1) made
in chicago -
for
notes on this song, click here
2) nina's
prelude - i
was living in chicago in '76. my pal, Jim Post started dating a
singer, Nina [ something ] . he introduced me. pretty
soon, she blew him off . we became friendly. she was a
single mom, struggling to raise a 6 yr old and keep a career going,
while making a living singing in clubs and bars around Milwaukee.
i liked her, and felt some sympathy for here heroic efforts.
our friendship didn't come to much. she was too busy
surviving. i don't she had much time for the likes of Jim
and me. i wrote a song for her, 'Nina's Song', of which
there is currently no recording available. however,
there's a link to the lyric on the the next page. i think i wrote
the 'Prelude' later.
3) overweight in california - for
notes on this song, click here
4) recreation shoeshine -
i think it was in '77 that i returned to San Francisco for a visit.
i stayed with my dear friend. Siri Moeller. while there, i
took time to look up some former friends and acquaintances from
'71-'72, including my ex-wife, Lynne Charles, then in
the process of divorcing her second husband, Michael, the
ear/nose/throat surgeon cum cocaine addict. he had recently been
busted for 'operating under the influence', and was about to lose
his license to practice medicine. too bad. i kind of liked
him. Lynne was totally out of her mind. and i mean that
literally.
all in all, the visit was sad and disappointing. one day,
driving in the Haight district, i came upon a storefront bearing the
sign. 'Recreation Shoeshine'. i parked the car and walked over to
have a closer look. the place seemed to be a combination of an
old-fashioned shoeshine parlor and barber shop, catering primarily to
African/Americans. somehow the image stayed with me. the
atmosphere of the place was reminiscent of the 100 yr history of black
men in America, who needed a local refuge from the discrimination and
degradation that had been their daily bread for so long. i
imagined that, for a few moments, in a bleak week, they were able to
reclaim a modicum of dignity and self-respect in the company of their
peers, as they mulled over current events at the 'Shoeshine', and had
their personal needs attended to.
5) tutu and the cannibals - for
notes on this song, click here