Steve Katz is probably most famous as a founding member of the 1960s/1970s mega group Blood Sweat & Tears. He’s not unwilling to share stories about those wild years as a rock and roll superstar — he does so ably in his autobiography, “Blood, Sweat and My Rock ’n’ Roll Years,” published in 2015.
But what he’s actually more interested in talking about is his earlier years as a (very) young musician in New York City’s Greenwich Village, when a new kid in town, Bob Dylan, was couch surfing and making a name for himself, and when Katz was learning from some of the masters of blues and folk music.
Katz has lived quietly in Kent, Conn., for many years now. He doesn’t stride around town in leathers and rock star jewelry; he’s a fairly low-key guy of a certain age, perhaps most famous in the area as the supportive husband of Alison Palmer, who is sort of a rock star herself in the local community of ceramic artists.
Katz will occasionally do concerts and shows in the Tri-state region, and he has one coming up on Saturday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m. on Zoom hosted by Dewey Hall in Sheffield, Mass. Admission to the online show is free, but donations are requested; Dewey Hall, like most entertainment venues, is struggling through the COVID-19 quarantine.
There will most likely be a smattering of Blood, Sweat & Tears lore, and perhaps a song or two that Katz wrote and performed with the band. He will probably talk a bit about his first band, the respected Blues Project. He might talk a bit about his days as a music producer for some of the most important names of the 20th century, including Lou Reed.
But mostly his shows are an intimate combination of stories and a timeline of American popular music, from the blues to classic rock.
To read more about Steve Katz and hear a sample of his music, go to https://stevekatzmusic.wordpress.com/about. To sign up for the Zoom concert, go to www.deweyhall.org.
Beginning this week, readers will see a redesigned Compass section, focused on arts and lifestyle coverage from across the region. This update marks the first step in an expanded approach to arts and lifestyle reporting.
Compass covers the creative, cultural and everyday activity that shapes life here — the work people make, the places they gather and the ways communities express themselves. Arts and lifestyle reporting is part of the broader story of this area and an essential record of how people live.
New this week is the introduction of a regular community profile highlighting individuals who contribute to the region’s cultural life through creative work, long-standing involvement in local institutions, or by simply making life here more interesting.
Arts and lifestyle coverage is not only about documenting what has already happened. Compass will continue to emphasize reporting on events and activities readers can take part in — performances, exhibitions, talks, festivals and outdoor activities.
We’re also seeking new voices. We welcome story ideas, tips and pitches, and we’re interested in working with writers and photographers who want to contribute thoughtful, independent arts and lifestyle coverage. Send inquiries to nataliaz@lakevillejournal.com.
We look forward to your feedback.
Appreciation goes a long way to moderating speed
I write with regard to your article on speed cameras in the Northwest Corner, and specifically the atmosphere they can foment. Even the basic radar speed check devices seem to stir up ill-will or angst, judging by the number of times one near me has been ‘dismantled’.
I thought it worth sharing an anecdote from a recent visit to the UK where the latest generation of similar devices can also display a bright green ‘Thank You” to drivers who are at or below the limits. I confess to a silent “You’re welcome” thoughtas I drove on by.
The point being, the message or implication of these devices needn’t only be castigating or even punitive - a little appreciation can also go a long way to achieving that changed driving behaviour we all seek.
Ben Gore
Lakeville
Hayes saves SNAP
The federal SNAP program, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, has existed for many years to help people buy food by putting money every month on a debit card. The program offers free education and job training. In Connecticut 10.5% or 391,200 people qualified for SNAP in 2024. Under the Big Beautiful Bill, states will be forced to absorb 57% of administrative costs and SNAP benefit costs by 2027.This bill includes new work requirements, even though most recipients already work. In fact, millions of Americans nationwide may lose their benefits. In this bill, recipients would receive benefits for no more than 3 months over 3 years, removing exemptions for the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities, veterans and youth raised in foster care. To apply it takes 30 days by mail and forms must be renewed every 6 months. The situation is made more urgent because food banks have had a surge in demand nationwide as food costs have risen faster than salaries.
