Welcome to June, 2020, edition of BLUES JUNCTION.

It has, of course, been four months now since we have been dealing with this new reality forced upon us by this novel virus which has threatened our very existence. What any or all of this means to our future is unclear, but we are now realizing that the world we once knew likely will never be quite the same again.

What has remained the same during all of this is the gross incompetence of Trump. He has applied his usual lack of knowledge and preparation, combative communication style and callousness to his dealings with this pandemic and applied those tools to the civil unrest that has predictably raised its ugly head yet again, here in America.

Just when one might conclude that things can’t get worse, they got worse…much worse.

The deadly powder keg of racism that has been waiting to explode, did just that. The ingredients were all there. The heavily militarized, racist police forces and Trump cult members instigating violence and looting. Their aim is to take peaceful protests for a very worthwhile cause and use them to create some sort of anarchy.

That worthwhile cause is simply asking that police stop murdering African-Americans.

As I write these words, this is obviously a very fluid situation. This includes an unidentified military force pushing back peaceful protesters in our nation’s capital, in what, at the moment, appears to be the theater of a dictatorial power grab playing out as we go to “press.” I have said from the first day of the Trump administration that his assuming the office of the Presidency represents the biggest Constitutional crisis in our nation’s history or at least the largest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. This is exactly what I was talking about.

As the country was being torn apart by the latest police murder of an Africa-American, the acting President retreated to a bunker. He, of course, didn’t like the visual that this defensive action evoked. He likes to pretend he is a tough guy, remember?

How he feels about the obvious comparisons to Adolph Hitler is not clear. One can’t help to draw parallels to Hitler’s infamous mental state at the time of his short stay in his bunker and the public mental unravelling of Trump. There is another obvious parallel and paradox at the same time. Allied troops led by the United States military moved in on Berlin and Hitler in the spring of 1945. Here in the spring of 2020 Trump is also surrounded by troops of unidentified origin pushing people back away from his bunker.

The human face behind all of this of course is George Floyd. We dedicate this, the June, 2020, edition of BLUES JUNCTION to his memory. For the record, we support the Black Lives Matter movement 100%. We also denounce the violence by the pro-Trump cult of counter protesters, as well as the other random opportunistic criminals.  

Back to your regularly scheduled programming and my musings on the quintessential American art form the blues.

On Tuesday, June 2^nd, I listened to a 2002 record by Willie King and the Liberators. I was very moved and I thought I’d share my thoughts on this record in our occasional reoccurring Re-Visited feature. At the time the lyrical content of several of King’s original songs seemed very topical. As it turns out, they are timeless. This record is available at Charlie Lange’s Bluebeat Music.

Speaking of old noise, we urge you to take a look at Charlie’s Re-Issue Rodeo. We also have some new music that we discuss in our Recommended Listening feature. One of those new albums sits in our Monthly Album Spotlight. It is the soulful debut album of a Costa Rican bluesman name Jose Ramirez.

Speaking of blues recordings, I left the piece entitled The Top 200 Blues Albums of the Past 20 Years here on the top shelf. People love to plow through lists. The feedback on this piece has been overwhelming. I love hearing from our readers on these things. This might be a welcome, albeit somewhat trivial distraction during these troubled times.

As our various shelter in place orders around this country seem to be easing, the idea of live music seems far away at the moment. Yet, I did a live music review anyway. It was from a live video feed on Saturday, May 16^th, which featured Rick Estrin & the Nightcats.

As a tribute to George Floyd, and his hometown of Houston, I present an old interview I did, which is one of my personal favorites. Before you are even halfway done reading the story of Miss Jewel Brown in her own words, you will fall in love with this singer, as I did.

She of course hails from one of the most underrated musical Meccas in blues music, Houston. The Bayou-Plex, as I like to call it is one of my favorite cities in America. Enjoy a piece I pulled out of our archives entitled Big Blues in the Big H.

I got a big kick hearing from so many of our readers about the interview that I did with my Mother last month. Thanks for those kind words. At 89 years old she isn’t getting any younger, but it would appear that she isn’t getting any older either. In talking with her the other day, she too was surprised that people in this blues community enjoyed reading her story. Since this month is Father’s Day, I left it up there since we discussed my Dad.

Thanks to all of the people from around the globe checking in with me. Your concern for my health and well-being, not only because of the pandemic and our horrible federal response to that crisis, but the frightening violence that has taken place all across my country. Hearing from you is truly heartwarming. We are safe and staying out of harm’s way. Thanks again…

As far as these recent demonstrations are concerned, they have already led to the arrest of the other three Minneapolis police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd. The Minneapolis D.A. also upped the charges on the principal, murdering, former cop to second degree murder. We hope some long overdue sweeping police reforms will be coming.

If this type of civil unrest makes you uncomfortable, too damn bad. It is supposed to. It is how America works and how it has always worked. It took similar types of demonstrations to get every type of civil liberties we have come to take for granted through the years. From the formation of labor unions to the women’s right to vote, from the gains we have made in the arena of rights for the LBGT community and voting rights for black people in the 60’s. Oh, by the way that was the 1960’s…100 years after the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation.

We have to shout, march and do whatever it takes to keep our government’s shiny boots off of our collective necks.

Be well and be in touch.

- David Mac

Editor's Note: Any donations made to BLUES JUNCTION via our paypal through July 4th will be donated to Black Lives Matter.  If you prefer to donate directly, click here: Black Lives Matter

Donate this month to support Black Lives Matter.  We stand behind the rights of our Black Brothers and Sisters to live without fear! -->