John Sinclair 78th Birthday Party At P.J's Lounge Oct. 2

JOHN SINCLAIR 78^TH BIRTHDAY PARTY AT P.J.’s LOUNGE OCTOBER 2

Detroit poet, broadcaster and marijuana legalization pioneer John Sinclair will celebrate his 78^th birthday on Wednesday, October 2 at P.J.’s Lounge on Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

Sinclair will be joined and supported in performance by an all-star band of Blues Scholars led by Jeff “Baby” Grand on guitar and including Harmnica Shah (harp), Phil Hale (keys), Chris Rumel (bass) and Tino Grass (drums) plus special guest musician drawn from the countless number of Sinclair’s band members since the formation of the Blues Scholars band in December 1982.

The festivities start at 7:00 pm and last until the party is over. Admission is $15 with all net proceeds going to the John Sinclair Foundation, located at 2930 E. Jefferson, Detroit MI 48207.

Sinclair will be performing poems from his elongated blues work in verse, Fattening Frogs Fir Snakes, which will be issued next April as a deluxe boxed set of vinyl records by Jett Plastic Recordings. Additionally, Volumes 3 (Don’t Start Me To Talking) and 4 (Natural From Our Hearts) will be issued as a double CD next year by Funky D Records.

Please contact Matty Lee at Drumbeaters for additional information and interviews with the poet.

-- 

John Sinclair

Steven Pratt - Fattening Blogs For Snakes 2019. (A Project of the John Sinclair Foundation) www.johnsinclair.us ------ radiofreeamsterdam.org

How Hippies Turned a College Town into 'The Dope Capital of the Midwest' (Vice Magazine)

Sinclair was once described by Detroit Free Press as the city’s “head hippie,” a figure with “wild hair” and a “drooping mustache.” He was a radical, a member of a generation of pro-cannabis activists who saw the drug’s use as part of their resistance to capitalism and the state, and who sometimes made it the object of quasi-religious fervor. Sinclair saw weed as occupying a similar place as sex in Orwell’s 1984. It set teenagers’ basic desires in opposition with the capitalist establishment, and was a key weapon in the “total assault on the culture” the hippie movement was attempting.
But the strident anti-authoritarianism of the Detroit Artists Workshop—someone hung a banner out of the window during the infamous 1967 riots reading “Burn Baby Burn”—led to what activists described as harassment from the police, and violence from those with anti-hippie sentiments. After a firebomb attack on the MC5 bus and a series of assaults on women in the group, Trans-Love Energies relocated to a house on Hill Street in Ann Arbor, near the University of Michigan.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43jnk9/how-hippies-turned-a-college-town-into-the-dope-capital-of-the-midwest


Steven Pratt - Fattening Blogs For Snakes 2019. (A Project of the John Sinclair Foundation) www.johnsinclair.us ------ radiofreeamsterdam.org

HERE DEY COME - JOHN SINCLAIR RADIO SHOW 794

 

Episode 794 is coming from the John Sinclair Café in the Psychedelic Healing Shack in the north end of Detroit, where I’ve been beaming out on Mondays since the new year started, but tonight I’m going to jump the gun a couple of days to make this program from the scene of Robert Jr. Whitall’s art show opening in the Cafe today, with music from Mardi Gras reflecting the theme of this exhibition of some of his New Orleans paintings. So we’ve got recordings by Professor Longhair, the Neville Brothers, Cha Wa, Wild Tchoupitoulas, Wild Magnolias, Indians of the Nation, Big Chief Peppy & Troy Andrews, the Flaming Arrows, Chief Smiley Ricks, and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux with the Golden Eagles.

The John Sinclair Foundation Presents
HERE DEY COME
JOHN SINCLAIR RADIO SHOW 794
John Sinclair Cafe, Detroit, February 16, 2019 [19098]

Yusef Lateef: Happyology
Professor Longhair: Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Neville Brothers: Wild Indians
Cha Wa: Hey Mama
Wild Tchoupitoulas: Here Dey Come
Wild Magnolias: Golden Crown
Indians of the Nation: Indian Story > Calliope
Big Chief Peppy/Troy Andrews: Got to Get Ready
Flaming Arrows: Hell Out the Way
Chief Smiley Ricks: Nothin’ But Trouble
Wild Tchoupitoulas: Meet de Boys on the Battlefront
Golden Eagles: Indian Red

A JOINT PRODUCTION
Hosted by John Sinclair for Radio Free Amsterdam
Produced, edited, assembled & annotated by John Sinclair
Executive Producer: Steve Pratt
Special thanks to Adam Brook, Robert Jr. Whitall & Sugar Mae Owens

© 2019 The John Sinclair Foundation

http://radiofreeamsterdam.org/

Poster For the John Sinclair Cafe

My contribution to the news of The opening of the John Sinclair Cafe:

--Steve Fly

https://eu.freep.com/story/news/marijuana/2018/12/31/pot-advocate-john-sinclair-cafe-detroit/2445319002/

Steven Pratt - Fattening Blogs For Snakes 2019. (A Project of the John Sinclair Foundation) www.johnsinclair.us ------ radiofreeamsterdam.org

Rare Home Movies Remastered! Belle Isle Love-In 1967! (With John Sinclair)

A special thanks to Wayne and Margaret Kramer for
remastering and making this footage available
and continued support for John,

--Steve Fly

Rare Home Movies Remastered! Belle Isle Love-In 1967!



