Profile: Patrick Park, Sasquatch, CMJ ­ It seems there is always a sizable crop of singer-songwriters and most are contentedly relegated to the coffeehouses in their neighborhoods, but every once in a while there is a window of opportunity in big-time music for the genre. One of those windows has opened as evidenced by the heavy rotation artists like John Mayer are getting of late. Patrick Park has thrown his hat in the ring and is prevailing despite the heavy current coming from upstream. Although he was on the same bill as singer-songwriter icon Ron Sexsmith at Sasquatch, he performed on a stage located outside the concert grounds ­ his compositions measured up to other
artists on the bill but only those waiting to go through security and peasants without tickets in the parking lot got to see him. The accomplished songsmith has persevered and more recently performed at a CMJ showcase and on Craig Kilborn’s show. If the bottom don’t fall outta Wonderland, you may be hearing him on a radio near you soon. - EAK

Book A History of Missing Foundation write conspiracyofaliens@yahoo.com
This rambling account of legendary New York underground punkers Missing Foundation attempts to tell the story of those responsible for overturned martini glass logos that adorned every available surface in New York City long before America’s Mayor Rudy G. took over the job of disneyfication. Engineer Jim Waters and Musician Bill Bronson, along with others who passed through the ranks, tell the tale of the highly-political band which at one time was blamed for everything from Santoria-esque sadism to the riots in Thompkins Square Park. Naturally, some of related labels facts are wrong . Running the label on which they debuted, I lived through early years of The Spitters - which MF became, but that’s my own fault for not contributing to the book. The best part of all is that someone, Vincent, cared enough to put this all together. Till I read it, I didn’t know that Mark Ashwill died of cancer a few years back. He was a good soul, a real good soul. Now I’m among those who miss him. - Ment.

Label Profile: What Are Records? ­ This label is shying away from the acronym version of its name (WAR?) for obvious reasons but is sticking to its tradition of putting out high quality music. It has released another record, “Made by Maceo,” by Maceo Parker ­ the outstanding trumpeter who first came to public notice as a support musician for James Brown and George Clinton. Parker has been kicking the funk freestyle on several excellent solo releases, the most recent of which came out in 2003. If you like brassy funk with a New Orleans flavor, check this out. Also on What Are Records? in 2003 was the diverse talent of Tony Furtado who easily switches from a piquant bluegrass type track to something more akin to folk standards from Asia Minor on his release American Gypsy. Although he surfs from genre to genre, his songwriting and execution are nearly flawless. - EAK