diana Simon and the result is a band that will have you doing double takes to the liner notes (for which I thank you Bill and Mark!).  

I would be remiss if I did not mention that Mr. Earley arranged all the horns on this record.  Just listen to the horns on tracks like "All Because of Your Love" and "Too Many Hands" and you will agree that the arrangements and execution are top notch.  Woolverton and Earley deserve a big share of the credit for giving this record its timeless, authentic feel and tone.

Besides the above mentioned tracks, highlights for me include something funky, Syl Johnson’s “Goin to the Shack” which is perfect pacing in follow up to the sugar rush from the opening track and the slow burn of "I'm Afraid of Losing You" which follows.  The previously mentioned “All Because of Your Love”  is so good I am without words …You get the picture.   For the romantically inclined listen how Clay and Price handle "Love Don't Love Nobody".  The two singers voices compliment each other very nicely and the phrasing throughout the album is impeccable.   For Americana and country fans there is a great version of Book of Memories complete with Bruce Bears' honky tonk piano and Duke adding some Nashville inspired licks on guitar.

I also just love the selection of Los Lobos “Tears of God” which brings to mind Ruthie Foster’s cd “Let it Burn” from a few years back.  Like "This Time For Real" Ruthie did an album of mostly covers for "Let It Burn" but the arrangements were so fresh and the performances so killer, you did not care.  Like Price and Clay she also covered a Los Lobos track, "This Time" and made it her own.

No detail was overlooked in this labor of love with beautiful art and design by MaryBianchi and Hyla Willis.  Add David Aschkenas very cool photography and the end result is a gorgeous product that must be owned in its tangible form.  

Let's hope that Clay, Price and Robillard as well as the the Roomful horn players can coordinate their schedules this summer and Fall  to do some live performances showcasing this material.  If you do get out to see Mr  Clay and/or Mr. Price buy the cd directly from them at their show or, if like me, you can’t wait, it can be purchased at http://www.billyprice.com/billyprice/store.php

Riley Ben "Blues Boy" B.B. King: September 26, 1925 - May 14, 2015

When I learned of the death of Riley Ben "B.B." King my first thoughts went to my old friend and former client Ron Levy.  Ron was blessed to be the keyboard player in the B.B. King Band from 1969 to 1976.  Due to the number of condolences he received, Ron prepared the most beautiful tribute to Mr. King I have come  across to date.  With Mr. Levy's express permission I republish the following tribute:

"My B.B. King” by Ron Levy

I was privileged to have the unique and special honor of working with one of the greatest American artists of all time, B.B. King. A great man known and loved around the world for his grace, soulful musical genius and genuine humility. Mr. King is not just ‘King of the Blues’ but a beloved man whose personal qualities and examples of leadership earned the love and respect of every one of us that worked for and knew him.

B.B. often called me his “son” on and off stage and treated me like one he truly loved. The feeling was mutual and always will be. As a personal and musical role model, I never saw him fail to take the high road, or give less than 100% of himself.

I described and detailed many specific examples of this in my book, “Tales of A Road Dog” (published by Levtron.com) devoting five chapters to Mr. King and the B.B. King musical family I grew up with on the road performing on every continent short of Antarctica. A family that B.B. nurtured and a family whose devotion and familial bonds are still strong today. Every musician who played for Mr. King either before or since my tenure (1969-76), shares this same fraternal kinship and always will, as well as our mutual friends.

Lately, many have wondered, “Why is B.B. still working despite his advanced age and declining health?” The answer is simple. Mr. King has always felt an unwavering responsibility for “his” people, the musicians whose livelihoods and families depended on him. He also felt a great responsibility and love towards his unwavering fans. I never saw him leave a venue until he had signed autographs, posed for photos and spoke or listened to every single fan that came to him. He was always a true gentleman. So many times over the years he would remember the names of these fans, and their children and relatives. Some of whom he might not have seen in decades. He loved all people with a king sized heart and was giving of himself to a fault, pained if he felt he ever let anyone down.

B.B. has given me many fond memories. I still cherish his hearty laugh and broad smile when remembering his response to one of my crazy stories or jokes, youthful naiveté or something I played well he liked. Sometimes he’d grimace when I played, said or did something back-asswards too! Yet he was just as gentle at those times; setting me straight and making sure ‘I got it’. Combining the patience of Job with the wisdom of Solomon and his Delta country parables, he won my total respect and admiration. His wholehearted paternal pride inspired me to work harder to do my very best, just like him.

