Kingdoms of the Radio: Karoline Rosenda 2 [ficção]

UNFINISHED DOCUMENTARY, KINGDOMS OF THE RADIO  |  1995

You have to remember that these were the days when record companies, even small ones like Celestial, literally had money to burn. Z had set me up with a car and driver in order to shuttle Lucious Cole around with the all-important caveat that he make all three of the Winterland gigs. He didn’t care what else we got ourselves up to, which, in hindsight, he probably should have.

There were a couple of tense moments going through customs with Cole’s bags in which I witnessed his charisma in full effect—let me explain here, I never thought I’d see a man with the personal power to dissuade Federal agents from rifling through his bags without once mentioning a thing about it. He could have told the agents to take their clothes off and do a jig, and they would have done it. It was the craziest thing I ever saw… up until then.

After we left customs, we were as free as anyone has ever been; completely let loose on the town and with an expense account to boot.

“Righto, Karoline, love! Our first stop is to go see the president.” I can still see Lucious standing up through the open sunroof chanting,

“LBJ! JBJ!” Little did I know that Lyndon Baines Johnson’s initials also stood for an ill-advised combination of heroin and LSD.