by Chris Zobel, Glen Mills, PA

It would be impossible for me to narrow down all of my musical moments to one which is “most memorable”. I can however highlight one in particular which is very dear to my heart, and as you will see WXPN had something to do with at the end of my story.

The year was 1988, and I had just quit college to “find myself”…I attempted this by moving to LA to be with my big brother who was finding success at film and TV acting. My brother was everything to me. He was a child of the 60’s (original Woodstock attendee), but most importantly he personified what an artist is. He performed on Broadway as an actor, but one of his greatest talents was singing and playing music, especially the mandolin and harmonica.

Richard, my brother, had just returned from Nicaragua where he had been shooting the (then) latest Alex Cox movie: “Walker” starring Ed Harris. Alex had brought quite a mix of artists down there with him, and my brother fit right in, sharing rooms with Zander Shloss (Circle Jerks) and Flea (Chili Peppers), among others. Joe Strummer was down there as well and they all jammed when they could. (My brother never went ANYWHERE without his mandolin and a collection of harps.) Imagine my surprise when I got a postcard from my “folkie” brother, telling me who he was hanging with!!

So the memorable moment? I’m getting to it….

In California I was working in a production studio. I came home from work one evening to find a message on the answering machine from my ‘bro. He was at (if memory serves me) “Baby-O” studios in Hollywood laying tracks with Joe Strummer for the soundtrack to “Walker”, and I had better get my ass down to the studio with a six-pack ASAP.!….

Well sure as hell I did!!! I let myself in, and quietly sat down on a couch in the soundroom. There on the other side of the glass was Joe, and in a isolation booth to the side was my brother blowin’ harp! Yeah, I thought that was cool, but not as cool as when they took a break and my brother yelled “hey tofu” (chris-tofu: a nickname he gave me during his “vegan” years)…”come on in here!”

I grabbed the six pack and went in, and there, with mics, wires and equipment all around, I sat down with my brother and Joe Strummer and just shot the shit. Wait, it gets better though….Joe had been playing a beat up old telecaster….my brother told Joe that I played guitar and Joe casually said: “pick it up and play “… There was a song list on the upper horn….it was the song list from the last Clash concert he played!!! Yes, I was practically in shock! So I played some guitar, we talked about family (Joe missed his really bad), and I rolled a couple “English joints” for us. Yup, I will never forget sitting on a stool, holding Joe Strummers Tele, and passing a J with him…

So, in closing I remember how sad I was to hear Joe had died. I immediately thought of his family and kids, and how tough it must be to loose a father so young. Then, just under two years ago, my brother Rich died, taken by bone cancer at 53 and leaving a wife and daughter behind.

The part about XPN? Well I actually hope for a bit of clarification here, maybe you could check your transcripts for me, because the following experience was really heavy, and I often wondered if it happened the way I thought…

My brother’s birthday is June 5 (or 4th, we were never good at birthdays), and on his first birthday after passing (6/5/06) I was working outside, listening to XPN, when all of a sudden I heard a song being played off of the “Walker” soundtrack…. Now I listen to you guys a lot, but I’ve never heard anything off of the “Walker” soundtrack… ever. So knowing the strong spirit my brother was it made sense somehow that he was playing some cosmic part in letting me hear him on the radio on his birthday…. Thanks XPN!! (I guess I’ve given you two memorable moments-inner twined)