(June 14, 2012) RICHMOND, VA and CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — Yes, of course that’s a large inflatable soldier walking down the pedestrian mall in Charlottesville. Every town has one of those, right?
I was sorry to leave Richmond today. I’m extremely impressed by the scene people have created there and the sincere way in which all the members of that scene support one another. It’s a real inspiration and a model that I think many places could replicate.
But I did have to leave. I interviewed drummer Scott Clark in the morning then went to the bus station.
It was a short ride to Charlottesville and we arrived exactly on time. My twitter pal John Mason was there to meet me. He’s a professor at the University of Virginia and a jazzhead. He took me to one of his favorite spots, Mel’s:
Mel’s is a soul food joint and needless to say not all that vegan-friendly, but Mel himself was incredibly friendly in a way that made me feel like I’d been coming there forever. And he called me “young man,” so he’s OK in my book.
John took me through the pedestrian mall. Whoever had that idea was a smarty. Charlottesville turned part of Main Street into a car-free pedestrian paradise with shops and outdoor dining and free wifi. WIN.
I dropped my gear at John’s and did some production work for Thursday’s episode of The Jazz Session featuring Harris Eisenstadt. Then I headed back to the pedestrian mall to relax and read.
Speaking of reading: Apparently no one in C’ville has heard that Americans don’t read books, because there are more bookstores here than anywhere I’ve seen outside of New York. And as you might guess, Charlottesville is slightly smaller than New York. I was having a phone conversation while walking down the pedestrian mall, and I kept stopping to tell the person on the other end of the phone, “I’m at another bookstore.” I think there are four in about two blocks. My kind of town.
John and I had dinner at Now & Zen. Yes, it’s a groan-inducing name, but the food was good and the service even better. I was fairly sure our server was from upstate New York, where I lived for many years. (She was: Lockport.) And then, to make things even weirder, the owner was from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, not far at all from where I lived in Japan. And his nephews went to the same high school in Japan that I went to. Crazy! I’m working on a poem about the server and owner.
Then it was off to WTJU to be interviewed by David Eisenman and Steve Huff. Steve’s a regular listener to my show. I also met Gary Funston, another WTJU DJ and another listener to The Jazz Session. Here’s a photo of my stomach and me at WTJU, courtesy of John Mason:
I talked about the tour and the show and also got to read two poems, “eat at Joe’s” and “noir.”
Oh, and the university is getting ready for the tough economic times ahead with this wonderful gladiator arena, which I’m sure will be a big crowd favorite:
Tomorrow I’m interviewing trumpeter and educator John D’earth, so tonight I went to see him at his regular Thursday night gig at Miller’s. What a nice hang.
Finally, back to Richmond for a second. I can’t end this diary entry without showing you this:
You’re welcome.
(If you’d like to support my tour, you can make a one-time donation and get great thank-you gifts HERE. If you’d like to become a member of The Jazz Session and make recurring monthly or yearly payments, you can do that HERE.)
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