The CACTUS CAFE in Austin,Tx. ...Closing?

I have never been to the Cactus Cafe in Austin,Tx., but I wish I had. All I had to do is look at the list of musicians who've played there. I mean any place in Texas thats had Lucinda Williams, Guy Clark, Tom Russell, Slaid Cleaves, Dave Van Ronk, Ramblin Jack Elliot, Jesse Winchester, Arlo Guthrie, T-Bone Burnett, Bob Dylan and my daugters favorite Ani DiFranco, all on the same stage, is my kinda place. So, I was saddened to recieve Tom Russells e-mail this morning bemoaning its being closed down due the fact it's losing a little money. The place has been open since 1979 and is a staple on the Austin, Tx. music scene. These type places are the soul of America and the corperate world is sucking us dry. This is just another example of the iconic staples of this land going under. This country was once great, but so many of things that once made us great are going to the wayside. Our country was once dotted with carnival sideshows, Rt. #66 , Drive-Inn theatres, dime stores, Coney Island, juke boxes, diners, and the list goes on & on. We dont even know our neighbors any more, more less talk to them. We are becoming a society of seclusion and walled off communities. But we do have Wal-Mart, lots of Wal-Marts. So, every time I see another of our icons going under I can only think.. do we really believe this is progress? It reminds me of Tom Russell's soulful album, "Hotwalker", a tribute to a vanashing America. Give it a listen.. when Tom speaks, I listen. Tom states.. "the University system has failed us". "Colleges are turning out robotic accountants, morally warped bank CEO's and parasite scientists sucking on the fat teat of the grant system". "Campuses are strangely remote places where people walk like zombies through the fear vaccum and occasionally slaughter other people, because the vibe is deathly cold, isolate and fearful". It's like Bob Dylan said, "the times are a changin", you can feel it the air. Charles Bukowski where are you when we need you most? FINAL NOTE: I got on the club's website right after reading my "Notes from Tom Russell", and was thrilled to see a student lead organization was being formed, to save the "CACTUS CAFE". I encourage you all to let your voice be heard before its to late. Support your small town businesses, ma & pa diners and theatres, independent bookstores, and anything else that matters to you before they can take it away.

Happy Valentines from St. Louis 2010

Judy & I spent most of our Valentines Day driving in a snow storm, to and from St. Louis. Now that we're back home safely I can tell you it was worth it. The days activities really began several years ago when I first viewed the movie "Adaptation" starring Chris Cooper, and based upon the novel "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean. I loved the book & the movie, although they are quite different from each other. I was immediately intrigued by the world of orchid smuggling. These rare plants often found in the most inhospitable of places, are some of the most beautiful and unique plants known to man. I once gave $75 for a single orchid plant only to kill it within the week. Just so you know, in case you get any ideas yourself, orchids are very hard to raise in your home. I have been fascinated by orchids ever since those previous days mentioned. There is something mysterious & exotic about them. So...yesterday I surprised my wife with a trip to the Missouri Botanical Gardens to see their 2010 Orchid Show. There were over 800 different plants of various colors, sizes & shapes. Oh, and the smells can be intoxicating. We shot over 100+ photos between my wife and I, and wandered the exhibit for around 2 hours. The orchids were exhibited within a setting of Parisian sidewalks, complete with a cafe. It was a wonderful experience and one I'd highly recommend to you. The exhibit runs through March 28th. It will run you $13 per person...a steal in my book. Of course we couldn't leave town without having dinner first at Bill Edwards "Blueberry Hill" in U. City and a trip through Vintage Vinyl. And yes, as anyone who knows me knows, we did hit a couple bookstores on the way out of town. Once home, it was time to get warm, pop some popcorn, grab a beverage, and pop in "Adaptation"....it was time to go full circle and return to where it all started.

CRAIG MCDONALD Interview 2/13/10

A few years back I came across Craig McDonald's "Head Games", the first Hector Lassiter novel and immediately fell in love with it. Toros & Torsos, his 2nd novel was even better. Then I got to talking to Craig on Crimepace and was right away overcome by his generosity and willingness to answer my questions. Then I came across Craig's books "ART IN THE BLOOD" & "ROGUE MALES", a series of interviews with today's top mystery writers. This was great stuff ! I believe Craig to be as good it gets when it comes to the art of the interview today. Eventually, I was able to meet Craig & his lovely wife Debbie at this years Bouchercon in Indianapolis. It was there that I found out what I already knew, Craig is a wonderful guy on top of being a great writer. He took me under his wing and I am eternally grateful. The following is a recent interview that Craig was gracious enough to grant someone far below his expertise. So, we begin with Mr. Craig McDonald.

