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It seems as though some great myth was created by the film A Hard Day's Night, it being that all RocknRoll bands were just one big happy family. I'm here to tell you that being in a band is like being a part of a dysfunctional family.

I spent a short time in The Ramones and there were problems in that family. The guitar player didn't speak to the singer and the bass guitarist sat in the back of the van getting stoned all the time. Of course The Ramones are our generation's Beatles, they also have a film. It's called "The End of the Century". It kind of bookends the whole myth thing for me. RIP Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee. Spinal Tap in reverse, the band had four drummers, all alive and well.

If you haven't seen the films, "Still Crazy" and "Stardust" I'd highly recommend them for further
insight into this wacky world. Paul Simon in "OneTrick Pony" is pretty good too, and then there's "Cisco Pike" starring Kris Kristofferson and Harry Dean Stanton. Let's not forget "The Rose" with Kris
and Barbara and of course there's "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", the ultimate RocknRoll trashy movie.
Classics all!

I'm down here in Austin doing a benefit for a writer named Steven Moser. Steven has prostate cancer
and like many other Americans, no health insurance. Aren't we suppose to be the so called greatest country
in the world? Didn't I mention something awhile back about this age of paradox we're living in? How can we
"the greatest" not have health coverage for everyone? Maybe this will change soon, let's hope so.

For those of you who have never visited this great city I have to tell you that it's probably the only place on earth where a musical event for an openly gay male features no disco music. It's that kind of place.By the way, I like disco music.

Those who participated in the benefit we're an eclectic group including Kathy Valentine of The Go
Go's,singer songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard,Sarah Hickman,Ray Benson from Grammy winning band, Asleep at the Wheel and Chip Taylor. Chip is the writer of the rock classic "Wild Thing" made famous by The Troogs and Jimi Hendrix among others.

I often think of the film The Last Picture Show when I'm here. Director Peter Bongdanovich did a great
job adapting the Larry McMurtry novel to the screen. Cybil Shepard was absolutely gorgeous as a Texas high school cheerleader.It's one of my favorite films.

Yes, Austin is quite a place, there's only one problem. It's in Texas.

It's said that the only really true American art form is jazz music. It began in the U.S.A. with the assimilation of various musical idioms that came before such as African tribal and European classical. I'm here to add another to that list of one: Rock n Roll. That's right, that horrible racket we've all been listening to for the
last 60 years. It's true, just like it's originators, rock n roll is old and established, it's legit.

Elvis, Little Richard, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen etc.They all are
great artists.

By Clem Burke

Having just retuned from a few weeks in my hometown, NYC,it really hit me what a paradoxical decade we
live in. I suppose living in Manhattan was always about the rich, middle and poor meeting head on but it
seemed more evident then ever on the New Bowery. The new Bowery Hotel is directly next to a homeless
shelter. How's that for paradox?

Granted, back in the 70's this area did see an invasion of white middleclass rock and roll kids from the
suburbs brushing up against the local residents but everyone was living in squalor. CBGB's was a dive bar
with music that fit right into the neighborhood now it's an upscale clothing store that does actually fit right
into the neighborhood.