'40 Story's Down: A Sacred Journey' by Paul Mick

 

 

PAGE 14 Origivation Magazine March 2006 Vol. 5, Issue 2 www.origivation.com

Kind of like hand-building your own hot rod, passing the road test part of the driver’s license exam in starkly brilliant colors and then walking home from the examination center with your road rocket’s keys wedged deep in pocket because you were too shy and awkward in the face of authority to sit through the necessary Q & A session.

And the story turns even more monochromatic still.

Cyclically Mann would repeat the same less than fully effective, yet never quite satisfying cycle through three briskly selling albums and several singles, a successful home grown, indie MTV video and accolades from John Lennon’s widow.

Then one day the heart of the champion is gone and the only people who know the details still won’t talk even after almost 20 years.

But the 3rd annual Alan Mann Music Memorial just might help to someday change all of that. Conceived and produced by self styled glam blues avatar, Janet Bressler with a lot of help from her friends, arriving full bloomon Saturday, 4.8.06, at the World Café Live, Upstairs, 7: pm, Free Show, 3025Walnut Street, University City, West Philadelphia 19104, 215.222.1400. http://www.worldcafelive.com/ Free parking after 5:pm, free wireless LAN connectivity for all of you laptop MP3 aggregating bootleggers.

http://www.myspace.com/alanmann http://relivethe80s.com/news-11-04.htm http://www.janetbressler.com/pages/4/index.htm

Photo: Bud Hart 1986-1987

M.A.P.P.Newspaper archives

The formula’s pretty straightforward. Flashback one generation. AOR Radio, probably 93.3 WMMR played Mann’s first 45’s, actually rotated local indie tunes throughout the broadcast day. Like a few thousand other like minded music obsessives, yours truly tracked down a retailer (Peaches) before traipsing off to a handful of shows not far from South Street.

Hadn't been but a few short years and a left on County Line Road before I too would be spinning his and other regional acts on the radio. Not to mention approaching Mann for an in-print interview for his fine, final and critically under rated LP, 1987’s ‘Neighborhood’ collection.

He blew me off three times within about 10 days, citing things like, “My bicycle chain broke…” and “I forgot.” Along with the all occasion rationale, “I couldn’t find a phone.”

Not suffering fools any too gladly and really being heartbroken to not having yet secured the opportunity to give Alan a decent amount of dedicated press, in his own words, I reamed his ass out over the phone with a decidedly awkward but unyielding paternal upper hand that his uncool slacker attitude had systemically warranted.

Now who's acting decidely, uncool, considering that his actual birthday fell a few years before my own? Sure seemed like pointed tough love at the time.

Paranoid, forgetful or a poor planner, I may never know, but if he couldn’t handle my musings what would he do with the Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Billboard or the New Musical Express?

Earned my respect back, in part since he didn’t hang up on me even if he probably should have. His manager, Murray apologized profuselysince the whole thing was set-up through him. Maybe a week or two later Alan’s jumping or falling from the burning upper floors of a South Philly row house.

He misses the mattress that was well intended by neighbors to break his fall, landing head first on a car hood before taking a bounce and additional trauma landing the shaggy haired rocker well into the street. A slow response time by Graduate Hospital in gainingpermission for the necessary emergency cranial surgery to subdue the bleeding and stabilize Mann’s condition would have certainly lessened the likelihood for any recovery.

How the fire erupted only a very small circle know for certain. With several song theme's offering overt homages to Intravenous drug use many have already drwan their own conclusions. Alan's at that time room mates would become verbally and physically uncomfortable with any discussion of freebasing or much else.

Not intended as a witch hunt among the living but pehaps toxicology reports might be helpful. Once again, a dead end due to protected privacy laws and a profound lack of interest in setting the record straight from Alan's family. 

Individually any of these factors might be implicating. Combined it very well might be considered by a jury of peers as an admission of guilt.

Remaining questions might include both the compromising and ultimately fatal brain injuries from the fall while surviving a possible simultaneous opioid withdrawal.

Certainly there must have been some communication. As time slips away so too do the opportunities to set the record straight. But even selective memories are better than none. For the late former Abington Township 33 year young artist it's both a private matter and a matter for the public trust based soley on the open forum of a popular entertainer's life. Who can say for certain that the formulaic, at least one person who might be helped theory ought to be denied the opportunity to exist?

It cannot be mis-stated that if Alan Mann didn't construct such compelling music none of this might matter at such a catharctic, communal level as witnessed by the outpouring of support to Janet Bressler's music memorials. Go figure.

Water under the bridge or anover the top cause & effect for a troubling and troublesome lifestyle, it hasn't been for those of us on the outside to really know. At least not yet anyway.

What factors leading up to less than ideal choices existed in Alan's younger life?

His manager reportedly had to pay-off a security guard to get into the ICU to plant the Walkman and custom Alan Mann music tape including get well wishes that I’d produced in my basement studio onto Alan’s ears.

10 days later with multiple organ failure imminent, his parents had the ventilator disconnected since tests revealed clinical brain death, his body cremated, there exists no certain autopsy records, there’s no known burial site, and his remaining family like Alan himself continue to refuse and avoid all requests for media contact.

If all of that’s not traumatic and conflicted and cinematic enough, one of his best known, radio friendly songs, "Fear Of Heights" portrayed his demise in chilling detail.

Left me alternately spewing & bawling on the phone with DJ Cyndy Drue who produced a wonderful hour long tribute the following week on her Sunday night ‘Streetbeat’ radio show. Did my chastisement help to disconnect his likely fragile sense of self even further or might I be flattering myself a bit too much?

Although there were then as now many valid players and bands on our beloved original music scene, there had been only really maybe a few dozen distinct original, pop-rock based styles and their practitioners making memorable music in the Delaware Valley circa 1977-1987 toiling under the guise of one distinct individual’s name, up-front, to choose from.

That's if you really were willing to seek out the best of the best. Invested, subjective interests, if nothing else, art for art’s sake.

In other words, Alan Mann faced strong competition with few genuine peers.