Author Archives: Jon Sidel

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I wish I was like you / Easily amused / Find my nest of salt / Everything is my fault / I’ll take all the blame / Aqua sea foam shame / Sunburn freezer burn / Choking on the ashes of her enemy

In the sun / In the sun, I feel as one / In the sun / In the sun / Married / Married

Married / Buried / Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

GRUNGE. The first time I heard the expression was to describe my band. Late ’80s, as I recall after a rehearsal, Tom Loggia and I rolled by a party for Stephen Sprouse. The clothes were very rock ‘n’ roll, but the crowd’s super uptown Madison Ave types. We rolled up, dressed head to toe in leather, unshaven, stoned. I remember photographer Matthew Ralston greeting us with a big grin, grabbing me by my dreads, kissing me on check as he exalted “you’re so grungy, I love it!”

I’d not say I invented grunge, but I did own a bar in the heart of Hollywood called Smalls, and in the summer of 1990 when the Budweiser, dope, and dreadlocks were flowing. 4am would find me cruising my convertible Impala slowly west on Melrose listening to an advance cassette of Ritual De Lo Habitual. Our crew of “Hollywood Homies” were high as the August sun.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Rock and grills / Mountains and hills / They won’t last they won’t last / Your building’s tall very tall / Your people small very small / They won’t last they won’t last / They won’t last they won’t last

Stop rider coming baby / Cakifia is her name / Some call her California / She’ll break just the same / She’ll break just the same / She’ll break just the same

Over the many years I’ve written this “mini column” (aka intro) for the Idelic Hour, I’ve mentioned this and the hour of music is my weekly diary. This week was a big one in our home. Wednesday our son Jonah turned 14. As parents we understand a child’s birthday is a family celebration. We reflect on the day of and the day before. We pull baby photos and look and coo in awe of life and the constant ebb and flow of change—what I call my rock ‘n’ roll journey. As a second time around, an “older” parent, I also have become keenly aware that life only comes around once.

Wednesday was my one shot at celebrating Jonah’s Fourteenth, and my goal was to savor every minute of it. For me 14 was pure rock ‘n’ roll magic. In those days my old man had moved from NYC was living in San Fransisco. On the weekend dad would say, “go for a ride.” This meant we’d get in the car, pop in a cassette, smoke a joint, and explore the California coast.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

You got soul, and everybody knows / That it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right / When you wake up early in the morning / Feeling sad like so many of us do / Hum a little soul / Make life your goal / And surely something’s got to come to you

And say it’s all right / (It’s all right) / Say it’s all right / (It’s all right) / It’s all right, have a good time / ‘Cause it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right / Now everybody clap your hands / Give yourself a chance / You got soul, and everybody knows / That it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right

It’s the last weekend of July. It’s hot so I’m gonna keep it simple: listen to a bunch of old records and maybe hit a few new sides.

At some point this weekend I’ll ride my kid to the beach and watch him surf. I’ll BBQ some chicken and eat crunchy yellow cucumbers. I’ll try to do it all with a smile because “life’s a sweet ride.”

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

When you call Call my name / I need a shelter / I need a friend Someone to hold me To lend a hand / I fell on hard times / I lost the plot / No understandin’ The pain I got / My body’s broken / My body is bruised / Try to remember / What it’s like not to lose / I won’t go under / I won’t give in / Try to remember What it’s like to win / I need a shelter / I need a friend Someone to hold me To lend a hand / I fell on hard times / I lost the plot / No understandin’ The pain I got / My body’s broken / My body’s bruised / Try to remember / What it’s like not to lose / I won’t go under / I won’t give in / Try to remember What it’s like to win / When you call Call my name

Today’s thought? Is my mind broken?

Actually it’s my right middle toe. I broke it a few weeks ago and finally got around to a foot doc. The prognosis? “If your gonna break something it might as well be your right middle toe.”

Well, this said, there is a certain frustration with a small bone break. What a surprise as I found myself flipping through old records thinking of songs about broken bones and hearts. Luckily I don’t have a broken heart but I did pull a sad song, “Broken Finger Blues” from my departed pal Richard Swift, below.

It reminded me of the week I spent with him five summers ago. He was recording The Seasons, a brilliant French Canadian band I was trying to manage. In a quiet moment in the studio I asked Dickie about his next solo album. Swift played me the song. I remember turning to him, asking if he really broke his finger? He shook his head and said “Yeah Johnny.”

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

“That first summer of my recovery was one of the most beautiful I can remember, perhaps because I was healthy and clean, and I began to rent some trout-fishing days for myself, mostly on stretches of water in the neighborhood that had been specifically stocked for local fisherman… Fishing is an absorbing pastime and has a Zen quality to it. It’s an ideal pursuit for anyone who wants to think a lot and get things in perspective.

