The late Armando Manzanero was a colleague of mine when I lived in Mexico City in 1967. Following is an extract from my memoir, “Manzanero, Mexico, My Dear Old San...

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A NEW RECORD In October we went to see The Who at Toyota Center in Houston. The band opened with a lengthy but incomplete selection from Tommy. After a few minutes, I realized I was singing along, easily recalling all the words...

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When I was collaborating with Armando Manzanero at the RCA Victor Recording Studios in Mexico City in 1967, he was in the process of recording the very first LongPlay of his own songs. That LP soon would flood the Spanish...

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asked here in an interview about my relation with poetry of the english language. i replied very quickly, none not now, or of my time or even of the last century. dylan thomas & hart crane, ed dorn but...

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There is nothing incongruous about “Danny Boy” sung in Spanish. Why not? Because of the San Patricios. Who the heck are they? During the Mexican-American War, many immigrants from Ireland crossed the border to fight with Mexico; that’s what they...

scattering the sheets of paper over the lake i sent out boats to gather them in an order only you could understand. only then could i allow you to read the pages as i wrote them. yes only then. that...

A few months ago, I met Taiwanna Anthony on Facebook and we started talking. She told me about a radio show (CURT’S COMEDY CHAPEL) she works for and asked if I'd like to be a guest. I was unsure at...

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Okay. I’ll admit it. Much to my dismay, I collect Pez candy dispensers. It began innocuously enough. My wife announced I needed a hobby to occupy my time and inquired what I would like to do. I’ve learned throughout...

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A few months ago, lyrics to a song about Los Angeles came to me out of the blue. That same blue magnet extracted the melody to, “Our Lady of the Angels.” I have a long history with L. A., so...

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Asked here in an interview about my relation with poetry of the English language. i replied very quickly, none. Not now, or of my time or even of the last century. Dylan Thomas & Hart Crane, Ed Dorn but very...

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Still in venue-change mood at Stacey’s Piano Bar in Palm Springs, Tommy Dodson sings and plays the title song from our first original stage musical, “Playing the Game.” (See link below) Although we still stand by the great variety...

Now ensconced at the grand, see-through piano at Stacy’s Piano Bar in Palm Springs, CA, Tommy Dodson sings, “We’re Still Together”. (Link below) More than 20 years ago, the song now known as, “We’re Still Together” was a melody without...

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In a bittersweet departure, Tommy Dodson, as bawdy house blues baron Spats Dollar, bids us adieu with a fond toodle-oo. As a matter of fact, “Toodle-oo” (Link below) is the title of the song we last hear in this...

Judi Dench and Ali Fazal harmonize superbly well in this cinematic correction of an almost obliterated, salient fact in the life of a racially and culturally –open, earthy queen whom sphincter-clenched historians have attempted to keep in a time-antiseptic closet....

Tommy Dodson, in the persona of his dual characters “Fats Dollar/Thad Johnson,” continues the story of, “Blues, Booze and Attitude.” After a rollicking night at Ma Danner’s bawdy house as the ivory-tickling singer Spats, Thad is at home, preparing...

In this third edition of songs from our one-man musical, “Blues Booze and Attitude,” Tommy Dodson, as Thad Johnson/Spats Dollar, bounces from the church right back into the devil’s playground of Ma Danner’s sinful, gentlemen’s parlor. This time, with...

A summer breeze,The Butterfly Effect –They are both at ease, till –“What the hack!”Well, that’s my point,Your brilliant round-heads --They’re out of joint;You’re off your meds.You know what I’m capable of;You’ve used me thus far;I’ve served you below and above.How...

After 20 years of only modestly presenting our works to the public, Tommy Dodson and I, as the entity, “Musical SoCal,” have decided to latch our fortunes onto the YouTube spinning wheel. Since our forte is stage musicals, we were...

We sit together and remember that time. When it was possible to think each other as geometric symbols in a system that we would never understand. I love you. When angels arrive you will recognize them with their filthy...

