High School Musical (or Freaks and Geeks)

KSCR-United Township High School, East Moline Illinois-1973
That's me behind the mic stand
Yeah, me and that John Denver thing goin on.
That's how long this thing's been in my blood.
35 years ago? Damn

Media Junk

I was watching the "Today" show this morning and Merideth Viera said they were going to show us pictures of the woman who ruined Gov. Spitzer's career. Uh, I think he ruined his career and he didn't need any help.

Now, let me get this straight, a guy who hated the media, his disgust and intolerance shown at every news conference is now one of them. Damn, pigs do fly. Another hypocrite.

Dumbass

D'oh!!



Hey Eliot, karma's a bitch, huh? I don't mean to belittle anyone, but are you kidding me? He spent $4300 on an "escort"? Nice job. You have a beautiful wife, three gorgeous daughters (one who is getting ready to graduate from high school and go off to college) and you throw it all away?
What the hell is wrong with guys like you anyway?

As a friend of a guy who lost his job through the bulldog hypocritical action of the great guv, I think I speak for a number of my radio brethren who say, screw you. I hope your wife leaves you.

What an idiot to cheat on this.

NEW YORK Gov. ELIOT SPITZER -- the man who as State Attorney General magnified payola allegations to the point where the labels and radio had to settle to the tune of many millions of dollars, and many lost their jobs as a result of the allegations -- is facing some karmic justice of his own today. After revelations of his involvement in a prostitution ring was reported in TODAY's NEW YORK TIMES, SPITZER abruptly scheduled a press conference this afternoon to deal with the allegations.

The local CBS-TV affiliate is now reporting that "SPITZER was not expected to continue as governor and may resign by MONDAY evening...Reliable sources told CBS 2 Political Reporter MARCIA KRAMER that Lt. Gov. DAVID PATERSON could be sworn in as governor as early as 7p MONDAY."

SPITZER did not mention his resignation in his statement to the press, in which he said: "I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family and that violates my -- or any -- sense of right and wrong. I apologize first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public whom I promised better. I do not believe politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what is best for the State of NEW YORK. I am disappointed that I failed to live up to the standard that I expect of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family. I will not be taking questions. Thank you very much. I will report back to you in short order. Thank you very much."

According to THE TIMES, SPITZER was identified in court papers as a client in a prostitution ring. "The governor’s travel records show that he was in WASHINGTON in mid-FEBRUARY," the story asserted. "One of the clients described in court papers arranged to meet with a prostitute who was part of the ring, the EMPERORS CLUB VIP on the night of FEB. 13th."

Number 9 ... Number 9 ... Number 9....

Predictably, the press has feasted on this story like school of piranhas on a bleeding cow. WNBC.com reports that "According to a law enforcement source close to the investigation, the Democratic governor used the alias "GEORGE FOX" when meeting with a prostitute. His alleged conversations with the prostitution ring are detailed in court papers in which SPITZER is identified as "Client 9," according to a source.

APNEWS reports that "The client paid $4,300 in cash to the service, with some being used for the encounter and the rest apparently to be used for credit. When discussing how the payments would be arranged, Client 9 allegedly told [defendant TEMEKA RACHELLE] LEWIS: 'Yup, same as in the past, no question about it,' suggesting it was a routine exchange."

ABCNEWS.COM reports that "As recently as this past VALENTINE'S DAY, FEB. 13, SPITZER, who officials say is identified in a federal complaint as "Client 9," arranged for a prostitute "KRISTEN" to meet him in WASHINGTON, D.C. The woman met Client 9 at the MAYFLOWER HOTEL, room 871, 'for her tryst,' according to the complaint. Client 9 also is alleged to have paid for the woman's train tickets, cab fare, mini bar and room service, travel time and hotel ... Prosecutors reportedly have a series of e-mails and wiretapped phone conversations of SPITZER."

Like Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Ok, but it works.

