Be ready for an overload error message. Wolfgang was Bill Graham - legendary promotor and concertmeister. He never got rid of the extra promo stuff. Tickets, T-shirts, photos and on and on. They moved it all a couple of years ago in 40-foot trailers like the ones you see on the roads known as 18-wheelers. There were 25 of them.
Here is the CBS version of the story
The Smithsonian must be drooling. If not, they will be soon. Here's the link!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Still Inspired...Thanks to You
What a surprise! Tonight I happened upon a photo/poetry book called "To Be Nobody But Yourself" that was given to me by a good friend from KCAC 35 years ago. He thought it would inspire me (he was right!) I like to think Jimmy's website is for the folks this poem was written about:
"to be nobody but yourself
in a world that is
constantly doing its best
night and day
to make you everybody else
is to fight the hardest battle
you will ever fight
and to never stop fighting"
ee cummings
"to be nobody but yourself
in a world that is
constantly doing its best
night and day
to make you everybody else
is to fight the hardest battle
you will ever fight
and to never stop fighting"
ee cummings
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
PAYPAL to: dwightkarma@gmail.com
Photo by Lissa Wales in better times.11/11/2006 UPDATE: If you are a new reader, here is an outline of the situation.... Dwight Tindle is in the hospital and appears to be about to lose a kidney plus he has cancer in his back. It does not appear as if he will be leaving the hospital very soon and the pain is so agonizing that he is on a morphine drip. His mother "Ma" Nancy, is taking care of him and he is accepting calls and visitors, though such interludes should be brief so he can rest, obviously.
As of this week Jimmy [who created and founded this blog] got to make it over to the hospital to get Dwight and his mom set up on a PayPal account, so they can receive donations directly by computer. Your help with small amounts of cash is needed and PayPal is the way to go with it!~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the dude who used to sign our checks. The one who picked up the tab at the resataurants after everybody excused themselves to the bathroom. The one who came and rescued KCAC from drifting into the rocks, the one who brought Toad, Hank, Bill Compton and a bunch of other talented people over to what turned out to be a radio giant - KDKB.
Don't ask what happened to the money, you got some. So did I. Now Dwight Tindle needs some help. NOT WITH BIG BUCKS - that just draws flies and lawyers. He needs help with hospital incidentals such as gasoline, parking fees, money for groceries, lunch for his mom and such. Spare Change. I can say all this with authority and no embarrasment because I have been there and done that. More than once.
One of the most beautiful Rock & Roll stories I ever read was when CREAM ----- Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker & Jack Bruce - diverted funds from "Disraeli Gears" to make sure a dying blues musician - Skip James, (who wrote "I'm So Glad" years ago) - thanks, Tom -, was taken care of. What we have the potential of doing is getting there with some love, good wishes and cash BEFORE something like that happens.
A few bucks from a lot of friends means far more than a bankroll and won't draw the attention of bottom-feeders and accountants. Bill Compton's death took everyone by surprise but we came together for Hank and the 1996 reunion and we came together for Toad and we came together for Hank's wake and we came together for Toad's celebration and we came together most recently for the Alwun party. We are still together and I challenge anyone to deny that situations such as this one is WHY we are together..
You have a chance to send a get-well wish or share a memory along with your Spare Change. Karma, serendipity Deja' Vu and just plain Motherly Love (Thanks, Frank Zappa) calls to us. The very fact that you are reading this is a spiritual message:
God is Alive
Magic is Afoot.
I have already sent Dwight five bucks via PayPal with "Lunch is on me" in the subject line. If you don't already have a PayPal Accouunt, you can start one up here....
https://www.paypal.com/
or just click the headline to get started.
