Keith Crossan - Beatnik Jungle (2008)

After a million miles of traveling, ten thousand gigs and 11 records with the Tommy Castro Band I decided to make my own. I’ve named it “Beatnik Jungle”. The title refers to an area in San Francisco called North Beach. This is the neighborhood where the band got it’s start. There were three bars: The Lost and Found, the Grant and Green and The Saloon (which still has blues 7 nights a week) that supported a great blues scene. It is the place where the great poets and writers of the Beat era produced their works. Hence, the Beatnik part of the title. During the early 90’s, when I worked there with Tommy and the band, I found it was still a place full of great writers, poets, painters and musicians, but also it could be a very dangerous place for me. Hence, the Jungle part. The music in this record reflects the experience of growing up and surviving as a musician. Big Band jazz, garage band rock & roll, R&B and even the late Folk scene in S.F. are things that shaped these songs. I hope you enjoy them. ~Keith