Things To Do When You're High

How fun.

Hot, Muggy Saturday Morning Stuff

The last live (for me) Route 66 is on tonight. No big deals, no goodbyes and hopefully a well executed show. I will miss doing it live but I will be happy to retain my Saturday nights to pillage and plunder the St. Louis bar scene (?) I have offered to do it in Bloomington on my time and ship it to the station each week. I know a couple of qualified cats are lobbying for the gig. I really couldn't argue with either one.

Well, St. Louis is in a quick race to become Wichita. I have nothing against Wichita, but it ain't St. Louis. In the past ten years, we have lost McDonnell Douglas, Purina, May Company, TWA, A.G. Edwards and now Anhueser Busch. We are selling the nation piece by piece, company by company to foreign investors. I will hate to see what our country will be like in 20 years. As a friend of mine said last week.."in 15 years, you'll either shop at WalMart or Home Depot, so how is beer any different?" Good point. And the Walmarts and Home Depots will be owned by the Chinese.

I read in the newspaper the other day that we should feel sorry for Mark Mulder. Mark is a high quality pitcher that just about the time he got to St. Louis...he blew out his arm. He tried to pitch the other night, felt something pop and that was it. He has had a number of shoulder surgeries and is probably done. Mark comes from a very wealthy family is the east and is making about 9 million dollars for basically, doing nothing. Hard to feel sorry for that. Yeah, he probably isn't going to pitch again, but if he gives back the 15 or so million dollars that the Cardinals have paid him since he got hurt, then yeah, I'll feel sorry for him. But, the chance of that happening is about the same as me being pope. I feel bad for the guy, not sorry for him.

The last week at KMOX is next week. I still have lots of work to do. I think I am leaving on good terms, all seem to be genuinely happy for me. I hope so, it is NEVER a good thing to burn bridges in this business.

The Soundtrack

There are points in your life where you know that a certain piece of music will define in your mind the whole time period. When I moved to KC, it was the song "Hot Summer Nights" by Walter Egan. When I moved to St. Louis, it was "No Surrender" by Bruce Springsteen. This move, the piece is "Viva LaVida" by Coldplay. It is etched even now, when it plays in my head twelve years from now, this is what I will remember.
It's all good.

Going To Cheecago, Baby..Sorry I Can't Take You...

... In my best Robert Plant (from "When The Levee Breaks")

Out the hotel door

From the Navy Pier




After walking all over the city, the Ferris Wheel on the Pier was treat



From the Ferris Wheel

The incredible Merchandise Mart next door to the Holiday Inn. The studios for Q101.1 and The Loop (Emmis Chicago) are in this building. Very classy.

Chicago 6:45 pm July 8th 2008

My obligatory "French Connection" shot

Chicago keeps adding to the skyline, while St. Louis hasn't

The band shell at "Millenium Park"

Saw these guys rehearse at noon on Wednesday

I love Chicago, everything about it. I just looked up the whole time I was there. I can't help it, the architecture is just incredible. Had a great meal at 35 place on Wacker and a so-so one at Mango, but the 4 mile walk through the city on Wednesday was incredible especially after a true Chicago hot dog at this place on Grand that was out of a Chicago movie. What a great three days. Sweet Home Chcago.

Weird Cover Version That Works

Neil Young does "A Day In The Life" and yet somehow, it works.

Backstage Pass Number 17

If you'll notice in the middle of the pass it says "Tonight I'm Yours, Rod Stewart." Never saw him, had any contact with him, but hey, I was there, 1981.

Another Old Gas Station

It's like Lay's chips...I just can't stop..

A "Two Hit" Wonder

Ya know, I just did one of my top 100 LPs with the Doobs, but this song has literally saved my life. Another one from 1973, it really doesn't get any better than this. One of my top ten songs of all time, without a doubt. Damn, I sound like John Cusack in 'High Fidelity", huh? The "In Crowd" be damned, this was Dobie's finest moment. It was a joy to meet him in Nashville, I didn't know what to do...I just looked at him weird. I stared at the top of my shoes and drank ice water. I didn't know what to say and he didn't either. This song fills me with awe, still. It has a very soothing quality to it.

Top 100

This resides somewhere close to the top 10. Junior year in high school and this release was the soundtrack, without question. To me, this is the high point of their career. Starting with "Natural Thing" and heading into "Long Train Runnin" and "China Grove", it doesn't get much better than that. "China Grove" was the first single from the album and it only got to number 15. "Long Train Runnin'" hit number 8. I think the songs are more popular now than ever. Those two songs were on the radio, but they weren't the hits that we think after all these years. "Dark Eyed Cajun Woman" reminds me of winter for some reason, great textured workout with some fine guitar playing and great dynamics. "Clear as the Driven Snow" is maybe the weakest track on the record, but a nice jam nonetheless. The first song on side two was "Without You", a great hard, up tempo number that was usually in the encore when done live. Song number two on side number two will forever and ever be one of my favorite songs. Without a question "South City Midnight Lady" is my all time favorite Doobie Brothers song and a song that resides in MY all time top twenty. "Evil Woman" is a bit of a throwaway, but still quite listenable. There's the obligatory instrumental break and then the album finishes with "Ukiah/The Captain and Me", a fine way to wrap the whole thing up. For a 17 year old kid, growing up in a rough river town, without much support, I took refuge in the music. It all meant so much, but this one along with "Toulouse Street" and especially "What Were Once Vices.." were the soundtrack to my adolescence. One of the very few bands that used two drummers and employed "Skunk" Baxter, one of the best technical guitar players.

This one's an A in my book

My Junk

This is not the map of the Seoul subway system. It is a view of what's right under my back yard. Created by the moles, voles, and whatever else is there, they have even set up their own hot dog stand and movie theatre. I hate killing anything really, but my back yard looks bad enough from all the rain, NOW I have to worry about falling in the cracks. Pest control to the rescue and I really hate to say that. But, it's them or me.

Hey, A-Rod, are you nuts? Do you realize what an idiot you look like? Are you and Elliot Spitzer hangin together? You bust up two marriages to have your go around with someone who stopped being relevant in 1990? Your wife's a beauty and you just had a kid? Wha? So, your wife goes and does Lenny Kravitz. According to the papers, your wife can take half of what you made while married to her. Wow, you're an idiot.

Getting pumped about the big move. Have lots of ideas, as Jerry Reed once said ..."we got a long way to go and a short time to get there..". Heading to Chicago for two nights with Gladys. Ought to be fun, back to St. Louis on Friday, then one last week at the mighty MOX. It'll happen fast.

What a great baseball game today. On the Saturday of the July 4th weekend, the Cardinals score three in the bottom of the ninth and beat the Cubs. Poetic. The best two teams in the National League play for the rubber game today. How cool