Radio Ethiopia

I showed up for college at University of Kentucky in August of 1975, and almost nobody was in the dorm when I moved in, save for two other freshman and the R.A. One of those dorm neighbors, the aptly named Larry Dumford, a beefy, thick-necked linebacker who had been there early to report to football training camp, sauntered across the hall to peak in on me hanging posters and getting settled.  "You got a n****r on your wall, he drawled, pointing at my giant Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock poster next to my bottom bunk. I realized I wasn't in the north suburbs of Chicago anymore. During the rest of the day, I would poke my head out of the door to see if anybody else had shown up. As I peaked down the hall, another face looked down my way. Uncomfortably we both realized we couldn't retreat back to our rooms, and I sauntered the four doors down to introduce myself. His name was Keith Holland, a slender hawkish looking guy with slightly Native-American features. He was from Calvert City in the far west of the state, and as he explained, had more churches per square mile than anywhere in the country. He was a heathen, he offered, and did I want to listen to some music and get high?
The record he put on, I can remember as clearly as anything, was 1969 Velvet Underground Live. Now, in addition to my love of classic rock, I also was into Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and The Allman Brothers at the time, so I was no pedestrian listener, but this was the first time I had heard this amazing band. I had a feeling Keith and I would be friends. He was the anti-Larry Dumford. The next record was The Stooges Raw Power, another first listen, and yes, I was home. I was going to like it here.
As the semester wore on, especially into 1976, we each bought new records, most of which would drive the rest of the dorm crazy. Keith sent away for the Patti Smith Hey Joe 7", then the Horses lp. No record store in Lexington had it. As we gathered around the t.v. for Saturday night live, we'd see a band and go find the record. F.M. radio sure wasn't playing anything cool. I didn't own a copy of Horses until the nineties--I had listened to Keith's copy a million times. The first one I bought was Radio Ethiopia in 1976, and it is my favorite Patti record. I know that it isn't such a popular choice, but it struck a chord with me. The Velvets, Iggy, and Patti helped me find who I was. I knew I was a little off socially, and felt like a bit of a weirdo. I had found my equilibrium.

Two of Patti's best rock songs are on the record--Ask the Angels, a great lead-off, and Pumping, which sounded amazing in concert. Listening to Patti, and scanning her references, made me want to explore what she loved. My education began in earnest like many a nineteen year-old, and I discovered the Beats--started reading Kerouac, Rimbaud, and Genet, which coincided with our independent film study--$1 movies at the student center or Kentucky Theater where you could catch Herzog, Fassbinder, John Waters, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, among so many others.

Ain't it Strange, the second song on the record, sounded like nothing else. Eleventh Dream Day used to play it in rehearsal as a 3 piece--not sure if we ever played it out. Poppies, Pissing in a River--Patti's lyrics were so great. Lenny Kaye's guitar playing is genius on this record. The band with Jay Dee Daugherty, Ivan Kral, and Richard Sohl was a force. They did what every great band must do-- jam--the title track takes a ten minute trip. When we made Prairie School Freakout, some of the endings may have been deeply influenced by Radio Ethiopia.
We later drove to see the group in Louisville on the Easter tour. One of my top five concerts of all time. The energy there as Patti urged the crowd to storm the stage past the photographer barriers was the essence of punk rock. After the show, Keith showed Patti's brother Todd a letter their mom had written back to Keith saying he could meet Patti. Todd whisked him backstage.
We eventually found the other couple of dozen punk loving kids in Lexington, Keith moved to L.A. to become a chemical engineer after graduation, and put out the first three edd releases (as well as Freakwater, Precious Wax Drippings, Hollowmen, and God's Acre records. Sadly, the last time I saw him was when I stayed with him when I toured with Palace in 1997. Sort of fell out of touch.
Thanks for Patti Smith, the Velvets, and so much more Keith, and for changing my life.