Tom Waits no more.

Not like he's been waiting around thinking, "when am I gonna be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame". But now it's his turn. Check out this NPR story on, I believe, one of the most unique voices in music.

Three favorite Waits' tune - cover of "Somewhere" (West Side Story), "Make it Rain" and "Better Off Without a Wife". And my favorite - "What's He Building in There?".

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Chapter 1 - "Guitar"; Notes from Lost Man's Lane Cabin, by Richard Le Breton.

Some sort of Star, an out-of-tune Guitar and a headless Ze-bra.

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Happy Birthday, John!

It was John Lennon's birthday yesterday. I missed it. Sorry, John. He would have been 68.
"Sugarplumb fairy, sugarplump fairy..."

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Dan Gibson's one lucky sonofabitch / Brian Wilson's "That Lucky Old Sun" in stores Sept. 2nd!

Brian's new studio album, "That Lucky Old Sun", hits stores September 2nd! Go to Brian Wilson's site and check out this promo video on the release.

In the meantime, I have a Facebook "friend" - Dan Gibson here in Cali - who was invited to see Brian perform at s special event here in LA last week (100 people only) and if you'd like to read his first-person account of the event, "My Big Moment with Brian Wilson", click on READ MORE!

I met Brian myself once while running in Holmby Park (near the Playboy Mansion). I was alone and so was Brian. Our meeting lasted all of 30 seconds or so but I'll remember it as long as I live. I'm a Beach Boys groupie - did you expect anything less? NOTE: Oh - whether you like Brian Wilson's music or not, if you like pretty women, you're definately going to want to continue reading this story to the end.

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"My Big Moment with Brian Wilson"
by Dan Gibson

Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 11:12pm
Last night I was one of one-hundred people (plus one guest each) to attend a special taping of Brian Wilson performing selections from his forthcoming album: “That Lucky Old Sun” at the Nissan Live Sets in Century City, CA. I was also one of six people selected for a Q&A with Brian in-between sets, but did not know this when I arrived. Before the show Karlyn and I were plucked out from the back of the line waiting to get in; had a VIP badge thrown around our necks; and the next thing we knew we were backstage rubbing elbows with personal friends of Brian Wilson and his band.

We then entered the small & stylish studio. Shortly after, Brian and his band entered and were greeted by a thunderous welcome as they took the stage for a riveting set of Beach Boys classics like “California Girls” and “Good Vibrations.”

Then came for me, the big moment of the evening, the Q&A – the chance to speak to a living legend and my hero, Brian Wilson. I was also keenly aware that whatever was about to happen was being filmed and would later be seen by fans from all over the world.

When my turn came, I nervously stepped up to the small circular platform and looked up into the face of Brian Wilson, gazing down at me. I felt like a rowboat peering up at an ocean liner. Suddenly, I was struck with the notion that this was my chance to say whatever I wanted to a man who has been such an inspiration to me. So, after I introduced myself, I drew a deep breath and proceeded to thank him for his willingness to share his gifts with the world. Brian’s head lowered, and the audience swelled into applause, as if to say, “and that goes for us too!”

I then asked my question, which was “What do you love the most about your new album?” In a very un-Brian-like fashion, he gave a long and multifaceted answer, most of which I was unable to comprehend because I was so preoccupied with wondering whether my knees were going to give-way or not.

The band then proceeded to play several selections from the new album: “Forever My Surfer Girl”, “Midnight’s Another Day”, “Goin’ Home” etc. We were rapt. The first line of the final cut, “Southern California” virtually moved me to tears. The long road had led us home again. Brian was back -- & I was called upon to testify.

Once you listen in on “That Lucky Old Sun”, so you shall too.

PS - Oh, right - the pretty woman.

I was looking online for an album image of "That Lucky Old Sun" to use with this post. So I type in "That Lucky Old Sun" and wouldn't you know the very first image that popped up on Google was this one:

What? Well you knew that The Beach Boys' music has always been about sun, surf, cars and chicks, right? How appropo.

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Nothing like a barefoot & pregant Minnie Driver to take my mind off Favre.

I'm sick. And I should've stayed home. I've seen her twice in the last year. But the allure of the artistry of Minnie Driver, for me, is as strong as the sirens, beckoning sailors into shore only to smash their brains upon the rocks then eat their - sorry. Minnie makes me emotional.

As does the Brett Favre/Green Bay Packer drama that's been unfolding and that I've been languishing over (how terribly draining) - as are so many of my friends and family back home in Wisconsin - and I needed to just get away. So, I caught Minnie Driver's show at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood tonite - met a friend from work (Cami) and her friend, Justine. This was Minnie's last show before she pops - this picture was taken this month and as you can see she's due any day.

In case you don't know or haven't read my posts on Minnie in April 2008 or August 2007, she's not only an actress, but a singer/songwriter and one of the top 2 or 3 female voices I've heard in the last 5 years (she had a top hit in the UK before she got her break in American films). I LOVE her shit. That sultry voice of hers takes me away to - well...she just takes me away. And no matter how many times I've seen her perform (3 since August), each time is like it's the first time. Ya gotta check her CD out, Seastories - go to Amazon. Or check her Myspace site.

