Today’s “New York Times” has a story about the death of a Minnesota state senator:

“In Minnesota, a G.O.P. Lawmaker’s Death Brings Home the Reality of Covid – Minnesota Republicans celebrated election victories with a gala party. A state senator’s death from Covid-19 underlined the consequences of the G.O.P.’s rejection of health experts’ guidance.: https://nyti.ms/3bXmnmx

Even worse is what has happened in Congress. 62 members have been infected with Covid: https://nyti.ms/2LKfKsT But isn’t it interesting that 44 are Republicans and 18 are Democrats?

And for those doubting the efficacy of the vaccine, I point you to today’s story “Underselling the Vaccine”: https://nyti.ms/3qqVo6C Read this article and you will be hopeful. As I am now that Biden is taking office. His statements re attacking the Covid problem are so inspiring. After hearing for decades that government is the enemy, it’s good to have someone in office attempting to harness the power of government to solve our pandemic, and endemic, problems. This is the turning point. However, tens of millions of people still need to be convinced. It isn’t going to happen overnight, but people have a hard time arguing with success. Then again, there’s a whole industry painting anything the Democrats do as inadequate/bogus/a failure, even when this is untrue. We’re fighting for the soul of America, for democracy itself. And while we’re on the topic of democracy, I urge you to listen to “Gaslit Nation,” “Clear Intent”: https://bit.ly/2M3sBq0 You can read a transcript here:   https://bit.ly/39IMqLd Sarah Kendzior has been right about everything this election cycle, that the Trumps are a Mafia family, part of a transnational crime syndicate. We thought it could never happen here, but it has.

Kendzior posits so much that seems unbelievable, but is probably true. That Cruz and Hawley were kissing Trump’s butt in order to gain his approval and inherit his base so they could run for president. But Trump had no intention of endorsing them, he was always planning to run Ivanka.

And while we’re pushing boundaries, Kendzior talks about the collapse of the United States and “it being partitioned into little fiefdoms that will be ruled by oligarchs and plutocrats, with some sort of state apparatus put in charge.” I know that sounds fantastical, but so did Trump trying to steal the election and inciting an insurrection two weeks ago. I know, I know, we’ve had enough of the insanity, but once again, Kendzior’s doctorate is in totalitarian regimes, which is the way the world has been going recently if you haven’t realized.

The myopia of America has come back to bite it in the ass. We’ve been told forever that the rest of the world does not compare, so we know little about the rest of the world, never mind having been there. So there are lessons to be learned that we don’t know. Authoritarianism has happened all over the globe, and it can happen here.

This is just opinion. But seemingly only the Republicans can organize and look to the future. The Democrats are disorganized until one day they wake up and realize their country has changed, to the point of barely being recognizable. By today’s standards, so many of yesteryear’s Republicans were Democrats. As for bipartisan legislation…that went out with the last century, before that in fact.

Kendzior’s solution is accountability. Unless we hold the perpetrators accountable, the heart of duplicity will still beat and ultimately grow louder and stronger.

And one more thing Kendzior points out references those who are calling for unity…

“You helped do this. You helped kill this country, you helped kill people through Coronavirus. You helped bring this down if you’re shocked right now. So never forget, people use shock – they feign shock – to dodge accountability. That’s what many elected officials are doing right now, many journalist are doing right now, and it’s disgusting…”

We’ve got to put a stake through the heart of this creeping authoritarianism.

And Kendzior points out how Putin destabilized the European Union via Brexit. Yes, the first vote was close. And Putin influenced it, never mind the lies of the leaders of the Brexiteers. And just like in America, it was the rural, those who worked with their hands, who had never been anywhere, who wanted to jet back to a theoretical past, who in the case  of Brexit voted to secede, those who didn’t even understand how economics work. And now the U.K. is suffering the consequences. Have you been following the insanity re touring?

