NAMES
Doors give author an opening; local band dials up a win
By Carol Beggy & Mark Shanahan, 11/17/2003
MUSIC TO OUR EYES He's credited as the author of "Lyrical Life," but really Casey Jones only arranged the book. The actual writers are Ray Davies, Adam Ant, Jackson Browne, Debbie Harry, and Grace Slick, among dozens of other singers. Described by the publisher as a "rock 'n' roll love story," the book is really a collection of lyrics plucked from 200 songs you've heard a hundred times before and cleverly sequenced by Jones and illustrated by Mark Malloy. "The idea came to me after listening to The Doors' `Hello, I Love You,' " explained Jones, who lives in Newburyport. "I thought to myself, `What would her name be?' " (Lola, what else?) To avoid paying royalties, Jones was careful not to use more than two lines of any song. And that's fine because, in most cases, one line goes a long way. Even Jones admits he doesn't like some of the tunes used in the book. "We'd say, `Oh, God, we can't use that one,' " Jones said. "The worst was `We Built This City on Rock 'n' Roll.' "
USING HIS INSIDER VOICE It's been a while since we've heard from Ken Mehlman. After helping William Weld get elected governor in 1990, Mehlman went away to work for other Republicans, including Texas congresswoman Kay Granger and Ohio senator Mike DeWine. This week, he's back to give a talk at his alma mater, Harvard Law School, and preview themes of President George Bush's reelection campaign. (Mehlman's managing the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign.) Since '91, Mehlman's been director of political affairs at the White House, Bush's Josh Lyman.
STRATEGIZING Over brunch yesterday at the trendy South End bistro Aquitaine, some high-profile supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark made fund-raising plans for the retired Army general. The klatch included Alan Hassenfeld, CEO of toy giant Hasbro, Massachusetts General Hospital neuro-oncologist Dr. Fred Hochberg, entrepreneur/philanthropist Sharyn Fireman, and Boston filmmaker Joanna Datillo. Really, with friends like these, who needs fund-raisers? According to Dow Jones Newswires, Hassenfeld last year earned a salary of $1 million and a bonus of $915,000.
CORPORATE ROCK Some 1,800 bands entered, but it was Dracut-based hard rockers Living Syndication that walked away the winner of AT&T's 1-800-CALL AT&T battle of the bands contest. The reward? The band -- singer Pervez Taufig, guitarist Jim Mags, bassist Mike Durwin, and drummer Gregg Irick -- is opening for Atlantic Recording artists Kill Hannah. (Last night it was Philly, Thursday it's beautiful downtown Hartford.) The band, whose website is sponsored by Jagermeister, was voted the best by fans and music execs. THE GOOD GIRL Tufts University freshman Kayt Norris is one of five young people who'll be honored today at the 16th annual National Caring Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. With her sister, Maggie, Norris cofounded Helping Hands, a service organization in Quincy, Ill., whose student members have logged more than 10,000 hours of volunteer work.
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