(Untitled Original IBL Art)

Felt pen and scoring (scissors) on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 3/11/12.

"L.A. County", Lyle Lovett

One of my absolute favorites by a superb singer/songwriter...

L.A. County...

IBL:mm

A Brief Anecdote Regarding Lyle Lovett...

...from a New Yorker feature a couple of years back. The writer spent a fair amount of time with Lovett in and around his home in Texas, and reading the article one couldn't help but see that LL is a very smart, gentle, and humble man.

At one point, Lyle and the writer go to a specialty boot store to pick up a pair of boots for LL. While they are in the shop, the owner gets a phone call from a friend and happens to mention that Lyle Lovett is in the shop. So the friend asks the owner to ask Lyle a question - "If I should buy one Lyle Lovett album and only one, what should it be?" The owner obliges and asks the question of Lyle.

Mr. Lovett pauses for a moment and then answers, "Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson."


IBL:mm

(Untitled Photograph by Lynn Charles Riser)

Mr. Riser fashioned this image in his studio (The Fletcher) in Tacoma, Washington. I thought it fit nicely with some of the other recent IBL materiel.

(Courtesy of the artist.)

IBL:mm

(Untitled Original IBL Art)

Pen and felt pen on cocktail napkin, 4.75 x 4.75 inches, 2/11/12.

"Black Sheets of Rain"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on discarded photograph fragment , 4 x 3 inches, 2/7/12.

"Arrested Development", Created by Mitchell Hurwitz

Perhaps you've all seen the Fox comedy Arrested Development which ran for three seasons from 2003 to 2005, picking up a boat load of Emmys along the way. Watching it then, I thought it was the smartest live-action comedy I'd ever seen on American network television. Well, seven years down the road, Danielle and I are re-watching it (all of the episodes are on Netflix, of course, and streaming no less), and I have to say that my initial assessment still stands (and I believe Danielle is in agreement on this (also, for the record, in case you were about to ask, we very much enjoy Parks and Recreation, yes; 2.5 Men not so much)).

First of all, the writing is amazing in general, from the outlandishly complex plots to the recurring jokes/gestures that are intricately woven into the stories and often times jump characters (Gob's "I've made a big mistake" being appropriated by both Marta and Michael in later episodes of Season 1, for example). Second, and I think this is key, the editing is dynamite. A comedic moment is never held too long; often, in fact, they are shorter than you might expect, and it's off to the next one. And, finally, the performances are uniformly fantastic, perfect in timing and delivery. I find myself torn as to my favorite character - as soon as I settle on Jason Bateman as Michael, the son trying to keep the family business afloat, Jeffrey Tambor shows up as his criminal, philandering father and I think, well, maybe ... and then Tony Hale shows up as Buster, Michael's younger brother who is pretty much afraid of everything and I think, well, maybe ... and then David Cross (Tobias, Michael's SO NOT GAY brother-in-law) or Wil Arnett (Gob, Michael's older, selfish and fairly untalented magician brother) do some great physical comedy and I think, well, maybe...

(Also, there is a character named Maebe, which may well have fueled my use of the word above...)

In any event, just a quick word to say that if you've never seen Arrested Development I couldn't recommend it highly enough. As the episodes clock in at no more than 22 minutes, you can gobble up quite a few in one sitting...

IBL:mm

"Black Sheets of Rain"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 1/31/12.

"He Is Risen"

Original IBL art - felt pen on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 1/29/12.

"Black Sheets of Rain"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 1/22/12.

(In Which I BRIEFLY Comment on Last Night's Drive-By Truckers Concert at the Showbox Market in Seattle)

I enjoyed it very much. It was very loud. Their first encore was Birthday Boy, which may well be my favorite by DBT. The highlight of the evening, though, was A Ghost to Most - absolutely perfect.

And, so, one by the Drive-By Truckers complete with lyrics to enhance your "enjoyment"...

Birthday Boy...