Published on 15 Feb 2019

A secret look into the early MC5 at the infamous Belle Isle Love-In!

"This happened a lot when we played at big, highly charged public events," recalls Wayne Kramer, noting the notorious Belle Isle police riot of April 30, 1967, a free concert that Detroit media cast as "Love-In Turns to Hate".

The MC5's original photographer and first tour manager Emil Bacilla shot this rare footage of the band on Wayne Kramer's 19th birthday, April 30th, 1967.

With commentary recorded in 2004 by Wayne Kramer, Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson , and Michael Davis.

Footage remastered by Margaret Saadi Kramer and William Olivas, 2019.

Update By Way Of Iron Man Records Press Collection

Many thanks to Mark Sampson at Iron Man Records
For this collection of recent press articles and pieces about John Sinclair.

--Steve Fly

John Sinclair – Cannabis Culture Legend https://buff.ly/2PD70Re

Wayne Kramer’s Impossible Life in Rock – Bill Murphy November 29, 2018. Their first “three-point program,” as Kramer recalls, was “Dope, Rock ’n’ Roll, and Fucking in the Streets”  https://buff.ly/2E7arOC (Premier Guitar)

Every day I try to figure out how I can make a contribution to the world and ask: Can I leave the place a little nicer than I found it? https://buff.ly/2K3dPu6 (Big Issue North)

Pot Passage Vindicates Legendary John Sinclair Five Decades Later  https://buff.ly/2qE6Z5G(Deadline Detroit)

On Wayne Kramer’s the Hard Stuff  https://buff.ly/2AqSdES (Detroit Artists Workshop)

Rock revolutionary Wayne Kramer looks back on the brilliant, broken legacy of the MC5 https://buff.ly/2q63TXL (Detroit Artists Workshop)

Book Review: Two Dueling Narratives Pick Through the Wreckage of the MC5  https://buff.ly/2P1EGIg(Rolling Stone)

Wayne Kramer, Rock Legend And Failed Outlaw, Assembles A Supergroup In The Rearview  https://buff.ly/2NSGiDt (NPR)

The Rise, Fall and Redemption of Two of Rock’s Great Radicals  https://buff.ly/2pVXwWZ (The Indypendent)

Deadline Detroit – Lapointe: The Grande Ballroom — Sex, Drugs and Music — Gets on Historic Registry https://buff.ly/2UTA1fv (Deadline Detroit)

Listen to “50 Years of the MC5’s Rock Revolution: Wayne Kramer Looks Back” by Rolling Stone Music Now. Includes a great piece on John Sinclair and The White Panthers. Educate yourself on some music history  https://buff.ly/2P4B1K7 (Rolling Stone Music Now)

A group of pro-cannabis groups and legendary poet John Sinclair have sued the Michigan Board of Pharmacy and its chair, Nichole Cover, seeking to remove the body’s continued listing of marijuana as a controlled substance under state law.

What do pot and heroin have in common? Nothing, says poet John Sinclair — which is why he is suing https://buff.ly/2HRMDB7

Detroit’s Famed Grande Ballroom Is Deemed Safe For Renovation https://buff.ly/2WK2S6A

Huey, Ryan A.: “Case Study: Researching John Sinclair and the White Panther Party Using the American Radicalism Collection.” Political Extremism and Radicalism in the Twentieth Century, Cengage Learning (EMEA) Ltd, 2018 https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/primary-sources/intl-gps/intl-gps-essays/full-ghn-contextual-essays/gps_essay_plex_huey1_website.pdf

“Michigan Activists Sue to Change Cannabis’ Schedule I Status” https://buff.ly/2WxQ2bC

An In-Depth Look at Cannabis Festivals (Protest and Appreciation). Hash Bash began in Ann Arbor, Michigan, due to the 1969 arrest of John Sinclair, who was a poet and managed the band MC5 https://greencamp.com/cannabis-festivals/

Deadline Detroit – Derringer: Skirmishes ahead in marijuana law, and John Sinclair will fight ‘em https://buff.ly/2WiEau4

John Sinclair – Activists sue to remove marijuana as controlled substance https://buff.ly/2WjZPBS(Michigan Advance)

