What other music do you like?

[lizzytysh]

Ahhhh......ok, thanks ! The fact that they're all DJs brings an interesting element to their collaboration .

[mamalex]

lizzytish i have much nick cave-some dating back to when he was in
"the birthday party"
he ranges from murderous to hopelessly romantic {a;la "loveletter"} i have seen him live but it was 2 yrs. ago and he wasn't writhing on the floor like i understand he did back in the day, he has also written {at least} 3 novels "and the ass saw the angel" is good but disturbing. i love him madly, but he is still not Leonard, why oh why oh why won't you play a live show Mr. cohen? we neeed it!

[lizzytysh]

I would be very interested in seeing him Live, now. Leonard, of course, goes without saying .

[margaret]

Interesting concert on UK television tonight 10.00pm BBC4. Last years "Festival in the Desert", a collection of world rock artists performing in Africa. I saw good reviews on this, should be worth watching/recording. The concert
is repeated again from 1.30 to 3.00am, after a brilliant award-winning film titled No Mans Land.

[dayrin]

To keep it short : WEEN ( their album cover from 'the pod' was a parody of a cover from a leonard cohen album(the best of?),that's how I got interested in Cohen's music ' cause I suspected it was some kind of a tribute, so I had to check it out)
FRANK ZAPPA there's really nothing more to say about
this wizard in music....
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: 'blood sugar sex magic' was the album wich I grew up with,all the way to their latest album 'by the way' in wich their musical and songwriting potential has been fully mastered.


I've been listening to 'Waiting for The Miracle' lately, it just keeps blowing me away...Heard it the first time on Oliver Stone's 'natural born killers' and knew right away it was a masterpiece(along with the film)

[C.]

I listen to all kinds of stuff.. Lately i've been in this electronica stage..
trance, Happy Hardcore, Jungle, Hard house.. Creating music is soo much fun
I heard the "Ne me Quite pas" Jaques Brel.. and heard the trance remix of it.. but it was done in english.. the french version soo much better.. so once i learn how to use this program i'd like to make anothe trance remix but using Jaques Brel's version..

other then that i like
Tragically hip
Radiohead
Blur
Great big sea
Dido..
Those seem to be the ones i never get sick of. along with my LC CD's of course. There's always those odd songs that i love too that carry much meaning to me or represent certain things in my life i've gone threw.. I play guitar too.. so I make up a lot of my own stuff....

[lizzytysh]

Some from the New York area may already be aware of her, and a few others may be, but I'd suspect not many. I just heard her on NPR the other morning and, at age 19, her first recording is a two-cd set titled "Get Away From Me." That may seem a bit ambitious for someone, particularly her age, on the first time out, but after you hear her, the confidence and clarity of her singing, and the broad range of styles she legitimately makes her own, it sure doesn't. Her interviewing personality is just as intrigueing.

The announcer commented that "She's 19, going on 40." She was born in London, and grew up in Harlem. This is from her site, http://www.nelliemckay.net ~ I sure wish her well, and hope she doesn't get exploited and used up by the industry. I recommend going to her site and reading "Nellie In Her Own Words" ~ her own words give a real sense of what this young woman is about. A note from out of it is: "Eventually she signed with Columbia Records, and her album was recorded in late summer 2003, with Geoff Emerick - legendary engineer of the Beatles' Revolver, Sgt Pepper, White Album and Abbey Road - signed on as producer." In the Random Facts section, I also just read that she is a cousin of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Check her out :

A Star is Born

It was about to rain one recent night in SoHo, when Nellie McKay's mother, Robin, pulled a stack of demo CDs from her purse. She handed one of the discs to a man on the sidewalk, swung open the door in front of her and assured him, "These are going to be worth a lot of money one day."

A wry joke it was at the time, but Nellie McKay's brilliance as a songwriter, musician and comic performer isn't lost on many who've seen her play.

Less than a year after composing her first song, "Won't U Please B Nice" -- for which she won best in show at the Mountain Valley Arts Council international songwriting competition in Alabama -- Nellie has emerged as one of New York's most acclaimed new artists.

