Men Who Listen

LAST ALBUM (actually a song) MENTIONED IN ALL NATIVE: Steve Miller's The Joker and "Your cash ain't nothin' but trash," which is one of my favorite dittys! In h...is room, BJ was laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Steve Miller Band’s Your Cash Ain’t Nothing But Trash was playing at a medium volume on his eight-track player which, at home, had a permanent spot atop his dresser. Like most of the furniture in the room, BJ had the classic white 5’ high and 2.5’ wide dresser as long as he could remember. Off the foot of his bed was a small book and art supplies shelf, with an open bookshelf taking up the top one-third of it and a storage shelf, with two small doors, below it. It was probably meant to sit atop something or hang on the wall, but it sat on the floor. Inside the little storage shelf were random items like a pocketknife, paper, pens, pencils, a Pez dispenser, action figures he couldn’t part with, a tennis ball, Scotch and electrician’s tape, and a smooth, round, speckled rock that he had picked up somewhere. The only other furniture was a nightstand by the head of his bed, atop which were a small lamp and a black, rectangular, digital alarm clock. It seemed to move way too slow for BJ. See more

ALBUM 4, MENTIONED IN ALL NATIVE: Fool for the City! Okay, okay, said BJ, who had a good buzz on now and was playing the greatest album game, which wasn’t a...s much a game as a bunch of guys thinking they were true rock and roll aficionados. Fool for the City. Foghat. The boys all nodded. Great fucking album, said Garth. The guitars are insane, Todd chimed in and made an air guitar gesture. BJ looked at Nate. Okay. Your turn, Nate. Nate had been staring up at the trees, wondering if any birds were listening to them. He turned his attention back to the guys and seemed to think for a second before saying. I have to take a piss. Never heard of that one, said Garth and they all laughed. See more

ALBUM 3 MENTION IN ALL NATIVE: Bat out of Hell It was amazing how something like this, becoming a part of such an institution and realizing, at such a young age..., the value of hard work and commitment, can change a person. It was as if Nate had become a man overnight. Well, almost. Of course, he did indulge in some shenanigans, but it was Nate-level (a phrase Garth coined) participation. He would have three or four beer, smoke a little pot, but absolutely, positively, never a day before a game. And, was his voice deeper now? Yeah, I think his voice is deeper, nodded Todd as he stuffed a slice of pizza in his mouth. Definitely, agreed Garth, as he broke down a bud of weed on the Bat Out of Hell album on his lap, sitting on the couch in his parents’ basement. BJ nodded. Shut up, Nate said, shaking his head at this latest attack on him since he had become a Rainmaker. The boys had been accusing Nate, mostly jokingly, of lording his being a Rainmaker over them. BJ noted how they didn’t see him as much and whenever they did, BJ would say things like how kind of you to grace us with your presence. Garth would see him arriving at his place or one of their toking spots and say, Does anyone know this cat? Todd was the most over-the-top, bowing and saying yes, m’lord, whenever Nate asked for something as simple as passing him a coaster. Of course, it didn’t help that Nate actually used coasters. Annnyway, Nate said, after the latest round of harassment, The zone championship is this weekend and I hope you guys will be there. The comment stopped all movement. All three of them froze and just stared at him. That hurts, man. That really hurts, said Todd, holding his heart. Garth nodded. Yeah, man. Like a kick in the nuts. With a frozen boot, Todd added, and Garth approved the qualifier, saying, Yeah. With a frozen boot. Buddy, BJ said with a shake of his head. Like we wouldn’t be there. Nate leaned back and sighed, knowing he should have known better, then said, I know you guys have my back, okay? Just, you know, maybe something else will come up, that’s all. Like what? asked BJ. Yeah, said Todd. What are we gonna be doing? Look at us; bunch of fucking losers. BJ and Garth turned to Todd and BJ exclaimed, What the fuck are you talking about?! Speak for yourself, man! And they all laughed, with Garth slapping Todd on the arm, and Nate shaking his head. Todd shrugged and BJ looked at him and said, in mock anger, fucking guy. See more

