Week #37 Greg Travis James Call Greg Travis - The Emails from New York During the First Decade of the New Century - Book

Recently I received this email from a guy named Greg Travis who I’d only met once or twice:

Vermont

Will you write a song called vermont

Or will you waste your FREE TIME.

What an opportinity you have and you don't even realize it.

Make something. CREATE SOMETHING.

Draw a picture and give it to someone.

Take your time doing it.

Make it PERFECT.

Call someone on the telephone.

Remember These?

.

Make it a priority in your life to make it to Vermont at some point

To bask in the colors of the leaves.

-GT

Oddly enough Greg has a half-brother also named Greg Travis. This Greg Travis I know much better I got this email from him recently:

Dicko Asscock & The Mind Police
> Live @ The Paladium
> $8

Dr. Wehrner Milliner And The Atrocious Techniques
w/ opener Tilly Jones of Magna Carta Cumshot
http://com.com.com.com.com.com.com.com.com.com/index.htm

At the Williamsburg Hôpital, corner of Wythe & Tégument

(2,000 P.M. Twentieth drink free. May-December love affairs get in
free. Special all-night shows on quarterly tax deadlines. Sixtieth
drink free. Space heaters available on request. No clapping. 2.5
baths, eat in kitchen, access to good schools. Murder, she wrote.
Tilly Jones appears courtesy Children's Television Workshop. Caution:
earplugs. Four dead in Ohio. I can't believe it's not yogurt. What
the hell is up with Jarmusch these days? You can't find good help
anymore.)

That email was forwarded to me from James Call. Both Greg Travis’ where in James’ band at one time or another.

James sends me things like this:

July... a time when people's thoughts turn to hot eggnog and presents under the tree. But did you know that July is also Rick James Awareness Month?

Rick James was born in a city we call Buffalo, 30 degrees below, but he didn't remain there long, soon entering America's hearts and minds as one of our premiere recording artists.

Rick James recorded several of his finest records at the Record Plant in Sausalito, CA (in my very own Marin County, back before the yuppies took over), where later Huey Lewis & The News would record the album "Sports"*. He was famous for simply dictating his assorted bass, horn, guitar and synth lines to his backing band, a la "No, it goes duh-doodledoodledoodledoodle-duh-duh-duh-DOOT," etc. From such non-traditional directions, Hits were made.

Though James is well known for capturing a 24-year old girl in his basement, typing her up for 6 days, forcing her to perform sexual acts, and burning her with a crack cocaine pipe, often overlooked is his even more horrific torture of Motown group the Temptations. James kept the Temptations in an environmentally sealed chamber and would only release them to bark terrible commands at them, such as "TEMPTATIONS SING!" It is alleged that James kept the Temptations alive by feeding them the flesh of lesser Motown groups, including the Spinners and the original Bar-Kays.

Though most well known for his super-hit "Superfreak," which would later be sampled by Stanely "M.C. Hammer" Burrell in the form of "U Can't Touch This," Rick James has produced countless hits along similar lines. Today, we present to you two quality examples of Mr. James' more frenetic work. Enjoy.

* August is Huey Lewis awareness month.

I’ve been receiving emails like this from the three of them for a long time. I’ve been keeping them in a little folder on my computer called “web art”. I wasn’t sure what else to call it.

After receiving Greg’s “Vermont” email I was inspired to put them all together as book for the rest of the world to enjoy. I thought I’d bind it and market it sort of like one of those books of letters between famous people.

The fact that two of the people where named Greg Travis just made it that much better.

All I’d really need to put this together would be copies of illustrator and photoshop and maybe someone who actually knows how to use them. Then I just need to wait until the end of the decade and I’ll print up some short runs of them.