The 19-year-old, who grew up in Harlem and has the fair, ethereal look of a silent film star, sings jazz originals with an unsettling maturity ("I Wanna Get Married"), raps cooly about Paul Wellstone's funeral service and the Oxygen network ("Sari"), pulls out clever lyrics at every turn ("Yeah I'll have my coffee black / Hey look we're bombing Iraq"), and rants hilariously between songs on such topics as her mother's suggestion that she sex up her image ("Why don't you get a belly ring?")

"It needs to be relevant. If it isn't, I'll stop doing it," she explained on a breezy July night in Harlem's Lenox Lounge, sipping on her usual Diet Coke. "I want to be in touch."

Critics have drawn comparisons from everyone to an Eminem-inspired Doris Day to jazz vocalist Blossom Dearie to the legendary composers Cole Porter and Randy Newman -- a quirky mix that is telling of Nellie's craftsmanship and startling stylistic diversity.

Nellie nods at the influences, and adds to the list John Lennon, Marlene Dietrich, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, and "the beat of hip-hop." Among her favorites are the 60's girl groups: the Shirelles, the Chiffons, the Shangri-Las, the Supremes. "I've listened to a bit of Eminem, but more of the Mamas and the Papas," she said.

This past winter, Nellie's burgeoning career picked up speed when she secured a steady gig at the East Village's Sidewalk Cafe. And backed by the frantic energy and ease of her piano, proved to growing audiences that she was the real deal.

The New York Observer wrote of a performance at Joe's Pub in May, "She was just--exciting. It's awfully easy to be cynical about the New York music scene these days, with its multiple pretenders and poseurs ... but Ms. McKay was not at all like that or them."

The record label suits agreed, and in a blink, Nellie was juggling offers. On June 11, she signed a deal with Columbia Records. She's currently at work in the studio recording her debut album, entitled "Get Away From Me," which she's co-producing. The album is scheduled for release on February 10, 2004, with a tour of major U.S. cities and Europe planned through next summer.

Nellie McKay (pronounced 'mi-KAI') was born April 13, 1984, in London, England, to a British director and an American actress, who split soon after. Her mother, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and played parts in Chariots of Fire and Superman II, took the two-year-old Nellie to the Big Apple.

Nellie displayed a talent early on for the recorder, which she played endlessly around their Harlem apartment, said her stepfather, Jack. At age eight, she began piano lessons on scholarship at the Bloomingdale School of Music.

In the mid '90s, the family picked up and moved to Olympia, Washington in a VW bus, with nine cats and a dog in tow. A year later, they returned East, to the Poconos in Pennsylvania, where Nellie played mallet percussion instruments in the school marching band. ("The worst experience of my life," she called it.)

In 2000, Nellie moved back to New York to attend the Manhattan School of Music. She bored quickly of the routine and the conformity, and dropped out after two years, failing every class but one in her last term. She dabbled in stand-up comedy with some success, hiring a manager and performing at well-known spots like the New York Comedy Club ("I had short red hair and I was bigger and I had gray dyke suits... It was awful.")

Around that time, Nellie's first love, music, was calling her back. In January 2002, she started playing happy hours at Greenwich Village gay bars. Making it through standards mistake-free for the keen-eared men in attendance was the best training she could have ever had, she joked at a recent photo shoot for Jane Magazine, as a stylist curled her strawberry-blonde hair into a mass of ringlets. "You just don't fuck up 'Over the Rainbow.'"

Nellie moved back to her old neighborhood in Harlem recently, and took in a cat, Sammy. It isn't far from the street she grew up on, Manhattan Avenue -- which also happens to be the name of one of her newest songs.

how wild it is
what strange a vice
that a mugger and a child should share the same
paradise
oh but dreams come true on
Manhattan Avenue



Jaclyn Sindrich, July 2003
jackie@nelliemckay.net

Site design by Nicole Horton / Site content by Jaclyn Sindrich

[tom.d.stiller]

From Nellie's web site:

Celebrity and wealth are some of the biggest weapons for social change but most people who have them don't use them for anything but Versace.

btw: You can download some of her music there... I just did, and... (maybe more after listening to her)

[lizzytysh]

Thanks for bringing that one here, Tom. When I read it, I remembered a while back when we were debating celebrities getting behind causes. I was trying to remember where it was, so I could place Ms. McKay's quote there. Glad that you picked up on it, and resolved it for me .

[Quasand]

Joan Baez
Bob Dylan
Johnny Cash
Hank Williams
Leonard Cohen



Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash are in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Could someone explain to me why Joan Baez and Leonard Cohen are not?