THE ADDRESS TO SEND YOUR SPARE CHANGE TO IS:
dwightkarma@gmail.com
In whatever amount you feel like sharing OR simply click this button! (Thanks, Jimmy)
PRESENT PHONE ACCESS
480-323-3000
Please watch this column for further updates.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Click here for SPACE - THE FINAL FRONTIER
This seems to be the time to share what has developed in time and space since Bill Compton died in 1977. He was a HUGE fan of Arthur C. Clarke. One of his favorite works was "Childhood's End". I believe he would very much enjoy this posting and so I dedicate it to his memory.
God gave us a bone. But he also gave us a brain and perhaps, that is one of the messages of 2001 - A Space Oddysey. 2001 has come and gone now and in his own space and in his own dimension, William Edward Compton III must be smiling as he watches us all discover what has been right in front of us all these years.
Europa 'Do not land there' - was the message in the movie. WHAT WE KNOW NOW IN REAL TIME about Europa is that it is mostly water with something moving under a thick coating of ice.
And now - IAPETUS a moon of Saturn - The most recent photos from NASA seeming to show - well, YOU look. It raises enormous questions about the structure of our very own moon.
So this then, is for Bill - and for you, and for the bone that God gave us, perhaps to hit ourselves over the head with.
Friday, January 20, 2006
CLICK HERE FOR TWO HOURS 50 MINUTES OF THE NOT - TOO DISTANT FUTURE
RADIORBIT LISTEN Podcast/MP3 Interview - Jay Weidner on 2012 End Times and Mayan Prophecy. Would you believe - that "2001 a Space Oddysey", Stanley Kubrick, the rising of the sun on December 21st 2012, an alignment of stars and the rising of the center of the galaxy are all connected? Would you believe tha "Hal" in 2001 is the daddy of us all? No? How about the program that runs him?
~
If the link has somehow moved, it's worth an exploration of the website!http://mikehagan.com/radiOrbit_Archives.htm
~
The music is great and scattered throughout - but you can fast forward to the last two hours or so.. Incredible!
Ron Wortham
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Trivia Quiz "New Fun With Old Brain Cells"
Feel free to add your own questions...and ANSWERS! How much hip valley history can we stir up? Here's my first bunch of free form queries. Have at it!
