Well, I'm The Kind Of Guy

who'll never settle down...

This Dion & the Belmonts song popped into my head as I read the latest National Geographic. The issue delved into explorers and man's wanderlust. Two items fascinated me.

One was about a Polynesian, Tupaia, who assisted Captain Cook on his first voyage of the South Pacific. Tupaia navigated the Endeavour to several islands with out referring to a map or instruments. As he did this, officers and sailors would ask him to point the away back to Tahiti. Each time the islander would point in the correct direction without use of a compass or sextant.

I smile thinking of the Royal Navy bristling with the 18th century's newest, technological navigational advances, befuddled by this half-naked savage's mastery of the vast Pacific. His understanding of  ocean currents, wind, weather and the stars showed ingenuity and intelligence. Nothing amuses me more that the comeuppance of the arrogant.

The other addressed our insatiable curiosity into what lies over the horizon. Our closest ancestor, the Neanderthal, spent 100,000 years (give or take a millennia) in Europe and central Asia. Yet in 50,000 years, homo sapiens had migrated to every part of the planet. Why?

As scientists probe deeper into the human genome, interesting hypotheses arise. A DNA variant, DRD4-7R is thought to stimulate our wanderlust. Those with this strand are never satisfied with the here. They desire the over there. The truly fascinating thing is this strand can also trigger ADHD. Possibly, that annoying kid bouncing off the walls could be our next star galaxy explorer.

As with everything, one detail cannot explain our actions. Despite our desire for simple solutions and penchant for short sound bites to explain complex problems,  most answers are complicated and fleeting. The more we delve into life's mysteries, the more convoluted our problem solving becomes. Something to think about indeed.


I'm thinking about a new tattoo of "...Rosie on my chest. Cause I'm the wanderer..." As ever BB

"Not all those who wander are lost." - J.R.R. Tolkien

Soothing the Savage Beast

This post's title comes from one of the most common misquotes: "Music has charm that soothes the savage beast" Most often attributed to Shakespeare, the words actually come from William Congreve's 18th century play, "The Mourning Bride."

We all have savage beasts inside of us. Suppress it as we may, our psyches possess an atavistic, untamed ferocity. If music is the key to tame said beasts, then over the next two weeks Fells Point has the cure you need.

Yes, this is unabashed self-promotion!
Saturday, January 12, Without a Net performs at Leadbetters Tavern from 2pm to 4:30pm.  I will sing, play guitar and tantalize you with tall tales and trivial tidbits,  Big Ed will offer his tasteful guitar accompaniment and Kristin will provide percussion, vocals and her colorful fashion sense.

I want to take time to thank them both. Ed delivers an excellent guitar lead. My "stream of consciousness" set list and musical ADHD can make playing with me a difficult task. Ed's acumen provides me a simpatico support that amazes each time. As for Kristin, I would not be doing this if not for her - enough said. My deepest gratitude to you both.

I hope you can make it down  Saturday afternoon. Our sets at Leadbetters have a relaxed, living-room ambience that makes for a truly pleasurable experience.

To quote those cheesy TV commercials, BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

The following Saturday, January 19 from 4pm until close, it's the Jam to Memphis at the Cat's Eye Pub. Nothin' But Trouble will perform along with several mystery guests. There will be a cover charge to help pay for the band's trip to Memphis to compete in the International Blues Challenge. Hot, new Nothin' But Trouble t-shirts will be for sale. Be one of the first kids on your block to have one!

The Jam to Memphis is one of the hottest shows to hit Fells Point. Come support the band and enjoy this "One Time Only" event.

So mark your calendars and beat your feet to Fells Point over the next two weekends. Your savage beast won't know what hit him/her. As ever - BB

"Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul."  Plato - I didn't realize Mickey Mouse's dog was so deep.

Why?

Actually, today's subject is Y, as in chromosome.

I put up my 1964 aluminum Christmas tree last night. I also have a vintage color wheel bathing the strange silver "branches" in green, yellow, red and blue. From GEM Lighting in Brooklyn, NY, it predates the tree. When I bought the tree at a flea market, it had the original box with the date. Alas, the box has long since deteriorated. I still have the original box for the color wheel, and the address does not have the zip code. Ergo, it was made prior to 1963.

Digression? But of course!
While decorating I had the TV on a program about tracing man's DNA. My divided attention caught little of the program, but I did absorb one fact. Scientists investigating our DNA trail focus only on males. I, myself, prefer focusing on females, but enough digression for one blog.

