Another door closes

So a few days ago I found out that eResource, one of the few local papers for which I freelance, is closing up shop soon. And it was - uh - funny how I discovered this news. I filed my review with the editor on Monday, like I do every other week. The next day I checked my email and saw a response from him that read something like, "Thanks for everything, Mike. Good Luck." So I wrote back asking about the sense of finality in the email.

"Oh, didn't you get the email from my boss? May 19 is our last issue. CBS Radio decided it wasn't worth keeping the paper going."

Which proves that anytime I have some sort of job or regular commitment where I can do whatever the hell I want, it ain't going to last too long. That's pretty much how it worked. I wrote a review every two weeks, pretty much on whoever I wanted. My first review was of a CD by Lou Grassi, a free jazz drummer from New York (who I had previously profiled in JazzTimes). And that review came to me after a conversation at my neighborhood bar with the then-art director. She got me in the door and they needed me to write something pronto. After that I varied: Herb Alpert, Beth Orton, Death Cab for Cutie, Chris Potter (the saxophonist, not the local paper editor).

Well I'll have more Mondays free to either be a beatnik (my way of describing sitting around drinking coffee and listening to music), reviewing CDs for JazzTimes or other more productive things.