Mailbag

Re: Paolo Nutini
Bob - I've had the pleasure of working with Paolo since he was 15. He is my son's godfather. Obviously I haven't done a great job of making it happen for him over here, but he is truly the real deal and whenever/if he decides to make another record you can bet that it will be special. Donny is a great guy and a great guitar player. Actually everyone who ever played with Paolo was pretty amazing.
Paolo was the last artist that Ahmet personally was somehow involved in signing before he passed away. A couple of hours before Paolo's first real gig at The Mercury Lounge here in NYC my cell phone rang and it was Ahmet calling to strongly suggest that Paolo didn't forget or choose not to play the song "New Shoes" because that was going to be the hit. I couldn't believe that it was actually Ahmet on my phone, so I said "fuck you Strasburg" and I hung up on him.
I have so many absurd/amazing stories about Paolo.
Charles Attal and I trying to teach him how to drive in Luke Wilson’s beat up convertible.
Kirk Sommer and I carrying him back to a hotel after his first experience with a healthy sampling of Willie weed.
Lyor Cohen telling Paolo and I that he was going to slit both our throats at his home when we were inappropriately questioning at 3am if the label was really doing everything they could for us.
Paolo making a live record with The Pres Hall Jazz Band and watching the faces of the legends perk up when they heard Paolo really sing for the first time.
Listening in on a late night chat between Paolo and Ed Sheeran who loved each other. Ed could not believe that Paolo truly only did it for the music and had no real ambition to “make it” in the music biz. Paolo could not believe how focused and ambitious Ed was on his career.
Gregg Nadel and something about a hot tub.
Paolo and Amy Winehouse set up to tour America together and Amy passing away about a month before the tour was about to start. Marc Geiger stepping in to the breach and helping get a whole new tour booked in 3 days.
Paolo opening for the Rolling Stones at the Isle of Wight and Keith asking what song Paolo wanted to play with them. Paolo requested “Love in Vain” which led to a 15 minute argument between Keith, Mick and Ronnie about whether or not that was actually one of their tunes. Charlie finally settled it by whacking his snare and telling the guys that they were embarrassing themselves in front of a 17yr old. They proceeded to run thru the song a couple of times and it was amazing when they did it on stage….a side note to this is that Amy Winehouse was also on the bill and when the Stones asked her what song she wanted to rehearse with them she said that she didn’t need to rehearse anything. I’m pretty sure The Stones fully tanked whatever song it was that she refused to rehearse with them when they got out on stage in front of 60,0000 people.
I could go on forever about him. I think that everyone who worked with Paolo believes that he is a one of a kind human being and artist. The whole team at Atlantic…Julie, Craig, Max Lousada who totally made the magic happen for him in the UK, Angus Baskerville who booked every show he has ever played outside of NA and is the guy who sent me a cd with the demos of what would ultimately turn out to be “These Streets”. Brendan Moon and Mike Bawden who plucked Paolo out of a random talent show somewhere in Glascow that Paolo skipped school to check out.
I truly hope he makes more music because the world sure could use some Paolo magic right now.
Stay safe and healthy.
Luba
Mike Luba
Madison House Presents
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Hi Bob
RE: PAOLO NUTINI
Its Mike Bawden here - Paolo’s manager
Thanks for picking up on Donny’s note and thanks for digging into Paolo’s story & music.
The way you talk about ‘Caustic Love’ is refreshing - thats exactly how Paolo made the record.
And interestingly, you picked up on exactly the songs close to Paolo’s heart - Numpty, Diana, Cherry Blossom ...
Im excited for you to hear his new stuff … which is close to being finished.
Thanks again
Best
Mike
Mike Bawden
Wild Dog MGMT Ltd
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From: Mike Bawden
RE: PAOLO NUTINI
Paolo is the real deal but he does things his way … he follows his own compass!
You’ll like this …
Paolo was Ahmet Ertegun’s last brush with ‘new’ talent (in many ways) - he was blown away by Paolo - Ahmet was exec Chairman at the time - I guess, like a father figure?
Not long after we signed and we first went to New York (2006), Ahmet came to our show at The Mercury Lounge - on two walking sticks - we got to hang with Ahmet quite a few times around that time
In July 2006 - we got to play on the bill of a celebration of Ahmet’s musical life at Montreux Jazz Festival - Robert Plant, Stevie Nicks, Ben E King, Les McCann, Stevie Winwood and, and, and - Nile Rodgers was the MD and house band - we were the only f**kers on the bill we’d never heard of!
