Birthdays, Benefit, and Burgers
No Direction Home, Burger Week, Kenny Loggins, Mark Few, Solitary Sock
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This issue includes more Dylan covers, Santa Barbara Burger Week, a footloose singer, Gonzaga’s great coach, and a footloose photo. I hope you like the picks and pics.
For the third straight year, Julian and I went to the Great Train Show in Ventura, California. We had hoped to take the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner again, but it was not operating on Saturday, so we drove. Julian loved the exhibits and sales booths, and he left with the colorful train set shown above.
Gonzaga College High School of Washington, DC, where Roger is assistant coach, recently won the DC State Athletic Association Championship. When I wear one of their team shirts, I am often approached by fans of Gonzaga University of Spokane, Washington. Same saint, different Washington. The coach of the other Gonzaga is featured as this issue’s Sports Star.
Our granddaughter and twin daughters celebrated their shared birthday (March 10). Sommer (5) had a gymnastics party on Saturday, and we took Kathy and Tracy (38) out to Lure Fish House with Tracy’s family and my brother David. We had a lovely dinner.
Barb and I attended a huge benefit concert on Saturday: one805 Rock for First Responders Concert at Granada Theatre. One of the performers, Kenny Loggins, is this week’s Marvelous Musician. Here are photos from this outstanding show.
If you enjoy Fave Five, please share it with your friends who also like books, food, music, sports, or humor. To do so, just click the button below.
Fave Five 127: Birthdays, Benefit, and Burgers
Bob’s Bio (No Direction Home), 10-Buck Burgers (Santa Barbara Burger Week), Soundtrack Singer (Kenny Loggins), Wizard of the West Coast Conference (Mark Few), and a Solitary Sock.
Fave Five List: More Bob Dylan Covers
In the last issue I featured favorite covers of Bob Dylan songs. This week I add five more by the Byrds and 20 collections by a single performer or band.
Five More Favorite Dylan Covers by The Byrds
20 Collections of Dylan Covers by Single Performers
Book Best Bet
Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (Updated 2024 Edition) by Robert Shelton
I read the original 1986 version No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan and was fascinated by the story of Dylan’s life.
From Amazon: This new illustrated edition includes key images of Dylan throughout his incredible, enduring career, making it a must for all Dylan fans.
Robert Shelton met Bob Dylan when the young singer arrived in New York in 1961 and became Dylan's friend, champion, and critic.
His book, first published in 1986, was hailed as the definitive unauthorized biography of this moody, passionate genius. Shelton tells the intimate and first-hand story of Bob Dylan's formative years in Greenwich Village NYC, and it is the only biography that has been written with his active cooperation.
Dylan gave Shelton access to his parents, Abe and Beatty Zimmerman - whom no other journalist has ever interviewed, to his brother, David, to childhood friends from Hibbing, to fellow students and friends from Minneapolis, and to Suze Rotolo, the muse immortalized on the cover of Freewheelin', among others.
Concluding Dylan's story backstage during his triumphant 1978 world tour, No Direction Home, took 20 years to complete and when it was finally published the book received widespread critical acclaim. Following his Nobel Prize for Literature Award in 2016, Dylan's standing is higher than at any time since the 1960s and Shelton's book is now seen as a classic.
Robert Shelton
Robert Shelton, born Robert Shapiro (born June 28, 1926 in Chicago; died December 11, 1995, in Brighton, England) was a music and film critic.
Shelton helped to launch the career of a then-unknown 20-year-old Bob Dylan. In 1961, Dylan was performing at Gerdes Folk City in the West Village, one of the best-known folk venues in New York, opening for the bluegrass act the Greenbriar Boys. Shelton's positive review in The New York Times brought crucial publicity to Dylan and led to a Columbia recording contract. Shelton had previously noted Dylan in a review for The New York Times of WRVR's live twelve-hour Hootenanny, July 29, 1961, at Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, Manhattan. "Among the newer promising talents deserving mention are a 20-year-old latter-day Guthrie disciple named Bob Dylan, with a curiously arresting mumbling, country-steeped manner."
Review: 20-Year-Old Singer Is Bright New Face at Gerde’s Club by Robert Shelton
Mr. Dylan is both comedian and tragedian. Like a vaudeville actor on the rural circuit, he offers a variety of droll musical monologues: “Talking Bear Mountain” lampoons the over-crowding of an excursion boat, “Talking New York” satirizes his troubles in gaining recognition and “Talking Havah Nagilah” burlesques the folk-music craze and the singer himself.
