On With The Show

Off to NYC and gig-a-rama. I'll file reports from the front as needed, perhaps some video as well, if I can bribe some young comic to do the camera work. A few act like YouTube auteurs, insisting that their vision be realized. Then they go on stage and do eight minutes on rim jobs. Whatever it takes to get the shot. I'm flexible.

Tuli Kupferberg joined Harvey Pekar yesterday, a one-two punch to bohemian literary America. As with Harvey, I met Tuli in the FAIR office, very early in FAIR's existence. I spent a lot of time on the floor, cutting out news articles for our files. Tuli was friends with Martin Lee, but was friendly with everyone, including lowly me. I had no idea who he was, but was intrigued.

I began watching him spar with reactionary callers on Coco Crystal's live Manhattan Cable access show. He and Coco smoked weed on camera, read anarchist poetry, sang songs. Tuli also contributed cartoons to Downtown, the East Village weekly where my first political writing appeared. More recently, Tuli delivered regular YouTube messages, to which I subscribed. I can't imagine being 86, much less doing bits. But Tuli was a life force.

Here's Tuli on Coco Crystal's show. Just to give you a taste.



And here are The Fugs, for whom Tuli wrote countless songs. Dig Tuli's dance moves. Not even a bikini-clad Goldie Hawn showed such commitment.