July 2009

Last week we pointed you in the direction of a blog post made by former Grace Potter & The Nocturnals bass player Bryan Dondero where he ripped into Potter for her actions before, during and after his tenure in the band. We wanted to give an update on things that have happened since.

[Photos by John Schulze]

First, Dondero took the entry off of his website that same day. Perhaps he felt bad, perhaps he realized you win more bees with honey or perhaps his lawyer told him not to air his grievances publicly. Regardless of the reason, the only evidence of Dondero’s rant is the parts we quoted in our article.

GPN responded to Dondero’s diss through a statement by their management to Brent Hallenbeck of the Burlington Free Press…

“Many of the statements made by Bryan Dondero about the facts surrounding his leaving the band are inaccurate. Since Bryan left the band, we have accommodated many of his requests for additional compensation which go above and beyond the original contract he, and all band members, signed upon joining GPN. That original contract clearly states all compensation any departing band member will be entitled to upon leaving the band. The additional compensation that we are offering him goes beyond any contractual obligations we have with him and we offered this in the hopes of continuing a positive relationship with someone that we have great respect for. We are surprised and saddened by Bryan’s recent show of public disdain for us, particularly since we believed that an understanding had been reached that was acceptable to everyone. Despite Bryan’s response, we wish him only the best in his future endeavors.” [via Burlington Free Press]

A classy response to say the least. As we mentioned in our original post, there’s two sides to each story and the truth generally lies in the middle so we may never know what really happened between the two parties. In any case, we’ve got a gallery of stunning GPN photos from John Schulze that he took at Rothbury. READ ON to check ’em out…

Reading a biography, it’s easy to overlook all the behind the scenes work that goes into prepping the written material. If done well, these works read like a good flowing piece of narrative fiction, but there is far more upfront preparation required in the form of gathering articles, watching video footage, reading reviews, conducting interviews and – in the case of music biographies – becoming intimately familiar with the musical catalog. Hence, while the writing itself plays a huge role in the quality of a biography, the real masters of this craft are those who take the preparation to the next level.

In this installment of Writer’s Workshop, we had the chance to match wits with one of the true legends of the music writing landscape and particularly the music biography, Robert Greenfield. To put it in perspective, in Greenfield’s latest book, A Day in the Life: One Family, the Beautiful People, and the End of the Sixties – the story of Tommy Weber and Puss Coriat, a pair of London socialites who regularly rubbed elbows with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles – the section in back reserved to credit sources spans a jaw-dropping 40 pages. A rough estimate of twenty line items per page puts the total number of sources at around 800; not exactly lazy journalism.

Over the course of the interview, we discuss this arduous approach to the research process as well as other anecdotes detailing the ups, downs, ins and outs of Robert Greenfield’s life as a music writer.

Ryan Dembinsky: I understand you started your career as a sports writer. Could you explain the motivation and circumstances behind your move from sports to music, and ultimately to music biographer/historian?

Robert Greenfield: Because I grew up in Brooklyn when the Dodgers were still at Ebbets Field (and where I got to see Jackie Robinson play), I was like most kids in my neighborhood obsessed with sports, not just baseball but basketball as well. I was also obsessed with music and went to my first rock ‘n’ roll show, hosted by Murray The K, when I was 13 years old. When the world began changing in the late sixties, music seemed more interesting and important than sports on every level and so I began to write about it.

READ ON for more of Ryan’s chat with famed author Robert Greenfield…

[Originally Published: 06/02/2009] The Death of the American Dream has been laid out for quite some time. If anything, the definition has seemed to change from generation to generation and, ultimately, one is left to interpret the hallowed Dream as one see fits. As it should be, it is, I suppose.

However, some never really had that chance to pursue their ambitions, never really had an opportunity to find out what they could do if given the right passage to success. Yes, but many, if not all, see who they have become, and what they have done with their lives. It is those points on the road through existence that we see clearly demarcated in this week’s Hidden Flick, a tale of a destiny bound and buried, American Me.

Directed in his debut at the helm by Edward James Olmos, the film was inspired by a true story, but is essentially a heavily fictionalized characterization of life as a Mexican on the streets of Los Angeles in the 1950s-70s, detailing the racism of the dominating white populace, the early gang warfare in the city, and then, inevitably, life behind the walls of various California prisons where the Mexican Mafia solidified its formidable reputation.

READ ON for more on this week’s Hidden Flick – American Me and be sure to check HT in two weeks for the first edition of Hidden Flick’s Season 3…