In his serious vein, Mr. Dylan seems to be performing in a slow-motion film. Elasticized phrases are drawn out until you think they may snap. He rocks his head and body, closes his eyes in reverie and seems to be groping for a word or a mood, then resolves the tension benevolently by finding the word and the mood.
He may mumble the text of “House of the Rising Sun” in a scarcely understandable growl or sob, or clearly enunciate the poetic poignancy of a Blind Lemon Jefferson blues: “One kind favor I ask of you--See that my grave is kept clean.”
Mr. Dylan’s highly personalized approach toward folk song is still evolving. He has been sopping up influences like a sponge. At times, the drama he aims at is off-target melodrama and his stylization threatens to topple over as a mannered excess.
But if not for every taste, his music-making has the mark of originality and inspiration, all the more noteworthy for his youth. Mr. Dylan is vague about his antecedents and birthplace, but it matters less where he has been than where he is going, and that would seem to be straight up.
Restaurant Recommendations
Burger Week
Yesterday was the last day of Santa Barbara Burger Week. We got started a day late, but I managed to try six of the ten-dollar burger specials over the rest of the week (Barb decided that five were enough). The descriptions of each burger are from the Santa Barbara Independent.
Friday: Santa Barbara Fish Market: Rank 5 (the side of clam chowder was tasty)
The Ellwood Smashburger delivers classic flavors with a combination of chuck and brisket patties smothered with secret sauce, shredded lettuce, caramelized onions, and Pacific pickles.
Saturday: Little Bird Kitchen: Rank 1 (best overall flavor)
The LBK Burger starts with a quarter-pound hand-rolled ball of grass-fed Harris Ranch Angus beef, delivered and ground fresh every other day and pressed onto the flattop grill to order. The patty is topped with New School American cheese and stacked on a soft Martin’s potato roll — the only choice for a proper burger, nowadays — with house-made LBK sauce on top of a pile of crisp shredded lettuce, farm-fresh tomato, crunchy red onion, and Guss’s pickles.
Sunday: Validation Ale: Rank 2 (two kinds of cheese stood out)
The Validation Smashburger is among the very best. It’s made with two hand-packed Wagyu patties infused with diced bacon, onion, and jalapeño and pressed hard on the grill to get that crispy, caramelized crust that locks in the juices. The brioche bun and melty American cheese further seal the package. The patties alone would make this burger a candidate for the mayor of Flavor Town, but what puts it over the top are the homemade brown-sugar BBQ and chipotle-aioli sauces. They mix and meld amazingly well with the sweet-spicy balance that so many attempt and so few achieve. The mess on your hands and plate by the end is considerable, but absolutely forgivable.
Monday: Lama Dog/Sama San Roque: Rank 4
The Sama Smash is delicious and rich with flavor. The foundation of any good smash burger is in the patty, in this case a three-ounce Wagyu patty is topped with miso caramelized onions, fresh shredduce, a sesame cucumber pickle, a slice of Tillamook cheddar cheese, and Sama secret sauce, all wrapped in a Martin’s potato bun. The sauce, which complemented the burger incredibly well, had flavors of garlic, shallots, ginger, and scallions all blended into an aioli. “A chashu aioli,” said Chef Tyler Peek.
Tuesday: Santa Barbara Food Connection: Rank 6 (great grilled onions, but too messy)
The SBFC Burger is bursting with flavors. It comes with two grilled beef patties topped with cheese, grilled onions and jalapeños, crispy bacon, a delicious house sauce, and homemade guacamole to top it all off.
Wednesday: Creekside Restaurant & Bar: Rank 3 (the side of tri-tip was outstanding)
In the Creek Burger, the meat of the matter is a delectable triple threat, a hefty patty of blended brisket, sirloin, and chuck, which puts life-affirming goodness in your mouth. Outer elements may be old familiars — melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle — with the custom touches of a savory brioche bun from Edna’s Bakery and the mystery tang of “Creek sauce.”
Marvelous Musician
We saw Kenny at the benefit concert on Saturday. It was great to hear him sing some of his hits, and we would have loved it if there had been time for more of his songs.
I bought The Best of Friends compilation LP by Loggins and Messina. My brother David gave me Kenny's first solo album, Celebrate Me Home, in 1977. I loved Kenny's collaborations with Michael McDonald: "What a Fool Believes," “Heart to Heart,” "This Is It," and “I Gotta Try.” They sang the first two at the benefit concert.
