Michael Layne Heath is a longtime freelance music writer, put on the path by mags like CREEM and then the first wave of Punk fanzines, thus inspiring him to start what became Washington DC’s first zine to cover that exploding scene. More recently, he has written for ezines such as Perfect Sound Forever and Tangents UK (r.i.p.), in addition to the recently reconvened British music magazine Ptolemaic Terrascope (of Terrastock Festival fame). Mike has also contributed liner notes to a number of CD and vinyl reissues released on Bay Area record label Water Recordings/4 Men With Beards. If all that weren’t enough, he is a musician, a published poet, and has been involved in SF/F fandom for the past decade. Which is how he ended up in an auditorium in San Jose one humid night in ’02, amazed and amused by Tad Williams’ Hugo Awards toastmaster speech… and the rest is not quite history.
Well into the first month of a New Year, Your Reporter finds himself cold-sick and sniffling, having sacrificed yet another six dollar brolly to the rainswept side streets of Lower Pacific Heights; a being of relative penury and lack of … Continue reading
In the words of Sly Stone, ‘heard ya missed me, well I’m back’: although, thankfully, my living situation is not of the four-wheeled, camper-van variety in which the profligate Mr. Stewart now unfortunately resides. What follows is my contribution to the mother of a fanzine that is the 300th issue of The Drink Tank. Continue reading
So then: yet another nabbed opportunity for your correspondent, to mark time before it marks his only occasionally sorry self. And have we ever charged, trucked, slumped and galumphed manfully along since our last installment: through the cruel into the … Continue reading
Just wanted to put up a brief note to alert all Bay Area readers of the Grotto to an event I’m involved in… You are invited to spend an evening at one of SF’s coolest recent additions to the performance … Continue reading
So then: another month (albeit on the short side); another year. Same old me mas o menos, still attempting entertaining proseology while succeeding at winnowing away at the compressed artifacts of past and present culture glutting ye olde Grotto. And … Continue reading
Yes, I know, been A While once again. What can I say? Time flies when you’re a fruitfly or, erm, something like that. Been doing a lot of reading, though. Just like Ringo in A Hard Day’s Night being upbraided … Continue reading
Wake up people, I know I have something to convey to you; it’s late September and I really should be doing a new installment from the Grotto. As skirmishes between the Sun King and the Fog Prince for meteorological dominion … Continue reading
Yes, it has been a while, hasn’t it? Well, we here in the Grotto are not immune to the vagaries and trip-ups the world places before us. Thus it is necessary – imperative, really – to eke (eek!) out a … Continue reading