ROCKIN' on Sunday morning

This Sunday morning really started nicely. First, I saw in the Contra Costa Times (the major newspaper for the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay Area, extending out into the valleys) that ROCKIN' was put on their "A-List," along with the Dixie Chicks' documentary "Shut Up & Sing," Dr. Mehmet Oz (of the Oprah Winfrey show), and amanita muscaria (the potentially deadly mushroom, which you can eyeball at the Oakland Museum). Nice company!

Tony Hicks, the CC Times rock critic, had this to say under the header "A Perfect Match.":

"Other than women, nothing has been the subject of more rock 'n' roll songs than the automobile. Pinole rock historian Paul Grushkin has done a fabulous and exhaustive job chronicling the relationship between cars and rock in his gorgeous new book, "ROCKIN DOWN THE HIGHWAY." It'll make a great Christmas gift for fans of both rock and cars."

Then, an hour or so later, I went on Dave Marsh's Sirius satellite radio show. Marsh is of course one of the great rock journalists, whose career began with CREEM magazine in Detroit and extended to his biographies of Bruce Springsteen. Marsh and I had a great time--nearly 45 minutes of seamless, easy flow. We talked about everything car-and-rock-related under the sun, from "Rocket 88" to Sir Mix-a-Lot, Detroit heavies Stanley Mouse and Mitch Ryder, and ultimately concluded with Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'"--kinda the way things were laid out in the book, by theme.

This was a great back and forth chat between two people who've spent a lifetime in rock & roll. Hope you catch it! Gotta say, it was inspired!