Incredibly Fast

My daughter just graduated from college today. Wow. it sure goes by fast. Road trip to Cedar Falls, spend 10 minutes with Jess, watched her graduate then home. I was very proud when I heard "Jessica Marie Amelia Border" from the podium. I thought how very lucky I am. Jess, now real life sets in. Be wise and strong and know I love you. Pictures soon. I hope.

Be Bop Deluxe

A cross between Roxy Music, Bowie and Queen. Be Bop Deluxe was an eighties band that was out in the 70s. In the fall of 1975, I moved in with my cousin who lived in a trailer park in St. Charles. One of the great things about that stay was the great tunes I remember coming out of KSHE 95, especially late in the evening/early in the morning. "Maid in Heaven" from the album "Futurama" by Be Bop Deluxe was one of those songs. Once again, I wanted to hear more. These guys were tight, very melodic and could rock their ass off. With LPs like "Sunburst Finish" that featured "Ships In The Night", I would say these guys could hold their own with anyone. I never got to see BBD live, but I almost had the opportunity to talk to Bill Nelson once in KC. No one could ever figure out why I wanted to talk with this cat so much. Their loss. With that in mind, my five favorite BBD tunes:
1. "Maid In Heaven" from Futurama. Two minutes and forty five seconds of what Queen tried to do.
2. "Ships In The Night" from Starburst Finish. Power fucking pop.
3. "Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape " from Axe Victim (I prefer the "Live! In The Air Age" version). David Gilmour has NOTHING on this song. Some of the best guitar work ever.
4. "Shine" from Live! In The Air Age. Is that a guitar he's playing? Wow!
5. "Sister Seagull" from Futurama. A painting in sound.
Honourable mention: "Fair Exchange" from Starburst Finish.
They were too good for "glam" and not great enough to make it. All of these CDs are now being rereleased and remastered. Buy them. These guys rock!
Be Bop Deluxe were sequined glam rock heroes, seemingly beamed down from an impossibly glamorous forgotten future-world. They were an intoxicating ‘70s phenomena filled with lipstick posturing, surrealistic lyrics and searing guitar solos from leader Bill Nelson’s semi-acoustic, cherry sunburst Gibson 345.

Now to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary, the Be Bop Deluxe catalog is being reissued featuring bonus tracks and expanded CD booklets.
Go here to find out more.

Hard Times In The Land of Plenty

I just received an email from a friend (an old affiliate) Bill Page. Bill worked in Kennett and Caruthersville, in the bootheel of Missouri. Bill was the type of guy that would spend 12 hour days at his station because he loved the news. When the tornados came through Caruthersville not too long ago, Bill was there, keeping his town informed and making a difference to his community and racking up some awards. For that, he was let go. It gets more difficult as time goes on to sit back and look at all the changes happening seemingly overnight. A number of my friends are now unemployed or underemployed in this crazy radio business. I don't recall a time like this. It's seems to be happening everywhere. I hope some day I am in a position to help guys like Jay, Bill, Katey and the rest. I only wish I could do it now.

In the CD Player

"Weekend in LA" by George Benson. This takes me back a long way. Very soothing, very nice. the first time I ever heard Whitney Houstons's "The Greatest Love Of All" was when George sang it here. Not the greatest singer but this is a first rate live package. Benson is one of the guitar GREATS! Anyone who played with Wes Montgomery is good to go in my book. There's no "Breezin" or "This Masquerade" on here, but "On Broadway" is and it's still a fine example of a great guitar player at home in front of a crowd in L.A. I give it a B+.
Class dismissed.

My Girls

Right from my flower garden. I wish I could get them and the roses to bloom at the same time. I threaten every year to cut them down. They are getting very big. Peonys. They smell great too. In a week, they will be all gone.

Death..Explained

A sick man turned to his doctor,as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said,"Doctor, I am afraid to die.Tell me what lies on the other side." Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know." "You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?" The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door,
a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.
Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing...

I know my Master is there and that is enough."