Would you rather gain a reputation as a great writer or a great interviewer?



(A) Great writer, definitely. The author interviewing is behind me, now. I did a few interviews last year, but they were last, special cases. There are such demands on my time, there’s simply no room or desire to do that, anymore. You can burn yourself out interviewing authors if you really throw yourself into the task, and I did just that, for many years.



2) What was your most memorable concert experience and your favorite concert?



(A) Most memorable? Probably a Tom Russell concert last year. He did an on-stage riff about me, about HEAD GAMES and Pancho Villa, about ROGUE MALES…then he dedicated his song “Stealing Electricity” to me. Favorite concert? I saw Kris Kristofferson perform an amazing couple of sets in the mid-1980s in a roadhouse in a remote part of Ohio. Perfect set selections…all those classic songs he wrote in Nashville as an unknown… A perfect night.





3) If you could sit down to dinner with one person (living or deceased) to pick their brain. Who & Why?



(A) Joseph Campbell, I think. I was heavily influenced by his work, even before the Bill Moyer’s interviews made him a public guru. I feel I could still learn much from him about narrative form and symbolism…about the stuff the unconscious part of your brain somehow invests in a work of fiction.



4) When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer & what writers have had the most influence on your writing?



(A) I was trying to write fiction at the age of nine. I tried to write a crime novel while riding in the back of a car for a weekend trip to Lake Erie. As to fiction influences, I think the ones that matter most come earliest. So Lester Dent, Ian Fleming, Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury and Ernest Hemingway. The only living, contemporary novelist I can say deeply influenced me as a mature fiction writer is James Sallis. Without the inspiration of his Lew Griffin series, there would be no Hector Lassiter series.



5) I know you’re a huge music fan & that you listen to music while your writing. Who do you listen to & do you use it to set scenery, feel or place in time?



(A) I tend to pick a singer or songwriter to set a sustained tone or mood for a book and then stay with that artist through a particular project. HEAD GAMES was written to Tom Russell. TOROS & TORSOS was written to a lot of old torch songs and period music, but mostly to Bryan Ferry’s cover of “Where or When,” which I listened to some insane number of times while writing that book.



6) In the Hector Lassiter novels, Hector is close friends with Hemingway, Orson Welles & Marlene Dietrich. Were these 3 favorites of yours while growing up?



(A) Hemingway very much so. Orson Welles tends to fascinate me more than being a favorite. In some ways, Welles seems to have been a fairly deplorable human being. As it often is, in his case, it’s the “trust the art not the artist” conundrum. Marlene worked her way into the series only because of my desire to incorporate the filming of TOUCH OF EVIL into HEAD GAMES. I listened to a CD of her singing while writing those slivers of HEAD GAMES in which she appears. Other than TOUCH OF EVIL, I don’t think I’ve made it through another Dietrich film in its entirety.



7) Head Games will soon be published as a graphic novel. Are you a fan of that genre & if so whose work has caught your eye?



(A) I admire the form very much. As to the ones I most admire, and these are fairly obvious masterworks, Miller’s THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and Alan Moore’s WATCHMAN are both sublime. FROM HELL also impressed me very much.



8) How much of you is in Hector or how much of Hector is in you?



(A) I guess all of Hector is in me because I wrote him…or perhaps “channeled him” would be more accurate. Having said that, if it’s not a paradox, maybe about half of me is in Hector. He started out as a composite of some other people.



9) What are some TV series that you'd highly recommend?



(A) Not much on currently really works for me other than SUPERNATURAL and MAD MEN. The ones that got away would include THE ROCKFORD FILES; MAVERICK (the ones with James Garner); REILLY, ACE OF SPIES; DEADWOOD and the Jeremy Brett SHERLOCK HOLMES TV series.



10) No Country for Old Men or There Will Be Blood?



(A) No question, NO COUNTRY. I was an early and enthusiastic reviewer of the original novel. The book’s better than the movie, but the movie was very strong.



11) I know you’re a big Tom Russell fan, Tom’s a singer, songwriter, writer & painter. Do you dabble in any other art forms yourself?



(A) I took a lot of art classes in my youth and thought I might actually go that way. Tried my hand at songwriting during college. I’m much more effective, I think, as a novelist. That said, I did dabble in painting for some reason while writing HEAD GAMES. I’ve got some canvases around of some characters and pieces tied to that book.



