Jack Herer (#1): Grow Hemp For Herer.

Jack Herer, the inspirational author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, holding a "Grow Hemp for the War" (circa WWII) poster. Herer has sold 750,000 copies of his book, which many consider the hemp bible: detailing cannabis' uses for food, fuel, medicine, paper, and clothing. I just completed a feature interview with Herer for a future issue of Medical Marijuana News. Photo taken in 1991 in Lakewood, Colorado.

Tom Robbins (#1): Fundamentally Robbins.

Tom Robbins -- author of lusty books like Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Jitterbug Perfume, and Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates -- sporting a "Jimmy Swaggart Bible College" sweatshirt.

He can make paragraphs sparkle like a girl's best friend.

Robbins also has a new book out. I recently interviewed him about B Is for Beer -- his "children's book about beer" -- for DRAFT magazine. Due to space limitations in its print edition, the magazine edited out one of the question-and-answers, which I'll kindly reprint here:

Q: I had fun drinking beer with you at the La Conner Brewing Company [La Conner, WA] in 2000, talking about your collection of freak show art. What are some of your fondest memories involving beer?

Robbins: In my bank of hoppy memories, nothing exceeds my recollection of motoring through Germany, stopping in small towns to test the brewing skills of local monks. At times I was tempted to burn my passport and don robe and sandals.

It wasn't my first dialogue with the hallucinogenic writer. Back in 2000, I interviewed Robbins for High Times magazine and wrote a sidebar about the revelatory and amusing experience.

John Holmstrom: From Road To Ruin To High Times.

John Holmstrom, the co-founder of Punk Magazine and former publisher of High Times, at the High Times offices in the mid-'90s. Looking like the bean-counting businessman that he was back then.

Holmstrom is more widely regarded as an artist, however. I want to say that his visuals first entered my consciousness on the early Ramones album sleeves (like the cover of Road to Ruin). But I've come to find out that Holmstrom used to illustrate for the scholastic kid's magazine Bananas, so my unwitting introduction to his graphic style probably occurred in the 5th grade.

Holmstrom also gave me my first assignment for High Times in 1990: interviewing Colorado libertarian political candidate and founder of the No More Drug War Foundation, Robin Heid.

Currently, Holmstrom is back publishing Punk -- and wearing black t-shirts.

Ralph Steadman (#4): In Steadman's Hands.

Gonzo artist Ralph Steadman beside his renderings of writers Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and T.S. Eliot. Photo taken in Denver at Bill Havu's 1/1 Gallery in 1995 as I was writing a profile on Steadman for Juxtapoz magazine.

Besides the Juxtapoz article (starting on pg. 56 at the link), I've interviewed Steadman for Salon.com (a piece translated and reprinted by a magazine for educators and librarians in Spain), BeeR, the Denver city magazine 5280 (quoting Mayor John Hickenlooper, among others, about Steadman), and High Times. He's probably sick of speaking with me at this point, but I've always enjoyed our one-on-ones.

Steadman does briefly cite me in his book about Thompson, The Joke's Over -- describing me a "studious fan" and neglecting to mention that I'd ever written a word about him. (After he'd previously listed my Juxtapoz article on his curriculum vitae!) Alas, a "studious fan" of Steadman's I shall remain!

(My other photos of Steadman.)

Grateful Dead (#1): Jerry Ruling At Noodling.

Taken from the press photo pit, directly against the stage. McNichol's Arena in Denver. December 3, 1992. Shot for Colorado Music Magazine. Bobbing up and down in time to "Touch of Grey" as I snapped away, I swear I got a smile out of Garcia.

Jerry showing that he hadn't given up the ghost quite yet, back onstage after recent health problems. He got by.

Victor Moscoso: Psychedelic Visual Lion.

Psychedelic poster artist Victor Moscoso in front of his imagery. Denver. 1992.

Moscoso's work is currently on display as part of the Denver Art Museum's special exhibit The Psychedelic Experience. The exhibition notes how Moscoso studied art under Bauhaus master Josef Albers -- and intentionally turned what he learned from Albers about proper color theory on its head, creating visuals that vibrantly shimmer. Moscoso was also probably the craftiest of the San Francisco poster artists: designing show advertisements for free for rock clubs, so long as he could keep the rights to the images. Other artists who worked for promoters Chet Helms and Bill Graham signed away their copyrights, perhaps not realizing that there was more lucre to be made in the longterm from the sales of the posters than there were proceeds from the concerts themselves.

Although not as discernible as I'd like it to be, I tried to line up the embroidered "Victor" on Moscoso's jacket breast so that it could be read next to the "Moscoso" on his poster.

Reprinted in decidedly unpyschedelic sepia. However, Moscoso's colorful jovialty comes through.

Slim Cessna's Auto Club (#16): With Slim. On Assignment. Dateline: Denver.

I've always wanted to write about one of my favorite bands of all times: Slim Cessna's Auto Club. Luckily, I just got the opportunity, penning this article for the online revival of Crawdaddy!.

Here's a photo of Slim and I, as I'm grilling him about his music:

Well, maybe "grilling" isn't the right word. I'll go back and edit this blog entry later on -- as I'm wont to do.

