Who is Robert Allen Zimmerman?

New Times What is your history with music?

Fred Friedman I’ve hosted a show on KCBX for almost 30 years—“Jazz Liner Notes” on Thursdays from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. I play ’50s to contemporary jazz.

New Times Is jazz your favorite genre of music?

Friedman My two favorites are jazz and rhythm and blues.

New Times What do you do at Boo Boo Records?

Friedman I’m a clerk. I used to be an engineering professor at Cal Poly for 25 years and about nine years ago I retired, and since music has always been my passion I work at Boo Boo’s as my retirement job.

New Times Sounds like a good gig.

Friedman It is.

New Times What’s a typical day like working behind the counter at Boo Boo’s?

Friedman We see all kinds of people. I get to talk to people who are interested in music and I get to play music in the store that I enjoy, so it’s a fun job.

New Times If someone were to come in who was new to jazz, what album would you recommend?

Friedman Classic ones—Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, Coltrane’s Love Supreme. Those are standard jazz recordings.

New Times Why did you start presenting “A History of Rock’n’Roll” lectures?

Friedman I started about two years ago at Lompoc Library, then SLO heard about it and I did one there, and now I’m doing this one at the Los Osos Library. They wanted me to do something on rock’n’roll.

New Times What can people expect at one of your multimedia lectures?

Friedman I show a video during the first hour and the second hour we have a discussion and I will play music, CDs, and we talk about those also.

New Times I love the topics each week.

Friedman On September 8, The British Are Coming, I will show a video on the Beatles although the class is not limited to the Beatles. We will discuss the Rolling Stones and other British acts who had a huge impact on the United States.

New Times Why do these lectures?

Friedman They are fun and educational.

New Times Who is Robert Allen Zimmerman (Sept. 22 lecture)?

Friedman That is Bob Dylan.

New Times Ah. Do you play an instrument?

Friedman No, the only thing I play is the stereo.

Christy Heron can be reached at cheron@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in Sep 3-10, 2009.