Rainy Night Jukebox

Another post over on the 'box, this one on legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba and her deeply funky Pata Pata from 1957. I realize this is getting a bit awkward--I'm just not sure how to gracefully juggle multiple 'blogs. 21st century problems...

Also, consider visiting my pal Grant Reynold's website and picking up his latest collection of comics, Hypnotic Induction Technique. Not only is Grant one of the city's most talented ink-slingers, your purchase/donation will help him cover some  medical bills from a recent on-the-job injury--basically Wholefoods, that bastion of compassion, is dicking him around on workman's comp after a gnarly fall down some snowy steps.

Thanks!

SB Jukebox, Chicago edition

New post over at Secret Beach Jukebox in which I manage to rag on pretty much the whole Chicago underground-music scene. Call it crankiness or just old-fashioned shot-calling, I'm getting kind of into this whole music-scribe deal. Currently reading Jim Derogatis' adoring biography of the great rock critic Lester Bangs--to, y'know, get in the zone. Now if they'd only bring back Romilar...

Print Edition, Unprinted

In deference to modern times, and for those readers that just can't stand inky fingers, I'm making Secret Beach #3 (print edition) available digitally. For your reading pleasure: long-form features on the great Yva Las Vegass and queer photographer/Cubs superfan Jerry Pritikin, some thoughts on the passing of my friend, the should-be-legendary Caroline Jaffe, and a bit of what my friend Edie Fake has dubbed feral fiction, from my unfinished debut novel. Still, print rules and digital drools, so for your free coffee-table edition just email me at ltwar@hotmail.com --I've got a pile of magazines on my kitchen table that I'd really like to get rid of...

Secret Beach Jukebox

Sorry to've been so derelict in my Secret Beach duties--fact is, I've kind of been whoring around, blogwise. My friend and neighbor Robert Cole Manis, who runs Moniker Records, asked me to start a music blog to help juice up the Moniker website and the idea struck my fancy--I've always wanted to be a music writer. It's a bit much, expecting anyone to follow me around from one blog to another, but if you do want to check it out my first post is pretty epic, a sort of multimedia scene report from San Francisco c. 2003, featuring lost legends like Hickey, Shotwell and Full Moon Partisans. I'm not abandoning Secret Beach by any means--matter of fact, I'm calling the new jam Secret Beach Jukebox, so let's just say I'm diversifying the brand. Anyway, feel free to check it out--and consider picking up some Moniker vinyl along the way.