Good-Hearted Snake Tonight I am happy to introduce a new multi-part true story from a good friend of the blog, Chosun (probably the most frequent commenter...though admittedly the competition is light). Chosun is a good-hearted man (is good-hearted the best synonym for naive?) and it is with this good-heartedness that his story begins. Over the next several days, I will post the entire story, with little objective other than to show just how far a good heart can get you in this wonderful city we all call Noo Yawk. -Cicero

The Tale of Chosun's Good Heart.
By Chosun.

We are all too familiar with the story of Hurricane Katrina and its effect on the people in the Southern states. Almost a week after the disaster, I was alerted to the magnitude of the destruction by Cicero and Kevo, as I rarely watch TV and did not have a full picture of the situation. The grief and horror of this event made me want to do whatever I could to contribute—to provide a little relief. Yet what could a struggling, overworked techie do to help? I could possibly just give to the multitude of charities in existence, however, I have become very skeptical of charities as time has gone on, and figured my miniscule funds would be much better served trying to raise additional funds for the victims. At that moment I came to the epiphany that I could get a much larger group of people to donate if they don’t really ‘feel’ the effects of the donation. I realized that I needed to put my contacts and connections to some use. I decided to organize a benefit concert with 100% of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross. What a brilliant idea! I knew that I wouldn’t make a penny off of the event, but I would consider the time and effort as my donation to charity. I proceeded to pat myself on the back for being such a noble person and was energized with an overall good feeling like I had just single-handedly solved the world’s problems.

Fortunately, nobility is something that can earn you the allegiance of many like-minded individuals who are ready and willing to join you in your quest. Unfortunately, the majority of these same like-minded individuals seem to be the least connected in the current state of the cut-throat music industry…but that is neither here nor there. Therefore, I began my journey alone, and began with a call to one of my ‘closer’ contacts: Mike G of The Jungle Brothers. For those of you who don’t know, The Jungle Brothers are one of the founding members of the Native Tongues, which ultimately brought up De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, and others. Mike has always been very helpful whenever I had questions about the industry, and is generally one hell of a nice guy. Through the years, Mike has introduced me to many people in the industry, so I figured I’d ask him if he could get me in contact with some major headliners for my event. He did not have any immediate individual in mind, however, he told me he would make some calls and get back to me. The outcome of the phone calls was not quite the positive news I had hoped (like “I’ll get De La Soul for you”), however, nor was it negative…so on with my quest!

Instead of resting on my laurels, I decided to hit my Cholodex and call up the next ‘industry’ person I could find. The next name to pop up in my list was DJ/Producer Mike Loe. Mike had just recently produced a series of songs for the legendary CL Smooth (of Pete Rock & CL Smooth fame) for his return album. I had seen CL Smooth perform at his single release party a few weeks earlier and was absolutely amazed at his presence on-stage. What I am implying is that once he stepped onto the stage and picked up the mic, he OWNED the stage and everyone else in the venue. After remembering this, I knew that I wanted him on the lineup as the first artist. After explaining my overall view of what I was trying to accomplish, Mike gave me CL Smooth’s Manager’s phone number and told me to reference him. I immediately promised to sign my first-born child into slavery for him…ok, not really…but it wasn’t out of the question!

I came to the conclusion that any musician named Mike is most likely a hell of a nice guy…

Was he right to draw such a conclusion? What the hell does he mean by that anyway? Does that mean Michael Jackson is a nice guy? Or not, because he is known as Michael, and not Mike? Mike D of the Beastie Boys would certainly qualify, since his name is clearly Mike. Maybe this Mike thing is a red herring. Tune in tomorrow for another taste.  ¶ 11:15 PM