[Austin-ghetto-list] jaxon's rant, part 5+

[jaxon41]

Worthy Group--I am pleased to see that my batch of rants finally got
through, and I hope all this is not overwhelming--coming at one time instead
of in daily installments like I tried to launch them.  Whatever; maybe you
can absorb the info over a period of time... or delete the whole mess.

Last missive we saw what Louis Black said about his alleged reasons for
refusing to print my response to Ventura's review and  how it damn near
broke his heart not to extend common decency to me.  I posed the question if
maybe Louis wasn't being straight about his real reasons.

Here's how the review deal went down.  The Chron's book editor, Margaret
Moser, was an old friend.  She got to Austin in August 1973, and we met in
May of '76.  So, by the time MM & I became friends, she'd been around the
block in Austintacious for 3 years.  This I was greatly relieved to learn
(recently), for I always thought that I had put her on the Road to Ruin.
Tweren't the case, but MM had the gift of making every man she hung out with
feel like he was the Only One; beyond that, my lips are sealed.  I've been
trying to get MM to quit wasting her time hanging around the Chron and write
her memoir (sexually explicit) of the Austin music & club scene.  Now THAT,
folks, would be an interesting read because Margaret "knows" every musician,
local or national, that has played in this town for the past quarter
century.  Yes, it would take guts to put it all down, but she's a Taurus
(like me) and has the writing skills to make people either bust a gut
laughing or run for cover, even if she's a sweetheart down beneath her
ball-busting bluster.

I can hear Margaret's reaction to this, if and when she should ever read it:
"Sure jaxon, but some of us have to do mundane things like earn a living!"
You're right, and I must admit that the Chron treats its writers
decently--at least better than its artists.  As for us, we have to try and
survive from some aspect of the Austin subculture other than the Chron (or
sell our work about Texas out-of-state, as I've had to do most of my
career).  No, the Chron's problem doesn't seem to be with writers or
photographers but with our town's graphic arts people--esp. those of us who
like to LAUGH AT LIFE.

I enjoyed MM's latest piece on Toni Price, and my friend John Carrico's
photos of her as well.  With his camera work JC is giving us a photographic
legacy of Austin People & Places comparable to that of our beloved Burton
Wilson a few years ago.  I was pleased to discover that JC's "regular"
job--the means whereby he supports his fine family--is at Austin Prints for
Publication (That's South Austin, Baby!), an outfit that I go to when I need
top-quality prints of maps for my highdollar Texas cartographic history
books.  Keep up the good work, John.  Your day will come...

But don't forgit, Margaret Moser: jaxon's expecting a BOOK from you about
the Austin scene, something that I can sink my teeth into.  We haven't had
such a book in quite awhile, and NEVER something like I know you're capable
of writing  about the music/nightclub craziness in your downtime from the
Chron.  I suppose Louis and Nick own the rights to everything you've already
written for them, eh?  I hope not, Darlin', but wouldn't be surprised if
that's the case.  I don't think that these guys were too attuned to the
struggle for creative rights that some of us ghettoites went through on the
West Coast in the Sixties...

Anyway, in giving Lost Cause to MM, I was confident that the book would
receive a fair review if not a flattering one.  She asked Jesse Sublett to
review it, probably because he'd written the Chron cover story on me while
Lost Cause was in the works (Vol. 16, No. 11, Nov 15, 1996, maybe still
online at Chron's website).  Jesse & I had hit it off well during the
interview, and I liked the way his article turned out.  Why he wouldn't
write a review of the finished book, I can't say.  At least he was
knowledgable about Hardin & the general period.  Certainly Jesse also knows
about the on-going racial situation in Texas, as he told me his white sister
is married to a black guy.  Uhhh...  Not that it matters to me;  I'm proud
to say that I count a few "mixed marriage" couples as dear friends and have
from way back.  Stuff like that has never been a big deal to us Ghetto
People.  As to what effect being a brother of a woman who chose a man of a
different "race" as her life's partner (and having to defend her right to do
so to other family members) would have on ME--well, I've never been in that
position, so I can't judge.

Jesse, incidentally, was inducted into the TIL same time I was, last summer.
I didn't go but he did.  I've already got too many certificates, plaques,
and that kind of shit taking up valuable space in my small studio.  If I'm
so fuckin' smarrt, why ain't I rich?  Limestone paper weights, even if
they're pretty ones, don't pay the bills.  Jesse tells me that he's now
writing his autobiography.  Hey MM--if he can, why not you??