PRESS RELEASE: Poet John Sinclair, MINORML and others file lawsuit to remove marijuana from the Michigan Controlled Substances Act https://buff.ly/2DtIhMw (The Social Revolution)

John Sinclair is starting a marijuana-friendly lounge in Detroit https://buff.ly/2Wljh19 (Detroit Metro Times)

John Sinclair – Pot advocate sues Michigan over marijuana status https://buff.ly/2FLI5dW (The Detroit News)

Deadline Detroit – Derringer: Skirmishes ahead in marijuana law, and John Sinclair will fight ‘em https://buff.ly/2WiEau4 (Deadline Detroit)

Punk Icon John Sinclair Was ‘Always Right’ About Marijuana https://buff.ly/2MvJAgw (Weed Maps)

Cannabis advocates sue state to deschedule marijuana https://buff.ly/2FObKD4 (Michigan Live)

Book tells stories of Ann Arbor native, music promoter http://s.mlive.com/oI8HGtD (Michigan Live)

Marijuana Martyr John Sinclair Opens A Cafe In Detroit – Weed News https://buff.ly/2FMfLbi (Weed News)

WHITE PANTHER: The Legacy of John Sinclair – a short film by CHARLES SHAW featuring JOHN SINCLAIR music by THELONIUS MONK

The Nixon Administration and the FBI launched a secret program called COINTELPRO to disrupt and ultimately destroy the Black Panthers and the Anti-War movement. As part of this program, John Sinclair was set up and imprisoned on marijuana charges. When the government could no longer justify denying him a bond over two joints, they falsely charged him with a Federal conspiracy to blow up a CIA station, in order to make him disappear.

https://ironmanrecords.net/2019/01/john-sinclair-in-the-news/

Will this be last Hash Bash before marijuana is legal in Michigan?

By Ryan Stanton

ryanstanton@mlive.com

ANN ARBOR, MI - Organizers of the 47th annual marijuana rally in Ann Arbor are hoping this year's Hash Bash on April 7 will be the last one before cannabis is legalized in Michigan.

They're counting on state voters to approve a ballot proposal in November to legalize recreational marijuana use for people 21 and older, taxing and regulating it much like alcohol.

"For the first 46 years, really the focus has been on state prohibition," said Hash Bash lead organizer Mark Passerini, co-founder of the Om of Medicine marijuana dispensary in downtown Ann Arbor.

"This could very well be the last year we focus on state prohibition and next year we could re-focus toward the ills of federal policy. Federal policy still sees cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug in all forms."

The Hash Bash Planning Committee has announced the lineup of speakers and entertainers for the April 7 rally taking place on the University of Michigan's Central Campus Diag. It's scheduled to last from noon to 4:19 p.m., which is longer than in years past, and it's expected to draw thousands of cannabis users and allies.

"We wanted to give people something to look forward to -- to do on their own -- at 4:20," Passerini said of why the Diag festivities end at 4:19 p.m. "We figure they might be busy at 4:20."

Ann Arbor musician Laith Al-Saadi, who achieved fame as a finalist on NBC's "The Voice," is expected to kick off this year's fest, as he has in the past, by performing the national anthem on guitar.

Politicians, professional athletes and leading marijuana legalization activists from around the country are expected to speak.

"Hash Bash has grown each year since the passage of Michigan's medical cannabis laws. The event has also gained importance as a venue for activists, patients and public figures to speak out against the horrors of cannabis prohibition," committee co-chair Nick Zettell said in a press release announcing this year's lineup.

"With the question of legalization likely on the ballot, this could very well be the last Hash Bash where cannabis is illegal in the state of Michigan," Zettell added. "The qualifications and reputations of this year's speakers are unparalleled by years past and add legitimacy and diversity to the counter-cultural event."

Politicians and candidates on the speakers lineup include gubernatorial candidates Gretchen Whitmer and Abdul El-Sayed, state attorney general candidate Dana Nessel, Ann Arbor City Council members Jack Eaton and Anne Bannister, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, state Senate candidate Jeff Irwin, and state Rep. Yousef Rabhi. Passerini also plans to read a statement from U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer.

Athletes on the lineup include Detroit Lions running back Mike James, former Detroit Red Wings hockey player Darren McCarty, and former NFL player Eugene Monroe.

Passerini said it's significant that James, an active pro athlete, is speaking out. He said James may be putting his career on the line but feels it's important to do so.

Others on the lineup include poet John Sinclair, former Fox 2 News anchor Anqunette Jamison Sarfoh, UM Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Gus Rosania, National Cannabis Industry Association board member Khurshid Khoja, and activists Matt Abel, Rick Thompson, Ryan Basore, Sue Sisley, DJ Short, Stephen Goldner, Betty Aldworth, Brandy Zink, Evan Litinas, Jamie Lowell and Nick Zettell.

