Jimmy Kane’s (see chapter 19) main source of income came from dealing coke. By the time we met, he was no longer playing music. Sandra (see chapters 3 and 4) was with him, on and off, for a couple of months and she occasionally resurfaced whenever his dope supply started running low. Jimmy may have wanted her to keep quiet about his business but Sandra couldn’t keep her mouth shut about anything.
She told me that he supplied dope for a wide variety of people; both common street addicts and the semi-well-to-do. Some of his more notable clients were the little West Side gang that Pete Rose associated with back then. This was years before Pete’s troubles had come to light; consequently, it wasn’t a big surprise to me when the gambling story finally broke. If Pete didn’t mind hanging around with two-bit dopers, it made sense that he might be engaged in a few other questionable activities. From the stories I heard, his gang came off as low-level hoods that had convinced themselves they were in the big time because of their connection with Pete. It was a symbiotic relationship of dumb-asses.
Jimmy did a lot of business out of his house but he also frequented a bar on Werk Road called the Quarter Deck. The owners were friends of his and they let him deal in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Having a second location to do business cut down on the traffic coming to and from his house. Since his street was mostly straight, I suppose he had to avoid arousing the suspicions of busy-body neighbors.
After Werk Bar (formerly, The Quarter Deck)
This must have only partially worked because, at one point, he and Sandra dropped completely out of circulation. I got a frantic call from her mother asking me if I’d heard from her but it wasn’t until another week passed before Sandra contacted me. She phoned late at night and spoke in a very hushed voice; as if she were sneaking the call. At first, I thought it might have been a con but then I realized that something was wrong. She and Jimmy were staying at a downtown flop house called the Milner Hotel because, according to her, the IRS was trying to track him down. She didn’t ask me to do anything and, if she had, there wasn’t much I would have done anyway.
After another couple of weeks, she showed up at her mother’s house. For whatever reason, things with Jimmy had abruptly come to an end. I went by there a few days later and she looked pale and emaciated. I can’t imagine how much dope she must have gone through. While with Kane, she said there were days that had completely disappeared from her memory; only vague images remained, which she couldn’t quite place. One memory was that of being videotaped performing various sex acts while under the influence of some kind of drug. I didn’t know whether to believe her or not. Part of me thought that the story seemed too inventive for her to make up.
Years later, long after I had stopped seeing Sandra, Jimmy Kane’s name came up in connection with a local band called The Warsaw Falcons. Apparently, he was their manager, which I found slightly amusing. Whatever managing he may have done wasn’t very effective since they folded after about a 5- to 10-year run. I saw one of their shows when they had famed Rolling Stones sideman, Bobby Keys, in the lineup. How they ever hooked up with him is still a mystery to me. Bobby was known as something of a cokehead and it could be that Jimmy “managed” the arrangement in trade for allotments of dope. Either that or Bobby enjoyed playing Cincinnati dives with a band that was going nowhere.
Jimmy ended up in jail; busted for dealing, tax evasion and who knows what else. His long career in the music business proved a fruitless venture. Depending on who you talk to, he is remembered more for the dope he peddled than for the music he played. Whatever other adventures and accomplishments he may have had, I like to think that his true legacy lives on in one of the songs on my Girl On Girl CD (see chapter 18). It’s the story – told in the first person – of an addict scraping up enough money to make a buy from a dealer named Jimmy Kane.
Jimmy Kane
Puttin’ on my walkin’ shoes
Pickin’ out my coat and hat
Tell me which one I should choose
I got a price tag on my back
Baby I must be confused
Come over here and take a look at that
Lift the latch up off the door
I need to catch a train
I’m gonna go out to the shore
I hope that it don’t rain
You know who I’m lookin’ for
I think his name is Jimmy Kane
Skippin’ to the floor below
Like a real man do
I don’t know which way to go
Why m’I askin’ you?
Can you give me two for one?
I’m gonna need a map
Better take my tommy-gun
Put it on my lap
You’ll know I found him, hon’
If you see me come runnin’ back
Pack a watch clip in my chain
There’s a man I need to see
Don’t you think it’d be a shame
If he wasn’t waitin’ there for me?
I believe I’m ten feet tall
From my head down to my feet
When I’m walkin’ down the hall
When I’m shufflin’ up the street
Prop me up against the wall
There’s a man I got to meet
Leave a note for papa’s kin
Leave a note for Annie Lee
Tell ’em all where I been
Tell ’em who I went to see
I ride my horse to the marketplace
Katie’s starin’ up at the moon
Stickin’ clover in a copper vase
In the middle of the afternoon
Can’t you look me in my face?
Thought I told you I’d be back home soon
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© 2014 by Maurice Mattei
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