And Ahmet appeared during sound check and started getting in behind the desk - he kicked the FOH guy out and started mixing Paolo’s live sound! There's a photo below of the moment when Ahmet walked to the stage to tell everyone what to do! Politely, of course!
bit.ly/3l6cjsA
So inspiring and such special memories - and that night, we all stayed up to the small hours talking music - Paolo was putting Ahmet right about Ray Charles B sides!
Thanks again Bob …
Take care, lots of care
Mike x
PS - I could send you so many things to show you Paolo: Iron Sky at Glastonbury or No Other Way on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny but you seem to dig Caustic Love, so here’s SCREAM from a radio session we did in New Zealand in 2015 ….. its one of my favourites
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh630lzFYo0
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From: David Sardy
Subject: Re: Chris Stapleton's "Cold"
Bob, I was a producer on funk my life up and some others for that Paolo album, what a voice on that’s guy!
Was a crazy process
Glad you dig it!!
he has some gems written that haven’t seen the light of day yet...
I had james Gadsden play on it
He killed!!!
Thanks for noticing what a rad track!
D
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From: Chris Frantz
Subject: Re: Judd
Hi Bob,
Greetings from Fairfield, CT. I’m so sorry to hear about your friend Judd.
He was too young to die and my heart goes out to his family and friends. As you know, I had an heart experience this summer but got to the doctor and then the hospital in time to be saved with three stents. As they wheeled me into the ER the ambulance driver said to me, “Next time don’t wait so long.”
But, I was lucky. They took good care of me at Bridgeport Hospital which is now part of the Yale New Haven healthcare system. I’m very grateful to the Cardiologists of Fairfield team. Thanks to them and my Dr. Tom Brunoski, I’m alive and and well today and feeling twenty years younger.
One love,
Chris Frantz
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From: John Boylan
Subject: RE: Spanish Moon
Hey Bob,
Thanks for calling attention to one of the most knock-down, drag-out, bad-ass tracks ever put on tape. If there's any justice, you will succeed in opening up a new and very large audience to Lowell George and Little Feat. The groove on "Spanish Moon" is just plain irrefutable - you cannot help but let it take you over. I have never been able to listen to that live version just once. Whenever I put it on, I listen at least three times in a row, usually more. I'd add one more note: the opening drum fill by Richie Hayward is a wonder of simplicity and energy, and the perfect kickoff for the entrance of Kenny and then Bill. Play it loud!!
Best,
John Boylan
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From: Marty Callner
Subject: Re: Re-MTV
Bob,
The first video I ever directed was We’re Not Gonna Take It. The rest, as they say, is history. I love your writing and I adored Martha Quinn. In the history of MTV no one should underestimate what she meant to the success of the channel.
Marty Callner
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From: Matt Nathanson
Subject: Re: the haves and the have-nots
that was a fun doc!
i did interviews for it and then, a month or two later... they asked if i wanted to score it…and since i've adopted a “never say ‘no' to cool shit even if i lack experience” policy, i said yes and immediately called patrick from fall out boy (he is a really talented music scorer) and we did the music for it. i also became friendly with nancy wilson and met mike nesmith at one of the premieres we did… so that was a real music-nerd thrill!
all in all, a great time… and the movie turned out so strong!... it was fun to watch the directors (both great humans) shape the story arc through their edits over the course of 1/2 a year…sadly, they cut out my impassionioned segment talking about how much i masturbated to the “cradle of love” video as a kid, but i should probably thank them for that.
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Subject: Re: An Artist
And Rupert would say:
Brilliant accidents and bumbling mistakes tend to make great music. Computers can’t do either of those
Kind regards
Fay Hine MCIPR
www.oneworldonevoice.co.uk
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From: Victor Levine
Subject: Re: Star Star
Hey Bob
My best Stones story is about Nicky Hopkins. He was living in an apartment near our studio in the valley in the early eighties, ridiculously famous but broke. Unassuming and friendly like any hungry musician, he was available for overdubs at $25 per hour but you had to pick him up and bring him home because he didn’t have a car.
