I think this is going to be a very big opportunity both for me to be read by a wide audience and for some of the wrestling organizations out there to finally have someone who sorta kinda understands and respects them to talk a little about them. These shows never seem to get the attention they deserve from the local media, good or bad.

So if you haven’t yet, go check out my first article and take a look at my profile.

Thinking inside the ring: Pro wrestling in Tampa then and now

Jordi Scrubbings Profile

How long have you been writing about the blues?

Not too long actually.  I have been a long time listener, but never really much of a writer, or scholar of any kind.   This whole “project” started when I was planning a trip to the Delta with a few guys who live on the East Coast of Florida.  I decided the easiest way to plan the trip, while sharing it with the world, would be to write about it.  At the time, it made sense.  I was also able to educate those guys on the historic spots we were going to see.  That, in turn, led me into researching the blues and writing about it.

What got you into blues research?

Like I mentioned, it started with planning a trip.  From there, it turned into more of a personal journey to have questions answered.  After reading a few blues books, I started to learn just how easy it is to do this kind of thing, and I was quite amazed more researchers are not diligent in what they do.  From there, I decided I wanted to do blues research more so I could disprove others research than to prove something myself.  The blues is such an oral history, and has always been regarded as such.  I mean, just because some guy in the Delta says he knew Robert Johnson and he lived “right over there” – to me, that was never enough.  Show me the proof.  Show me a Census Record.   Once I started getting good feedback and support from the blues community, I knew I was onto something.  Once I started getting challenged on my research, I knew I was being taken seriously.

You have done some great work researching blues roots and the scene in Tampa. How important is Tampa in blues history?

Well I appreciate it!  Tampa is far more important in blues history than most people – especially other scholars – give it credit for.   Since Tampa was a stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit, a lot of great played here in Tampa.  But there is more than that.  For instance, Ray Charles recorded his first album here.  The dance “The Twist” was invented on Central Ave here in Tampa.  The song “A Tisket a Tasket” by Ella Fitzgerald was actually written in the lobby of the Jackson House, a boarding house for African Americans that still stands today by the train station downtown.  It is also rumored Martin Luther King Jr. roamed those halls.  The history here is rich.  Everyone always thinks of Ybor, but the truth is, there is more to Tampa history than Ybor.  Then there’s Tampa Red.  I mean, he was the absolute Epicenter of the blues scene in Chicago back in the early days – and he learned his chops in Tampa.  I mean, he was known as “The Guitar Wizard” and he learned here in Tampa.  That has to stand for something, right?

How do you find the information you write about? What about here in Tampa?

I find my information in a variety of ways.  Usually a good place to start is challenging or supporting other people’s research.  I usually read a book, or an article, and see gaps missing – I try to fill in those gaps.  With more and more agencies placing their databases online, it gets easier to search for documents and evidence to support your research. Sometimes though, it does require travel.  Some smaller towns still have documents on file in court houses, and you have to pay a visit to check them out.  But for the most part, you can find a lot of things online.  Not to mention, sometimes all the research has been done by 5 other researchers, they just all found different pieces of the puzzle, and never spoke to each other about it.  I simply come along and put the puzzle together.

As far as here in Tampa, it all started with research into Tampa Red.  I knew he was from Tampa, but I wanted to know from WHERE in Tampa.  I wanted addresses.  This led me looking into African American communities, because of segregation back then.  I in turn found out about The Scrub, the ghetto in Tampa where a lot of the African Americans lived.  This term got me interested – I knew things had to be in close proximity, because of the lack of travel, and again, the segregation.  So I started looking around the area of The Scrub.   After a few calls to local libraries and visiting USF, I learned about Central Ave, the main African American business district back in the 30′s.  From there, it was all downhill.  I found interviews, documents, old maps, and more about this historic area.  I feel that history like this should not be just forgotten … someone has to help keep those memories alive.  Actually, The Scrub – or where it was – is right by the 275 and I-4 interchange.  There are still historic buildings and churches from that time thriving in that area.

(Ed note: for more information on the “lost” African American culture in Tampa, check out this link.)

