Reading Local Seattle

Johnny Cash's album, Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian, was recorded in 1964, in collaboration with folk musician/activist Peter La Farge, just one year after Cash's hit, Ring of Fire. Journalist and filmmaker Antonio D'Ambrosio tells the story of the making of the album, its historical context, and the social justice movements that inspired it in his new book, A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears (Nation Books). Antonio D'Ambrosio is also the author of Let the Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Politics of Joe Strummer, the film version of which, directed by D'Ambrosio, is due to be released in early 2010. "A rich history, not only of Johnny Cash's life, but of the Indian struggle for justice, which inspired Peter La Farge to write the song, 'The Ballad of Ira Hayes' and Cash to sing it. The book is full of fascinating character sketches of the great folk singers of the Sixties, and their part in the social movements of that exciting era." - Howard Zinn. Joining us this evening to perform some of the songs is Seattle musician/songwriter Rocky Votolato. Formerly frontman of Waxman, he now performs music influenced by that which shaped his early life in Texas.

Mixing memoir, a wellness program, and inspirational advice, Randy Jackson’s book is a work of personal passion. The American Idol judge’s struggles with his health and weight have been well- documented; he’s tried every diet, spent countless hours in gyms, and even had gastric bypass surgery in 2003. Now, he’s taken all that he’s learned throughout these trials and codified their strengths into an easy-to-follow, super-useful maintenance regimen, filled with meal plans (drawn from the accompanying recipes for healthy versions of down-home Southern favorites), exercise routines, and inspiring stories from his unique life as one of the music business greats.



With his New You Plan, Randy Jackson aims to focus on the epidemic of obesity-related disorders like hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes—as a Type II diabetic himself, he knows that this effort is now more crucial than ever. Straight from the “dawg pound” this is Randy at his most passionate and at his most persuasive, all in the effort to make America “a’ight” once