Fighting back, our Congresswoman, Johana Hayes, has introduced the Restoring Food Security for Families and Farmers Act, which would repeal shifting these devastating costs to states and reverse the cuts to SNAP.
As Representative Hayes said: “The Big Beautiful Bill implemented the largest cut to SNAP in history – putting the most vulnerable at higher risk of hunger. With the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act, we can reverse the damage caused by this legislation and restore the nearly $200 billion eliminated from SNAP. “
Let us hope that Congress will swiftly pass Hayes’ bill.
Lizbeth Piel
Sharon
Snow Ball a success
As organizer of the Salisbury Winter Sports Association annual Snow Ball Dance, I want to send a big thank you out to the many people who made it happen again this year at the Salisbury Town Grove in Lakeville.
Thanks to Stacey Dodge and her amazing team, the place was decorated perfectly for our 100th anniversary celebration. Also, a big thank you to the many volunteers who always come through to assist at the event and dozens of local businesses who donated wonderful prizes to the annual Snow Ball raffle.
Thank you to those who braved the sub-zero temperature to attend and dance to some great music. We would also like to thank our generous friends at the Norbrook Farm Brewery for their generous support. Without these people and businesses our event would not be possible.
See you at our next SWSA event!
John Sullivan
On behalf of the Salisbury Winter Sports Association
Lakeville
125 years ago — February 1901
Miss Muffins of Boston has come to reside with Mr. and Mrs. G.A. Selleck. Miss Muffins is a kitten of the Angora breed and is as odd as it is valuable. It is a gift to Mrs. Selleck from her brother, Mr. Frank Wolfe.
CHAPINVILLE — Mr. Bain of Falls Village has bought the MacNeil place of Watson Parmalee. Price $4,500.
The Falls Village Inn had a very narrow escape from being burned Tuesday night, the ceiling catching fire over a lamp in the pool room.
Mr. John Cleaveland of Sharon is visiting at Mrs. Jane Cleaveland’s. Mr. Cleaveland is a man of 72 years and made the trip from Sharon on foot last Saturday.
The west bound freight on Wednesday afternoon became stalled in the snow at Cook’s Cut. As a result, the 5:25 o’clock passenger train was held at this station for two hours until the road was cleared. Some of the passengers remained in town over night.
100 years ago — February 1926
ORE HILL — The James Flint family have a new victrola.
A party of young women from Garden City, L.I., came up to enjoy the winter sports over the week-end, making their headquarters at Farnam Tavern.
50 years ago — February 1976
It was an anxious five days for the Aller family in Lakeville before members knew that Mr. and Mrs. Howard Aller Jr. and their party were safe in their vacation house in Antigua, Guatemala, after the devastating earthquake of Feb. 4.
Driver education will no longer be required at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, the HVRHS board decided Tuesday night. The board agreed to offer both classroom training and on-the-road driver education as elective courses.
CORNWALL — The first order of business at the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Monday night meeting was to approve the Nestle Corporation’s plan for a structure to house a 5000-gallon water storage tank. The 8 by 40 foot shed of cedar siding will stand on six existing concrete saddles located near the Nestle spring on old Route 4 in Cornwall Bridge. The company was recently granted a variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals to construct a tank for commercial use on the site, which is in a residential zone.
25 years ago — February 2001
The reaction in local towns was mixed yesterday to a proposal from Gov. John G. Rowland that the state purchase more than 15,300 acres of land from the Kelda Group, a regional water company, and its subsidiaries, Bridgeport Hydraulic Co. and Aquarion. Of those lands, which surround the utility’s reservoirs, 1,668 are in Litchfield County. The largest parcel in the county is 1,123 acres in Falls Village. The second largest parcel is 428 acres in Salisbury.