You are doing a benefit show for Willie Brown. Who was Willie Brown and how did you locate his resting site?

Willie Brown.  He was …. the man!  So, he was a guitarist back in the heyday of the blues.  He was born in 1900 in Clarksdale, Mississippi.  He is buried in an unmarked grave in Tunica County, Mississippi.   Most people know him from the song “Crossroads”, where Robert Johnson – or Eric Clapton, depending on who you listen to – belts out the line “You can run, you can run.  Tell my friend-boy Willie Brown.”  Willie was actually a sideman to a lot of blues greats. He played with Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, and even Son House.  Willie recorded a few of his own sides, but only three copies are known to exist today.  Anyway, he was a mentor, friend, and sideman for most of the great pre-war Delta bluesmen.  He was actually playing with Son House quite a bit.  When Willie died, Son House laid his guitar down, and refused to play.  Of course, he was talked back into it during the blues revival of the 60′s.  But Willie was that influential.  And just to be clear to any fans out there – Willie Brown is NOT Kid Bailey.  I get that question a lot!   So I am planning a benefit show to get Willie a headstone.  It’s long overdue.  All the money raised – every cent – will go towards the purchase of a grave marker for him.

I cannot take credit for finding his resting place, though I did do a bit or research on it.  Most people don’t realize that researching people with a common name – like Robert Johnson, or Willie Brown – is pretty hard to do.  I mean, there are a lot of Willie Browns out there!   As far as finding the grave, it started with the research of Gayle Dean Wardlow.  Gayle was able to track down Willie Moore, who was a long time friend of Willie Brown’s.  The two met in 1916, so it is safe to say they knew each other well.  In interviews, Moore said he was aware of Brown’s hospitalization for alcoholism, as well as the burial.  Moore confirmed this burial to have been in The Good Shepherd Church.  Moore and Brown were even both drafted into the Army together – but peace was declared before they were sent overseas.  Moore even used to sing while Brown played guitar.  They were close.

Of course, interviews are never enough for me, so I went digging further.  After finding his death certificate, it says he was buried in “Good Shepherd” in Prichard, Mississippi.  There you have it.  Now there is an interview, and a document verifying his burial location.   To make matters even clearer, I was looking into the listed funeral home that is on the death certificate.  I was able (through another acquaintance) to reach out to a man who lives in that area.  Another blues fan.  Turns out he had talked with the funeral home (now under a different name) and was working on getting the location of the exact plot Willie Brown was buried in.  Though that information is hard to come by – funeral home records are private records after all – it does also confirm the cemetery as The Good Shepherd.

Why here, why now for a benefit show?

Well, the here part is easy.  I live here!  I have a family, and the challenge of organizing an event far from home is … overwhelming.  So I figured Tampa has a rich blues history, and has a lot of blues talent in the area.  Not to mention, a lot of the blues talent in the area has played in the Delta.  I mean, it’s all blues, right?  Willie Brown is such a huge influence on blues, most blues players at least know of him.   As far as the why now part … well, if not now, when?  The truth of the matter is, a headstone is long overdue for Willie Brown. He was an iconic figure in blues music, and essentially, American history.  It’s time he gets some recognition.

Can you tell us a bit about the show? Who will be performing?

Sure!  The show is scheduled for September 26th, which is a Sunday.  It’s at Rick’s on the River, a really cool venue here in town.  It will start at 4pm – nice and early.  It will go until about 9pm or so.  We are going to have a raffle with amazing prizes, as well as an auction for a really nice guitar.  Of course, we will pass a donation bucket around too. Really we need to raise $2100 to get Willie his headstone.  I should also mention this is a free show!  No cover!

The lineup is amazing, and I cannot thank the sponsors and the bands enough for all their help, and willingness to do this event.  The lineup includes Sean Chambers, The Backwater Blues Band, Lee Pons, Eddie Wright, and Special Guest Damon Fowler.  It will be an amazing show.  Every one of those guys can play the blues.  I mean PLAY the blues.  And a free show to boot?

I hope a lot of people are able to come out for this worthy cause.  Everyone is welcome!

However, buried in one of the articles on Morris’s capture was a little segment that made me worried.

