Charlie Simonson sent me this email about Takoma artist Charlie Nothing.

so sadly, i´m writing, that on oct 23rd at 930 pm in his soquel, california home, charlie nothing passed away.
charlie was a monolith of life and creation, and it was not until wednesday that i realized i'd begun to think of him as this elemental entity, like wisdom, or experience, and certainly not something that would cease to be. you and i may have a watch, but charlie always had the time.
i last saw charlie in the brussels airport, after finishing a short string of european dates with jakob olausson, charlie's first time abroad. he was invigorated with the realization that there were new sets of young ears, eagerly interested in what he'd been creating for the past 40 + yrs. it's a sad and cruel twist that 40 years of the ding : a charlie nothing anthology will be released in posterus; he so excitedly anticipated it's arrival.
so, too late, but, soon, 40 years of the ding : a charlie nothing anthology, a collection comprised of charlie's recordings for takoma, as well as a privately pressed LP, three singles, cuts from about a million privately released cassettes, and even a few tracks recorded while enjoying time spent in the venice county jail, with a nod / wink, it's a project with the aspirational intent of answering the question, "who the fuck is charlie nothing?"

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http://destijlrecs.com
www.myspace.com/84367059

Died of a massive heart attack this week. He was 64. When I was in the DC folkscene way back in the early 60's Firk was one of the guitar stars, as well as being a record collector in the old 78 business. I haven't thought much about him in recent decades, but you never really lose emotional touch with the people you share a scene with, it seems. His "real" name was Mike Stewart.

Hear his music from the 60's on Fonotone. He was an astonishing guitar player who normally couldn't go more than about 30 seconds without falling off the end of what he was doing because what he was doing was so incredible. His Adelphi album from the same period is a miracle of editing.

A Google search shows that aside from his Fonotone recordings as one of the Mississippi Swampers, and B. Sam Firk, he also brought out an album in 2001. I'll be playing a couple of cuts from it on Saturday's "Don't Get Trouble On Your Mind."

I met a woman at my mother's funeral who said that the only times she got out these days was to go to funerals of the people she had grown up with. I'm beginning to understand that now.

Como, as all blues fans know, was the long-time home of Mississippi Fred McDowell, the great bluesman who was first recorded by Alan Lomax on his "Southern Journey" trip in the late 1950s, and then for years brought out albums on Chris Strachwitz's Arhoolie label. Fred died some time back, but now his town is in the news again, and not happily.

Como has the worst grade school in the state of Mississippi, which has the worst schools in the USA, according to an article I read today. I Googled Como and the statistics are just terrible. Its on Highway 51 which runs from Memphis to the Gulf Coast, just below Senatobia, about 45 miles south of Memphis. Cotton is the crop, and cotton farming has been mechanised. The average income is about $22,000 a year, and in almost every index Como is worse off than the rest of the state.

I'd really like to help out, because of the connection with Fred, but can't think of a thing to do. Anyone?

I think I got a Grand Jury indictment against one of my clients dismissed. Its hard to tell for sure. There definitely was a Grand Jury, and they definitely indicted my client. Then I definitely wrote the longest motion of my life explaining why the indictment was improperly obtained. We went to court for the judge to rule on my motion, but the DA beat me to the punch and dismissed the charges before the judge could say anything. I'm going to count it on my life list as a dismissal due to my motion, but it would have been wonderful to hear the judge say so. Well, as the Rolling Stones said, "You don't always get what you want, but you sometimes get what you need." So, I got some Satisfaction and I'm happy.

(By the way the DA can refile charges against my client, this time using normal procedures instead of a Grand Jury, and has announced she will do so. So I've won a battle but not the war, yet.)

The drive back from Yreka was wonderful. You start in high desert country, drop down to the Klamath River, which looks so inviting in that dry terrain. It has dam releases so there is plenty of water in the river, lush fields, and all the trees by the banks are in fall colors. The fir forests are dotted with trees in yellow, too. I tried to photograph it but I don't think its one of those scenes that can be transfered to digital pix. Soon you are out of the desert into the forests, with the river scenes continuing to reveal one visual wonder after another as the car hurtles around the bends of route 96.

Its a cliche that California's roadside is beautified each fall by the brilliant red poison oak. But now add to that the intense yellow of maples and some of the other trees, and you've got some beautiful drives. 101 between Willits and Leggett has some nice trees. And the roads from Alderpoint to Rt 36 (Bluffs Road, Zenia road, Van Duzen Road). Good views of Mt Shasta on Rt 3 climbing down from the mountains north of Hayfork, too. Nothing beats the northbound 101 views of the snowy peak as you climb up the Sacramento River canyon. Great time to take a drive in Northern California.