A Rare Gem From A Rare Woman   I was introduced to one of Aretha Franklin’s greatest songs by my daughter Cassie through the hip-hop mix of Mos Def. Thanks Cassie! The song “One Step Ahead” was on a single released by Columbis Records in 1965. It was the A-side of the single and peaked […]

Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice” on Saturday afternoon August 16, 1969 Originally called The Santana Blues Band, Santana was originally a band whose material consisted primarily of extended “jams” rather than songs. In fact, it wasn’t until their second album, Abraxas that, at the suggestion of pianist Alberto Gianquinto, they began to shift their focus from percussion jams […]

Walls of thunder, skies of blue / Above, The Walls of Jericho Thanks to my good friend Charlie from Prescott, Arizona for sending this song by the Flatlanders. Listen to their song Borderless Love. The words are so especially relevant right now. __________________________ Walking the line between pleasure and pain Biding my time between loss […]

“Confessions” / Bad Bad Not Good (With Colin Stetson) (Colin Stetson on the right recording with Leland Whitty from BBNG on the left) John Fraim I somehow came upon the band Bad Bad Not Good (BBNG) through my journey these past few weeks into the world of DJs and particularly DJ Day. I somehow arrived thorugh […]

DJ Day Way Out of Living (2011) John Fraim I was living in Palm Desert, California when I first heard the music of DJ Day. It was around 2014 and we had been living in the desert for two years. We first lived in downtown Palm Desert and then moved out to a gated community […]

LA Woman (1971) – The Doors Final Album Maybe the song is one of my favorites because I grew up in the LA of the 50s and went to school in LA in the late 60s. My father ran a car dealership in the 50s when we lived out there. In the late 60s, I […]

A powerful photo. It could mean a few things. We all have our ideas. Powerful in this way. The straight-and-narrow path depicted by the vertical space between the two downtown buildings. The young girl, though, does not look like she is going to take the old straight-and-narrow path. To me, this makes her so much […]