The former Monkee had played rather grander venues, but he seemed pretty comfortable up there on the graduation stage. I was just a few rows from the front. Stage right, near the guitarist, Al Perkins.
We met for school holiday screenings of La Bamba and Dirty Dancing at the same tech high gym where we painted thick black circles around our eyes and teased our hair until it looked like Jon Bon Jovi’s – ahead of our Rock Eisteddfod pilgrimage to The Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.
After cassettes lost favour I bought Jonathan on CD. And Jonathan on vinyl. In Spanish, Italian, French and English.
Intention often gets forgotten when it comes to art and all that remains are interpretations. How others remember our insides in music or words or pictures is what survives time.
A short poem about COVID, porridge and a Fiona Apple song.
My workmates were all well and truly on the Razor's Edge in one form or another. Ex druggies, pregnant at 15, split multiple marriages, wild Lebanese girls on the run from strict families in the southern states...
Well before Took The Children Away by Archie Roach was the 1970 song Brown Skin Baby (They Took Me Away) by Bob Randall.
Il y a quelques routards irlandais qui vivent dans la même auberge que moi. Nous parlons. L'un d'eux mentionne que Joe Jackson joue à Rome ce soir-là. Il avait vu une affiche dans une laverie à proximité.
There was one song that stood out. Hometown: a beautiful melody with evocative lyrics, concluding with a delightful guitar lick by Vinnie Zummo.
A conversation. A connection. A phone call. A visit. More chat.