Cool Songs You Never Hear

I had the jukebox to the right going today and I heard two great songs that no one ever hears

"These Are The Days Of Our Lives"-by Queen What a piece of songwriting. I got the first Queen album right when it came out (after hearing "Liar" on a late night AM radio show) in 1974 and saw them not much later than that for $1.50. Just a real sweet song and one of my top five Queen tunes (it's from "Innuendo" released in 1991). A lovely understated solo by Brian May who to this day never gets his due.



"No Surrender" by Bruce Springsteen My favorite line in the song being "..we learned more from a three minute record baby, than we ever learned in school". Hallelujah! I would place it as song number three in my all time favorite Bruce Springsteen songs. This video is testament to just how good these guys are live.

Perks Of The Job/What I'm Reading

In my latest career venture, I am producing for two great guys on KMOX. John Carney does the nightshift from 8p-11p Monday through Friday. He's not a guy who like to take phone calls much, but as an interviewer, he has few peers. Jon Grayson, who does 11p-2a, is the exact opposite, he likes the phone action and will occaisionally request a guest or two. He is one of the best at getting people to call the station. In my job, I get "pitched" by just about anyone who wants something publicized. Whether it's an event, a concert, a book or whatever. It is very challenging and the hours are long but in many ways fun. I am blessed to be still hanging on in the business and being someone that KMOX can count on.

Thinking that John likes two guests an hour, over a week, that's 30 people to line up. Each week. Each one should be interesting and/or compelling. Last night, we talked to:

Carl Haissen, (who happens to be one of my favorite authors), Kenneth Davis, who wrote the book "Don't Know Much About History","Don't Know Much About Geography", etc. (he was plugging his new book), a preview of a two hour interview with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy,

comedian Tammy Pescatelli and since it was Friday night, he finished the show with games.

Next week, we'll talk to Cokie Roberts, Karen Allen, Lincoln Hall (the guy who was left for dead at the top of Mt. Everest) etc.

My job is to contact all of those people's people, line their schedules up with ours, set up the show making sure the guys have all of the audio and information (bios and press releases) they need and then calling back all of those people to confirm on the day of the show. How cool is that? The other cool thing about the job is some of the things that cross my desk.

Like the new biography of Warren Zevon. Warren was an acquired taste, I really liked a lot of his stuff but, in that vein, some of it was over my head. Jon Grayson will be interviewing Crystal Zevon on Monday, she has written a new book about of course, Warren. Most PR people send the book along with the pitch, usually a couple at a time. With their permission, I requested my own copy of this one and I can't put it down. I will say that one of Warren Zevon's favorite quotes was "I got to be Jim Morrison for a longer time than he did". I guess.

Here's the review I found on Amazon:

For those who know them, the brilliant, dark songs of Warren Zevon (1947-2003) inspire nothing short of adoration; for those who don't, this stunning biography of the irrepressible rock 'n' roll singer/songwriter should send them sprinting to the nearest record store. By taking an unexpurgated, oral-history approach to Warren's life, his former wife and lifelong friend Crystal has crafted a sharp, funny, jaw-dropping rock biography that's among the best of the sub-genre. Provocative and unflinching, her account distills Warren's journal entries and the author's exhaustive interviews with 87 family members, business associates, band mates, fellow musicians and former lovers into a chronology ranging from Warren's ancestry to his death, at age 56, from lung cancer. The impetus for the book was Warren himself-he implored Crystal to tell his story and to "promise you'll tell 'em the whole truth, even the awful, ugly parts." The awful, ugly parts turn up often: Warren's addictions (to alcohol, drugs and sex), personal demons (intense obsessive-compulsion and commitment-phobia) and paternal shortcomings (to him, kids were nuisances) all get plenty of play here. But so does Warren's music, for which peers like Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen and Paul Schaffer offer plenty of insight. This top-notch biography is a must-read for fans, and a highly rewarding read for anyone interested in a close look at the life of a modern rock icon. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Van McClain

Van is one of the best guys I know and a cat that I don't speak with enough. For those who don't know, I have had a very strong relationship with the band "Shooting Star"since New Year's eve 1979, when I saw them for the first time at Memorial Hall in Kansas City. Van is the guitarist. Also on the bill that night was "Missouri", another decent band that came from KC at that time. While I thought Missouri was OK, the buzz in my circle of friends was of Shooting Star who played before Missouri that night, which was billed as "The Last Concert of The Decade". Damn, the guys were good, really great songs about everyday people and the ultimate triumph to rise above.

