From his first big break working for Sol and Chris Owens at Club 809 in New Orleans to stages worldwide, June Victory has rocked the house and observed the music scene with deft fingers and a keen eye. Here are June's memories of Sol Owens, a thrifty man of action, keeping a close watch over his club's business as his wife Chris led the entertainment; here is Wilson Victorian, Sr., a quick-thinking dad and enthusiastic fan of his son's, minding the money and watching June's back despite real dangers. Here are the musicians and the Mardi Gras Indians, the thieves and lovers, the struggles and triumphs of a life well-lived, in America's most musical city.
Click here to order The Return of Cabbage Alley: Stories of June Victory for quick shipping
Eight-year-old June Victory picked up Uncle Willy's guitar in Uptown
New Orleans in 1957 and raised his first crowd. A born entertainer, he
mastered the greats, ran away from home, and made a good living on and
off Bourbon Street. He excelled as a musician and a risk-taker, as a
writer and a mudjacker, and created his own style of Mardi Gras Indian
music. Now he wants to bring the music and people back to the Central
City park where his Bayou Band was once the life of the party. 166 pages + notes * 14 photos. Read Chapter 1: Uncle Willy's Guitar
Read about some of June's recent public appearances here.
"June Victory is one of the most scorching guitarists to ever sling an axe."
Jay Mazza, 'Jay Mazza's New Orleans' newsletter, "Mardi Gras Indian Guitarist June Victory is subject of new book." Read the story here.
"(Cabbage Alley) used to be called 'Pork Chop Alley' back in the day."
Monica Clark, interviewing June Victory about The Return of Cabbage Alley on her 102.3 FM WHIV-LP New Orleans show, 'Dig This', April 5, 2022.
Check out our June Victory Playlist (opens in a new window) * Read a Cast of Characters detailing the real people who made impressions on June's music and his life
Buy The Return of Cabbage Alley: Stories of June Victory from Amazon.com via the following links:
Special thanks to Landmark Booksellers in Franklin, Tennessee for being the first store to order this book! And our gratitude also goes out to Peaches Records in New Orleans for being the first record store to carry our book!
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William Franklin Andrews, 1938-2022; obituary in the Williamson Herald here.
From Humble Beginnings: Tales of a Native Son
By William Franklin Andrews (d.) 1938 - 2022
Illustrated by Hannah Muriel Andrews
ISBN 0-9767056-4-2 * 121 pages; 36 black-and-white illustrations * $15/paperback
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT FRANK'S BOOK
"Andrews loves to talk about the places he roamed in his youth, about
growing up in a different time where life was slower and simpler and
filled with opportunities for a boy who wasn’t afraid to work hard, try
new things and take a chance."
Carole Robinson
The Williamson Herald
"Frank Andrews grew up in a shack that didn’t include running
water or electric service, but the optimist in him points out that he
could feed the chickens right through the floor."
Jay Sheridan
Southern Exposure Magazine
Poetry and short stories from a Tennessee Homecoming Award-winning poet
From Humble Beginnings:
Songs of a Native Son
Songs of a Native Son
By William Franklin Andrews (d.) 1938 - 2022
With a foreword by Mary Trim Anderson
ISBN 0-9767056-1-3 * 227 pages * $15/paperback * Out of print.
These
selected poems of Franklin, Tennessee native Frank Andrews put a simple
man's life of friendship and love as well as hardship and sadness to
vivid rhyme. Whether he was courting his future wife or privately
lamenting the loss of war, Andrews has paused to turn his feelings into
poetry. Go with him as he does a U.S. Army private's muddy duty, watches
his children grow up, goes broke and learns something from the good
times and the bad. Reflecting the author's abiding faith in God and the
goodness of the people of his hometown, these "songs" will bring joy to
poetry lovers everywhere. Click here to read the foreword by Mary Trim Anderson. Click here for the prologue ("Mule Barn Blues").
"I opened this [book] and I read and read and read." - Betty Wyren, San Mateo, California
Read about the book release party at Landmark Booksellers
Read selected poems by William Franklin Andrews
Read the short story 'A SHIRT NAMED EUGENE' by William Franklin Andrews
Click here for information on speaking engagements by William Franklin Andrews
CLICK HERE TO BROWSE/SEARCH FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AT GOOGLE BOOKS
***
PRISON IS A PLACE by Harley M. Sorensen (d.) 1931-2011: Available in September 2012 from Chronic Discontent Books BUY IT NOW AT AMAZON.COM - Paperback 1st Ed. - 124 pages - $12.50
ABOUT PRISON IS A PLACE
Eight years into a 20-year burglary sentence at Minnesota's Stillwater Prison, and just before he was paroled, award-winning journalist Harley M. Sorensen exchanged letters with a group of St. Paul Sunday school children hoping to learn what young people think about prisons and their occupants, and share what he knew about both. Sorensen left prison in 1971 and went on to write for the Minneapolis Tribune, Examiner.com and SFGate.com where his "View from the Left" column gained a large following. The manuscript for Prison Is A Place was rediscovered after Sorensen's Feb. 15, 2011 death, when Sorensen was remembered by Gail Rosenblum in her Minneapolis Star-Tribune column. Prison Is A Place is the first of the "lost books" of Harley Sorensen.
READERS REACT TO PRISON IS A PLACE
"I finished Prison Is A Place in one sitting, and couldn't help but be struck by how kind and generous Harley was to those students. He not only answered their questions, but in many cases, expanded upon them, which I'm sure made the students feel special. Prison Is A Place was also an education for me. Some things Harley wrote about I had never heard or understood. He made his days count in prison. Miss Thienes also was very admirable. My guess is those letters and her input to Harley helped his days pass a bit easier. I now know Harley even better and know that my high regard for him was not misplaced."