Humans have two chromosomes; receiving one from each parent. (The following explanation is rudimentary. Apologies for these generalities to the several scientific minds on my blog list) The X chromosome mutates during gestation giving each child his/her unique characteristics. However, the Y chromosome remains unchanged. This perpetual nature allows scientists to chart our heredity. So, that little bugger inside me has not changed over the many male Billings' generations.

I find that fascinating. Many times since my father's death, relatives and family friends have noticed a mannerism, or style of speech that reminded them of my Dad. As I get older, I notice more and more similarities between him and me. Now it all makes sense.

Even more interesting are the differences between my father, my self and my three brothers. We all share the same Y, but we each have unique and, in some ways, dissimilar personalities. Curious how that mutated X we received gave us our remarkable idiosyncrasies.

In the late 60's aggressive researchers vying for government grants, linked LSD use to chromosomal damage. If not for the fact that these studies were proven specious, I could blame that insidious chemical for my strangeness. However, I must chalk up my off-beat, eclectic and, from what some say, annoying personality to that strange XY chromosomal stew.

But what of the nurture vs. nature factor? Sirrah, that for another time! As ever - BB

"Men are all alike-except the one you've met who's different." - Mae West

January 19 - Get Ready for Trouble

Nothin' but Trouble that is...when this band plays it's nothing but a party!

Their repertoire includes Americana and roots music, but under it all is the blues! As Keith Richards said, "If you don't know the blues, there's no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock & roll or any other popular music."

And these four musicians KNOW the blues. So much so, that Nothin' But Trouble will represent the Baltimore Blues Society in the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN (Jan. 29 - Feb. 2). Of course, getting the band and the equipment to Memphis isn't cheap.

So on January 19, the Cat's Eye Pub will host a fundraiser to help the band defray some of those costs. From 4pm to closing, Nothin' But Trouble will be playing and having a jam session with a little help from their friends. I've written about the extraordinary brotherhood which exists among the musicians who play in Fells Point.  On this special Saturday, fellow players and bands will be on stage to help us get Nothin' But Trouble ready to rock'em in Memphis.

It's the Jam to Memphis on Saturday, January 19 at the Cat's Eye Pub in Fells Point from 4pm to close. Yes, the Cat's Eye Pub that was recently named on of Baltimore's 25 Best Bars by Baltimore Magazine.

Mark your calendars, come down, join the party and help the band! - as ever BB

"You got to help me/I can't do it all by myself/You got to help me, baby/I can't do it all by myself" - from Help Me by Sonny Boy Williamson II & Willie Dixon

Click here to hear the full song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhlygCtJFSM

Decade of Assassinations

As a gift from a dear friend, I received a collection of short prose by Charles Bukowski. Written between the late 60s and early 70s, they were published in various small literary and underground  periodicals. One of the pieces, he used the phrase "decade of assassinations" to describe the 60s.

That got me thinking (always a dangerous endeavor) about what went on in the world during my formative years. I believe that eras don't follow decades. 1962 was much more akin to the 50s than what we think of as the turbulent 60s. 1972 was more analogous to the 60s than the stereotype of the polyester, disco 70s. What a surprise, I digress!


Here are the 60s big hits: 1961 - Patrice Lumumba, 1963 - Medgar Evers, 1963 - John F. Kennedy, 1965 - Malcolm X, 1967 - Che Guevara, 1968 - Martin Luther King & Robert F. Kennedy.

Add to that the Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, escalation of war in Southeast Asia, riots in Newark, Detroit and LA, the cultural revolution in China, civil wars in Africa, the Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City, et. al.

So, during this special time of year what am I thankful for? I'm thankful that I'm not more demented than I am. I guess I'll chalk that up to good old rock & roll. As ever - BB



"The 60s ain't over till the fat lady gets high." - Ken Kesey

One Flew East

...one flew west and one flew over the cuckoo's nest"

Those words from a children's counting nursery rhyme provide the title of Ken Kesey's first novel. When he started his creative writing fellowship at Stanford, he was working on a book about San Francisco's North Beach scene called Zoo. However after volunteering for some experiments at a Menlo Park mental hospital (later through FOIA discovered to be the CIA MK-ULTRA project), Kesey began work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

On a side note, that was an extremely talented creative writing class. Other students included Larry McMurtry, Robert Stone, Ed McClanahan, Gurney Norman and Ken Babbs among others. If you're not familiar with their works, do yourself a favor and read some.

