Hello, kiddies… yeah, it’s been years since I opened a post that way, but this time it’s for a very good reason.

I’ve always had a problem with being at a loss for the right words to say when it comes to actually writing them down, but I am an expert at coming up with plenty of them off the top of my head at will. This time is no different, so let me just give it that ol’ college try…

It’s been close to three months since the Mixlr channel bit the dust, and with no economical alternatives to look forward to, the best, rather the only course of action is to carry on like it’s 2007… 1997… 1987. The only difference here is that I no longer aim to try and conquer a potential love interest; that has been firmly in place for the last twenty five years, and will never ever change. However, what I plan to do is acknowledge as many people as I possibly can from this point on, which gave me the will to aspire to be just like them over the last four decades. Yes, I still yearn for a permanent residency in some venue, playing before a packed house of revelers… maybe one day, but time’s getting short, and I’m no longer young like springtime so here it is.

First, last and always, I’m gonna tip my hat to my best friend Mike, who I still miss terribly… Those minidiscs that I used to make back in 2000 will always serve as a proper starting point for what I’ve always wanted to hear on the radio… over and above the miracle that is the freeform format. Sure, those old stations were good, but they always left plenty of room for improvement. How’s the old saying go, if you want something done right…? Well, apparently I did do something right, and there were quite a few people who also thought this as Mike would play my mixtapes almost exclusively for his customers at the liquor store he used to manage. They would always ask questions like, “oh WOW, who is that, and what’s the song called” especially when I pulled out the rare stuff. It always did my heart good to hear that kind of reaction, because it was the same one I would give when I discovered something new.

Yeah, that was the seed that I planted, which would eventually blossom a few years later when I discovered Larry on the internet, and you all know full well how I feel about him and the massive influence he’s had on me while I was building my record collection over the past twenty years… and of course, it’s not limited to “funk, soul jazz and rare groove”. Suffice it to say, his massive body of podcast work has led me to discover, rediscover and discover again, all of which I’ve managed to put on full display with each and every session that I was fortunate enough to contribute to his network for the better part of a decade and then some. I cannot overstate that fact enough…

The next logical progression just had to be jumping into the social media pool, and meeting hundreds of his peers, contemporaries, colleagues and friends, who only added more value to my knowledge. The list of names reads like an ancient scroll, good and very VERY long, branching out far beyond the reaches of funk and soul 45s, and into territory that I’ve been familiar with since I was but a teenager. I know I should list each name, but that would take weeks, if not months to remember them all for the purpose of this post. You all know who you are, and you all know of the huge debt of gratitude that I owe you, seriously, from the bottom of my heart. I’ve got all the flowers to give to all of you, and I will do that as time marches on, but now is as good a time as any to get you to click on the cassette below, and enjoy the latest freeform trainwreck.

Yadig? – James Gang (ABC)
Serenade To A Rock – Ronnie Foster (Blue Note)
You Can All Join In – Traffic (United Artists)
Sleep Talk – Ohio Players (Westbound)
I’m Still A Struggling Man – Edwin Starr (Gordy)
A Day In The Life – Wes Montgomery (A&M)
Dharma For One – Jethro Tull (Reprise)
I Wish – California Smoker (2000 BC)
That’s How I Feel – Pointer Sisters (Blue Thumb)
What It Is – Apollis (Luv N Haight reissue)
No Plans For Tomorrow – Emotions (Columbia)
Show You The Way To Go – The Jacksons (Epic)
Didn’t Want To Have To Do It – The Lovin’ Spoonful (Kama Sutra)
Pikebubbles – The Cardigans (Stockholm)
Out Of Control – Lush (Edamame)
Flute Thing – Blues Project (Verve Forecast)
Moon Shadow – Labelle (Warner)
Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave – Dave Mason (Blue Thumb)
Give A Damn – Spanky & Our Gang (Mercury)
Let’s Go Get Stoned – James Brown (Smash)
Let Me Be Your Pirate – Nena (Epic)
Roll Call (Reprise) – Peter Murphy (Beggars Banquet)
A Chance For Peace – Lonnie Liston-Smith (Flying Dutchman)

And now for the closing commentary, and it’s been a hot minute since I’ve closed out a blog post with those words too…

It does feel good to still be able to do this after so many years, and it feels even better knowing that my wife actually still gives me the freedom to continue doing it after all these years… of course I have to give her all the praise in the world as I look at the walls of the Fallout Shelter™, because it’s here where I will remain, always playing my records until times get better. You’ll hear ‘em, make no mistake about it. That said, it’s time to file away what’s been played and pull more to play. Thank you for reading and listening, thank you for continuing to put up with me and thank you for doing whatever you can, whenever you can… have fun(k) and be safe too, because you already know that it just ain’t safe anymore. Take care, and Dog help us all.