Author Archive: mmelinger
School is boring, and that’s a Good Thing
Like the entire population of Planet Earth, I waste too much time on Facebook. And if you are like me, you have noticed the prevalence of memes: pithy little quotations on all manner of subjects. Trouble is, anybody can generate a meme, and now there are websites devoted to helping folks churn them …
My Grandparents’ House
When I was six years old, I used to love to go over to my mom’s parents house. Partly because they didn’t bother to supervise me, so I pretty much had the run of the place and could gorge myself silly on Wonder Bread and Dr. Pepper (10, 2, and 4–how did they always know?) …
Remembering Tina Marsh
In just two weeks, it will have been three years since Tina Marsh left us. Even though I never worked with her on her own musical projects, I did hire her for some of mine–and the AJW is much the richer for the experience. Tina had a whole different bag than I work out of–much …
MelBurgers Revealed
Well, I found the recipe I had tucked away for MelBurgers. After reviewing it, I realize why I haven’t made them often since retiring from restaurants. They are a lot of work to prep. Best when you are preparing for a large group, or you can form patties and freeze between wax paper. If refrigerating …
Loving Poverty, for Fun and (Eventual) Profit
I have had the good fortune of being a member of four families in my life: the one I was born into, the Alwaan housing co-op we started in Austin in the 1970’s, Mama’s Homefried Truckstop in the 1980’s, and my current marvelous family. When I say ‘family’, I’m talking about people who have to …
Goodbye Turkey Neck, Hello Pork Butt
The Turkey Neck Stew outing was a success, so time to push my luck. If you’re coming in late, I made TNS last week for the first time, based on somebody’s offhand remark. I think next time around, I would use less meat–five pounds was a bit much for a large pot–but one package wasn’t …
The Night Has 1,000 Eyes. Mostly Red.
Last night, I performed with legendary pianist/bon vivant/local treasure James Polk’s Centerpeace sextet at the Elephant Room. During one number, we had a surprise guest appearance by none other than ZZ Tap. No, not ZZ Top. We don’t let them into the Elephant Room. I said ZZ Tap, which is the stage name for tap …
Miles, Marsalis, Mayhem
I know, Miles has been getting a lot of posts lately. For a guy who has been dead over twenty years, it must seem like overkill. Last one for a while, I promise. But today being the 86th anniversary of his birth, it got me thinking about an old conflict in a new light. Of …
Turkey Neck Stew
Cookin’ me up a big pot of turkey neck stew. I’ve never done it before, but I heard somebody talking about it the other day and it sounded delicious, so why not? I’ve been cooking all my life. Which isn’t to say I’m a great cook, but I’m willing to eat my mistakes. There was …
The Absolute Worst Gig I Have Ever Played
Probably I shouldn’t be writing this, because a worse one could come along… No way. This one has stood the test of time for over ten years, and I don’t think it will ever be topped. At least, I hope not. Let me begin by saying that the vast majority of our gigs are positive, …
saxsalon 