Local bands Ma Baker, Honey Monsoon and Cosmic Knot are scheduled to perform starting at 2 p.m. The full schedule can be found on the Hash Bash mobile app.

While it's not unusual for many people to light up a joint at Hash Bash, UM warns that it's not an amnesty day where campus police look the other way on pot smoking on campus.

While the university allows the rally to happen as a matter of free speech, campus police follow state law and will arrest people caught with drugs, including marijuana, on university property. Elsewhere in Ann Arbor, pot has been decriminalized since the 1970s, with the city penalty for possession being a $25 ticket for a first offense.

This year's Hash Bash once again coincides with the annual Monroe Street Fair, which features live music and vendors.

A Hash Bash after party also is taking place at the Blind Pig, featuring Laith Al-Saadi and the Macpodz.

Passerini said more and more people are coming to Hash Bash from all over the place, including Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, so the festivities on the Diag have expanded to accommodate the crowd size. In addition to the Diag and Monroe Street, he said there may be a third venue added next year, possibly Ingalls Mall where the Ann Arbor Summer Fest is held.

Several marijuana policy organizations are involved with this year's Hash Bash, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy at UM, Green Wolverine at UM's Ross School of Business, MILegalize, Michigan NORML, Student Advocates for the Medical and Responsible use of Cannabis, and the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol turned in roughly 365,000 signatures to the state last fall in hopes of getting its legalization proposal on the November 2018 ballot.

The proposal is still waiting for signature review by the state Bureau of Elections, but its supporters are confident it will meet the 252,523-signature requirement to go on the ballot.

Irwin, a former state rep from Ann Arbor, has been a strong supporter of the campaign and was a paid member of its staff for a while.

"I feel strongly we have sufficient signatures," he said. "We reviewed our signatures before turning them in."

Irwin said marijuana prohibition has been a failure of government just like alcohol prohibition was a failure.

He argues regulating it in a legal environment gives more control over it than "keeping it underground."

"Almost nobody thinks prohibition is working," he said, arguing pot is less harmful than alcohol from a public health perspective.

A group called Healthy and Productive Michigan is opposing the legalization proposal, arguing there are economic, safety and health concerns that come with recreational marijuana use.

"We are committed to keeping Michigan's economy thriving and our citizens healthy, by preventing the legalization of recreational marijuana in Michigan," the group states on its website, arguing any tax revenue from legal marijuana is outweighed by the societal costs "just like tobacco and alcohol, where costs far outweigh revenues."

About 57 percent of Michigan voters support marijuana legalization, according to a recent poll of 600 likely voters conducted by the Glengariff Group, The Detroit News reported last month.

The Hash Bash committee is hosting two free panel discussions at UM on Sunday, April 8, the day after the political rally.

The first is from 2-3:10 p.m. at the Michigan League and is titled "Athletes and Cannabis." Panelists include Mike James, Eugene Monroe and Darren McCarty.

The second is from 3:15-4:19 p.m. at the Michigan League and is titled "Medicine and Cannabis." Panelists include cannabis researcher Sue Sisley, UM Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Gus Rosania, and Evan Litinas, chief medical officer at the Om of Medicine marijuana dispensary in downtown Ann Arbor.

John Sinclair Foundation Instagram

Official John Sinclair Foundation Instagram

Steven Pratt - Fattening Blogs For Snakes 2019. (A Project of the John Sinclair Foundation) www.johnsinclair.us ------ radiofreeamsterdam.org

Beatnik Youth - Double CD Review

The story of the Beatnik Youth album begins in London. John Sinclair was visiting to perform with guitarist Al Clayton and his band The Dirty Strangers, Gigs organised in part by Ian Grant, including a double bill with Zodiac / Youth. Martin ‘Youth’ Glover came into John’s orbit and found a kindred spirit in John, proposing they work on a jazz project together. 

Sure enough plans were laid out for John to travel to Kingston College Of Music in London, to a recording session set up by Youth. The list of musicians in the large room was staggering: George Butler, Hugo Wilkinson and Steven Pratt on drums, Al Clayton and Brian James and James Sedwards on guitars, Youth on bass, Angie Brown and Mark Stewart on vocals, Alex Ward on saxophones and piano, Michael Rendall on organ plus recording duties. The energy in the room was huge.

John’s words switched from a whisper to a roar, screaming against the wall of guitars for his old gang, and then undressing the piano with a hushed prayer to Thelonious Monk. The musicians tracked all afternoon and managed to subtly fuse straight ahead rock & roll with a jazz sensibility, and a tonal blanket of sound that exploited all the instrumentalists and vocalists at the session.

