Seaside

The Truman Show was filmed at Seaside.

Think of John Waters buying Dog Fancy magazine.

Think of a Potemkin Village, with no way off the island, from unsuspecting Truman. Truman doesn't have a clue.

But Truman begins to suspect something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

There's trouble in paradise. Trouble right here in River City.

Balder had a job as a daytime bartender at Fermentations, a wine bar on the horseshoe, at Seaside, with a Truman Show poster in the unisex bathroom, autographed by Peter Weir, the director of the movie.

Balder also played one night a week at Fermentations with Mike Jones, or Mike Kish, and Duke Bardwell, or Franko Washboard Jackson, as Net Ban'd.

Think of Cecil Taylor washing dishes in a bar--The Five Spot?--that had his records on the jukebox.

Steve Lacy played with Taylor. A musical education.

Playing with Cecil Taylor immediately put me into the offensive mode. This was the avant-tout garde. We were an attack quartet (sometimes quintet or trio), playing original, dangerously threatening music that most people (musicians, organizers, club-owners, and critics) were offended by, doing everything they could to hold us back and prevent us from getting work. In the six years I worked with Cecil Taylor (1953-59), I received an excellent education, not only in jazz, but also in politics and strategy.

Balder moved in with Suzette to help her renovate her house, after Potter died. Having a cheap place to stay allowed him to become a musician. Also living in an area that supported live music.

It isn't easy to find a cheap place to stay in an area that supports live music.

Working as a daytime bartender at Fermentations allowed Balder to meet people, including the person who owned the lot in Grayton Beach with the trailer on it, which he needed someone to live in, and pay enough rent to pay the property taxes. Balder jumped on that.

Owen and Balder both enjoyed a serendipity absent from Old Folks's life. People did things for them, to help them, because they were talented, and likable.

It seemed to Old Folks--and he might have been paranoid about this, or, if it was real, he might have brought it on himself--that people liked to snatch the rug out from under him, and do him gratuitous harm, when they saw a chance.

Instead of help him, most people in a position to help Old Folks hindered him.

They kicked him in the nuts. When he was down.

There's a record store up over Sun Dog Books, in Seaside, and they sold Dread Clampitt's debut CD, Dread Clampitt. They also sold Old Folks's liner notes booklet, Root Doctor.

Root Doctor was a good seller for Old Folks, because of the tie-in with the band.

They sold it at gigs between sets.

Florida International University hosts a writing seminar at Seaside in the summer.

One year when Old Folks attended the meetings of the grants panels in Tallahassee, he got to hear Les Standiford pitch the program as cultural outreach, since Walton County, in which Seaside is located, is economically deprived.

Seaside is one of the richest communities in the state.

Old Folks wanted to ask him how many writers from Hogtown Bayou were going to attend. But he didn't say anything, because it would sound like he was a whiner, and envious. Of course, when he wrote about it, later, it sounded like he was a whiner, and envious. And too cowardly to confront Florida International University directly. A cheap-shot artist.

Oh, well. Here's a picture of Owen and Balder playing at Bud and Alley's.

Owen plays fiddle and Balder plays mandolin. If you can get them to.