"allegedly" Dave Howe

The rumors allegedly began to spread at around midnight on 2/3/10 on facebook and twitter.  It wasn't long before there was suspicion that the rumors had spread to the point of being out of control.  The alleged rumors concerned the alleged prospect of a brand new, digital, downloadable duet version of a Dr BLTune called Homeless Valentine aka Streetheart Serenade, to be sold be release here on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 to raise money for victims of the earthquake in Haiti through the Red Cross:

Dr BLT's official home page

AS IT TURNS OUT, THE ALLEGED RUMORS WERE TRUE:  The proof is contained in this rare audio sample:


Homeless Valentine (Streetheart Serenade) duet
Dr BLT and Dave Howe
words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2010

Homeless Valentine

This is a homeless valentine

A card with eyes too sad to cry

Let me whisper in your ear

You have nothin’ left to fear

You’re cold and livin’ in the street

You’ve got no shoes upon your feet

This poem and prayer is just for you

A Valentine to get you through

Chorus:

This one’s for the street hearts

Penniless and forlorn

Lookin’ for some shelter

Shelter from the storm

This one’s for the street hearts

Street hearts who have no home

Let us show them love

So they won’t have to be alone

This is a homeless valentine

A card with eyes too sad to cry

                                                              A song with chords too sad to strike

A tunnel with a distant light

(chorus)

Chorus #2

This one’s for you too

With abundance with you

Share a little treasure

With a heart that’s true

(instrumental bridge)

Make them the apple of your eye

Give them a shoulder

For to cry

Give them a shelter from the storm

Give them a valentine that’s warm

And when their nighttime

Feels just like a lifetime

It won’t last forever

The sun will soon arrive

Yes, when your nighttime

Feels just like a lifetime

We’ll be there by your side

With this homeless valentine

Hi, I'm Dr BLT and I'm here to inform friends, family and fans that I'll bedoing a 30-minute set of original songs at the Element Lounge at 1927 KStreet between 19th and 20th Streets in Bakersfield on Saturday,January 23 from 8-8:30 pm.

This song will likely be among them. I'm planning to record a multi-artist version featuring Patricia Mikel and Dave Howe to raise money for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

The Adventures of Oil Dale: Wedding plans down the drain, with the brains

* single-song soundtrack to the following short story
It Only Hurts when I Cry
Dr BLT copyright 1996, 2010

It Only Hurts When I Cry 

It was a foggy, groggy Saturday morning, January 16. 

Oil Dale was sitting on his fiancé  Ellie’s couch watching pre-taped episodes of My Redneck Wedding to get ideas for their own wedding set for February 30, 2010.  They were of course, assuming that such a date existed.  Ellie, rather roughly, yanked Oil Dale’s old, over-sized 1980s set of headphones off his head, grabbed his cassette player and smashed it on the floor.

“What the hell are you listening too?  You’re supposed to be paying attention.  Don’t you care about our wedding?” she screamed in that distinct, all-to-familiar edgy tone Dale had become accustomed to over the nearly two weeks that had been together. 

“What did you do that for? That’s Dr BLT’s song about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,, the one called It Only Hurts When I Cry.  You get the day off just like I do, don’t you appreciate the significance of that day?” he replied in a gradually increasingly confident tone. 

“How can you get the day off when you don’t have a job, Dale?” Ellie had cooled off a little, and though her tone remained harsh, it was decidedly less shrill.  “And besides, don’t you know what town you’re in?  You could get beat up for listening to that.”

“I plan to take the day off by letting the garbage sit an extra day.  What do you mean don’t I know what town I’m in?  I ain’t stupid, but you are obviously ignorant.  Times have changed.  African-Americans now walk down the streets of Oildale with their heads held high. Why they frequently enter Trout’s without fear, even participate in Karaoke Night without as much as a cold stare aimed at them.  You’re the prejudice one now, stereotyping Oildale folks with your overly developed occipital lobe.”  Dale seemed almost cocky and smug this time around.   Ellie walked to the kitchen and grabbed a frying pan.  Then she put it down slowly.

She had entertained the thought of striking him but then hesitated, remembering that this was the behavior of a crack head and her, now two-week, clean and sober time had been earned by the sweat of her brow, and with every ounce of determination inside of her.  