Over the next 12 months, Youth, John and Michael Rendall edited, shaped and overdubbed new parts to create Beatnik Youth V. 1.0. New editions included such UK heads as Bobby Gillespie and Howard Marks R.I.P who added the perfect authentic taste to an underground classic. The late great Mick Farren penned some delightful liner notes, and Ian Grant of track records, quickly produced a small run of 300 copies on compact disk. Due to unforeseen obstacles, Beatnik Youth 1.0 was never properly released, and so sat as an unreleased album project, poems and sound in purgatory.

Enter Mark at Iron Man Records. After unprecedented support from Mark in preparing and releasing the album Mohawk by John Sinclair in 2014, he expressed interest in reviving the Beatnik Youth project from its zombie state. Three years later, in 2017, we can thank Mark, and Ian, and Youth and John for combined efforts to give the album a proper release and promotional campaign worthy of the material. Thanks are also due to Sean Newsham at Mutante for his excellent work on press, and to all the reviewers and writers who picked up on this sleeping giant.

In the space of three years this team of volunteers for the most part, led by Youth and Mark, created a separate mini-EP titled Beatnik Youth Ambient that featured two ambient remixes of tracks from the original session, plus two new works with material from Howard Marks and a new piece called ‘Do It’ by John. The album was mastered and pressed to 12” vinyl. Youth stayed up all night and drew the artwork himself depicting John among a whirlwind of illustrated 1960s psychedelic symbolism. Beatnik Youth Ambient was released July 28th, 2017. Pick up a slice of this historic wax and let it spin, you’ll be lifted I guarantee.

Beatnik Youth V. 2.0 is the new album, a deluxe double CD with re-mastered and re-edited tracks including the new recordings from Beatnik Youth Ambient resulting in 90 minutes of music. The album has been lovingly designed and constructed by Russ Clarke. If anyone is familiar with a Jack Kerouac 1st edition, or the events that unfolded in Detroit in July 1967 you may find this album interesting. The double CD with unlimited streaming and download is available now via BandCamp and will also be available from Cargo (see end notes).

And finally, to the music: “Testify,” opening like the doors to a Persian hash lounge, with piano and guitars and singers swaying to the breeze of the bard’s voice. The tale begins, the great world outlook of John Sinclair is accompanied by a chorus of cherubs repeating the word ‘testify.’ The poet returns with “friday the 13th,” a lament to Thelonious Monk and John Lennon, the tragedy spilling onto the keys, Alex Ward hammering and the guitar feedback building, the poem zooming to a grand concrescence of heart and head, leaving the listener engrossed. Drums dart in and out, the 2nd poem ends with a statement of intent for there to be more men like Monk and John Lennon, and that we should be able die when it’s time for us to die, not by some punk with a weapon. The drums return and the bard delivers “Fat Boy,” guitar feedback buzzing under another blistering poem critical of the American love affair with bombs and destruction, and the atrocity of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Good Stuff. Classic British rock & roll, driven sideways by George Butler on drums and vamped up and out by a chorus of guitarists, the poet reads and bleeds for his friends, his music and loves, his poetry and beatnik lifestyle. The title of the poem ‘the screamers’ opens with ‘the screamers, stagger down overgrown sidewalks, of memory…” and goes on to juxtapose lyrics from Bo Diddley, paying homage to Chuck Berry and Jimmy Reed, the foundations of modern Rock & Roll.

“Everybody Needs Somebody” returns with another locked rock beat boosted by the chorus of voices singing ‘Everybody Needs Somebody’ and a swell of organ keeping the tension. The poet dives into “monk in orbit,” a most delightful historical tale of Allen Ginsberg turning on Thelonious Monk to LSD, setting John in his element of Bebop and Beatnik legends colliding in history by way of a technicolored gyroscopic portal of poetry. Featuring Andrew Robinson on synth dotting some buzzed phrases and electric kool-aid to the brew. The bard returns with his own anecdote and ode to Allen Ginsberg, reaffirming the trio of Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg as the beats who started it all.

“Change My Life” opens with another straight-ahead beat and the return of Angie Brown and the vocals searing underneath the bard, describing how and why early blues musicians would modify the beat, the tempo, and so change the whole feel of the song. Changing beats. Al Clayton, James Sedwards and Jesse Wood exchange riffs, as Mr. Pratt drags the beat through an indie pop swamp. An upbeat beat poem about changing beats.

“Ain’t Nobody’s Business.” Testament to the genius of Youth and how he can rearrange and compose music for poems, turning them into totally new beasts, bringing back the chorus of voices, guitars and stomping drums at all the right places. Short and sweet, wrapping up John’s testament to an individualist anarchist perspective—our right to our own bad habits, a provocative role call of examples.

