BEATNIK MUSE LEADS TO LIVE NUDE MUSIC
With a section titled “On The Road,” it seems only fitting that Jack Kerouac should be part of our first foray. Although, most people don’t usually think of him and music in the same thought, according to Kerouac’s cousin, Brian “Dino” Dean, “I hear Jack in almost every piece of music.” A surprising statement, considering that Kerouac was best known as the author of On The Road and the voice of the Beatnik Generation.

Dino grew up with Kerouac in Lowell, MA. They became very close during the author’s declining years when Dino frequently visited and took care of him. He recalls, “We used to talk for hours about life, philosophy, music and art. In fact, we became so close it felt as if we were surgically attached.”

That intimacy gave Dino tremendous insight into Kerouac’s mind. “Jack loved jazz, blues and classical music, and many of his friends were musicians.” He also influenced more than a few of them. Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Tom Waits are obvious Kerouac apprentices. While many others reference him and his language as well – even today, like indie rock bands Death Cab for Cutie and 10,000 Maniacs. “You can hear it in the lyrics,” Dino contends. “Jack just had a musical way with words.”

Indeed, Dino was so aware of Jack’s influence over lyrics in particular that when he attended a Doors’ concert, he called his cousin and told him, “You’ve got see this guy. He’s ripping you off.” That night Jack Kerouac and Jim Morrison met for the first time and threw back more than a few.

As for Dino, Jack’s influence is part of his life and gave him the courage to form a new venture called Brave New Network. It’s flagship program, Brave New Radio gives college students the chance to discover exciting, new music from up and coming artists. It’s a two-hour broadcast that includes live performances by indie artists in a studio. But, no studio tricks or engineering magic are involved. It’s simply live nude music.

“Jack taught me to follow my dreams, no matter where they led,” Dino reflects. “I remember asking him how I would find my road. He had traveled so many in his life, and I wanted to know where mine was. Well,” Dino laughs, “he told me, ‘your road hasn’t been built yet, but you’ll know it when you see it.’”

That may seem silly now, but to an impressionable teenager it formed words to live by. And that’s exactly what Dino did. “When I thought of the concept for Brave New Radio, I thought of Jack. He would have liked it, because it’s spontaneous and unique. And that’s the way he lived his life.”

PHOTO CAPTION: L-R: Brian “Dino” Dean and his partner in Brave New Network, David Maxwell

he is considered an important and influential writer who inspired others, including Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Robbins, Lester Bangs, Richard Brautigan, Ken Kesey, Haruki Murakami, Tom Waits and writers of the New Journalism.
Kerouac's best-known books are On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Big Sur, The Subterraneans, Desolation Angels, and Visions of Cody.