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The Naked Sunfish Interview:
Country Joe McDonald

by Rick Brown

Editor’s note: Anyone who is familiar with the music of the late 1960’s and 70’s knows how influential the San Francisco scene was. One iconic musician was front man Joe McDonald of Country Joe and the Fish. Many of Country Joe’s songs remain woven into the fabric of the history of that era. And his performance at 1969’s Woodstock Festival was a sobering, yet celebratory sing along of 400,000 that speaks volumes to what 1969 was really like. At once both frolicking and dark in it’s scope, the “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag” reminded Woodstock’s revelers that most of them had a draft card in their pocket. Thanks to the people at Shadowbox (Who Joe appears with March 28th) I was able to interview Joe via the Internet. – R.B.

Naked Sunfish - Where are you from?

Country Joe McDonald - I WAS BORN IN WASHINGTON D.C. BUT MOVED WITH MY PARENTS TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WHEN I WAS 3 YEARS OLD. I GREW UP IN EL MONTE IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY AND MOVED TO THE SAN FRANCISCO AREA IN 1965.

N.S - When did you begin playing music?

C.J.M. - I STARTED PLAYING THE TROMBONE IN THE SCHOOL ORCHESTRA WHEN I WAS 10 YEARS OLD.

N.S. - Who influenced you early on? Who did you listen to?

C.J.M. - I LISTENED TO RHYTHM AND BLUES AND COUNTRY WESTERN AND JAZZ FROM MY TEENAGE YEARS ON.

N.S. - When did you first pick up the guitar? What kind(s) do you play?

C.J.M. - WHEN I WAS 15 YEARS OLD IT WAS MY FATHER’S AND HE COULD NOT PLAY IT. IT WAS AN EPIPHONE F HOLE.

N.S. - When did you begin writing your own songs?

C.J.M. - WHEN I WAS 15 I STARTED MY FIRST ROCK BAND AND WROTE A FEW SONGS IN THE STYLE OF THE 50'S.

N.S. - I really like a tune called "Who Am I?" from your "Fixin' To Die" album. It spoke to me as a 16 year old kid. Can you elaborate a little about why you wrote it?

C.J.M. - THE SONG “WHO AM I” WAS WRITTEN FOR A PLAY AND SUNG BY THREE SOLDIERS BEFORE A BATTLE ABOUT HOW THEY FELT.

N.S. - Can you tell us about your first bands? Did you become "Country Joe" when the Fish formed?

C.J.M. – WELL, MY FIRST ROCK BAND WAS WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. WE WERE CALLED THE NOMADS WITH DRUMS, SAX, GUITAR, AND VOCAL. IN 1965 A GROUP OF US MADE AN EP 7 INCH AND INVENTED THE NAME COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH FOR THAT RECORD. THE GROUP THEN WAS AN ACCOUSTIC SKIFFLE BAND AND WE CONTINUED TO USE THE NAME WHEN WE WENT ELECTRIC. THEN PEOPLE BEGAN TO CALL ME COUNTRY JOE.

N.S. - What was San Francisco like in the mid 60's, early on in so called the psychedelic era?

C.J.M. - THAT IS A QUESTION I CANNOT REALLY ANSWER. I LIVED IN BERKELEY. MOSTLY IT WAS SMALL.

N.S. - When did the "Fish" cheer become the "Fuck" cheer? Is it true that Ed Sullivan cut you from his show after hearing about it?

C.J.M. – IT WAS IN 1967 AT THE SHAEFER BEER FESTIVAL. IN THE SUMMER WE CHANGED THE “FISH CHEER” TO THE “FUCK CHEER”. WE HAD BEEN PAID TO BE ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW LATER ON IN THE YEAR. A REPRESENTATIVE CAME TO THE SHOW AND HEARD IT. WE WERE TOLD WE COULD KEEP THE MONEY BUT NOT BE ON THE SHOW.

N.S. - The Fish did a few movies, including Firesign Theater's "Zachariah". Cleveland locals The James Gang also were in that flick, and I have a copy on DVD. Growing up outside Cleveland I saw The James Gang dozens of times. Yet the Fish actually acted in the movie. Did you enjoy the experience? What other films were you involved in?

