Interesting Barry Sless interview (12/2023)

Bss - thanks. Enjoyed that and I don't even play guitar (closet gear head).

One thing I can add is that in all these interviews he claims he's from Baltimore -- but he's not from "The Wire" Baltimore. He was raised in the suburbs in the County.

Here's the earliest recording I know of him 1977 No Foolin Band (pre Cowboy Jazz):

https://soundcloud.com/user-89757603/grizzly-bear

https://soundcloud.com/user-89757603

And he never mentions he played lead and rhythm on  "Why Can't I Stop This Hurtin'" --  the B side of Wayne and Willie's single  "Baltimore Bagel Blues". 

He also has a lot of production / producer credits. for other artists.

Daylight if you ever get out here, I'll gladly take you on a tour but there are some areas I won't venture into.

It's hard to believe, but the town as a whole (established in the early 1700s) has never fully recovered from the 1968 riots and the ensuing gradual white flight to the suburbs. Yes there are "nice" modern-looking "hip" thriving areas, mostly along the downtown waterfront reclaimed by developers and mostly populated by younger people, but there are also large swaths of abandoned rowhouses in the surrounding areas that look like a warzone. Miles of them. No one has the money or courage to fix them up. As in many East Coast cities, things get "nicer "as you go towards the suburbs or in the historic districts or around the many medical establishments and universities. 

It's a neighborhood by neighborhood demographic (mostly racially and economically divided) populated by waves of immigrants. Urban renewal fiascos like city highways and low income housing projects created ghettos and halted true integration. East side verses West side is still a thing. (Oakland is probably the most analagous West Coast city.)

Jews and Blacks were forbidden by law to move to certain areas (in my lifetime) so there were cultural corridors created that still exist. (My family and probably the Slesses followed the Jewish corridor from the city into the middle class, upper middle class suburban zones. Barry is a few years older than me, but our social circles overlapped in high school.) We didn't see many Asians or Latinos growing up (it was black and white), however it's gotten more culturally diverse over the past twenty years. But it's mostly still a black and white town. Sports remains a glue that unites folks. And the seafood.

Drugwise, Baltimore was always a big heroin town until crack came into the picture. When we were growing up, supposedly the sleepy drug trade was "allowed" in order to keep the potentially militant black population docile. Unlike most East coast port cities, you never heard about an Italian mafia -- supposedly the Greek shipping families ran the seedy things behind the scenes. And the blue bloods who always owned the town in the past. However, crime overlaps the considerable poverty and predators follow the money. Which leads to more racial animosity -- rinse and repeat. Or the criminals prey upon each other, like depicted in The Wire.

Definitely watch a couple Barry Levinson movies to get a more balanced viewpoint of the culture. And John Waters movies -- Balto is inhabited by some freaky characters. 

In Balto City a stranger might be able to pull up in a car and hand some money out the window but you wouldn't be allowed to get out walk around.

Most of the suburban white addicts I knew who were desperate enough to venture downtown (after their local chiropractor wouldn't write them any more scripts) had a guy on a corner that knew them / recognized them. Sometimes their connection would scam them -- go score while you waited nervously and skim off a portion for themselves -- but it behooved the seller to maintain his repeat customer base. The drive-ups were one-stop operations where you could get anything. However, you wouldn't want to "shop around" and be seen at another corner. Get in, get out. And assume the police were watching.

Skid row white guys would have to cop in white neighborhoods. It wasn't like the "integrated" Tenderloin where you could mingle. converse, cop, do your dope and pass out on the sidewalk.

Prostitution was available in other places. 

(I have no direct knowledge of any of this. In the mid/late 80s and 90s my experiences were in your neck of the woods in the agricultural supply business. Getting busted was more a threat than getting killed.)

The biggest problem with food in Baltimore City was that there weren't / still aren't many late night options.

And in this stereotypical blue collar town, generic fast food places have replaced many distinctive hole in the wall local eateries for economic reasons. So much of the City is a food desert -- no nearby supermarkets -- that the potentially interesting places "with character" can't even get established. Sadly, many of the former classic restaurants from my childhood are long gone. The more intriguing eateries are the newer hipster joints that have customers that can afford more exotic menus. 

Crabs seasoned with Old Bay, crabcakes, and crab soup are the signature dishes. Outdoor picnic tables and neighborhood bars are the preferred venues. We have always had our Little Italy and Greek town and Jewish delis, but many places have relocated to the suburbs. For international cuisine, many people drive to DC - technically only an hour away (but with traffic...). 

That being said, there has been an influx of Korean and Central American immigrants that are finally spicing up this whitebread and mayo town.

Ahhh Daylight -- I realized this morning that you might be looking for "The Wire" food ---- Lake Trout.

As you probably found out, it's fish not from a lake and not trout. Like all "poor man's" fish, it's what's cheap and available -- in Balto that's mainly whiting from offshore Mid-Atlantic. 

Fried whole with bones (like a piece od fried chicken) with cornmeal or cracker meal in a vat of boiling oil (that might not have been changed recently), so it comes out hard and crunchy.

In a sense it's not too special, (it's fried fish) but it has "character."  I'd say best to avoid bottom dwelling fish from Jersey, but then again I eat blue crabs -- tasty little scavengers, they are.

Also keep on the lookout for "marsh rabbit" (i.e., muskrat).

I gotta say, the SF Bay cheap food is probably a lot healthier that Chesapeak Bay street food, but I'm guessing you can't find a fat burrito for a couple bucks back there anymore. I sure miss those.