I just got off the phone with the very charming and hyper-intellectual Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, more commonly know by his burgeoning underground legion of fans as simply “Rodriguez.” Among the topics of conversation: the election (yes, of course he voted!), his own run for mayor of Detroit many moons ago, and the importance of parents teaching their children to value music. I’m profiling the Detroit-based acid folk hero for our Bay Area sister paper, San Francisco Weekly, because they are fortunate to have a live Rodriguez performance on their calendar (he plays the Great American Music Hall on Sunday, November 23). There are few records that have captured my heart and head in 2008 with quite as powerful a grip as Light in the Attic’s reissue of Rodriguez’s 1970 debut, Cold Fact. If you haven’t heard it yet, then get thee to the LITA site and snag yourself a free download of “Sugar Man”, the opening track that reliably seduces uninitiated listeners. If you have heard it, then you probably share my eagerness to see the man perform live. I couldn’t help but ask him what we had to do to get him up here. His response? A hearty, deep laugh and a good-natured, “Keep talking, baby! I do want to come up there, of course…there’s a lot of energy there.” Considering the fact that LITA is also reissuing his 1971 sophomore album, Coming From Reality next spring, I’d say we have a mounting list of reasons to host him here.So, fingers remain crossed, but I would officially like to give a public shout-out to Triple Door booking agent Scott Giampino: Dude, please make this happen so I can die a happy woman.