To That Man Behind The Curtain
Q&A With The Author Of BWBW
Q&A With The Author Of BWBW
Friday, June 24, 2011
A little bit older and a little bit more confused, the resigned author consents to an inquisition surrounding the Bird With Broken Wings State of the Union, and consequently sheds light on his current frame of mind.
A: Yeah, I'm tired. It's been a long haul.
Q: What's going on?
A: Nothing that I care to talk about. Most of my posts are relatively autobiographical, so you can probably glean a fair amount of information about where I'm at if you were to go back and read between the lines. Generally what I don't put into words is conveyed by the music that I choose to feature.
Q: So you mean your music mixes tell a story?
A: No, not so much a story. More like a mood, or an outlook. That's what it conveys. Music can do that of course (tell a story), but despite my love of language, I've never really paid a great deal of attention to lyrical content except for those artists who are master wordsmiths. I've always tried to operate more on 'feel' when it comes to music --- the honesty and soul of a performance, the way it moves me. And on the technical side, the choice of key and chords also hold an ability to color the tenor of a song. Without consciously doing so, I often find that I unintentionally gravitate towards that as well.
I think that's why I was relatively well-suited for free-form radio. Unlike personality radio, the message was largely conveyed by the tone and quality of the music that you chose to play. A D.J. in that environment wasn't necessarily required to be everyone's best friend ---- consistently upbeat, amicable, kind to all living things large and small. You could simply be human with good days and bad days just like anyone else, and that was something enlightened listeners could appreciate and relate to. My problem was simply too many bad days. Not that I didn't enjoy what I was doing. I was thrilled, but there was always a black dog following me around. You may not see him, but he's still here. Over there in the corner. So when that type of programming eventually came to an end and I was required to crossover to personality radio in order to survive and maintain a career, I just couldn't play the game. I can only mask my internal disposition publicly for approximately 60 minutes. After that the cracks start to show.
In reality, I guess you could say that I wasn't really suited for radio broadcasting at all, except for possessing a pleasant voice and fairly good taste in music. When it came to personality and temperament, I was a wild card. I was extremely fortunate however that varying degrees of commercial, free-form radio survived in San Francisco (where I then lived) up until almost 1990. Otherwise, my former career would have been cut very short with nothing much to tell.
Q: So is music blogging now a substitute for your previous radio programming?
A: A bit. They're two different mediums, but yeah, I do use the forum in much the same way that I conducted myself in radio. It's not really an occupation like radio was, or even a hobby. It's a cathartic process for me. Some people get it, some don't.
Q: So what do you do now?
A: Fret mostly. I'm probably not particularly a fun guy to hang around with these days. I can be grumpy a lot of the time. I mean, I don't think I'm a drag or anything. I just have a short shelf life. Fortunately I'm aware of my threshold so when I find myself beginning to approach it, I at least know enough to say my goodbye's and exit the scene. Generally I'm able to keep whatever's gnawing at me to myself, but Birds With Broken Wings often helps as a kind of pressure valve.
Q: Actually I meant what are you doing occupationally these days?
A: A hired gun basically. But due to the current economy, it sometimes borders on being mercenary. I'm not especially proud of that, but what am I to do? I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Like most of us, I've recently been jacked around a bit, perhaps more so than others. It's forced me to behave in ways that make me uncomfortable with myself, and that disturbs me immensely. It's why I fret.
You know, I don't really care to talk about this stuff any further. Can we get back to the blog?
Q: Sure. You recently ran a poll on your Frank Zappa Project/Object series. What were the results?
A: Yeah, the poll. Um, realistically it didn't really tell me anything that I don't think I already knew, but at least it confirmed my assumptions.
I'm very proud of that series. Assembling the individual mixes is labor intensive, but because I love the material so much, I actually find them a joy to create. Zappa's recordings have always lent themselves to reconstruction/deconstruction, therefore it becomes a fun exercise to frame them in an entirely new setting. At first I was afraid that a lot of his fans might find it a bit sacrilegious in some way to tamper with the product as he originally conceived it, but fortunately the response has been quite favorable. I don't think that reassembling the material in the way that I have detracts from his vision in any way, nor does it dilute its power. If anything it expands on that vision and demonstrates his goal. It serves to keep the material fresh and alive, putting the familiar in an unexpected and different context. The series allows those who have lived with these performances for years to hear them anew and subsequently revive their interest. And for those who may be exposed to the songs for the very first time, I hope that the series will then encourage them to go seek out the originals as a point of comparison.