“Musicians have been betrayed by this Brexit deal – we need answers and we are not going away – Without visa-free tours of Europe, it will be economically impossible for many artists starting out – now we risk losing the next Adele or Ed Sheeran to red tape and bureaucracy”: https://bit.ly/2XYRhCt

And from the BBC: “EU blames UK after outcry over end to visa-free touring for musicians”: https://bbc.in/2M043ya

The government sold out the musicians, the financial sector, traders… Every day there’s news about the negative effects of Brexit, things that those who voted for it didn’t know, if they could even comprehend them. But it felt right to secede, just like it feels right not to wear a mask, but that’s modern life, where no one can contemplate the consequences. Meanwhile, the American government allows food companies to fatten our society while pinning obesity on personal responsibility and Trump and his cronies freaked out when California wanted clean air and certain auto companies endorsed the program!

As for Trump’s trade battle with China…

“How China Won Trump’s Trade War and Got Americans to Foot the Bill”: https://bloom.bg/3nW3u5M

The “New York Times,” “Bloomberg,” they’re reporting facts, meanwhile Fox News just added another hour of opinion. And Fox and MSNBC usually start their discourse with what’s been reported in the “New York Times” and “Washington Post,” but then the right is told to ignore what is said. Where is the concomitant reporting on the right? It doesn’t exist, except in the “Wall Street Journal,” which almost always aligns with the “Times,” “Bloomberg” and the “Washington Post” when it comes to facts, never mind the “Journal”‘s opinions, which are off the wall.

And speaking of off the wall, you’ve got to read this article from yesterday’s “Times”: 

“How Republicans Are Warping Reality Around the Capitol Attack – Loyalists to President Trump are increasingly relying on conspiracy theories and misinformation, drawing false equivalence with last summer’s racial protests and blaming outside agitators.”: https://nyti.ms/3oWsGtX

Yes, it was Black Lives Matter and antifa that stormed the Capitol, I kid you not.

And then there’s the words of Rudy Giuliani: 

“‘The riot was preplanned,’ said Mr. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City. ‘This was an attempt to slander Trump.’ He added, ‘The evidence is coming out.'”

What evidence? The same evidence of fraud in the election, the same evidence that someone other than O.J. did the killing?

Rust never sleeps, nor do the falsehoods on the right. Stay awake.

Phil Spector, Leslie West, Gerry Marsden, Sylvain Sylvain, Tim Bogert…

Tune in tomorrow, January 19th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive

“Do Stand So Close: my improbable adventure as Sting’s guitarist”: https://amzn.to/38OscAw

This is the best book I’ve ever read about being on the road. Yes, even better than Ian Hunter’s long ago memoir.

First and foremost, Jeffrey Lee Campbell can write. Positively astounding. Not a week goes by without someone sending me their music book, and they’re almost never good. Having a story is different from being able to write the story. Furthermore, said writers don’t realize a story should flow, that sometimes you’ve got to leave the best stuff out because it doesn’t fit the narrative.

But not Jeffrey Lee Campbell.

Jeff was the guitarist on Sting’s “…Nothing Like the Sun” tour, which included a six week worldwide jaunt on the Amnesty tour, featuring Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel and more.

Jeff didn’t play on the record, but Sting heard him play as part of an underfunded jazz combo in Europe and decided to give him an audition. Jeff showed up for multiple rehearsals, and eventually Sting said he could have the job if he wanted it. The business people told him it was only going to pay $2500 a week, take it or leave it, but it was much better than selling candy at Broadway theatres.

Yes, that was Jeff’s gig. Along with Aaron Sorkin and Camryn Manheim… You’ve got to start somewhere, and you’re best off starting in New York or L.A. Did you read any of the obits about Howard Johnson? The tuba player made famous by Taj Mahal, who was a fixture in the original SNL band, didn’t think he was good enough for New York, so he went first to Chicago. But when Eric Dolphy heard Howard play, he said he was needed in NYC right away, and Howard moved, and there started a decades-long career: https://nyti.ms/3qshN3z

Jeff was living in North Carolina. He’d attended the music program at the University of Miami, but dropped out after three years. Then he played in local bands until he got up the gumption to move to the city. Where he was nobody. He got the gig selling candy and hanging coats on Broadway, but he had to work his connections until he could finally get gigs playing in wedding bands. What did AC/DC say? It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll?

