Looney Toons
This column was suggested by Bob Rudnick, late of WGLD in Chicago, (among other places). Which doesn’t necessarily indicate that he’s responsible for it, just that I try to lay the blame where it belongs. Especially if it isn’t with me. Detroit progressive radio is experiencing some sort of upsurge.
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Looney Toons
This column was suggested by Bob Rudnick, late of WGLD in Chicago, (among other places). Which doesn’t necessarily indicate that he’s responsible for it, just that I try to lay the blame where it belongs. Especially if it isn’t with me.
Detroit progressive radio is experiencing some sort of upsurge. J.C. Crawford and Mike Turner’s appearance at WKNR-FM, coupled with Jerry Lubin and Dennis Frawley’s continued high-energy shows at WABX, make this the best radio scene in Amerika, as far as I can tell.
My article on John and Yoko splitting the Peace Festival in the last issue aroused the anger of John Brower, High Curry (whose name was misspelled due to secretary Stretke’s loveable stupidity, not my own; J’m just nuts enough to listen to her), Ken Walker and Roland Pacquin. On the other hand, what could you say that would be accurate about a festival that doesn’t have a place to fest, that wants to use peace to raise money and is a generally mismanaged botch?
I certainly can’t side with the Onolennons; their political naivete in the face of busts of Sinclair/Leary et. aL is inexcusable. But I do resent having people coming into my town to explain to us how it’s our responsibility to put up a caravan of people who are coming to hear their favorite pop-stars. Un-unnh.
Expecially when these fools also want US to fund it! It’s time to check this shit out, right now. After all, where’s all this Peace Festival bread going, if people aren’t going to live on it? I’d rather see one community get it together and begin living a revolutionary lifestyle than a thousant peace stations babbling about bagism and bedins.
Maybe the naivete comes in from the fact that the majority of the people who are running this thing aren’t from even the States, but Canada and Breat Britian. But if they don’t understand conditions here, for us, they ought to stay the fuck out.
For that matter, I’m declaring my own, personal moratorium on pop festivals in general. All they do is drag us away from .our own people/communities to waste energy watching music that our own people perform as well or better here at home. Besides that, I’m not particularly fond of the possibility that John Mitchell will rope one of ’em off and keep the people there, permanently. They’d let the Hog
Farm and Abbie Hoffman out every once in a while of course, for brown rice and dope and new recruits. Probably release John Sinclair from prison on condition that he got sent straight to New Bethel (or wherever). To paraphase the Bible: Can any good come out of Woodstock?
Speaking of Brother John, his bail arraignment was ridiculous. The judge informed us that he can’t go around telling the lower courts they’re “all wet”, can he? Right fucking on! Well, pig, the time has come. Or at least it grows closer. It’s really depressing to see John sitting there while some jive motherfucker like Judge Frederick Kaess walks the streets. Shit! What a honkiehoffman monstrosity—we want John out of jail RIGHT NOW!
White Panthers and YIPpies will travel to Lansing April 30th to Free John and free marijuana. You should be there i.f you can. If there’s a higher priority facing our community (or our country) I don’t know what it is. Unless it’s freeing everybody and everything. Dig?
Another brother has been ripped off by the pigs. This time it was Darrell Banks, one of Detroit’s finest rhythm and blues vocalist. He was shot in some sordid love triangle—by an off duty cop named Aaron Bullocks. Bullocks, of course, was never brought to trial.
At any rate, Volt has posthumously released a new single by Darrell, called “No One Blinder (Than a Man Who Won’t See)”. That’s a heavy jam, and a good one, but it’s not getting played. You should demand that it does, you should have a copy and you should really dig on the title.
UPS and Downs: A batch of killer new singles includes “So Fine” by the Elvin Bishop Group on Fillmore, both sides of the new Joe Cocker, the kangerous UP singe “Hassan i Sabba” b/w “Just Like An Aborigine” on their own Sundance label, “Handbags and Gladrags” b/w “Guitar Army” by the killer Rationals and, a really left field thing, by Crabby Appleton, on Elektra.
The UP jam is really worth having because they’ve gotten so much killer music together lately. The notorious Bach is by now an accomplished vocalist, the Rassmussens are far-out with their bass and guitar jams and I absolutely refuse to believe the young Scott Bailey on drums. They’re really reminiscent of the Motor City’s first hype, if you know what I mean. Which is great because that is the highest energy music on the air. Or anywhere.
To finish where I began, Bob Rudnick is not on WGLD-fm in Chicago anymore. Which is a bitch, being as how he has the best radio show I never get to hear. It’s time somebody got hip to total assault, radio-wise, and got the dude back on the air.
Rudnick back on the air and Sinclair out of jail would make for an even better summer than the last one. Do It!