Eleven years ago this Saturday, Ken Kesey transcended our plane of existence. The image to the right shows his psychedelic casket being lowered into the grave on his farm in Oregon. The picture is courtesy of his son, Zane's website Key-Z Productions. Check it out. It's full of interesting works, t-shirts, and books.

One summer during my early teens, I read Hunter Thompson's The Hells Angels - A Strange and Terrible Saga, and Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. These led me to reading Kerouac, Kesey and others in the Beat pantheon. Actually, as Kesey put it himself, he was too young for the Beats and too old for the Hippies. In 1966 - he was 31 and technically shouldn't have be trusted, but then you should never trust a prankster.

Did these books begin my trip into the weird and wild, or did my penchant for the offbeat attract me to these books? - my personal chicken or the egg conundrum.

After the promising young author phase, the heady acid tests' haze, the fugitive in Mexico days and the jail faze, Kesey settled down to concentrate on family and his Oregon farm. It's said that when the bus returned from Woodstock and the Dallas Pop Festival (where Hugh Romney received his sobriquet  Wavy Gravy) a sign on the gate to the Kesey farm said "NO".

He continued to write, perform and instigate craziness from his farm for many years. He and the pranksters would show up at various Grateful Dead shows and other concerts, do impromptu performances of his children story, Little Trickster the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear, and his millennia play, Twister. In 1999, the intrepid group shipped a new bus to England, drove around  England, watched the solar eclipse and searched for Merlin the Magician.


When technology advanced to the ether, Kesey and Babbs started and interesting website named IntrepidTrips.com. After his death, his son, Zane started Key-Z Productions and Babbs began skypilotclub.com. Both keep the lifeblood, spirit and creativity of the Merry Pranksters flowing.

After he died, the city of Eugene was graced with a statue of him telling a story to his three grandchildren. To quote his good friend and right hand man, Ken Babbs, Kesey's philosophy was "to treat others with kindness and if anyone does you dirt forgive that person right away. This goes beyond the art, the writing, the performances, even the bus. Right down to the bone." as ever - BB

"A man should have the right to be a big as he feels it's in him to be. " - Ken Kesey

Creature Double Feature

The older I get the more nostalgia rears its ugly mien. I battle those feelings. It is a natural human inclination to look back fondly. However time's rose-colored lens skew reminisces. As Finley Peter Dunne (late 19th/early 20th century humorist from Chicago) said, "The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because it isn't here."

I spurn sentimentality's attempt to make a stooge of me. That being said, last night's airing of the 1963 American International film, The Raven, initiated waves of wistfulness. During a break in the movie, TCM ran an ad that provided impetus for today's blog.

Next Wednesday, October 24, select movie theaters in conjunction with Turner Classic Movies 
will show a double feature of the horror classics, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. The link below shows participating playhouses. 
http://www.fathomevents.com/upcoming/alllocations.aspx?eventid=1105

The opportunity to see these films in a cinema evokes memories of many rainy South Jersey afternoons of my youth. Parents would select one of their group to round up neighborhood children into the ubiquitous station wagon for a trip to the Westmont Theater. Hordes of hellions filled the movie house for a cartoon, selected short and feature film. On special days, a double feature played, so the cartoon and short were omitted.

Normally when the lights dimmed, the theater would erupt into a cacophony of cat-calls and bronx cheers as a barrage of spitballs and candy projectiles filled the air. The exception would be movies like the aforementioned double feature. By then these two classics were over three decades old, yet their power and cinematic splendor would awe the adolescent assembly into rapt silence.

Despite my curmudgeonly cynicism, memories of those afternoons awaken fond thoughts - as ever BB
"...Well, if I could discover just one of these things, what eternity is, for example, I wouldn't care if they did think I was crazy." - Dr. Frankenstein from 1931 film

Trivia Tidbit - Anyone planning to portray Frankenstein's monster on All Hallows' Eve take heed. In doing so, one must decide which monster to depict. (and yes the monster has no name; he is often called Frankenstein, but that is the creator's name, not his.) The picture above is the monster from the original film - notice the fashionable bangs.
The picture to the left is the monster from Bride, and following reputable sequels. (several of ill repute were made) Said bangs were singed off at the end of the original film in the castle's fire which caused the monster to fall through the fiery floor encasing him in the glacier under the castle until found by Igor.