Mary McCaslin's Roundup

June 26, 2003

THE DIAMOND AND THE FLATPICK

A couple of columns ago I mentioned Lola Belle, the Basset Hound puppy who is the "floor manager" at the Vault Gallery in downtown Santa Cruz. This was just mere weeks before she became an international celebrity due to her now famous "Diamond Caper". For those who may have missed this news event, Miss Lola managed to swallow a loose diamond when her owners, Joy and Doug Kilner, who also own the Vault, opened the safe. It is at floor level, and Lola snuck in, grabbing a small box with a very expensive half carat diamond inside. She crunched the box and gulped down the precious stone before Joy could pry it from her mouth. The Kilners have been very diligent in their recovery efforts, but so far, the diamond has not re-appeared.

Lola's adventure takes me back to a freak occurrance that took place at a Sonny and Cher recording session in L.A. in the 1960s. At that time there were many guitar players named David Cohen in the music business, some more famous than others. The David Cohen I knew was a sought after studio guitarist, who played on many hit records of the day. His 12 string guitar is heard on the intro to Bobby Darin's recording of "If I Were A Carpenter", to name just one of these hits.

David was an excellent fingerpicker and flatpicker, who could play many styles. When flatpicking he used a very small teardrop shaped pick, the kind of pick used by mandolin players. Very often he would start out flatpicking and then part way through the song, he would place the pick in his mouth and play a fingerstyle break. As it happened, the night he was playing on the Sonny and Cher session he stuck the pick in his mouth and it slipped far enough back that he swallowed it.

At first everyone thought he was joking when he stopped mid-take to announce he had swallowed his flatpick. Soon he convinced the artists, producer and other players that he was not joking and left the session early. He drove to the emergancy room of the closest hospital, where the doctor on duty told him to eat a salad. Fortunately, things came out ok.

E-TOWN COMES TO SANTA CRUZ

A few years ago I had the honor of playing on a wonderful radio show in Boulder, Colorado called E -town. This weekly radio program, which bills itself as a "world of music and ideas", is now in its second decade. Started in 1991 by Nick and Helen Forster, E-town was inspired by Pete Seeger's use of music to bring home the importance of saving or reconnecting with our natural surroundings. In Pete's case, it was the Hudson River. Nick Forster, who played bass for many years with the Bluegrass group Hot Rize, grew up in the Hudson River Valley and witnessed the effectiveness of Seeger's crusade.

E-town offers live, on stage performances by world musicians, up-coming artists and "name" artists, including Steve Earl, Joan Baez, Nanci Griffith, Dave Alvin, Richard Thompson, Ani DiFranco, Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Lucinda Williams. Also featured are conversations with authors, politicians, scientists, poets and activists, such as Jimmy Carter, Pete Seeger, Ralph Nader, Jane Goodall, Michael Moore, Terry Tempest Williams and Julia Butterfly Hill.

The beautiful art deco Boulder Theatre is E-town's home venue, but E-town also goes on the road. Shows are recorded before live audiences and carried coast to coast on both non-commercial and commercial radio stations. E-town is the only national broadcast that honors the efforts of everyday citizens through its E-chievment Awards. Winners are nominated by listeners across the country and are acknowledged for their extraordinary local community work.

Starting Thursday, July 3rd, E-town will be heard on radio station KZSC (88.1 FM) every other week from noon to 2 pm. My program, the Fat Farm, will air on alternate Thursdays in the same time slot. Other than the KPFA News, which is carried every evening at 6, E-town will be the only program on KZSC not locally produced and hosted. I think it will be a fine addition.

TWO BOOKS AND A MOVIE

A friend gave me a copy of Dennis McNally's book, A Long Strange Trip (The Inside History of the Grateful Dead). McNally has been the Dead's historian and publicist for more than 20 years and he brings his subject matter to life with humorous anecdotes and obscure footnotes. I knew very little about the Grateful Dead until a few years ago when I became intrigued by their use of traditional folk songs ( "Jackaroe" , "Cold Rain and Snow", etc.) in their repertoire. This book is very well written and is an invaluable source for anyone who wants to gain an understanding of the culture and music of the `60s and `70s, of which the Dead were a major part.

The only small quibble I have is that McNally gets some song titles wrong. For example, early in the book he mentions Joan Baez's first album, calling it "Don't Sing Love Songs, You'll Wake My Mother". The title of that song is "Silver Dagger" and it's not the title of that album. My husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed A Long Strange Trip. He was around the scene a bit in the `70s and chuckled as he enjoyed the "flashbacks" to this one of a kind era.

Another book covering the same musical time period is Richie Unterberger's Eight Miles High, the sequel to his 2002 book, Turn, Turn , Turn, "The `60s Folk-Rock Revolution". Eight Miles High is subtitled, "Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock", and I was flattered to be interviewed and quoted in it.

All of these books offer page after page of insight into the workings of that special time and the personalities of the people who made the music, and will no doubt soon become required reading for popular music history courses.

We went to see the movie A Mighty Wind a few weeks ago. Quite honestly, I was disappointed in the same way I was disappointed in Best of Show, the previous offering by the same people. For me there were no "roll on the floor" laughs or comic scenes. The whole production had a very flat feeling, with the exception of the musical performances. The songs were very, very well written and sung. They did capture the feeling of the commercial folk music era of the `60s, and the album covers shown were very reminiscent of those found in the folk section of the record stores at that time. But the whole thing about "the kiss" was just plain silly and the female singer of the duet sounded like a refugee from the movie Fargo. I guess I just didn't get it.

To me, the best part of the whole experience was seeing the beloved Del Mar Theatre restored to its former glory.

MUSIC OF THE HEART

Speaking of nice local theatres, we attended the benefit concert for the New Brighton Middle School's music program at the Capitola Theatre. This was a gala event, featuring performances by Celtic guitarist and local treasure, Bill Coulter, piper David Brewer with flutist and guitarist, George Grasso, violinist Deby Benton Grosjean and the Celtic Youth Band. David and George are New Brighton alumni and their energy and excitement was contagious.

A highlight of the evening was the Celtic Youth Band, who performed under the direction of Deby Benton Grosjean. This group of 23 young people played a variety of instruments including the harp, cello, guitar, hammered dulcimer, whistles and violins. The devotion and long hours of rehearsal put in by Deby and these musicians was evident in their performance that evening. Deby's pride and enthusiasm were also very evident as they played through their selections.

I kept thinking of the Meryl Streep movie, Music of the Heart, as I watched Deby on-stage with her musical charges. It was a great thing to see and hear, and brought home more than ever why music and other arts are so important for us all.

That's it for this time. Stay in touch. Happy trails.

E-mail Mary McCaslin at roundup@marymccaslin.com