[lizzytysh]

~ Al Stewart!!! ~

This is a rather [no kidding ~ tee-hee on that ] long [let's just say 'epic' and, hopefully, at least vaguely-coherent] post, but overall, it's rather cool, particularly a particular aspect [easily recognizable, what that aspect is ~ or, see red-highlighted sections]. Nothing earth-shattering, but still very cool. Not really sure of the 'best' place to post this, so ended up here.

It's nice when friends in Europe make you aware of what's occurring in your own state My friend Phil from London and the Sony Board, had sent me a cd, a long time ago, with some Al Stewart music on it. Yes, I did like it; and, yes, I did remember him ~ though, at the time, he had not become 'one of my own.' "The Year of the Cat" ~ heard on the radio ~ always sounded somehow too 'commercial' to me. Being a cat person, I certainly listened, but didn't care so much for its 'slickness' and almost-'Vegas' [read that "somehow 'shallow'?" sound]. Yet, it was still somehow, irresistably sing-along-y with its very pleasant and upbeat melody.

I had taken well to the selections Phil had included for me, so when she told me he was appearing in Florida, I decided to try to go. Long periods passed, with my forgetting he was going to be coming here, so when I got that 'panic' feeling of "Did I miss him~!?!" I went to Google and wrote in Al Stewart Performing Florida. Sure enough, it was within a week of the date. Not that it was at all needed, but I still saw it as a 'bonding' kind of thing ~ seeing someone she loves and being able to 'share' him, and my first-hand impressions. Sebring, Florida.

Not having any real connection with Sebring [well, NASCAR races occur there, but I've only been to one, and that was in Daytona], that registered as "Seville" in my head. I was amazed to hear that he would be in such a non-descript place, where I didn't even realize they had a Golf Resort. However, it was only about 45 minutes from me, so I looked forward to this very do-able event. Arranged to send my money order and have them hold my ticket, as return mail wouldn't allow for me to get it prior to the concert date.

Fortunately, I called for directions, rather than just driving there [to Seville] and asking around. When the woman started giving them, I said, "Wait a minute. Where is Sebring?" She responded, about 2 hours south of Orlando. Well, my anticipated 45-minute drive had just expanded into an approximately four-and-a-half-hour drive. [You can appreciate the unexpected distance on that, Linmag .] Leaving in time to not rush; to allow for road trouble; and to still find the place before dark, now meant leaving home at 1:00 PM for a 9:00 PM show time. That, in itself, felt a little late for this one, these days .

I had made a few attempts [within hours of my leaving] to find someone to accompany me ~ if they could do the driving back [and spare me the cost of a motel], it was worth it for me to pay for their ticket @ $27.45 USD. However, between already having Saturday-night plans, and having no idea who Al Stewart really was ["Well, yes, I do remember "Year of the Cat," now that you mention it], my few attempts were unsuccessful. Two tried to talk me out of going. No way. I had committed to this, and I was going. I just had no interest in falling asleep at the wheel, enroute back, with ETA [Airline-speak for Estimated Time of Arrival], back home, approximately 4 AM.

Sparing other details, I arrived at 5:20 PM, and fortunate planning it was, to scout it out ahead, as I had some trouble re-finding it in the dark, and would've been late, for sure, had I tried finding it first-time-out in the dark, as lighting along the rather isolated highway was very poor. But, aha! There I finally was. Found the place, and was told I could get in about 8:30 PM. So, returned to Sebring proper, to see if there might be time to see "Passion of the Christ." Predictably 'shocking and depressing,' I thought dovetailing the two might not be such a bad idea. However, too late for the 5:00 showing, and the 7:00 showing would make me late for Al Stewart. So, hunting motel possibilities became the order of the evening. More details left out here.

I had positive associations as I'd read and recognized some on the list of songs on the flyer ~ Year of the Cat [of course]; Time Passages; Nostradamus [not a direct memory, but someone recently quoting a line from it for me]. The other songs listed on the flyer were On The Border; Roads To Moscow; House Of Clocks; Rumours Of War; Night Train To Munich; and The Dark And The Rolling Sea. I was surprized to see he's Scottish, rather than English. My memory of the songs still seemed like they were more 'lightweight' than not, but hey..... .

