Barry Graham

It is nearly 30 years ago. As the movie begins, we see Richard Roundtree walk along New York City streets while Isaac Hayes asks some female backing singers a series of questions that all have the same answer. "Who's the black private dick who's a sex machine to all the...

The first time I talked to Mad Coyote Joe, I asked him how he got started as a TV chef."To tell you the truth, here's what I think happened. I think they just said, "You know that fat motherfucker who's desperate to be on TV? Let's give him a chance.'"...

A couple of years ago, a drunk started a fight with me in a bar in Tempe. The next day, I gleefully told my martial arts teacher about how I'd used a pair of joint locks to subdue the guy. Rather than shake my hand and promote me to a...

Ignore her title. She's no lady. It is the summer of 1988, at the Pavillion Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. Elvis Costello is playing a solo show to promote his latest album, Spike. As soon as he walks onstage, members of the audience begin yelling for "Tramp the Dirt Down," a...

Can there be another city in the state, or even the country, that would organize a massive public New Year's party, invest in it heavily, and then scare the citizens out of attending? It is New Year's Eve, and people are frightened. In the afternoon, the Albertsons at 16th Street...