Victor Levine
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From: Craig Anderton
Subject: Re: The Haves And The Have-Nots
Anyone who thought lots of artists made money from recordings back in the day wasn't there. I was, you made a living from gigging but if by some twist of fate your record sold a lot of copies, then you had the possibility of becoming well-off or even rich. However, that wasn't a given. It was an oft-quoted figure that less than 10% of the artists on a major label supported the other 90%, and only some of those 10% were making serious money.
I was lucky enough to have income streams from both angles, but concerts, gigging, and studio work were the bread and butter. Record sales were a crap shoot...like streaming.
Licensing is a whole other story; that's where the money is these days.
Craig
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From: Tracy Lipp
Subject: Mac Davis
Hi Bob,
We don’t know each other, but you’ve used a few of my replies to you in your emails. I thought I’d take a moment to tell you about this. I’m sure you already know we lost Mac Davis today. I hope you had the good fortune to meet him. He was a gem.
My father played keyboards for Mac starting from about 1974 or 75 right up to when Mac retired. My dad has great stories about those days. The Vegas stuff was the stuff of band pranking legend. No one was immune, even the boss… “As the snow flies…” AND a huge box of soap flakes is dumped on Mac from up above. The song would stop because Mac was lagging so much he had to wait until he could gather himself again. And Mac would dish out, too.
During that time, his band members were his extended family. And the families of his musicians were part of that. I was 11 or 12 when I went to the first party at his house in Bel Air. It was amazing. I met Paul Lynde and DON KNOTTS! For me and my younger brother and sister it was completely amazing. As a 16 year old, just starting to play guitar…I got a guitar for Christmas from Mac! And not just any guitar. He gave me the Ovation he played on the Muppet Show! You see, he loved music for music’s sake and wanted to give back to what he loved.
He really did believe in music and encouraged young players to believe with him. When I got my first publishing deal with Universal I called him up and told him the news. His answer: Congratulations! ‘Ya’ll come on over to the house. Let’s have a beer and I’ll show you how I write my songs. He was that kind of guy.
Mac retired from touring 30 years ago. He kept in touch with the people he worked with. He wasn’t a typical Hollywood type. His Lubbock Texas roots stayed with him. We lost a great one today. He will be missed.
Tracy Lipp
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From: ROBERT RUSH
Subject: Re: Humble Pie 1970
Dear Bob,
Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I used to get to the original Electric Factory to watch the up and coming rock bands. One Saturday in 1969 my bandmates and I (I was the bass player/singer in a BS&T/Chicago-style rock band with a horn section) went to see Chicago (CTA) headline (they were incredible!)
The opening act were these four, cool, skinny, long-haired English guys (among them, Peter Frampton) with acoustic guitars, sitting on the edge of the stage. They were so good that I forgot about the huge Marshall amps lined up behind on the stage, figuring they were Chicago’s. Wrong!
Once Humble Pie finished with their acoustic set, they strapped on guitars, a bass, sat behind drums, and slammed into “I Don’t Need No Doctor”! Holy sh*t! They blew the walls off the place! (I had no idea that the drummer, Jerry Shirley, was only 17 years old – my age at the time!!! But, they apparently weren’t brought up in suburban Jewish households where, to be a rock musician was a “shonda,” (not to be confused with a Shondell) I say with love.
Long story short, I ended up interviewing Jerry about 20 years ago when I wrote a monthly column for the English rock magazine, “The Beat.”
Jerry was a gentleman, and told me some fascinating stories, including the fact that (at least at that time) he no longer even owned a drum kit! By all means, do buy and read his incredible behind-the-scenes book, “Best Seat In the House.”
Anyway, kudos to Humble Pie, and thanks for all the incredible and real rock and roll, and all the best to the surviving members. And best to you, Bob. Keep the great stuff coming.
Warm regards,
Bob Rush, DC
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From: Dan Navarro
Subject: Re: Jac Holzman-This Week's Podcast
He's a hero of mine. When I was in my 20's, I worked at Tower Records Westwood Village 1975-77, and was working the register one afternoon when he bought some LPs and plopped his credit card on the counter. I saw his name and got all fan-boy.
"You're Jac Holzman!" I told him how much I appreciated what his label did, particularly Judy Collins, The Doors, Tom Rush and much more. He said, "I'm actually much more proud of what I did with Nonesuch."
Well, slap my ass and call me shorty, I was the classical buyer for that store, so we got lost in a conversation about his deep and rich catalog, Early Music, Scott Joplin, World Music, amazing off-the-beaten-path stuff, all budget priced. I also mentioned in passing how I had just seen Joni Mitchell at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion a few weeks before.