Returned a tad early [glad for that, given the 'trouble' finding it in the darkness], so went downstairs to have coffee [not knowing how long I'd drive before being forced into stopping at a motel] while waiting for them to start seating. I passed the short steps that led to the 'backstage' area and saw who I figured had to be him; had the same, general look as the photo on the flyer and was writing on something that I figured must've been given to him by one of the young people who had just crowded up there. I have mixed feelings about 'autographs' at this point in my life, but even so, what would I say to him? "I'm actually quite unfamiliar with you and your music"? So, I bypassed any temptation to try to talk with him or get an autograph, and went on down the other stairs. Finally, the woman came down and got me and the party of 7, who had also come for the concert only [not the dinner-and-concert deal], and we were led to chairs lined up at the back of the one wing of the two-winged room. Not really a bad seat in the house ~ such a small venue.

Talked with my 'cohorts' and when I saw one pointing to tables that appeared empty, asked what that was all about. The hostess wasn't sure if they would remain empty, as many have dinner, leave briefly, and then return for the show. However, if that didn't happen, they were going to try to push two together to hold their 7. Having waitressed a lot, I know that a table that will accommodate 7, will also take 8. Quite concurrently, I asked if that happened, could I please join them ~ and he said, "If they give us a table, you can join us if you want." As luck would have it, it wasn't long before we all moved to two, separate tables [too far apart to join together], and I was at the third table back from the stage, with no heads in my way.

How HUGELY refreshing, in this day of groups and special effects, to see a man with his plugged-in guitar, take the stage alone ~ and then watch him take the audience by storm !!! Until then, I had no idea that his greatest interest is writing 'historical' songs ~ Stalin going to hell ["Joe from Georgia"]; chasing Mengele around the world; the Antarctica explorations of Scott and a man, whose name escapes me, but who traveled light, with a heavy coat and Wellington boots, and returned safely [the song "an extended metaphor for a chilly woman, who wouldn't sleep with me" ]; living at the bottom of the ocean in a submarine; etc. I will be trying to obtain Live recordings of his concerts, as his between-song talk is extremely audience-friendly and . Phil had told me he was very humourous, so I expected and looked forward to the British, dry wit. Not only was that there, but extensive and detailed explanations and interludes between songs; rich, precious, and hilarious. He is delightful to the core; and the best part is that the core is a solid one of serious substance! Not lightweight at all ~ don't let the 'light' 'presentation' fool you! He chooses the most interesting of means to address some very serious and intense issues. As I listened, I heard even the songs I was familiar with, through whole, new ears. I really listened to the words, and gleaned their meaning.

I picked up on a lyric in one of his songs that had "ship of state" and then went on to speak of the 'captain' and though, "Hmmm ." I knew for sure I was in the 'right place' when, whilst explaining that for folk singers from the United Kingdom to find success in the U.S., they have to disguise themselves as 'pop stars' ~ he cited that, even though the U.K. accepted our folk singers ~ "Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez.....," there seemed to be something in the Constitution that prohibited acceptance of their folk singers .

He played and sang for over an hour, and did two encores. I was amazed by the youthful, sweet quality still in his voice. If nothing else, I wanted to at least note with him, personally and directly, his mentioning of Leonard. So, when the hostess asked had I enjoyed the show, I happened to be standing right at the posted flyer that I had read earlier. As I said, "Yes, very much!," I asked if I could have the flyer. I pulled it away from the staples when she said "Yes, you may" and made my way toward the backstage steps. There were already some people there, talking with him and getting his signature. Now, it seemed quid pro quo for me to follow through with the autograph option. I waited my turn and then, took the seat across the small table from him, and said, "You are such a delightful person!" He self-effacingly responded, "Well, I guess I can make it appear that way in my shows, anyway ." I lightly put the paper toward him, and said, "My name's Elizabeth." He started writing and said, "Is that...." ~ I said, "With a 'z'," and he replied, "Yes, right, thank you!" He signed it, and gave it to me.