Louise Rendine McNamara
Rhode Island
"I love the book and couldn't put it down. He certainly made a mark on the lives of those children. God bless Harley ... thank you for publishing such a wonderful book. Harley gave a great gift to those children and to all who will read it."
Sister M. Anita Iddings RSM
Burlingame, California
"I love it. It is heartbreaking to say the least. I think it will be a best-seller ... It is beautifully done."
Carolyn Andrews
Franklin, Tennessee
"Who was Harley Sorensen? He was a writer. A loving partner. A big man - 6 feet 2 and 200 pounds. A sports fan and a chess champ. Above all, Sorensen was a man who turned his life around."
Gail Rosenblum, 'Rediscovered Letters Link Prisoner, Kids 40 Years Later,' The Star-Tribune - Read Rosenblum's column here
BLOGGER REACTION TO PRISON IS A PLACE
"Harley had a difficult life from a very young age and he made some bad
decisions along the way and ended up in prison. He spent over eight
years of his life behind bars, but to hear him write about it, it wasn't
as bad a place as I always imagined it would be."
Clemmie Jo, 'Prison Is A Place: Book Review,' The Adventures of Clemmie Jo - Read it here
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Paperback 1st Ed. - 198 pages - $12.50
ABOUT THE GREATEST REVOLUTION
Whether this revolution is a personal revolution of one, or it explodes into an enlightenment of billions, it is "as a river that starts with one raindrop." The personal satisfaction of participating in the greatest push in human history will be the defining moment of this and future generations. Our sincere vision for our generation is that we finally see the big picture and give back to the creator a thriving, dynamic, obedient people for which he has always longed. May we be the people "zealous of good works" who send Jesus dancing and skipping through the heavens with the angels in close pursuit shouting, "They finally got it! They finally got it!"
A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR
"My prayer for you is that you find the boldness described in Ephesians 3:12: 'In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.' There will come a time in each of our lives when we will need to call on Jesus with boldness and confidence. We have to be ready, for we may only have an instant to avert tragedy. If you have the courage to 'make it right' your life will be blessed beyond calculation."
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"Brent can’t help himself. He’s a down-home Holden Caulfield with a lust for life and a thirst for beer. His passion shows through in everything he writes, including the travelogue sections of The Pot Plan. Ever the reporter, he’s a sponge, soaking up everything he sees or hears or smells or tastes or touches."
Jim Sullivan, from his introduction to The Greatest Revolution
***
AVAILABLE IN MARCH 2005
The Pot Plan: Louie B. Stumblin and the War on Drugs by Thomas Brent Andrews. With a foreword by Harley Sorensen. 562 pages. $29.95. Out of print.
The Pot Plan: Louie B. Stumblin and the War on Drugs by Thomas Brent Andrews. With a foreword by Harley Sorensen. 562 pages. $29.95. Out of print.
"Brent can’t help himself. He’s a down-home Holden Caulfield with a lust for life and a thirst for beer. His passion shows through in everything he writes, including the travelogue sections of The Pot Plan. Ever the reporter, he’s a sponge, soaking up everything he sees or hears or smells or tastes or touches."
Harley Sorensen, in his Foreword to The Pot Plan
"In addition to defeating the War on Drugs, Andrews wants to come clean with the world in The Pot Plan, and he does so with absolute honesty, incredible descriptions and colorful language."
Will Jordan, High Times magazine
***
ABOUT CHRONIC DISCONTENT BOOKS
Chronic Discontent Books was founded in 2005 by Thomas Brent Andrews in Franklin, Tennessee. The first Chronic Discontent book, The Pot Plan, was described as "a self-help book" by longtime journalist Harley Sorensen. In August 2005 Chronic Discontent Books released From Humble Beginnings: Songs of a Native Son by William Franklin Andrews. Released in April 2011 was the first Chronic Discontent religious studies volume, The Greatest Revolution by Jim Sullivan. In 2012, Harley Sorensen's Prison Is A Place was published posthumously with the assistance of Harley's long-time girlfriend, Betty Wyren, after the manuscript was discovered in an abandoned storage unit. From Humble Beginnings: Tales of a Native Son is William Franklin Andrews' collection of short stories from a lifetime of living and working in Middle Tennessee; it was released in December 2017. In 2020 we released The Return of Cabbage Alley: Stories of June Victory, the tumultuous life story of a legendary New Orleans guitar player as told to Thomas Brent Andrews. ##
"In addition to defeating the War on Drugs, Andrews wants to come clean with the world in The Pot Plan, and he does so with absolute honesty, incredible descriptions and colorful language."
Will Jordan, High Times magazine
***
ABOUT CHRONIC DISCONTENT BOOKS
Chronic Discontent Books was founded in 2005 by Thomas Brent Andrews in Franklin, Tennessee. The first Chronic Discontent book, The Pot Plan, was described as "a self-help book" by longtime journalist Harley Sorensen. In August 2005 Chronic Discontent Books released From Humble Beginnings: Songs of a Native Son by William Franklin Andrews. Released in April 2011 was the first Chronic Discontent religious studies volume, The Greatest Revolution by Jim Sullivan. In 2012, Harley Sorensen's Prison Is A Place was published posthumously with the assistance of Harley's long-time girlfriend, Betty Wyren, after the manuscript was discovered in an abandoned storage unit. From Humble Beginnings: Tales of a Native Son is William Franklin Andrews' collection of short stories from a lifetime of living and working in Middle Tennessee; it was released in December 2017. In 2020 we released The Return of Cabbage Alley: Stories of June Victory, the tumultuous life story of a legendary New Orleans guitar player as told to Thomas Brent Andrews. ##