He said, "I live in Hawaii, but I have a binaural recording of that show, give me your address and I'll send you a cassette." A couple of weeks, later, the tape arrived, and I was awestruck. Simply brilliant. The tape stayed in my car until it was lifted by some "friend", and his letter to me is still in my files, a real treasure. "I'll try to look you up when I'm back on the mainland."
I re-met him some 18 years later, at a Gavin Report Convention weekend in San Francisco, 1994. The night before, I had met his Discovery Records promotion person, Claudia Stewart, at an event, and went to the next day to hear her artist (cover story). And there he was. Claudia introduced us, and I reminded him of our Tower visit, which he said he recalled. I sure like thinking he was sincere. And eighteen months later, I married Claudia.
Flip forward to Folk Alliance International in 2011, and he was the keynote speaker, interviewed by Dave Marsh. I was finishing up as FAI board president then, and again made a connection. I reminded him of Tower in '77, and Gavin in '94, and how I ended up marrying and co-parenting with his old promo honcho. The picture of us chatting is another treasure.
Yeah I was a fan-boy alright. Still am, can’t wait to hear your show. Three meetings, three watershed experiences, awash in the presence of a giant. Long may he run.
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From: C Darryl Mattison
Subject: Re: Joe Bonamassa-This Week's Podcast
Local boy makes good.
Joey's dad used to bring him out to sit in with our band, starting when he was about 12. He's an extraordinary talent, and a gentleman as well. We've had a few jams over the years, and whenever he comes back to town he makes it a point to touch base with his local mentors, even brought one of us up to sit in for two songs at his last Syracuse date.
Just in case there's any doubt about how well respected Joe is among the world's great guitarists...several years ago Eric Clapton invited Joe to play at his annual Crossroads show. When Joe walked in backstage, Eric started introducing him around, and Jeff Beck, who never talks to anyone, was first in line. Joe had never met him. Jeff sticks his hand out to Joe and says, "Hi, I'm Jeff Beck."
Best,
Darryl
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From: Barbara Zats
Subject: Re: Why BOOMERS Hate POP Music
?Bob—
So interesting and true. Wallace (Collins) and I have a 20 year old daughter named Chloe Collins who is a singer songwriter at Belmont University. She’s had some exposure with her songs in TV shows, on indie stations, etc. and all of a sudden, she is moderately huge on tik tok right now-it happened within about 6 weeks. More than 3,000 followers in 6 weeks. (my math might be off) It’s crazy! She took on the theme of the Criminal Minds TV show —I guess it’s very popular with teenagers, and she wrote quite a few songs about the characters in the show (not that you need to know that to appreciate the songs), when she mentioned that on tik tok, BAM, she went from about 40 followers to over 3,000. The number keeps growing day to day. She does live shows on tik tok, plus shows on facebook, and radio interviews all by zoom. She used to play songwriter rounds In NY at the Bitter End, and then Nashville at the Cafe, Douglas Corner, Commodore Grill, etc—but so few people would be in the audience at these shows, and, due to covid, Chloe ain’t goin’ nowhere (Her decision-smart kid - taking a leave of absence from Belmont) However on tik tok, she’s getting noticed all over the world, her fan base is getting bigger, plus, she writes tons of songs and has been recording and releasing one song every six weeks Etc etc....who knew? :)
bz
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From: Melbar Group
Subject: Re: The Emmy Ratings Drop
Brilliant piece. The fundamental problem from my perspective as someone that has produced my share of awards shows is the glutinous failure to recognize over 75 years that there is no one interested in watching three hours of entertainment that is hardly entertaining. If Scorsese can be slammed for The Irishman's length why would we consider watching these novocaine induced marathons. This has nothing to do with Covid, Netflix or changing viewing habits, it's just plain bad producing. These awards shows could easily be 90 minutes or less by focusing. On less categories and tighter producing.
Barry Avrich
Producer/Director
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From: Matt Nathanson
Subject: the haves and the have-nots
what you said in your letter yesterday is so fucking right on...you articulate it so clearly, it felt like oxygen.
as you know, perception is so far off from reality EVERYWHERE… hello, politics?! and we humans are so comfortable with creating that kind of suffering, that we are pigs in shit.
the problem is not tech. or the landscape shift... the problem is always humans giving into their wiring, instead of transcending it.
the problem is always the suffering we create around the one constant: change, instead of the freedom we could feel rolling with it.
that and the sleeping giant fact that we are always looking to fix externally the things that can only be fixed in the self.
