Can’t post tonight. Here’s my account of how a record company helped me out after I conducted the best interview ever of one of its stars. Repayment for the best interview ever After “Gene Simmons: Call Him Doctor Love” was published in Bass Player, I did something for the first and only time in my…
An interview with my proofreader
April 1, 2024
The proofreader of Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed LA Music Journalist is named Tom Pickel. He generously did the job for free. A professional would’ve charged me $2000 at least. Tom is a great proofreader; today he informed me that he’s also a very odd fellow, which is truly excellent. I’m a huge…
A Druid in Los Angeles
November 12, 2023
Stephen Jay is a druid. He’s also been “Weird Al” Yankovic’s bassist for over thirty years. However, he’s also a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, lyricist, and classically trained composer who studied with John Cage, Lukas Foss, Max Neuhaus, and Charles Wuorinen, and he’s a music ethnographer who’s traveled the world playing with and recording folk musicians from…
Contest: Make me a video
November 1, 2023
I need a video of Operation Four Little Martyrs, but none of the professionals I’ve queried will make one for me. Anti-Israel sentiment is the main culprit, I’m sure, followed by peer pressure and fear of reprisals by terrorists. Since I really want a video, I’ve decided to host a contest. There will be three…
Thank you, Miss Carol Colman
July 7, 2023
When I wrote Ghosts and Ballyhoo, I had to leave out tons of stuff I wanted to include. There just wasn’t enough room. Also, I’m not interesting enough to publish a multi-volume memoir. One of the bassists who I didn’t mention in the book but who had a huge impact on me is Carol Colman,…
My second interview since 2002
May 6, 2023
Here’s my second interview since 2002. It’s with bassist Joe Burcaw. We have a lot in common, and we would likely disagree on nearly everything if we got into it politically and socially. But why would I do that to Joe? I like his playing. That’s all that matters. There was one question that I…
A tour of hell
March 31, 2024
Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of going to hell. I never saw flames and demons. Instead, my hell was full of unreachable, loud people; inexplicable machinery; winding corridors; and a sense of powerlessness, purposelessness, and hopelessness. Today I saw a video that someone made during his tour of hell. Before I post…
Not all sexism is equal
March 17, 2024
I had a friend I called “Lola” in Ghosts and Ballyhoo. She was a brilliant musician, an incredible athlete, had a great sense of humor, and could draw anything. Now that Mom and Dad are gone, I can admit that when I was eighteen in Stavanger, Norway, Lola used to sneak over at night and…
The problem with politics
March 11, 2024
I never discuss politics publicly. Unfortunately, everything in American culture is now politicized, so my statements are viewed as political even when they’re not. That’s the problem with politics. Too many people personalize their political views, so having a different opinion from them is seen as a repudiation of their entire being. But facts don’t…
No pain at all
March 9, 2024
Recently a very angry, quite insane person demanded to know how I could write so much, since I have arthritis in both hands. Well, here’s a news bulletin: It hurts. But my alternatives are limited. I could try this, I suppose. Or this. When it comes to the electric bass, though, I’m without options. I…