Phil Blank's "Old Songs"

I'm a big fan of Phil Blank's paintings and illustrations and have posted them here in the past. I saw this this one pop up on his blog today and immediately shot him an email to get permission to repost it here. In his response Phil explained that the" third story came from someone who saw a show of mine- hopefully that cassette will turn up! I'd love to hear it. The "old Russian lefties" were indeed Jewish and the neighborhood was coney island or thereabouts. Apparently there are some pictures too." While he didn't specify, the show Phil mentioned could be one of his art shows or could have been one of his klezmer concerts with his band Gmish. They're onstage as I write this at Local 506 in Chapel Hill, NC. Wish I could be there.