I LOVE MINNIE DRIVER! Hotel Cafe is an intimate venue and you're right there with Minnie as she performs (you know I met and talked with her in April - uh huh.). So did the people I was with. Minnie played all her best songs and was in perfect voice and for one hour I only thought about Brett Favre once (mental lapse). Congrats, Minnie, in advance on the birth of your child. She's got a talented mum and is a very lucky kid.

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"Ito eats like teeth are going out of style..."

Nothing like doing something on a whim. Just found about the Pier Summer Twilight Dance Series: One Hawaii, this evening. Keali'i Reichel, Hawaii's top selling touring act (below right) and Na Leo (below left), the most popular female group in the history of Hawaiian music will perform a free concert to celebrate Hawaii's statehood. A few more Hawaiian acts will round up the bill, as well as a few hula dancers thrown in for the mix.

(Incidentally, the lyric I used in the post headline is from the song, "Ito Eats", from Blue Hawaii, my favorite Elvis flick.)

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Happy B-day, Brian Wilson!

Brian's birthday is actually Friday - but I'll be in Santa Barbara. All hail, Brian!

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Amy Winehouse naked. Ummm....no thank you.

Troubled Amy Winehouse has posed for a nude photo shoot to raise breast cancer awareness among young women. The singer appears naked in the April issue of British magazine Easy Living after she stripped off for photographer Carolyn Djangoly. In the black and white snapshot, Winehouse is captured playing a guitar, which covers her genitals, while two pieces of duct tape cover her nipples. The 24-year-old isn't the only celebrity posing naked for the campaign - singer Sade and actress Helena Bonham Carter also removed their clothing for the picture project.

Now - I like her music. Her voice hearkens back to another era and - for a white woman - is as soulful as any black female singer. And the breast cancer cause is wonderful. But to see Winehouse who, I think, looks as if she's suffering from malnutrition, naked? Uh-uh.

One more thing: what is it with female celebrities who pose "naked" for Playboy but don't show anything? Seriously, if you're in Playboy and you're making a big deal about how you did it to capture a moment when you were really "hot", then I wanna see bush. Don't cover it up with your leg or a leaf or your hand. Put up or don't pose. Women are posing left and right wearing next-to-nothing in GQ, Vanity Fair, Esquire, among other magazines, and they cover up those "questionable" areas. That's OK. But if you pose for a nudie magazine, I want to see you NUDE.

Which begs me to ask the other question (a question asked by many, I suppose): what is it about a woman's nipple that's the make or break body part when it comes to nudity in magazines or on film? You can show an entire breast but not the nipple. What IS the deal with the nipple?

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The Ventures. The DC5, Madonna, John Cougar and Leonard Cohen on their way to the R&R Hall of Fame

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pop star Madonna, folk singer Leonard Cohen, rocker John Mellencamp, British pop band The Dave Clark Five and instrumental group The Ventures will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday.

Artists become eligible for the Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first single or album and are represented in an exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland, Ohio. "The 2008 inductees are trailblazers -- all unique and influential in their genres," said Joel Peresman, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation president. "From poetry to pop, these five acts demonstrate the rich diversity of rock and roll."

For '60s British band The Dave Clark Five -- Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Denis Payton and Mike Smith -- the induction will be bittersweet after lead singer Smith, 64, died late last month from pneumonia. He had been paralyzed from the waist down after suffering a spinal cord injury in 2003.

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He was extremely excited and honoured to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and I am glad that he will be remembered as a Hall of Famer because he was in so many ways," Smith's agent, Margo Lewis, said when he died.

The Dave Clark Five topped the British charts in 1965 with "Glad All Over" and were described by the foundation as "an enormous pop phenomenon" before disbanding in 1970. The group has sold more than 50 million albums to date. The band will be inducted by actor Tom Hanks and there will be a special performance in its honour.

While The Dave Clark Five and Mellencamp had been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before, this was the first year Madonna was eligible. She will be inducted by pop star Justin Timberlake and Iggy & The Stooges will perform on her behalf.

Madonna, 49, made her debut in 1982 and her first album "Madonna" included hits such as "Holiday," "Borderline" and "Lucky Star" which helped her become one of the best-selling pop artists, with more then 200 million albums sold worldwide. She chose not to perform at the ceremony.

Mellencamp released his first album in 1976 and has often sung about the flawed American dream, which led the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation to dub him a "symbol of the hopes, struggles and passions of America's heartland."

"I'm very honoured and pleased to be recognized this way, especially among people whom I greatly admire," Mellencamp said on his Web site, www.mellencamp.com. He will be inducted by entertainer Billy Joel and will perform at the ceremony.

Cohen, a gravel-voiced Canadian whose songs tell of love and sex, faith and betrayal, is among the most literary of songwriters. He published four books of poetry and two novels before trying music, partly to escape life as a starving artist. The foundation described him as "folk rock icon of the singer songwriter movement." He will be inducted by Lou Reed and Irish folk singer Damien Rice will perform for him.

Hits by the Ventures -- Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Gerry McGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson -- include "Walk Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O" and the foundation credits the band with defining instrumental guitar rock in the 1960s.

