“Folk Singer” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Who’s Gonna Build Your Wall? by Tom Russell on His Album Wounded Heart of America (2007)
“Maybe it’s not about happy ending.
Maybe it’s about the story.”
— Albert Camus
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Folk Singer Leave a comment
Cosanti — Paolo Soleri Studios Leave a comment
Cosanti — Paolo Soleri Studios in Paradise Valley (February 28th, 2020) — Image by kenne
In June of 2017, we went to Arcosanti — Architecture + Ecology 65 miles north of Phoenix. Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, environmental accountability, and experiential learning developed by Italian born architect, urban theorist, craftsman artist, and philosopher, Paolo Soleri, in 1970. This was 15 years after establishing his Architectural Design and Craft Studios, Cosanti, in 1955 in Paradise Valley.
While we were at Arcosanti, we bought a bell. Then during the monsoon of 2019, a strong gust of wind blew down the bell on our patio. Since then, we have been looking for an opportunity to purchase another bell.
We had planned to be in Phoenix on February 28th to see Diunna Greenleaf at the Rhythm Room. So, we left Tuscon early enough to visit the Cosanti Studios and go to dinner in Scottsdale before an evening of live Blues music. We now have a replacement for our original bell.
— kenne
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McCoy Tyner, Dead At 81 Leave a comment
You Do What You Have To Do Leave a comment
Bryan Lee — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Blues musician Bryan (Braille Blues Daddy) Lee has been a fixture on Bourbon Steet for
four decades. He was frequently a live music stop for us during our many trips to New Orleans
during our time living in the Houston area. We first saw him at the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street.
When Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, like a lot of New Orleans musicians he began
touring more through Texas and up into the mid-west. In 2006 we saw him and his
band at a live music bar in Conroe, Texas north of Houston. The above photo artistry
image was created from a photo taken during one of his stops in Conroe.
— kenne
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Friend, AJ Murphy Leave a comment
Friend, AJ Murphy — Photo-Artistry by kenne
AJ Murphy past away 2003, a close friend
and the heart and soul of a young organization,
“Friends of The Blues, Montgomery County.”
In May of that year, the Friends held a celebration
at the Texas Arts Venue in downtown Conroe, Texas.
Click here for an article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle.
— kenne
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A Solute To The Common Man Leave a comment
“The Common Man” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Poetry and Music Soluting The Common Man.
Julian Tuwim’s poem nails it.
In my younger days,
I worked with many a Harlan Clancy —
Tom Russell writes and sings
about in the album “Folk Hotel,”
referencing Aaron Copland’s anthem,
“Fanfare for the Common Man.”
In those early days,
the winters could be harsh,
and having spent many
a Christmas in the cold north,
I end this trilogy to The Common Man
with Merle Haggard,
“If We Make It Through December.”
— kenne
The Common Man
When plastered billboards scream with slogans
‘fight for your country, go to battle’
When media’s print assaults your senses,
‘Support our leaders’ shrieks and rattles…
And fools who don’t know any better
Believe the old, eternal lie
That we must march and shoot and kill
Murder, and burn, and bomb, and grill…
When press begins the battle-cry
That nation needs to unify
And for your country you must die…
Dear brainwashed friend, my neighbor dear
Brother from this, or other nation
Know that the cries of anger, fear,
Are nothing but manipulation
by fat-cats, kings who covet riches,
And feed off your sweat and blood – the leeches!
When call to arms engulfs the land
It means that somewhere oil was found,
Shooting ‘blackgold’ from underground!
It means they found a sneaky way
To make more money, grab more gold
But this is not what you are told!
Don’t spill your blood for bucks or oil
Break, burn your rifle, shout: ‘NO DEAL!’
Let the rich scoundrels, kings, and bankers
Send their own children to get killed!
May your loud voice be amplified
By roar of other common men
The battle-weary of all nations:
WE WON’T BE CONNED TO WAR AGAIN!
— Julian Tuwim
Tim Russell writes, Harlan Clancy
“. . . out there in the middle of Ohio,
a place you’ll never likely go . . .
Euro tourists never make it there . . .
the America of the shit jobs, farms,
remote ranches, wrecking yards,
inner-city brothels, shooting galleries,
used car lots, and back street bars that
still have Narco corridos, or Otis Redding,
or George Jones on the jukebox.”
Blues Legend 