You have to understand that the mixes are not simply a rearrangement of an established playing order, a greatest hits collection, or a definitive career overview. Instead, I've merely taken Zappa's contention that all of his material is part of a greater unified whole, 'conceptual continuity' as he called it, and simply have taken him to task. And to great success, I believe.
Q: So what did the results of the poll tell you?
A: Well, number one --- not surprisingly, my readers are primarily of my own age group, 51-65 years old. The second largest segment is between 21 to 35 years of age.
Q: Male or female?
A: I blew it on that one. I never posed the question. I should have.
Q: Go on...
A: Umm, by far the Mothers of Invention represent the most treasured period of Zappa's long musical career with 'We're Only In It For The Money' and 'Uncle Meat' ranking as reader favorites. This was followed by his jazz big band years. 'Hot Rats,' 'Waka/Jawaka' and 'The Grand Wazoo' all rated high. Few people ranked his latter years very approvingly. Likewise his orchestral work, but I happen to like his classical charts. They really thumb their nose at perceived 'serious' music. Understandably, the Flo & Eddie 'vaudeville' years also didn't fare well, but then I chose to focus on those particular periods that scored high, so essentially the results mirrored my own tastes. That confirmed for me at least that most people also consider those years to be his strongest and most relevant. Of course the survey only reached a limited number of eyes and opinions, so it's not entirely representative of his greater audience.
I think the reason why the M.O.I. are so cherished is because they were band with input from all of the members. Frank was obviously the leader, but the personalities of everyone involved was a key and vital ingredient. In his latter years, it seems that the ensembles primarily became more of a showcase for his compositions and guitar solos. It goes back to that thing about 'feel' and the importance of it. There was warmth and humanity behind the Mothers of Invention whereas subsequent bands increasingly sounded cold, steely, and well-tempered, lacking the heart and soul of a unit like the Mothers.
If I learned anything else, it's that my audience appears to have been with me anywhere between 12 to 24 months. That's it. Nothing exciting, but it's useful information for me.
Q: What about other content?
A: Well, I'm pleased that my Brian Wilson post found a large audience. Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac as well. Both are big in my book of things to be happy about. I had also hoped that the recent Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner pieces would have garnered a bit more response, but they both fell short of my expectation. I've been a disciple of Monk for some time. He's my closest thing to a hero, and McCoy is simply a giant. There have been some others too, but I don't think that new readers actually realize that the majority of my mixes are custom designed and nearly seamless. The tunes often segue and flow like a conceptual album. They're not just a bunch of songs stacked together like a playlist in your mp3 player.
I also wish that people wouldn't be so shy about going back and exploring the old posts a bit more. There's a wealth of stuff to be found there, but it seems that only the most recently published pages are the ones that get visited. As far as I know, the old links are still active but if they're not, I'll re-up them if someone tells me. Maybe nobody wants to take the time.
Q: Anything else regarding your site that you're proud of?
A: Well, music critic, Thom Jurek from the All Music Guide and other publications recently complimented me on my tribute to Willy DeVille. I was really flattered by his acknowledgement. I may not always agree with his reviews, but I do think highly of his writing. He's nearly poetic at times and also very passionate about DeVille's music. Beyond that, I have to say that I'm pleased by the longevity of my site. I've noticed that the majority of music blogs tend to have a life span of roughly 2-3 years. After that, the owners seem to either burn out or lose interest. I've been pretty lucky. My readers are all very kind to me. Rarely have I ever gotten any negative comments. Sure, every now and then someone comes along with a bit of vitriol, but never enough to rattle me. I'm fully aware that BWBW will never be an indispensable site for anyone who loves music. It's simply what it is --- a relatively articulate guy who writes about the music that matters most to him. And I stand behind everything I say in these pages, and I sometimes share more of myself than I might realize. But like I was saying earlier, it's a bit like the free-form radio days. My intent here in primarily to share music. But blogging is a public forum and therefore it's imperative that you be engaged to some degree if you want people to remain interested and involved. Particularly in my case since I'm featuring personalized mixes as opposed to full length recordings. It takes a certain level of faith and trust on the part of my readers to stay with me. I value that and I think that my readers, much like my old radio audience, appreciate that there's a real person behind the words and music mixes.