On Tuesday, a small chemical spill occurred at Cornwall Consolidated School. Fortunately, classes had been cancelled for the day due to the weather and no children were present. The chemical, potassium hydroxide, was added to the boiler of the school as a water softener to prevent rust.
Mia Purcell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Purcell of Falls Village, has joined the staff of Audubon Expedition Institute in Belfast, Maine, as development director.
KENT — Navy Comdr. Kathleen M. Lindenmayer, daughter of Maureen and Tom Brady of Elizabeth Street, recently reported for duty at Naval Maritime Intelligence Center in Washington, D.C.
CANAAN — The Colonial Community Theatre Group, which is ready to move ahead with the purchase of the historic Colonial Theater it is trying to save, has hit an unexpected stumbling block. The owners have not acknowledged written offers or returned phone calls from the group. The theater closed four years ago this month with the sudden death of owner/operator Shirley Boscardin.
These items were taken from The Lakeville Journal archives at Salisbury’s Scoville Memorial Library, keeping the original wording intact as possible.
A question of profound consequence: Why and how the U.S. corporate news media ignore open-source history
The survival of human civilization as we know it depends in large part on widespread understanding of uncensored, detailed answers to this question.
In a recent letter to the editor on The Berkshire Edge online news site, I wrote that the U.S. mainstream corporate news media coverage of vital economic and political issues frequently distorts or entirely ignores essential, easily accessible historical and factual open-source information, from detailed, well-documented sources, information directly relevant to those issues.
Why do the editors and producers of Fox News, PBS News Hour, the CNN/PBS program ‘Amanpour & Company,’ CNN, MS NOW, NPR News, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times (many of whom have impressive academic credentials) all appear to be totally ignorant of these detailed, often impeccably documented sources?
Surely many, if not most, of the producers, editors, and corporate owners behind the pretty faces and mellifluous voices of the broadcast media and behind the print reporters and opinion writers in our major newspapers are aware of these easily accessible sources.
To understand how and why this form of journalistic malpractice is so widespread, I suggested that readers consult the 1988 book “The Manufacture of Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media” by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman.
That suggestion was too cryptic. “The Manufacture of Consent” is a thick book, which I think few readers will be likely to have the time or the inclination to read.
Here are three short ways in which Chomsky and Herman state their central thesis:
“Especially where the issues involve substantial U.S. economic and political interests and relationships with friendly or hostile states, the mass media usually function much in the manner of state propaganda agencies.”
Their propaganda model for how U.S. corporate journalism works does not posit direct censorship or control over the news and opinion that is broadcast or printed, but explains:
“The raw material of news must pass through successive filters … that fix the premises of discourse and interpretation, and the definition of what is newsworthy in the first place …”
They add:
“The elite domination of the media and marginalization of dissidents that results from the operation of these filters occurs so naturally that media news people, frequently operating with complete integrity and goodwill, are able to convince themselves that they choose and interpret the news ‘objectively’… [but] the constraints are so powerful … that alternative bases of news choices are hardly imaginable.”
For me, Chomsky and Herman’s model explains well why mainstream corporate media coverage is so negligently incomplete about three vital current public issues, all of which have simmered for decades. Each one now threatens to erupt into a toxic boil, fatal not only to what we like to call democracy, but to human civilization as we know it.
1. The history of Israel’s actions and the United States’ lavish support for them since 1948 in Gaza and the occupied territories of the region formerly known as Palestine.
2. The history of relations between the United States and Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 as essential context for understanding the development of the nearly four-year-old war between Russia and Ukraine and for international efforts to prevent its escalation into a nuclear war, which would destroy human civilization.
3. The chronically ruinous domestic economic effects of our country’s 80-year addiction to preparing for and waging war. The history of the development of this economic malignancy has been completely ignored in the mainstream corporate media that I have read regularly since 1961.
In his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell wrote “Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers.”
Substituting the word “journalism” for “English” and “journalists” for “writers” in this passage creates a fitting conclusion to this commentary.
John Breasted is a member of The Kent Center School Class of 1961 and the HVRHS Class of 1965.