According to the St. Pete Times,

Meanwhile, in the sprawling Kenneth Court apartment complex that Morris used to frequent, the police remained a constant presence through Friday.

“We all feel like prisoners, like we are being held hostage,” said Sherell Mitchell, 24. Seven months pregnant, she was seething about the hours she spent Wednesday afternoon with her two young children, locked out by a police barricade. “They said, ‘No one’s getting in and no one’s getting out.’ ”

Told of residents’ complaints, McElroy said, “it’s certainly not our intention to inconvenience or harass the people of this neighborhood.”

Notice there was no actual reporting there. Just claims. I’m not sure if the St. Pete Times actually did any investigation or merely put the quotes in to raise eyebrows. But the fact remains, did the cops inconvenience people as they searched for Morris? Personally, I don’t know. I don’t live in that part of town, nor was I anywhere near during the situation.

If these claims are true, it does open up the possibility of worsening public relations between the people of Morris’s community and the Tampa Police Department. There was no doubt Morris needed to be caught. He was public enemy number one. But I hope following the investigation, there was some motion to assuage relations between his community and the authorities.

Something tells me this wasn’t and isn’t the case.

The picture in this post is from an organization named the Black Peoples Advancement and Defense Organization (BPADO). According to their web site, BPADO’s mission is:

The mission of the Black Peoples Advancement & Defense Organization is to: protect and defend poor people, in Hillsborough County and the City Of Tampa, from every aggression of The State, great or small, intentional or accidental, by any means necessary, and educate, organize and mobilize people, in Hillsborough County and the City Of Tampa, in a way that will enable us to control our tax dollars, as well as the government officials responsible for those dollars, and make them work for our greater good, instead of our oppression.

I know Tampa has struggled in the issue of race. Few southern cities haven’t. In the four years I have lived in the area, I have noticed the city celebrates it’s pseudo-pirate culture and it’s legitimate Spanish culture far more than it does any other. It seems the African-American community has struggled here as much as they have in many other places in the south. The Wikipedia article on Tampa Riots, for example, is full of stories of people lashing out against authority, to include a 1987 riot after the police who arrested then-New York  Met pitcher Dwight Gooden were cleared of racist charges.

Has there been overreaction by African-American community leaders nationwide to perceived incidences of racism? I would say so. Jesse Jackson’s involvement in the LeBron James saga is a perfect example.

Have there been incidences where public movements have been essential to garner the fair treatment of people? Absolutely. That is the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr..

Although Dontae Morris is innocent until he gets his day in court, he didn’t come from the best part of town. His neck of the woods was where drugs and crime are higher than average in Tampa. However, security through citizen manipulation is not the answer, nor can it be allowed to be the perception. My hope is that somewhere between extreme action (or the perception thereof) and extreme reaction (or the threat thereof) there are people in the different communities of Tampa who can work with each other and build bridges of cooperation.

If not, we will continue to see reactive organizations such as BPADO emerge.

The Tampa Theater, built in 1926 and still open.

For some reason I like taking depressing pictures.

The old and the new

Don’t turn here.

On the side of the tracks.

Between two parking garages.

That makes three.

Of course, there is me and my crazy, Afro-Squad inspired ‘fro.

There is Miss Destructo, and her blue ‘do.

Today, I discovered another, the purple-haired Short Hair Diva of the aptly named shorthairdiva.com. Apparently she was also at the Tampa social media meet-up the other week. Unfortunately, although I took a pic with Miss Destructo, and The Shorthair Diva did pictures with Miss Destructo, we did not do a group pic.

Any idea why there are so many crazy hair bloggers in Tampa?

Is it the water?

Is it the heat?

(Ok, the jury is still out on how “exciting” and “trailblazing” this field is. But pardon me my Shakespearean hyperbole.)

I don’t know how long it lasts, but for the last two weeks it has been Social Media Networking Season here in Tampa.

First, on Wednesday, June 23, there was the sports blog meet-up hosted by SBNation Tampa at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor City.

As I mentioned in the last post, at the SBNation meet-up I finally met some of the Tampa bloggers I have been reading for the last few years, to include the great Clark Brooks of Ridiculously Inconsistent Trickle of Consciousness and Gregg Burrage of Sticks of Fire.

With the complementary swag and free Crown Royal, good times were had by all.

Then, a week later, at the same Bat-place and at the same Bat-time, I attended the Mashable Social Media Day networking event. Here I again had the pleasure of meeting other local bloggers, media creators, designers, marketers, and other assorted web folk. Some of the folks I met included:

• Miss Destructo of Destructo Deviations.com
• Jen of Miss Attitude.us
• Rae Catanese, whose website I worked with prior to the Super Bowl in 2008
• Darrin Guilbeau of Hanger1Media.com
• Loren Omoto and Jennifer Yarter of TBO.com
• Susie Steiner of Fido’s Laundry.com and Geek Is Single.com
• Blaine Rumsey of the aptly named Blaine Rumsey.com
• Kim Randall of the similarly aptly named Kim Randall.me
• Chris Kanclerowicz of blackenedsun.com
• David Rivera of thedrawingroom.us
• Larry Sanek of Castle Dream Real Estate and
• Karla Jackson of the University of South Florida USF Alumni Association

And those are just the people who gave me their business cards. There are a bunch of other folks that I am now following on twitter.

(Interesting side note: of all the business cards I received, not one had a picture of the person on it. I wonder if that’s bad form. I know I have my pic on mine.)

Anyway, it was great meeting all these people. I definitely made a bunch of new friends and increased my chances of being the next great mega-social media hero.

And if you are one of the many people I met in the last few weeks, and this is your first time checking out the site: Welcome. Feel free to take a look around, kick your feet up, and make yourself at home. Tu casa es mi casa. Or something like that.

By the way, bonus points to anyone who knew the “mega-social media hero” title was a tribute to California rock band The Uninvited and their song “Mega-Multi Media Hero“.

(Song starts at the 1:15 mark.)

I’ve written about DRaysBay before. For those that don’t know, they are the premier statistical analysis blog on the Tampa Bay Rays. Although I love their analysis and their work, I think they are the most condescending bunch of bloggers in the Tampa Bay blogosphere.

Back in December of 2008, I wrote about their inability to see baseball from the perspective of the common fan. I wrote that they had a “‘holier than thou’ attitude towards the casual fan”. I hoped maybe they would grow up and wake up to the fact that not every fan wants to be burdened with understanding advanced statistics. For some fans, if the team loses – no matter how great the players performed – it was a disappointing day at the ballpark.

I was highly encouraged and thought they were turning over a new leaf when I read this post about a game one of the writers attended with his little daughter. The writer even said he “rediscovered” the game.

Alas, my optimism was short lived. Not two months later, the DRaysBay writers retreated to their Ivory Tower, where “average” fans are not acknowledged.

(I know I am lumping them all together. FreeZorilla wrote the piece on the game with his daughter. The site has four or five other writers.)

My ire was once again provoked earlier this week, by this exclusionary comment by friend of the site, Jonah Keri. While writing about much maligned Rays outfielder BJ Upton, Keri told DRaysBay readers:

The big “news” tomorrow on mainstream sites will be about B.J. Upton being lazy or combative or a bad teammate or whatever other euphemism writers want to use. Don’t listen to any of it.

Doesn’t that sound condescending? Like Keri is some preacher telling his followers not to acknowledge the mindless ramblings of other sites. Keri and his truth will lead the way.

Then, only a few days later, R.J. Anderson commented about another post on the SBNation site written by fellow Tampa Bay blogger Clark Brooks.

I don’t really know who Clark Brooks is, but he says here he’s done defending B.J. Upton. I’m not. It’s easier to defend people when their performance is measured in every imaginable way and it’s not about page hits or links.

Well, RJ, I have met Clark. He seemed like a pretty normal guy. He is also quite funny, if you have ever read his work. Unfortunately, it’s easy to not know your fellow writers when you don’t show up to networking events

Do you know where I met Clark?

At a recent SBNation meet-up, where writers of the Tampa Bay sports sites were at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company to meet with each other and some of their readers. According to the post on the meet-up, writers from the Bucs site were there as well as writers from the Lightning site.