KCAC & COMPTON'S KDKB RADIO
1. WHAT was the first song you remember hearing on Bill's KRUX Underground?
2. WHO announced the first KCAC sign on and what did he say?
3. WHERE were the original KCAC studios located?
4. WHEN and at what studio did KCAC have their record collection stolen?
5. WHERE was KRUX located when Bill did his Little Willie Sunshine gig?
6. WERE there any stories about KCAC/KDKB in the New Times?
7. WHAT did KDKB sign on the air with?
8. WHAT did Bill Compton sign off with on his last day there?
9. WHAT fake all women's bank did KDKB advertise?
10. WHAT did the bank provide to "women who found procreation cumbersome and distasteful?"
11. WHAT was the "The Love Workshop" epsiode called in which they ate the baby?
12. WHEN was 'JOHNNY D's R and B' on KDKB?
KCAC/KDKB ERA HOT SPOTS
1. WHAT was "Hatful of Peas?"
2. DID it have anything to do with "Early Peas?"
3. WHAT was The SUN CLUB? Who owned it?
4. WHAT was the SOMBRERO PLAYHOUSE?
6. WHY did people gather at the ENCANTO PARK BAND SHELL?
7. WHO turned part of the McDowell Mountains into a graded, natural seating area for concerts? Is it still there?
8. WHAT was "The INNER EAR?"
9. WHAT was the "BLUE GOAT"?
10. WHAT was the name of the head shop on Central south of Thomas Rd? (owned by Gary Peter Klahr)
12. WHO was Cosmo Topper?
13. WHAT was the 'Red White and Blues' Band?
14. WHAT kind of hang out was TERROS HOUSE and where was it located?
15. WHAT was the RED DOG SALOON?
KCAC & COMPTON'S KDKB RADIO
1. WHAT was the first song you remember hearing on Bill's KRUX Underground?
2. WHO announced the first KCAC sign on and what did he say?
3. WHERE were the original KCAC studios located?
4. WHEN and at what studio did KCAC have their record collection stolen?
5. WHERE was KRUX located when Bill did his Little Willie Sunshine gig?
6. WERE there any stories about KCAC/KDKB in the New Times?
7. WHAT did KDKB sign on the air with?
8. WHAT did Bill Compton sign off with on his last day there?
9. WHAT fake all women's bank did KDKB advertise?
10. WHAT did the bank provide to "women who found procreation cumbersome and distasteful?"
11. WHAT was the "The Love Workshop" epsiode called in which they ate the baby?
12. WHEN was 'JOHNNY D's R and B' on KDKB?
KCAC/KDKB ERA HOT SPOTS
1. WHAT was "Hatful of Peas?"
2. DID it have anything to do with "Early Peas?"
3. WHAT was The SUN CLUB? Who owned it?
4. WHAT was the SOMBRERO PLAYHOUSE?
6. WHY did people gather at the ENCANTO PARK BAND SHELL?
7. WHO turned part of the McDowell Mountains into a graded, natural seating area for concerts? Is it still there?
8. WHAT was "The INNER EAR?"
9. WHAT was the "BLUE GOAT"?
10. WHAT was the name of the head shop on Central south of Thomas Rd? (owned by Gary Peter Klahr)
12. WHO was Cosmo Topper?
13. WHAT was the 'Red White and Blues' Band?
14. WHAT kind of hang out was TERROS HOUSE and where was it located?
15. WHAT was the RED DOG SALOON?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Could We March Today?
Someone brought MLK's March on Washington speech to me yesterday and with youthful earnestness asked "Could Americans march on Washington like that today?" Could we? Would we? It's a good question from a kid barely old enough to to be called a man.
This speech was given by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the march on Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963...
"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children." MLK
This speech was given by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the march on Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963...
"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children." MLK
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Riopelle interview and feature
So Young
Thanks to a bright invention, Valley favorite Jerry Riopelle is finally on the verge of becoming cool
By Jimmy Magahern
Published by Phoenix New Times, Thursday, December 29, 2005
It's rare to find anybody over 20 inside the noisy arcade castle at Mesa's Golfland during the Saturday morning $8 Video Game Blowout. Never mind anybody over 60.
That's why the gray-haired dude on the Guitar Freaks V machine sticks out like a sore joystick-jamming thumb.
Eyes squinted Clint Eastwood-like, behind rimless bifocals, he studies the frantic anime graphics on the console's screen while striking the pick lever on the simulated guitar controller he's strapped over his untucked burgundy dress shirt. Pressing the red, green and blue buttons that substitute for frets, he keeps pace with a wild Japanese ska tune, hitting enough of the notes at the right time to impress the two 15-year-old boys who've stopped to watch him play.
"Wow!" one of them says, after the screen flashes the word "CLEARED" and the score on the Groove Gauge reflects even a Wailing Bonus. "You passed the stage."
If anyone over at least 35 were in the arcade this morning -- and if they had lived in Phoenix through enough of the '70s -- they might recognize the old dude behind the toy guitar as Jerry Riopelle, the rock star only Phoenix understood.
Largely ignored by the rest of the world, Riopelle was one of the most-played artists on Phoenix rock radio during the '70s and has retained a loyal following of baby boomers here, thanks largely to a series of New Year's Eve concerts at the Celebrity Theatre that have become legendary gatherings of his fans, who rival the Deadheads or Jimmy Buffett's Parrotheads in terms of stubborn devotion.
"He's played and sold out the Celebrity more times than any other performer in the history of the building," says Evening Star promoter Danny Zelisko, who booked Riopelle into his first New Year's Eve headliner there in 1975 and has remained a close friend. "That's pretty phenomenal, when you think of all the artists who've played there."
This New Year's Eve, after a five-year semi-retirement, Riopelle will once again take the stage at the Celebrity for what will mark the 30th anniversary since that first gig -- and possibly, he says, his farewell New Year's show.
