Posted 4:57 PM by sport

Did the David Garland show on Friday. The place was a gallery and the event had that whole artsy sort of feel, which is a nice change from the accustomed skeevey rock joint. The Four Bags are a nice group of guys with a great sound: trombone, reeds, accordian and guitar. The bass clarinet... damn. Meredith was as great as always, bowing and plucking, trilling and gently guiding the ether, and David got the too-rare chance to enjoy applause for his outstanding music. I sang my one number well enough, despite retiree stage fright, but collaborating with Garland is like collaborating with Matisse... I'm way out of my league. David's new album "The Other Side Of The Window" is as imaginatively rich as his other albums but somehow - probably a more "accessible" approach to rhythm - it comes together as a more obvious whole. I believe he did this deliberately; few listeners can or will extend their minds to draw the connections between things as varied as David's, so here he's helped the process along. I can't say his work is "eclectic" since that implies a pastiche of styles (like my shit) and Garland has his own definite style full of impossible new harmonic colors, lyric / melodic wit, and surprising forms. David's appreciation for (and understanding of) all kinds of music certainly figures in (a coy Wilsonian change here or a cowboy song quotation there hints at how fully he draws from the entire universe of music all the time), but he's always at the wheel. I'm big on all his albums, but these songs are particularly killer-diller.

My minor involvement with the album is one of the honors of my creative life, and guest-performing at the show was humbling. I sure hope the new album gets noticed; David puts more inspiration, consideration and craft into a song than most musicians milk over a career. It occurs to me that the real reason I ever made music - not the reasons I intended, but the real benefit and purpose - was to experience true musicians like David and Meredith.

Afterwards was a jolly hang with those two along with Irwin Chusid and my nephew David. I was the usual whiskey-soaked blabbermouth. Great to see Irwin, who has agreed to organize another Incorrect Music Videos show: stay tuned. It was a nice break from babies and household (though I was delighted to get back to them). David (nephew) and I wound up the night at Farrell's, then back to his apt. to listen to Polnareff's original "Ame Caline" over and over and over again. Sorry, David.

My email situation is FUCKED. Optimum Online, which was a true pleasure for a few years, now officially BLOWS. I cannot access my "Webmail" at all, so reading my mail will be intermittent and burdened with unbelievable heaps of spam ...it averages about 100-150 pieces a day. So if you need to reach me, call me. Or use the "sport at sportmurphy dot com" address. In the meantime, apologies for the many lapses in contact. Apart from the inability to read my mail usually, I've learned that many of my sent messages have vanished into the cybervoid, without so much as a bounceback to let me know there's a problem. This is really a drag with eBay transactions, as massive misunderstandings occur. I also wonder how many friends feel like I've just ignored them entirely.

Rest assured, I'm well and probably wiping something wet off someone cute as you read this.

And maybe you should go get Garland's new album. No, skip "maybe" ...go get it.
Visit http://www.3garlands.com/davidgarland/

Gotta go... Lily's crying.