Sometimes I wonder though if the blog comes across like a case of musical arrested development, but again, it is what it is. As I've stated before, I think that the quality of most music made in nearly every genre has really diminished over the last 25 years or so. Not across the board mind you, but certainly in the broadest sense. I just don't hear many new ideas anymore, and those that I do hear are not necessarily good ones. Maybe I'm just getting old. I mean, it isn't really my world any more. But then I meet 20 year olds who are passionate about bands like The Who, or The Experience. That says something about how enduring the music of that period really is. And if I didn't recognize that for myself, it would almost seem a little weird to me. I mean, when I was in my 20's, I wouldn't have listened to music that my parents liked! But I think that's one reason why a lot of younger people keep looking back to what came before. The older music, particularly rock music was just more powerful.
You know, I almost pride myself on never having even heard some acts like the Madonna clones, the boy bands, American Idol winners and the like. When I finally got exposure to that one guy --- Clay, Clark, Clem, something like that --- well Christ, he nearly made Bobby Sherman sound like Bruce Springsteen! I mean, manufactured stars have been around since the birth of rock, people like Frankie Avalon, Bubblegum bands, The Partridge Family on down the line. But it's becoming more and more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff these days. I just have a hard time believing in the authenticity of most of the new acts that I see and hear. And that's what most of them seem like to me --- acts. The rest seem to merely be recycling sounds from their older brother or sisters record collection with a bit of distortion added. I can't lay blame on them. These are not exactly renaissance years. But sometimes I can't help wonder if maybe all of the great songs have already been written. (Long pause) And you know, in my darkest moments I also wonder whether all the good times have been had as well. But there I go again divulging more about myself than maybe I should.
About The Mix
A: Nothing that I care to talk about. Most of my posts are relatively autobiographical, so you can probably glean a fair amount of information about where I'm at if you were to go back and read between the lines. Generally what I don't put into words is conveyed by the music that I choose to feature.
Q: So you mean your music mixes tell a story?
A: No, not so much a story. More like a mood, or an outlook. That's what it conveys. Music can do that of course (tell a story), but despite my love of language, I've never really paid a great deal of attention to lyrical content except for those artists who are master wordsmiths. I've always tried to operate more on 'feel' when it comes to music --- the honesty and soul of a performance, the way it moves me. And on the technical side, the choice of key and chords also hold an ability to color the tenor of a song. Without consciously doing so, I often find that I unintentionally gravitate towards that as well.
I think that's why I was relatively well-suited for free-form radio. Unlike personality radio, the message was largely conveyed by the tone and quality of the music that you chose to play. A D.J. in that environment wasn't necessarily required to be everyone's best friend ---- consistently upbeat, amicable, kind to all living things large and small. You could simply be human with good days and bad days just like anyone else, and that was something enlightened listeners could appreciate and relate to. My problem was simply too many bad days. Not that I didn't enjoy what I was doing. I was thrilled, but there was always a black dog following me around. You may not see him, but he's still here. Over there in the corner. So when that type of programming eventually came to an end and I was required to crossover to personality radio in order to survive and maintain a career, I just couldn't play the game. I can only mask my internal disposition publicly for approximately 60 minutes. After that the cracks start to show.
In reality, I guess you could say that I wasn't really suited for radio broadcasting at all, except for possessing a pleasant voice and fairly good taste in music. When it came to personality and temperament, I was a wild card. I was extremely fortunate however that varying degrees of commercial, free-form radio survived in San Francisco (where I then lived) up until almost 1990. Otherwise, my former career would have been cut very short with nothing much to tell.