I was only sixteen years old when I first met Mr. King in 1967 as a fan. Now in my sixties and 23 years older than B.B. was when we first met, I know it still amuses him to regard me as a grown man. During our reunion after a concert last year, we were able to share things with each other man to man, that grew quite personal and emotional. Unspoken, we both realized this could be our very last time together. He graciously asked me to play on his next album even though we both knew it would never be. Eventually he tired and we bade each other our fond farewells, and hugged goodbye. We had reached deeply inside each other’s hearts and souls once again.

And, it was very good and complete.

Ron Levy

For more on Mr. Levy's life and times, not only the B.B. King Band but in Albert King's Band as well an incredible life in music, order his wonderful book "Tales of a Road Dog:  The Lowdown along the Blues Highway" at http://www.levtron.com/  and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

A nation will not survive morally or economically when so few have so much, while so many have so little.

Alejandro Escovedo Brings His Sensitive Boys Back to the Dakota Jazz Club

Fresh off successful gigs in my two favorite cities on earth, New Orleans and Memphis, Alejandro Escovedo brings his Sensitive Boys back to the

head waters of the Mississippi this Thursday May 7, 2015 to a room which defies its name, the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. 

Despite the name, the Dakota and its mercurial owner Lowell Pickett has been quietly booking some of the better Americana, Roots and Blues acts to his first rate restaurant and music club located on the first floor of an office tower at the corner of Tenth Street and Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis for years now.  

While to some the idea of béarnaise and the blues may seem as out of place as, say, escargot and Escovedo, the naysayers couldn’t be more wrong.  And if you think that the club formerly associated with the white hair, white shoes and white belt crowd might even subconsciously effect the type of show that Americana and Roots fans favorites like Dave Alvin and Escovedo perform when at the Dakota, just check out my past reviews.

At one recent Dakota show witnessed by yours truly, Escovedo even took perverse pleasure in breaking down the staid stereotype of the home of jazz denizens by mockingly apologizing for the volume level of his performance just before turning it up another notch ala Dylan gone electric.

So if you have not yet o.d.’d on boxing analogies in the aftermath of the “fight of the century”, if you are within driving distance of the Twin Cities this Thursday do not miss a chance to see the True Believer son of a prizefighter, the “Man of the world” who openly boasts “I can take a punch, I can take a swing” and unlike the suckers who paid too much for a mediocre fight on pay per view, you won’t be disappointed. 

Roadtrip Report: Hope and Optimism From the Heartland

 

As we gear up for the next big smackdown, aka the Presidential election cycle, I thought for a change I would spend a little time to report back on what is right in America these days as the Great Roll Call finally lived up to its new name with the addition of the word Roadtrip to its monker. 

 

My great nephew Hayden is celebrating his first birthday today and my son August celebrated his 20th birthday on Friday.  As I rarely get to see my sister's family even though they live just 4 states away in Oklahoma and I in Minnesota, I though this would be the perfect occasion to surprise them with a visit.  Thanks to some last minute juggling by my friends Bob and Cassie at work and an incredibly generous offer from my old buddy Ralph, who agreed to take Sausage the wonder dog into his home for the weekend, August and I were able to break the ties that bind and slip our mortal coils in Minnesota about 1:00 A.M. Saturday March 7th.

 

  

With a full moon high in the clear, cold, Minnesota night sky, the two amigos headed South on I35 like a couple of Blues Brothers on a mission from God.  One of the first things I am glad to report is the infrastructure known as the interstate highway system, though a bit frayed these days, got us to our destination safe and sound.  

 

About 5:00 A.M. I started to get double vision and my son suggested we pull off at the next rest area to rest our eyes for a couple hours.  It did not take long before we were greeted by a blue rest area sign and were pulling into a well maintained rest area in Southern Iowa crowded with big rigs but we had the car side all to ourselves.  My little car was surprisingly comfortable with the front seats laid all the way down and we were out in no time.  

 

After a couple hours shut eye we were sufficiently refreshed to continue with PBS Weekend Morning edition as our travel companion.  While Scott Simon kept us up to date with what was happening in an ever complicated and discouraging world, there were also lots of signs of good news too.  The economy was finally picking up steam, job numbers and GPD were up to some of their best levels in nearly twenty years and from what we saw in Iowa and Missouri, attests to just how far we have come since the nadir of the Great Recession seven years ago.  