12) What films do you think did justice to, or exceeded the book?



(A) Hitchcock’s PSYCHO is definitely better than Bloch’s original. I think NIGHT OF THE HUNTER did a very striking job of catching Davis Grubb’s novel. I have to say I far prefer Huston’s FALCON to Hammett’s original.



13) Directors to me are similar to authors and songwriters in that they all tell stories in their own way & own format. Are there any directors whose work you follow on a regular basis?



(A) I agree with you up to a point. Film is a collaborative medium and I think collaboration tends to have an inherent bias toward missing the artistic mark more often than not. I don’t understand how novelists can collaborate on books in that sense. I don’t fathom why one novelist would try to write with another. But there are some cinematic auteur's like Welles who come about as close as one person can to stamping a collaborative work with what seems like a monolithic vision. So, Welles is in that weight class…I loved Alan Rudolph’s 1980s works, particularly THE MODERNS and TROUBLE IN MIND…the little seen SONGWRITER. Film has kind of fallen away for me in recent years and I’m not really inspired by cinema. I think I’ve seen maybe only a dozen films in a theater in the last five years. On the other hand, my next novel is very much tied to German expressionist cinema and its influence over film noir. That novel is called ROLL THE CREDITS and will be out about a year from now.



14) The life of a writer can be a pretty solitary one, do you enjoy those quiet times the most or do you prefer getting out on the book tours and author events?



(A) Writing is soulful; promotion is anything but. It’s great to trade emails or letters with readers, and to meet them one-on-one, but I’m no natural or happy public speaker. It’s strange to ask a writer — someone who pretty much lives in their head — to be an orator or entertainer.



15) What musicians could you not live without & can you give us one that we not have heard of but should?



(A) Tom Russell, Kris Kristofferson and Mickey Newbury are crucial songwriters for me. All three are very novelistic and Kristofferson, in the early days, was writing music influenced by Blake and Yeats and their poetic structures. Someone you may not know? I loved Melissa McClelland’s THUMBELINA’S ONE NIGHT STAND and played it over and over while writing a not-yet-published Hector Lassiter novel about Paris in 1924.



16) Are there any new authors out there who we may have missed but should seek out?



(A) I can now admit that I served on this year’s Hammett Awards Committee, so my 2009 into early 2010 reading was pretty much dominated by that task. I read maybe five books I wanted to read for my own reasons last year and they were tough to squeeze in…I had to turn down several requests for blurbs because I simply couldn’t spare the time. It was a huge task vetting all these awards submissions. I read or sampled something like 300 crime and mystery novels as a committee member and a number of those were 2009 debuts. The first novel of 2009 that most impressed me, and which made the final cut for the Hammett nominations, was Jedediah Berry’s THE MANUAL OF DETECTION. It’s unlike anything else written last year…it’s quirky, fresh and very true to its own strange vision. I love that in a crime novel.



17) Jazz or folk....Werner Herzog or Coen Bros?



(A) Folk, for certain. Me and Jazz aren’t happy together… I’d have to go with the C. Brothers over Herzog, though it runs pretty hot and cold, movie to movie, so far as the brothers go.



18) I just finished Robert Jackson Bennett's debut novel "Mr. Shivers" ( I LOVED IT), & I thought of you due to its subject matter " the great depression & hobo's". Do you think you'll ever write something yourself that involves the Hobo world ?



(A) I don’t think so, but never say never. Outside of Hector’s world, my other historical stuff in the trunk tends to predate the Depression era… Well, now that I think more on it, the first (and still unpublished) novel I ever wrote is based on the Cleveland Torso Slayings, which had a definite hobo element, but I came at the crimes through a late-1980s’ prism (which was when I wrote the book).



19) Obviously you did a lot of research for "Toros & Torsos" into the surrealist art movement. Are you a fan of surrealist art or any of Man Rays pieces?



(A) Quite the opposite. Even as a young art student, I found surrealism to be a pretty disturbing genre for self-expression. I tend to loathe the surrealists and find, as is stated by various characters in TOROS, that the surrealists were a very misogynistic, messed up bunch. I think a couple of them were potentially—or actually—homicidal. One lesser aim in TOROS was not to glorify the surrealists, but to indict them.



FINAL QUESTION: There are 2 types of people in the world (givers & takers)...I’ve found the mystery book world to be filled with givers, just incredibly helpful & nice people. Has this been your experience as well?