I said, "What are you doing June 11, 12, and 13? Do you know what your plans are yet?" He repeated the dates, thought a minute, and said, "Yes, I will be in L.A. during that time. Why? What's going on?" I gave a brief ['you'd' have been so proud of me ] synopsis of the Event, that this is the year of Leonard's 70th birthday [he paused at that, and said, "Yes, that's right, he is!"], and that we'd be at The Knitting Factory on the 11th, and at Columbia University on the 12th and 13th, and said, "If you were in the area and stopped by, you'd certainly be welcome." He said, "I loooove Leonard Cohen!" I said, "Yes, I know.....and I wanted to thank you for mentioning him in your show." He said, "Oh! Did I!?!" I said, "Yes, you did ~ when you talked about how you accept our folk singers as such, and named him along with Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell, but that we don't accept yours."

He laughed and said, "You're right, I did!! I love Leonard Cohen!" He then burst out with, "She said that all the men she knew, were dealers who said they were through, with dealing, every time she gave them shelter...." and as the apparent, single breath he'd taken for his outburst, gave out, he laid his head down on his arms as he stretched them out across the table, and drew out the words "g-a-a-a-v-e....t-h-e-e-e-m....s-h-e-e-e-l-l-l-t-e-r...." and kind of 'collapsed' with the last of his breath. He sat back up quickly, grinning hugely, laughed, and repeated, "I love Leonard Cohen! I sure can't make myself sound like him, but I know the words to every song, and have every one of his albums!" I added, "And you have the spirit of it!" He said, "Oh, thank you!" I was relieved and impressed to see that my introduction of Leonard as a topic did not have the ego-based, dampening effect, akin to talking about old boyfriends on a first date .

He continued, "I'm so sorry that I can't be there, but please tell him when you see him that I send him my best!" I quickly clarified that, as far as we know, he won't be there, but other people will be coming from all over the world, and Perla Batalla, and some other members from his groups will be performing, along with John Bergeron [one never knows who knows who, in the music industry, so I included John]. He lamented, "He WON'T be there!?! He should be there!!! He's turning 70!!" I laughed rather knowingly and said, "Yes, I know....he should be, but as far as we know at this point, he won't." ~ "Are you on the organizing committee?" ~ "No, not really....well, sort of, peripherally," I said.

It suddenly registered, and I looked around behind me and 'down the line' of about 5 people that I could see still waiting to talk with him, or whatever. I said, "Well, it appears I'm holding other people up from talking with you, so I....." He interrupted and said, "Yes, indeed you are, but you're doing it so charmingly, it doesn't matter!" [Good 'save,' Al ]. I extended my hand to shake his and said, "It's really been great to meet you," and he shook it and said, "Yes, you too, Elizabeth!" and then continued, "Hey! I gotta tell you my story about meeting Leonard!.....I was in the airport in Montreal, I think...yeah, Montreal, it was....and I saw him go into the men's room. He had a paper in his hand. I thought, 'That's gotta be Leonard Cohen!' So, I waited, and when he came back out, I asked him, and he said, 'Yes, I am Leonard Cohen.' Well, I was still a hot-shot at that point. I had two albums out, but he was still my idol. I had one of the albums with me, where they used to have all the lyrics printed out on this big sleeve." "Yes, I remember those well," I said. "So, I showed them to him and asked him to read them, and tell me what he thought." He read them all and when he got down to my last line, 'I'm down on my knees in Brooklyn,' he said, 'I love that....down on my knees in Brooklyn'." I laughed and said, "Thank G~d for your last line!" He laughed, too, and said, "Yeah, right! Well, you know there are maybe 10 times in my life, where people say the one, perfect thing; you know what I mean?" "Yes, I do," I replied. "Well, this was one of those times.....it occurred to me, so I asked him what he was doing there, and this is what he said......it was perfect. He said, 'I'm waiting for Suzanne,' and then....he just floated off and away....." ~ I laughed and said, "And you just floated off and away, in the opposite direction." He laughed and said, "Right! That's what I did! And wasn't that perfect?" Concise, and layered with symbolic meaning; I laughed and agreed it was perfect .