Musical Mulligan:Bread

Yeah, yeah OK. I know what you are thinkin', the boy's flipped out. All I know is in the summer of my 14th year, this sweet lovely song called "Make It With You" floated out of the AM radio and into the ears of my girlfirend (if you could call her that, but I did at the time). She loved the song, so did I, it was deemed to be "our song" and so it was. After we broke up, she gave me the album back that I bought her with my own money (see previous post). I started playing it and discovered "Been Too Long On The Road", "It Don't Matter To Me" "Why Do You Keep Me Waiting"and others. David Gates hung around in Tulsa with Leon Russell and J.J. Cale. James Griffin was a session guy in LA, Mike Botts was a well respected drummer who once worked with Wes Montgomery and Larry Knectel palyed keyboards on "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" so, these guys could play. They just didn't play as loud as most of the other stuff I was listening to. Apparently, it was a clash of egos that sent these guys to their demise and that's too bad. For every Deep Purple, Black Sabbath or Zeppelin record, this was a nice diversion. I was 14 when I first heard them in 70, they split up for about four years in 1973 and released "Lost Without Your Love" in 1977 and called it quits. They had a special on TV around my 16th birthday and I had to beg my father to let me watch it. James Griffin recently passed with cancer at the age of 61. He wrote "For All We Know" for The Carpenters. He once said that they never wanted to be a soft rock band but going toe to toe with Grand Funk was probably not in their best interest.

Smart man, Smart band.

And now, the top ten:

1. He's A Good Lad -they wrote that one about me.

2. If -to me, the classic love song. Kris Eric Stevens made this song sound special every time he played it on WLS.

3. It Don't Matter To Me -right song, right time right(?) girl

4. Guitar Man -a bit of an edge (hey, it's Bread, OK?)

5. Make It With You -summer of my 14th year. nuff said

6. Everything I Own -the ultimate song of sacrifice, covered many times. Another great sounding song on WLS.

7. London Bridge-first song, first side, first LP

8. Diary-been there, done that, have the scars

9. Let Your Love Go-nice rocking tune

10.Sweet Surrender- their last great song, a fine way to say goodbye

Here's Larry Knechtel on the lead guitar with "Guitar Man" from that TV special in 1972. Very tasty...

These Kids Today

I got into a very interesting conversation the other day with a fellow basketball player in the suana after a game. We chatted about the rise of violence in the schools and wonderered if it had always been this way, but for some reason, we didn't pay attention to it. I don't remember when I went to high school if I could remember a time when so many people went ballistic and killed their fellow man. Sure, I remember guys like Richard Speck or the guy who killed people at the University of Texas, but never with the regularity it seems we are experiencing. I have no degree, have no experience in social work but I have raised kids and I have been a keen observer in and of the process. We have raised a generation of kids who have no idea what it is like to fail. When they run races anymore, there are no ribbons for first place and the kid who finished last is rewarded as much as the kid who finished first. Where is the motivation for the kid who lost? What about the kid who won? We don't want to mess with their "self esteem". I learned at avery early age that when someone wins, someone loses and if I didn't win, well, that must mean I lost. Kids don't lose today, they don't suck at anything and we keep sending them on their way with their self esteem intact but the reality of life so far away. I have been kicked in the face so many times, I can't count. My heart has been broken so many times that I can (and will) write a book about it. I have had my hopes so high in a number of instances, only to have them dashed on the jagged rocks below the next day. If I hadn't failed numerous times in my youth, if I hadn't lost the race, the girl, the job, the friends, I don't know how I would have handled it. If the kids can't fail, if they can't find out that indeed, the may actually not be good at something, how does that set them up for their lives? I have sucked, and will suck. I have failed and will fail. I just keep getting back up again. Do today's kids know how to do that?

The New Frontier

We are conducting an experiment at KMOX that should be interesting. While the hockey game is on the AM and the stream, you can go to KMOX.com, click on the icon and the second stream will broadcast Route 66 from 8-12 midnight on Saturday through the speakers on your computer. Last night was the first show without commercials or a national newscast. We are not quite sure what the rules are but the legendary Bob Hamilton came in once an hour with headlines and offered me a chance to sit and chat with Bob about his work and some of the bigger stories he has worked on in his career. I dedicated one hour to the year 1963 with music, commercials, tv themes and news actualities. We did a Motown set, a girl group set, a doo wop set and a "crooner" set. The playlist was bit deeper and after adjusting to a new studio, I thought the show was quite good. This is where the medium is heading, full service product on a variety of streams and channels. It will be interesting to see how many were listening and where they were from. I got a call from Antwerp Belgium from some transplanted St. Louisan who couldn't sleep and a couple of nice emails. This could be the next big thing and I might be John Glenn.



CBS has just teamed up with AOL, this might be the start of something cool.

While looking for 'doo wop songs', I came across this chestnut and it brought me back to a stack of 78rpm records we used to have. One was "You Belong To Me" by Jo Stafford. My mom used to play that big, thick record all of the time. Since 1952 is a little before our range, I did some more looking and found this version, which was one of my brothers favorite songs and vicariously, mine too. We played this version last night:



It is amazing to me how good my parents music was and how I dismissed it out of hand years ago. This was the real deal, these people could just flat out sing and now, I can't get this song out of my head.