C.J.M. - THAT EXPERIENCE WAS FUN. I RODE HORSES WHEN I WAS YOUNG IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, BUT THE REST OF THE BAND HAD NOT. SO WE RENTED HORSES IN L.A. FOR THE DAY AND RODE AROUND TO PRACTICE. THE FILMING FOR “ZACHARIAH” WAS DONE IN MEXICALI, MEXICO. IT WAS QUITE AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE BEING ACTORS IN A MOVIE.

WE ALSO APPEARED IN ROGER CORMAN'S LAST MOVIE “GASSSSSSSS”. WE SANG A FEW SONGS AND I HAD SPEAKING LINES. WE WERE ALSO IN “AMERICAN GRAFFITI TWO”.

I, BY MYSELF, WAS IN A MOVIE CALLED “QUE HACER” ABOUT THE CHILIAN ELECTION OF ALLENDE AND WROTE A LOT SONGS FOR IT. I ALSO WROTE A LOT OF SONGS FOR THE DANISH MOVIE “QUIET DAYS IN CLICHY.”

N.S. - You played at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. But since you are performing after Shadowbox's "Back to the Garden"...a musical about Woodstock...I'll ask about that. What are your reflections of the 1969 Woodstock Festival? Do the Shadowbox people present a realistic representation of the experience?

C.J.M. - I THOUGHT THAT SHADOWBOX’S PLAY WAS A GOOD REPRESENTATION OF THE EXPERIENCE. MY REFLECTIONS ARE MANY AND ARE ON MY HOME PAGE.

N.S. You will do a short “mini-concert” following the March 28th performance of “Back to the Garden”. Will you playing with the Shadowbox musicians? They are a very, very talented group, as you know.

C.J.M. - I WILL PLAY WITH THE HOUSE BAND.

N.S. - What projects have you been involved in recently? Do you still tour?

C.J.M. - I STILL TOUR ABOUT 40 GIGS A YEAR. I AM WORKING ON A MUSICAL ABOUT FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE AND ALSO DO A TRIBUTE TO WOODY GUTHRIE THAT IS BOTH SPOKEN WORD AND SONG.

N.S. - What do you think of the music scene today?

C.J.M. - I THINK IT IS CHANGING IN MANY WAYS BUT STILL VERY EXCITING. THE LIVE MUSIC SCENE IS ALIVE AND WELL AND ALWAYS WILL BE. I JUST GOT BACK FROM THE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST MUSIC CONVENTION IN AUSTIN, TEXAS WHERE OVER 2,000 BANDS PLAYED.

N.S. - Are you still passionate about politics?

C.J.M. - MY PERSONAL POLITICS ARE STILL THE SAME BUT I HAVE NEVER BEEN INTERESTED IN POLITICIANS OR POLITICKING.

N.S. - Again Joe...thanks so much for this interview. It's funny...I started with the trombone at age 10 myself. And I actually played "Who Am I?" in church once...I played it a lot...but once in church.

C.J.M. – WELL, THAT SORT OF MAKES SENSE BECAUSE IN CHURCH WE SEEK TO FIND OURSELVES...OR SO ONE WOULD ASSUME.

Epilogue – Country Joe McDonald performed with the musicians of Shadowbox in a mini-concert after “Back to the Garden” on March 28th. Mr. McDonald most certainly still has his rock and roll chops as well as roots in folk music. He sang Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” as well as Fish favorites “Bass Strings”, “Death Sounds”, and “Flying High”. Of course he also sang “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag” as well as Rock and Soul Music”. Joe’s set was a very…very groovy end to a wonderful evening.

For more information about Country Joe McDonald please go to:
http://www.countryjoe.com/

Shadowbox’s “Back to the Garden” runs though at least May 23rd. For more information please go to:http://www.woodstockmusical.com

Tracks in the Snow
Raconteur Theater
Club Diversity
Columbus, Ohio

by Rick Brown

First I want to comment on Club Diversity. I like the place. The atmosphere is friendly and yes, diversity abounds in the bar area downstairs. Housed in an old, seemingly Victorian structure, the place has been transformed from a family home into a warm, open club with a performance space upstairs. And the performance area has been painted and tweaked since I was last there.

Problematic is the fact that the party atmosphere rises up and gives the upstairs a sort of underlying soundtrack. At first I found this annoying. But soon the steadiness of the sound seem to fade and became less intrusive than say the occasional furnace/air conditioning noise, or the shouting from a back alley.

What always impresses me about Raconteur is that this troupe is not only willing to take risks, but unabashedly embraces risk taking. Small in number, their members’ enthusiasm is obvious from their immediate welcoming hospitality. I mean…hey…these people can’t be making much, if any money with these intimate shows. But their dedication and love for theater cannot be understated.