Q: So is music blogging now a substitute for your previous radio programming?
A: A bit. They're two different mediums, but yeah, I do use the forum in much the same way that I conducted myself in radio. It's not really an occupation like radio was, or even a hobby. It's a cathartic process for me. Some people get it, some don't.
Q: So what do you do now?
A: Fret mostly. I'm probably not particularly a fun guy to hang around with these days. I can be grumpy a lot of the time. I mean, I don't think I'm a drag or anything. I just have a short shelf life. Fortunately I'm aware of my threshold so when I find myself beginning to approach it, I at least know enough to say my goodbye's and exit the scene. Generally I'm able to keep whatever's gnawing at me to myself, but Birds With Broken Wings often helps as a kind of pressure valve.
Q: Actually I meant what are you doing occupationally these days?
A: A hired gun basically. But due to the current economy, it sometimes borders on being mercenary. I'm not especially proud of that, but what am I to do? I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Like most of us, I've recently been jacked around a bit, perhaps more so than others. It's forced me to behave in ways that make me uncomfortable with myself, and that disturbs me immensely. It's why I fret.
You know, I don't really care to talk about this stuff any further. Can we get back to the blog?
Q: Sure. You recently ran a poll on your Frank Zappa Project/Object series. What were the results?
A: Yeah, the poll. Um, realistically it didn't really tell me anything that I don't think I already knew, but at least it confirmed my assumptions.
I'm very proud of that series. Assembling the individual mixes is labor intensive, but because I love the material so much, I actually find them a joy to create. Zappa's recordings have always lent themselves to reconstruction/deconstruction, therefore it becomes a fun exercise to frame them in an entirely new setting. At first I was afraid that a lot of his fans might find it a bit sacrilegious in some way to tamper with the product as he originally conceived it, but fortunately the response has been quite favorable. I don't think that reassembling the material in the way that I have detracts from his vision in any way, nor does it dilute its power. If anything it expands on that vision and demonstrates his goal. It serves to keep the material fresh and alive, putting the familiar in an unexpected and different context. The series allows those who have lived with these performances for years to hear them anew and subsequently revive their interest. And for those who may be exposed to the songs for the very first time, I hope that the series will then encourage them to go seek out the originals as a point of comparison.
You have to understand that the mixes are not simply a rearrangement of an established playing order, a greatest hits collection, or a definitive career overview. Instead, I've merely taken Zappa's contention that all of his material is part of a greater unified whole, 'conceptual continuity' as he called it, and simply have taken him to task. And to great success, I believe.
Q: So what did the results of the poll tell you?
A: Well, number one --- not surprisingly, my readers are primarily of my own age group, 51-65 years old. The second largest segment is between 21 to 35 years of age.
Q: Male or female?
A: I blew it on that one. I never posed the question. I should have.
Q: Go on...
A: Umm, by far the Mothers of Invention represent the most treasured period of Zappa's long musical career with 'We're Only In It For The Money' and 'Uncle Meat' ranking as reader favorites. This was followed by his jazz big band years. 'Hot Rats,' 'Waka/Jawaka' and 'The Grand Wazoo' all rated high. Few people ranked his latter years very approvingly. Likewise his orchestral work, but I happen to like his classical charts. They really thumb their nose at perceived 'serious' music. Understandably, the Flo & Eddie 'vaudeville' years also didn't fare well, but then I chose to focus on those particular periods that scored high, so essentially the results mirrored my own tastes. That confirmed for me at least that most people also consider those years to be his strongest and most relevant. Of course the survey only reached a limited number of eyes and opinions, so it's not entirely representative of his greater audience.
I think the reason why the M.O.I. are so cherished is because they were band with input from all of the members. Frank was obviously the leader, but the personalities of everyone involved was a key and vital ingredient. In his latter years, it seems that the ensembles primarily became more of a showcase for his compositions and guitar solos. It goes back to that thing about 'feel' and the importance of it. There was warmth and humanity behind the Mothers of Invention whereas subsequent bands increasingly sounded cold, steely, and well-tempered, lacking the heart and soul of a unit like the Mothers.