...and then comes the blame. so much blame!
this said : racism, misogyny, brutal income inequality and a system that works for the few at the expense of the many… these are all VERY REAL... and need to be kicked back against HARD… these are actual external, systemic threats and illnesses...
but they all stem from us. from our fears. instead of finding power in ourselves and through our connected-ness to the whole… we create division, and hoarding… and a system that we think will keep us “safe” from a constant, imagined threat of “the other”.
this is a forever, reptile brain problem.
and because humans are rarely taught or modeled that the real work HAS to be done inside the self… we repeat the cycle.
it’s kinda woo-woo sounding, but it’s truth…
the only way to have real love, empathy and deep appreciation for this ever changing, uncontrollable world… is to have real love, empathy and deep appreciation for your ever changing self.
and to recognize that we're all connected… coming from, and a part of, the same cosmic shit.
anyway, felt super inspired by your post… thank you for that!
matt
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From: Elisabetta di Cagno
Subject: Re: The Vow
Hi Bob,
I watched "The Vow" last evening, based on your recommendation.
And, thanks! It was scary as hell.
Several years ago my secretary and I, who became close friends after we stopped working together, had a falling out. ( I am a woman and he's a man-- who cares? A lot of people did at the time...)
He was my son's godfather... we were both born in Europe; me, Milan, Italy... he, somewhere in Hungary.
Radio silence for years. One day he phoned me and I was thrilled. We got together and he told me about Landmark and how he phoned because it was part of the program to contact those one had wronged.
He asked me to go to a meeting with him.
I was amazed that this very intelligent man was taken in by this crap, but remained polite.
At the end of the evening the recruiters came for me. I was still confused by this "friendship" outing and he was so enthusiastic that I remained polite. They demanded my credit card, very hard sell by not very sophisticated people (the Vow group were better, but the science stuff was hilarious). I asked for literature and said I'd think it over and call in a few days. Wham... the bars were closing. I had to sign up NOW.
Why? Well, that wasn't too clear. (If I'm making this sound as if I've never fallen for a scam before or since and that I'm so damned smart, my computer was hacked into with my assistance last month.) But these Landmark people became abusive and desperate. I walked out, and was shaken. Still happy to have reconnected with a close friend. We walked a while and then I asked him: "Would you have called me if it had not been for Landmark? " He made some noises about trying to help me. I said, "Answer a straight question." He said, "No."
Hope you are doing well and staying safe.
Sincerely,
Elisabetta di Cagno
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From: Matthew Dunn
Subject: RE: The Vow
Bob:
Great piece on The Vow. I'm 64, a lifelong Angeleno and I have watched the many cults sweep through LA and the edges of my life. JESUS fringe groups, EST and Werner Erhard's other seminars, Landmark, Scientology etc. etc. And then there were these gurus that would claim to be Buddhists but would demand that you tithe them 10% of your income in exchange for a mantra. Yep. Until I was 35 I was an actor that rarely worked. But it was though that vocation that I would be dragged (usually by a girlfriend) into some sort of opening sales pitch for these groups. I always saw immediately that these were cons run by charlatans. Part of this is my basic nature. But that I was drawn to it is the interesting bit to me. This world is so broken now and back then the cracks were widening. I now accept depression and unhappiness just as I accept happiness and all that is this very moment. Living life (to quote AA) on life's terms. Your point about narcissists and sociopaths is spot on. The idea and promise proffered by these carnival barkers that we can free from unhappiness and depression is the great lie. You may know the saying, "the good news is that in this moment you get to have all your emotions and the bad news is that you get to have all your emotions". To think that I can be almost heavenly exempt from the trials and tribulations of this "mortal coil" is to think indeed, that my shit just does not stink.
Thanks Bob.