Great stuff and I was a certified fan. I then became great friends with Van and Steve Thomas(the drummer), who's father I adored. Mr. Thomas was a cameraman at WDAF TV, which was in the same building as KY. He was there late at night and so was I. .

Van called me today and says he reads the blog. You're a knucklehead. The band is playing Sturgis this summer. Sturgis? They are coming through St. Louis and we will definately get them on the air at KMOX and have fine merriment with Van, Ron, Steve and the rest. It got me thinking though, about some of my favorite Shooting Star songs. Here they are now (I especially love You've Got What I Need, that's just about the time I jumped on the bandwagon).
We were so young....

"You've Got What I Need" (original line up featuring the late, great, dearly missed Bill Guffey on keyboards)


"Summer Sun" (one of my faves)


"Tonight" (another great song that I played the shit out of in my career)


"Last Chance" (their Stairway To Heaven)


And lastly for some fun...

Did they ever play you guys on MTV? Thanks for making my life better,man. And I will play Del Shannon for you Saturday night.

Cool Job Opening of the Week.

Wow!


Your career includes a steady sales background, but you also have some programming experience. You have an entrepreneurial spirit and are looking for a chance to put all of your skills and experience together in a place that provides an exceptional lifestyle.

How does the south gate to Yellowstone National Park sound? One of the nation's premiere resort towns with a daily postcard view of the sun setting over the Grand Tetons?

How 'bout a privately held and GROWING broadcast company? Two FM's? New facility and equipment?

What about the challenge of hiring your own staff and breaking new ground in a new territory?

We don't need a closer- we need a leader that can become a part of the community. The type of person that doesn't need "the book", but can actually create results oriented radio AND turn a profit based on those results.

If you have impeccable integrity- leadership skills- can do/will do attitude- the ability to consult with advertisers- create ideas- and the desire to live in a place that is often called "God's Country"- Then timing is of the essence.

Please email your resume, contact info, & references to jxx@jxx.com
I'm just the consultant, but if you can impress me I'll put you touch with the decision makers who want to make a decision very soon.

WKRP End Theme Translated

Thanks to my friend Tom OKeefe for sending this along...to my radio friends.



I never knew..

Guilty Pleasure

...Gordon Ramsay.

One of the only bright spots in daytime TV is the BBC America Network. Every afternoon, Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares comes on and I love it. Don't ask me why, but like I said, it's a guilty pleasure. He literally takes no shit from anybody and he sure knows what the hell he's doing, eh?

That got me turned on to the American version and thanks to http://www.hulu.com/, I can watch all the shows (and I have).

The premise is this...restaurant is having trouble, something's not quite right. He comes in, tells them they are all bloody bastards and he will fix it. Says the word "fuck" a lot and basically tears the restaurant apart and starts all over again. He gets them in shape and then he comes back later to see how they are doing, eh?

My favorite BBC show was when to went to France to fix a place and met with the owner and her father, a French bird who basically didn't give a damn. He fixed the place up and left only to come back 3 months later to find it had been closed down. He called a meeting with the owner and the daughter, she showed up and told him to "fuck off". The father apologized. Hilarious.

I do not, however like the "Hell's Kitchen" show where all he does is berate people. I can't stand that show.

Ramble On...

Everytime I see something about England, it makes me want to live there. I have no idea why this farm boy would ever have the notion to go live in England, but I picture myself has having a bed and breakfast in the rolling countryside of Kent, or living in loft somewhere in Soho. I have always been afflicted with the wanderlust thing and it's getting very prominent now. I know how expensive it is to live there, but I never have had money and somehow not having any doesn't bother me. "I Like Dreamin"

These new commercials about having your future self coming to visit you give me the willies. I have always wondered what I would have told myself at an early age if I could go and do it right now. If I could write the 17 year old Randy a letter and tell him what to expect and what to do differently, what would it sound like? Note to self...that's my next project. I'll get on it in my spare time. Ha!

Next time

Been Awhile

Hey Mr. Blog,

It has been awhile. I have had some setbacks and some surprises. I went to do the radio show thing on Saturday night and I must say, I went back too early. I literally could not pull my headphones apart and put my ears in them without help. Using my arm to push the buttons on the board was painful and it caused me to push back my back to work date. I go back tomorrow after physical therapy. I am not sure what to expect, it seems so long since I have done anything. The doc says I must ween myself from my sling and start using my hand/arm. I would love to do that. I can't stand this thing on my arm and it has contributed greatly to my lack of sleep. So has having no physical activity. I am a guy who needs to sweat and I haven't since April 23rd. I have put on a few pounds and that's not good. Hopefully, I'll be able to take them off quick. I haven't driven since the surgery and I miss it. It's the Metro system in St. Louis for me for awhile. Arghh!

