Saturday, May 23, 2009

Random views of København (1)

"Fadl" building, SE side of Blegdamsvej, near Tagensvej, Nørrebro

Peaked roofs in Frederiksberg, viewed across Sankt Jørgens Sø from pathway off Vester Søgade
The actual buildings are on either side of Danasvej, between Vodroffsvej and Danas Plads. Definitely worth a closer look.
Willows, Sankt Jørgens Sø, corner of Kampmannsgade and pathway off Vester Søgade

All photos taken 11 and 12 April 2009.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Speaking of shameless promotion...

I recommend viewing the following video of "Goodnight Romeo" by Dan King KBMG featuring Kathy Aptt and homespun footage of Gloucester MA locals—hi Sieglinde* hi Anne Marie!—and locales (that's Gloucester's own Rhumb Line Bar & Restaurant the band is performing in):
*Disclaimer: Of course it's a great tune, but in the interest of full disclosure I have to mention I have a rooting interest in Dan's success—Sieglinde is my daughter and Dan is her boyfriend. So buy the CD already!
...and shameless name-dropping...
BTW it took me a couple of seconds to figure out that KBMG stands for King, David Brown, Dave Mattacks, and Wolf Ginandes, respectively. People with decent memories for musical "heritage" might recognize Dave Mattacks as the much-traveled former drummer of English-Electric-Folk luminaries Fairport Convention. Fairport's seminal 1969 album, "Liege & Lief", blew me away when it first came out, and it hasn't worn out its welcome in my listening repertoire 40 years later. So when I heard that KBMG would be playing a gig at the Rhumb Line while I was visiting my daughter in Gloucester last year, I was all set to use my "connection" with the band to pounce on Mattacks like a 16 year-old groupie in high heat.
Okay, that's an exaggeration, and would've been pretty impossible since Mattacks, who now lives in Marblehead MA, is a pretty down-to-earth individual; he seemed simply, genuinely pleased to meet his band-mate's girlfriend's father, who just happens to remember with great fondness and respect some incredible music he helped make several decades ago. Unlike yours truly, Mattacks projects the straightforward, unpretentious persona of a guy who is secure, in constant demand for his talents, and has no need to look back at his past with retrospective envy. Trying to curry favor, I mentioned how much I had enjoyed a Fairport concert in Boston around 1972-73. Unfortunately, he averred, he wasn't with the band for that tour. Just my luck! While I mentally shot myself in the head, he continued talking like just another guy in a bar getting ready to go back to work.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Family Values

Ahoy, a flash story of mine has just been published on-line at Everyday Weirdness ("Family Values", 11 May 2009). It's a familiar trope if you know classic science fiction themes, but it may be just entertaining enough for a 3 minute read. Cheers!