ALBUM MENTION 2 IN ALL NATIVE: SAVOY BROWN'S JACK THE TOAD There was a long silence. Nate wondered if BJ was passing out. He also wondered if his parents would ...see him sneaking in tonight and notice he was a bit drunk. Let’s get out of here, Nate finally said to BJ, slapping him lightly on the arm. BJ lifted his head and nodded. Then he shook his head and muttered, Fucking guy. Let’s go, Nate said insistently as he stood, and started putting the eight-track player back together. As he did, he took a closer look at the Boston cover and thought, shit, that spaceship is a guitar! With the player packed up, Nate handed the eight-tracks (the other was a Savoy Brown album, Jack the Toad) to BJ and he put them into his pockets, fumbling about at it for awhile before getting them in. Come on, Nate said, as if he were talking to a child, and they went back to the steps and made their way to the top and to McBride Street. All they had to do was go straight down the road and turn left on Eighth and BJ would be home. As they passed the Dairy Queen, BJ suggested they stop in for a burger, but Nate pulled him along to the four-way intersection on Third Avenue, where they stood waiting for the light to change. BJ said shit, my eight-track player! and Nate held it up for him to see and BJ nodded, oh. Nate saw a cop car coming down McBride and became nervous, as he always did when he saw one at night. There wasn’t a curfew, but cops often stopped native kids to ask what they were doing out so late in accusatory tones, even when it wasn’t so late. With BJ staggering, well, that all but guaranteed they would stop and, sure enough, they did, turning onto Third Avenue in front of them, with a quick shot of the siren, and parking a few feet away just past the crosswalk, with their lights flashing. See more

ALBUMS IN ALL NATIVE Seeing all these favorite albums posts on Facebook, it was suggested to me that I do something similar that would also be a great way to pr...omote my book. There are a number of album references in the novel (five, to be exact), so I thought I would share an excerpt from the scene in which they are mentioned/played, starting with an album that is at or near the top of most lists: Boston. When I first heard it, I reacted in the same way the boys in this scene did. BJ slammed in a cassette, making sure to conceal the cover, then adjusted the volume. He had that look on his face, that warned Todd and Nate that they should prepare to be blown away as he was unleashing a cool new band on them. Todd grinned while Nate chuckled and shook his head at BJ’s insistence on drama. Who is it? asked Todd, then tested his drink and nodded. You’ll see, smiled BJ, always confident that they would love it and marvel at how he came up with amazing groups they hadn’t heard of. Nate, tired of this routine with BJ, rolled his eyes. The fade up beginning of Boston’s More Than A Feeling came on and BJ nodded slowly, repeatedly, just in case Todd and Nate didn’t get that the music was cool. He casually pulled a joint out of his jean jacket’s breast pocket, singing along with the lyrics, getting them somewhat wrong: I woke up this morning and the sun was gone, turned on my music to start the day, I lost myself in a familiar song, Closing my eyes and I slipped awayyyyy . . . BJ pulled out a light blue disposable BIC lighter and, as he lit the joint, the kick ass guitars came in (which he was confident would seal the deal) and he started dramatically bobbing his head. He passed the joint off to Todd just as Boston singer Brad Delp told them how he began dreaming, and then he started air guitaring as Todd and Nate started bobbing their heads, Nate subtly while Todd matched BJ’s enthusiasm. Nate took a quick glance around to make sure the music wasn’t attracting attention from adults and he spotted two familiar men, who looked like they were in their late 20s, who were looking over. They were about 40 yards away, standing near the edge of the dock beside a small stack of pallet boards. They, too, were smoking a joint and, noticing that Nate was looking over, they smiled and bobbed their heads as well. Who the fuck is this?! Todd asked, mouth agape. BJ smiled. Boston.

Friday the 13th, Men Who Listen live at the Moby Dick Pub. It is International Support Local Music Day! ( OK I just made that up) Come out and listen to Rock n' Roll and dance the night away.