Last outing I was not inclined to go into the details of my criminal undertakings during that time. I had been a narco-anarchist for years. I never really did anything outside that ethos, but I chose not to expound on details of my adventures. However, looking back over the songs from those years I realized I had omitted some details that shine a light on a few of my selections.
In the 72 I had the pleasure of seeing the movie The Harder They Come. Not only was it a cool as hell flick, but it introduced me to Jamaica & Jamaican music. I had a hard time finding much & so it kinda slipped my mind until 76, when I started finding Jamaican music once again.
Also, in the early part of 76 I was repeatedly traveling between Chicago & Buffalo for several months taking care of a reciprocal trade arrangement. I was often flush with moolah during those trips so I tried to hit as many live shows as I could work into my schedule. Over a two week period in April I saw Patti Smith in Cleveland, OH & Buffalo, NY...in June I saw the Ramones in Youngstown, OH...& in July I saw The Runaways at the Agora in Cleveland.
I fell for punk liked I fallen for San Francisco, but it wasn't a place this time. It was a Sound. A Sound that I could relate to, that took all my feelings of angst about everything that had gone down so far in my life & poured it out in song.
The fuckin' Sex Pistols, brothers & sisters. Steve Jones & Paul fuckin' Cook, man. Johnny Rotten Lydon. This shit hit me in the face. It was rock 'n' fucking roll, people. But some of early punk was just so much wank. I was having a hard time getting that slam in the face of that first dose of the Pistols. They say one never gets as clean a rush as the first time, as (s)he pulls the needle from hir arm.
On January 24, 1977, President Jimmy Carter issued Proclamation 4483 which granted amnesty for all Vietnam War draft evaders. Suddenly I was free again...free to go where I chose, not just where the winds of fate blew me...I was free to be myself again.
This first thing I did was go visit my parents. My father was in declining health & it had been years since I was able see him. The prodigal son returned. I was able to spend a while with him before he passed from this plane of existence. I am eternally thankful for that. I had one more business transaction I had committed to, so I headed to Florida, then back north to Ohio.
What to do now that all my family & financial obligations were met. Well, I joined the circus. The Clyde Beatty/Cole Brothers traveling circus. They came through Cleveland. I went over to the Big Top after their show & signed on. I traveled with the show, doing set-up & tear-down & running lights during the performances. They covered most of the central US. In the fall, when the circus season was over & the CB crews were heading to Florida to winter over, I said my good-byes & headed first to Denver for short vacation, then I headed to California once more before winter stranded me in the Rockies.
This time I headed to San Jose. There was a cadre of PA ex-pats that I'd been wanting to touch base with & it was a perfect place to ring in New Year 1980.
Vol. 5 - Proclamation 4483/Just in time for PUNK 1977-1979
1977
The Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant
Television - Friction
Elvis Costello - Waiting for the End of the World
Eddie Hazel - California Dreamin'
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
Wire - Three Girl Rhumba
The Clash - I'm So Bored with the U.S.A.
1978
Devo - Uncontrollable Urge
Pere Ubu - On the Surface
Public Image Ltd. - Public Image
Johnny Thunders - London Boys
1979
Buzzcocks - You Know You Can't Help It
Gang of Four - Damaged Goods
The Clash - Rudie Can't Fail
Next in this series: Vol 6 - Black Dahlia Time 1980-1983
Enjoy,
NØ
I am so enjoying these dialogs. We've gone through many of the same things, many at the same time. You distinguish yourself in your highly original compartment throughout. It's refreshing to cover some of the same territory I myself have covered, or lived through, with others and see a totally different viewpoint while appreciatiting the same things. Kudos. Happy holidays.
ReplyDeleteBecause of take-downs there is now a decryption codes.
DeleteVol. 5
im_Mu5g6rZ1iHqCXnUF_uYPpYGzRQ8shYMFw06-o-Gk
Thanks brother, & nappy holidaze to you, too. As I said in the first segment, my hopes are that others can enjoy at least some of this & I hope certain songs will hit one or another of you in some special personal way.
ReplyDeleteWhat I've been trying to do is give everyone an idea of a life no one can know but me. It's great that you were walking those same lines in your own personal way. As you said, its cool to see a totally different viewpoint while appreciating the same things. Not sure everyone will get it but I'm sure glad you do.
Thank you for taking us on the ride of your lifetime, Nathan. Reading that you were able to see your dad again was very touching. Jimmy Carter doesn't get enough credit for his dedication to peace and justice. It took balls to issue that proclamation, just as it took balls for you and others to resist the draft.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Carter was a great President. If the Republicans hadn't given him the shaft in such a big way, he may have gone on to do even greater things for this nation. He is still doing good for "We, the people". It didn't really take balls to resist the war. It is just where we each draw that moral line in the sand. I do not believe in killing in any way. I am a Buddhist at heart & vegetarian since I was seventeen. Thanks for the support as always, the kind words, & the inspiration for this all.
ReplyDeletePresident Carter is indeed still doing good things for us and for the people of the world. When I was of draft age I thought a lot about Joe Strummer's words:
DeleteIt's up to you not to heed the call up, I don't want to die
It's up to you not to heed the call up, I don't want to kill
A few years later, it was Chuck D.:
DeleteI got a letter from the government the other day
I opened and read it, it said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me giving a damn, I said never
For me it was Stiff Little Fingers tune 'Tin Soldiers' and the second time I saw them a few years back, they played that song TWICE in one set...LOL must have sensed it made a difference to me in my youth. You are a fine American, Sir!
ReplyDeleteI included Stiff Little Finges in the next segment. "No Change". But I dig "Tin Soldiers", too. It's cool how certain songs by certain bands resonate with each of us in different personal ways. Thanks for the sentiment.
DeleteOur timelines are now on the cusp of convergence when we would actually be discovering and listening to new great music in the same space-time nexus. At this point in your journey, I'm a 7th grader in LA county and there is some seepage of this alternate reality leaking through the KISS, Van Halen, April Wine, Black Sabbath 70s hard rock soundscape I inhabit. I hear Devo coming out of someone's cassette player during our outdoor Physical Education class. I see the older kids bonding over Elvis Costello on a Ski Club trip. I see glimpses of the Sex Pistols and Punk Rock on the evening news. I am just on the verge of discovering that world a year later in 1980 just before High School when my friend's older brother, our musical pied piper, starts going to early Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and X gigs in Hollywood and starts playing their music for us. But until then, we are still worlds apart in our journeys (that have now collided in this little space you have thankfully carved out to share with us). I'm very happy you are taking us on this trip with you.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of this journey, I'm on my voyage of discovery while you are just a young sprout, but as time passes, your own journey picks up. As you grow forward into your musical journey, the difference between our ages means much less. Thanks again for following along.
ReplyDeleteLink says that the file is no longer available :(
ReplyDeleteFixed. Thanks.
Delete