Tuesday

One should not cut, damage or mutilate any thing, thinking it will display better, As I mentioned earlier, I met A. Pablo, obtained a 12" single autographed on a blank white record sleeve. I obtained a great picture of A. Pablo and was trying to frame it myself.   The white record cover was too large, so I cut it so it would fit in the frame.  Of course now, I wish I had the entire sleeve intact.  Other similar mistakes that I have made along those lines is that when I was young, I received a hand written letter from the late Joe Dimaggio, for some reason I cut off the top of the stationary.

A further example of my stupidity also occurred when I was young.  I received a letter from President Harry Truman.  On the envelope was a reproduction of his signature , I thought the envelope was too large to save, so I just cut his signature out.

So the moral of the story is, count to 10 , or sleep on it a night, before doing anything to alter a one of a kind item.

PS.  I have recently trimmed a Marley poster to fit into a picture Frame. I hope I don't kick myself in the future.

Wednesday

An interesting experience I had, was on 5-30-86, when I  heard that there was going to be a free Reggae show at the United Nations in N.Y.C .(I forgot what the occasion was.) The concert was at an odd hour like Friday at 1:00PM.

A Fellow in Geriatric Medicine, like myself, said he was also interested in going. We drove into the City, probably paid a fortune for parking by the UN, and basically hardly anybody was there except for the UN employees.  There were a few instruments in the lobby, so we figured we were in the correct place.  There wasn't even a stage, only a rope. David Hinds and Michael "Ibo" Cooper of Third World were walking up the plaza and were walking past me. I introduced myself to David and asked for his autograph, (I feel that I might have hurt Ibo's feelings because I said hello to David first and addressed him by his first name. I could not remember Ibo's name at the time.

A little later Third World (by the way, I had my trusty little tape recorder) played a few numbers with Third World backing up David Hinds for about 2 songs. (The rest of Pulse was not there.)  The concert was video taped, by someone from the second floor with a tripod.  Unfortunately I was unable to hook up with the taper, I would imagine that the UN has the tape.  Anyway the show could not have been any better, due to it's informality.

This historic show at the United Nations seems to have been overlooked. After the show I spoke with Bunny Rugs Clarke, Cat and Willie.  I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Which reminds me of the proverb, that luck happens to the prepared.

Thursday

Indirectly, I was responsible for getting, the Acoustic "Get Up Stand Up " on the Honorary Citizen Box set. I hooked up with Lynn Cason of Minneapolis via the Internet. In one of our tape trades she mentioned that she had a Chicago WXFM Peter Tosh radio interview show, I knew it was pretty rare, but as I mentioned earlier, one really does not know what people have in their no copies collection. 

The trade with Lynn was successfully completed.  A few weeks later, Roger S. was in NY, and I was hoping we could hook up for one of our quick trades.

Anyway I reached him at the River Sound Studio on the upper east side of Manhattan and mentioned on the phone that I had obtained this Tosh acoustic radio show, and he invited me to visit the studio.  It's pretty difficult to find tapes Roger needs, but I've managed a few times, and will do it again. 

I got the address and I knew I was embarking on an interesting adventure, since he mentioned Pauline Morris and others were there, I packed up my trusty video camera, a stack of Tosh singles to donate to the Tosh Museum and headed for an hour drive to the city. 

I found parking, not to far away from the studio, which was basically a Brownstone Building. I was buzzed in, and entered a redone Town House, I was buzzed in another door and was warmly greeted by Roger and was introduced to others including the Producer.  Everybody was sitting around listening to live cuts and trying to decide what order and what selection should be used
on the CD. Roger asked for the tape, and he put it on a 200,000+ dollar stereo system. I knew what I had was great, but just didn't realize the magnitude, and the need for it. Every body was elated. This is just what we need exclaimed Roger. " Peters voice came out of these speakers, sounding as if he was in the room singing. I had already turned on the video camera to get this once in a lifetime experience on tape.  We were all sitting on the consul side of the studio, (a few instruments were on the other side of the glass window, the engineer was making  DAT copies of each song, and I could see the expressions on Rogers and Pauline's face. We played the whole tape, and discussed each song.  My favorite was the "Fools Die" and "I am that I. Am."

I threw my 2 cents in, with regard to the track list order. (The preliminary set list was posted the following week at Seth and Daniel Nelsons Wailer 's News page.)

