Driving through Oakland. A snowstorm. Lights in the night. An enormous Diplodocus accumulating snowfall on his back. Sporting a red knit scarf. Pull to the curb. Forbes Avenue. Turn on the flashers. Get out of the car. Focus. Shoot. Find the beauty of winter.
How old do you have to be to remember what 45rpm means? I had a carrying case for this size record. Down at Excuses again, SouthSide, where King Cobra Blues plays the first Friday of the month. I saw this scene- a guy named John had two old 45’s and was asking Don Hollowood to sign them during the band’s break. I asked if I could photograph the 45’s. He was worried I didn’t have a flash but I managed. John was explaining to me how there was an A side and a B side to a 45. It was dark in the bar. I had about twenty years on him and knew about the A and B side but he said he was used to explaining the concept to his nieces. So the rare 45’s of the band Bon Ton Roulet were Black Diamond(A) and You Excite Me Daddy(B) and the other was Love and War (A) and They Call Us Bon Ton Roulet(B). Check out the MTV Basement Tapes, hosted by Frank Zappa, see the early music video featuring Pittsburgh Band Bon Ton Roulet singing Love and War. John said he bought them at Sunny Jim’s in Emsworth. There is one copy of Black Diamond on Amazon. The plastic insert 45rpm adapter is called a spider.