It Always Comes Back to “Hey Joe”

Hey Joe
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today marks the 44th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death. He left this world when he was just 27. Thanks to my good friend Derrick Baldwin for reminding me of this. Derrick is one helluva keyboardist and I love it when his band gets him to sing.

Some people think you’re pathetic if you gush even just a smidge about Jimi. Those people don’t know shit and probably think people on “America’s Got Talent” are artists to follow for life. There’s more to art, though, than standing on stage and having yourself electrified into people’s homes.

Watch the video below and listen to what Jimi says about practicing. What separates Continue reading

2013…(The Merman Turns Again): My Undercover Soundtrack

DCBiddle HeadShot MedRez
New headshot. Woo Hoo!

I’ve got a guest post called “Sex, Drugs, Metaphysics, and Rock ‘n’ Roll” over at Roz Morris’s website My Memories of a Future LifeIt’s a quick-read, but provides a tour of some of the recordings that influenced me as I worked directly on my novel Beyond the Will of God.

Roz runs a great shop and offers a feature setup weekly for authors to highlight their musical influences called “The Undercover Soundtrack.” You really ought to subscribe and check out some of the past features. Check out the link list at the beginning of each post. It’s a quick resource of all the links in a post that allows you to quickly follow each track the author refers to in their text. Also, one of the coolest things about Roz’s music site is the list of all the previous references you will find at the very bottom of the page. She’s posted so many great pieces on authors’ musical influences, if you just think of a musician or composer, you’ll likely find multiple links to their work in this massive database.

Roz is also the author of the “how to” book Nail Your Novel. It’s a fabulous resource if you’re struggling through writing a novel or if you know someone else who is (hint: give books by independently published authors for the holidays). I bought Nail Your Novel, first because I thought it was a manual on how to make love to an e-book, but also because the notes Continue reading

The Question World: Thoughts On Writing in the 21st Century

First thing on the path — I was running through the woods — worms writhing this mid-summer morning in a death dance after drowning all night long in a torrential, black rain. Bouncing and leaping into the air, up from their dark tunnels collapsing and spewing water everywhere, they were no doubt more afraid of drowning in that world of their own making than dying on the sunlit surface of this tiny green and blue planet with the rest of us.

I try to go down the trail silently. My dog senses this and prances methodically by my side, not even panting.

Thoughts come to me regarding the purpose of literature. It is said often that there are two schools of Continue reading

The Bone and the Flower: New Frontiers of Literature or Sexual Fantasy?

Guernica, which is one of the best online culture magazines out there today, just posted their November 1 edition, and it’s quite a compendium of stories, interviews, essays, art, and poetry. They offer a pretty insightful interview with Junot Diaz that gets old JD to let his hair down quite a lot about his alter ego Yunior de la Casa.

I can also very strongly recommend reading Frank Cassese’s essay, “It Doesn’t Mean We’re Wasting Our Time,” a poignant and quite insightful story about the meaning of a postcard he received from the late, great, and beloved writer, David Foster Wallace. For every writer out there on all levels, this essay is a must. And, to be honest, I think people who just love to read books as well as people who love writers (that is, sleep with them and commit loving but, hopefully, sweetly salacious acts with them) should also read this piece. Cassese gets at the heart of the question: Why the hell do we do this to ourselves? It’s a great essay. Guernica should be proud of themselves for getting this out to the rest of us. Continue reading