And here's a photo of John Rumley of the Auto Club playing pedal steel, bottle of beer nearby, at the 3 Kings Tavern, 3-13-09 (same as above):

Whose turn is it out there to buy me a round of drinks at the Denver Press Club?

(My other photos of Slim Cessna's Auto Club.)

Jimi (Jimmy) Mamou (#2): Mamou Travel Memories.

A little over a year ago I posted a blog entry about an American blues musician who bowled me over with his playing when I saw him in Mexico in 2004: Jimi Mamou (also known as Jimmy Mamou).


While visiting the onetime sleepy fishing village of Zihuatanejo, this tourist floated in one of the world's most beautifully-tranquil bays as sunset approached. And I watched a series of sunsets that a hundred-plus photos couldn't capture all the striated majesty of. Nevertheless, those shots still reduce me to sighs when I look back at them.


Next, I'd walk into town to eat: maybe munching that evening on a milanesa torta, fresh seafood, or green enchiladas.

Capping three separate sticky nights, I drank cold Victoria beer while watching Jimi Mamou and the other members of his trio strut out some awesome R&B. I'll never forget the electricity he generated, his zestful showmanship, his guitar chops.

Since posting that Mamou travelogue, I contacted Mr. Fine Wine, a deejay at WFMU, to tell him that I appreciated being able to hear Mamou's "Funky Love" for the first time thanks to his show. Mr. Fine Wine responded that he's owned that 45 "forever," but didn't know much about Jimi's history until reading my blog.

Then a record seller, an acquaintance here in Denver, emailed me to say that he'd recently acquired Mamou's "'I Am' He Said" religious record. Researching that title on an Internet search engine, he happened upon my blog entry right off the bat. It's a small world, after all -- and Jimi's name is known all around the globe. My blog has also gotten hits from people looking for info on Mamou in Mexico City, Toronto, Tokyo, Turin, Paris, Chicago, and Nashville -- to name a few locales.

At the end of my post, I wondered where Mamou was now. Art and Gillian responded in February of this year: "Jimi is alive and well in Zihuat, playing here and there in various clubs once or twice a week..."

I've also researched Mamou further myself, listening online to a 1971 Elvin Bishop concert in San Francisco at which Mamou made a guest appearance, joining the band for a few songs. And I see that he performs at an annual guitar festival held in Zihuatanejo.

With any luck that's where I'll be in March of 2010. Swimming again in the gentle waves at Playa La Ropa. Watching the fishermen haul in my evening's meal during the pre-sunrise a.m. hours. And swaying like a palm tree to the rhythms of Jimi Mamou on a warm festival night beside the Pacific.

Abbie Hoffman: Steal This Blog Entry.

Abbie Hoffman showing off his "Surf Russia" pants at an appearance in Boulder in the '80s, not too long before his death. The onetime '60s radical, co-founder of the Yippies, Chicago Seven co-conspirator, fugitive, and titular author of Steal This Book.

Hoffman walked onto the stage and took off a fake cast he'd been wearing, saying with a frown that everybody in Boulder always wanted to shake hands. Abbie didn't want to shake hands. He still wanted -- despite waning vim and vigor -- to stir shit up.

Allen Ginsberg (#3) & David Hockney (#1): Photographic Triptych.

Artist David Hockney and poet Allen Ginsberg discussing photography. At Naropa in Boulder, Colorado. July 1989.

Blackstone Valley Sinners: Slim Cessna's Cold Hard Truth About Christmas.

Blackstone Valley Sinners playing a gig at the Climax Lounge in Denver on May 3, 2003. The Rhode Island-based band consisted of: Slim Cessna on guitar and vocals; Judithann on bass and vocals; and Rich Gilbert on steel guitar, dobro, banjo, piano and backup vocals.

I'll be putting their disc, The Cold Hard Truth About Christmas, on the CD player today and singing along with their version of the old Ernest Tubb song "Christmas Is Just Another Day For Me."

Ralph Gean (#18, #19): Photos Go With Liner Notes.

Here are a couple of shots of rockin' Ralph Gean which accompanied the liner notes included in his CD releases:

In the photo above, Ralph (right) holds counsel at the Lions Lair in Denver, circa 1996, with Boyd Rice (center) and Shannon Dickey (left). Rice produced the CD "A Star Unborn or What Would Have Been If What Is Hadn't Happened: The Amazing Story of: Ralph Gean" which appeared on England's World Serpent label (1997). Dickey, the former jazz buyer at the Denver music shop Wax Trax and an all-around incredible musicologist, managed Gean at the time. It may look like a noir gangster movie, but it's really just Ralph and his brain trust.

This second photo of Ralph -- holding his instrument, ahem, erect -- accompanied the liner notes for "The Amazing Ralph Gean: His Music, His Story" (2006) on Discriminate Audio. Well Ralph, most assuredly, understands the primal elements of rock 'n' roll.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are 2,000 words worth of Ralph Gean imagery suitable for explaining the man and his musical legacy.

(Here are other photos of mine of Ralph Gean.)

Modern Drunkard (#2): Walkin'...er, Stumblin' The Gauntlet.

