So Long Jeffrey Marsh

photo: cabaretjeffrey on flickr

Walking my son to summer camp in the neighbourhood early this morning, we passed by an open box of cds with several strewn on the sidewalk - all the same album and hot off the press. I wanted to stop and take a photo, but I was running late as it was. As I rushed home in the downpour on the way home from work, I saw that the box was still there, still full, and now sopping wet. Lucky for me, Big Joe had actually picked up one of the cds to listen to.

It was called 'Wood + Water' and the musician's name was 'Jeffrey Marsh.' Big Joe and I both wondered why someone would abandon an entire box of their own cds. It reminded Big Joe of a story he read in the zine 'Cometbus,' in which some guy created a zine, photocopied a box full, then after having little success selling them he moved out and left them behind. The roommate who took his place, found the box, and being a natural salesperson, sold the lot, making a nice chunk of change. Big Joe thought that maybe Magnifico could sell the cds as he's always trying to sell us one thing or another. He's been trying to sell me a bootleg copy of 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' for a while now. Only his bootleg copies are the absolute worst, made by someone with a cheap video camera at a movie theater. You can barely hear anything and there's always someone walking in front of the camera on their way to the bathroom. Last week he tried to sell Big Joe some clear plastic recycling bags. When Big Joe wasn't interested, Magnifico got mad, "You're cheap!" he grumbled. He's always calling Big Joe cheap. Mostly because Big Joe won't give him money when he asks for it.

As for the cd, it was melodic and crooning and neither Big Joe nor I were inclined to give it a second listen. But that's just us. According to his website, Jeffrey Marsh performs at Joe's Pub, so he must have a following. Jeffrey's twitter reveals that as of today, he's no longer a Bed-Stuyer, he's now a Manhattanite.