Interviewing Stevie Van Zandt for this month’s “Up-Close” section was a real kick for me personally. It’s funny when you have a phone conversation with a musical hero. There’s a sense of unreality at work. It’s almost surreal. Those artists who have been such a part of my life for decades have become, in a sense, family. So the love flows…but only in one direction. I mean, think about it. I’m only another voice-on-the-phone to the artist-in-question. Conversations I’ve had with Waylon Jennings, Wynton Marsalis, Lisa Marie Presley, Ian Anderson, Joan Baez, Alice Cooper, Charlie Daniels, Clarence Clemons, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Chick Corea, Vince Gill, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson, Phil Rizzuto, Wilson Pickett, Johnny Winter and Brian Wilson were all punctuated with my love for their work. And out of all those names, Brian Wilson was the only one who said to me, “I feel your love, Mike.” Right through the phone!

This issue you’ll meet Izzy Miz from South Jersey, read about the novel Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates, see the five new videos of “Visual Sound,” check out who’s playing where in New Jersey every night for the next two months, key in on certain shows in the “Events” section, and learn about the doomed bass genius Scott LaFaro. And feel free to criticize, complement, complain or suggest songs for “The Hot 100.”