(A) I agree with you a hundred percent. It’s a world and a scene that’s very inclusive, very collegial at all levels. As always, there are those exceptions, but they are, thank God, very rare exceptions. You can’t ask for better companions, friends or mentors than those you find in our segment of the literary world.

Criterion Films .....getting soft on us?

I'm an avid film buff, and I have over 7,000 films in my basement. The top of the line has always been Criterion DVD's. "THE BEST" print available of those chosen are on Criterion. They are known for pristine images, wonderful sound & lots of extras such as director commentary and deleted scenes. You can expect to pay $40 to $50 per film. There are over 300 films that have received the royal treatment over the years. Up until now you could expect to find the big guys like Woo, Ford, Bergman, Hitchcock, W. Herzog, Ozu, Kurosawa, Renoir and Truffaut there. Recently though that's changed with newer titles like "A Christmas Tale", "Gomorrah", "Che" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" being added. I just read a NEWSWEEK article on this very issue and explanations are given. My question is have they sold out on what made them so unique in the first place. They are supposed to be preserving the important films! For something to be prestigious it has to matter. Criterion Films have always mattered that's why I own 30+ of them despite the cost. Personally I'm a little disappointed by their recent selections. I can think of a number of films more deserving than these. I'd love to hear from you readers what films you think are important enough to be preserved for years to come. I nominate our own Scott Phillips "Ice Harvest", and Tony Scott's "True Romance". I'll have to go to Criterion's website and check an updated list and get back to you all.

JIM WHITE April 28th, 2007

I really believe that every once in a while we just get lucky, or we stumble into something that changes our lives. In 2007 my wife & I attended The Roger Ebert Film Festival in Champaign, Il. We've been going for about 10 years now, but that year holds a special place in my heart. We had just seen a 7 p.m. showing of "STROSZEK" a Werner Herzog film (one of my all-time favorite directors) and it was getting late but the 10:30 p.m. show intrigued me. The show was called "SEARCHING FOR THE WRONG EYED JESUS" directed by Andrew Douglas & stared a little known folk singer named Jim White. The movie is like something straight out of a Flannery O'Conner novel. If you've ever read WISEBLOOD, then you will love this film. The film is about religion in the South but it's no documentary. We follow Jim as he drives through the South & it works. The cameo by Harry Crews was worth watching it alone. It's a strange film but a good one. After the show ended Jim White came on stage there at The Virginia Theatre & performed two songs "The Wound that Never Heals" (a tribute to Aileen Wuornos) and "A Bar is Just A Church That Sells Beer" and I was blown away. I was able to talk to Jim afterwards and was drawn in by his simple & genuine kindness. If you want to write a crime novel & need to set a tone, sit down with "Jailbird","Static on The Radio", or "Still Waters" and let your mind drift. It's truly great stuff and has a sound you'll be hard pressed to duplicate. I've been waiting for 3 years now to catch Jim again. I missed my one chance in Chicago a few years back due to a conflict. However, I am forever on the lookout for that next opportunity. Jim's from Florida, so if you live in the South you have a better chance of catching him. Do, I'm tellin you he's that good. I own 4 of his CD"s (Transnormal Skiperoo, Drill A Hole in That Substrate & Tell Me What You See, Wrong Eyed Jesus, and the Soundtrack from "Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus"). He also has a great website, so google him and check it out. Jim has a brand new CD out entitled "A Funny Little Cross To Bear", that hit record stores on Feb. 3rd. Let the Downloads Begin !!!!!

KEN BRUEN " INTERVIEW" 2/9/10

I have to begin by saying that Ken Bruen is one of the good guys in this world. He's actually one of the nicest guys I've come across. But, for anyone who's ever read Ken's books you would think he's gotta be a madman. If you've never read his stuff, well what are you waiting for. Ken is the king of gritty crime noir, and he hails from Galway, Ireland. He is the author of 20+ novels including the Jack Taylor series which begins with "THE GUARDS". He also has another series with Inspector Brant. He has 2 recent stand alone's set in the U.S., "AMERICAN SKIN" and "ONCE WERE COPS" and recently combined with Reed Farrel Coleman to pen "TOWER". Ken was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to sit down and answer some questions for an interview series to begin here on "Signs & Wonders". To Ken I am eternally grateful. Gra Mor ! So here we go with Mr. Ken Bruen.

S&W: Which do you look for, great music or great songwriting? KB: Great songwriting first and if you can find both, alleluia.

S&W: Can you name a songwriter who you think would make a great novelist? KB: Tom Russell and he's currently writing a novel, Jim Sallis is a terrific musician.