Thanks KK

My Friend Katey...

...has been in radio since 1980. We worked together in KC for a long time. I have seen her at her best and at her worst. I believe that is what friends are for. She was unceremoniously dumped by the new owners of her station. When I was working for Learfield, I talked with someone in Cumulus about their takeover of Susquehanna. His quote to me was "Half of those people are gone...we don't operate radio like they do." Too bad. Katey was one of those people. She had never been fired from the business (unfrickinbelievable)until this week. As much as I know her boss, it must have broken his heart, too. A lot of my old friends in KC will lose thier jobs over this takeover. I wish them all well, especially Katey, who I feel was someone that I taught and helped mold into a broadcaster. This is a shitty business and now she will get the preverbial question...can't you do something else? Can an auto mechanic suddenly become a lawyer? You are what you are and will always be what you are. I am a great radio guy. Katey was an awesome radio person. I hope she will be OK.

Sleep...please.

I have counted sheep, taken Melatonin, read, drank warm milk (ew) and I can't sleep. I have exercised until I am blue in the face and it doesn't make me tired. I seem to go through these periods, where no matter what I do, I just.can't.get.to.sleep. If I am a bit cranky, I hope you will understand. Any ideas?
I will NOT see my doctor about this yet, because I will NOT get addicted to sleeping pills. (it's in my genes.) What to do, what to do.

A Very Funny Talent Show Entry

The students at Gordon College in Massachusetts had a talent show and to me, this is the ultimate winner.
A real life re-enactment of the SuperMario Nintendo Game. Very creative.
You can see it here

At Fifteen

I am going to kick your....well, maybe not.
I am reminded of the song "At 17" by Janis Ian. Except that I wasn't 17, and not a lesbian. Although with a little practice...

The Four Horsemen

Plagurism Alert. I stole this picture from an online forum. I couldn't help it. Being a Cardinals fan from inutero, these guys were the best.

Awesome! Think you would want to charge the mound after Gibby sends one at your head? He'd pull a Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura on you.

BIRD FLU HITS AMERICA!!!!

And the carnage is unbelievable. This scene was apparently taken in front of my ex inlaws house. Warning, gruesome photo ahead....












Thanks, KK.

So Long Old Friend

It has been brought to my attention that an old friend will be saying so long. Power 97 in Sedalia was what a "true" classic rock station should be. Their slogan was "Sure, we play the same 300 songs that every other station plays, but we also play 1700 more" or something like that. With an incredible signal, I was actually able to listen to these guys while driving from St. Louis to Jefferson City every morning. They would play things like "South City Midnight Lady" by the Doobie Brothers and other GREAT songs that "classic rock" stations won't play (thanks again, Lee). "Rosewood Bitters" by Micheal Stanley was another fave that no other station would even touch. It was run by Bill Barrick and mornings were done by my bud Ken Dillon. It seems like yesterday when we all sat down at a BBQ joint in Sedalia and talked about the future of the station and radio in general with my job for Learfield. I'm gone and now so are they. KPOW has been sold and basically, from what I hear, it's time to turn out the lights. Bill quit and Ken has been banished to the AM. Sometimes, this business really sucks. Why is it that we keep coming back for more beatings? Why do us radio guys like getting hit in the head with a sledgehammer time and time again? Why do we enjoy standing at the altar waiting for the most beautiful woman in the world to break our hearts again? And again? Those are very good questions, but I have no answers because, you see, I am in denial. Is it too late to get a degree in psychology?
R.I.P. Power 97 You guys did your job well.

Roy Clark

A number of shows are now coming to our local casino in St. Louis. They seem to be doing well, too. Blue Oyster Cult and .38 Special have both sold out two shows. The guy that I really want to see is Roy Clark. This maybe the most underrated guitar player on the planet. Roy was a regular in our house growing up because he was on "Hee Haw' all the time. If he plays "Malaguena" I will smile. If he plays "Yesterday, When I Was Young," I will shed a tear. Great musicians and songwriters have that effect on me.