An Old Clotheshorse Like Myself

My Gravelly Voice

There's no one really in show business in my family but there were two relatives who had an effect on me very young and shaped me in some way. They were Uncle Vernon and Uncle Robert. I always hated the sound of my voice when I was a kid. I always wanted to sound more like my Uncle Vernon, who had a raspy, gravelly voice. Everything Uncle Vernon said sounded important, and you always got it the first time because you wouldn't dare ask him to repeat it.Eventually, I learned that Uncle Vernon had had a throat operation as a kid and the doctors had left behind a small pair of scissors and gauze when they closed him up. Years later at Christmas dinner, Uncle Vernon started to choke while trying to dislodge an errant string bean, and he coughed up the gauze and the scissors. That's how Uncle Vernon got his voice, and that's how I got mine

Monday, December 8, 2008

the CIVIL warS: A tree is best measured when it is down

This Old Clotheshorse knows the importance of Robert Wilson. The Keeper told him.

Tacks on the Kitchen Floor - Robert Wilson

So the Keeper of the Boneyard was dusting off the headstones, muttering about Wilson:

"Words for Bob are like tacks on the kitchen floor in the dark of night and you’re barefoot. So Bob clears a path he can walk through words without getting hurt. Bob changes the values and shapes of words. In some sense they take on more meaning; in some cases, less.”

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Keeper of the Bamba

Southside Johnny and the LaBamba Big Band

So it appears the Keeper of the Graveyard has been haunting the world of Southside Johnny. You couldn't find a better world to haunt. Anyway along with the LaBamba Big Band, Johnny has released an album of Tom Waits covers. The Keeper himself sings along on "Walk Away."

Apparently Southside Johnny and the LaBamba Big Band are "appearing" at the Nokia Theater in New York City on Friday, October 24th. While the Keeper will not be there in person, his spirit has already his train ticket booked.