Every where we looked we saw signs of a great country on its way back.  As we rolled into Kansas City around 9 A.M. on a Saturday morning traffic was heavy with people on their way to jobs that did not exist at the height of the recession.  I can remember a time not too long ago when you could have fired a cannon of grapeshot down the middle of the freeways and beltways that encircle this country's major metropolitan areas and you would have been lucky to have hit just one car, now the carnage would be akin to that of the First Minnesota Regiment at Gettysburg.

 

We stopped at the Harrah's Casino in Kansas City with the idea we would buy some cigars and play a few hands of blackjack only to be turned back by Missouri's minimum age of 21 to gamble.   It was however an opportunity to restore on a very small scale the hopes for better race relations in the country as my son and I were assisted by a couple of lovely African American women employees of Harrah's in finding the nearest tobacco store to purchase cigars to hand out at my great nephew's party.

 

 

 

After biscuits and gravy at the Hardees in Ottawa Kansas it was back on the road again.  We made good time in the rolling hills of the  Flint Hill Grasslands as we continued heading West towards Wichita and passed an old favorite haunt, the Cotillion Ballroom home of many memorable Roomful of Blues shows I attended over the years.  Just as we were getting tired of the monotony that is the interstate we got off it in favor of the slower but more scenic state highway and a more direct route to our eventual destination, Hardtner, Kansas. 

 

Unfortunately this was also to prove a costly decision for your lead footed narrator.  As we got within 20 miles of our eventual destination I was still traveling at interstate velocity and failed to notice the oncoming SUV until it lit up like a Christmas tree signaling me to pull over.  I immediately did and had an encounter with an affable and thoroughly professional officer with the Kansas State Patrol.  Anyone who has read this blog or knows me is well aware of my intolerance for misuse of power committed by those sworn to protect and serve. There was no attempt to expand the scope of a routine traffic stop into a fishing expedition for extra income for his department via the often misused civil forfeiture laws.  So even though it cost me hard earned money I really could not afford to part with, I accept personal responsibility and tip my hat to Officer Quick for the professional and legal manner in which he conducted the stop.

 

If only police departments in Ferguson, Missouri, Los Angeles County or the City of Minneapolis had members in their departments the caliber of Officer Quick of the Kansas State Patrol the state of law enforcement and  community relations in this country would be in a much better place.  

 

While you can always debate whether these periodic economic ups and downs are merely cyclical or that the government really does not make that much of a difference in these matters,  one way or another, one needs only to look to the decisions made by the European Union for comparison to see the wisdom of our current administration's policies.  Unlike Europe and Great Britain which pursued a policy of austerity for austerity sake, the Obama Administration and Federal Reserve pursued an economic policy emphasizing government stimulus and low interest rates as private capital had all dried up and the markets screeched to a halt.  

 

In retrospect, if you are at all honest with yourself, it would be hard to fault the President and not admit this was a superior approach over the Hoover like sit back and do nothing approach of his predecessor or the austerity approach which had landed both Europe and Great Britain back to the brink of another recession.  Despite all the racist xenophobia on the right and the "sky is falling" harbinger of doom cries from the Tea Party, stimulus spending did not bankrupt the country and end life in America as we know it, rather, it saved it.  

 

Furthermore I truly hope that it dispels once and for all the banal and absurd notions of the Tea Party that problems to a system as complex as the national economy, with concepts like the federal deficit, national debt and their interplay with federal fiscal policies could be reduced down and solved as simply and easily as balancing the household checkbook at the kitchen table, if we only had the gumption.  These views, which to some seem like common sense, are as misleading and misguided as they are naive.

 

No, it is morning in America again and I'm not referring to that Madison Avenue fantasy that was sold to the American public some 30 years ago at the Republican Convention as a distraction, so that they could continue to implement that failed and cynical economic policy known as trickle down.  Just look around and see the result of that devastating policy:  a non-existent middle class, and an ever burgeoning class of working poor.  I had to laugh the other day when I heard the news report that 80% of Americans still referred to themselves as middle class yet were living paycheck to paycheck.

 

If I was granted just one wish regarding the upcoming presidential election of 2016 it would be for Americans to really think their next vote out.  Take some time, pay attention to the details, get news from multiple, diverse sources (including some foreign news sources) and from original sources if possible.   and bone up on their knowledge of American history  and  socioeconomic demographics.  As we have trended more conservative are we doing better off or are you, like I, really uncomfortable by the all time record level of inequality and disparity in wealth?  Is your lifestyle, quality of life, (e.g. time away from work) getting better?  As we advance as a society, are all the benefits and rewards for the most productive labor force in the history of the world getting misdirected to a tiny number of elites in society and in a hugely disproportionate ratio between compensation and their contribution to an organization's success.