“Lou Reed & Me”

c. 2018 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(12-18)

“KFTW – 1313 on your AM dial. Bringing back the golden days of radio, one shockwave at a time! Live on the air and around the whole wide world on the world wide webbbbb!”

A voice sounded in my ear. “Rod, we are live in 60 seconds.”

I had been sitting at my desk, drinking coffee, for most of the past hour. Reading an article on the ‘Please Kill Me’ website. A hand-written page of notes for my interview lay under a plate of toast with peanut butter. My thoughts had been sidetracked.

“Ready here in Cleveland,” I replied.

The broadcast started abruptly with a blast of wild, electric guitar. I reckoned it must have been a snippet of tonal fire by Eddie Van Halen.

“This is Gil Scott Darin on KFTW! Old-time AM radio!” the disc jockey cheered. A promotional loop boomed from the speakers on my computer. “KFTW… in the west… in the west… in the west...”

I adjusted my headphones as the interview began:

GSD - “Today we have music journalist and author Rod Swindle in Gil’s Gap on radio 1313. Rod lives outside of Cleveland Ohio and once hosted a top-rated television program in New York Cityyyyy!”

Rod S – (Clearing my throat) “Actually, the show originated in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. In Ithaca, home of Cornell University. It was rated highly because there was nothing else offered in those days, on Friday nights at 11:30 p.m., in terms of local programming.”

GSD - “Right! Right, right, right. Anyway, where’d you get that name, Mr. Swindle?”

Rod S - “It is from the Sex Pistols movie.”

GSD - “The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll swindle?”

Rod S - “Correct.”

GSD - “So, what’s on your mind, pork rind?”

Rod S - “Well, I know you wanted to cover my television experience… but I was sitting here just now, and saw an article posted on the ‘Please Kill Me’ website...”

GSD - “Kill me! Kill me softly with a big bang of old-school bebop booms!”

Rod S - “The article was written by Eric Davidson. ‘Designing And Living With Lou Reed: An Interview With Sylvia Reed.’ It provides a chronicle of their relationship and its effect on his music. They met in 1977, were married in 1980, and divorced in 1994.”

GSD - “I’d love to have Sylvia on the show, sometime. But right now, let’s talk about youuuuu...”

Rod S - “Well, that’s the upshot here, really. You see, reading the article brought back echoes of my own life, intertwined with the albums Sylvia Morales Reed mentions in the story.”

GSD - “A new vibe, a Swindle vibe! Go ahead, Rod! Rock your roll!”

Rod S - “She tells the story of her involvement with each album, in particular with the cover art and visual aspects, from ‘The Bells’ in 1979 to ‘The Velvet Underground Live MCMXCIII’ in 1993. It made me pause and reflect on my own life at the time. I had burned up in Ithaca after the TV experience, lived under a bridge, lived on alcohol and pizza, stayed with friends. Eventually, I went home to Ohio in 1983. I met my first wife the next summer, while working at a local department store. I had gotten hired on the remodel crew and accepted a regular position as the janitor and maintenance guy.”

GSD - “Jazzing janny! Doing floors? That kind of thing? Taking out the trash?”

Rod S - “Right. I was desperate. Sleeping on my parents’ couch. Drying out, getting my head clear. Trying to relearn adult behavior, you know? I had been off the grid for about five years. Betty, my first wife, was for me what Sylvia represented, for Lou. She provided stability and a sense of calm.”

GSD - “He needed that, and you did too?”

Rod S - “Yes. I was always a fan of Lou’s work. With the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist. But being back in the Midwest left me feeling empty. I worked a lot of hours, got a better job at a supermarket where I was a manager on weekends. I started to learn the retail routine. By my passion for music and writing continued. I would explore on days off with my wife and eventually, we found a store in Meadville, Pennsylvania called ‘Flip Side Records.’ Their original location on Arch Street. They had lots of obscure vinyl. A huge section of Lou’s work. I was able to pick up some of the records that were missing from my collection. Some of those mentioned by Sylvia. They helped ease my sense of alienation. LPs like ‘The Bells’ or ‘Legendary Hearts’ or ‘The Blue Mask.’ When Lou released ‘New York’ I came home from work one morning, after a long night of exhaustion, and my wife had a copy on the night stand. Waiting to soothe my head with good musical vibes.”

GSD - “Coolness, bro! Your wife was in the know!”

Rod S - “The song ‘Legendary Hearts’ fit my vibe. Those lyrics that said ‘When he took his bow, no audience was clapping.’ The words were chillingly appropriate. I was moody and isolated. Away from the old crowd.”

GSD - “On Lake Erie, my dearie!”

Rod S - “I lived a double life in those days. Working a regular job. We lost our house in 1990, the property was sold to an investor. Betty, our son and I moved to a condominium in Painesville. A three-level space, sandwiched in a row of domiciles. Then, my supermarket closed, it was sold to a corporate owner. I was rehired with a loss of seniority, vacations and pay. Ended up working third-shift. Lots of hours with no sleep. I started drinking heavily, once again.”

GSD - “Not a good thing, not the right way to swing!”

Rod S - “Yeah. But the three-level living space turned out to be beneficial. I could sit in my basement studio, regardless of the hour, and work with my guitar. Our bedrooms were on the top floor. So I didn’t disturb the wife or kid. At work, I would have those Lou Reed melodies and words in my ears. Then, at home, I would take out my Applause ‘roundback’ guitar and my notebook. Between 1990 and 1997 I must have recorded 500 demo tracks in that underground space.”

GSD - “Wow! And you still have them now?”

Rod S - “Yes. I hope that someone in the family will discover them, after my death. Could be a compilation there of some kind.”

GSD - “Rod on a roll. Swindle on your spindle!”

Rod S - “Right.”

GSD - “So what happened to your marriage?”

Rod S - “Lou and I had similar experiences, I think. Sylvia got him healthy and clean. But then it was time to move onward, to write the next chapter of his novel. I grew apart from Betty, had career goals and such. Only later would I realize how much she was missed. I carry that regret today...”

GSD - “A regret you can’t forget. Like a summer breeze and a Lou Reed melodyyyyyy!”

Rod S – (Laughing) “Yeah.”

GSD - “Well, that’s all the time we have in Gil’s Gap this week. Join us next time here on KFTW 1313 AM, your home of the hits and misses and dinosaur kisses! Thanks, Rod!”

After the interview was over, I started searching through the shelves of vinyl records that lined my office walls. Somewhere in that mess was my Lou Reed section. I wanted to hear his ‘Legendary Hearts’ track one more time.

Comments about ‘Words On The Loose’ may be sent to: icewritesforyou@gmail.com

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Please Kill Me article: https://pleasekillme.com/sylvia-reed-interview/