Wednesday, June 28, 2006

ACHTUNG!!! - HOW TO BUST A RAINBOW



This appears to be just practice for the future.
It's happening RIGHT NOW in Colorado.
Click the title above; [ACHTUNG!!! - HOW TO BUST A RAINBOW] for a more comprehensive story and hints about what can be done.

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant

The best Rainbow website:
http://www.welcomehome.org

A good article written before the feds came down hard:
http://www.csindy.com

More recent coverage:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com and

http://www.denverpost.com

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

RAINBOW CHILDREN BUSTED - NO RIGHTS

Somebody has to die befor you youngsters get off your butts and protest?

No surprise - FOUR totally harmless kids died at Kent State - assasinated on the spot before OUR generation asked "What the hell is going on here?"

Since the early 1970's "The Gathering of Tribes" - The Rainbow Children, about 500 strong have amassed in celebration. A party, if you would. No more. This 30-year ESTABLISHED celebration has been busted in the sacred name of Homeland Security.
Think of it as Fascism......... add Racism. No, don't you dare say "Nazi!" Don't you dare.

You can click on the title above for the rest of the story OR just click this link.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/06/27/18283162
.php

Do you young folks not understand? This is YOUR world, this is YOUR country these are YOUR brothers and sisters.... and now Elders.

Want a HINT as to what to do?

Look to the VOLUNTEERS who stood up PEACABLY this spring, Amigos...... The Compadres' Mexicanas who have a better understanding than WE do of what America is all about! You don't need papers to be an AMERICAN. You just need the SPIRIT!

Without it you are as good as dead.

Uncle Ron freespeak@gmail.com

Celebrate 4th of July early - like, 1970

In the column at left, you'll notice we've posted nearly 2 hours of airchecks (neatly divided up into segments) from Bill Compton's July 4, 1970 broadcast on KCAC. Click on the top bar to start the whole program, or select just the part you want to hear. You can also download the files by clicking the link under the playlist. Enjoy, America!

Saturday, June 24, 2006

What are you listening to?

What's on your iPod at the moment? What's the last CD you bought/downloaded/stole? What's playing in your home right now? (Myself, I'm listening to ultra-loud J-Pop on my sons' Beatmania PS2 game.) Click on "Post a comment" and let the readers of this page (all three of us) know!

Friday, June 23, 2006

If We Could Turn Back Time...

Jimmy sure hit the nail on the head about the comments! It's so great to see them all on the page. Thanks for making that change! It makes a huge difference to the feeling of timeliness and group particpation.

I highly recommend going back through all the comments beginning with when Jimmy created this blog! The archives are full of great stuff. It's like our own Time Machine in there! This blog has had some surprising readers...and comments. There are comments in past archives that are pretty recent, too.

I discovered some truly amazing links to cherished bits of AZ history (like an entire site with newspaper and audio clips devoted to the 'Love Workshop' on KDKB in 1976!! ) It's a blast to read and hear all that stuff! Just because a topic is somewhere back in the archives doesn't mean we can't revisit it.

Wouldn't it be a kick for us to go back thru and pull our own favorite topics from the archives and post them up front again? Or if you've commented on something way back when that got lost in the mix, put it up again! It's all about the comments like Jimmy said...and the commentary is rich!! Whaddya all think?

Thursday, June 22, 2006

It's all about the Comments!

Comments now will appear directly below each post on the main page. This means anyone can join in the discussion - or even start their own - by just clicking on the "Post a comment" link, and it'll all appear right here (no more opening a pop-up window to get to the good stuff). On days where there's no post, we'll probably just put "Start a talk" at the top and let the first commenter get the ball rolling. Hopefully this will get more people conversing on this site. Have fun!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Another Rebirth Staffer Found!

Aha! We did it! We found another Rebirth staffer! Mariah and I were talking (well, emailing...) about Rebirth, and she did a web search for Leif (G.), Joe and Michelle's son. Found a MySpace site for a band with a Leif (G.) in it, and I sent a message. Leif passed it along to Michelle, who now goes by her first name, Orlena, and she just sent me an email, to which I promptly replied, and among other things suggested she visit KCAC Lives and leave us a note. Hopefully she'll get around to that soon. She had some sad news, though: Joe passed away earlier this month from cancer complications - he'd been living in Phoenix, too... so close yet so far away.

Peace to all who enter...

:~)aniel

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Podcasts are back!

Due to popular demand (okay, one person asked), the KCAC podcasts are returning to this blog.
Here's the first two hours of Compton's broadcast on the Fourth of July, 1970 (the concluding two hours can be downloaded here). Putting a cap on the turbulent 60's, and making a bold attempt to bridge the generation gap. Enjoy.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

The Beans


Check out Aunt Fran's website. She has audio recordings of some early Beans records and an early flyer. Fran says she worked for Phx's underground station way back then. Here's the link: http://www.auntfran.com/Welnick/

Friday, June 09, 2006

My brush with Russ

A lifelong dream is realized: I finally get to write something about Wonderful Russ, and get it published in Phoenix Magazine. No pictures of him, unfortunately. But it’s in an article titled “As Seen On TV,” and it’s in the June issue of Phoenix (“on newsstands now!”).