Frank Kelly Rich, the publisher of Modern Drunkard Magazine, having just successfully completed "The Gauntlet" challenge: "Drink all 20 pints on tap within eight hours and your beers are free." 2008 Modern Drunkard Convention at the 3 Kings Tavern in Denver. August 31, 2008.

Rich runs the magazine, putting his money where his mouth is. And he runs The Gauntlet: not having to put his money where his mouth is. That's what I call a successful businessman.

Wayne Kramer (#3): Wayne Raging On Guitar.

Wayne Kramer makes ready to perform a most incendiary version of "Kick Out The Jams" with Rage Against the Machine, across town from the Democratic National Convention. Denver Coliseum. August 27, 2008.

Here's my Huffington Post interview with Kramer that took place prior to the event. Kramer relates his experience with the MC5 at the violence-soaked '68 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

(Click here for my other Wayne Kramer photos.)

Frank Morris (#2): Hear the Beer.

RIP, Frank Morris (1947-2001)

The late writer and poet Frank Morris listening to the lingo of carbonation.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). I just wrote a preview article about the event for Denver Magazine. Frank helped brainstorm the very first GABF in Boulder 26 years ago. He also helped me develop a greater appreciation for -- and knowledge of -- the craft of beer. Because of him, whenever I open a liquor store beer cooler, I always bypass the first six pack of the brand I'll be buying and take the second one out from its place behind the first. Less light-struck, you know? Less of a chance for spoilage.

Here's Frank writing about the late beer writer Michael Jackson:

*

"Mr. Morris."

I'd recognize that cheerful Limey voice anywhere, even amid the white water baggage claim chaos of the world's fourth or fifth largest airport. I turned -- sure enough -- there was a slightly rumpled Michael Jackson peering through tortoise shell horn-rimmed glasses at me, relaxed and chipper in his off-white cotton summer suit. His swarthy eyes sparkled through a trace of jet lag vapor trail from his savage, ricocheting travel schedule. He was careening through roughly twice as many cities as days in updating the American microbrewery/brewpub section of his Pocket Guide to Beer. Michael's bright, inscrutably smiling face, characteristic tidy mustache & chin beard oval was wreathed round with vast curly hair. Dionysian mammal hair radiating right out of a '60s psychedelic Jimi Hendrix Experience poster -- visual wah wah from a steel pedal guitar out to here -- world class hair...

Mere mention of Michael among those familiar with his work brings to mind: travel, romance of place, peculiar local drinking customs, colorful characters and unique brewing processes. And always his impeccable, pithy attention to detail and genuinely debonair appreciation of the many kindnesses shown him along his way....

Michael gets around, and people tend to hang on The Bard of Beer's every word. They realize that beyond the knowledge, candor and sophistication lurks an English gentleman possessed of a wild, sly dog sense of humor that is raw & yet still elegant. Since my bat sonar is finely tuned to a crazy wisdom frequency, around this complex guy who has sold more books on beer in more languages than anyone ever -- and still humbly appreciates and respects his reader -- I too grow Prince Charles Ears!

*

I'll give a beer a listen for ya tomorrow at the GABF, Frank. Salute!

(Here's another photo of mine of Frank Morris, along with a fitting excerpt from one of his poems.)

Supersuckers & Marty Jones: Got Them Oskar Blues Blues.

Eddie Spaghetti (left) and Dan "Thunder" Bolton (right) of the Supersuckers together with Marty Jones (center), singer-songwriter and spokesman for Oskar Blues Brewery. At the Oskar Blues booth at the Great American Beer Festival, 2004. Holding cans of Dale's Pale Ale -- which will turn a Supersucker into a Supersipper. Boy Howdy!

William S. Burroughs (#3): In the Western Lands of Boulder.

Author William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch, The Western Lands) mesmerizing the camera. Photo taken in Boulder, Colorado in the late-Eighties, following an interview I conducted with the cultural icon. You can read parts of the interview in this issue of the U.K. journal Headpress.

(Click here for my other photos of Burroughs.)

Steve Bloom: Puff the Magic Dragon, Steve.

Steve Bloom on 4/20, promoting the book he co-authored: Pot Culture: The A-Z Guide to Stoner Language & Life. Standing beside a dragon mural (could it be Puff?) at Owsley's Golden Road in Denver. Bloom also dishes the sinsemilla scuttlebutt at his CelebStoner web site.

A former music and culture editor as well as writer at High Times, Steve edited my interviews with noted authors T.C. Boyle and Tom Robbins, my coverage of the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen (which featured members of the casts of Cheers and Monty Python), and my reportage from the movie set of Homegrown (starring Hank Azaria and Billy Bob Thornton).

The Mile High City always welcomes the Brooklyn-based Bloom.

Whiskey Throttle: Evel, Man, Evel.

The death-defying rockabilly sounds of Whiskey Throttle. Denver's Continental Club. January 9, 2008.

Ralph Steadman (#3): Hunter Steadman.

Gonzo artist Ralph Steadman impersonating his late compatriot: writer Hunter S. Thompson. Denver Newspaper Agency. November 6, 2006.

An interview of mine with Steadman.