Bessie Smith: Sex and Drugs ain't Rock & Roll

DJ Nomad NYC, electronic/dance

2008-08-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Check out DJ Nomad NYC below! This is some great dance music. I LOVE the beat.....makes me go crazy with my hips. I went to a club and had a blast dancing the other night!

DJ Nomad NYC
"Lights Out" (mp3)
from "Lights Out"
(Cable Recordings)
Buy at Juno Download
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at mTraks
More On This Album

Bessie Smith review and "Wild About That Thing" free mp3

2008-08-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Happy Monday morning to ya. Course it's still Sunday night here for me but I thought I'd get a jump on you. Haw.

Check out this fabulous tune of mine "I'm Wild About That Thing" from my session with Jimmy Johnson on piano.

And then tonight I thought I'd search for myself on the web and look what I found! A review of me! Ha! And it's a great one too. Frank was always so good to me:

"She was a difficult and temperamental person, she had her love affairs, which frequently interfered with her work, but she never was a real problem. Bessie was a person for whose artistry, at least, I had the profoundest respect. I don't ever remember any artist in all my long, long years -- and this goes back to some of the famous singers, including Billie Holiday -- who could evoke the response from her listeners that Bessie did. Whatever pathos there is in the world, whatever sadness she had, was brought out in her singing -- and the audience knew it and responded to it."

- Apollo Theater owner Frank Schiffman

Wire is coming to SF

2008-07-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

Yay! I wonder if I can go. Hadn't thought of that really. Can angels make appearances at rock shows? I mean, if I just stay in the audience?

I HAVE to get to this show!!! I love Wire!!! I mean, I heard them before I started my metal phase, so Wire comes first. What a great band. It looks like they put on a great show from the pictures I've seen.

I'm liking their new record a great deal too.

A 62-year-old monk from Milan releases second heavy metal album

2008-07-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

I know I know but it's TRUE!! Isn't this GREAT?? Just goes to show you that anyone from anywhere can make any kind of music. The world is a vast wonderland of unexplored miracles, and this is one of them.

This monk, Cesare Bonizzi, saw Metallica 15 years ago and it changed his life. He decided to become a heavy metal singer, and to inspire people to live life to the fullest through his music. I believe he's correct. I heard Joe Strummer say the same thing once ~ that rock & roll has an unspoken message ~ that's it's fun to be alive.

Find the full story and see Cesare singing with his band here.

Sybris.......me likey

2008-07-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hey these kids are pretty great! So exciting to find music I like made by musicians who aren't fronting with some stupid ass fake performance to sound cool. i.e. most of the girl singers I hear these days.

Was that a weird sentence? Anyhow, there are shades of Sonic Youth here, but in a much more digestible arrangement. I could never wrap my mind around Sonic Youth, but me and Sybris have an understanding. The first thing that grabbed me was Angela's voice. She really knows how to get the most out of her vocals, and successfully navigates many emotional storms in their songs.

I listened to some of their latest release, Into the Trees on Absolutely Kosher Records, and it's a very dynamic, original sounding record. The rest of the band is top notch, and enjoyed the production on the record too. Really understated but powerful use of effects.

Sybris is currently touring through the midwest, but watch for them. When they come through you town be sure and catch a show.

20 Bands Who Need to Go the Fuck Away Now

2008-07-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Found this on fuzz.com, The Fix website. Couldn't of said it better myself! They even talk about the Devil and the crossroads in this article. Hey and if you want to know more about the Devil, be sure and check out Robert Johnson. In the meantime, here's a link to the article and the entire 20 bands.....it's a great read!

It's time for the record companies to stop playing with themselves and start playing with others. My own offering to the Dark Lord would be:

1. The Jonas Brothers
2. Miley Cyrus
3. U2
4. Beyonce
5. Avril Lavigne
6. Mariah Carey (the pariah)
7. Christina Aguilera
8. Stone Temple Pilots
9. Velvet Revolver
10. P. Diddy (widdy woo)
11. Evanescence
12. Kanye West
13. Alicia Keys
14. Usher
15. Dave Mathews
16. Reel Big Fish
17. Foo Fighters
18. Metallica
19. Linkin Park
20. Madonna

I didn't put Britney Spears on this list because her last record was actually pretty good. The rest of these folks have GOT to go. Wouldn't it be a better world???

Don't Tease the Addicts

2008-06-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

Couldn't believe what I saw today. These three Marina girls were sitting near me at lunch, laughing and having a good time. Being kinda loud. This guy walks by and starts talking to them ~ sez one of the girls is his future wife. He talks and talks about the kids they will have, the job he's going to get to support them ~ and as he talks the girls start to talk back, responding to him and encouraging him.

As the conversation escalates I look up and notice the guy is waving a tin foil pipe around, his clothes are filthy, he's unshaven, and completely out of his mind. He starts talking loudly about the speed he has in his pocket. And these idiotic, shallow little girls are giggling wildly and enjoying teasing him!

It made me so fucking mad I can't even tell you. Man I've definitely been through heavy drinking and drugs in my day, and I have a lot of sympathy for people who are lost in using 'cause they're in a lot of pain. I've seen plenty of trouble and felt terrible pain too.

That guy was so obviously sick and these girls were getting off on teasing him for his illness. I wish they could've seen themselves the way I saw them. I wish people could wake up to what they're doing when they treat an addict or alcoholic that way.

Just cut it out.

2008-06-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

"The Hindu teacher Swami Muktananda was once asked why he didn't
work miracles. He replied, 'I have no need to work miracles. The circulation of blood through my body is enough.'"
- Wes Nisker, *The Essential Crazy Wisdom*

Symptoms of inner peace

2008-06-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

I didn't have a lot of peace back in my day, so I was pleased to find this great writing from Saskia Davis. Check it out.

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions.

Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:

A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
A loss of interest in judging other people.
A loss of interest in judging self.
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom)
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
Frequent attacks of smiling.
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

by Saskia Davis

wasn't that nice of Janis?

2008-06-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

This is my chance to officially thank Janis for what she did for me. Maybe I should invite her down here next.
Check out this story below:

Bessie Smith's funeral was held in Philadelphia on October 4, 1937. It was attended by about seven thousand people, according to contemporary newspaper reports. Far fewer mourners attended the burial at Mount Lawn Cemetery, in nearby Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania. Jack Gee, her husband from whom she had been separated, thwarted all efforts to purchase a stone, once or twice even pocketing money raised for that purpose.

The grave remained unmarked until August 7, 1970, when a new tombstone was placed, paid for by singer Janis Joplin and Juanita Green, who, as a child, had done housework for Smith.

Bessie Smith wiki

Blues Woman

2008-05-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

Ma Rainey said I have to come down from heaven and check out what's going on down here with this blogging stuff. So here I am, fake as the day is long but I'm yours darlin! Miss Bessie Smith is here now and we're gonna mix it up and get crazy wild! So while I'm cookin' up our first adventure, have a look at where I come from: