Text by Bruce Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery, January 29, 2026)
“A Well Respected Man” by The Kinks, released as a single in 1965
‘Cause he gets up in the morning
And he goes to work at nine
And he comes back home at five-thirty
Gets the same train every time
‘Cause his world is built ’round punctuality
It never fails
An Editorial by Dawoud Kringle
Last April, I wrote an editorial about Donald Trump coopting and taking control of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (EDITORIAL: Trump and the Kennedy Center | DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY). The Kennedy Center was meant to be a cultural landmark honoring art, not Trump’s ego. There was no reason for him to have done this except to build or confiscate more monuments to his worthless legacy.
Now, he has taken it a step further. He slapped his name on it.
Earlier this month, White House press secretary / MAGA cheerleader Karoline Leavitt announced the news on social media, saying the Center board voted unanimously for the change: “Because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.” Shortly after the announcement, Ohio Democrat Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member of the board, refuted the claim that the vote was unanimous. Other Democrats in Congress who are ex officio members of the Kennedy Center Board, including Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, issued a statement stating that the President is renaming the institution “without legal authority. Federal law established the Center as a memorial to President Kennedy and prohibits changing its name without Congressional action.”
Text by Bruce Lee Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery, December 12, 2025)
“Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” sung by Otis Redding & released in January of 1968
Written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper
Text by Stephen Johnson
When I think of Jack, I remember him from a ‘Woodstocker’s’ experience, as many in his Woodstock community did… seeing him about the hamlet, friendly, approachable, with a cool rhythmic gait, down-to-earth and generous, a beautiful African American man.
In the early years of my ‘being in America‘, I was fortunate to move to Woodstock back in ’88, and while I was musically shuffling/surfing sofas, a housemate introduced me to Jack’s family — Lydia and their girls. (Thank you, Itar).
Text by Bruce Gallanther (Downtown Music Gallery, September 11, 2025)
Aside from the five different Star Trek series, my favorite TV show of all time was—and still is—Northern Exposure. It is about a Jewish doctor who’s stuck in Alaska working for a small town of lovable misfits.
There is an episode called ‘War and Peace’ about a famed Russian singer named Nikolai who comes to town, enchants the customers/old friends at the Brick (the local bar), and whose sworn enemy is a local bigshot/former astronaut named Maurice Minifield, a wealthy/right-wing/radio station owner. They trade insults and eventually decide to duel with guns, but the duel is called off at the last minute.