Neil McGowen’s “Tracks in the Snow” is a play about a secluded farm family who has a surprise guest during a particularly nasty blizzard. Under the concise yet subtly casual direction of Ken Worrall, characterizations emerge slowly but steadily, which fits a storyline set in a snowstorm well. Warmth takes time when it’s cold. Andrew Goodwin plays Chase, an emotionally scarred veteran of a war he’s not sure about. After crashing his car into the Gould family’s fence stranding him, he becomes their reluctant guest. Mr. Goodwin’s Chase was both unassuming and lost…in search of something…a believable ex-soldier coming home yet possessing the wisdom that he can never go home.

Family life for the Goulds is typically loving and stressful and not without resentment. The tension of America’s cultural shift from family farm to industrialization…or Family versus individuality…was drawn out by Mr. Worrall’s direction, metaphorically enough, that it was effective without being preachy. Family patriarch Lance (the farmer father) was played with aplomb by Tom Shafer. His “close to the vest” approach of revealing what at first appears a simple, hard working man later strongly showing a man of complexity and wisdom really brought the production together at play’s end. Aiding in his emergence was Leslie Robinson who played Lance’s supportive wife, Elvira. Ms. Robinson’s “behind the scenes” mother/spouse was a perfect representation of the seemingly submissive yet self-assured mothers I grew up around in the 1950’s.

Sisters Sandra (Lorelei Moore) and Leauna (Katie Powell) of course were as different as night and day. Ms. Moore’s portrayal of older, married sister Sandra was as well complex. This actress was as adept at playing subtly salacious towards their marine visitor, as she was resentful toward her father and sister, while being downright contemptible with her husband Bobby. Ironically Ms. Moore’s comment at play’s end that love is not always a good reason to do anything almost overshadows the climax.

Sean Reid played Bobby, a husband whose wife married more to please her father than for love. He is stuck in a relentlessly manual labor-farming job, portraying this would be no simple task. Mr. Reid played the character with a delicate grace that made him worthy of empathy, not pity. His Bobby came across as a worthy son-in-law respected by the farmer patriarch. Bobby…despite his wife Sandra’s distance…obviously, and genuinely, loves her.

Farm hand and would be son (all farmers want sons not daughters right?) Jeremy was played by Jonathan Carter. Being a high school senior gave Mr. Carter the youthful exuberance needed for the range of fluctuating emotions Jeremy felt, being a “chosen son” yet not a son at all. And Carter did a fine job portraying teenage jealousy as Leauna turned her attention to Chase the war hero.

Despite these strong performances, it was Katie Powell’s Leauna that was the thread woven into the play’s fabric. She at once brought the performance together, commanding the audience’s attention. At times Ms. Powell seemed to be overplaying a 15-year-old girl. Then I remembered all those 15 year olds I knew as a camp counselor…all of my friend’s teenage kids…my own behavior at that age. Ms. Powell was brilliant. Her scenes alone with Andrew Goodwin as Lance were riveting, romantic and real. Her presence onstage made interaction between family members vividly authentic. Leauna’s dreams, conflicts and dreams became our own.

My only confusion about Raconteur’s Tracks in the Snow was that the father figure was projected by the other characters as mean and aloof. He worked all the time. But that’s what farmers do. They work all the time…because the have too. And he was wiser than he was mean. But perhaps that was just one of the epiphanies of Tracks in the Snow: the metaphor of things not being what they appear to be. That love might not be what it appears to be. And that hard work, dedication, and commitment might be more important than love. Or maybe it’s the same thing.

So as this delightful performance by Raconteur came to a close, the party music wafted up from the club below. And perhaps that contradiction of seriousness…love lost…innocence lost…with the steadily underfoot, vibrating soundtrack of eat, drink and be merry…made perfect sense.

For more information about Raconteur Theater go to:
http://www.raconteurtheatre.com/

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Cathedral
by
Morris Jackson

Morris Jackson's work will be on exhibit
at the Lindsay Gallery, 986 N High Street, through April 10, 2010

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by Sue Lense

Click Here

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Walk the Dog II

by Rick Brown

When there is what appears to be more than two feet of snow lying on the ground I am certainly not inspired to go out in it. And luckily for me…being mostly retired…I don’t have to very often. My wife drives our old 4-wheel drive Jeep Cherokee. So I manage to salve any guilt involved with her slogging her way to work every day because of that. Some days I’m more successful at this than others.

