It's a Kind of a Family. It's a Kind of Insanity.: This Isn't L.A., It's Boston

It's a Kind of a Family. It's a Kind of Insanity.: This Isn't L.A., It's Boston

With 250 candidates running for president of Red Sox Nation, it is pretty hard to predict who will win -- and so, you really have to vote for a person who captures your heart, mind and imagination trusting your own opinion, not the opinions of pundits or the publicity machine of "big name" candidates. So, I'm backing a grass roots candidate named Rob Crawford.

Why? Well, I read an article on Rob's MLBBlog where he describes his values and what he would do if President of Red Sox Nation. His focus is people: About helping people who are down due to illness and don't have easy access to getting Red Sox Tickets. About helping people who are kids and would really love to attend a Red Sox game but can't find a way. For both of these groups, Rob proposed mechanisms for getting these people tickets to games that would change their lives. And finally, about helping people feel good about the Red Sox and themselves by singing. Rob's I’m A Member of Red Sox Nation is a wonderful song that sticks in your head and the music video below is fun to watch.

So, how can you find out about Rob and vote for him? Time is of the essence. Rob has already made the cut -- he is one of the top 11 vote getting finalists. The next two days will narrow the 11 finalists (down from 2500) to a group of 3 who will then have a run-off election. The judges will use two criteria to separate the wheat from the chaff:

1. The number of visitors to each candidate's Red Sox blog, and
2. The number and quality/tone of comments on each candidate's Red Sox blogs.
   

To advance this cause, I invite you to click on Rob's blog:

http://www.imamemberofredsoxnation.mlblogs.com/

By simply clicking on this link and thus visiting Rob's blog, your interest will be registered by the "officials" who will determine which candidates advance. Thus, clicking on this link is like a vote for Rob.

And if you would like to have an even greater impact, add a positive comment to Rob's blog. (Apparently the judges are READING all the comments to help them decide!)

Last Wednesday night Rob attended a speak-out for the candidates. His comments began with these words:

Hi. My name is Rob Crawford, and I'm not famous. I'm not a TV baseball personality. I've never played for the Red Sox. My face is not on a plaque in Cooperstown. I have not won a Pulitzer Prize. And I don't have a column in the New York Daily News. I have devoted my career to teaching kids, coaching kids, and raising money to support teachers and kids. . . . [read more on Rob's blog].

October 5 Update: I'm sad to report that Rob did not win the Presidency. But, I still believe in his ideals and hope that he continues to spread his message. Please see my comment on Rob's blog.

Fred Neil

Today's recollection is a folk singer named Fred Neil. I have no idea where I first heard Fred Neil, but his rich, deep voice, his wide variety of musical styles featuring slow ballads through loud upbeat songs accompanied by his 12-string guitar has left a lasting audio impression on me. Recently I tracked down a number of recordings that brought back great memories. I present them for your listening pleasure.

Five songs of Fred Neil (15:16)

1. The Other Side of This Life
2. Travelin' Shoes
3. Gone Again
4. A Little Bit of Rain
5. The Water is Wide
   

While you are listening, here are a couple of articles about Fred Neil:

• Talkin' Picture
• Fred Neil (1936-2001)
  

And finally, here is a video with Fred Neil's The Dolphins as the soundtrack:

The Roches

Saturday night we met Alex and Kathy in Newburyport to hear The Roches. For those of you not familiar with this group, let me try to characterize them: Bell-like high voice (Terre), clear middle range voice (Suzzy) and deep low voice (Maggie) singing in the close harmony that only people who have sung together for a long time can accomplish. Combine with that a sense of values influenced by the '60s, New York City, and a good dose of zaniness, and you have my impression of the Roaches.

They have a nice MySpace page that has some good samples of how they sound (or at least sounded in their prime) Hammond Song is a great example of their close harmony and No Shoes shows off a little bit of their zaniness. Like us all, their voices have aged and the highs are harder to get to. But the values haven't changed. We had a great time.

The opening act from Ipswitch MA native Jake Armerding we a really nice surprise. I'll talk about his performance in another entry.