Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

My best Thanksgiving wishes to everyone! Those of you here in Arizona know what a gorgeous sunny day it is; the rest of you can only envy us.

I've been absent from the blog for most of the year to date, due mostly to pressing family matters but also due partly to burn-out after digitizing 50+ hours of KCAC tapes last year. I still have a few additional KCAC and KDKB tapes in my possession to work on, plus at the AMEHOF benefit a few weeks ago I was given some leads on other tapes that might still exist. So, hopefully, there will be more to report on in the coming months.

Please remember to give thanks today for all the blessings we have in life, even in these difficult times.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Pictures from Don Johnson!!!

Hi!

Well, I've finally gotten around to posting these... Don Johnson sent a bunch of pictures to Ron, who in turn emailed them to a few friends with a plea to get them posted. Ask and ye shall receive! They are a wonderful collection of posters and trivia from "The Era." Click on the title of this post, or go to the KCAC Photo Albums link in the left margin, or... just click here to visit the album. Enjoy the nostalgia!

:~)aniel

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A LITTLE ON THE SIDE - SIDEWAYS

Many of you readers are not on my personal KCAC/KDKB "survivors mailing list. This matters only because Don Johnson has beem scanning and sharing some CLASSIC posters... concerts, publicity photos, club advertisements and so on, that I have been forwarding to the Survivors List. They represent the essence of Phoenix giving birth to its anthem of freedom 1968 - 1977.

Dan Page has promised me that he will be posting these to an album linked here at KCAC LIVES!

It's the kind of stuff that makes you wonder what happened. Janis Joplin playing in Tempe for less than $15.00 per ticket. Clubs with no cover charge. FREE PARKING everywhere - so free it's not even mentioned. Seeing these poster and publicity scans (you can print them for your wall) will help you realize that somehow, we are in the wrong time zone, not to mention the wrong economy.

"Time will tell us -- who is trying to sell us" - Crosby. Stills & Nash



Ron Wortham

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Hidden Between the Lines

Wow, I found a post from someone I was good friends with for many years tucked away back around July 10. Lots of you probably know him too....Michael Schwartz. Radio and engineering guy. So bummed I haven't kept up and I hope he checks back in! Seeing his post led me to ponder how many of us may be missing posts and losing an opportunity to reconnect?

OK, I know it's hot as the devil here but maybe we can all plunge into some cold water, shake it off, and start posting on our KCAC Lives blog again! I've been SO bad about keeping up with this blog in the last year or so. I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, Myspace etc. I'm more at home off the beaten path. However, at Liz, Ron and Jimmy's nudging I finally broke down and joined Facebook. It IS fun and convenient, and cool so many of us are on there too, but let's not forget KCAC Lives!

Monday, July 06, 2009

"BLOGSNIT" MYSTERY REVEALED BY MARTY!!

Yo compadres,
New stuff is on recent archive sections: "Rebirth Reborn" and "Love Workshop Box Set." On the former, Marty was up to his usual hilarity; well worth reading his definition of "BLOGSNIT" and related posts from Daniel, Ron and Fran.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! Thanks to all who help make this a great nation. That includes you.

:~)aniel

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Connections

Anybody out there Twittering, Facebooking or blogging somewhere else? Let's start including links to some of our social networking pages here, too.

I'll start. My business blog includes stuff I'm writing on and updates on previous stories. I'm also on all these dealies:

My Facebook Profile My Twitter My LinkedIn My Flickr My Digg

Let's keep in touch!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Too Rolling Stoned



Wow! Just got the 4-DVD boxed set, "Rolling Stone - Cover to Cover: The First 40 Years," a searchable digital archive of every issue of Rolling Stone magazine from 1967 to 2007. Each page has been scanned from the original printed issues – even the ads! (Dig this Linda Eastman photo of Keith Moon - priceless!)
If you ever need a PDF of anything that ever appeared in RS (well, except for the last two years), hit me up here. Even if you can only recall one memorable phrase - Elton John saying he would "draw the line at goats," for example - the search feature will quickly find the original article (in this case, "Elton John: It's Lonely at the Top," Oct. 7, 1976). Pretty awesome!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

People Are Strange - or at least, "Weird"

Diggin' "Weird Al" Yankovic's brand new video "Craigslist" - an "homage to The Doors, featuring Ray Manzarek himself on keyboards." Who knew the world was clamoring for such a thing?

Monday, June 08, 2009

Deja'Vu All Over again, Again

Please forgive me if this seems self-absorbed but sometimes The Past sneaks up on you and blows smoke past your ear as it giggles....

One of the readers of KCAC Lives! knocked me over with an email the other day, telling me he is now working at CBS Radio (KOY) in Phoenix. He was clearing some storage and came across a job application I had filed at KOY on April 1st, 1969. Understand that was the FIRST job application I had filed in Phoenix, about 4 days after my arrival from Dallas, via San Fransisco.

Bill was "Little Willie Sunshine" at KRUX drawing huge ratings. Hank was at KOOL (I think) also doing news.

Later I joined Bill at KRUX for the summer and very nearly starved to death. I was about to return to San Fransisco and had dropped by the station to say goodbye when he told me about George Soderquist and KCAC..

Anyways, here is a scan of that old KOY job application courtesy of E.Schecter - who because of his appreciation of the past, quite likely will enjoy a wonderful future in radio..... and life as well.

♥ Ron






Scott Niccolson tells me he has a bunch of KDKB DJ music logs....

Wow.

