Jonathan Collins. Wow! What an artist! I hate to admit that I'm not familiar with his work, but his portraits of Kerouac, Snyder, and Carolyn Cassady are outstanding, to say the least! "Carolyn By The Sea" is my favorite, of course. In it, she's wearing the turquois ring that I made for her in the '70s. I boaught the stone at the Kingman Mines near Flagstaff, AZ, when I was a "jewelry guy." (The stone was more blue than green, as in the painting, but we'll take it). And Ramblin' Jack Elliot was a friend of my Dad's (who wasn't? Ha ha). He would play his guitar, sitting on the couch in our living room at our home in Los Gatos, CA. My sisters, Cathy, Jami, and I would listen at the hallway door all night. "What's that smell? What are they smoking?" When Jack wasn't playing, they would listen to the album "Sketches of Spain" by Miles Davis, like, all night! Years later, I was on the bill with Ramblin' Jack at a "Beat Tribute" or something at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. I recall that backstage there was a gallon of cheap red wine, and Ramblin' Jack himself, with his guitar strapped on, ready to go onstage. I said something clever, like, "nice guitar! Can I play it?" "NO!" We both laughed, and I said, "at least it's not as BEAT up as Willie Nelson's old Martin, with the hole in the spruce top!" (Man, if THAT guitar could talk! The stories it could tell!). So thanks for listening, and Keep The Beat! John Allen Cassady
Fantastic .. great to hear Louis Ferdinand Celine mentioned as Beat precursor.. Ginseng & Cassady went from Beat Hotel to pay Homage to Celine in Meudon. Ginsberg got on his knees and tried to wash his feet Celine was married to Lucille a beautiful flamenco dancer. They had a cat named BEBERT
Jonathan Collins. Wow! What an artist! I hate to admit that I'm not familiar with his work, but his portraits of Kerouac, Snyder, and Carolyn Cassady are outstanding, to say the least! "Carolyn By The Sea" is my favorite, of course. In it, she's wearing the turquois ring that I made for her in the '70s. I boaught the stone at the Kingman Mines near Flagstaff, AZ, when I was a "jewelry guy." (The stone was more blue than green, as in the painting, but we'll take it). And Ramblin' Jack Elliot was a friend of my Dad's (who wasn't? Ha ha). He would play his guitar, sitting on the couch in our living room at our home in Los Gatos, CA. My sisters, Cathy, Jami, and I would listen at the hallway door all night. "What's that smell? What are they smoking?" When Jack wasn't playing, they would listen to the album "Sketches of Spain" by Miles Davis, like, all night! Years later, I was on the bill with Ramblin' Jack at a "Beat Tribute" or something at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. I recall that backstage there was a gallon of cheap red wine, and Ramblin' Jack himself, with his guitar strapped on, ready to go onstage. I said something clever, like, "nice guitar! Can I play it?" "NO!" We both laughed, and I said, "at least it's not as BEAT up as Willie Nelson's old Martin, with the hole in the spruce top!" (Man, if THAT guitar could talk! The stories it could tell!). So thanks for listening, and Keep The Beat! John Allen Cassady
Great memories, John..Thank you for contributing. And Happy New Year to you and all your family!
Brilliant reflections
Fantastic .. great to hear Louis Ferdinand Celine mentioned as Beat precursor.. Ginseng & Cassady went from Beat Hotel to pay Homage to Celine in Meudon. Ginsberg got on his knees and tried to wash his feet Celine was married to Lucille a beautiful flamenco dancer. They had a cat named BEBERT
Intriguing background, Jose.