Terry Kath

It seems like every time I pay a little attention to Michael Bloomfield, Terry Kath raises a little ruckus in my head. That happened today. It's like he screams at me..."Hey, what about me? I play guitar and I'm from Chicago too." Go ahead, you can think I'm crazy (you'd only be half wrong) but you're gonna have to believe me because that's just the way it is.

Lots of the hits that I get on this blog every day come from a Google search of Terry Kath. Of the last 20 referrals today, 6 were for Terry, which is a lot considering all the people and topics I have written on this blog over the past three+ years. (Hey, Terry...Michael only had 1 to your 6 in case you're keeping track.) If you just got here on a TK Google, you should know that I am a huge fan of Terry's always brilliant guitar playing and songwriting and singing. I truly believe he was the heart and soul of Chicago. Irreplaceable, in fact.

Recently I moved my workspace and that included moving some of my framed photographs and a couple of paintings from the Starart days. One of the framed photographs is one of my Limited Edition prints of Terry. It's been leaning up against the wall for a while, by itself, off to the side of where five or six other prints are leaning against another wall. I've been planning to put all of them up but I just haven't quite decided where they should hang. (So far I've only put up a really cool painting that Commander Cody did of Robert Mitchum and gave to me many years ago.)

I have been walking by the Terry Kath photo several times a day for at least week, barely giving it any attention. I'm not so narcissistic that I spend hours looking at my own work. Truth be told, I barely ever look at myself in a mirror. Anyway, today that picture jumped out at me...that's 'jumped out' in the figurative sense. The kind of jumped out that made me look at it every single time I walked by. Just the day after I celebrated Michael Bloomfield's birthday on this blog.

Terry didn't say anything specific, just the general "Look at me" kind of thing. So I did. And the picture suddenly looked good to me. Really good.

Here is the picture, leaning against my wall:


I thought about how great it was gonna look hanging on my wall. But then a feeling washed over me that it shouldn't be hanging on my wall. It should be hanging on yours. Terry seemed really happy with that idea. (Maybe he's just mad at me for the time I spent thinking about Michael yesterday.) Now, I'd really like to give this print to another rabid Terry Kath fan for free...

...but if your read my post For Free Or Not For Free a couple of days ago you will understand that I need to stand behind my words and not give my creative work away for free. That would be a huge contradiction, wouldn't it? Shouting the evils of everyone wanting everything for free from my pulpit one day and two days later giving my work away for free. By the way,that post really struck a chord with a lot of people and was by far the most popular post I've had...well, next to the one about Jaimie's brain surgery a year ago. Thank you all for supporting my viewpoint.

All right, back to Terry's picture. I'm not allowed to give anything away for free. But I can't offer it at a ridiculously low price. If you are a die-hard Terry Kath fan and are interested in having the 16x20 signed Limited Edition #12/75 framed (21 1/4 x 25 1/4) print you need email me at kathprint@cheshercat.com. I will then write back and let you know the ridiculously low price (sorry I can't publicize it on a public forum) and you can decide if Terry is going to hang on your wall. There will only ever be this one print at the ridiculously low price and the first person that gets back to me with the order gets the picture. It's kinda like an ebay auction without the auction.

You can see a better representation of the photograph here. If Terry is not adopted by Sunday, he is staying with me, on my wall, whether he likes it or not.

Email: kathprint@cheshercat.com

Brain Surgery

Two little words. Separately they're pretty harmless. Together they suck big time.

Those of you who know me personally, know that I'm a pretty private person, especially when it comes to my family and friends. And for those of you I've never met, even though I write a blog and dish all kinds of personal stories, I never/rarely write about private issues and what I write on here about people who are still alive and kicking is done with their permission. Sometimes I take the piss out of people on my blog - which is really tricky because what's written tongue-in-cheek often gets misinterpreted and taken at face value. But I trust that my readers (and I thank all who read my writings) are cutting edge enough to get my sense of humor.