“My Buddy,” the poet’s tribute to Henry Normile, describing the tragic murder in Detroit of his best friend, made brighter in verse by describing Marcus Belgrave, his upturned horn, and the snowflakes falling inside as Belgrave played for Henry’s funeral procession. Recalling Henry’s last wishes that dance off the tongue like acrobatic spit balls ‘Cocaine, Pussy and Lobster, in that order.’ The weight and depth of a friendship forged in Detroit, a litany, epitaph, the poet’s Buddy, Henry Normile. “A….fucking…men” James Sedwards takes a tight solo around the Zodiac, Angie Brown kicks into another dimension of harmony, soul in the spirit of Badu, the music closes the poem with a well pitched instrumental epilogue.

“That Old Man” oozes the bass beauty of Youth, soothing organ of Michael and the gentle crooning of Angie Brown, who breaks into a captivating vocal solo demonstrating her range and soul power. The drums sound like the work of Fly. The poet serves up feedback from the long winding roads and mystery of love and relations. In his gentle and authoritative tone, the poet opens with a line from fellow poet Robert Lowell, “living without you is like learning to walk.” The poem goes on to question the distance between ex-lovers, counting the blessings of family, friends, and co-conspirators, “that old man, / still alive and kicking / with both feet” Yeah yer’ right.

“Brilliant Corners.” Jettisons off into a bed of ambient jelly, as if John’s voice were slowed down 1000 times, the work of Youth and Michael Rendall exploring the interspace of the poetry, like electronic seagulls, and thunder far off in the distance, the tide of a new Blade Runner washing over the synths. The poet delivers a long poem detailing the trajectory of the beats, now familiar names from these poems, Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs. Introducing each revolutionary writer with biographical and bibliographic precision. The deep knowing and passion for each and every character, now bringing the be-bop all stars off the page and into the music. Ambient angels the size of cruise ships howling just beneath the storm clouds, sunlight occasionally breaking through, shrieking upon the faces of the genius under observation. Pistons hiss, and synthesizers gurgle as the poet fills in the points on a road map to his life’s journey. The track is brought to a close with an epilogue by Mark Stewart.

“Culture-cide.” An upbeat Brit funk protest anthem, programmed by Primal Scream and featuring guitar by Keith Levine, with a chorus hook sung by the Scottish band The View, and a part sung by Bobby Gillespie, the song chugs along with some big hats and menacing synthesiser garnishing. More vocals appear courtesy of Robb Spragg, of Alabama 3, adding to the gang. The poet brings the latest feedback from the frontline of the war on some drugs in America, his poem “It’s All Good” presents some hope by paying full respects to all the growers and suppliers of cannabis in Amsterdam, at the Cannabis Cup, and all around the world. Just when you thought it was over, a familiar Welsh voice starts up, it’s Howard Marks, on an hilarious philosophical journey through some reasoning about the war on drugs. Howard explodes into a surrealist rollercoaster of observations and uncensored provocation.

“Red Dress” (“Ruby My Dear”). A softly spoken jazz delight, once again visiting the music of Thelonious Monk, here talking romance of the woman in the red dress. Alex Ward on keys, with big Al Clayton and James Sedwards cooing from the tree tops, a pair of guitar cats playing under moonlight. Angie Brown swoops down to deliver the soul from above, high up there in the sensual regions of soul. “The music is soft and sweet and deep with intelligence.” I, Fly, lay down some sweet brush strokes, and the band drift across the sleeping city moments before dawn.

“Sitarrtha.” Back in the great temple of music we started in, saxophones squeal and rise in the distance, percussion swirling like a desert dust devil. “What is jazz?” The bard asks, and then goes on to present alternative scenarios as to the what. “What is blues” and a similar answer.  I, fly, on drums with dampened sticks stroking the toms, breaking the beats. And the poem builds and charges up, bootstrapping from each previous statement, into the meat and the marrow of the listener. The saxophones reaching higher, the drums and percussion speed up, voices and saxophones shriek at each other. The bard walks straight into a pole, such is the force of the music. First hand experience of contact with John Coltrane, left in a John Coltrance. Leaving us with a choice to become as real as they are, those legendary musicians. The song and the poem demonstrate tension, build up and release respectively.

“Do It.” An ambient techno track produced by Youth and representative of his excursions into techno and electronica. John shares more advice on making it as an artist, retelling his experiences and then giving us the best advice he can, the only advice you can give: “Do It.” You have to make it through your actions, you have to get up and do these things which artists dream up, that is the perfect sentiment to summarize this album and the efforts to present it, for you, dear listener. Together with the time and money and logistics, it’s the willingness to do it, that made this all happen. Do it. Do it. Do it.

Beatnik Youth approaches a Magnum Opus in its reach, quality and totality. Here is the music and wefted into it, the history, a one-stop shop for first-hand feedback from the fabled 1960 cultural revolution, from John Sinclair, who Mick Farren so aptly called ‘The Last Of The Beatnik Warrior Poets.’ This album bridges British and American culture, outside of the mainstream channels, producing a lasting testament to our rebellious ancestors and innovators of hip.

