A Hodgepodge
Nurturing my Substack community
Hodgepodge1—jumble, an unorganized collection or mixture of various things
Greetings from the Crossroads of Southern music, history, & culture.
Today’s post is brought to you by Nashville guitarist Grace Bowers and the Hodge Podge, who I’m looking forward to catching at Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Sun, Sand, and Soul festival2 later this week. (Here’s Grace riffing on “Les Brers in A Minor.”)
Community
“I want to be a force for real good. I know that there are bad forces. I know that there are forces out here that bring suffering to others and misery to the world, but I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force, which is truly for good.” John Coltrane
My career in history museums/historic sites has always focused on creating a sense of community in its multitude of forms. It’s been an awesome ride that has spanned four decades, dozens of publications and presentations, and four books.
I’ve learned that people find community in myriad places.
But the one constant is that they nurture it.
My founding ethos for Conversation from the Crossroads is this: “I find this interesting, perhaps you will too…”
With that spirit in mind, here are some gems from the community I’ve curated here on Substack.3
The Dean of Substack: Ted Gioia
I read everything Gioia writes multiple times. I, too, am a writer, a scholar, a musician, and always a hardcore fan foremost. I’m not nearly as accomplished as he, but that never seems an impediment when I approach Ted’s writing.
From his About page: “I made a vow to be the Honest Broker. I’m even adopting it as my official title. And though it seems like the most humble nickname imaginable—what could be more lowly than a mere broker in the grand world of music and culture?—it’s a role I take seriously.”
is the first person to help me truly understand the power of this particular medium as a writer; taking the leap on Substack was as impactful to me as when I started my own business 16(!) years ago.4I am grateful I found him, truly.
Here’s something interesting5
These are several specific posts I bookmarked to share with y’all.
Joel Harrison - “Reflections on a new composition of mine: Dickie Betts’ Dream” I’m newly hip to Joel as a writer and guitarist and have been looking forward to this song’s release since he announced it last month. Notes:
Michael Elliott - “30 Years Back to Where it All Begins” Elliott gives a great rundown of Dickey’s last album with the Allman Brothers Band. This is also the first ABB album I bought “new” when it came out.6 Notes:
The Paranoid Style - “The Stars at Night and Other Tall Tales — A Travelogue — Part 1” Fun read about the music-making life from the always engaging Elizabeth Nelson. Notes:
Voices for these challenging times
The chaos of the first 100 days of the Trump presidency has been unnerving to me and millions of others.
The administration’s attacks on the history museum profession have shaken my field. I know dozens who have lost their jobs already. Many more are expecting it.
It can be tough to find peace in cacophony.7
I have found three voices particularly grounding.
Each is an expert who provides context and insight on current events through their own unique lens.
Their writing speaks to me, and it may for you as well.
Civil War Memory - Kevin M. Levin Kevin’s and my careers first intersected during the Civil War Sesquicentennial. His focus is on a key topic of mine: public memory. He has a keen understanding of this moment, particularly as it relates to National Park Service and National Endowment for the Humanities. Notes:
A Zebra without Stripes - Holly Berkley Fletcher Holly is a former CIA analyst and a missionary kid in Kenya. (Talk about intersectionality!) I’m always encouraged by her “Just do one thing” reminder on Notes each day. She’s also one of my earliest paid subscribers here. Notes:
Soriano’s Circus - Scott Soriano I found Scott on Facebook a few years back through a friend of my dude Andy.8 He describes himself as “Writer, reader, editor, shit-stirrer...” My kinda dude for sure. The first four paragraphs of this piece brought some much-needed clarity for me in this particular moment: “I'm Writing About the Books I Read...and a Short Note of Clarity.” Notes:
Random Notes
🍄 Had some fun this past weekend making music with my band, Jam Depression. Didn’t film while playing but sent greetings from the Psychedelic Underground Wonderland.
🍄 Last week, Facebook permanently suspended my Long Live the ABB account for “impersonating an official account.” My NSFW response.
As always, thanks for being here.
I call it “I Am the Mooncrush” since it’s at the site of the original Mooncrush festival in Destin, Fla.
For my fellow language nerds, here are some pretty boss synonyms of hodgepodge: agglomerate, farrago, gallimaufry, hash, hotchpotch, jambalaya, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, salmagundi. I got all of these from Merriam-Webster, whose Instagram account is an awesome follow.
Sharing is caring, right?
An oldie but goodie (2018) from yours truly on that very topic: Taking Risks.
RIP Pat Beatty.
This is the point of the bedlam, btw.
Andy was host of the One More Ride radio show. He had me on three times, including this, my first-ever official appearance to talk Duane/Allman Brothers.