(Photo by Frans Schellekens)

Now that I know where I want to go, it’s time to figure out how to get there. The map of Bernie Worrell’s musical output is a broad one indeed.

The biggest issue I will have with this biography is also the most obvious: I won’t be able to speak to the subject personally. It’s always helpful to speak directly to your subject, as it enables you to capture things you might not otherwise pick up on.

It would be nice to see how Bernie reacts when he talks about certain bands, musicians, and records. That goes a long way toward learning what the subject really thinks about the subject at hand, as opposed to the “sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows” version record publicists prefer.

I won’t have that advantage.

There’s no sense crying about it. I have to live with it. So it’s off to the next best thing.

I’ll be spending hours pouring through pretty much anything I can learn about Bernie online. Interviews, record reviews, articles, YouTube videos … there’s more than enough background information to be found.

Then I can start in my own batch of interviews, which I plan to make as extensive and detail-oriented as the subjects will allow. I only get one chance to get it right. I don’t intend to miss that chance.

And not to worry: I love doing research.

Down the rabbit hole I go …

#cirdecsongs

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My book, I Can’t Be the Only One Hearing This: A Lifetime of Music Through Eclectic Ears, is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine book dealers.

Would you like to have your album reviewed? Contact me at cirdecsongs@gmail.com