—Steven Pratt
Amsterdam, 2017

John Sinclair – “Beatnik Youth” on Double CD released 2017 by Iron Man Records.

All Press enquiries to Sean Newsham : sean@mutante.co.uk

Catalogue Number: IMB6032

Label: Iron Man Records

Distribution: Cargo

John Sinclair – Beatnik Youth Double CD, Download, Stream via Bandcamp

John Sinclair – Beatnik Youth Double CD via Big Cartel

Cargo Records Direct

https://ironmanrecords.net/2017/12/john-sinclair-beatnik-youth-double-cd-review-by-steve-fly-amsterdam-2017/

Steven Pratt - Fattening Blogs For Snakes 2018. (A Project of the John Sinclair Foundation) www.johnsinclair.us ------ radiofreeamsterdam.org

Radio Free Amsterdam Christmas Specials

Merry Christmas to all our listeners and supports out there. Radio Free Amsterdam presents a fine selection of seasonal Blues Jazz and funk stocking fillers. Shows from John Sinclair, Leslie Keros, Soul Lucille, Cary Wolfson, Harry Duncan and more RFA DJ’s.

Check back in over the holiday period for updates.

---

Lucille DJ is on the air from the heart of Italy with a killer hour of soul & super heavy funk and a guest spot by John Sinclair with soulful Christmas tunes by Detroit Junior, Clarence Carter, Rose Graham, Al Green, Pearl Bailey, Short Stuff, Jim Cagle, The Beginning Of The End, Count Sidney & His Dukes, James Brown, Earl King, Thornetta Davis, Sir Mack Riice, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Louis Armstrong, Gary Walker, Jimmy Jules & The Nuclear Soul System, Rufus Thomas, Electric Jungle, Milly & Silly, and The Drifters.

 The John Sinclair Foundation Presents

FUNKY FUNKY CHRISTMAS

THE SOUL LUCILLE SHOW 124

Lucille DJ, controradio-fm, Florence, Italy, December 20, 2017 [DLSL-0124]

Detroit Junior: Christmas Day

Clarence Carter: Back Door Santa

Rose Graham: Black Christmas

Al Green: Feels Like Christmas

Pearl Bailey: Jingle Bells Cha Cha

Short Stuff: Merry Christmas Baby

Jim Cagle: Santa Claus Jr

The Beginning Of The End: Gee Whiz It’s Christmas

Count Sidney & His Dukes: Soul Christmas

James Brown: Soulful Christmas

Earl King: Santa Don’t Let Me Down

Thornetta Davis: Boogie Woogie Santa Claus

Sir Mack Rice: Santa Claus Wants Some Loving

Donny Hathaway: This Christmas

Stevie Wonder: What Christmas Means To Me

Louis Armstrong: ‘Zat You Santa Claus?

Gary Walker: Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag

Jimmy Jules & The Nuclear Soul System: Xmas Done Got Funky

Rufus Thomas: I’ll Be Your Santa Baby

Electric Jungle: Funky Funky Christmas

Milly & Silly: Getting Down For Xmas

The Drifters: White Christmas

 A JOINT PRODUCTION

Hosted by Lucille DJ for Radio Free Amsterdam

Produced & recorded by Lucille DJ at controradio-fm, Firenze

Post-production, editing & annotation by John Sinclair

Executive Producer: Steve Pratt

© 2017 Lucille Mancini. Used with permission.

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Leslie Keros and Bill Dahl are throwing down some deep Christmas soul and blues sides featuring Booker T. & the MG’s, Roy Milton & the Solid Senders, Titus Turner, Jimmy Liggins & His Drops of Joy, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Julia Lee, John Lee Hooker, the Marshall Brothers, Sugar Chile Robinson, Oscar McLollie & the Honey Jumpers, The Moonglows, The Cadillacs, Albert King, Detroit Jr., Big Bud, Amos Milburn, J. D. McDonald, Nathaniel Mayer, and Ike & Tina Turner.

The John Sinclair Foundation Presents

CHRISTMAS SPIRITS

MOOD INDIGO 60

Leslie Keros, WDCB-FM, Chicago, ­­­­­­Christmas 2015 [LKMB-0116]

Booker T. & the MG’s: We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Roy Milton & the Solid Senders: Christmastime Blues

Titus Turner: Christmas Morning

Jimmy Liggins & His Drops of Joy: I Want My Baby for Christmas

Lightnin’ Hopkins: Merry Christmas

Julia Lee: Christmas Spirits

John Lee Hooker: Blues for Christmas

The Marshall Brothers: Mr. Santa’s Boogie

Sugar Chile Robinson: Christmas Boogie

Oscar McLollie & the Honey Jumpers: Dig That Crazy Santa Claus

The Moonglows: Hey Santa Claus

The Cadillacs: Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Albert King: Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’

