Democracy for New Mexico

First Annual ABQ Peace Out 9/17

Capricorn Music Productions Presents:

The First Annual Albuquerque Peace Out!
Sunday, September 17
Harlow's on the Hill
3523 Central NE
Call 505-268-0182 for info.
DOORS OPEN AT 7 PM

Featuring:
KiMo
Jasper Brown
Kenn Rodriguez
Ground Zero
Bob Anderson of Stop the War Machine
And Many Special Guests!

Click for flyer (doc).

Killin' Everything They Say They're Fightin' For

Go watch Kris Kristofferson's new music video, "In the News." It's also one of the featured songs on Neil Young's Living With War Today website. Kristofferson, the writer of such gems as Me And Bobby McGee and Sunday Morning Coming Down and is now 69 years old and he's still capturing the essence of his time with his bare bones lyrics and melodies. The Rhodes Scholar and almost West Point professor, who wrote "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," still has some mighty things to say. Things that need saying at a time when our actions are ensuring that way too many people have nothing left to lose, in the worst possible sense this time.

Saturday Music Hall: Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Syd Barrett, the troubled and highly influential co-founder of Pink Floyd, passed away on July 7th at age 60 from complications related to diabetes. The video above presents a live performance at the BBC in 1967, when Syd was still with the band. They perform the Barrett composition, "Astronomy Domine," which was quite the adventurous bit of creative psychedelia at the time. Pink Floyd gained its early fame mostly due to Barrett's exploratory take on rock and his experiments with dramatic visual effects and multimedia "happenings" that made thier mid-to-late-60s performances at London's UFO Club, Marquee Club and others a must-see for hipsters and fellow musicians alike.

Early Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett up front on right.

Despite leaving the band in 1968 due to mental problems worsened by heavy LSD use, and trouble coping with the pressures and pleasures of fame, Syd left his mark on the band's style for decades to come. David Gilmour replaced him on lead guitar and vocals. Their 1975 album, "Wish You Were Here" was expressive of the band's continuing emotional and musical ties with Barrett, especially on the album's title song and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," written for Syd. Strangely enough, Barrett unexpectedly showed up at one of the recording sessions for the album after years of being incommunicado. The other band members could barely recognize him.

He then vanished from the scene once more, spending most of the rest of his life living quitely in his mother's suburban home, with several short, voluntary stays in mental institutions. He painted, he gardened, he wrote more music, but he did so privately. Here's a good article on Syd's musical legacy, and a site with many photos of him from childhood on.

I was an early Pink Floyd afficionado, and must have listened to albums like "Piper at the Gates of Dawn," "Atomic Heart Mother," "Meddle," "Ummagumma," "Meddle" and the first release of "Dark Side of the Moon" thousands of times in various states of consciousness.

I only got to see them live once, during their initial Dark Side of the Moon tour in 1973. The concert was at the old International Amphitheater in Chicago, long after Syd had left the band. The echoes of that powerfully elaborate performance still reside in my memory bank in all their many layered glory. It was that good. The band used very advanced (for the time) 360 degree sound in the huge old cavern of a venue, and of course the light show was spectacular and dramatic, just right for an audience tripping the light fantastic. Now one of the band's founders has left on a different kind of trip....

January 6, 1946 - July 7, 2006, R.I.P.

Saturday Music Hall: People Have the Power

This is a rendition of Patti Smith's tune People Have the Power performed by many musicians who participated in the nationwide Vote for Change tour in support of Kerry in the last days of the 2004 presidential campaign. The players and singers include Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, REM, the Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Pearl Jam, John Fogerty, Steve Earle, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Baby Face and others.

Call me corny, but I get chills every time I hear this song, regardless of who's doing it. To me it expresses the core of Democratic values -- or at least what we once believed the Democrats stood for and defended at any cost. People have the power. Not the corporations. Not the "free" traders. Not the bankers. Not the media conglomerates. Not the pollsters. Not the cronies of corrupt politicians. Not the wealthy elites. Not the lobbyists. Not the developers or Wall Street or the investor class. PEOPLE have the power.

The Republican Party is about private property, individual power and wealth, government out of the way. But the Democratic Party, when it was at its peak of political strength and moral power, was all about representing the common good, the common person, the working stiff, the underdog. For a fair shake, for nurturing the middle class, for economic and social mobility. For down home democracy. To win again I strongly believe we must return to this focus, to this populism, to this struggle for equal rights under the law, justice for every citizen and a level playing field for all. To reassert the people's priorities and reconfigure a government that follows the rule of law.

