Extracts...

Extracts is a great new zine that features pieces from an author's book, collection, chapbook, novella, whatever. Check out their video reading series. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/extracts/in-place-literary-video-series-season-2

Check Out Grim Series: Poems by Kristine Ong Muslim

Love this new collection of horror poems with Kristine's usual depth and twist.  Available at Amazon.com and for kindle also. You might get insomnia from reading it.

Heard the recently released Black Beauty and ...

the whole Reel to Real album (1975), which was the last Love album with the Love Monniker. It might be the hardest Love album to find to date. Not sure if it was ever transferred to DVD. My take: I liked both, although neither reaches the heights of Da Capo (at least the first side) or Forever Changes. Black Beauty seems to pick up where Vindicator (1972) left off. Very heavy, Hendrix-like guitar riffs. Many have stated that Lee would have been better off naming his post-Forever Changes albums as Arthur Lee and keep the Love name out, as many associate and expect the Forever Changes psychedelic music with spaced-out lyrics. Reel-to-Real was pretty damn good, although I did not like the redoing of "Singing Cowboy" from the great Love Four Sail album. It's pretty blues and soul all the way, with the same back up band from Black Beauty and  Lee does a great job. I really dug his tongue and cheek version of William Devaughn's "Be Thankful for What You Got." This is one underrated album.

I understand that the album sold so poorly that two years later, Lee had to take a job painting houses with his father-in-law. Such is life.

New Flash up at Bong Is Bard

"They Never Heard of You South of the Sahara." Some amazing photography from a 16 year-old award winner, Eleanor Leonne Bennett.
http://bardisbong.blogspot.com/2012/08/they-never-heard-of-you-south-of-sahara.html 

Feathered Fish

Although performed by Sons of Adam in '68, (with Randy Holden of later Blue Cheer fame), Arthur Lee wrote this song. Later did his own version of it. Check it out. Also, check out the previously unreleased bootleg Black Beauty from 1973. Has some great stuff, interesting Hendrix like guitar licks.
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Dead Beats

Dead Beats, a British Journal, picked up two old pieces of mine that were written around the time of my Cat People.

A new Miss Thing up at Circa

A cool new zine that tries to publish more than the best "one percent". Circa Review. My piece--"Miss Thing." http://circareview.com/?page_id=269

Thanks to Annie Evett

Thanks to Annie Evett for including that video of my reading at the KGB bar last June 23 and for mentioning some of my chapbooks on the New Sun Rising blog. Great to have been included in the Stories for Japan collection.
http://storiesforjapan.blogspot.com/2012/08/success-spotlight-kyle-hemmings.html