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Although Jacquelynn Kresman was born in Lorain, Ohio, she came west with her parents when very young and has always thought of herself as a ‘native’ of beautiful San Diego, California. The family built a home in the Point Loma...

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KEEPING BUSYJuly 4, 2017 Mimi liked the Phillies. She would sit in her chair in the living room and listen to every game on her small transistor radio. But her hands were never idle. As she listened, her hands were...

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For more than 20 years, MusicalSoCal.com (MSC) and its predecessor have been producing stage-musical works. Adjusting to ongoing changes among stage, video and film production, MSC is in the process of altering its output to conform to the new reality....

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In late winter there's not much color in the midwest. The ladscapes are fifty shades of gray covered by white. Then... Spring! Color returns, birds add both visual and auditory stimulation. It's great to be outside and not freezing cold....

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This body-of-mine is political. This body has been falling apart since 2005. This body-of-mine remains immensely strong. This body-of-mine remains & a beautiful 'chose'. It is necessary to understand that the first experience of the body, for the poor, is...

It's been a long dreary winter here and frankly I've had enough of it. I'm ready for something different. I shouldn't complain, it's not like it was when I was young and winter meant snow and cold guaranteed. These days...

At a pre-arranged meet-and-greet, prior to his concert on February 18 at the Poway Performing Arts Center, guitarist/singer/composer Jose Feliciano mingled with attendees and guests of the San Diego Braille Institute. The meeting, which included admission to the concert, was...

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Just before the election is probably not the best time to post a photo essay. Then again if you (like me) try to tune out the final few days and just wait for the damn results, then this might be...

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ALTER EGO: Bob, you’re wanted on the phone. BOB DYLAN: Who is it? ALTER EGO: They say they’re calling from Oslo,Norway. BOB DYLAN: I don’t know nobody in Norway. ALTER EGO: They say it’s about the Nobel Prize....

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According to Malcolm Gladwell, David was the aggressor, and Goliath a plodding patsy! Malcolm Gladwell is a brilliant, Canadian author, born in England of mixed-race; parents. Gladwell has made a literary career of looking at life from the other side...

"pour qu’en rentrant la nuit dans notre chamber nous acceptions l’inacceptable."János Pilinszky hymn for Les Nga Tai belovedit waswhat you expected beingrecessesfrom north burning ground horsesheight of clouds throneof fleshunder stars disappearinginto dark starthreshgo downto water see spectreshadowsconceivein...

With June coming to a close, I feel like the spring we look forward to so much in this climate was gone in a flash. Winter lingers, but spring pops up and makes a rapid passage to summer's warm and...

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for the people & city of Fallujah and The Remember Fallujah Project after fall blastbrings youto bay blownfrom roomto river runswithblood speed of sound dark dark darkdeal ...

It is not unusual for me to receive a snail-mail letter from my friend Dr. Vincent Jubilee, resident in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is still resisting the Digital Revolution. Vincent is a family friend from Philadelphia. After decades, we...

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As I walk (or drive) around I am constantly finding things that make me stop, reach for the camera and record them. Now, some things are obvious and scream out "shoot this" and would speak to just about anyone. A...

The stage-management of it all might have been a conspiracy of nature and the departed personage himself. As the shocked, disbelieving throngs seemingly, are mechanically drawn to the Paisley Park palace, a soft rain of insinuated, purple passion pelted down...

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Following are the cover notes for, “Songs – Dodson – Long,” a CD album of original songs by Tommy Dodson and Curtis W. Long, under the rubric of Musical SoCal.com. This album consists of a portion of the collection...

Auguste Reading to Her Daughter, Mary Cassatt - 1910, public domain Bibliophile: noun 1. a person who loves or collects books, especially as examples of fine or unusual printing, binding, or the like. That would be a pretty good definition of...

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There are three strains of blood which flow Within these veins of mine I know Tossed by chance like a throw of dice On an isle in paradise.   Its evidence isn’t hard to see Go ahead take a look...