The group will be inducted by John Fogerty and will perform at the New York City ceremony. Along with the five performers, the song writing and producing team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff will be inducted in the non-performer category and the late Little Walter in the "sideman" category for his "pioneering use of the microphone (that) helped establish the modern blues harmonica."

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Happy Birthday, Denny!

The incomparable drummer Dennis Wilson, who with brothers Brian Wilson and Carl Wilson, cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine, formed The Beach Boys. Dennis was the only one who surfer; he suggested "surfing" as the theme for the first hit song, cleverly titled, "Surfin'".

He passed away in 1983. I miss him terribly. You know how when you've never met someone but have an idea of what they may have been like? Dennis' music is truly a window into his soul. I never got the chance to meet him but I'm fortunate to have met and talked with people, at length, who did know him - his ex-wives, Barbara Wilson and Karen Lamm; his sons; John Stebbins, author of Dennis Wilson, The Real Beach Boy and Ed Roach, friend to Dennis and photographer for The Beach Boys, among others. Whatever picture I had painted in my head about Dennis was true - all of it. Here are some of Dennis' more lively quotes:

"They say I live a fast life. Maybe I just like a fast life. I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world. It won't last forever, either. But the memories will."

"Brian Wilson is the Beach Boys. He is the band. We're his fucking messengers. He is all of it. Period. We're nothing. He's everything."

"I made a dollar a day sweeping a laundry out. Then we made a record that was number two in Los Angeles. We got so excited hearing it on the radio that Carl threw up."

"I hope that the karma will fuck up Mike Love's meditation forever. That album is an embarrassment to my life. It should self-destruct."
- 1979 on M.I.U.

"If there wasn't The Beach Boys and there wasn't music, I would not even talk to them. But through music I fell in love with my brothers."

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Separated at birth? Jesca Hoop, that song of hers I hate, and Tanna Frederick.

She’s an indie singer/songwriter that I hear on NPR all the time.

Finally figured out today that she belongs to this particular song and when I hear it I go ballistic. It’s called Summertime and it’s on her latest album, Kismet.

I hate this song. Hate as in I want the song to die. Now - I have listened to some of Hoop’s other stuff (sampled, more like it) and I enjoy her. But this song – Summertime – it reminds me of a quote from the movie, The Dirty Dozen. Telly Savalas’ character, Archer Maggot yells down to the other soldiers who are listening to a woman singing on a phonograph, I think, and he yells out (and I’m paraphrasing), “You shut that wailing bitch up!”.

I’m not calling Jesca Hoop a wailing bitch. Just the two are three lyric sections where she sounds like “a wailing bitch”. Might also be a result of overdubbing. But the sound makes me wanna wring her neck. Grating. Give it a listen and see what you think.

(I think Jesca Hoop bears some resemblance to an actor-friend of mine, Tanna Frederick - right. Or Tanna bears a resemblance to Jesca. No?)

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Origami No. 7 - "Del Rey's Lament"

Here's a blues song I wrote for my play, "Chromosome 21". Del Rey, a guitar player who sings for coins in the street, is the imaginary friend of Joshua Cinrick, who has Down Syndrome and is celebrating his 21st birthday. Joshua's father abandoned the family ten years ago and Del Rey is Joshua's way of coping with his father's leaving - Joshua "talks" to Del Rey and Del Rey serves as a sort of "mentor" toward Joshua, teaching him about playing the guitar and singing 'da Blues'. Sing a-long, if you'd like - just pick any blues melody and you're all set.

Can’t you hear the jingle jangle,
of my cup that’s filled with coins.
Can’t you hear the jingle jangle,
Like a lil’ kid with a brand, new toy.
There’s a lot a people passin' by,
Still my cup ain’t made no noise.

I’m just a tumbleweed, baby,
My venue is the lonely road.
I’m just a tumbleweed, a'tumblin',
Don’t own nothin' save my soul.
I’m a singer with no nightclub, baby,
Playin' the blues, that’s all I know.

I was born a poor, black child, (with no daddy)
outside a’Memphis - some no-good town.
I was born a poor, black child, uh-h, huh,
walkin' 'round with just a frown.
That’s where I cut these teeth on blues,
Lord, that curse done bring me down.

I’m just a tumbleweed, baby,
My venue is the lonely road.
I’m just a tumbleweed, a'tumblin',
Don’t own nothin' save my soul.
I’m a singer with no nightclub, baby,
Playin' the blues, that’s all I know.

Got no one to come home to,
Lie in bed awake all alone.
Got no one to come home to,
My body’s achin', can’t you hear it moan?
It’s the life that I was meant to live,
It’s a song, that’s just a poem.

I’m just a tumbleweed, baby,
My venue is the lonely road.
I’m just a tumbleweed, a'tumblin',
Don’t own nothin' save my soul.
I’m a singer with no nightclub, baby,
Play’in the blues, that’s all I know.

There’s a lot a people passin' by,
Still my cup ain’t made no noise.

I sing about what’s wrong with life,
Lord, it’s sho’ a heavy load.

Got a long road ahead a me,
Lord (Pause) - have mercy on my soul.

© 2005 Jeffrey James Ircink

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