It’s been a nasty winter…and it is by no means over yet. Central Ohioans seem to forget what winter is…until it arrives again the following year. Their driving is a testament to that. And again…I am grateful to no longer be forced to dodge minivans sliding sideways in the slush…children’s faces pressed hard against frosty windows in horrifying terror.

But today…snowshoes or no snowshoes…pajamas be damned…I had to (are you ready for this?) take the trash out to the alley and the recycling out to what’s known in milder times as the “tree lawn”. I was gripped with fear until the “take the damned trash out” conversation with my wife and the “take the damned trash out” email from a friend.

Ordinarily…and by that I mean when there is not what seems to be two feet of snow lying on the ground…my Bichon buddy strolls with me out to the alley…sans leash. It’s a ritual called “Wanna Do TRASH? Will you be a GOOD BOY if we Do TRASH?” And upon my utterance of this proclamation…or the awareness that I am taking the big black bag out of the kitchen’s trash bin…Henri goes ballistic! Barking…wagging his tail like it’s going to fly off mid-wag. Today he was even more excited. My dog has cabin fever as much as I do.

So I put on warm clothes, a knit cap, scarf, gloves…the winter uniform. (Has it ever dawned on you that when it is severely cold outside you’ll put anything on that’s warm? Regardless of whether it matches or clashes? I like to say, “When it’s cold you don’t give a shit what you look like.”) Henri finally lets me put on his harness…there is no way I’m letting him go “off leash” since we won’t see sidewalks until spring. We head for the alley…trash bag in one hand…Henri on the leash in the other.

And of course since the French Boy hasn’t been on a walk for a while he’s, running from one side to the other disregarding snow depth as if he didn’t care. (He doesn’t.) We made it to the trashcan, although it took us maybe 3 times longer than in the summer. I had not originally planned on going anywhere else but back to the house. But in the street about 20 yards from Henri and I stood a pretty young woman and her beautiful Chocolate Lab. (Even if she was 40…and she wasn’t…I’m old enough now that she would seem like a college girl to me.) What could I do? I HAD to behave like I was actually taking my dog for a walk didn’t I? She smiled at us warmly and said, “Hi! Why don’t you come over and let the dogs visit?”

Now Henri is not a mean dog. He is adorable. But he CAN be precocious and defensive…especially with other male dogs. I told her exactly that but she insisted our dogs “visit”. And I thought that with all the snow in the street there was no avoiding it anyway. She did smile at us. Her dog appeared well-trained…calm. And maybe Henri would be congenial despite his surly cabin fever mood.

He was not.

But the pretty woman was nice. She understood. “It’s okay” she kept saying. “Dog person” I thought. And as we were walking away I heard her soothingly ask her pooch “Were you afraid of that little guy?” I think he might have been. Henri had no doubts.

Around the block…that’s all…around the block I figured. Since we were now obligated to take some sort of walk…at least in my own mind…and Henri’s…that’s what we did. We strolled around the block in mini-loge tubes that Henri unsuccessfully…on purpose…stayed within. And in the course of just one city block this little feisty dog must have peed 50 times! This was mildly annoying but somehow made me feel better about my own bladder.

But he pooped not once…not twice…but THREE TIMES!! All in a once around the block walk. And to be honest it crossed my mind that pooping in the snow…on the snow…might give me a certain satisfaction as well. I don’t know how my neighbors would have taken it. Would they be disgusted? (I had a college roommate who referred to it as “the most disgusting of all human functions” and even had a “Poop Prayer”. That being, “Dear God…mmmm…mmmmmuh…please make it come!” Either he was terminally irregular or just trying to be funny. It was hard to tell with him.) Or would my neighbors embrace it? Maybe cheer out their windows, “DEFILE THAT FUCKING SNOW!!! GO RICK GO!!”

My modesty…well…actually my experience both in winter backpacking and fantasy always better left fantasy…brought me to my senses. I simply guided my canine companion home. Once there I realized today’s epiphany had nothing to do with pooping. No. Not even on the snow. No. It’s that it’s a good thing I’m happily married. Because I’d never get lucky with THIS dog at the end of my leash.

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The Non–Fiction Theater of the Truly Mundane
proudly presents:

WHAAAT’S New?

by Rick Brown

Scene: The interior of a Community Center’s small bus. Rick (the driver) is at the back of the stage and 4 gray haired senior ladies are seated around the vehicle with their backs to the audience.

