Old(er) San Francisco residents may (or may not) remember D.J. LEBOWITZ (and I only use the past tense because I have not heard him mentioned in a while, I assume and hope that is still alive and kicking). I put him on a show in Norman, Oklahoma with NAKED AGGRESSION in 1993 and he stayed at my house...it was weird. He is weird. I am familiar with this cassette (also available on wax, because it was the '80s) and the brilliant Smoke, Suffer and Die EP, an exercise in aural torture the likes of which most people can only imagine....but LEBOWITZ is most noteworthy for is reworking of punk classics as works for solo piano. "Holiday In Cambodia," "Judy Is A Punk" and "Racism Sucks" make appearances here, and I can assure you that his catalog is endless. Released by Fowl Records (FUCK-UPS, BLACK HUMOR, VERBAL ABUSE)....which makes perfect sense and no sense at all at the same time. Sometime in the early '00s, D.J. LEBOWITZ was playing piano at lunch time in a downtown San Francisco shopping mall food court, because we all have to end up somewhere.
All jokes aside, I still genuinely enjoy letting this record fade into the background and then get shocked back by the familiar melodies of punk classics. Also, I have fixed the empty link to the Future Is Death post from a few days ago. We all make mistakes, thanks to the many who (politely) reminded me of this.
3 comments:
Hey Robert,
I am happy to report that DJ is alive and kicking. In fact, he performs weekly from 6-9 on Fridays at Madrone on Divis. My wife and I used to go see him there weekly when we lived in the neighborhood and we ended up hiring him to play our wedding reception. He learned "Sonic Reducer" just for us!
Top jams as usual!
Andrew
Excellent news.
I also booked DJL on a show in 1993, however in Iowa. I think with The Pleasureheads and Doomwatch. Definitely a true outsider.
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