My father in law left me his stereo system this year. A turntable and power amp from sometime around 1960. And his jazz collection. If he had left me a bunch of money it wouldn’t mean the same thing.
It all weighed a ton. I had to carry it from his apartment on Bathurst Street to my hotel and then back to LA where I live. And it didn’t stop there. When I went to install it, nothing worked. I had to find a shop to fix it. I found one then went back three times carrying that heavy piece of machinery till I got it going.
But I’m happy. I go to Amoeba Records and buy records again. I’m buying discs from artists that I’ve never owned before and ones that I remember from my youth. Jackson Browne, Linda Rondstat, Jesse Winchester, Paul Simon, Al Stewart, Elton John. Its so much fun to just sit on the front porch in the morning listening to music. It just makes me feel good, and inspired.
2014 CMW Co-Chair Elliott Lefko is vice president of Goldenvoice Concerts in Los Angeles. He has promoted tours for Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave. He is responsible for booking concerts in Southern California, Alaska, Hawaii and Canada. Among the recent concerts he has promoted are Morrissey, The Foo Fighters, Tegan And Sara, City & Colour, The Tragically Hip and Hayden.