Podcast with Rosanne Cash

Several months ago, our own VP of Marketing Michael Kilgore interviewed Rosanne Cash. We posted it as a podcast right here at CULTURE SHOCK. I wanted to draw some attention back to it as we're within a week of the show.

It's really important to note here that not only is this the first concert for Ms. Cash following her surgery, but it's the first time that Mark O'Connor and she has even performed these works outside of NYC. Couple that with how truly vital this piece is to the legacy of Johnny Cash and it could make for a really special night.

If you're a fan of any of these folks, I hope you get a chance to check out the show on Sunday night.

Conversations with Cash: Rosanne talks about life, death and ‘what remains’

Rosanne Cash, who will play the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center on March 2, recently made headlines because of her impending brain surgery to address a rare but benign condition. As she told us in a recent NYC interview, she canceled her remaining 2007 concert dates, but will resume her live performance schedule in the spring – starting with her TBPAC concert.

According to manager Danny Kahn, Cash was diagnosed with chiari I malformation, a congenital deformation of the skull affecting the brain and spinal cord.

"She does want everyone to know it's a benign condition and it's not life-threatening," Kahn told UPI. "It's nothing like a tumor or hemorrhage or anything. It's elective surgery."

Earlier this month, and just before the official announcement, Cash talked about life, death, her favorite songs, her famous father and her daughter who’s following in the family business.

Despite recent personal tragedies, including the death of Johnny and June Carter Cash, as well as Rosanne’s mom and Johnny’s first wife Vivian, Rosanne has produced some of the best work of her career – including the Grammy-nominated “Black Cadillac.”

Check out our conversation. (By the way, the heater in our interview room was working overtime to combat the NYC chill that day, so the sound mix is a little more muddy than we’d like. However, Rosanne’s words of quiet wisdom cut through the ambient noise just fine.)

- Michael K.

Amid the despair, John Gorka's very funny

Singer-songwriter John Gorka kicked off the 2007-2008 Club Jaeb series earlier tonight with two sets of the best material from his 20-year-plus career. We expected heartbreaking lyrics from the lovesick poet. What we didn't expect was for him to unleash his inner stand-up comic.

Looking up lyrics in a folder of loose sheets, he said, "the search engine is working."

(When he knocked the same folder over, scattering the lyric sheets to the stage, someone responded, "Your hard drive crashed.")

Gorka also claimed to have gone through a blues singer phase, embracing the sound of the "Pennsylvania delta," and being billed as Slow Blind Driveway.

We loved having Gorka play our tiny little corner of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and from his comments on stage and off, he loved it too.

You can get the remaining four Club Jaeb concerts, plus the Roches' holiday concert in the Ferguson next door for just $80. Call the Ticket Office at 229.STAR after noon Tuesday and tell 'em "Michael sent me."

Next up is Jonatha Brooke on Nov. 5. We also have Jennifer O'Connor, Bethany and Rufus and Amy Speace scheduled in the Jaeb.

If you're not familiar with some of these artists, that's your fault, but you can fix it easily by going to their show pages on this very site, where you'll find links to their own sites. Thanks also to WMNF for playing so much of this music.

And don't forget the wonderful Rosanne Cash, playing the Ferguson on March 2. She's not part of the series, but if you like Club Jaeb, you won't want to miss Rosanne in concert.

Thanks to everyone who came out tonight.

See you next time. -- Michael K/TBPAC