Scott Spiezio

Nice. Last year, you decide to bail on the Cardinals in the middle of the season to get help for "personal reasons". You go through "rehab", get clean and declare yourself a new man. No probs, no worries. Last years death of Josh Hancock obviously didn't get through. On the night of December 30, you and your hot wife go out on the town, drink yourself into stupor, wreck your BMW, puke in a friends house and then beat the shit out of him when he objects about it. You then hide in a closet when the cops come and you don't tell anyone about until the cops try to arrest you in spring training. Lovely. So, the Cardinals release you, and then have to pay you over two million dollars. So, let me get this straight....get drunk, wreck car, punch friend, hide from cops, make millions. What a country.
I will not frequent the ballpark at any time this year knowing that some of my money is going to him. I have had my share of demons, I have stared them down and keep staring. I have never had an entire organization's resources available. I have done it myself and the battle still rages.
This is the reason I am getting to the point where I hate most professional sports, whether you play or don't play, you get the money. Guaranteed contracts have killed baseball. This is just one shining example. Idiot.

R I P Jeff Healey; Mike Smith; Denis Payton

What a sweet, sweet man. when my band was together, we were looking to play anywhere and everywhere. It didn't matter, we just wanted to play. We heard that Jeff was looking for a band to open his show at Mississippi Nights, we entered a tape and were called about a week before the show, saying that Jeff liked the "rawness" of our sound. We were pumped because he was the next "big" thing, a blind guitar player who played the axe on his lap. He had a hit song with "Angel Eyes" and we knew the place would be packed. It was more than packed.We played our ass off, because we knew that Jeff liked our stuff. After the set, while we were leaving the stage, he "looked" at me and said, "you better get back out there, they want more." I mumbled something about opening acts not getting encores and he said "mine do", so we played two more songs and got a standing ovation. If we all hadn't had day jobs, he would have taken us on the road with him. Look at the fingers in the picture, long and sleek. He had been fighting cancer since the age of one, it cost him his sight and ultimately his life. Dead at 41. A very sweet and kind musician. Done too soon.

Bittersweet times for the Dave Clark Five

Mike Smith was the lead singer for the Dave Clark Five. Dave played drums and left the singing to Mike. The Dave Clark Five were the second "British Invasion" band to have a top ten single in America. Mike passed away just days before the band was to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame this weekend. Mike was paralyzed a couple years ago following a freak accident when his trousers got caught on the top of his own wrought iron gate, while trying to climb over. On a day in which he must have wished he'd had been anywhere else... he landed on his head ... and died of complications of pnuemonia. He was 64.

Denis Payton, the sax player in the Dave Clark Five, died in December after a long struggle with cancer. He was 63.Payton appeared on all the group's records, and also played guitars, harmonica and sang backing vocals. The Dave Clark Five, whose "Tottenham Sound" was London's answer to the wave of hits pouring out of Liverpool in the 1960s, scored with hits including "Bits and Pieces," "Do You Love Me?" and "Glad All Over." "He was thrilled about our American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination and said, 'I know I won't be around but it was an amazing part of my life that I am very proud of,'" Clark said.

Blogger block

I have had nothing to say and no time to say it. It has just been one of those weeks where all sorts of stuff has gone on, but I haven't had the mental capacity to write it down. This happens frome time to time and I usually come roaring out of the gates with a heaping helping of steaming junk. Let's see what happens...

Not a good week for Tripp Isenhour

In December, while shooting a video on how to play golf Tripp (I even hate his name) got into a pissing match with a red tailed hawk who had the audacity to interrupt him while he was driving.

You know, I hate professsional golfers. Pissy, prissy prima donnas rule the sport. You can't talk, whisper or distract them in anyway. Anyway, the red tailed hawk violated that rule so Tripp thought he'd launch a few drives his way and wouldn't you know, nailed the hawk for his dastardly sins. Tripp killed it with a driven ball. He hit it so hard it caused the hawk to bleed out it's nostrils. He then laughed about it. Aint no laughing matter to kill an endangered migratory bird. I admire his driving skills but me thinks this might not turn out so well for Tripp. What am I thinking? Tripp will get the finest lawyers money can buy, and he'll get off with a slap on the wrist because he's a golfer and we know golfers rule the world.

I think it's time for a Tripp on the karma train.