As the scene begins Rick opens the bus doors and yet another gray haired senior woman begins slowly climbing the stairs onto the bus.

Rick (to newest passenger senior lady #1) – Good morning! How are you?

Senior Lady # 1 – I’m fine thanks.

Rick – Anything new since last week’s grocery run?

Senior Lady # 1 – Why yes! I have a brand new hearing aid!!

Senior Lady # 2 (from the middle of the bus, turning to Senior Lady # 3 across the aisle) - WHAAAAT? WHAT DID SHE SAY?

Senior Lady # 3 – (loudly and deliberately back across the aisle) – SHE SAYS SHE HAS A NEW HEARING AID!

Senior Lady # 1 (as she settles into a seat at the front of the bus, smiling broadly) Yes, and I’ve been hearing things I haven’t heard in years!

Senior Lady # 4 – WHAAAAT? WHAT WAS THAT?

Senior Lady # 5 – She SAID…she is HEARING things she hasn’t HEARD in YEARS!

Senior Ladies # 2 & # 4 (in unison) – OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Curtain

Cast:
Rick – himself
Senior Ladies - themselves

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Like a Child Again

by Dennis Toth

As I crossed the steps
To your house
I suddenly felt small,
Like a child again,
Still mystified by a world
Far removed
From simple wonder.

When I was very young,
Each creak of the house
Was like a ghostly presence
Sneaking through dark hallways
Searching for its own
Lost corner.

I learned to bar hop
At the age of five,
Courtesy of my uncle
Who was a legend
From his days as a leather head
(Though I only understood this
Long after he was dead).

Sometimes at my aunt's house
I would sleep in a window's seat
And wake in the morning
With sunlight pressing
Through the frosted glass.

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Reverse Ageist Jokes

by Rick Brown

As I age (gracefully I hope) I have become more and more aware of the insolence with which people approach the elderly. With condescending smugness, jokes about aging and seniors are not only deemed acceptable, the attitude is embraced…even by the not so young. It would take forever to even the score. But let’s start here and see how the tables can be turned, if for the only reason of observing the behavior in reverse shall we?

Reverse Ageist Joke #1
Q: Why do young people have sex so much?
A: They need the practice.

Joke #2
Q: What do young people call “not paying any attention whatsoever”?
A: Multitasking.

Joke #3
Q: Why do young people drive so fast?
A: To get to the next red light.

Joke #4
Q: Why do they want to get to the next red light?
A: It’s easier to text AND chat on their cell while the vehicle is not in motion.

Joke #5
Q: What does a young woman really mean when she says “He thinks I am SO HOT!”?
A: Another premature ejaculation.

Joke #6
Q: What does a young guy really mean when he says “I had her moaning and screaming all night long!”?
A: Another faked orgasm.

Joke # 7
Q: Why do young people like rap music?
A: Because they can’t carry a tune.

Joke #8
Q: Why do young rappers go “YO! YO! YO!”?
A: Because they forgot the lyrics to their “song” that has no melody because they can’t carry a tune.

Joke # 9
Q: Why do rappers grab their crotch all the time?
A: Because it’s really not that big and they want to make sure it’s still there.

Joke # 10
Q: Why do young women squoosh their boobies up high and show their cleavage?
A: Because their breasts are actually small.

Joke #11
Q: Why do young women get pointy, fakey looking breast implants?
A: They have a very strange “I want to look like a 1956 Buick Roadmaster” fetish.

Joke #12
Q: If a tree falls in the woods and there’s a young guy there does it make a sound?
A: No one knows because he’s listening to his iPod.

Joke #13
Q: If a tree falls in the forest and a young woman is there does it make a sound?
A: No one knows. She’s yakking on her cell phone.

Joke #14
Q: Why do young men not wear red suspenders?
A: So their pants fall down.

Joke #15
Q: Why do young men want their pants to fall down?
A: To imply sexual availability.

Joke #16
Q: Why do young women flash their ass cracks and thongs?
A: To imply (Imply?) sexual availability

Joke #17
Q: Why do young men and women want to obviously imply sexual availability?
A: Begin again at Joke #1.

Okay…maybe that didn’t make up for RuPaul embarrassing Milton Berle at the VH1 Awards by telling a “Depends” joke. But it felt pretty good! (A black drag queen wisecracking about old people? See what I mean?)