Which one's the birthday boy?
She said I ain't got all night
What'd your mama name you?
You can call me what you like
Every skinny mystery gotta make it hard somehow
Sit your narrow ass down hotshot
I'll solve yours right now

You got a girlfriend don't you boy
Nervous hands can't lie
Married men don't ask how much
Single ones ain't buying
One day you got everything
Next day it's all broke
Let Miss Trixie sit up front
Let her wipe your nose

Working for the money like you got eight hands
Flat on your back under a mean old man
Just thinking happy thoughts and breathing deep
Between your mama's drive and daddy's belt
It don't take smarts to learn to tune out what hurts more than helps

The pretty girls from the smallest towns
Get remembered like storms and droughts
The old men talk about for years to come
I guess that's why they give us names
So a few old men can say they saw us rain when we were young

Which one's the birthday boy?
She said I ain't got all night
What'd your mama name you
You can call me what you like

Drive-By Truckers Live at the Showbox Market in Seattle This Evening...

...And, yes, I will be going. I've only seen them once before, two years ago at The Fillmore in San Francisco, but that show was outstanding, so I'm hoping for more of the same tonight. I wish I had the time now to write at length about this band and their songs; I hope to do something along those lines in the coming months. But suffice to say that if there is a rock band who has produced better songs lyrically than DBT in the last ten to twelve years, I don't know who they are (and would love for you to tell me about them, of course). If you have Spotify or its kin, go take a listen to Steve McQueen, or Birthday Boy, or The Wig He Made Her Wear, or Putting People on the Moon, or Drag the Lake Charlie. Their songs can be funny at times, yes, but more often than not the stories they have to tell (and I only realized the other day that nearly every single one of their songs is a story), are not pretty, and sadness and despair are on full display. They are from Alabama via Georgia, and are clearly influenced by Lynyrd Skynyrd to a certain extent, but perhaps more so by Faulkner, O'Connor, and McCullers (not so much Welty). They are a rock band for sure, but they also have plenty of country and Muscle Shoals influences, too (Patterson Hood's father was a Muscle Shoals bassist).

It may not be your thing musically, of course, and the subject matter could, at times, put you off; fair enough. But I will say this: I sat Danielle down (after plying her with gin) and had her watch their concert DVD from 2004 when they were touring The Dirty South, and Miss D gave her seal of approval. Now, to say Danielle would not generally listen to this kind of music would be an extreme understatement, but I think that, like me, she was sold on the emotional honesty of the songs' characters and narrators. Plus they rock. IBL gives full marks to Drive-By Truckers.

IBL:mm

"I Got a Good Christian Raisin' and an 8th Grade Education Ain't No Reason For Y'All Be Treatin' Me This Way"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 1/16/12.

"Black Sheets of Rain"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 1/8/12.

"Black Sheets of Rain"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on coaster, 6 x 6 inches, 1/8/12.

"Black Sheets of Rain"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 1/7/12.

(for Sari)

"Black Sheets of Rain"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 1/6/12.

"Black Sheets of Rain"

Original IBL art - pen and felt pen on sugar packet, 2.5 x 1.75 inches, 1/15/12.

"Detachable Penis", King Missile

Further evidence that my finger has never been anywhere near the pulse of Popular Culture, I give you King Missile's Detachable Penis. Apparently this song came out in 1992 which is - and brace yourself - twenty years ago. Me? I first heard it last Saturday on my Outlaw Country station (yes, I know: but they're eclectic that way, especially Shooter Jennings' Electric Rodeo). So likely you have already heard this song and long ago dismissed it as frivolous or, you know, dumb, but my Detachable Penis arc is only just beginning, so please be patient with me...

IBL Trivia - at one point, our DP narrator goes to Kiev Restaurant in the East Village. I, too, have eaten at Kiev, though it is no longer in existence. So as you can see there is a certain amount of sentimental attachment here for me...

IBL:mm

(Untitled Original IBL Art)

Felt pen, water and scoring (scissors) on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 3/11/12.

"Jesus Was a Capricorn", Kris Kristofferson

One last visit with Kris, complete with lyrics...

Jesus Was a Capricorn...


Jesus was a Capricorn, he ate organic foods.
He believed in love and peace and never wore no shoes.
Long hair, beard and sandals and a funky bunch of friends.
Reckon they'd just nail him up if He come down again.

'Cos everybody's got to have somebody to look down on.
Who they can feel better than at anytime they please.
Someone doin' somethin' dirty, decent folks can frown on.
If you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me.


Egg Head's cousin Red Neck's cussin' hippies for their hair.
Others laugh at straights who laugh at freaks who laugh at squares.
Some folks hate the whites who hate the blacks who hate the clan.
Most of us hate anything that we don't understand.

'Cos everybody's got to have somebody to look down on.
Who they can feel better than at anytime they please.
Someone doin' somethin' dirty, decent folks can frown on.
If you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me.