Saturday, April 04, 2009

LEONARD COHEN - NOKIA THEATRE - DFW, TEXAS

He was born in 1934. That makes him a 74 year-old man. Right? Wrong Leonard Cohen is a young man..... tineless really, who has lived 74 years, so far.

NOTABLE QUOTES AND COMMENTS: "This is my first tour in fifteen years. I was 60 then - just a starry-eyed kid with a dream". "You came to my bed this morning and handled me like a piece of meat. You'd have to be a man to understand how good that feels".

Intimacy is the keynot of the Cohen. The first half of the show is spellbinding. The second half of the show is enchanting, something you SHARE. The THIRD HALF of the show is for Leonard and the band. If you're paying attentioin, they LOVE to perform - they are Masters at what they do. Three singers, about five multi-talented musicians and The Old Man in a Fedora, kneeling in prayer as he sings, much of the time.

Then suddenly he becomes a Marrionette. He is all over the stage like a Wood Nymph. Leonard Cohen is right up there with Mick Jagger in his moves.

He is free.

It was worth a week's pay and $15.00 parking. What the hell. It's a once in a lifetime experience.

So far.


Ron

Friday, March 27, 2009

The Love Workshop Box Set

Finally after working on this for several years, "The Love Workshop Box Set" is now finished and available as a 6 CD set from Radio Free Phoenix. This collection features 35 episodes (restored, remastered & speed & volume corrected) of this great lost comedy show that aired on KDKB back in 1976. This Box Set has been officially sanctioned by Russell Shaw along with material from "The Razz Revue" magazine courtesy of Bob Boze Bell. "The Love Workshop" featured Wonderful Russ (Shaw) & Todd Carroll along with a cast of others including Bill Compton, Mariah Fleming, Lee Powell, Nina Joy and others whose names are now lost to history.

In the booklet notes for the set, Russell Shaw writes, "It was our benefactor, Bill Compton who allowed us to have it on the air. It was Bill who put it on the air and it was Bill who kept it on the air over the endless objections of station management"

Now you can buy and listen to this amazing CD set from Radio Free Phoenix. Here's the link:

Love Workshop Box Set

All proceeds go towards paying the basic operating costs of RadioFreePhoenix.com, one of the last free form rock station on the planet!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

♥REBIRTH REBORN ♥


As advertised, Daiel Page popped by for some introspective mind-expansion on his way from Austin to Armadillo/Gnu Mexico/Aridzona and points North.

What an absolute gas of a visit. We had coffee and some exquisite tea that really brought the beauty out of an 85-degree day. First one here this year.

Dan took some pics of me and and my multiple personalities.. (wife, son and Mom) and I recon he will be posting them here eventually.

Absolutely the brightest spot in well over one month. Our next one will be the Leonard Cohen Concert coming up on the 3rd.

Between the two, I would choose a visit from Dan any day.

Rebirth is a continuing process.



Ron

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Bill Compton's complete Frank Zappa Interview from 1974 on Radio Free Phoenix!

This Sunday March 1st, Radio Free Phoenix presents on Tom Tuerff's "Zappa Universe" at 6 & 11pm (MST) the complete Bill Compton interview with Frank Zappa as aired on KDKB on July 17th 1974. This long lost interview was rescued from Bill Compton's original tapes by Hans Olson who meticulously converted the recording from broken splice to splice--Listen in at radiofreephoenix.com

Friday, February 27, 2009

OPEN FM AIRWAVES TO COMMUNITY RADIO

FROM MEDIA REFORM DAILY
Congress is moving to open up the airwaves to thousands of new Low Power FM radio stations. Act now to put local radio back on the dial. Open Up the Radio Dial Now

LPFM Now!

Congress must pass the Local Community Radio Act. This important Act will open our airwaves to more low power FM radio stations across the country, and bring diversity of news, views and music to your radio dial. Sign the petition below. Your elected officials need to know that the public supports LPFM!

Contact www.freepress.net to send a message to urge your member of Congress to support the Local Community Radio Act.

www.freepress.net

The Fillmore on your iPhone


If you've got an iPhone, I recommend the free Wolfgang's Vault app. It puts all the great concert archives available on the Wolfgang's Vault site right there on your little mobile device. And if you don't have one of them, it's worth checking out the website anyway, a depository of all the great music presented by Wolfgang Grajonca (who we remember better as Bill Graham). They've also got posters from all the Fillmore concerts for viewing. Here's one from a Frank Zappa concert. His boy Dweezil brought his "Zappa Plays Zappa" tour to Dodge Theatre last night (anyone catch it?).

Saturday, February 14, 2009

NUDGE NOT LEST YE BE NUDGED



Checking in with an update... I can only do one thing at a time well - multitasking causes many divided attention spans with my species.....

Been helping out over at Indigo Society and have gathered a whole new flock of friends there. We were able to help a few genuine Indigo kids before the MySpace Crusaders took over. Now our small eclectic group are on a private BLOG called Indigo Island, into my first love (besides music) - being Metaphysics.

We are I believe - playing the same telepathic drum as the makers of the Crop Circles and have an ongoing telepathic experiment we are trying to document and prove.

So anyway.. I was going to ask about a 2009 reunion - assuming planes still fly and beer is still available.

Are we absurd yet?

♥ Ron Wortham

Friday, February 06, 2009

"Only People"

Good to be hearing this song from John Lennon now - even if it only is through a Cisco commercial:

Given that Cisco just announced layoffs of 1,000 workers and has plans to cut up to 2,000 more, we could be cynical and say "yeah, it's 'only people' -- right!" Or we could just dig hearing this little-played track from "Mind Games" again. What Would John Do?