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" 'TWAS THE FRIDAY BEFORE X-MAS "(based on a true story. I think...) 'Twas the Friday before X-Mas, and stuck in my brain.Was my plan to kill Santa, with a gun or by train.The list of my options I hung...

learningfrom legba how to howl sing trace his tongue distancebetween shadow speaking silencepapa legba sometimes you sleep on my shoulder limbslike dark sheets on death's bed so it issaid sit therewatching you clear head so clear seeing scenesfrom strugglei never...

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES:  Feed Me Dammit When my son is hungry, he will eat the fastest most convenient thing he can find. He will not wait for a piece of toast if he can eat the bread now....

After years of failed attempts I was finally able to make a trip to the Salsa ‘Mecca’ of the Midwest: The Chicago International Salsa Congress! I have been told for a long time ‘Michal, you got to attend that Congress!’...

(for karen) goneso quicklysister the twoof us bothlaying hospitalbeds they took youtoo farto comeback herethey micromanagemachinery my annihilationbegstodiffer differencedefinition placeon my gravepearl

Carol King was one of the most prolific song writers no one ever heard of before the release of her breakout album “Tapestry” released 45 years ago (1971). Her vast songbook, including those co-written with Gerry Goffin, are among some...

    The ongoing literary controversy over Harper Lee's newly discovered manuscript, Go, Set a Watchman, seems to mimic our attitude of downplaying the true, racist nature of the American experience – both pre- and post-1776. The Harper Lee novel,...

A Tribute to Satchmo At the turn of the 20th Century, music in America was dramatically changing. No longer were tunes from German pianist Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) or American Harvard music professor / pianist, John Knowels Paine (1839-1906) the...

So after a late start, the season finally caught up with us here in Wisconsin. A whole bunch of Robins who decided to stay around have got to be regretting that decision after a week of single digit temperatures. At...

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES:  The Road Trip One of my favorite genres of American movies is the ROAD TRIP.  The road trip is a uniquely American institution dating all the way back to the westward expansion. Imagine walking to...

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    Listening to the disembodied ebony-tinted shrieks of rejection emanating from Hollywood, one might imagine that the Ku Klux Klan had appropriated the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences, and replaced the Hollywood Sign with a flaming cross!...

  horsey ô horsey ebony horsey horsey ebony ocean pain promises return to every organ most marked precision marks each moment of night beloved side by side stutter passion under or wings wanton loved limbs armed against assembly who...

  horsey ô horseyebony horsey codeyou confirmedunder sheetsof streets& seas conductedyour miraculouscaress callingdemandinghow longhad i died so sheshould sing to seasthat weresister wellwelled up in herfor timeturned by torso she turnsher& screamssong thumped& threadedthrough thisbiography withoutbitterness oceancovered in gates& doors...

    My Musical SoCal colleague Tommy Dodson and I are delighted to pass on the merry wishes of our melodious muses, as represented in the below lyrics, and as sung by Tommy Dodson.     HUSH, IT'S...

    My love with Salsa dancing started during summer of my Junior year in high school, the summer of 1999, the summer of the Latin Explosion! Across the Top 40 airwaves you could tune in any day and time...

    Earlier this year, IFZ introduced the phenomenally gifted, young guitarist Eric Wesling. The occasion was his initiation into the exploding San Diego jazz scene. It took place at Croce's, a long-standing music temple to Jim Croce, established...

Here in Wisconsin October was strangely warm and the usual bluster was replaced by shirtsleeves and yet another chance to get that yard work done! If not for the fact that the sun sets so damn early now, it hardly...

   

  o, these past X number of Sundays, the Idiot Free Zone group on Facebook has been jointly, and solely for our own amusement, creating a weekly ad hoc musical melange comprised of YouTube offerings from the worlds of pop,...

    1.for whomwere you waiting brother waitingat wellwith eaglesstretching wings sieges in hell 2 . begin keep ongoing formidable forceof fluidpasses lips praise tongueimmolatingon ice far outthere poleto pole meridianin mouth clenching breaththen beatingitfree it freebrother 3. come...