I twice pleaded my case why they must include Lemon tree on the box set. Roger commented on Peters words between songs.  There was also a box of Rogers' already played Tosh cassettes in a cardboard box. The tracts for the live cuts were selected, then digitalized, and the finished tapes were placed in the "finished " box.

We were discussing which songs were crucial and also what should be the order of the songs. I mentioned that I felt that "Creation" was Tosh's swan song, like Redemption song was for Bob's, and it's place on the box set was essential.

Over all, I was not happy the way the box set turned out for a lot of reasons but that is another story, Columbia only used one track from my tape, but I'm sure the rest of the tape will eventually resurface on a Tosh unplugged CD. I did play the complete tape when I was a guest host on the NY Midnight Ravers Radio Program.

Basically I feel that the box set could have been 100% better.  At least this tape has been widely circulated, so most can enjoy it. Peter might have felt that the Babylon system was working against him on his Box Set, and I feel he would have been correct.

Friday

Marley/Wailers are not the only Reggae I collect.  A sample of my Jimmy cliff LP collection besides the more traditional records include:

Can't Get Enough of It
Unlimited (on Trojan)
Wonderful World, Beautiful People
House of exile
Give the people what they want  Prerelease Sun Power productions on Solomonic
Music Maker
Unlimited   (my favorite)
Another Cycle
Images
Pop Chronik


My sympathies go out to the family of Junior Braithwaite

Saturday

My life seems glamorous, but actually it's not. Basically I work very hard and have an amazing amount of responsibility.  ( I used to work 120 hrs a week as an Intern, then I slowed down to 100, now I just work 7 days a week. But this Job has it 's advantages, I get to meet many great and interesting people/patients.  As I mentioned previously, In this world, it's not what you know but whom you know.

One of my patients is General Counsel for the Grammys and he obtained tickets for my wife and my self for the 39th Annual Grammy Awards held in Madison Square Garden.

It was very exciting being there in my tuxedo.  Of course the seats weren't the greatest, but the experience of being there and seeing how these Award shows are taped, behind the scenes is a great learning experience. The Awards were hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, who was extremely boring. Tons of people performed such as Celine Dion, Beck, No Doubt, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, Jewel and plenty more.  Which brings me to the Marely angle?

The Fugees were extremely "hot" that year. As I reported in  Distant Drums magazine  Issue 9,  October 1997 page 7,  the Fugees were feature on the bill at the Grammy awards ceremony, and included a lively rendition of "No women no Cry" (which is my Wedding song, by the way) Wyclef started the song off, with a Haitian Flag draped on his shoulders, from his position on center stage, and Lauren Hill emerged slowly from the audience to join him for the first chorus. Then, Stephen Marley appeared on stage with a Jamaican Flag, draped around his shoulders. closely followed by the I threes, decked out in complementary red, yellow, and green ornate hats. Julian and Damien were also present supplying backing vocals and bongo percussion. I believe Al Anderson was present on guitar, but got second billing because Carlos Santana played lead.

What the audience didn't see was that, over the stage was a large circular screen showing slow motion images of Bob Marley overhead.

Of course the parties afterwards with private music shows were incredible. The guests of the Grammys like my self had special subway cars to take us uptown to the various hotels, I got one of those ID/VIP badges to wear around my neck. Musicians were playing in the subways.  I believe there were red carpets on the subway steps to help one get to the various Hotels uptown where the partes were held.  There is a pecking order as well, on who gets to what party, (i.e.. The different record companies)

Just got back from making a housecall on Doris Hallan, the widow of my first Computer Guru, Ira Hallan.  Ira started me off years ago with a 386,  the game Leisure suit Larry,  a medication database for my patients, and AOL 2.5 and kept upgrading me and fixed the computer after I deleted essential files. I wish he was around to see how computers and the Internet have evolved.

Sunday

My patient Ruby Coltrane made me a pan of Southern Fried Chicken with hot sauce on it. I found her to be anemic recently. I hope she doesn't have Colon Cancer.

Monday

Having a friend like Glen Adams has provided me quite a few exceptional situations.

1.  Going to Studio One record shop with Glen and meeting Sir Coxsone Dodd.
2.  Going record hunting with Glen in Brooklyn and being introduced to several   Reggae artists such as Glen Brown, Jimmy London and Philip Fraser.
3. Playing guitar in Glen's studio, and then having him mention that he might sample   A bit of my playing for his next CD.
4.  Writing the liner notes for the Upsetters a GoGo CD.
5.  Hanging out at Glen Adams studio with Noel Alphonso,  (Rolandos' son)

Tuesday

The date of the night I met Bunny Wailer at his "Tribute to Bob Marley" show at the Beacon Theater was Dec. 14th, 1997.  Bunny also sang "Legalize it."

