My Beloved Anti-Divas, Part 1: Patti Smith by Kevin Hibshman

Thought I'd kick things off by saluting a few of the women whose music has greatly affected my life.  One of the earliest was Patti Smith. So much has already been written about her. I own three separate biographies! I believe a film about her life was also in the works and possibly, a television series?  She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. The French Ministry of Culture named her a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2005. She also won the National Book Award in 2010 for her memoir, Just Kids. 

      I'm certain almost anyone who would read this column is familiar with Smith in some way. She has recently released a series of three spoken-word Cd's with the Berlin-based band Soundwalk Collective. I'm not reviewing that series because I want to focus on the two seminal albums I personally believe EVERY rock music fan, every poet, every outsider and every female artist should own.  First, let's do a very brief run through of her history.

        Born in Chicago, 1946, Patti spent the first four years of her life in Philadelphia before her family moved to rural New Jersey. After failing in several dead-end jobs and getting pregnant but giving the child up for adoption, she fled to New York City in 1967. She immediately fell in with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and a host of other artists and musicians, including poet Jim Carroll and actor/playwright Sam Shepard. Her incendiary spoken-word performances at St. Marks Poetry Project in New York in the early 70's drew acclaim and by 1974, the Patti Smith Group was formed. The band was signed to Arista Records and released their stunning debut: Horses in 1975.

        Horses was quite unlike any other record before its time. It was raw, the murky production actually enhancing the songs. Smith sang but spent equal time chanting and declaiming verse. On Horses,the songs are built into the poetry. On the other album I wish to talk about, Easter, the poems are built into the songs. It strikes me as ironic that on the cover of Horses, she has a visible light mustache and on the cover of Easter, she is flashing under arm hair.

 

        Horses, with its wild energy and Smith's animal yet intellectual presence foreshadowed punk, inspiring the kids that went on to form bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash. The opening lines of the album: “Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine” set the tone for all of the hallucinatory imagery and sexual abandon that followed. The band paired a few classic rock tunes ( Van Morrison's “Gloria” and Chris Kenner's “Land of a Thousand Dances”) to Smith's often improvised rants to create a new musical form. 

        After that powerful public introduction and statement of purpose, Patti and the band released their second record, Radio Ethiopia in 1976. It was a commercial and critical flop, though fans will want to own it. To further complicate things, Smith fell from a stage, breaking vertebrae in her neck, while the band were opening for Bob Seger (!) in Tampa, Florida in 1977. The future of the band seemed uncertain. 

        All was not lost, however. In March, 1978, The Patti Smith Group delivered what would be their most commercially successful album, Easter. Produced by then-unknown Jimmy Iovine, the record featured Smith's only hit, Because The Night with music supplied by fellow New Jersey rocker, Bruce Springsteen. Iovine's tasteful production combined with a strong set of songs and Patti's regained commitment to her art, all made for a very spirited comeback. The key ingredient was Smith's voice. She let loose with a new strength and control that was intoxicating and would go on to inspire future female rockers including P.J. Harvey and Courtney Love. 

      Ever expanding on a multi-faceted career that's already spanned over four decades, Smith continues to inspire with her singular vision. She has helped redefine the boundaries of what is possible in rock music as well as exemplifying a new type of female performer. If you are not familiar with her recorded output, I highly recommend beginning with either of the aforementioned albums. You can always go back and score the rest later.

Meet Sylvia Van Nooten, Art Columnist for GAS

Sylvia Van Nooten is an asemic artist and visual poet but once she was a writer of fiction.  Way back in the late nineties she wrote a novel and it almost made it.  Jonathan Franzen’s agent read it and expressed interest, she sent some ideas for a rewrite.  But that novel-- titled Brain Music--which today sits in a cardboard box in Sylvia’s basement, got her started doing art because of writer’s block. Writer’s block, particularly for writer’s of fiction-without-a-strong-plot, heavy on the beautiful sentences, light on structure---well it’s exhausting.  Sylvia took time away from her novel to start playing with oil paints and pastels.  Eventually the writer’s block became permanent but the art continues, twenty plus years later.  

Without all the words and no need for strong plotting, art expresses (to be banal), whatever needs to be expressed.  In this painting, done on November 3^rd, 2020, is titled American Dissonance. The tension of that night had to be expressed.  