S&W: Does music have an influence or a role in your writing process? KB: Hugely, I sometimes describe a character solely by the music he listens to.

S&W: Do you ever hear a song or see a film & think..man that's my life or been there done that? KB: Ash Wednesday by Tom Russell and Paris Texas, I think,... that's my life.

S&W: You're an artist, you paint with words, but if you had to tell your story in another art form, what would it be? KB: I have a Diploma in Art and did a lot of paintings, all crap. I'd love to be a singer songwriter.

S&W: Musicians you can't live without? KB: Gretchen Peters, Tom Waits, Tom Russell, Johnny Duhan, Leonard Cohen.

S&W: In the movie, Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges character "Bad" Blake is asked, where do all the songs come from? He responds "life". Don't you think that's true of most artists, writers included? KB: Absolutely, certainly its true for me.

S&W: It seems to me that the best writers, musicians, and artists have all learned to channel or tame, the "pains" of life. They do it or their destroyed by it. Do you think a person can be an effective artist without the "pain" or getting out there and really living? KB: Yes I do, but the artists and writers I love best have all been wounded.

S&W: If you could sit down to dinner with any one person (living or deceased)to pick their brain. Who and why? KB: Cormac McCarthy, to ask him about his influences, who he reads and what drives him. I love how he has no interest in celebrity. He is one of the truest writers I've ever read and a pure poet.

S&W: Is it every writers dream or nightmare to have his or her book made into a film? KB: Dream, I would think, but after the movie comes out, they are so frequently disappointed.

S&W: 99% of books are better than the film, can you think of some off the top of your head that lived up to the greatness of the book? KB: 4...To Kill A Mockingbird, L.A. Confidential, Paris Trout, The Reader.

S&W: If you can choose anyone to play you in a film, who would it be? KB: Tommy Lee Jones or James Woods.

S&W: Are their any particular actors or directors work who you follow closely? KB: Todd Anderson, Clint Eastwood, Steve Soderbergh, Luc Besson actors Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro.

S&W: What films have stayed with you through the years like an old friend? KB:Thanks to Craig McDonald, Touch of Evil, Double Indemnity, Witness for the Prosecution.

S&W: Who's cooler and sexier writers or musicians? KB: No contest but Musicians, apart from Megan Abbott.

S&W: Final Question...Cormac McCarthy has been able to to achieve mainstream success with "No Country" & "The Road", a Pulitzer & Oprah appearance, but has been able to maintain his pre-breakthrough lifestyle. Daniel Woodrell's film, Winters Bone just won a Grand Jury Award at Sundance & the film could lead to a breakout for Daniel Woodrell. Right now you have 2 films based on your novels ( London Boulevard & Blitz) coming out. You also have the Jack Taylor TV series. You are already a much loved and highly acclaimed writer. After finally achieving mainstream success, do you worry about the changes it can bring to your life or do you embrace it? KB: Oh God, I just embrace it and have to pinch myself. I'm just delighted. What it mainly does is it makes me try to up my game. The new Jack Taylor, headstone, I'm taking huge chances and still not sure if I can pull it off.

PANDORA'S BOX: Overlooked Film & Star

Over this past weekend I decided to revisit a film (Pandora's Box) that I had watched several years ago. Pandora's Box is a forgotten gem of the silent era and it's star (Louise Brooks) is a much overlooked star. Everyone remembers divas Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Liz Taylor and Jean Harlow but few remember Louise Brooks, and that's a real tragedy. Pandora's Box (1929) is Brooks most famous role, although she appeared in 24 films between (1925-38). It was in this film that she played the role of the femme fa tale "LULU" who reeks of eroticism. Brooks steals the film as her character destroys the lives of every male she comes across with the possible exception of Jack The Ripper. Wearing what would become her trademark hairstyle, "the bob", she uses her sexuality to draw you in & yet conveys a sense of innocence at the same time. She was a fine actress on top of being a sex symbol. Brooks was born in 1906 and passed away in 1985. Throughout her life she displayed other talents as a writer & an accomplished dancer. She even danced with the Ziegfeld Follies at one time. Pandora's Box was directed by German film maker G.W.Pabst and remains a highpoint of German cinema. If your a film buff and your willing to give silent films & BW films a try, start here. I do recommend you seek out the Criterion DVD as opposed to the VHS version. The VHS copy I watched had a pretty annoying musical accompaniment. Criterion is always the way to go as its the Mercedes of film restoration. If you can't find it...you can always borrow my VHS copy. Louise Brooks still looks pretty darn good.