DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS

There was nobody like Lou Reed, and there is no Sunny Song like Dirty Blvd: a black and white hellscape, described by a cynic past being surprised by any indignity - yet, still managing to extract beauty and hope out of the filthy miasma. When the Statue of Bigotry says: “give me your hungry, your tired, your poor, I’ll piss on them” you know this Jeremiah is decrying the bitter truth about our pr...

Richard Lewis " This is Joyce, Richard’s wife. Thank you for your loving tributes. He would be beyond thrilled and so touched, as am I. In response to the many queries , I know Richard would appreciate donations in his memory to the Los Angeles based charity http://comedygivesback.com or the charity of your choice." " If you wish to know who Richard Lewis truly was, I urge you to se...

Noel Coward (1899-1973), that epitome of British sophistication, was an invention. He was entirely self educated, having left school at 9 years old to pursue a career on the stage. After a modest success as an actor, he switched to playwriting in 1924 with The Vortex - (in order to write a good part for himself) - and set the theatrical world on fire. The combination of his jaw-dropping verbal dex...

THE NERVE REUNION This is Bill Mesnik of the Splendid Bohemians with a musical tale that could Hit A Nerve with you: Sometimes life surprises you, and families are created and sustained where you don’t expect. I belong to a garage band brotherhood, consisting of five late-life Peter Pans, swaddled in the moon-glow of teenage rock n roll dreams, and dedicated to the proposition that all musical tal...

                                                              Welcome To Hotel Bohemia Eccentric. Rebellious. Amoral, quite often. But bohemianism was, maybe still is, about much more than just frightening the horses. The writer Virginia Nicholson recently told the Today programme that "in a sense, we are all bohemians today". But what is a bohemian, how do you spot one, and might you be...

David Lindley was one of a kind - The ultimate sideman.  “The Prince of Polyester” played a mind-boggling array of exotic stringed instruments and musical genres with swing and inventiveness. One of the pillars of the Southern California folk-rock sound that dominated the airwaves in the 70s, this Sancho Panza to the dueling Quixotes of Jackson Browne and Ry Cooder was founder of the legendary 196...

The earth shifted for me when I heard Uncle Dave Macon for the first time. This was when the Harry Smith Anthology was released on CD in 1997. The energy of this man, swingin’ his claw hammer banjo and elating me with his infectious humor, brought the sepia-toned 19th century to boisterous life, and I was smitten.  I began listening to, and reading, as much as I could get my hands on, and although...

HOTEL BOHEMIA IS DESIGNED TO LEAD YOU TO A DESTINATION CONSTRUCTED WITH THE HOPE OF EXAMINING THE HOLY PAST, THE PUZZLING PRESENT AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF OUR IMPENDING FORTUNES. THIS PROGRAM IS DEDICATED WITH LOVE TO THOSE WHO INSPIRED THE ARCHITECTURE OF THIS HOTEL BOHEMIA PREVIEW: MEL BLANC, PHIL OCHS, ANDY DEVINE, SAM LAY, EUGENE O'NEILL, ROBERT RYAN, NICK GRAVENITES, BEN WEBSTER, DAVID M...

"I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will...Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act as if freedom of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a responsible being." - Albert Einstein, " Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." — John F. Kenne...

There was a crippling blizzard in Iowa in April of 1973. Over a foot of snow fell, coupled with 50-70 mph winds. But, inside my dormitory at U of I, I was warmed by the eternal sunshine of Pentangle’s evocation of the 12th century. The plangent voice of Jacqui McShee, accompanied by John Renbourn and Bert Jansch’s jazz infused “baroque folk” sustained me throughout that challenging season.  Not us...

The original line up of Traffic had it all: mysticism, funk, folk, world music, and a healthy dose of irony. For an acid head like me they were the perfect accompaniment for a trip through shifting patterns of synchronicity. Of course, Traffic was helmed by the one and only Steve Winwood, who as a teenager impressed the world, shouting the blues on “I’m a Man,” and “Keep on Running” with the Spenc...

Bizarre was originally formed in 1967 as a production company when Frank Zappa and his manager Herb Cohen negotiated their own production deal with Verve Records. The purpose of forming his own production company was to give Zappa complete creative control over his work and the works he planned to produce for others. Bizarre Records was then established in 1969 along with a companion label, Straig...