The next painting is about striving to find strength during these ever so difficult times and was completed several days after the election. It’s titled, Finding Source. The viewer is free to interpret the art anyway they feel.  Once Sylvia births a painting it is on its own, out in the world.

As an art columnist for GAS, Sylvia will be interviewing many of the artists she knows from social media.  They have all inspired her and encouraged her to carry on and they all have fascinating stories to tell about art and process and life.  

See more of Sylvia's work in GAS 9.

"Music is Life Itself" (Louis Armstrong) by Kevin M. Hibshman

      

  My intense love for music began at a very young age. I hummed pop songs I picked up on from my mother. She had a small transistor radio in the kitchen and she was always humming along to the hit songs of the day. My father, who played saxophone, also enjoyed the radio and music would accompany the family on our car trips everywhere. I grew up during the 70's and 80's when commercial music was at its peak. Music had little competition for public attention then besides television and many music-themed shows were quite popular. In a sense, There was no escaping it. 

        Music truly became indispensable to me during my teen years when I began to form my own tastes and opinions. Being somewhat of an outsider, I found the only voices that spoke to me were the musicians who provided the soundtrack to my youth. I was drawn immediately to punk rock and new wave although I have always had a wide range of favorite bands. I began writing songs with my best friend, Kris, a pioneering female guitarist and she exposed me to even more artists. We formed two bands that played alternative rock, mixing our own songs with cover versions from our favorite bands. 

        Music has been my closest, most dependable life-long friend, speaking to as well as for me. It is its own ever-expanding universe and has guided me to become the person I am today.

Joe Kidd's "The Invisible Waterhole" Reviewed by Belinda Subraman

Joe Kidd is a musician, singer/songwriter, activist, philosopher and poet. He has a new book out called The Invisible Waterhole.  The title invokes the mystical and philosophical nature of the book.

Available HERE.

Joe is a seeker...and a finder.  The essence of each poem is his insight no matter the subject.  He's at the age when introspection reveals a deeper, fuller perspective and wisdom from the journey so far while acknowledging the constant battle with the human condition. From Great Hunger:  "what I heard is not what was said/there was a pause, a promise/a silent message."  He ends the poem with the realization he is dealing with his own issues not necessarily at all what the speaker meant: "someone released us/(a stained document,/a soiled piece of cloth) / into the cold and burnt sky within."

He knows we all experience roughly the same things but in different order, different times, different cultures.  It really is all about how we interpret and internalize what our experiences have to offer. With his rich understanding it is not surprising that Joe has seminary training and a broad knowledge of spiritual traditions around the world.

Battle Well

EJECT the world beyond your skull

 light now stopping in its tracks

the high walls shattered, sheets of glass

 motionless, a scented form

called for nourishment and bliss

a circling tongue upon a door

a secret held between closed lips

REJECT the generated noise

the burning hum of violence

the vision of a turning blade

that sound of rumbling underground

 friends remembered in a womb

the birth of choice, clean and warm

 walking home on splintered bone

INJECT the fluid deep and dark

 where memory died a tragedy

the word not spoken, long asleep

 tried to touch, but could not reach

 that mask of love upon a face

 beyond a mirrored apparition

this fallen angel's shrunken head

A good place to end is with the blooming peace (and responsibility) of the last stanza of Solstice Part One: Tonight I dive deep into eternal solace/at the center and the edge/of a universe that does not exist/ beyond a heart’s command.

Since it's hard to mention Joe without mentioning Shelia, here's just a tiny portion of their accomplishments. "Joe & Sheila are 2 time recipients of the Detroit Music Award for Songwriter of the Year, Michigan Governor's Award, World Songwriters Award, 2019 Congressional Certificate from US House of Representatives, 2019 Clouzine Magazine Music Award for Best Acoustic Song, 2020 International Singer Songwriter Association Award for Vocal Duo of the Year.  Joe Kidd was inducted into the Michigan Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on June 1 2017.  Joe & Sheila have each published books of poetry, prose, and illustration."
http://www.joekiddandsheilaburke.com/bio

A Review of Cee Williams’ "Poetry for Cats & all the other mortal things I couldn’t keep myself from loving" by Heidi Blakeslee

You know that feeling you get when you’re reading someone’s work and it just transports you to their time and place?  The words are pure and the voice is so strong you get pangs in your stomach.  When it’s so good you recognize parts of the writing as part of your own ephemera?  You just feel it?