Anybody figure out that I'm skirting an issue here? Yup, I am. Dragging it out because it's really hard to write about. Way outside the realm of things I wish to share. Jesus fuck. It's so surreal at this point that I think it's actually a lie. Some kind of cosmic joke. Or something I dreamed - I mean nightmared - that I'm writing as if it's real. Thinking I'll get a call from someone asking me what the fuck I'm going on about. Maybe Mick Jagger will call and say, "It's just your imagination, running away with you." Please, I'll take any one of those scenarios over the one I know to be true.

Okay, Chesher, get on with it.


I have a daughter. Her name is Jaimie. She is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley. Not only is she beautiful and funny, she is also a straight A student (except a B+ that some ho-bag temp teacher gave her because...well, it doesn't really matter but she deserved an A). Jaimie wasn't happy that her 4.0 got blown out to a 3.95 or whatever it is now. She is hoping to go to Columbia (the university in NY, not the country) for grad school. She reads smart person books and enjoys them. You know the ones. Those books you get assigned in school and choose to read the Cliff notes because you can't get past the verbage. I think they call them The Classics. She's way, way, way smarter than me. She uses her brain. That's why I call her my acadamia nut.

And that's why this is such a hard pill to swallow. Why it makes this the hardest sentence I've ever had to write. Because if I write it, I can't deny it's truth.

My daughter is going to have brain surgery next Wednesday morning.

Just the thought of it makes me feel like I have to puke. Writing it down and reading the words makes the blood in my body surge through my veins at double-speed, while simultaneously draining my body of all life. And then it just makes me cry.

I'll talk more about what's going on with her brain in subsequent posts but for now I'll just say she has acquired hydrocephalus - feel free to click on the link to read more about it.

Right now I need to ask for your help. Since starting Everybody I Shot Is Dead over two years ago, I have invested every penny I've had into the project and borrowed beyond my means to bring it to fruition, leaving myself no cushion in case of emergencies (yes, I'm that stupid). While I'm hoping to break even by the end of the year, at the moment I'm just managing to get by and keep the wolves at bay in these trying economic times. So now I need to raise a bunch of benjamins to pay the over-and-above expenses our insurance won't cover, my travel expenses to NoCal, the three-plus weeks of lost income while I'm up there taking care of my girl during her recovery, etc, etc.

Please understand I'm not looking for any handouts here. That's not how I roll. I'm here to offer you some great deals on my wares. The only favor I'm asking is that if you have any plans to purchase something from me in the future, that you do it now instead of later. If you're going to be looking for a birthday gift for someone who has everything, please consider a print or book or t-shirt. And instead of waiting 'til the last minute to do your Holiday shopping, how about getting it done early, right here, right now. Any little bit will help.

If even you can't buy anything, you can still help us out in other ways. Here's some suggestions:

1. Send your positive thoughts to Jaimie via email - jaimie@cheshercat.com - even if she doesn't know you she'll appreciate hearing from you. She's a crazy-brave girl but she's not without fear. A few kind words will help her get through this ordeal.

2. Say a prayer for her and keep her in your thoughts, especially on Wednesday morning (PST).

3. Email your friends with a link to this post.

And, if you are a blogger, please post a link and encourage your readers to stop by.

Here's a listing of the cool stuff you can get at below wholesale prices:

Original Photographic Prints

I took these photos of the prints today...they do not represent the quality of the prints. To see a more accurate representation of the print quality click here.

George Harrison
16x20 Signed Limited Edition #16/75 Framed (approx 20x25)
$500 including free US shipping
(item ref: harrison123leF)

Harry Nilsson
16x20 Signed Limited Edition #13/75 Framed (approx 20x25)
$400 plus shipping ($25 US)
(item ref: nilsson206leF)

Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead

16x20 Signed Limited Edition #13/75 Framed (approx 20x25)
$400 plus shipping ($25 US)
(item ref: garcia69leF)

John Bonham/Led Zeppelin
16x20 Signed Limited Edition #12/75 Framed (approx 20x25)
$400 plus shipping ($25 US)
(item ref: bonham171leF)
This is the actual photo seen on the NBC Mo Rocca interview.