Matthew Conway Dunn
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From: Schuyler Bishop
Subject: Re: How We Got Here
Hey Bob, I sent to all my brothers, and here's what one said:
He misses the most important change starting around 1970, promoted initially by republicans as 'cost saving' but soon followed by democrats and started the feeding at the trough which has led to all of the graft and corruption of today; how congress (and the rest of government) did business. In an effort to 'reduce costs', congress started using industry experts (lobbyists) to 'mark up' legislation, getting rid of all the expert congressional staffers that were hired into congress since the beginning of the democracy as experts in an area, and stayed no matter which party was in power. If they appeared biased toward either party they were fired. If they in any way worked with either party they were fired (hatch act). The congressional staffers were assigned to areas that congress was divided into, education, military, etc. However with lobbyists replacing congressional staffers, as congress changed, so changed the lobbyists. This created a situation that lobbyists were writing the legislation that would regulate their own industries. Whereas most regulation prior to this time was written to regulate industry for the benefit of people, now regulation was written to help the industry that paid the most for the lobbyists against competing industry (for example, cell phones vs. landline phones) and regulation that was good for people was largely thrown out because it was 'too expensive' for industry (things like OSHA) and other protections of workers and individuals. The lobbyists provide 'free' services to the government that reduces the expense of government, but as we now see, cost more than ever through graft, corruption and corporate greed.
From: Jarred Arfa
Subject: Re: The Debate
Amazing that mainstream media doesn’t address it but thank You for bringing up the Pointless “vote campaign”. If you don’t say vote Biden then what exactly is the point ? These celebrities are stupidly expecting their fan bases to actually understand who to actually vote for instead of just coming out and saying it. Maybe I have missed it but with all the social justice messages on the back of NBA jerseys where are the ones with anti Trump or pro Biden messages. Change starts at the top and at the top is blatant racist (not to mention all of the lives that could have been saved if he didn’t lie daily about the worst health crisis in 100 years) And with all due respect to the protesters but it‘s all for nothing if they don’t actually show up and vote Trump out. And I know you are a Bernie supporter and that’s fine but the same goes for the ridiculous Bernie or bust crowd. Do these people really think we would have been in this position if they would have come out and voted for Hillary instead of sitting on the sidelines and watching This generations Goebells destroy our country. It’s all so infuriating.
From: Hank Linderman
Re: The Narrative
Hi Bob, hopefully you’ve been reading Thomas Frank? He’s got it right - that until Democrats offer a credible alternative to the fake populism of the Republicans they won’t have a chance - and the Republicans won’t actually have to deliver on anything other than serving their wealthy donors.
thisishell.com/interviews/1009-thomas-frank
(That’s from 2018 while he was promoting “Rendezvous With Oblivion. I’ve listened to it many times...)
Fwiw, the Kentucky Democratic Party just added 2 new advisory committees; the Black Caucus and the Rural Council. I’m the current chair of the Rural Council; we will be all about organizing rural counties that have been ignored by Democrats for 20 years. That’s beyond the time frame of a single election, longer term thinking and investment are required.
I’m also running for Congress in KY2, a very safe Republican District. Again, I’m focused on organizing, winning is the last piece of the puzzle.
hank4ky.com/Contract-For-Rural-And-Working-America.pdf - goals more than policies. Policy is a trap they say. Once we agree on goals we can fuss over policies.
I say Trump loses the Presidency. He’s losing the wives out here in rural Kentucky. That may not make enough of a difference here, but in the battleground states it will.
I guess I had been talking about running for a long time; in 2017 a friend told me I needed to run, wagged her finger in my face and told me she’d help. I was primarily motivated by my alarm at the actions of Trump. Prior to that my only political experience was in high school, marching to protest the Vietnam War. Our family landed in Louisville in 1970, the year I was a junior. By the end of that year I had gotten elected Student Council President at Atherton High. I gave up on politics when Nixon was pardoned, in retrospect a mistake. I should have stayed involved.
I grew up in Kentucky, got married here, started playing music and went as far as I could go. In 1983 Pam and I sold everything and came to California, ended up working for Joni Mitchell, America, Timothy B. Schmit, Robert Lamm, Eagles, Don Henley, Chicago - mostly as a recording engineer but also as a musician. I have recorded Keb’ Mo’, Carl Wilson, Mick Jagger and many others.
But we always were going back and forth between California and Kentucky. Our friends and family were there.
About 15 years ago we bought a house on Rough River Lake, 3 doors from where Pam’s family had a place in the 60’s. They had sold it, a huge mistake, so getting the new place brought some joy to her father.
My friend told me “you need to run in a purple District” which was the 6th, Lexington, but our house was in the 2nd, no one had run as a Democrat in 2016. So that seemed to be fair game. I met with former Congressman Mike Ward and he agreed to be my campaign manager. I knew NOTHING about what I was doing but I like challenges so I dove in, raised some money (excruciating) and started going for it.