Cee Williams’s “Poetry for Cats” is that chapbook.  As a person familiar with his work, this volume stands out for me as one that is special.  Not just because I love cats, though Cee’s warmth when writing and talking about animals can certainly give me bias.  No, not all of the poems are about cats, though animals are always a running theme in his poetry.  There is a richness to the lines as Cee lovingly and vividly describes characters he knows and has known.  

His voice is at once wise and true.  If you are in the mood for some perfectly polished work that will make your soul ache and your heart nod along in agreement, then this work is for you.  Every time I read this chapbook I sigh and think, “Damn, Cee, you did it again!”  

Psalm 68 Verse 9:

"Rain in abundance thou didst shed abroad; thou didst restore thy heritage as it languished."

As the rain falls

through the flowering pear

a whispered orison to veiled Orishas

lingers long enough to hold in fingers

crossed in hopeful supplication

quiet prayers imprisoned in despair

This book was published by Poet's Hall and is available from poet2thebone@gmail.com

Cee Williams is the founder of Poet’s Hall, the International Fellowship of Poets and Spoken Word Artists, in Erie, Pa.  He was also the Poet Laureate of Erie County from 2014-2016.  He is a poet, playwright, and producer with many published titles under his belt.  

Poet/Musician, Heidi Blakeslee, Joins GAS Staff as a Book Reviewer

Heidi Blakeslee is a writer, musician, and artist currently living near Pittsburgh, Pa.  She's been publishing work since the early 2000's.  She got her start in poetry performance at the Erie Bookstore, in Erie, Pa. in 2004.   She came up alongside writers like Thasia Anne, Chuck Joy, Cee Williams, Berwyn Moore, and Greg Brown.   She has published extensively with Alien Buddha and in many online poetry blogs like "Winedrunk Sidewalk," "Nixes Mate," and "Live Nude Poems."  She has written a memoir, two novels, and three poetry books, the latest of which is "Neurotica" with cover artwork, "My mind at midnight," by Belinda Subraman.

Musically, Heidi started the project "Emocat2380," or just "Emocat" for short, in January of 2020.  The music started out as simply a means of relaxing and staying sane during the craziest era our country has lived in for many decades.  The music manifests itself with synths, soft tones, early Nintendo-like soundscapes, and surprising layers of instruments and drums.  Emocat's mission is to create music for cats and the people who appreciate them.

Heidi's plans for the future include continuing to work with Emocat, writing book reviews for GAS, and finishing that darn niggling novel that begs for closure.  

She lives with her six cats and her partner James Trevison, who is also an artist and saxophone player.

Heidi's book is available on HERE.

real men snuggle cats

our jet black panther-cat, Weenie Beans

has taken ownership

of james

his belly in particular

he loves jumping on it and sitting there

kneading it

as he comforts down into

his home sense

sometimes he lies there for an hour

james pets him and we watch tv

real men accept head boops graciously

with eyes closed

and smiling

this is true

Weenie is a very loving cat

he gives boops with abandon

james rewards him with treats to reinforce

the behavior

he loves james and james loves him

an innocent joy

jim's at work now

and Weenie is laying on my back kneading my butt

why? who knows

his nails scratch through my dress

it isn't entirely comfortable

but i let him stay

such is love

The Poetry of Su Zi

Su Zi is equal parts writer, artist, and badass eco-feminist.  She holds an MA in English and has published in such places as Driving Digest, Exquisite Corpse, and Blue Heron Review (where she was nominated for The Pushcart Prize).  She resides in Florida with her horses, dogs, cats, and turtles where she runs The Red Mare Chapbook Series.

Below is an interview with Su Zi in which she reads a long poem first read at a 100,000 Poets for Change event.

In the video below Su Zi reads a long poem she originally read at a 100,000 Poets for Change event.

Su Zi's newest book, Chicago Poems, will be available from Breaking Rules and on Amazon.

Su Zi also appears in GAS 9.