Here’s a couple excerpts from the article, and a link to where it’s reproduced online:


His face is so well known to Valley residents that when Russell Shaw turns sideways, the unfamiliar angle can be a bit jarring, like catching a glimpse of the dark side of the moon. From the side, Shaw's bug eyes, rounded face and short, gray hair oddly resemble the late Rodney Dangerfield's. But when he turns back to smile at you, you instantly see the billboard, the realty signs, the face on TV that airs on four locally run stations at a cost of more than $600,000 a year. He's the Realtor famous for his "No Hassle Listings."

"I'm on TV a lot," says Shaw from his surprisingly modest ranch-style home in one of the cozy neighborhoods north of Paradise Valley Mall. (His home office, staffed today by four women – including his radiant wife, Wendy – is located in an add-on room.)

"And I get recognized all the time. Usually it's this stuck attention thing. Someone looks at me for a long time, and you can just feel it. Next thing you know, they're walking over saying, 'Aren't you that real estate guy from TV?"

Shaw understands the fascination. After all, he once called his wife, practically out of breath with excitement, to tell her he had just passed car dealer Lou Grubb on Camelback Road.

"I called Wendy and said, 'You're not gonna believe this, but I just drove past Lou Grubb!" Shaw remembers, laughing jovially. "She was like, 'Yeah, I can see what you've got going on today' But hey I mean, Lou Grubb! He's an icon."


Russell Shaw got his start in commercials by making fun of them. His distinctive baritone voice was first heard on the hippy-dippy early '70s FM station KDKB, where, as the self-made celebrity "Wonderful Russ,” Shaw heartily endorsed a moving company he'd never used (which happened to share a parking lot with KDKB's broadcasting towers) and gave his authoritative-sounding stamp of approval to the various stereo stores and head shops hip enough to advertise on the station.

In the mid-'80s, Wonderful Russ resurfaced, doing joke commercials on KSLX for his pal Bob Boze Bell, and, as part of the bargain, sneaking in a couple of genuine commercials for his new realty business.

Initially a lot of longtime residents scratched their heads upon hearing Shaw's own spots, failing to find any of the usual Firesign Theater-like humor in the bits.

"People would literally be calling the station, saying, 'I don't get the joke," says Shaw, whose well-modulated tones still trigger warm flashbacks for legions of former Valley hippies. "Like, 'There's something funny there, but I don't know what it is.'

"I suppose there is something funny about me doing my own TV ads now, with this huge media budget," Shaw adds, bursting into one of his infectious belly laughs. "Not that funny. But funny."

To read the whole thing, go here.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

In Memoriam-Vince Welnick

June 04, 2006
The Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is saddened to learn that Arizona has lost a key member of its historic rock music scene. News of keyboardist Vince Welnick's death on June 2nd, at the age of 55, stunned Valley fans, who were looking forward to the upcoming induction of The Tubes into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Beginning when Welnick was a member of the beloved band the Beans, Phoenix watched as his career ignited in the late 1960’s and early 70’s. The Beans relocated to San Francisco, decided to rename the group the Tubes, and created music history. As a member of the Tubes, Welnick attained success during a period when record companies were deluged with rock and roll hopefuls. Political and social turmoil among America’s youth inspired an enormous wealth of music.

Welnick left his indelible mark on The Tubes, appearing on cuts like "White Punks on Dope", "She's a Beauty" and ""Talk To Ya Later". He was known not only for his deft handling of keyboards but also for his unusually skillful vocal range. His discography includes work with a diverse number of artists, including Todd Rundgren, Dick Dale, Merl Saunders, and Steve Kimock.

Welnick was a member of the Grateful Dead from 1990 to 1995. He took the gig as the Grateful Dead’s keyboard player amid a rash of recycled rumors. Several of the Grateful Dead’s previous keyboard players had died, leading some fans to regard the position as a curse. Welnick, far from being cursed, rose, to fame during an unprecedented rock and roll era.

After Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, he formed his own group, the Missing Man Formation. He was also a coveted guest artist on the "jam band" circuit. Recently Welnick had teamed up with Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart as a featured member of the Mickey Hart Band. Welnick was scheduled to perform this month.

The Tubes are among those voted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame for 2006. The group will be inducted into the hall of fame during a ceremony to be held at a historic Phoenix venue, the Celebrity Theatre. The event will be open to the public. Further information is available at the Arizona Music Hall of Fame.org website.

Vince Welnick leaves behind many long time friends and fans in Arizona. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his loved ones.

By Mariah Fleming
for AMEHOF

Check out the "comments"

Sometimes the best stuff on this blog ends up buried in the "comments" sections after each new topic posting. Case in point: the post below, where a conversation sparked by Mariah's ruminations about a spam sender somehow wanders off into two old buddies comparing notes on different mining claims they each own out around Wickenburg way.
So if you ever check in on this blog are disappointed to find no new posts to read, click on the "comments" links. You may drop in on some conversations that veer totally off into some surprising new tangents!