If I learned anything else, it's that my audience appears to have been with me anywhere between 12 to 24 months. That's it. Nothing exciting, but it's useful information for me.
Q: What about other content?
A: Well, I'm pleased that my Brian Wilson post found a large audience. Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac as well. Both are big in my book of things to be happy about. I had also hoped that the recent Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner pieces would have garnered a bit more response, but they both fell short of my expectation. I've been a disciple of Monk for some time. He's my closest thing to a hero, and McCoy is simply a giant. There have been some others too, but I don't think that new readers actually realize that the majority of my mixes are custom designed and nearly seamless. The tunes often segue and flow like a conceptual album. They're not just a bunch of songs stacked together like a playlist in your mp3 player.
I also wish that people wouldn't be so shy about going back and exploring the old posts a bit more. There's a wealth of stuff to be found there, but it seems that only the most recently published pages are the ones that get visited. As far as I know, the old links are still active but if they're not, I'll re-up them if someone tells me. Maybe nobody wants to take the time.
Q: Anything else regarding your site that you're proud of?
A: Well, music critic, Thom Jurek from the All Music Guide and other publications recently complimented me on my tribute to Willy DeVille. I was really flattered by his acknowledgement. I may not always agree with his reviews, but I do think highly of his writing. He's nearly poetic at times and also very passionate about DeVille's music. Beyond that, I have to say that I'm pleased by the longevity of my site. I've noticed that the majority of music blogs tend to have a life span of roughly 2-3 years. After that, the owners seem to either burn out or lose interest. I've been pretty lucky. My readers are all very kind to me. Rarely have I ever gotten any negative comments. Sure, every now and then someone comes along with a bit of vitriol, but never enough to rattle me. I'm fully aware that BWBW will never be an indispensable site for anyone who loves music. It's simply what it is --- a relatively articulate guy who writes about the music that matters most to him. And I stand behind everything I say in these pages, and I sometimes share more of myself than I might realize. But like I was saying earlier, it's a bit like the free-form radio days. My intent here in primarily to share music. But blogging is a public forum and therefore it's imperative that you be engaged to some degree if you want people to remain interested and involved. Particularly in my case since I'm featuring personalized mixes as opposed to full length recordings. It takes a certain level of faith and trust on the part of my readers to stay with me. I value that and I think that my readers, much like my old radio audience, appreciate that there's a real person behind the words and music mixes.
Sometimes I wonder though if the blog comes across like a case of musical arrested development, but again, it is what it is. As I've stated before, I think that the quality of most music made in nearly every genre has really diminished over the last 25 years or so. Not across the board mind you, but certainly in the broadest sense. I just don't hear many new ideas anymore, and those that I do hear are not necessarily good ones. Maybe I'm just getting old. I mean, it isn't really my world any more. But then I meet 20 year olds who are passionate about bands like The Who, or The Experience. That says something about how enduring the music of that period really is. And if I didn't recognize that for myself, it would almost seem a little weird to me. I mean, when I was in my 20's, I wouldn't have listened to music that my parents liked! But I think that's one reason why a lot of younger people keep looking back to what came before. The older music, particularly rock music was just more powerful.
You know, I almost pride myself on never having even heard some acts like the Madonna clones, the boy bands, American Idol winners and the like. When I finally got exposure to that one guy --- Clay, Clark, Clem, something like that --- well Christ, he nearly made Bobby Sherman sound like Bruce Springsteen! I mean, manufactured stars have been around since the birth of rock, people like Frankie Avalon, Bubblegum bands, The Partridge Family on down the line. But it's becoming more and more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff these days. I just have a hard time believing in the authenticity of most of the new acts that I see and hear. And that's what most of them seem like to me --- acts. The rest seem to merely be recycling sounds from their older brother or sisters record collection with a bit of distortion added. I can't lay blame on them. These are not exactly renaissance years. But sometimes I can't help wonder if maybe all of the great songs have already been written. (Long pause) And you know, in my darkest moments I also wonder whether all the good times have been had as well. But there I go again divulging more about myself than maybe I should.