She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then replied, “The occipital lobe is involved in bilateral and contralateral vision, Dale, haven’t you been paying attention in Dr. BLT’s class?  If you’re going to put me down, at least have your knowledge about the brain physiologically correct.  Stereotypes are based on primitive emotional reactions, relatively un-modulated by higher-order brain centers.  They stem, no pun intended, from the limbic system, involving the regulation of pleasure and pain.  So go ahead, say I have an overly developed limbic system, or hypothalamus, which governs emotional behavior such as anger and sexual activity.  But don’t say I have an overly developed occipital lobe. That would only help me to see things more clearly.”  Ellie now joined Dale on the couch, gently stroking his hat-matted hair.  I just want you to use your head when you speak, she said, half-jokingly, but none-the-less condescendingly. 

“Ain’t nothin’ inferior about emotion.  It Only Hurts When I Cry is obviously centered on emotion, but Dr BLT is no dummy and the song is not designed for idiots.  It is intelligently written and it has historic as well as cultural value.  Haven’t you ever heard of emotional intelligence?  It’s not just for troglodytes you know.   What good is a brain if you can only think, not feel?  How much compassion would you have for your fellow Oildale neighbors?”  Dale felt quite good for defending himself. 

Ellie pulled back, and had a hard time concealing her frustration and dismay.  “What would you know about emotional intelligence, or intelligence of any kind for that matter?

The reason you can never seem to make rational decisions and the reason you are always seeking instant gratification is that your brain, especially your prefrontal cortex, is always numb from alcohol.  As such, it can’t possibly perform its ability to slow down your need for instant gratification, to introduce rational thoughts, is impaired.  How rational is it, after all to believe in space cowboys? Ellie added.

“What?  What the heck are you talking about?”  Dale shifted sheepishly in his chair.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she replied with marked frustration.

You even going to submit a copy of your cover of Dr BLT’s song If You Want to Be the Next Buck Owens to the radio show, Bakersfield and Beyond, but stopped, thinking that so-called sighting was a sign that the contest, and the contestants were would-be victims of some sort of alien cowboy conspiracy or something.” 

“If you’re referring to that so-called sighting, involving the two so-called alien-carpenters-dressed-as-antediluvian-cowboys hitchhiking on the freeway exit off Buck Owens Blvd. I always thought that was a joke.  I didn’t believe it for a moment,” Dale replied with ersatz dismay. 

“Okay, that’s it! I’ve had enough of your lies and prevarications, Dale!” 

Ellie stormed out of the door.  Dale sat helplessly on the edge of the couch with his head in his hands.  This time he did not run after her and beg for her return.  It was a break from his typical alcohol-fueled ritual.  This time, he had been sober for over 4 hours, and his prefrontal cortex was in rare form.  He wouldn’t stay rational for very long, but in his life, any moment of clear thinking was a godsend, not only for Oil Dale, but for everybody who had any sort of relationship with him. 

Homeless Christmas Medley

words and music by Dr BLT © 2009 produced by Mark Yeary

I took a walk one Christmas

Down forbidden streets

Saw the homeless people

With no food to eat

Some were struck with illness

From the freezin’ cold

Others lost their homes

While they were growin’ old

A man came up to me and asked me for a dime

I could tell his back was achin’

By his crooked spine

He had no one to care

For sores upon his arms

Protect him from the cold

Shelter him from harm

Chorus I

No one should be homeless at Christmas

Everyone should have a place to stay

No one should be homeless at Christmas

No one should wake up alone

On this Christmas Day

We’re livin’ in a time

When people loose their minds

We’re livin’ in a world that’s full of

Of hate and crime

But I see a new tomorrow on this Christmas night

Through the darkened streets, I see a holy light

(chorus I)…

Part I of medley begins here: Angels (From Realms of Glory)

I would like to travel

On a timeless flight

Back to Bethlehem

On that holy night

I’d come to see the babe

Wrapped in swaddling cloths

join in singin’ carols

with that heavenly host

chorus II:

of angels from realms of glory

bring good tidings

redemption story (repeat)

I would like to travel to

The holy land

Ride with the wisemen on the desert sand

The drummer boy would play

Pa rum pa pa pum

And ask that it be sung

(chorus)

I would like to travel

With you by my side

Put you on a donkey

So that you could ride

You could ride…

(chorus; repeat chorus)

I’d like to introduce you

To that baby king

Make the world a better place

With peace he brings

Put a song in your heart

So that you could sing

Put music in your soul

So that you could rock n roll

With those…

(chorus; repeat chorus)