But actually, it was a short journey for Jeff. He took the gig and…

Proceeded to go on the road for a year. This was before the internet, never mind smartphones. Being in one’s hotel room was lonely, and boring. Jeff played some tennis, at times with Sting, but mostly he drank and drugged and saw nothing of the world, mostly in places he’s never been back to.

You see this was the highlight of Jeff’s career. 1987-1988. He never got such a high profile gig thereafter. He came home thinking he was a big deal, but in the city he was seen as a guy who hadn’t paid his dues, who wasn’t hooked into the local scene, and after running out of money, he went back to playing in wedding bands and… He played some other famous tours thereafter, but not at the same level, with the same prominence. For decades, Jeff’s been a guitarist in Broadway orchestras. It’s a hard gig to get, and not often an easy gig to keep, it’s all about relationships. Being able to play is assumed. Jeff rehearsed for free, spent all that time learning the music to get his first gig as a sub. And he likes being able to walk to work, and the pay is good, but it is not the touring big time.

So, Jeff goes on the road and is always worried about getting fired. And this is a possibility. The drummer is replaced. Yes, you think you’ve got security, but…

And the regulars, like Kenny Kirkland and Branford Marsalis… I won’t say they exactly haze him, but when he steps out, makes rookie mistakes, they rub it in, deeply.

And the sex… Sometimes in brothels provided as perks by promoters. And the endless one night stands. The girls want to get closer, and Jeff provides the experience. And these affairs often take all night, so the next day…you’re dragging. And then there’s the night Jeff did too much and was subpar on stage and was chided by Sting…

Sting is portrayed as a good guy. Not without faults, but…you buy it as a reader, even though Rod Stewart zings the star.

So, there’s a warm-up in South America, and an appearance on SNL, where Jeff gets to wail on “Little Wing,” but he’s always wondering exactly where he fits in, how wide a path he can cut, is he one of the boys or just an outsider who’s going to be one and done.

Jeff does not get hired for the next Sting tour. And he wonders, did he drink too much, party too much? He’ll never know. But he’s been trading on this one year of touring with Sting ever since, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Jeff doesn’t sugarcoat the story. And the best thing is he describes his feelings, and has no problem putting himself down and wondering what he was thinking when he did certain things.

Most people have no idea what truly goes on on the road. They see the band on stage, and believe off stage is a heaven of sex and drugs. But there’s endless travel, which wears on you.

And is Jeff ever accepted?

He’s on the Amnesty tour and one of Bruce’s security people insists he get out of the way, despite Jeff having an all access pass. Jeff refuses to move, and then Bruce comes down the hallway and says hi to him. Jeff got some satisfaction.

And you will too.

Yes, this was over thirty years ago. And now things are different, but on some level they’re the same. Can you afford a private jet, can you base yourself in a central city and then fly out to gigs?

And there are so many great lines, musician aphorisms, many that I have not heard.

Like musicians can make a killing, but they can’t make a living. Either you get this or you don’t.

And as far as money on the road…it is described as an ocean of cash, and if you dip in and take some, no one will ever notice it. I’m not talking about theft, but if you want to stand up for more…it’s not gonna hurt the tour, no one’s really going to notice the loss.

I breezed right through this book. I had a hard time putting it down. If you want to know what it’s like being on the road, a prominent band member backing up a superstar…THIS IS THE PLACE!

We discuss Mr. DiMucci’s early years in the Bronx, getting a record deal, assembling the Belmonts, going on the road, getting on and off drugs, AA, his life in Miami, royalties, his new work and… Dion has been there and back, he’s full of insight, AND HE’S STILL MARRIED TO RUNAROUND SUE!

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/dion-80826443

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/The-Bob-Lefsetz-Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737