Detroit Jr.: Christmas Day

Amos Milburn: Christmas (Comes But Once A Year)

Big Bud: Snowman Rock

1. D. McDonald: Boogaloo Santa Claus

Nathaniel Mayer: Mr. Santa Claus

Ike & Tina Turner: Merry Christmas, Baby

Lightnin’ Hopkins: Happy New Year

A JOINT PRODUCTION

Hosted by Leslie Keros for Radio Free Amsterdam

Produced & recorded by Leslie Keros at WDCB-FM, Chicago

Editing, post-production & annotation by John Sinclair

Executive Producer: Steve Pratt

Sponsored by Hempshopper & Ceres Seeds, Amsterdam

© 2015, 2017 Leslie Keros. Used with permission.

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Episode 736 is a special rebroadcast of the first part of John Sinclair’s R&B Christmas Special for the year 2000, just now discovered in a showbx full of cassettes and transferred into the digital domain just in time for the 2017 holidays, with timeless R&B and jazz seasonal music by Louis Armstrong, Milton Batiste, the New Birth Brass Band, Louis Prima, Count Basie & His Orchestra with Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra, Jimmy Rushing, Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers, Eartha Kitt, Gladys Bentley, Mabel Scott, Big John Greer, Babs Gonzales, Don Vappie, Wallace Johnson, and James Andrews.

The John Sinclair Foundation Presents

SANTA’S SECOND LINE

JOHN SINCLAIR RADIO SHOW 736

WWOZ-FM, New Orleans, December 17, 2000 [20-01751]

Little Walter: Juke with John Sinclair Intro

Louis Armstrong: ‘Zat You Santa Claus?

Milton Batiste: Big Fat Santa Is Coming To Town

New Birth Brass Band: Santa’s Second Line

Louis Prima: What Will Santa Claus Say?

Count Basie & His Orchestra & Joe Williams: Good Morning Blues

Ella Fitzgerald: Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney

Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra: Boogie Woogie Santa Claus

Louis Armstrong: The Santa Claus Blues

Count Basie & His Orchestra & Jimmy Rushing: Good Morning Blues

Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers: Dig That Crazy Santa Claus

Eartha Kitt: Santa Baby

Gladys Bentley: Jingle Jangle

Mabel Scott: Boogie Woogie Santa Claus

Big John Greer: We Wanna See Santa Do The Mambo

Babs Gonzales: Bebop Santa Claus

Don Vappie: Too Fat For The Chimney

Wallace Johnson: Christmas Comes But Once A Year

James Andrews: Christmas In New Orleans

A JOINT PRODUCTION

Hosted by John Sinclair for Radio Free Amsterdam

Produced, edited, assembled & annotated by John Sinclair

Executive Producer: Steve Pratt

Special thanks to Leni & Sunnny Sinclair

Sponsored by Hempshopper & Ceres Seeds, Amsterdam

© 2000, 2017 The John Sinclair Foundation

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Leslie Keros is playing holiday music with co-host Bill Dahl providing historical continuity for a program of tunes by the Lionel Hampton Orchestra with Sonny Parker, Ramsey Lewis, Eric Reed, Freddie King, Nicole Henry, Lou Rawls, Dave McKenna, James Brown, Solomon Burke, Rufus Thomas, Lowell Fulson, Jesse Thomas, Roy Milton & His Solid Senders, Harry Allen, B.B. King, and The Drifters.

The John Sinclair Foundation Presents

CHRISTMAS BLUES

MOOD INDIGO 59

Leslie Keros, WDCB-FM, Chicago, December 21, 2016 [LKMI- 0059]

Lionel Hampton Orchestra with Sonny Parker: Merry Christmas Baby

Ramsey Lewis: Christmas Blues

Eric Reed: Christmas Blues

Freddie King: Christmas Tears

Nicole Henry: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Lou Rawls: Christmas Will Really Be Christmas

Dave McKenna: An Eggnog, Some Mistletoe And You

James Brown: Merry Christmas I Love You

Solomon Burke: Presents For Christmas

Rufus Thomas: I’ll Be Your Santa Baby

Lowell Fulson: Lonesome Christmas (Part 1)

Jesse Thomas: Christmas Celebration

Roy Milton & His Solid Senders: New Year’s Resolutions

Harry Allen: Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

B.B. King: Back Door Santa

The Drifters: White Christmas

A JOINT PRODUCTION

Hosted by Leslie Keros for Radio Free Amsterdam

Produced & recorded by Leslie Keros for WDCB-FM, Chicago

Post-production, editing & annotation by John Sinclair

Executive Producer: Steve Pratt

Sponsored by Hempshopper & Ceres Seeds, Amsterdam

© 2017 Leslie Keros. Used with permission.