CHIDE

The writing continues. I’m about 3/4 through the Jeff Mueller interview that I conducted at that last bastion of Chicago dive bars, Tuman’s Alcohol Abuse Center. It’s been difficult, trying to take longwinded responses and make them engaging. Every paragraph I stop myself and ask, “Am I putting my reader there?” Ever the self-conscious writer, I am struggling with keeping my ideal reader interested by constructing a sense of place and breaking up Jeff’s speech to make it read like more typical prose as opposed to an interview. Once this is done I’ll take the same approach to the Rich Fessler and Tim Midgett interviews. Once all three are complete, I will fill in the blanks with background information on the person and their music. My goal for this will be to find a language that describes their art without sounding like a music journalist. I have to call Jeff to clear up a few of his answers, which I’ll do this week. Thank you, everyone who has offered assistance as an editor or proofreader or listening-post to talk to.

Andrew Kenny wrote me back, he’s leaving for Japan on the 29th so we’re going to try and meet in Brooklyn before then. I await his response to my options for meeting times, which should come any hour now.

This is the weekend. I drink a lot and slum around. Sam Adams Hefeweizen is good. Johnny Walker Black Label is better. I have no money. My gas tank is empty. I’m kind of hungry.