When I watched this video it brought back all the excitement, zeal, passion, hopes, dreams, comaraderie, unity and hard work that characterized the run-up to the November 04 election. There were literally mobs of people from all walks of life and every economic, social, racial and gender sector volunteering for the Kerry campaign and other get out the vote efforts here and everywhere. The internet was awash in activism and energy, the crowds at Kerry events were humongous and we KNEW we were going to win.

Kerry and The Boss in Madison right before election day

And damn it, we DID WIN. We know that now for a fact. Exit polls results are just one source of evidence. Exit polls don't lie. Exit polls have been used all over the world to check the honesty of elections. Exits polls across the nation clearly demonstrated that Kerry was the winner in 2004. And yet when the official results were posted there were suspicious shifts in the vote count to Bush. Every shift that occurred, occurred to benefit Bush. Could this possibly be a coincidence? Other data and respected studies say no. Resoundingly.

So we also know for a fact that winning wasn't enough, not when Bush and his Rovian criminals were so successfully stealing votes and stopping Dems from voting in many key states using a myriad of methods. This bunch will stop at nothing --NOTHING -- to win. By now, this stealth campaign against democracy has been well documented by serious analyses by experts of many disciplines, of many poltical stripes. The lastest, of course, was the four month study performed by Rolling Stone and reported in detail by Robert Kennedy, Jr., no less. You'd think by now that the mainstream media would be inundated with coverage and that Democrats in positions to make a difference would be focusing like a laser on making sure it doesn't happen again. For a third time. But you'd be wrong.

Election fraud is still largely viewed, illogically, as some kind of tin foil hat hobby of conspiracy theorists, as a sideshow without merit, as the last resort of sore losers. Could anything be further from the truth? The data piles up in an irrefutable argument that proves that our votes were destroyed, ignored, prevented and distorted where they were needed most -- in the states that made the difference between a second term for The Lying Decider and a fresh start with one of our own. 

Where does that leave us? Still stuck in the middle of a critical, difficult and frustrating push toward a tipping point in our Party and in our nation. When I get down about our prospects, I listen to songs like People Have the Power; I recall my memories of what it feels like when our people are motivated to collective action; I remember that to abandon the fight is to abandon a sustainable future for all of us, and for the planet itself. Then I pick up my tools, stoke my energy and get back to work. And I'll keep doing that until we win the victory we actually won twice before. If we don't, who will?

How about you? After all, as Howard Dean chanted many times, YOU'VE GOT THE POWER. Come on, I know you believe it in your heart. We've got the power If we use it. If we don't give up. If we cultivate patience. If we use our creativity, and work together, and keep it up. And keep believing that PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER, even if everything we see and hear and read on any given day tells us otherwise...

Saturday Music Hall: 4th of July Weekend Edition

This is Neil Young's video to honor our fallen troops featuring the song America the Beautiful sung by a large choir. It's the last song on Neil's Living With War album. Even though the video was created for Memorial Day this year, I think it's appropriate for this Independence Day weekend as well. Since Memorial Day 2006, about 75 more American troops have been killed (through the end of June). The carnage continues, whether American or Iraqi, military or civilian, man, woman or child.

The hundreds of billions of dollars (now projected to be almost a half a TRILLION) being spent on this unnecessary and illegal war remain mostly unaccounted for. Not one elected official has so far been able to explain to me exactly where the $2 billion a week is going. We''ll be paying for this neocon nightmare with human lives and limbs for as long as it lasts. And for generations fiscally, emotionally, morally and spiritually. Only we can force our elected officials to stop it. We the people. For after all:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. -- The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Here's another video that lays out the case that what we are really experiencing is the start of the Third World War -- a corporatist war hatched right out in the open by the Project for the New American Century. They should have called it the Project for the New Corporatist Fascism in my opinion. You may consider this is an alarmist point of view, but think about it in terms of what Bush and his cronies have been doing with the Constitution and Bill of Rights, almost from day one of their administration. Plenty of food for thought on this 230th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence....

Saturday Music Hall: Taos Solar Edition

The always creative, sometimes revolutionary and forever independent Ani DiFranco is the festival closer Sunday night at the Taos Solar Music Fest so I thought she'd be a great choice for today's Music Hall post. Check out this 2005 video of her doing "Paradigm" on The Late Late Show.

