Close that Cellar Door!

by Dan Sicoli and Joe Malvestuto. O Box 2071, Niagara Falls, NY 14301.

Book Review by Michael Basinski

Since I recently fell down the cellar stairs, bruised fingers, hip and a broken rib (musta be how like Adam feel in the garden after his rib incident), I can relate to the title of this CD: CLOSE THE CELLAR DOOR! by Dan Sicoli ’ who has poetry ringing out of a lonesome beer bottle in the deepest of cold, damp city night pisst offtism soul watching with some form of disbelief at the circus of life in its dumb shit spit splendor boring honker an affront to the real which is poetry intoxicated smile and voice of ruble of boxcars, and by Joe Malvestuto ’ who smiles with poetry as ants enter the Christ-like hurts of his heart. A most wonderful weave of music and poetry ’ not the with Jazz crap but woven without the poetry fearing the music or the music on knees to the poem. Like it is two poets who have this street poem music in them with the other instrument music also and it is all as part of the art. I wish there were more CDs like this one. If so poetry and music mixed would not be such dried scrock. So do this one in the tradition of Locklin, The Buk, the wandering madness men and women in downtown American cities, the howling of the toe in a toaster, an agony butterfly in the beak of blackbird President. Poetry is song, King Song, climbing up the Eiffel tower.