About 20 years ago my father took me to see a Breakaway show called Reggae. I still have the Playbill filed in the attack but never found anybody else who saw it or had the sound track.  I know that the score was never officially released, but someone must have rehearsal tapes.  I asked Roger a while ago, and he does not.  I believe the lead was played by Ras Karbi, but when I find the playbill, I will confirm that.  If anybody has the tape, please contact me.  I thoroughly enjoyed the show as well.  Thanks Dad!!!!!

Glen Adams take on the killing of Junior, was that people should just play music.

There was an article about Star Wars in the Wall Street Journal and they referred to Jar Jar Binx as a Rastafarian Stephen Fetchit.   (Stephen Fetchit was a stereotypic turn of the century black person)

I just finished taping a preschool kids TV show called Arthur.  The theme was sung by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers..

Last year, I was at a Hotel in Negril, and there was this 20ish year old Jamaican by the name of Estick, playing Classical Reggae Piano by the bar. 

If anybody is looking for some undiscovered talent, try to locate this gentleman.  I believe, he was playing an original composition by the name of "Surrender," and then he played "No Women No Cry" for my wife and myself. His style was sort of like John Lennon's at the piano from the Lost Lennon tapes.

Wednesday

I am not a skilled interviewer, and like most things in life, it requires repetition and practice.  I once asked Roger for some advise on interviewing and he mentioned that one should always ask the interviewee if they have any pictures or tapes, which seems like good advise.

I recently reinterviewed Sonya Archer (718-479-0947 ) who works as a nurse at a local Nursing home. She lived on Greenwich Park Road, in Kingston near Bob Marley and knew him for about 10 years (She was about 15) .  Her take on Bob was that he was very friendly, not shy and was a down to earth person.  "He was always thinking about the neighborhood, like, what can he do, to better it.  He wanted to motivate others. He was starting to knot up around that time and he was an all around guy. He sang about life's side and the Yard. His songs were meaningful"

Sonya also did not have any old pictures or tapes

I just got home from making another housecall on my 102y/o patient. I neglected to mention in a previous post that the patient's daughters dog bit me about 2 years ago, and broke the skin.

The power to heal, incorporates the power of suggestion. People get better frequently after they are told that "this will help." For a professional to have a healing relationship, there must be trust and faith.  The patient has to believe.

Patients are too frequently looking for a little magic pill or a rare herb to cure them. Much of Alternative care is based on the power of believing.  Often a patient believes that the Chiropractor is helping, when in reality, it is just a tincture of time which is doing the healing.

I am segueing into this topic from a Bob Marley quote:

"Politically. You see, when you talk about-HIM, he is not a man, you know. HIM not a natural man like me. He's God! You can see Him. You have a thing named magic. Magic, I mean real magic! I'm not talking about, like tricks. I'm talking about. ......real..... magic! And me no talk about learned magic, I talk about real magic. HIM is a magician (laughs) - He is the real Magician.

Throughout history, Magic and healing have always been entwined. Magic in ancient Egypt, Voodoo in Haiti, and mass hypnosis to sway the thinking of a country's people, has been going on since the beginning of time.

Another overlap between Medicine and magic is the impression that one's mind is playing tricks on them.  Occasionally patients can experience symptoms due to Psychosomatic origin or a Medical phenomena called a Conversion Reaction.

So, when a patient is suffering from an illness, the physician
frequently looks into his bag of tricks.
  
To quote Steel Pulse,  "Open sesame, here comes Rastaman, Abracadabra, catch HIM if you can"

"Whether it's life or a hoarse that throws you, get right back on"

Continuing the dialogue on connections, I have had the good fortune of having Cy Leslie's' mother as a patient a few years ago. Cy has blessed me with tickets to a small private concert with Tony Bennett and Liza Minelli.  He also obtained 10th row tickets to see Eric Clapton at Madison Square Garden, NY, about and 20th row seats to see Barbara Streisand at MSG, about 5 years ago. 

I apologize for my grammer and spelling in the above chapters.  I am not a professional writer, nor was English my favorite subject.  Spell check is not the all panacea that I thought I was, and time prohibits me from proofreading these vignettes several times.

About 10 paragraphs back, I was discussing seeing the Broadway Show "Reggae" about 20 years ago. Spell check inadvertently changed Broadway to Breakaway.


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