Sideshow Alley is an online live music video series brings together the finest new and established artists and filmmakers at unexpected locations in New York City and Melbourne. These creative filmmakers make new friends in alleyways and on rooftops, recording each artist performing one song, one take, with no fixed agenda and no rehearsal.
I first learned about Sideshow Alley from blogger, The Hobbledehoy.
— kenne
“Because of you I have found some great new bands
that I adore and wouldn’t have even known about.
Thanks for the chills down my spine!”
Love is in the air, everywhere I look around
Love is in the air, every sight and every sound
And I don’t know if I’m being foolish
Don’t know if I’m being wise
But it’s something that I must believe in
And it’s there when I look in your eyes
Love is in the air, in the whisper of the tree
Love is in the air, in the thunder of the sea
And I don’t know if I’m just dreaming
Don’t know if I feel safe
But it’s something that I must believe in
And it’s there when you call out my name
Love is in the air
Love is in the air
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Love is in the air, in the rising of the sun
Love is in the air, when the day is nearly done
And I don’t know if you’re illusion
Don’t know if I see truth
But you’re something that I must believe in
And you’re there when I reach out…
Ocollio Blossom (Spanish for Little Torch) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) is one of the easiest plants to identify in the desert. They are a large shrub with long cane-like unbranched spiny stems that
grow from a short trunk. Small 2 inch leaves will grow from the stems
when there is enough moisture. Dense clusters of red tubular flowers
grow from the end of the stems from March through June.
— Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
On this Easter Sunday in the age of HOVID-19,
we need to hold the torch high as
we look for hope in a hopeless world.
*****
Hope In A Hopeless World — Pop Stables
Baby born in New York City
Wrapped in a blanket all tattered and worn
Mama’s doin’ the best she can
It takes hope in a hopeless world
Her eldest son, he stayed in school
Listened to his mother, he never drank or used
But every job he wants he gets refused
It takes hope in a hopeless world
Looking for hope in a hopeless world
Trying to find love in these hateful times
Try to stay strong but my mind is weak
Looking for hope in a hopeless world
Churches are full, but the prayers are not heard
Saturday’s child don’t wanna to go to Sunday school
Whatever happened to the golden rule
It takes hope in a hopeless world
D’you got a quarter for the homeless man
Spare some change for the soldiers who fought the war
Put a little money in those hats and those tins
Give them hope in a hopeless world
Looking for hope in a hopeless world
Searchin’ for love in these hateful times
Try to stay strong but my mind is weak
Ease my mind, ease my mind
And on the corner there stands a young girl
The home she left was in the better part of town
Daddy did things she never talked about
It takes hope in a hopeless world
Somebody out there gotta listen
Somebody out there got to know what Pops been talkin’ about
Raise your hand, raise your hands if you’re with me
Give us hope in a hopeless world
You’ve got to listen to the voice inside
Peace and love don’t compromise – realize
Time is passing by
Can’t be standing still!
“I am an old woman named after my mother
My old man is another child that’s grown old
If dreams were lightning, thunder were desire
This old house would have burnt down a long time ago”
— from Angel from Montgomery by John Prine
I’m not unlike a lot of Prine fans, most of us have had one of his songs become
identifiable with a memorable life moment. I have a lot, so I won’t begin to list them.
However, there is one that has become more profound because of the coronavirus.
During this time of shelter-in-place, I’m doing less hiking and a lot more walking through
the neighborhood. When I walk I shuffle through my iTunes songs, many of which
are by John Prine. One that is on my shuffle list is “Taking a Walk.”
Taking A Walk
Taking a Walk
A man came to our house
I believe it was yesterday
I would have invited him in
But I didn’t have a lot to say
His anticipation of me opening the door
Outweighed my apprehension as it never had before
And drove my concentration
Right through that hardwood floor
Oo-oo a-ha
I’m taking a walk
I’m going outside
I’m taking a walk
I’m just getting by
There’s a girl in the white house
I don’t even know her name
Her disheveled appearance
Speaks volumes of shame
It’s an embarrassing situation
But a situation just the same
The way she walks on others
And never takes the blame
Upsets my constitution
Beyond its mortal frame
Oo-oo a-ha
I’m taking a walk
I’m going outside
I’m watching the birds
I’m just getting by
Found a card in the pocket
Of my worn out overalls
From a girl in Cedar Rapids
Now residing in Idaho Falls
I wish you could have been there
When she opened up the door
And looked me in the face
Like she never did before
I felt about as welcome
As a Wal-Mart Superstore
0o-oo – a-ha
I’m taking a walk
I’m going outside
I’m taking a walk
I don’t need a ride
I’m watching the birds
Flying so high
— John Prine
“A true national treasure and a songwriter for the ages.”
A Teacher’s Teacher: Ellis Marsalis (November 14, 1934, April 1, 2020) Image Source: Chicago Tribune
All of us reach an age when it seems like every day someone of our generation dies, even more now with the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, on April 1, a giant in education and jazz became one of the numbers in the current pandemic.
In the 1980s, Ellis Marsalis, with his sons, became the fresh new face to a resurgence of jazz in the last decades of the 20th century. “My dad was a giant of a musician and teacher, but an even greater father,” Branford Marsalis said in a statement. “He poured everything he had into making us the best of what we could be.”
Ellis Marsalis had a light and graceful touch at the piano, allowing his enter fellings to pour out like a gentle flowing mountain stream. He had held a weekly gig for decades at Snug Harbor, one of New Orleans’s premier jazz clubs, before giving it up in December.
The New Times critic, Stephen Holden wrote: “Sticking mainly to the middle register of the keyboard, the pianist offered richly harmonized arrangements in which fancy keyboard work was kept to a minimum and studious melodic invention, rather than pronounced bass patterns, determined the structures and tempos.”
One of my favorite Cole Porter songs done superbly by Ellis and his son Branford.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
Source: Sideshow Alley
Creekside: Standing by Peaceful Waters — Photo-Artistry by kenne
“Love Is In The Air” — Image by kenne
Walk A Mile In My Shoes — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Ocollio Blossom (Spanish for Little Torch) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
“Old House” — Image by kenne
A Teacher’s Teacher: Ellis Marsalis (November 14, 1934, April 1, 2020) Image Source: Chicago Tribune 
“Folk Singer” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Cosanti — Paolo Soleri Studios in Paradise Valley (February 28th, 2020) — Image by kenne
Bryan Lee — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Friend, 
“The Common Man” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Blues Legend 