It continues to be rainy and cloudy and chilly here in the gateway city. I saw (or heard) on the news last night that we have eclipsed the record for the most rain ever between January first and May 12. That seems right.

My mind was been wondering about who, what and where and I am.... as Bruce Springsteen would say..."I'm counting on a miracle to come through"

Alas, same as it ever was, same as it ever was.

Friday

Feeling a bit better today, although this "stinger" issue in my right arm is not getting better.
I have PT at 4pm today (yippie, I get out of the house) and then, I will do the show on KMOX tomorrow night, and back to work on Monday. Since I can't drive, I am conducting an experiment to find out how long it takes to get from Meramec Community College to the downtown office. This would make a good story for one of the newspeople, don't you think? I will get on a bus about 7:30 and see, using the buses and Metrolink, along with walking, just how efficient our mass transportation system is here in St. Louis City and County.

My typing still sucks.

The NBA releases its First Second and Third teams, and Tony Parker isn't on any of them? Wha?

It's The Indiana Jones trilogy today, folks. Getting ready for the new movie. Is it just me, or does the new "Speed Racer" movie look NOTHING like the original cartoon? It didn't get a very good review.

Eddy Arnold

I don't think I can begin to tell you how big Eddy Arnold was in my house. When I heard of his passing, I was reminded of my mother who, I swear, would swoon at the mention of his name. With the passing of Eddy, I have officially lost touch with the very early years of my being. Hank's long gone, Ray died not too long ago and now, with this, a certain part of my life now drifts away on some iceberg that just broke free from my past, never to return.

What a voice he had. I can name ten of his songs right off the bat, just because they were played so much in my house. With his TV show and easy, breezy ways, you thought this guy was your favorite uncle that brought you a present every day he came to see you.

"What's He Doing in My World", "Welcome To My World", "Make The World Go Away", "Cattle Call","The Richest Man In The World" etc. I know these songs word for word after all of this time...he was second to George Jones in the number of individual hits on the country charts but, according to a formula derived by Joel Whitburn, is the all-time leader in an overall ranking for hits and their time on the charts. From 1945 through 1983 he had 145 charted songs, including 28 number-one hits. We may have had them all. He performed well written songs and surrounded himself with great musicians. He didn't wear the gaudy, sequined suits that other country artists did at the time. He wasn't big on honky tonk, he was big on love and the many intracacies of it. He recorded music at the age of 87 with the release of "After All These Years".

Married to the same woman for 67 years, she died in March of this year.

I guess it really doesn't take us long to go from here

To here...huh?

His last concert in 1999. Thanks, Eddy. You filled my house with gladness. Say hi to Mom.

Today

First day of physical therapy and I feel like crap. Really. I thought I had a fever

....(no not that fever)...this morning because all I did at the table while eating my oatmeal was sweat. I miss sweating, I really do but not under these circumstances. My shoulder hurts like hell and everytime I try to straighten my arm out, I feel like I am getting stuck with a white hot poker in my wrist. Why my wrist and why now to feel like I am having a migrane (which I never get). They said the rehabilitation process was going to be tough. I can hardly wait.

PT is at four, The Man With No Name triple feature with Clint Eastwood before then.

New Five Dollar Bill

something isn't quite right...

Take A Walk With Me?

I am now getting a chance to go through some cool stuff my friends and family have sent me via email...here's something from my friend Kool Karl...



I have issues with heights now but I didn't used to. I wonder what changed? We used to dive off cliffs at the Houston Baptist Camp onthe Big Piney River. We couldn't get high enough...we were fearless.

Another One Hit Wonder

This was a sweet song released in 1972 by Carlos Santana's brother Jorge's band, Malo. This is a live version that loses a bit from the studio. Still, a very nice song, one of my favorites from that time. I was going through my "horn" phase and was into these guys, Chase, Tower of Power, Chicago etc. etc. Jorge didn't do much after that.

Ipod, Sweet Ipod

It's been good to me lately...

