Saturday, March 18, 2006

Marty's AZ Hall of Fame!

Marty,
Those of you who have contributed so much to that incredible era (the KCAC/KDKB family so to speak) in Arizona's music history have given us much to cherish. Never underestimate what you all mean to the Valley. It is so important for you to be seen and heard. You are all part of a living legacy.

I hope you will all attend the next Az Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. If you haven't checked out the AMEHOF web site lately, AMEHOF is in the process of updating it (azmusichalloffame.org) Soon there will be a picture section with archival AMEHOF photos, photos of the last induction ceremony, photos of the Advisory Board event that was held this month and much more.

The AZ MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT HALL OF FAME is going strong in spite of seeming to be mum since last year's induction. For instance, in December AMEHOF elected Rich Hazelwood, owner of the Celebrity Theatre, as the new AMEHOF Board of Director's President. With the AMEHOF Board putting their heads together and their noses to the grindstone, it's full speed ahead!

Lots of great changes and surprises are in store. The Celebrity is a perfect fit for AMEHOF. Those of you who have been in the Valley since the 1960's know the historic relevance of the Celebrity to the music scene over the years. At the New Years Eve Jerry Riopelle concert, Rich Hazelwood auctioned off two guitars and raised in the neighborhood of $30,000 for AMEHOF. And that's just the beginning.

Thanks for being such a big part of what matters.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Indeed, Marty & Co are a blessing to our history and Rich Hazelwood is now, with Danny Z, the inheritor of the Celebrity Theaters rock an roll legacy that began, when in 1968, I took WEC's advise and booked, The Cream (on the third night of their first US tour) and followed it up with The Mothers. Then there was, Doug Clark.(Where DID, Doug go ?)

We pray that AMEHOF does not become just another Celebrity promo..That the venue was all of our aspirations for being the Fillmore, Family Dog of AZ was, back then, our intention. Buster Bonoff was pissed and did complain to the Travelodge management about our rental of , "His" facility, an that gave us no end of delight. Imagine , Liberace following Zappa on that weird revolving stage.

Before the Cream show, Eric Clapton asked me if we could turn it off for their two + hour performance, I said sure, and made an announcement that everybody in the audience was invited to come and sit in the asiles. Anybody alive that was there that night will remember it as the most memorable music experience of a lifetime.

So, ole timers like me like to think that todays Big Shots will respect the history of a place that in time was the space where we aced our dreams and began a scene that they may profit greatly from, rat Now.

With Hope,

Bob Gately

Mariah Fleming said...

Bob,
Thanks for such a thoughtful reply to my post. The history you all were such a big part of is so rich with hope and possibility for the present. (And I remember that Cream show like it was only a few years ago, not to mention Zappa and all the rest...)

The Celebrity back then was such an intimate venue for both the artists and the audiences. It really was something, wasn't it? Some of the recent performances like the New Year's Jerry Riopelle show and last November's Bela Fleck and the Flecktones show had that same kind of vibe.

With AMEHOF now making its "home" at the Celebrity, the organization brings its rather short but well known and respected history to the Celebrity. It complements the Celebrity and will continue to play a big part in history in the making.

I have no doubt that the dedicated, hard working people on the AMEHOF Board of Director's respect AMEHOF'S legacy and will make certain that AMEHOF keeps on doing what it has been doing, will continue to make its mark, and to make us proud.

The Celebrity does seem to be rediscovering that unique 'personality' we cherish from its heyday. You're so right, Bob; Rich and Danny are the inheritors of that rock and roll legacy and lets hope they will continue to be good stewards! (o:

I'm hopeful that AMEHEOF's collaboration with the Celebrity will be one that creates some new memories and gives us some wonderful trips back down memory lane too. I hope we'll be able to look back on in it all another decade or so and say 'wow, it really happened again!'

joel samuel said...

Bob so elequently said. I wish everyone all the best with the AMEHOF, I have contributed over ten years to Arizona's entertainment scene and I am sure that everyone working for the AMEHOF wants to leave a legacy and be known for their contribution. History will tell the tale and I feel honored to have played a part and this will always carry me. I have a free video site from the 1980's that I am sure everyone will enjoy.
Go to :

http://joelsamuel.neptune.com

I wish everybody the best of luck and may history smile fonly on all of our aspirations.
Best regards,
joel samuel

joel samuel said...

Please excuse an clerical errors. I have two many crts and my eyes are not what they use to be lol.
Check out the words to an old Morning star song i shot back in 1985 on my site at:
http://joelsamuel.neptune.com/
It's words ring with such truth that I felt I must add this to my record.
It's free for windows based PC's
enjoy the show..