Help yourself, brother.
Help yourself, Gentlemen.
Help yourself Reverend.


IBL:mm

(Untitled Original IBL Art)

Pen and felt pen on cocktail napkin, 4 x 5 inches, 1/16/11.

That Ear Needs Cleaning...

Sukha (dog, and so much more) and Iotasign (IBL contributor/collaborator).

IBL:mm

My Father Died 25 Years Ago Today

He had been sick for awhile, months and months, so it was not a surprise. It was a Monday morning, sometime between 6 and 7 as I recall, St. Jude Hospital, Fullerton, CA. My mother was there; my brother and I had been late Sunday night, but had gone home for some rest. He was 79 when he died which would place him at 104 if he were breathing today. Hard to believe that. But he was 56 when I was born, so that's how the math adds up, I guess.

That week we bought a plot at a cemetery (Our Lady Queen of Angels, maybe?) in Rowland Heights, and a casket at a mortuary which was I think on Euclid Avenue in La Habra. The gentleman at the mortuary was very nice, very sympathetic, and he showed us this beautiful wood coffin for I want to say $3,000 to $5,000, but told us that, you know, up around $7,500 we could get a coffin that would "protect" my father longer. Which struck me as pretty fucking odd - Man you are dust and unto dust you shall return, right? I just couldn't see my mother spending several thousand more of her dollars to delay an inevitable process. In any event, she was in shock and not up to making any decisions; my brother, I could tell, just wanted to hit somebody (because that's who he is, and that's how he copes), and the mortuary guy was looking like a pretty good candidate right about then. So I cut the conversation short and told the gentleman the wood coffin would be just fine, and we left there and went about our business of finishing out the rest of the week which, to be quite honest, couldn't have been less ideal.

We buried him that Friday, the 13th of May, 1987. In the church (Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic, La Habra Blvd.) after the service one of my best friends walked up to me in the receiving line and said, "Geez, that was depressing." (This just in.)

The photo above is from July of 1964, so I would have been six months old. That is almost certainly the living room of the house I grew up in until age five or six, 10808 Newgate Avenue, Whittier, CA.

And so it goes...

IBL:mm

"The Silver Tongued Devil and I", Kris Kristofferson

More Kris...

IBL:mm

McGrath - He'd Lick Your Damn Face If He Could Get At You...

(In Which I Encourage Men of a Certain Age to Get Their Prostates Checked...)

No need to get too detailed here, of course, but a quick word about prostate exams - the folks over at the IBL Med Center wanted me to pass along some information, namely that men of a certain age (you know, right around 50 or so) should get their prostates checked, and then probably on a yearly basis after that. The test is not pleasant, I'll give you that, but it's also not painful, and it takes less than ten seconds (the build-up far worse in my humble opinion (and, yes - I did have one yesterday: all's well)). So, ten seconds of discomfort versus, you know, the potential that something truly unpleasant might just set up camp elsewhere in your body (bad business that). As Melissa, my Physician Assistant said to me, "your wife will thank you"; I might add that so will your boyfriend, children, other close friends and, it goes without saying, your dogs and cats...

IBL:mm

(Untitled Original IBL Art)

Pen and clown face stickers on cardboard, 5.25 x 3 inches, 4/10/11.

(Untitled Original IBL Art)

Pen and cake/pizza stickers on steno paper, 6 x 4.5 inches, 4/9/11.

"Centurion Piercing Christ's Side"

Original IBL art - pen on paper, 3.75 x 4.25 inches, 2/26/12.

"Centurion Piercing Christ's Side"

Original IBL art - pen on coaster, 3.25 x 3.25 inches, 2/26/12.

(Untitled Original IBL Art)

Pen and felt pen on cocktail napkin, 4.5 x 4.5 inches, 2011.

"Man in Black", Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash would have turned 80 this past Sunday. I meant to do this closer to his birthday but, well, sometimes things get hectic up here in the Pacific Northwest. This is from 1971, when he was just shy of 40.

Also, September of 2003 was not a good month - Warren Zevon died five days before Cash.

Also, I'm going to do my best to carry off a little darkness on my back if you'd care to join me...

Man in Black...


IBL:mm

"Centurion Piercing Christ's Side"

Original IBL art - pen on cocktail napkin, 4.75 x 4.75 inches, 2/26/12.