The Solar Music Fest started Friday at Kit Carson Park in Taos and continues until Sunday evening, brought to you by New Mexico's solar energy community. Today's schedule includes the grassified pickings of Peter Rowan, island lifers Yerba Buena and the highly vibrational and antiwar Michael Franti and Spearhead, among others. Besides DiFranco, Sunday's schedule includes the pulsing rhythms and horns of The Motet, the many-faceted roots music of Buddy Miller and the rousing reggae of Steel Pulse. Click for the complete lineup and ticket info. You can also buy tix at the entry to Kit Carson Park. Sun power at its best.

Blues at the Saturday Music Hall

Blues master Buddy Guy doing 'First Time I Met the Blues' at Radio City Music Hall in 2003. Guy is another of my favorite guitarists. He can play any style and is an incredibly vibrant live performer. He was emulated by Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and many others. I used to see him perform live alot when I still lived in Chicago in the 1970s. At that time he was one of the kids among the blues legends who were still playing all over Chicagoland in funky clubs.

He had also been a session guy at the legendary Chess Studios at 2120 South Michigan Avenue, where British blues bands often stopped to record, in awe of the historic players on the Chess Records roster. In fact, during my high school years, I got to see both the Stones and Yardbirds record there. Quite a coup for a 16-year-old. 

After college, I was lucky enough to see Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, Junior Wells, Koko Taylor, Magic Sam, Magic Slim, Otis Rush, Son Seals, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Otis Spann and many others play live at Chicago clubs, in various combinations. Buddy was often in the band and, of course, he also had his own band. Once I even got to see a very aged Big Mama Thornton doing the song she wrote, Hound Dog, which was made famous by Elvis Presley. She arrived with her things in a brown paper shopping bag and brought the house down.

The Chicago blues clubs were wild and wide open in that era. The very best ones were in old black neighborhoods, where blues fans of all dominations and colors were welcome. No frat boy blues crowds in those days -- this was the real thing. A special favorite was the Checkboard lounge (right), which was owned by Buddy Guy and Junior wells during the 70s. On Saturdays Chicago clubs can stay open until either 3 AM or 5 AM, and the late sets at these places were the cream of the crop -- magical, passionate, powerful and entirely uninhibited. It was common for musicians in town for concerts, especially Brits, to stop in afterwards and jam with the Chicago blues players. Quite a spectacle.

I had to miss Buddy when he recently played at the Lensic up in Santa Fe. The last time I saw him was a few years ago on a visit back to my old hometown. He owns his own club in Chicago called Buddy Guy's Legends. When we visited, Buddy did a few tasty songs and then hung out at the bar talking quietly with anyone who approached, including me. A legend indeed.

KUNM's Espejos de Aztlan Features GLBT Discussion Tonight

From Javier Benavidez:
Tune in to Espejos de Aztlan on KUNM 89.9 tonight, Monday June 12th, at 8:00 PM for a show about the struggles faced in our community as a result of hate and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

We will be interviewing several members of the local Latino Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community about their overcoming against initiatives such as the anti gay marriage proposal recently pushed forward by President Bush. In contrast, this past weekend approximately 20,000 people attended the 20th annual Gay Pride parade in Albuquerque at the Expo NM State Fair Grounds.

Espejos de Aztlan has been on-air since 1979 and is part of the Raices Collective which conducts programming on news, culture and music from a Latino perspective on KUNM 89.9. For more information or to submit input about our shows, please visit the "Espejos de Aztlan" link at https://kunm.org/culture/.

Saturday Music Hall

Eric Clapton (with his original Gibson from his Yardbirds era) and Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), who used to call himself the "Night Tripper." Remember? They're doing St. James Infirmary.

Another Kind of Veteran

Jaco Pastorius

Speaking of veterans, here's a video (below) with some of my favorite music veterans. Joni Mitchell is joined on her song 'Coyote" by jazz great Pat Metheny on guitar and the legendary (late great) Jaco Pastorius on fretless bass during their 'Shadows and Light' tour together. This performance was recorded in Santa Barbara. Jaco passed away in 1987, a casualty of another kind of war. Joni recently "retired" from writing and performing music and is devoting her artistic talents to painting. Pat Metheny has recorded dozens of incredible albums since this tour in 1979. Enjoy.

You can enjoy other Joni Mitchell performances on YouTube, including Hejira with another stellar bass performance by Jaco, I Still Miss Someone featuring a duet between Joni and Johnny Cash, Amelia including a lyrical guitar solo by Metheny at the end and others if you sift throught these search results. For more video performances by Jaco, check these results. Pat Metheny is featured in a bunch here.