Brush With Greatness Part Nine

As close to Bruce as I ever got. This is of course "Mighty Max" Weinberg of the E Street Band. He was in town to be the grand prize of battle of the bands held at St. Louis Community College at Meramec. If your band won, you got the chance to have Max sit with your band and do Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll". He was also in town to promote his book "The Big Beat".



The book was his conversations with great drummers like Levon Helm, Hal Blaine, Russ Kunkel, Charlie Watts, Jim Keltner, Ringo and more. All of these guys reside in my list of favorites. Max was very personable, took phone calls and seemed to be a real decent guy. He told me that the sessions for "Born To Run" were absolutely horrible. He had just joined the band it was just the worst for him. He did very well. This guy is like clockwork and one of those guys who make it look so easy. The date was 4/1/86 taken in the KSHE studio in Crestwood behind the drive in. BTW, the winning band jammed with Max Weinberg and it was just awful. Robert Plant once called "Rock and Roll" a "race to the finish". No shit. Thanks, Max for a great time.

What the hell happened to all of my hair? This was my "apostolic" look

The Da Vinci Code

I enjoy being a Catholic for the most part. I joined the church during a time I felt they needed me as much as I needed them. In 2002, it was not cool to be associated with the church. Scandals abounded everywhere. I thought at that time, it was a good time to join. Fast forward to 2006. The Vatican and the Cardinals are all upset about The DaVinci Code, calling for boycotts. It's a work of fiction. Here's Tom Hanks' reaction. Way to go, Tom.

Bob Heil's Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Exhibit

Yesterday, in a pouring rainstorm, I got to see my old friend Bob Heil. We had Bob on the Rock morning show a number of times. Bob makes top of the line headphones, microphones and other related sound items. Bob is also having an exhibit displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Bob found his calling when The Grateful Dead's sound guy got busted for drugs right before they stopped in St. Louis in 1970. Unfortunately, the constables confiscated their sound equipment. Bob to the rescue and he has been providing rock bands with top of the line equipment and advice for 36 years. I was there with Mike Anderson who runs the St. Louis Media website (and thanks Mike for some of the pictures), his son Jason, Radio Rich Dalton (St. Louis radio legend), Frank Nichols and Tom Calhoun who is the keeper of one of the finer blogs in cyberspace. Some highlights...

Here is Bob with the talkbox that Joe Walsh and Peter Frampton made famous.

Yes, that is one of the most famous microphones ever in rock and roll.

That is me thinking that this is one of the most famous microphones ever in rock and roll.

Bob Heil and yours truly.

I had speakers like this installed in an old Vega one time.

TShirts and merchandise available at the door.

Yes, this is the way we used to use a delay.

Yo girlfriend can go through, you have to stay back here.

This is a Quadraphonic board. Remember Quadraphonic? I do. I had a copy of Chicago 5 that sounded tres cool at that time. They quit making them however.

Jason Anderson, Mike Anderson, Bob, RadioRich and Tom Calhoun.

Bob told a story about how he told Pete Townshend one time that he didn't drink or smoke, but Pete replied, "you take care of the sound and we should use you to drive the bus". Bob's a great guy. Congrats, Bob and thanks for the preview.

Them's some good eatins...

Chiang Khong, Thailand - Fishermen in northern Thailand have netted a fish as big as a grizzly bear, a 646-pound Mekong giant catfish, the heaviest recorded since Thai officials started keeping records in 1981. The behemoth was caught in the Mekong River and may be the largest freshwater fish ever found.
"It's amazing to think that giants like this still swim in some of the world's rivers," said Dr. Zeb Hogan, a WWF Conservation Science fellow and leader of a new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and National Geographic Society project to identify and study all freshwater fish over 6 feet long or 200 pounds. "We've now confirmed now that this catfish is the current record holder, an astonishing find."

The fish was caught and eaten in a remote village in Thailand along the Mekong River, home to more species of giant fish than any other river. Local environmentalists and government officials negotiated to release the record-breaking animal so it could continue its spawning migration in the far north of Thailand, near the borders of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China - also known as the "Golden Triangle"). But the fish, an adult male, later died. The species is declining, which fishermen in the region blame on upstream dams and environmental deterioration. The specimen is the largest giant catfish ever recorded; it is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest freshwater fish.

Today

I haven't blogged lately, just not much happening. Things get curiouser and couriouser on the job front. I have turned down a couple of things just cause the vibe isn't right. I am heading today to see the exhibit that Bob Heil is sending to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Bob invented the "talk box" that made Joe Walsh and especially Peter Frampton famous. I guess Joe and Bob are still very good friends. Bob started his journey by helping the Grateful Dead replace their stolen sound equipment for a gig at the Fabulous Fox many years ago. He became friends with them and The Who and it goes on from there. His microphones are the industry standard and I am looking forward to seeing his exhibit. I will be taking pictures and will put them up when I get back. On a side note, Bob's daughter Julie helped us out at the Rock many years ago. She was so sweet and beautiful. She did the morning news updates on Good Morning America for the local ABC affiliate. We wanted her to do a "blue" reading of some copy but she kept changing the words because, "I'm not like that." A gal to take home to Mom, for sure. I wonder where she ended up. I will find out today.
Here's Bob and Jeff Beck. Bob was JB's sound guy for years Jeff friggin Beck! Wow!

Bye, dad.

Jeezix, how fast time is going. After returning from Cedar Falls to see my oldest daughter graduate last night, and after play practice, my youngest had a party to go to. These were good kids having the party, but when she says "bye, dad", with the words she just tosses over her shoulders, you wonder how long you have left. Will she disappear after high school or will she return until we kick her out? I think she will be gone for good, hardly if ever to return. I left home at 17, rarely to return and for good at 22 when I moved to KC.
While trying to sleep in the middle of the night(see previous post), the phone rings. A phone call at one a.m. is never expected and rarely good news. "Hey, I wanted to let you that I'll be home at 1:40 instead of 1:30, we are leaving now". Whew, thanks kid.
"Bye, dad".