"Paper Money" by Montrose
"Paper In Fire"-John Mellencamp
"Night"-Bruce
"Katmandu"-Bob Seger
"Rock and Roll Soul"-Grand Funk
"Talk to the Lawyer"-David Lindley
"Tell Me Something Good"-Rufus
"Whiskey In The Jar"-Thin Lizzy
"Walkin Blues"-Hot Tuna
"Teenage Lament 74"-Alice Cooper
"What Can I Say"-Pousette Dart Band
"Eclipse"-Pink Floyd
"I Can't Stand It"-Robin Trower

A good walk, indeed

Week 3

I am healing at a snail's pace. I am not a good patient because I don't have much patience. I am slowly but surely getting the right arm more involved. The left arm is not happy to be the understudy for the right, but alas, it's hanging in there too, knowing it's taking one for the team.




It's a beautiful day here in St. Louis and reason number one why May is my favorite month. The lilacs are blooming which always reminds me of my mom.






Another earthquake, this time right down the street. A 2.5..but something's rumbling...



It's a bitch not to work. I couldn't handle having nothing to do. I had my daughters boyfriend shovel up a place for my giant tomato trees and I am out slowly (with my left arm) breaking up the dirt clods and getting rid of the grass. I couldn't stand it that someone else mowed my yard. I am just weird about it. "Challenging yard" was his only response when it was over. You bet it is.





The Raley double feature this afternoon will be a high school tribute:

"Jeremiah Johnson"- one of my personl guilty pleasures over the last three decades. I thought Rebert Redford was as cool as could be in this. I have always been afflicted with wanderlust and this movie is a real good one to fulfill that need if only for a couple of hours. Even after seeing this while working at the drive in 17 times or so, still one of my faves.



"Harold and Maude"- Hysterical movie but one I could relate to. The premise is a bit creepy that a woman in her sixties and a guy in his teens could fall in love but as my dad once said.."you can't help who you fall in love with". Maybe the first time I heard Cat Stevens. Reminds me of high school.

Things I am Thankful for...

vicodin
my movie collection;
the three best ones I saw were:

1. Good fellas

2. A League of Their Own

3. The Right Stuff

(I don't remember much about the rest)

A great orthopedic surgeon...

"well, once we got in there, I noticed some bone spurs and some bursitis, so we took those out, you'll be good as new in nine months"...urgh!"

vicodin

A remote for the TV. I swear I would kill myself if I had to be cooped up at home all day everyday watching daytime TV.

Short term disability..."you mean I CAN'T work for two weeks?"

music

There is a new expanded release of "Street Survivors" by Lynyrd Skynyrd that is tres cool, I will delve into that next post, which will be tonight

basketball

The NBA playoffs are in full swing. I can't stand the NBA until the playoffs roll around, it came at a good time this year

dreams

I have had some of the most hullucinogenic dreams ever, I mean stuff that has no rhyme or reason. I kept having these dreams of a bridge to nowhere, I mean a bridge at sea where you kept driving and all there was noting around me except water, as far as the eye could see. Then I got on the computer a couple of days ago and saw these pictures..

Kyndall Raley Dobbelare
After years of trying, my brothers girl finally gives birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. She is the most beautifullest one. Congrats, Nicki and Bill. Your father would be ecstatic, I know I am. She looks like your grandma Lorraine.


vicodin

ummm...er...wha?

WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

back very soon. hard as hell to operate with just one side of your body engaged and it's not the right side

the picture sums up my dream pattern lately.

Saturday Morning (barely)

Truly saddened by the passing of Danny Federici, it's that gutteral Hammond b3 in songs like "My Hometown" and the solo on "Hungry Heart" that gave the Boss his spice. It was interesting to read that it was Danny's band to start with and he kept adding parts. It must be tough for the rest of them to continue. I am glad I got to see them as many times as I did.
*************************************************************************************
It's another cloudy, gray day here but I have been rescued. I have work to do in my flower patch and I am preparing to dig up part of my yard to plant my "Giant Tomato Trees" (as seen on TV). Yes, I ponied up $15 bucks for an add I saw on TV the other night that will allow me to grow GIANT tomatoes. I have the shovel at hand and I am not afraid to use it.
************************************************************************************
It looks like my shoulder trouble was more than just that. According to my orthopedic guy, I have a complete tear in the rotator cuff. I will be on the DL for 8-9 MONTHS. Holy schmoley, I can't even grasp not being able to play ball for that long. It has been coming on for awhile but I didn't think it would be this bad. I go in on Wednesday and can't drive for at least ten days afterward. From what I hear, the rehab is painful. Short term disability at work and hopefully, a full lifestyle and basketball about the first of the year. For the next couple of weeks it's all the movies and vicodin I can handle. I type a lot with my right shoulder but I hope to be blogging while buzzed on painkillers > can't wait for that can you?