Jerry Garcia
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 17x20)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: garcia70oeF)
(only one available at this price)

Papa John Creach
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 17x20)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: creach138oeF)
(only one available at this price)

Papa John Creach
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 17x20)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: creach143oeF)
(only one available at this price)

Dennis Wilson/Beach Boys
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 17x20)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: wilsonD57oeF)
(only one available at this price)
This is the actual photo seen on the NBC Mo Rocca interview.

Frank Zappa
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 17x20)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: zappa49oeF)
(only one available at this price)
This is the actual photo seen on the NBC Mo Rocca interview.

George Harrison
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 17x20)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: harrison123oeF)
(only one available at this price)
This is the actual photo seen on the NBC Mo Rocca interview.

Badfinger
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 16x18)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: badfinger44oeF)
(only one available at this price)

Badfinger
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 16x18)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: badfinger41AoeF)
(only one available at this price)

Tom Evans/Badfinger
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 16x18)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: evans40BoeF)
(only one available at this price)

Mike Gibbins/Badfinger
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 16x18)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: bibbins47oeF)
(only one available at this price)

Pete Ham/Badfinger
11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 16x18)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: ham43oeF)
(only one available at this price)

Maureen Starkey and kids at Friar Park

11x14 Signed Open Edition Framed (approx 16x18)
$175 plus shipping ($15 US)
(item ref: starkey4oeF)
(only one available at this price)

Ringo Starr
16x20 Signed Limited Edition #14/75 Unframed
$275 plus shipping ($7 US)
(item ref: starr#14le)

Frank Zappa
16x20 Signed Limited Edition #16/75 Unframed
$275 plus shipping ($7 US)
(item ref: zappa49#16le)

George Harrison
16x20 Signed Limited Edition #17/75 Unframed
$300 including free US shipping
(item ref: harrison121#17le)

George Harrison
16x20 Signed Limited Edition #18/75 Unframed
$300 including free US shipping
(item ref: harrison121#18le)

George Harrison
16x20 Signed Limited Edition #17/75 Unframed
$300 including free US shipping
(item ref: harrison123#17le)

Ringo Starr
11x14 Signed Open Edition Unframed
$75 plus shipping ($6 US)
(item ref: ringo-oe)
(only one available at this price)

Terry Kath/Chicago
11x14 Signed Open Edition Unframed
$75 plus shipping ($6 US)
(item ref: kath99oe)
(only one available at this price)

Badfinger
11x14 Signed Open Edition Unframed
$75 plus shipping ($6 US)
(item ref: badfinger44oe)
(only one available at this price)

Paul Butterfield
11x14 Signed Open Edition Unframed
$75 plus shipping ($6 US)
(item ref: butterfield29oe)
(two available at this price)

Frank Zappa
11x14 Signed Open Edition Unframed
$75 plus shipping ($6 US)
(item ref: zappa49oe)
(two available at this price)

Maurice Gibb/Bee Gees
11x14 Signed Open Edition Unframed
$75 plus shipping ($6 US)
(item ref: gibb107oe)
(one available at this price)

These prints are not currently available on my website. If you are interested in ordering one or more of the above prints, please email info@cheshercat.com with questions and fro purchasing instructions. International orders are welcome on the unframed prints - shipping will be quoted on request. The above prints are available on a first-come first-served basis.

If you miss out on your favorite 11x14 open edition print above or you don't see the musician you want to hang on your wall, you won't be left out. All 11x14 prints of any Everybody I Shot Is Dead photograph shown here will be available for $95 plus shipping through the end of August. Email info@cheshercat.com to order now. I will try and have ordering of these directly through my website soon.

Other items you can order directly on my website:

Everybody I Shot Is Dead T-shirts starting at $15

George Harrison 11x17 Lithograph - Only $15

Everybody I Shot Is Dead signed book $40

Everybody I Shot Is Dead signed book $25 (recovered)

Thank you very much for your support and positive thoughts.