The legendary poet and singer Jim Morrison from the seminal 60s rock group The Doors is on the table to discuss. Centered around the poetry of James Douglas Morrison rather than his superstardom and rebellious ways, Evan reveals various tidbits of the young Morrison's time as a teenager in Alexandria, VA sowing his roots to be a legend of the DMV.

Born in Melbourne, Florida December 8th, 1943, Jim Morison was a flash of lightening with deep words to share about the mystery of the human condition. Believing himself or presenting his mystique as a mix of ancient Native American shamanism with music and words, it amplified the music of Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krueger, and John Densmore. Their music and their live shows took things into theatrical and mythological realms with Jim leading the journey on a ride that on the surface and within its times was psychedelic but as time has gone on, it has proven to be a deeply reflective account of someone on the periphery of genius given his literary acumen that had been organic and obsessive ever since he was a pre teen.

Eventually, the Morrison family found themselves back in Alexandria in 1959 for a longer stint after a short one when Jim was just a boy. These years proved formative and expressive for the young mind of Jim Morrison as he formed some friendships that while not lasting, revealed some confidences and some mysterious ideas about his future.

With a shout out to local author DMV Mark Opsasnick for many stories about Jim in this episode, writer of The Lizard King Was Here and Orange Brick in Warm Sun and many other books about the DMV music scene, Evan highlights the poetry and some essences of poetry in general through the arc of the short life of Jim Morrison.

Creative Legends of the DMV returns after a slight break with Episode 11 all about local DMV photographer Chip Py!

Chip grew up in Bethesda where he shadowed his dad who was a news reporter. It led to a love of photography that soon crossed with an equal love of music. Chip garnered more and more experience as he grew up in the area composing all kinds of pictures in all kinds of environments.

As the 21st century loomed, Chip found there was one DC element he was unfamiliar with. He had heard a bit of Chuck Brown and some go go but was not fully involved and invested and that is eventually exactly what he became. After attending some shows and getting acquainted with the scene, Chip found himself being the personal photographer to Chuck Brown and the ever evolving DC Go Go scene. This led to image after image that was a reflection of the scene at the time and that no other photographer was on hand and close enough to document.

This resulted in Chip's current book, DC Go Go. A first hand account of the evolution of the DC go go scene and a rich history of the bands and people involved beyond Chuck Brown. It is also a great look at DMV and DC history written and accounted for by someone who was in the center of it with his camera as it happened.

Check out and order a copy of DC Go Go and look at more of Chip's work at www.ChipPyPhotographer.com

The undisputed creator and godfather of Go Go music AND an instrumental force in the music behind some legendary old school hip hop, Chuck Brown (1936-2012) was a kind soul who left us with some great music.

He started in the 1960s playing in local groups before landing on a talented array of musicians that would become The Soul Searchers. The Soul Searchers were behind some charting hits of the early 1970s before they became Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers. In 1978, that outfit scored a #1 smash in Bustin' Loose. That enabled Chuck to keep going into the 80s where his constant touring kept him afloat and his constant search for inspiration led him to explore jazz and blues melodies and combine them with his own musical stylings into "The Go Go Swing" which reimagined the likes of Duke Ellington and Johnny Mercer into a synthesis of new percussive sound that impressed people within the music industry and audiences worldwide.

Chuck would go on to mentor and discover DMV phenom Eva Cassidy and leave a trail of influence within his Go Go sound having been the main influence to bands like Rare Essence, E.U., and The Junk Yard Band. Bands that, like The Chuck Brown Band themselves, continue to carry the torch and tradition of this legendary DMV sound created by a man like no other.