Music author Clay Eals comments on Studs Terkel's passing

From Clay Eals:

In tribute to Studs Terkel, who championed SteveOne of the earliest of my more than 1,050 interviewees, Studs Terkel, died on Oct. 31 at age 96. Studs not only sat for an interview with me about Steve Goodman in 1999, but he also graced my resulting biography, "Steve Goodman: Facing the Music," with a preface that set a warm, down-to-earth tone for the tome that followed.

Studs' truly remarkable life has been chronicled in many other places, including in his own memoir, but here I want to shed light on Studs' key role in Steve's life. In my Goodman bio, I quoted frequently from Studs' delightful mid-1970s radio chats with Steve, and I highlighted Studs' insightful eulogy for Steve, delivered at the 1997 Goodman tribute show in Chicago.

On the occasion of his passing, I want to honor Studs further by sharing an extended expression of his wit and wisdom. To read an edited transcript of my 1999 interview with Studs (along with a recounting of how his Goodman preface came to be), visit my home page, <http://www.clayeals.com>
and click on the link in the upper right corner, or click this direct link:
<Terkel.pdf>.

His reflections are inspiring and instructive, laced with the same optimism found in Steve, and I trust you will enjoy this piece. A Studs homily fits here: "Hope dies last."

"BackStage L.A." cable-TV show focuses on Goodman bio
During my late-July tour in the Los Angeles area, Sandy Jacobson was kind to interview me for her cable-TV show, "BackStage L.A." The half-hour segment is now set for broadcast in the coming weeks. If you live in the Los Angeles area, tune in at these times:

8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28, Channel 24, Westchester, serving the neighborhood just north of the L.A. airport.

7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, Channels 43, 77 and 98, serving Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, Encino, Beverly Hills, Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills, North Hollywood, Los Feliz and Eagle Rock.

7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22, Channel 34, serving Chatsworth.

For more information on "BackStage L.A.," which Sandy calls "L.A.'s REAL Music Show," visit <http://www.backstagelosangeles.net>.

Odds and ends
I have news on the non-book front. I've been working full-time on a contract basis since July, handling all manner of communications for a nonprofit children's-services organization called Encompass, 35 miles east along Interstate 90. Last week I was hired as full-time staff. Finally, I am bringing significant income into the household, after a too-long drought of five years. But a full-time day job with an extendo commute also has meant that my individual communication with some of you has suffered. My apologies for my tardiness at times, and thanks for your patience.

My Goodman bio event on the rainy evening of Oct. 3 in Seattle's University District (my 49th thus far) was yet another remarkable gathering. The music was anchored in stellar fashion by Tom Colwell and Bruce Hanson, along with Tom's son, Nate, and the wild and wonderful Jef Jaisun. Coincidentally that week, NYC-based Perry Barber was visiting her sister in Vancouver, Washington, and a few days prior to the event she asked me if there was room in the program for her to perform. The answer, of course, was yes.

The punch line is that Perry not only embarked on what she thought would be a three-hour drive, but halfway along the trek she also endured an additional three-hour delay due to a fatal car wreck on Interstate 5. Other musicians might have given up, turned around and headed back south. Not Perry. We kept in touch by cell phone, Tom and Jef delayed the start of the program with a vintage half-hour folk jam, and Perry arrived near the end with precisely enough time left for her to perform her three Goodman songs, "Unemployed," "Lookin' for Trouble" and "Ballad of Penny Evans."

Those present at the Café Allegro enjoyed an extended treat that night. Words cannot fully express my gratitude for Perry's friendship and heart. She traveled to Chicago to be part of my book launch 17 months ago and has performed with me in New York, San Francisco and now Seattle. That's the heartland plus three corners of the country. Maybe I'm destined to set up an event in the fourth corner -- sometime when Perry, a professional baseball umpire, is working in Florida. We'll see.

No further Goodman bio events will take place this year, but I anticipate a trio of Seattle-area events in early 2009. Stay tuned.

Please check out a wonderful new review of my Goodman bio by Karen Raizor at her blog. For the link, visit my home page, <http://www.clayeals.com>, hover on the "Inside the Book" tab, then click on "Reviews."

It's no news at this point that the Cubs collapsed yet again in 2008, dropping their first three playoff games after winning the National League Central. For fans of Steve's "Go, Cubs, Go," hope will spring eternal in future years, but for now the trenchant lyrics to his other Cubs song, "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request," remain intact and accurate. For more, visit my home page, <http://www.clayeals.com>, and click on the "Go, Cubs, Go" link.

Finally, please check out a recently obtained photo of high-school-age Steve playing guitar with his friend and band mate Richard Stock. (Thanks, Richard!) You can find it by visiting my home page, <http://www.clayeals.com>, hovering over the "Inside the Book" tab, then clicking on "Bonus Photos."

Thanks once more to the thousands -- including my intrepid webmaster, Valerie Magee -- who have made the Goodman bio possible and who have championed it beyond my wildest imagination!

Clay Eals
clay@clayeals.com
www.clayeals.com