But on this Saturday morning in late November, he's not thinking about what he'll play at that era-ending event. Instead, he's hanging at the arcade, testing out the competition for the interactive music-based game being built around the invention he's been quietly working on for the past 11 years: a device that allows anybody to make music by breaking laser beams in the air.
"I want to try out the other music-related games," he says, waving his hands over the sensor pads in DanceManiax 2nd Mix, "so that the next time I have a meeting with Jason and John from Roxor, I'll know what they're talking about."
Among the über game geeks who haunt the Valley's top arcade, just hearing Riopelle mention the names of the head honchos from Roxor Games, the upstart Austin-based company whose arcade and PS2 dance game In the Groove has managed to steal considerable thunder from genre dominator Dance Dance Revolution, elicits bows of respect.
"You've met Jason Asbahr?" says one teen gamer, rolling the name over with the type of awed adoration typically reserved for rock stars.
Not only that, Riopelle says, he's met with guys from Microsoft's Xbox team, a head engineer at Apple, and some folks at Sony in charge of engineering the next PlayStation -- all of whom have expressed interest in utilizing the technology behind his invention.
"Whoa!" say the chorus of gamers.
While most '70s rockers are settling into a kind of Mike Love retirement plan of sporadic casino gigs and bitter royalties lawsuits, Riopelle is onto an unlikely second act as a cutting-edge video game developer and interactive music visionary.
After four decades in the music business, a career he began working studio gigs with the iconic Phil Spector, Jerry Riopelle is finally cool.
"It's weird," he says, stepping outside the arcade for a break from the noise. "You're talking to a guy who, as a recording artist, was always behind the curve on the latest trends. All of a sudden now, it looks like I'm ahead of one.
"I just wish I was younger," he adds, in a quiet voice aged in eons of raspy rock 'n' roll singing. "I don't know if I'll have time to enjoy this money."
(To read more, go to: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2005-12-29/music/music.html)
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Blog On!!
Hi Jimmy,
Christmas seems like a good time to say a special thanks to you for creating such a cool, thoughtful website. Your "labor of love" sends a lot of good will out into the universe. Being able to share ideas and connect with friends both old and new through your site is what the spirit of peace is all about. Thanks!
Here's to a happy and peaceful 2006!!
Mariah
Christmas seems like a good time to say a special thanks to you for creating such a cool, thoughtful website. Your "labor of love" sends a lot of good will out into the universe. Being able to share ideas and connect with friends both old and new through your site is what the spirit of peace is all about. Thanks!
Here's to a happy and peaceful 2006!!
Mariah
Sunday, December 11, 2005
No Hope? Try Snopes.com!!
Bush does it again? Surprising? Not so much. Horrifying? Yes.
One of the best kept secrets on the web and a good source for finding out if something from the rumor mill (political or otherwise) is true is this: check out Snopes.com
It's got that perfect blend of entertaining and horrifying info that will make you decide to refill your Prozac!!
Happy holidays!
mariah@radiofreephoenix.com
P.S. Go see "Good Night and Good Luck."
One of the best kept secrets on the web and a good source for finding out if something from the rumor mill (political or otherwise) is true is this: check out Snopes.com
It's got that perfect blend of entertaining and horrifying info that will make you decide to refill your Prozac!!
Happy holidays!
mariah@radiofreephoenix.com
P.S. Go see "Good Night and Good Luck."
HOMEWORK: Did he REALLY say that?
"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!" Perhaps the best thing is to pretend our President did not say The Constitution "is just a god-damned piece of paper. Perhaps the best thing is to just accept that the corruption within our government will continually re-define itself--which will inevitably result in its own self-destruction
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Orwellian Times? Nah! RIOPELLE-ian!!
Anyone who has been in the Valley since the early 1970's knows that Jerry Riopelle is a favorite son. Bill Compton (2005 AZ Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame inductee) did much to promote Riopelle's music. Since then Jerry Riopelle has continued to be a bonafide Arizona legend. His New Year's Eve shows at the Celebrity Theatre were the place to be for many years.