Where were the DRaysBay guys? Not there. Not one. I know some of them don’t live in the Tampa Bay area, and that’s understandable. But am I to believe one of the most popular Rays sites on the web has zero writers living in the Tampa Bay area? They even posted an invite on their site, although they failed to say they would be represented.

That’s poor. Or as the kids say, that’s a “FAIL”.

Maybe they have a collective problem with meeting the people who enjoy their work. Are they scared their readers will be obsessive groupies like the bloggers mentioned in this article about a recent sports blog convention?

As anyone who has met me before can attest, I am far from a writer groupie. If I like your work, I’ll tell you. If you like mine, I hope you’ll tell me as well. Maybe we can even take in a beer or two and talk shop. As most people who work in social media will attest, person-to-person relationships mean much more than any blog post or twitter conversation.

Therefore, in conclusion, Erik Hahmann, Tommy Rancel, RJ Anderson, and the rest of the DRaysBay crew, I am calling you out. I dare you to get out of your ivory tower, back away from the spreadsheets, and join me for a beer at the Trop sometime.

Ybor City

Ybor City

Ybor City

Downtown Tampa

Downtown Tampa

Downtown Tampa

On Tuesday, June 1st, a Heineken truck overturned in Tampa.

Using Biblical logic – that it takes only a couple of days to come back from the dead – I blame Hopper.

Good to know your sense of humor goes with you in the great hereafter.

And because pictures of babies drinking beer are always funny:

(h/t on news of the overturned truck to fellow Tampa blogger Clark Brooks.)

So in honor of Hammer, today’s post title is a paraphrase of the “U Can’t Touch This” lyric: “I’ve been around the world/ from London to the Bay/ It’s Hammer, Go Hammer, MC Hammer, Yo Hammer/ oh, the rest can go and play/ U can’t touch this”.

And the following are links you can’t touch. Unless of course you have an iPad, then touching them is highly recommended.

- Did you know May 17th to 23rd was National Hemp Week? If I knew that I would have bought a hemp necklace from a local hippie. Maybe even watched a little Cheech and Chong.

- Speaking of altered states of being, here is an essay on the powers of African mysticism and their possible effect on African World Cup teams. However long, it is definitely worth the read. Here is a sample:

Nearly all the supporters in the streets of Ouagadougou have absolute faith in the effects of black magic on football in Africa. Abdoul Kader, who sells loincloths, sees black magic not as the devil’s art, but as a form of medicine. He confirms that everyone in Africa uses it. “It’s like that even when there’s a friendly match between market stall holders. You weaken the opponent so that you can win.”
But the authorities deny there is any question of that.

- Also on the subject of soccer, the Congolese Soccer Team was expelled from Rwanda after a near riot broke out after a controversial call. One player may or may not have “disappeared” before being able to leave the country.

- Keeping it international, check out this post on a new Mongolian rock band called Jonon. At least I think this is the Mongolian version of rock.

Here is a YouTube clip:

- Bringing it way back to the US, the guys over at The Starting Five interviewed Ernie Johnson of TNT Sports. Johnson has been one of the best to do it for a long time and he shares some his experiences and knowledge in this great interview.

- Going even more local, check out this hilarious exchange between a Tampa-area librarian and local blogger/writer Clark Brooks. Clark doesn’t take to kindly to being told he has a stolen library card.

(Note about the Tampa-area libraries: they aren’t really user friendly. At least the satellite one by my apartment isn’t. Maybe in the main library they have more knowledgeable attendants, but the little old lady behind the counter in the one I visited looked lost behind a computer. She might know books, but information management and library science seemed way out of her league.)

- Finally, last but definitely not least, on Thursday, June 3rd, the University of Chicago will be screening Space Jam, starring Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan. Although automatically of interest to the Chicago faithful due to the acting debut of Jordan, the screening has gained national interest on Deadspin.com due to the fact that it will also feature commentary by a professor who believes Space Jam has similarities to ancient Mayan texts.

If you think that’s weird, stay tuned for my upcoming 1,000 word treatise on Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. It will knock your socks off.