“My only weapon is my pen, I’m a songwriter…” “Poet” –Sly Stone Sly Stone finally decided to tell his story. It’s a wild ride. Sly & The Family Stone operated at the top of the music world in the late 60s and early 70s until drugs destroyed everything. Written...
“Democracy don't rule the world You better get that through your head This world is ruled by violence But I guess that’s better left unsaid.” –Bob Dylan One of Ernest Hemingway’s first jobs was serving as an ambulance driver in WWI. The job often entailed Hemingway...
In March 2005, I was scheduled to interview Hunter S. Thompson after three requests over a year’s period. I considered giving up after my third request until Thompson’s agent called me to say the interview was set for March 1. Unfortunately, nine days before the...
In 2016, Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart) was awarded five million dollars in back royalties. For years, Sly lived in an RV, and before that he was homeless. The story of Sly & The Family Stone cuts to the bone. This article originally coincided with the release of...
This lone structure is near Jordan, Georgia. Another cultural symbol from a bygone era. A portrait that represents farming and the America forest with a low-to-the-ground aesthetic. This place always reminds me of tree farmer Chuck Leavell, keyboardist for the Rolling...
Peace…Like a River counts as Gov’t Mule’s twelfth studio album, and it’s one of their most complex. The first cut, “Same As It Ever Was” contains an emotive opening riff as the song travels into jazz territory. The past, present and future serves as a recurring theme...
"After Chicago we played Miami again, and some one-nighters in northern Florida and Georgia, with a two-night stand at the famous Royal Peacock Club on Auburn Street in Atlanta..." --Don Nix Don Nix’s book Road Stories And Recipes contains personal music experiences...
Alan Lomax once declared the Golden Isles of Georgia home of the American song. Get In Union: Bessie Jones with the Sea Island Singers and Others, a 2 CD set, features 26 previously unreleased tracks. This collection truly captures essential roots of American music....
I conducted this interview in the spring of 2006 with Mrs. Frankie Quimby. She grew up on the Georgia sea islands. Her ancestors were traced all the way back to the Foulah Tribe in Africa. This interview is American history of the highest order. After four...
“I’d like to point out to people the divine in a musical language that transcends words. I want to speak to their souls.” –John Coltrane John Coltrane’s music emits an unmistakable sound. The album Coltrane Plays the Blues, released in 1962, ranks as one of Coltrane’s...