Back to Louis Black: Once he saw Lost Cause, Louis grabbed the book and took
the review process away from Margaret.  As stated in his 2 Oct. refusal, HE
(not MM) selected Ventura as the reviewer.  How much LB/MV/JS "conspired" on
what the review would say, only their devious minds know.  I think it's safe
to say that Louis communicated to them aspects of the book that he found
"troubling" and his staffers got the drift.  Louis, of course, pretends that
what they wrote gushed forth from their creative well-springs unassisted and
he could not censor their opinions in any way; he respected them too much to
dream of such a thing.  Oh yes, he respected me too, but when you put out
crap you've got to face the music, jaxon.

Once MM saw what these guys had cooked up, she called me to soften the blow.
The review's bad but please don't blame me or the Chronicle for it, she
begged.  This sort of rattled me but I laughed and said, "Margaret, you know
that nothing the Chron might do would ever cause me to lose my affection for
you," or something to that effect.  It was true then and still is; I don't
hold her to blame for how it turned out.  In fact, she liked the book,
didn't think it was racist at all, and V's review became a small bone of
contention between her and Management.

Well, I was floored by Louis' refusal to allow me a response--even more than
by the review itself.  I wrote Louis the following letter, and then decided
not to send it:

Dear Louis,

I was sorry to read that you prefer to lose my friendship rather than do the
honorable thing, which would be to allow me to respond to the unjust
accusations made in Ventura's so-called review of my book.

I hold you responsible for this decision because you, as editor of the
Chronicle, could with a flick of your finger have given me the space
requested.  I know how these things work, remember, as I have been involved
with a number of alternative papers & presses in my time.

You opted not to extend me this courtesy, using as your excuse that no one
is allowed to answer negative criticisms of their books, albums, flicks,
whatever as a matter of policy.  Bullshit.  Can you not distinguish the
difference in a review that says So-and-So was too drunk to finish his last
set at the Continental Club the other night, or the hot sauce is bland at
Los Tres Tacos, with what Ventura wrote about me?  I can only conclude that
my response demonstrates too clearly what a jerk Ventura really is, and
since he's your Ace Journalist you don't want the world realizing it.  Why
else would you want to stand by a review so slanted, so obviously intended
as a personal attack, and so vicious in nature?

I never expected you, as a responsible editor with longstanding community
ties, to use such brazen & baldfaced Nazi tactics against me.  You allowed
Ventura to denounce me publically in the harshest terms, yet you will not
allow me to defend myself in the same forum--your paper--when it is within
your power to do so.  All's that's missing from this scenario is a boxcar
waiting to whisk me away to some "re-education" camp in the Trans-Pecos
wastelands, wearing a 5-pointed star on my prison jacket.

Shame on you, Louis.  I am having a hard time retaining any of my former
respect for you as an individual, much less as a professional newspaper man.
If this is how you treat artists whom you respect, I'd hate to see how you
behave toward those for whom you have no regard!

I do not like to bear grudges against people; it makes me unhappy, fouls the
air I breathe, and basically is a waste of time.  In this case, however, you
have left me no choice as you have so clearly taken Ventura's side and
refused me a fair hearing that is justified by the circumstances.

You think I'm only one individual, so it's no big deal, but you (and the
Chronicle) stand to lose much more than just my friendship over this affair:
you might lose the support of the entire "Old Guard" Austin creative network
as well.  They are all smart people and can figure out where you're coming
from by the shoddy way you've treated me.

So, go merrily along, enriching yourself with "Austin Scene" ad sales, but
please don't fancy yourself as a cutting-edge journalist with any sense of
fair play.  You've struck out on that completely, as far as I'm concerned.

Maybe down the line I'll have the chance to repay you for conduct toward a
friend that I (and a lot of other people) regard as reprehensible.  The sad
part is that you'll deserve it, whatever the payback may be--because you
could have done the right thing about this and didn't.  At least you picked
the correct heading for your Oct. 2 column: "This week we lose a friend."
That hits the nail squarely on the head, even if you are wielding a hammer
blindfolded.  jaxon

As stated this letter was not sent; at top is my notation "Awaiting [reader]
reaction, in hopes that Black will change his mind & print my response." HA!
Fat chance, jaxon.  You know what they say about Custer Decisions.

Next time--my pitiful situation hits cyberspace on international comix chat
group; they begin plastering Louis with email protests and he starts
squirming on his Editorial Throne.