Clive Davis could spot gold in a song. The Arista Records chief–whose tenure ran from 1975-2000–was responsible for signing huge acts like Air Supply, Annie Lennox, Aretha Franklin, and Ace of Base. His biggest discovery was the late Whitney Houston, who became one of the best selling artists in music history.   Bob Weir, of The Grateful…

I just read a 2011 interview with Bob about a show of his paintings that went up in Europe somewhere.  For opinions of Dylan, the painter, I asked two of my painter buddies who agreed: As a painter, Dylan is a fine songwriter.  I’ve excerpted and commented on Bob’s answers,…

Twice in the early 90s, I went to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY for a songwriting workshop with Rosanne Cash. It was a non-juried event, meaning the first dozen people to call in their credit cards got to spend five days sitting in a circle, trying our stuff out…

In 1978, the summer after most New Yorkers followed the gruesome antics of a serial killer named Son of Sam, I was wandering around midtown, a roll of dimes in my pocket, a briefcase full of cassettes and Xeroxed resumes in my hand, trying very hard not to look too…

My father was a terrible photographer. It was more a problem of intonation or intention than of technique. He could frame a shot and get the background and the lighting right, but it was like he was tone deaf with images, forever capturing people with mayonnaise on their faces, pursing…