THE XBG NEAL INTERNATIONAL REPORT: Renowned guitar-brother J. Neal Crenshaw neal_crenshaw@hotmail.com , formerly nick-named "X-Neal " - but re-named XBG Neal (because the local Thai natives call him the "Bronze God" - BG, and thus he becomes XBG) - recently sent me a letter, which is quite interesting and fact-filled. Here is what I received from XBG Neal:
"Missin' you guys. Hope you haven't fired and replaced me yet...
While I was in Accra, {Acara, Indonesia?} I had a VCD made of Jones Otoo and the Hit House Band made for Doc... Neither the band nor video man followed all my direction (freely given cuz I paid for the video...), but, nonetheless, the result is very good... A good example of a HOT African band and African video production... I am supposed to be going back to Acara, in shallah... But, god alone knows when... Jones sez he also fronts another band, doing hard edge blues, stuff like the Doors' Roadhouse Blues, Allman Bros Whippin' Post, and all the old American black guys, BB, Albert, Howlin, Muddy, John Lee, Hound Dog, Lightnin', etc... If I do get back, which is likely, I am gonna make a video of this band, and, personally supervise it's production and filming, up close and personal... Jones is one helluva singer (Think Aaron Neville, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett...)
I am now in beautiful Bamako {Bamako, Indonesia?} , one of the world's great hell holes... Not as bad as Darfur {Darfur, Sudan, Africa}, but close... You'll recall Ali Farka Toure? A Ry Cooder protege... Lives here. Seems he and his son, who has become a noted world music guitarist, hang out in the souk here on Saturday afternoons, jammin' w/ da home boys... No doubt fueled by West Africa's finest... I am gonna try and see these guys and will report back later...
No doubt, you all read da Washington Post and have been following the Dept of State's OBO construction program debacle story?... I am in the heart of the fray, in addition to being in the heart of the darkness... This started out as a 2 week gig in Accra {Acara, Indonesia?} . I am now in my 6th week, in Bamako, with no end in sight... My wife thinks I've gone black... Not to worry. Here is a very bad place to screw around, what with HIV, Hep's C, D and E; tuberculosis, and myriad other diseases, everything from leprosy to elephantiasis, to typhoid... Malaria is endemic. And, I killed a blood filled mossy early this a.m. in my hotel room... Unfortunately, I had to quit the suppressants. The side effects of the preferred metholaquine - nightmares, bizarre mood swings, visions, abdominal distress - and alternative doxycycline - similar but less pronounced, finally got to me... I had a man go crazy and stab a local with a diving knife, one time behind metholaquine...
I am working with a Turkish contractor. The Turks are a trip. Hard headed, macho in extremis, but likeable... just like a bunch of Turks are supposed to be... Unfortunately, "turknology" and the Turkish national electric and building codes, are not included in our contract... And, to quote my dear friend, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, "Time has no essence" for them...
Haven't done any pickin' and grinnin' at all and long to return home, and not just for the pickin' either...
More later..."
EDITORIAL NOTE: Thanks to XBG Neal for his entry - sounds like XBG is taking good care of his musical appetite, if not his health. Fare Well until your return to the States, Prodigal One!
Check out Beta Pi Blog on the web! The blog address is:
http://journals.aol.com/lasimons4law/beta-pi-blog/
VTL,
Larry Simons
Beta Pi, ‘72
2 comments:
FROM XBG NEAL CRENSHAW, October 9, 2007:
“Cat:
The bros probably don't remember how ya got that nickname... But, I do...
UR geography stinks. And, that despite numerous telltales... Accra = Ghana; Bamako = Mali; both in West Africa... da Motherland... Dark... Voodoo... terrible poverty and all its consequences... Oh, and Ali Farka Toure passed on 6 months ago... His son carries on...
You'll be interested to learn that the countries along the coast are by and large born again christians (virtually all of whom still practice voodoo...)... UR missionary seeds bore fruit... The folks up here next to and in da Sahara, are, not surprisingly muslims... A frightening thought... Millions of gangja fueled black muslims who believe in and practice voodoo, with nothing to do... Somewhere on da order of 400 million sheep will die Friday... a sad day... Ied, the last day of Ramadan, when every muslim household must sacrifice (and not to waste anything edible, eat...) a sheep... The sheep do not go to paradise willingly... Their cries reverberate loudly... their blood literally flows in da streets and allys... nice place!
But, the music scene's vibrant. No doubt about it, these folk got rhythm... Like the PI, the abject lack of employment, gives 'em lots of time on their hands... Large numbers play music constantly... and become incredibly talented musicians and singers...
Can't wait to get home to Thailand... We don't kill sheep in Thailand... While the Thai music sounds like somebody's killing cats, there's some good guys knockin' down some great tunes out in the paddies... And, irrefutably, Esan is where da prettiest women in da world reside...
Looks like Lusaka, Jeddah, Karachi and B'dad are on the scope... More later, bros...”
THE XBG NEAL INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SOAPBOX - EXTRA, October 11, 2007:
"This condemnation of Turkey for the Armenian genocide, is foolishness.
No question, the Turks, at the end of the Ottoman empire, committed atrocious genocide on the Armenians during WW I.
I note that since that time, Turkey has become a fully functional, democracy and strong ally, in the best sense. (Korea, NATO, Gulf War I, and now...) Turkey is the only peaceful, stable, democratic, Islamic nation in the world. They share a particularly important belief with us: Separation of church and state. They are a great example for other Islamic nations.
Our hands are unclean: Have we forgotten what we did to the Amercian Indians, blacks, and many, many others, including how many hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in the early part of the 20 th century? (Check the history of our Philipine colonization.) Clearly, we too, participated in atrocious genocides, and, not just one. How would we feel if Turkey publicly and internationally condemned us for our far worse attrocities?
We are engaged in a full on, terrible, multi-fronted, often state-sponsored war with religious fanatics who use horrible tactics. Turkey is one of our strongest, most reliable allies.
Please stop being stupid and hypocritical."
EDITORIAL DISCLAIMER: Beta Pi Blog is apolitical - unity through brotherhood is supremely valued - and any political opinion and/or content contained herein is not the opinion of Beta Pi Blog, and Beta Pi Blog disavows such opinion and or content hereinabove intoned. Apart from that, XBG Neal, right on.
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