Here’s what my music background gave me: I knew how to show up early, I knew how to look good, I knew how to be entertaining, how to connect with people one on one, and I understood not to worry about food or sleep! My first event was with the Hardin County Woman’s Club, and the chair of the group was very unusual, 6’3” maybe 225 lbs. It took a few minutes for me to realize she was a trans woman. She let me speak, which was like getting up on stage, so my music experience helped there as well. JoAnne and I are friends to this day and she’s on the new Rural Council.
Lots and lots of meetings and campaigning later I ended up winning the 4 way primary. We went on to get almost 80k votes which is MUCH better than zero.
Right before the election I got a full contribution from a very well known mixer and his wife. There was no sense spending it, we knew there was no chance to win, so we kept it and I continued working throughout much of the year, helping during the Governor’s race. No one filed to run against me in the primary, I think it’s because I stayed active even though it wasn’t an election year for me.
Campaigning in COVID means I’ve had to focus my efforts online. I started going live on FB in March, 7 days a week. That almost killed me, so after a month I went to 5 days a week, starting the half hour before Gov. Andy’s daily briefing, 3:30 Eastern. It’s very much a low production effort, although we bought some video gear and I learned how to "one man band" it. I spend a few hours prep each day, gathering screen shots and printing up copy to read. I also have guests by telephone, such as Congressman John Yarmuth, Dewey Bunnell from America, a surgeon / microbiologist from Santa Clara County who talks details about the virus. One of my friends who is a former Beach Boy made a jingle for “Dr. Gregg” that we use.
It’s a volunteer campaign. Rich Campbell is America’s bassist - he’s done the website, videos, amazing how much he’s doing. I told him I didn’t want to burn him out, he was doing so much. Rich said, “Hank, this is the best part of my day during the pandemic. If I weren’t working on the campaign I’d be throwing my shoes at the tv.”
Today I will have Mark LaPalme as a phone in guest. Mark founded Isaiah House, a rehab organization. They are conservative, faith based, and they have 250 employees now. Pam and I went to their first annual banquet last year and it was powerful seeing the strung out faces on the screen, only to realize one of those faces was sitting across the dinner table from us with their family, they had come back from the dead. The room was filled with families that had been restored, hard to think about it now without tearing up.
So much more to tell, but the primary thing is that I believe coming to terms with Rural and Working America is they way forward, not just for the Democrats, but for Republicans as well, for the Nation, for the world.
And this will be a very slow process, but it’s one that picks up bit by bit. Understand that the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Districts were let go by the Democratic Party after the Al Gore election, and you can’t repair that kind of neglect quickly. There are factors like Kentucky's 120 counties, more counties per capita than any other state, 21 of them in the 2nd. The counties are very aware and concerned about what’s going on in their county, but they aren't aware or concerned about their neighbors, and certainly not counties at the other end of the District. I have become friends with activists in many of these counties and have been introducing them to each other, we now hold weekly Zoom meetings. Our first project is a yard sign that says, “Had Enough? Vote Democratic!”, and so far 3 of the 6 Districts have ordered some. We are learning to think of ourselves as 1 big thing rather than 21 little things.
I have adopted a motto which comes from Larry Swartz, a farmer and friend, one of the most well-read people I have met. He’s personal friends with Wendell Berry. He said to me, “Hank, I’m afraid we’re gonna’ have to get down in the dirt, grassroots.” That’s how and why this is starting to work. The new Rural Council will give Rural Kentucky a way to speak directly to the KDP, but it will also allow us to reach out to people on the ground. We are planning listening tours, organizing, helping to rebuild the Democratic Party.
It will need to be a different Democratic Party. That’s what we are making, piece by piece.
Next weekend we will start doing online virtual rally / fundraisers with musical performances. I have friends from the Brian Wilson Band who will perform, Jerry Goodman of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, various others, including lots of local Kentuckians. It’s just an idea at this point, but I expect us to do these every weekend until the election. The money will help to do online advertising, phone and text banking, and hopefully let us leave some money in reserve so I can continue working no matter the result on November 3rd.
I love Kentucky, I love America, and I want to help us all deal with the list of crises we face - health care, work, education, wages for working people, inequality, justice reform, and the big one - the damage we have done to the climate.
Thanks for listening.
Best…H
270-925-9498
Hank4ky.com
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