R I P Danny Federici

Danny Federici, one of the original members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, died Thursday. He was 58.

The keyboardist passed away at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after battling melanoma for three years, according to a posting on brucespringsteen.net.

His organ-playing can be heard in the classic "Born to Run," the 1975 song that launched Springsteen's career. He also played the organ and glockenspiel in the 1984 hit "Born in the U.S.A."

Robert Hilburn, former pop critic for the Los Angeles Times, said Federici brought a "soulful seasoning" to the band. "Sometimes it felt like the New Jersey shore, where he came from: sometimes bright, sometimes melancholy," Hilburn said.

"Danny was a marvelous musician, but for fans . . . his importance went beyond his keyboard work," Hilburn said. "There has long been a sense of brotherhood and community surrounding the E Street Band and Danny, through his playing and personality, contributed an essential element to that spirit."

Hilburn said of Springsteen's concert last week in Anaheim, "You couldn't help but miss Danny's presence. Without him, the band was not whole."

Federici, who has played with Springsteen since the late 1960s, dropped out of the group's U.S. tour in November to undergo treatment for the skin cancer. He made a special appearance in Indianapolis on March 20.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band began last year its first full-scale U.S. and European tour in four years.

Federici was born in Flemington, N.J., a long car ride from the Jersey shore haunts where he first met kindred musical spirit Springsteen in the late 1960s. The pair often jammed at the Upstage Club in Asbury Park, N.J., a now-defunct after-hours club that hosted the best musicians in the state.

It was Federici, along with original E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, who invited Springsteen to join their band.

Federici became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen rocketed from the boardwalk to international stardom. Springsteen split from E Street in the late '80s, but they reunited for a hugely successful tour in 1999.

The Cuss-O-Meter

Created by OnePlusYou


I'm not sure what that means, but I think I said shit somewhere before, but I am not sure, damn it.

Dr. Sardonicus had a 10.8%
my man brian had a 28% tsk,tsk.

I know there was a fuck in there somewhere, too.

Scott Spiezio

The Cardinals paid you off to the tune of 2 million dollars. You approached The Braves and they took a chance on you with the stipulation that you be sober and "ready to play". You could have made everyone say they were wrong, you could have shown them (and me). You came to the ballpark not "ready to play" and the Braves released you. Get help now. So sad.

Backstage Pass Number 16

I don't remember a thing from this show. I know that about two weeks before the show, I interviewed Paul Rodgers. He was very nice and we had a wonderful time talking about obscure Free songs. Three days before the show (ticket sales were not at expectations) I talk to Jimmy Page live on the air from his hotel room in Dallas. Jimmy f*(king Page. Halfway through the interview, he drops the phone and I can hear background noise, but no Jimmy. Apparently, he passed out or something while talking to me. The running joke for the next forty five minutes was me constantly checking back with Jimmy and him not being there, but hearing people talking and traffic noise in the background. After about 45 minutes, some cat picks up the phone and says hello. I introduce myself and he tells me that Jimmy's "out cold". 4:45 in the afternoon and Page is out. He had a show that night in Dallas. I hope he gave them the best show he could. Might not be saying much.

"...What A Drag It Is To Get Old..."

Evidence A

After over 30 years under the headphones, my hearing is shot. I have tinnitus pretty bad. There is a constant swarm of cicadas around my ears, but of course, there really isn't. I can't hear the coffee maker beep. It hasn't affected my job, I just turn the headphones up louder. Ask anyone who's been in the business in the long term...they can't hear. Certainly, I can hear the phone, the person on the other end of the phone, and can function quite well in the everyday normal world, but the cicadas keep singing till August, when they are for real, but who's to tell?

Evidence B

Of all my body parts, my teeth suck the most. My mom took some kind of thyroid medication when I was inutero and my teeth have paid the price. I still have them (most of them) but now, they are probably going to undergo some kind of highway 40 restoration project (inside joke in St. Louis). The front two are glued in and bonded together (that's another story) and it feels like that we have a problem. Let's hope for the best, but I am very uncomfortable in that chair. My guy knows that if I sit in the chair, I get the gas, and it had better be cranked up. On the dread meter, this is a ten.

Evidence C

After years of hoisting three point bombs on the unsuspecting, helpless, hapless foes of mine (and making a couple), my shoulder's out of whack. I had an MRI on it the other day and I am still awaiting results, but doggone it, this stinks. I think it's a rotator, but I also thought I was an orthopedic surgeon once, then mom woke me for school.

