I won't drag you down into the minutiae that happens behind the magic BC Magazine curtains, but we've once again found ourselves re-examining what BC is, what it isn't, how we do what we do, how we could do it better, and the very nature of what it is to be a community, online or otherwise.
Mark Saleski's Friday Morning Listen column this week picked up on that latter theme as he retold the tale of meeting fellow BC'er and Mondoite Sir Mary Williams and I'd like to add a testimonial of my own.
I got an e-mail from Joan Hunt telling me to keep an eye on my mailbox. For those of you who have forgotten, Joan and I did a segment on the BC Radio Podcast called "BC On The Blues." Joan and I regularly held court to "Talk About The Passion" for the blues as an institution as well as our passion for the music. I can't tell you exactly how many times she invoked the name Joe Bonamassa. I had never heard of him before she and I began talking and collaborating on podcast segments, but I was well aware of him by the time the show came to a close earlier this year.
That podcast allowed me to talk to a number of the pillars of this BC Magazine community, an experience I will never forget. Joan and I talked the blues, Saleski and I about music and the Red Sox. There were several weeks we got so engrossed in conversation we never got around to actually recording a segment.
A.L. Harper called from Scotland to talk about the Band of the Week and various other things that can get a person excommunicated. I never got to speak to the mad scientist that is The Duke De Mondo, but he also sent regular segments bursting with hilarity and genius. Sir Mary and I talked 24 and she would gamely try to talk about the show without ruining the endings for me. Jon Sobel shared his knowledge of indie music, Monsignor Eric Berlin and I talked politics and later shared our love for The Sopranos. Phillip Winn came on once but never re-appeared after my savage remixing of him. Matt Sussman and I talked sports and exchanged bad puns. Sal "Muscles" Marinello was my go-to guy for all things Barry Bonds. Ken "Gameboy" Edwards would come on to talk about games and endure the fact I knew fuck-all about most of what he was talking about.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Wow...have to say I got a little misty reading that Josh. Nice review though. Oh, and we love you too, man.
-Glen
2 - Mark Saleski
great stuff josh!
3 - Pico
Eh, Saleski just likes your review 'cos he got name checked in it. ;&)
I like it because it really is good. Well, that, and because I just picked up Sloe Gin myself. Can't wait to try it out, now.
4 - Phillip Winn
Joan got me hooked on Bonamassa as well, so now I'm going to have to buy this album. Oh well!
5 - Josh
Thanks, all. This was a fun one to write. I got to say a lot of things I've wanted to say, some of them for quite awhile.
Pico, you're going to like this one. So will you, Phillip. You definitely want to pick up a copy soon.
6 - Tim Hall
While it might not be the best album of the year (2007 has been a great year for albums), that title track is a strong candidate for the best individual song.