It was also a perfect way of getting physically fit again, involving as it does a great deal of walking. I would go out at the crack of dawn and often stay out till nighttime… For once I was actually becoming good at something that had nothing to do with guitar playing or music. For the first time in a long time, I was doing something very normal and fairly mundane, and it was really important to me…”

Ask anyone who knows me. During the summer months I am fairly obsessed with fishing. I agree with Eric Clapton, it’s an “ideal pursuit” with a “zen quality.” Yes it does have its barbaric qualities, but going out to sea, killing a few fish, and eating them…it makes me feel like an ancient warrior. Humble, strong, at peace. True the chick might be hotter at Sushi Roko on Sunset, but filling your belly with a big tuna you slayed…

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

She wants your image / She wants your kiss / She wants to get inside your head and tell it like it is / You want it badly / You want it so completele / I want to feel something more ’cause I can’t f***in’ breathe

I fell in love with the sweet sensation / I gave my heart to a simple chord / I gave my soul to a new religion / Whatever happened to you? / Whatever happened to our rock’n’roll? / Whatever happened to my rock’n’roll?

Fireworks, toasted marshmallows, barbecued corn, sandy steamers, and the feeling of cool sand at sunset. Whatever happened to those July 4ths?

Oh, and that feeling of summer. A break, a vacation from the adult rules. Rock ‘n’ roll. There has always been “rockin” on the 4th weekend.

Hopefully, on future “4ths,” we won’t be reminiscing about the simple freedoms we’ve taken for granted. Yep, we have to do something about it.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Inside every man / Lives the seed of a flower / If he looks within he finds beauty and power / Ring all the bells, sing and tell the people everywhere that the flower has come / Light up the sky with your prayers of gladness and rejoice for the darkness is gone / Throw off your fears let your heart beat freely at the sign that a new time is born

What’s the difference? If I was to guess it would be the little things in life? I don’t know, but I do like using a “question” as a muse for a playlist. Flipping through my crates, I came across my old Smiths albums. I remember hearing “What Difference Does It Make?” on Rodney on the ROQ. Thinking back it was a fascinating time in music.

The punk movement I adored as a teenager had essentially faded, replaced by new wave, which had it moments. California hardcore punk was still fun—and then there was this new music called rap. By this time I was a hip art student at UCLA. I found myself making blacklight graffiti paintings for the coolest underground nightclub in the Hollywood scene. The Rhythm Lounge played only rap and ’80s dance records (like Tyrone Bronson’s “Sticky Situation”).

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Well, I don’t exactly know / What’s going on in the world today / Don’t know what there is to say / About the way the people are treating / Each other, not like brothers

Leaders take us far away from ecology / With mythology and astrology / Has got some words to say / About the way we live today / Why can’t we learn to love each other / It’s time to turn a new face / To the whole world wide human race

Every now and then I enjoy Father’s Day. Certainly being a dad has been life changing. Take my word for it, dealing with a “Sidel kid” is beyond your wildest dreamz. My life’s goal is to just stick around to see what Zoe and Jonah do.

It’s not always easy, but my journey as a dad has been filled with so many amazing moments. Hey, just this week Zoe won best actress at the Brooklyn Film Festival for a film she did called Signs Of Love. Today she sent me three songs from her new band. Both filled me with tears of joy.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

You only live twice / Or so it seems / One life for yourself / And one for your dreams

You drift through the years / And life seems tame / ‘Til one dream appears / And Love is its name

And love is a stranger / Who’ll beckon you on / Don’t think of the danger / Or the stranger is gone

This dream is for you / So pay the price / Make one dream / You only live twice

Today’s thought? You only live once. Unless you’re Sean Connery of course. Life might be too short, then again it might be perfect. Songs are vehicles for my sentimentality as my Instagram flooded with photos from proud parents at graduations.

Surely Nancy Sinatra stuck a chord this week. My old man wasn’t much of a concert goer but he did enjoy a show and a dice game. Shortly after moving to LA for college, the old man had me meet him in Vegas for a weekend.

We drank, gambled, and sniffed our way to Caesars Palace where we stumbled into the showroom to see the Sinatras—Nancy opening for Frank! The impact of seeing Sinatra with Kenny was more profound than he would ever understand. In our final moments together I simply held him and sang “New York, New York.”

