DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at our impending election debacle can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith. We were blessed with Charles Bukowski, Gene Chandler, Lenny Bruce, Mitch Ryder and a legion of creative explorers whose influences provided the air we breathe. So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that our desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs!
With Gratitude For Gena Rowlands, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Quarry, Leo Gorcey, Arthur Alexander and Joey Heatherton, Your Splendid Bohemian, Rich Buckland.
DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
BILL MESNIK'S SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET PRESENTS: SHE CAUGHT THE KATY, LEFT ME A MULE TO RIDE BY TAJ MAHAL (COLUMBIA, 1968) EPISODE #92
Henry St. Claire Fredericks, Jr., aka Taj Mahal is 82 years of age, and like that monument in Agra, he stands as an ageless edifice of blues - rock grace. On his latest recording he croons in that familiar rasp: “I’m too young to be this old,” and there’s no denying the truth of that declaration. As the years have passed, it’s gratifying to contemplate that, 60 years ago, Taj and Ry Cooder combined forces in the seminal, interracial rock group The Rising Sons, then went their separate ways to establish themselves as the foremost living treasures of Americana and world music. I would venture to say that, similarly to the white British rockers who influenced a generation when they recycled the blues back to America, Taj and Ry did the same thing, on their home soil, with more humility..
I have a distinct memory of being ensconced during an arduous Iowa winter, laboring to get this song down for my set at the student union: one man, one guitar,- trying to catch the funky groove of the thing. The syncopation between Al Kooper’s piano, Jesse Ed Davis’s guitar and Gary Gilmore’s bass, propels this cut forward, moving it along a track of joy - even as the singer is bemoaning his lost love.
That’s the thing about Taj: his ever-present, infectious humor is fundamental to his magical appeal. And, the fact that he took his name in tribute to Gandhi, a man of peace, speaks mightily to his personal mission to make us all happy.