He started again. "You know, I don't know if Leonard drinks wine anymore, because he went up into that monastery and..." ~ "Yes, he did; but he came down, too, and he still drinks wine, I'm sure," I added. "Well, I can tell you what his favourite wine is" and he said it quickly, ending with "1982" ~ I didn't understand the words because he'd said it so fast, so I started sounding it out, figuring I might as well write it down, as a bit of information, as long as it was being offered. As I started to sound it out, he repeated it slower and spelled it. I got it down.....1982 Chateau Latour. He said, "You'll spend some money, but if you should ever want to give him a bottle of his favourite, that's what it is....or at least was. I remember reading it somewhere, and I bought 5 bottles of it. I thought, 'If Leonard ever stops by, I'd love to just bring it out and offer it to him'." I said, "Yeah, present it....[and held up an imaginary bottle with the label facing him]." "Exactly!" he said. He said, "You know, what really surprized me was when he married...[I started to interject that he's never married, and I think he saw that in my face, and changed his wording]....or, when he got together with Rebecca DeMornay. Her father is, politically, a very , right-wing, conservative type!" [I think he said something about his even having some kind of radio program, or something, where his views are made known. I didn't get all of it; or get it all straight.] I said, "Sunday dinners must have been something," and he said, "Oh yes!" and laughed, "Sunday dinners! Right! I'd have given anything, to have been able to tape those!" We both laughed, and he said, "I just keep wanting to break out in Leonard Cohen songs now! I'm going to be humming and singing 'em all night!" Feeling that it really was time for me to at least let other people talk with him, I laughed and said, "I know!.....well, thanks again for that information on the wine." He welcomed me, and we again shook hands.

I started to leave, but then heard something that someone asked him, so listened for his answer. Then decided, 'what's the rush? I'll just wait and listen to everything.' I couldn't hear everything that people were saying to him, and then a woman came up in line with a camera. I thought along the lines of "Carpe diem!" and whispered to her, asking how many shots she had left. She was trying to see, but couldn't because of the irregular lighting, so let me take it a second, to get the light angled correctly. She had 7 shots left, so I asked if she'd consider taking a picture of me with him, so I could have one, and then I'd take a picture of her with him. She said, "Sure! That'd be great.....I wouldn't mind at all! I'll get your e-mail address and send it to you." I turned back suddenly to look at Al. He'd just burst forth again with, "O-h-h-h-h, the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone......" and was looking at me, one arm outstretched, singing it in my direction. He stopped and laughed and said, "I just can't help myself!" I laughed, and it was obvious that not a soul had a clue what we were on about.

A guy was asking him who he thought was the best American songwriter. He looked at me, almost apologetically, and lamented, "I can't say Leonard, because he's a Canadian!!!.....I can't say Joni Mitchell, either, cuz she's Canadian, too." He was struggling to come up with a satisfactory answer to the unexpected question, and then finally settled on Paul Simon. He seemed not totally satisfied with his final answer, as though he hadn't had time enough to give it its due thought, but said, "Yeah, Simon is an excellent lyricist."

More things were asked and talked about. A young boy, maybe 10 [that age range is so hard to figure], sat down and gave him a book to sign. Al looked pleased [has he written a book?], and started signing it. The boy was beaming , watching Al's every move as he wrote, but Al missed the whole thing because he was writing. When he finished, I leaned over slightly from where I was standing to the side of the table, and said, "I wish I'd had a camera, so you could've seen the way he was smiling, as you wrote." He looked very pleased, and said, "Oh, really!?!" I said, "Oh yeah....." He seemed to be appreciating the moment from the perspective of a father. He looked back at the boy and asked if he's read the book. The boy said, "No ~ I just started it yesterday." Al said, "Oh, okay..." in a way that suggested that this was perfectly fine, and the boy spoke up ~ "....but I'm this far!" and turned to where he had it marked, at least 2/3 of the way through. The print appeared to be at adult level. I said, "Wow, that's great!" and he said, "Yeah, it sure is!!" and the boy returned to beaming. I didn't hear the initiating question, and don't have the exact wording, but I liked it when I heard his answering someone that he's married and has two children, and that he waited until he was in his forties to get married; that when you're in your twenties and a pop musician, you'll sleep with anyone you can, and that you shouldn't marry when you're going through all that. If you do, you're going to divorce, anyway. He said he knew lots of guys who did that, and they ended up with 6 marriages. He knew he didn't want to get married 6 times, that he just wanted one wife, so he waited until he got older to marry. I like that kind of realistic thinking and reasoning, and those kinds of values. Given the fast-paced environment he was living in, and probably a good share of peer pressure [perceived or otherwise], I think he did very well with his personal decisions.

