Anyone who has spent time in downtown Nashville has almost certainly heard The High Priest of 2nd Avenue singing the blues in front of the Spagetti Factory.  Velvet is currently in "guarded" condition at Summit Hospital here in Nashville, suffering from a host of illnesses and infections.  I visited him yesterday and he was sedated, on a ventilator and looked like he'd lost at least 100 pounds as a result of his illnesses. Velvet's health was deteriorating back when he was living in his van and playing late nights on 2nd ave - "because that's when the folks with money spend it on me!" Unfortunately, as his money bucket filled, he became a favorite target of strong-arm thieves who prowled the area. That's how Lt. Andrea Swisher from the Nashville police department got involved and I worked closely with her to get Velvet into housing last year.  At that point, my contact with the man dwindled to seeing him occasionally downtown, but I still considered him a friend and wonderful musician to boot. I know he has no family in the area and I'm hoping he recovers and takes some help for a change.  If he ends up succumbing to the illnesses currently ravaging his body, I'm hoping to send him off by scattering his ashes along 2nd avenue; it's the least I can do for a man who's brought so many a real taste of street music as they wandered around Lower Broad. (This one has a great song by Velvet - takes a sec to get to it tho)