Saying Goodbye and Looking Ahead

I'd like to issue a fond farewell to my friend and crime partner Adam Brook, who's returning to Detroit in the morning after working with me here in Amsterdam for the past three weeks since I got here. His constant assistance and support are deeply appreciated, and I'll be looking forward to his swift return. Several of our projects in development have been advanced considerably by Adam's concerted efforts, and I'll be reporting on them here in the near future as things start to fall into place on divers fronts.

Blues Scholars 'Live' by Frenchy

Our pal James Millard has been in town from Detroit for the past few days, plotting and scheming with us and having his fun here in the Dam before moving on to England, Switzerland, Luxemburg and back to Holland to hang out some more next month. I had the pleasure of sharing a hearty feast at Le Clos this evening with James (his treat!), Adam, the legendary Steve Dumach, and our guest of honor, Sara the Healer, taking a rare break from her ceaseless rounds of iboga sessions with addicts of several descriptions at her Sara's House haven in nearby Breukelen. Sara's a wonderful woman and one of my favorite people on the planet.

Sun Ra Invades Den Haag

Ben Schot and I had a lot of fun introducing the Sun Ra film night in Nijmegen on Saturday, and we'll get to do it again this Friday, March 31st, at the Huishoudschool in Den Haag at 8:00 pm. The Sun Ra films to be screened will be "The Cry of Jazz," "Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise," and "Space Is the Place."

Coming up: On April 24th Mark Ritsema and I will take our band of Blues Scholars from Rotterdam to Rome to perform at the opening of the BEAT HIPPY AUTONOMI PUNK multi-media exhibit at the Forte Prenestino. The band will be Mark Ritsema, guitar and musical director; Willem van der Wall, slide guitar; my man Will Dawson on bass and Reinier Rietveld on drums. Mark and I will remain at the commune in Rome for a few days to enjoy the event and then return to Holland by April 29th. This is a really big gig for us and we're thrilled to be going to play in Rome.

Also, a new engagement at the ComFest in Columbus, Ohio has been scheduled for Sunday, June 25th and when it's confirmed it looks like I'll be leaving Amsterdam three days earlier than anticipated to begin about 10 weeks in the United States this summer that will take me from Columbus to New York City, Washington DC, Common Ground on the Hill in Westminster MD, then Memphis and Oxford MS, Denver, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay, Seattle for the HempFest, back to Los Angeles for the ArthurFest (if all goes well), then Detroit for the International Jazz Festival on Labor Day, a stop in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan and back to Europe to perform at the Stampa Alternativa 35th Anniversary festival near Milano, Italy on September 8-9-10 (to be confirmed).

This is a lot of frenetic activity for an annuated character still scrambling along the bardic path, but that's why they call me The Hardest Working Poet in Show Business. This is work that has to be done NOW before I have to leave this sorry planet behind, and I'ma gonna be about it until they carry my empty body out of here in a box. I'm just now starting to wrestle with the booking issues and logistical nightmares that come with such undertakings, and I'll post a tentative timeframe as soon as I can bend it into shape. I know I'm going to get to visit a lot of my favorite friends and co-workers in the States this summer, and that in itself is a lot to look forward to this spring.

On the immediate tip, RadioFreeAmsterdam.com podcasted the 79th episode of the John Sinclair Radio Show today, produced backstage at the Paradiso last Thursday night. Henk Botwinik has also created a new program slot called Vintage Radio Vault that will feature programs from the past by great disc jockeys and radio programmers of all sorts.

Our first offering from the Vintage Radio Vault is about 23 minutes and 38 seconds of R&B dynamite from my own youthful idol and shaper of my musical consciousness, the late great Frantic Ernie Durham, broadcasting from WBBC in Flint, Michigan in the fall of 1958. Yes! The Frantic One on the scene with his crazy-playing record machine, spinning that jumpin' jive that's truly alive and the musical sounds to caress your ears, my dears. Tune in to the Frantic One on Radio Free Amsterdam and make your day!

Listen to the Frantic One on Radio Free Amsterdam (.mp3)

You know, if you subscribe to our podcasts at www.RadioFreeAmsterdam.com you can get all of our programming delivered directly to your hard drive without cost. Here's this week's episode of The John Sinclair Radio Show:

#79 The Paradiso, Amsterdam

Thursday, March 23, 2006 @ 7:30 - 9:00 pm [20-0609]

The Black Crowes came to Amsterdam this week for three nights at the Paradiso, and our radio krewe was ensconced backstage Thursday night to produce another episode of the John Sinclair Show. The band was busy getting on stage and starting their first set so we couldn't get them on the mike, but we had a chat with our Opening Tokes sponsor, James Millard, just in from Detroit, and Henk Botwinik talked about our new programs at Radio Free Amsterdam, and there was terrific music from Charlie Parker, the Black Crowes, Jimmy Reed, Eddie Kirkland, Dr. John & the Lower 911, Charles Mingus, the Motor City Blues Scholars with Eddie Harsch, Dwayne Burnside & the Mississippi Mafia and Sound Tribe Sector 9.

Listen to the show (.mp3)

Playlist #79

[01] Opening Music: Charlie Parker: Okie Doke

[02] John Sinclair Intro & Opening Tokes with James Millard

[03] Black Crowes: Thick & Thin

[04] Jimmy Reed: You Got Me Dizzy

[05] Eddie Kirkland: Mojo in Her Backbone

[06] Comments & Conversation with Henk Botwinik re: Radio Free Amsterdam

[07] Dr. John & the Lower 911: Wade

[08] Charles Mingus: Crying Blues

[09] John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars: Preaching the Blues

[10] Comments by John Sinclair

[11] Black Crowes: Sister Luck

[12] Dwayne Burnside & the Mississippi Mafia: Bad Luck City

[13] Closing Comments & Outro

[14] Closing Music: Sound Tribe Sector 9: Musical Story, Yes > Better Day

Hosted by John Sinclair for Radio Free Amsterdam

Produced & Engineered by Henk Botwinik at The Paradiso, Amsterdam

Executive Producer: Adam Brook

Special thanks to Chris Robinson, Eddie Harsch,Amy Finkle, Peter Angelo, the Paradiso staff, Radouane & the staff of The Dolphins

Sponsored by The Dolphins, James Millard & Mr. Gus

©(P) 2006 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved.

Podcasted March 27, 2006 at www.RadioFreeAmsterdam.com