From Wikipedia: Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948 in Everett, Washington) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His early soundtrack contributions date back to A Star Is Born in 1976, and he is known as the King of the Movie Soundtrack. As a solo artist, Loggins experienced a string of soundtrack successes, including an Academy Award nomination for "Footloose" in 1985. He won a Daytime Emmy Award, two Grammy Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Loggins and Messina was an American rock-pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved their success in the early to mid-1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and "Your Mama Don't Dance". After selling more than 16 million records and becoming one of the leading musical duos of the 1970s, Loggins and Messina broke up in 1976. Although Messina would find only limited popularity following the breakup, Loggins went on to further success in the 1980s. In 2005 and again in 2009, Loggins and Messina reformed for tours in the United States.
Celebrate Me Home
Whenever I Call You "Friend"
This Is It
Heart to Heart with Michael Mcdonald
Don't Fight It
Watching the River Run with Jim Messina (at the Santa Barbara Bowl)
My Playlist
Sports Star
Mark just coached Gonzaga University to the West Coast Conference tournament championship for the 20th time under his leadership. He has had remarkable success as a coach of Gonzaga and the USA National Team.
Gonzaga wins WCC tourney title, 20th under Few
Gonzaga has now won the WCC tournament 22 times, including 20 times under Mark Few. Only Kentucky (32), Duke (27) and North Carolina (26) have won more Division I conference tournaments.
From Wikipedia: Mark Norman Few (born December 27, 1962 in Creswell, Oregon) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Gonzaga University since 1999. He has served on Gonzaga's coaching staff since 1989, and has led the Bulldogs from mid-major obscurity to consistent NCAA tournament contenders. During his tenure as head coach, Few has led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament every season (except 2019–20, when the team had secured an automatic bid but the tournament was canceled), a stretch that has garnered the Bulldogs recognition as a major basketball power despite playing in a mid-major conference. In his 26 seasons as head coach, his teams have won at least a share of 22 West Coast Conference regular season titles and 20 WCC tournament titles, and have participated in the National Championship game twice (2017 and 2021).
From Gonzaga: Gonzaga University head coach Mark Few has established himself as one of the most successful coaches in NCAA Division I basketball annals in his 25 seasons at the helm, and in the process has made Bulldog basketball a household name across the country. He served as an assistant coach at GU for 10 seasons prior to take the reins of the program.
Few has put together one of the most dominating runs in NCAA history. The Zags have won or shared 22 regular season league titles in his 25 seasons (all but the 1999-2000, 2011-12 and 2023-24 seasons) and taken home the conference tournament championship 19 times. The Bulldogs won or shared 11 straight West Coast Conference regular-season titles from 2000-11 and from 2012-23, which are the third-best streaks all-time in the NCAA Division I ranks behind UCLA's 13 Pac-10 Conference titles from 1967-79 and Kansas's 14 Big 12 Conference titles from 2005-18.
Few led Gonzaga to the national championship game in the program's first-ever Final Four in 2017, and again in the second Final Four in 2021. Under Few, GU has appeared in five Elite Eight appearances (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023) and 13 Sweet 16 appearances (2000, '01, '06, '09, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '21, ‘22, '23 and ‘24). He has coached 22 All-Americans, nine Academic All-Americans, 102 all-conference selections, 17 WCC Players of the Year, 10 league newcomers of the year and nine league defenders of the year. Few has also cultivated NBA talent, including current NBA players in Domantas Sabonis, Kelly Olynyk, Zach Collins, Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke, Jalen Suggs, Corey Kispert, Chet Holmgren, Andrew Nembhard, Julian Strawther and Anton Watson. He also helped recruit and develop Dan Dickau, Richie Frahm, Adam Morrison, Jeremy Pargo, Elias Harris, Austin Daye, Rob Sacre, Ronny Turiaf, Kevin Pangos, Filip Petrusev, Killian Tillie and Joel Ayayi all NBA players. Morrison was the highest-drafted player in GU history when he was taken No. 3 overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006, but Holmgren was taken second overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2022 draft.
Few won a gold medal with Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Paris. He was an assistant coach for Team USA on the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. The staff included Head Coach and Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra and Clippers Head Coach Tyronn Lue. Few boasts plenty of USA Basketball experience. Serving as an assistant coach at the 2018 USA National Team minicamp, Few was named an assistant coach for the 2019 USA Men’s Select Team, a team that helped prepare the USA World Cup Team prior to playing in China. He returned in 2021 as an assistant coach for the USA Men’s Select Team to help prepare the gold medalist U.S. Olympic Team prior to playing in Tokyo.
He served as head coach of the 2015 U.S. Pan American Men's Basketball Team, a squad composed of collegiate players, and led the team to a bronze medal, and he also was an assistant coach for the gold medalist 2012 USA U18 National Team and a court coach for the 2009 USA Men's U19 World Cup/World University Games Team training camp.
Picture Pun
This came as a total sock to me.