  Moving to your own beat is all you can do to stay sane. Chicago-based musician and performance artist Edwin Days is a shining example of that. Edwin kept his wits about while growing up gay in an extremely homophobic...

    In this solemn act of remembering, the poet pulls onto his shoulders the terrible weight of 'this world gone wrong' and bears it for us all. Continuing a tradition of Mayakovsky and Hikmet to read to people publicly...

Summer in Wisconsin is humid, hot, dry mostly, and the intense green of few weeks ago is broken up with some yellows and maybe even the occasional red (no!) The Mosquitos are not as bad as a couple weeks ago...

    captainof deathcoughedhis wayinto life dadcoughingto death in coldstorage claimedhim consumingown breath layingdown for decades spittlesalivamucusblood breathbatteringbreath breathafter batteringbreath relapseafterrelapse ratseating outon organs beingbetrayedby blood& breath chasingcuresicknesschasing youfaster& faster bending downto bed& pillowabsorbing blood hackingin homeput meto sleep...

    passingpiteous nightnownight hoursof horses stillsweatsmotherssleep atlastbeastbelieves breathinterruptingbreath consoledby creatures vitalfluid's virtue been burningfrom beginning truthtoldin wordor lessthan that faithful to fluid praiseopen pores only departingappreciate after afterafter two bodiesfrom before before before two bodiesbreaking overone another inarms over...

cainburning sun for solace goearlier storysung cantata clingto tale marchtowards figuresin landscape horses runninginto darksun slipspeakingin dead languages benefitbreath i don'thave threadfamilyshadow hide hairunder pillow beginwith bloodshed gointo roomof remains placetime conceptsso specious we won't go waves wipeawayweeping beautiful& gauntapocalypseentire...

My favorite time of day. Just before it's too dark to get a photo of anything but maybe a full moon.  Barn at twilight. The last drop of light caught this scene.  Sumac sunset. Birch. The...

  Jerry Seinfeld is stuck in time. His brilliant, long-running TV show was so universally appreciated that it has left the language replete with Seinfeldisms: Elaine: I don't see how you guys walk around with those things' George: I think...

    caincome observe mouthcrushtongue abrahamkillson workonwound togethertiecord to corpse collectcarrion while waitingforboatseawoman firsttolast fallecho echo'sfall suffocatedsing mutemelodiesmurdertaught in spacescripture stole alwaysleaving bloodon stones assimilateannihilation faithin fear faithin being wiped off faceof earth fulfillmentof firstinstant expectoratingextinctionfrom first breathtolast breathtolast verdictpure...

caincomeno manno mysteryto man standingin silhouettes bloodstains atmosphereof undertow caincomeenquirelittle lighti hold onlyout ofvanity embellishend listen lightlycainno one elsecancome condition&consequence catastrophic shadowssynthesizeso justso youhurryto yearn to constructvicinities intolerablelingeringin rottenleaves where oxen'sheartsinthisheat consumeallconstructions togetherwe treadin allthisflesh organsvases wraith'swrath art ofannihilatingall go...

Spring is the theme. Random observations from the last couple weeks of living. Spring is nature's way of saying - 'it's on'! Waiting for the action! Hawk's Wing mushroons. A young Sandhill Cane at work. Two and...

A couple of years ago, I stopped just merely living in my environment and I started actually seeing it. Being a collector by nature, I started compulsively capturing the back-drops that I passed by and through daily while on my...

Eric Wesling, a confident, 15-year-old guitarist – as a fifth of the Julian Esparza Quintet -- graced the stage of San Diego’s perennial jazz venue, Croce’s. It was a recent Wednesday night, which Croce’s reserves for its Young Lions program,...

pulse remembering vocabulary break down bird’s wing way you have with beasts & martyrs we are slaves to movement watch rapace glide gaze with eyes closed first...

still dead sisters & brothers singing to me from la drang valley & brest litovsk are not abstract skins covering skins blood debts determined when light breaks morning's majesty ...