Other than that, clean bill of health. I am blessed.

The Next Sign of the Apocolypse

rain 39 degrees

The headline on CBS news at 1 am last night..."this breaking news, reports from LA say that Britney Spears was involved in a minor traffic accident earlier today. No injuries were reported and police are not she if she was driving or not"...

I have nothing else to add.

From Steve Mays

Steve writes well. I stole this because he is SO right...

from www.smays.com

Bring back the draft
Viet Nam wasn't going well. We needed more "boots on the ground," so they re-instituted the draft on December 1, 1969 with a lottery. Low number, you're on your way to Viet Nam. High number, you okay. My number was 213 (out of 365). The draft was frozen at 195 in December of 1970. I dropped out of law school the next day.
In 1968, we had 536,100 troops in Viet Nam (compared to our 140,000 in Iraq). If we had the draft today, the war in Iraq would be over by the Fourth of July.

My brothers number was 4. He enlisted real soon. If we would have had 500,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan, then Osama would be dead by now; then on to Pakistan. Iraq had nothing to do with this.

Route 66

Had a decent show after getting off to a rough start. It would be like a pitcher who gave up two runs in the first inning but settled down and delivered a win. I felt real good after a fellow employee called and told me how much he enjoyed the fabric of the show. I got a call from some guy in Cedar Rapids who couldn't believe I knew where he was. Hey, it's the second largest city in Iowa, right Jess? He was a fan of me at KSHE and wanted to hear The Doors. Not tonight but, how cool to be listening 250 miles away. What a trip to be responsible for 50,000 watts of holy light and a small part of countless lives, if only for 30 seconds or so, across two thirds of the US.

It was very very cool to play tunes by Buddy Holly, The Four Seasons, Bobby Darin and the like.

See ya next week.

The Dark Knight

The Killing Joke: The book which Heath Ledger was given as research for his role as the Joker. This is not your Adam West Batman. This is not your Jack Nicholson Joker, there is no room for anything other than madness. This is your madman on steriods Batman. Bruce Wayne saw his parents murdered in front of him at an early age. He did not take it well. This comic book is a fast track to the dark side to really try and understand the "Dark Knight" for who he is. Superman is The Beatles, all you need is love. Batman is the Stones, sympathy for the devil.

I.can't.wait.

Heath

Dude!

Annie Moses Band part two

One of the cool things about working in the media as that you never know who or what is coming next. A couple of weeks ago, I got a press release from Nashville asking for some mentions for an upcoming concert at a church in Belleville. It was a family and they knew it was a long shot to get on the big city radio station but it was worth a try. I became intrigued by this and ran it by John Carney who, bless his heart, said "why not". Thursday is the night we like to focus on music and told the publicist that we would love to have them but they had to come in the night before the show and play live. She asked if we could feed them in return for playing live. I went upstairs to the sales floor and worked it out so we were set. If you will see a previous post, I was just stunned when I saw these guys on youtube and couldn't wait to make their acquaintance. We met at "The Fountain on Locust" and had a wonderful dinner. Mon and Dad met early in life, became Nashville songwriters,starting having kids and each kid wanted to out do the other as far as musical talent is concerned. Two are Julliard trained, one was tutored by Itzak Perlman and were some of the nicest, most wonderful people I had ever met. After dinner, we hauled their equipment from across the street to the third floor of the Gateway Tower. They wanted to bring a harp, but space wouldn't allow. So, live in the studios of KMOX were a keyboard, an upright bass, a cello, a viola, violin and a mandolin, along with some box drums.Five microphones for all of this along with three people who sang. This is the way radio was 70 years ago, when it was ALL live. These guys were SO good, it was an incredible night of tight playing and hair standing harmonies. They told great stories and I think the audience was enthralled. John Carney mixed some of the best sounding music ever in mono. With what he had to work with, it sounded excellent. I became a fan and immediately started listening to the new CD "Through The Looking Glass". While listening to it at home, the words "they don't sound like a Christian band" were heard. Shades of Kansas, Dan Fogelberg, and even Mahavishnu Orchestra are heard. Annie (the oldest) is the front person and it's easy to see why. It's all good and me, being a music connoisseur, found it incredible. Anew fan with new friends, it doesn't get any better than that.

Thanks, God, for the joyful noise.

This is my favorite song of theirs and one they played for me Thursday night.