Blogkeeping

Some years back, a Louisville, Kentucky band called Digby came to Syracuse for a gig at a small venue called Happy Endings.  We'd been playing Digby a lot on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, so of course Dana and I went to the show.  Unfortunately, we were very nearly the only people who went to the show; the audience totaled less than half a dozen folks, including your Dana and your Carl.  Humbling circumstances for a traveling band on the road, for sure.

But Digby played as if it were a full house.  If the members of the band were disappointed or discouraged by the appalling lack of turnout--and they woulda had every right to be--their energetic performance offered no clue to their discontent.  Digby rocked, and I'm so glad I was there to see it. I often look back at that evening, and at Digby's...well, work ethic, I guess.  An audience of three or four people?  Awright.  But Digby played like it was Digby At Budokan.  You've gotta respect that.

That's the attitude I try to bring to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, and to this blog, as well.

My Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) blog should hit 5000 views within a week or so. Not a big number, but not bad for a two-month-old blog by an unknown writer, promoted solely by word-of-mouth.  And just like each weekly episode of TIRnRR acts as if we had listeners--a lot of listeners!--I treat this daily blog as if I were writing for a vast audience.  I'm committed to putting at least one post on the blog every single day. Much of it comes from my archives, but I've been writing a few new pieces here and there, as well. In fact, every post last week was a new piece.  I hate to say I'm taking this seriously, but...well, screw that.  I am taking this seriously.  After literally years of prodding by friends 'n' family to get me back into writing, I'm embracing this forum for all it's worth.

UPCOMING STUFF:  I've begun the process of editing my long history of bubblegum music, which was originally written for Goldmine, and later shortened for use in the book Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth; unfortunately, I only have the shorter version in digital form, so I'm now going through the slow process of manually retyping the excised portions (which were removed to avoid duplication with other sections of the book).

I've just discovered my unpublished 1998 interview with Sal Valentino, former lead singer of The Beau Brummels.  I'm editing that now, and should have it posted within the week.  I have an unpublished Lenny Kaye interview in the queue, too.

Having posted the first section of my de facto autobiography "Singers, Superheroes, And Songs On The Radio" in nine parts, I will also combine them as one big post for those who want to read the whole damned thing all at once.  This first section covered my memories of pop culture from late 1963 through the summer of 1970; the series will eventually resume with tales of me in The Me Decade.

Looking through the archives, I found the first few paragraphs of a detective novel I almost started writing before I abandoned it.  See, that's my problem:  lack of commitment.  Though I probably won't be posting much fiction here (the reaction to ETERNITY MAN! was underwhelming), I may post those paragraphs here.  Because I can!

I appreciate all of the feedback this blog has received so far, and I REALLY appreciate those who spread the word:  carlcafarelli.blogspot.com  Together, we'll join Digby at Budokan yet.