Kurt Huget, the Marin County musician (Moonlight Rodeo & many other ensembles), just made my day. He emailed that he was reading Hot Burritos, a book about the Flying Burrito Brothers, by John Einarson and ex-Burrito (and Byrd) Chris Hillman.
“Here’s a passage I thought you’d appreciate,” Kurt wrote, regarding a discussion about the late, almost great Gram Parsons:
Of all the Parsons books on the market, Hillman still regards the first, Hiokory Wind, as the most truthful. “I think Ben Fong-Torres’s book was pretty accurate,” he says. “He got the closest to it and kept a fine line between the myth and the reality.”
Considering the books that have come out since Hickory Wind 20 years ago, that’s quite a statement, and I appreciate it. There was – and still is – a lot of mythology surrounding Gram. Which is why another book or movie or documentary comes out every couple of years. They’re still trying to figure him out.
It was Cherry Blossom Festival time here in San Francisco the other week – the 44th such celebration in Japantown, and, once again, George Yamasaki served as the public address announcer, telling the crowds gathered along Post Street about the various contingents, floats, and dignitaries, from mayors and mayoral candidates to Hello Kitty and anime characters. After 40 years of handling commentary duties on his own, George, an attorney and a pianist who accompanies me on my occasional appearances, asked me to sidekick, read a couple of the descriptions and dash onto the street and do a couple of interviews.
Mayor Ed Lee was one of them, and I wanted to ask him for the best and worst aspects of his time in City Hall, which began in February as an interim appointment and ends when the next elected mayor takes office in January. Anyway, Mayor Lee waxed so rhapsodic about the “best” stuff -- getting to "engage everybody in this great city" -- that I gave up on the worst. Still, as we passed the VIP seats, where a bevy of beauty queens and princesses were perched, I asked, “Is the second best thing getting to walk by all these lovely women?” "Walking by them is one thing," he said. "Taking a picture with them in City Hall is even better!"
Later, State Sen. Leland Yee strode up to chat. We’d seen each other at various community events, including a Jerry Garcia Day concert, where he reminisced about the good old days in Berkeley. “Hey,” he said, “how come you keep looking younger and I keep looking older?” “It’s all the drugs you didn’t take,” I said. I’m so diplomatic, I should be in high office. But not too high …
