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Blake Babies Tribute Show, Part 1 of 4: Readings, of the band's namesake William Blake and the poet who named them, Allen Ginsberg

by Boog City

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Boog City's Classic Albums Live Presents
Blake Babies' Tribute Show
Music curated by Nan Turner
Poetry curated by Nathaniel Siegel
Hosted by David Kirschenbaum

JOHN STROHM'S INTRODUCTION FOR THE BLAKE BABIES' EARWIG AND SUNBURN BOOG CITY CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE SHOW

On behalf of the band, I give thanks to the organizers and musicians for paying tribute to our humble albums. It would have been incredible to us then, as it is now, to know that anybody still cares about the music after twenty years. We remain very grateful for your kind thoughts and support.

I assume that you are paying tribute to two albums because you couldn't agree on which one is better. I think under the circumstances that that's appropriate, because Earwig and Sunburn pretty much sum up our entire creative output. There's an early EP, Nicely Nicely, which was really just a demo to get some gigs around town, and then there's the final EP Rosy Jack World, with which we swept the floor of remaining odds and ends with the knowledge that the band would soon part ways. But with both Earwig and Sunburn, we really functioned as a collaborative unit and actually strived to make classic albums. In writing, production, and performance, we swung for the bleachers.

We were so young when the band started (all 19) and so inexperienced, the whole thing was a learning experience. We made both albums under the direction and wild encouragement of Gary Smith, who had us convinced that we were destined to be pop stars. Without his belief, I doubt we'd have worked as hard as we did to write catchy hooks or lyrics that spoke to so many people. We were young – of course we wanted to be famous. For a couple years we wanted to do what we were doing forever. It seems funny now to view Sunburn as some sort of breakthrough, because we sold relatively so few records and made so little money. It never stopped being frustrating. But the success of Sunburn finally got the attention of the big music industry and ultimately led to our demise as a band. People told us we were great, and we believed them. People told us we didn't need each other, and we believed that as well. We made a good record that resonated with the times, and in the dizzy rush of that moment we all forgot why we'd gotten together in the first place.

These days I work with bands every day as a business adviser. I work with some bands that are far more successful than the Blakes ever were, and some that will probably never reach that level of accomplishment. In my work, I apply the lessons I've learned as a musician. One of the most important lessons is that you can't manufacture the sort of energy and inspiration produced by a few talented kids coming together in the basement or dorm room or all-ages club and learning their craft together as a unit. You can find a better drummer, and you can hire a professional songwriter or hotshot producer – but you can't fake that sort of authenticity.

For those couple years where we found our creative spark, the Blake Babies was a once in a lifetime thing for all of us – a sound that was bigger, fresher, and probably better than the sum of its members. We've all distinguished ourselves musically since then, but I'm still pleasantly surprised whenever I hear that music. It will probably always make me feel young inside.

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released January 4, 2021

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