Buck Owens (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), and Dwight Yoakam (b. October 23, 1956) :  two master navigators of a very unique tributary along the stream of popular music, inspired and learned from each other - one, being the progenitor of the "Bakersfield Sound", and the other his adopted musical progeny.   "The Streets of Bakersfield," originally recorded by Buck Owens in 1...

DELICIOUS by Jim Backus and Friend (Jubilee, 1958) This lascivious one-off came to me via Dr. Demento, the famed broadcaster and collector of novelty records. The evocative cocktail music by Mort Garson and Buddy Kaye sets the salacious scene. I immediately recognized the familiar voice of the tipsy seducer as Jim Backus  (known for Mr. Magoo and Thurston Howell III). But, who was that sexy siren...

The singer-songwriter’s singer- songwriter; the Americana artist’s Americana artist, John Hiatt doesn’t get anywhere near the respect he deserves. From way back in 1974, when 3 Dog Night made a hit out of “Sure as I’m Sittin’ Here”, up to today, Hiatt has written and recorded more classic songs than most, and although his voice sounds like vinegar on sand paper, I love his unique vocalizations. He...

"MY HEART TOOK A LEAP - THE POETIC INNOCENCE OF THE SHANGRI-LAS" - RICH BUCKLAND'S EPIPHANY NOTEBOOK Like so many pre teens growing up in the sixites I slept with a transistor radio under my pillow. That receiver was the best friend a 12 year old could possibly have. It told me only what I wanted to hear and unlike the parental tunes regulary dispensed, I could slide the dial to ano...

Call it “dream logic”; call it a time-collapsing mind meld. It came to me in a dream: a snatch of nonsense lyric and melody, an ear-worm summoned up from 60 years in the past. I didn’t know what it was, why it was teasing me, or precisely where it came from, but there it was… “and, so on, so on, so forth…” What was it?  I googled just that much, and up it came: “The Hut-Song,” sung by the eponymou...

Bayside High School in Queens, New York began an early celebration of its 80th anniversary, making it one of the oldest public schools in the five boroughs. At a ceremony Saturday, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), state Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) and state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) gathered with students, staff and alumni of the storied school to mark the occasion. The lawmakers pr...

Buck Owens (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), and Dwight Yoakam (b. October 23, 1956) :  two master navigators of a very unique tributary along the stream of popular music, inspired and learned from each other - one, being the progenitor of the "Bakersfield Sound", and the other his adopted musical progeny.   "The Streets of Bakersfield," originally recorded by Buck Owens in 1...

How does one define Romance in the era of "me, too"?   Bill and Rich, The Splendid Bohemians, wrestle with this question as they examine the work of the man who was dubbed "France's Frank Sinatra." Charles Aznavour (22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018), one of Armenia's favorite sons, was a cultural force as a singer, writer-composer, actor, and artistic diplomat around the...

Getz and Gilberto - an immortal pair of musical lovers - The Czar and Czarina of sexy insinuation. The coolest purveyors of cool jazz, swinging sweetly with a Portuguese inflection. Just try to listen to them without moving involuntarily -  you can’t. Before you know it, your shoulders will be swaying gently in the fragrant summer breeze that perfumes the air all around you with longing and lust. ...

On Aug. 18, 1969, legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix stepped onto the stage at the Woodstock, N.Y., Music Festival and embarked upon an uninterrupted set lasting nearly two hours--one of the longest performances of his career. FOUR MONTHS LATER........... December 31, 1969 - Prior to their two concerts later that evening, Hendrix and his Band Of Gypsys held an afternoon sound check and rehearsal at...

Starting with the salutary opening voice over: “The Sir Douglas Quintet is back, we’d like to thank all our beautiful friends all over the country and all the beautiful vibrations, we love you…” - this Tex-Mex, flower-power rave up let’s you know that you’re in for a groovy ride. Doug Sahm’s Tejana inflected combo from the borderlands broke up after their weed bust, and he relocated to the Bay Are...

https://www.fayboundalberti.com/blog/2017/10/19/its-not-unusual-says-tom-jones-but-he-misses-the-point What goes around, comes around. Tom Jones, the happily married man who claimed to have slept with 250 women in a single year opens up about his own sexual harassment early in his career.

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