About The Mix
I know from experience that only the most devoted of readers will actually have an interest in reading this post from top to bottom and therefore will have gotten as far as finding the music featured below. So I figure since we're already poking around under the hood, why not also take a peek at some of the songs that inspired and sparked the imaginations of the great Vivian Stanshall and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
'A Pre-History Of The Bonzos: Songs The Bonzo Dog Band Taught Us' collects all of the original 78rpm novelty records from the 1920's and 30's that were lovingly covered by Vivian, Rodney Slater, Neil Innes, 'Legs' Larry Smith and Roger Ruskin Spear --- who were aided by none other than Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell, 'Big Sid' Nicholls, Val Doonican as himself, and introducing Liberace on clarinet. Additionally, Lord Snooty and his pals were specially flown in, along with Martin 'Sam Spoons' Ash, Roy Rogers and Trigger, 'Borneo' Fred Munt and J. Arthur Rank on gong. It's entertaining fun --- great for parties, cocktails on the veranda, and house cleaning too! Twenty odd selections of old-timey jazz --- Delicious hot! Disgusting cold.
A Pre-History Of The Bonzos:
Songs The Bonzo Dog Band Taught Us
'A Pre-History Of The Bonzos: Songs The Bonzo Dog Band Taught Us' collects all of the original 78rpm novelty records from the 1920's and 30's that were lovingly covered by Vivian, Rodney Slater, Neil Innes, 'Legs' Larry Smith and Roger Ruskin Spear --- who were aided by none other than Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell, 'Big Sid' Nicholls, Val Doonican as himself, and introducing Liberace on clarinet. Additionally, Lord Snooty and his pals were specially flown in, along with Martin 'Sam Spoons' Ash, Roy Rogers and Trigger, 'Borneo' Fred Munt and J. Arthur Rank on gong. It's entertaining fun --- great for parties, cocktails on the veranda, and house cleaning too! Twenty odd selections of old-timey jazz --- Delicious hot! Disgusting cold.
A Pre-History Of The Bonzos:
Songs The Bonzo Dog Band Taught Us
Click on picture to download
1) Jollity Farm
2) Mickey's Son And Daughter
3) I'm Gonna Bring A Watermelon To My Girlfriend
4) Button Up Your Overcoat
5) On Her Doorstep Last Night
6) Ali Baba's Camel
7) By A Waterfall
8) Hunting Tigers Out In India
9) My Brother Makes The Noises For The Talkies
10) Laughing Waltz
11) All By Yourself In The Moonlight
12) A Room With A View
13) Little Sir Echo
14) Make Yourself A Happiness Pie
15) We'll All Go Riding On A Rainbow
16) Skirts
17) The Sheik Of Araby
18) Bell Bottom Trousers
19) Dr. Jazz Stomp
20) The Flies Crawled Up The Window
21) I Lift Up My Finger And I Say 'Tweet Tweet'
22) Masculine Women And Feminine Men
23) Misery Farm
24) Omar Khayam's Cave
25) Everything Is Fresh Today
26) Last Night On The Back Porch
27) I Love To Bumpity Bump (On A Bumpy Road With You)
3) I'm Gonna Bring A Watermelon To My Girlfriend
4) Button Up Your Overcoat
5) On Her Doorstep Last Night
6) Ali Baba's Camel
7) By A Waterfall
8) Hunting Tigers Out In India
9) My Brother Makes The Noises For The Talkies
10) Laughing Waltz
11) All By Yourself In The Moonlight
12) A Room With A View
13) Little Sir Echo
14) Make Yourself A Happiness Pie
15) We'll All Go Riding On A Rainbow
16) Skirts
17) The Sheik Of Araby
18) Bell Bottom Trousers
19) Dr. Jazz Stomp
20) The Flies Crawled Up The Window
21) I Lift Up My Finger And I Say 'Tweet Tweet'
22) Masculine Women And Feminine Men
23) Misery Farm
24) Omar Khayam's Cave
25) Everything Is Fresh Today
26) Last Night On The Back Porch
27) I Love To Bumpity Bump (On A Bumpy Road With You)
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