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

And I just had a dream the other night / I was married to the Queen / And Madonna lived next door / I think she took a shine to me / And the kids were all grown up / But I had to turn her down ’cause I was still in love with you

“God save the Queen” is an old and meaningful expression. More than just a rad single from The Sex Pistols, I believe it should be understood as “God keep the Queen.” If so, what does the old mum stand for? As an angry young John Lydon pointed out, “our figurehead is not what she seems.”

Or is she? All I can say is she’s sure as shit been reigning over some great rock ‘n’ roll songs. Yes, painfully stiff, she certainly has given way to a few generations of song lovers (as opposed to gun lovers). So for this Jubilee week, The Idelic Hour salutes Her Majesty, my British friends and co-workers.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Hipsters, tripsters / Real cool chicks, sir / Everyone’s doin’ that rag

You needn’t gild the lily, offer jewels to the sunset / No one is watching or standing in your shoes / Wash your lonely feet in the river in the morning / Everything promised is delivered to you

I’ve often write how I’ve never cared for long weekends. My poor attitude stems from coming of age in the nightclub and bar business. It’s taken years for me to learn how to take a break.

This said, Memorial Day weekend has always been a nice “marker of time.” I remember as a kid noting, Memorial Monday was a day to hit the school yard for some serious street ball (NYC). This weekend I’m gonna do what this old Idelic rocker often does, simply pass the time with my old lady and some cool tunes.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

It feels so good / You lying here next to me / Oh, what a groove / You have no idea how it feels / My hands just won’t keep still / I love you, baby / Oh, I love you, I love you, I love you / I just wanna hold you / Run my fingers through your hair / Ooh / Outta sight

Slight drizzle in the canyon last night. Yes, I know, I’m from a family who likes to chat about the weather. In these parts we’ll take any rain we can get.

On Wednesday my mom texted to wish Susan and me Happy Anniversary! We both laughed, having completely forgotten about that afternoon 15 years ago. Marriage is quite a journey and I’m glad to report I scored a cool chick.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Out of grace / Out of grace, out of style / Out of grace, out of style, can you sit a little while? / Out of dreams / So it seems / The nightmares will greet me at my bed

Shut me up, if you can / Shut me up, take my hand / Shut me up, be a friend, through a random act of kindness

After a couple of weeks of slightly cool weather, strong hot winds plan to invade our canyon. It would be nice to enjoy spring.

So why not? Tons of new releases crowd the internet—call them delayed vinyl releases if we must.

My wish is to enjoy every moment I can spend on a field of dreams.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

There is a happy land where only children live / They don’t have the time to learn the ways / Of you sir, Mr. Grownup

There’s a special place in the rhubarb fields underneath the leaves / It’s a secret place and adults aren’t allowed there, Mr. Grownup / Go away, sir

Last week The Idelic Hour featured an hour of “the class of 77” punk 45s. I guess it was not a coincidence, I started reading the Dalai Lama’s The Art Of Happiness. Putting together the set and then listening back time and again, I was remembering gigs, friends, and the very inspiration that has brought me here. I guess I’m a lucky dude. It only takes and hour of songs to make me truly happy.

Ironically, on a sad note, rock ‘n’ roll lost another friend this week. I don’t want make my little IH column an obituary, but with a few lines I often try to simply celebrate rock ‘n’ roll. So here is a memory from childhood and that “class of 77.”

Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen had moved into the Chelsea Hotel in the summer of ’78. The couple must have been running low on dope money so they set up a few shows at Max’s Kansas City. At that time neither The Sex Pistols or The Clash had played New York City. I would guess many of us had been burned by the Pistols cancellation/rip off at the Elgin Theatre the year before. Maybe it was Sid’s image? That night was unlike any Max’s had seen before or since.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

We are the leaders of tomorrow. / We are the ones to have the fun. / We want control. We want the power. / Not gonna stop until it comes.

We are not Jesus Christ. / We are not fascist pigs. / We are not capitalist industrialists. / We are not communists. / We are the one.

The expression “too cool for school” is bang on for us Sidels. This week my former classmates are having a get together on the upper west side of NYC. Over the past few weeks a chat thread has emerged, 50+ classmates strong. It’s a cocktail hour for the class of 1980. It was great to see so many names; many of us have been in touch. Most are parents. I reached out to Tom Nagorski. We were co-captains of the basketball team and it was fun trading photos. Too my joy, big Tom still hoops it up.

With this “class reunion” mix I want to send my love and positive vibes to all my life long school day pals. All said, mine is “the class of 77.” It’s the year punk broke and changed my world. My reunion took place over the last few nights digging through my old 45 collection. Listening to punk records from the late ’70s makes me happy. So I’m just gonna listen over and over and remember so many “heroes!”

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