Then, the woman with the camera, got the chance to photograph her husband with Al. His 'turn,' he had sat down beside Al, requesting permission to ask him five questions that he'd compiled. Al was very gracious in indulging him and all the other people, with their questions. He didn't give short, snappy answers and didn't seem impatient. She said, "Okay....pretend like you're good friends now. " and took the photo. She's an English teacher, and let him know that she uses his songs in her classes "...because I like my students to learn things in context." Then, a few minutes later, my turn. [After that, I took a photo of her with him, of course.] I sat down on his right, and when he realized it, he looked at me, leaned back a little, with a look as if to say, "This is my Leonard buddy!" and raised his arm up to go around me; then, pulled me in and put his face up against mine. We were so ensconced in Leonard by that point that we were clearly 'joined-at-the-hip' in a, "We love Leonard !!!" hug. The energy was all about that ~ and, at almost 11:00 PM, even though I looked a wreck [my hair bedraggled and scraggly from being wind-blown, and my face tired from a long day of driving, and being up since that early AM], but if the photo manages to capture just that shared, loving energy, I'll be happy. I thanked him ["so much"] for the photo and talking, and as I started to move, he said, "It's really been a pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth," and initiated a handshake. Remembering my name after talking to at least 8 other people affirmed even more how Leonard draws people together in a wholly different fashion than the norm. That connection just seems to automatically go deeper and with more significance.

The connection was just too 'regular' to leave feeling 'starstruck,' but I drove wide-awake the 4 hours [no traffic] back home, 3:00 AM arrival ~ no doubt a combination of my being tremendously happy to have finally 'discovered' Al Stewart, a 'new' artist for my 'olde' world; the coffee [which I'd given up and hadn't had in a couple months]; being in the midst of a cleansing process, so my body can concentrate its energy on things other than digestion; and the high energy, of the Leonard exchange itself, in our encounter. Hallelujah! A great day ! I want to see and have that photo. This time, I made it a point to exchange e-mails with the woman, as well as get her phone number [unlike my failure to do these extra things, via the same arrangement with a woman re: Arlo Guthrie].

He says he's writing a song [for a new cd] that has to do with three, turn-of-the-century poets. I still hope for as many Live versions as possible, as his interludes are as integral to the songs and his performance, as the songs themselves. I look forward to that and other cds, and next time, will drive even further to see him, if he ends up in Florida or the surrounding areas, backstage visits aside. He's such a sweet-spirited being.

In response to someone's question, he gave a brief overview of the kind of schedule he keeps. Travels a lot from one end of the country to the other, crossing it from a first engagement to a second one, only to return the following night to a locale only several hundred miles from the first, for a third engagement. As I'm recalling, Phil said he lives in L.A. [or somewhere in California]. I didn't think to ask. All talking done, he had, had a couple glasses of wine, and it was time for him to have his [two] desserts ~ to his obvious delight, one of each, brought by the manager ~ and we left.

For any who have made it this far, "That's all, folks!"

~ Elizabeth

[Jarkko ~ I'd forgotten about red-highlighting the Leonard-related sections, until I saw your recent post about Eric Burdon's new album with his cover of "My Secret Life" on it ~ thanks!]

[linmag]

What a wonderful experience, Elizabeth. Thank you for sharing it here. Phil sent me a tape of Al Stewart last year, and I often play it in the car. He's my kind of singer.

[lizzytysh]

Yes, Phil, it really was....and now, I've gotta go back in because I just remembered that I'd left out the thing about Rebecca. I had no idea how much my type of singer he is, too....until last night. A huge thank you to Phil !

Now, I keep remembering things that were said, that I forgot to include. Like the young boy, etc. OK, I stop !

[Epurcelly]

I love lists. They always start fun discussions.
Recording artists I love:
Townes Van Zandt
Tom Waits
Dylan
Tim Hardin
Gillian Welsh
Randy Newman
Nick Drake
John Prine
The Stones
Guy Clark
Will Oldham
The Tindersticks
Fairport Convention
The Band
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Television
Pixies
Kris Kristofferson
The Walkabouts
Belle and Sebastion
Donovan
Mr. David Bowie
Talking Heads
Dirty Three
John Coltrane
Roy Orb
and anything with a violin...

Thank heavens for songs...

[Zabka]

Wow Ep, with your list we could discuss forever!