This New Years eve you can join Jerry Riopelle at the Celebrity Theatre for his 30th Anniversary New Years Eve blowout. I can say with authority that you won't find anything more entertaining to do this New Years Eve. Riopelle will perform a long awaited and sure to be spectacular reunion date at the historic Celebrity Theatre, the Valley's only intact original indoor rock venue.
The Celebrity claims a unique place in the Valley's rock and roll history book. In the late 1960's the Arizona State Legislature had collective cardiac arrest about Jim Morrison's performance at the AZ Veterans Memorial Colisuem. After the Door's performance, the alarmed legislators voted to close the AZ Coliseum doors to rock concerts. Thankfully it didn't take long for the new Celebrity Theatre to come to the rescue. The Celebrity gave us our first glimpe of a REAL venue for our music. The acoustics were fantastic. Seats were great. The line of sight couldn't be beat. Concerts were always packed.
In the 1970's the Celebrity, then known as Buster Bonoff's Celebrity Theatre, hosted greats like George Carlin (you can see this one on HBO!) Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Harry Chapin, Genesis, Loggins and Messina, Scherazade, and Loudon Wainwright III. Those are only a fraction of the Celebrity Theatre concerts that kept us groovin' in those days.
The theatre's revolving stage was a source of curiosity back then. Watching each artist react to the revolving stage was sometimes hilarious. Some said they would prefer to perform strolling around the circumfrence themselves than to be slowly orbited around the theatre. Once in awhile it came down to one of two things being stopped: the revolving stage or the show. I vividly remember George Carlin's raised eyebrow accompanied by a momentary look of paranoia as he realized the stage was revolving.
Cruising that circular path around the stage was an event for the audience members as well. Greetings would be hollered out by early bird fans as they spotted their laid back counterparts casually ambling across to their seats. The scene would have made a good R. Crumb cartoon. And though the Celebrity Theatre eventually closed for a few years when Bonoff sold it, it reopened and continued, although for awhile not as the premier venue it once was.
The Celebrity is now in its best incarnation since the theatre's heyday. A great time to come and visit this beloved Valley of the Sun stomping ground will be on Dec 31st for Jerry Riopelle's New Year's Eve concert. In the parlance of the times, it will be a happening, man! Even the AZ Republic newspaper is getting into the spirit by asking readers for their fondest (wild or mild!) memories of a Riopelle New Years Eve show. So, if you can talk about them, email your memories to the newspaper at entertainment@arizonarepublic.com. Your comments might make it into an upcoming article on Riopelle.
In addition to the 30th Anniversary New Years Eve concert there's also some very hip stuff happening with Jerry Riopelle and Radio Free Phoenix. Jerry, Paul, "Sweet" Naomi, and Jeff Hollie (Riopelle's sax player) will be guest dj's on the Valley's own progressive internet radio station Radio Free Phoenix. The show is scheduled to air on Saturday Dec. 17th at 5:00 pm and again on Sunday Dec. 18th at 3:00 pm on radiofreephoenix.com.
If you haven't yet heard the incredible stream of non commerical music that comes forth from this "radio with a heart and a conscience" you don't know what you're missing. True to the station's self description, RFP's Cheryl Sweet put an ebay auction together to assist New Orleans street musicians who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The auction, which ends on December 15th, features some rare and funky items.
Auction items include an original KCAC poster, original KZON memorabilia, some 60's era Top 40 KRUX and KRIZ mementos, and souveniers from the Wallace and Ladmo show (Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald were inducted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2005.) Well known artist Tracy Dove also donated two original works of art which beautifully embody the spirit of a generation.
Leave it to Riopelle to donate one of the coolest items to the Radio Free Phoenix auction: a pair of wild pink Doc Marten shoes that Alice Cooper gave Jerry when he mentioned that he liked Alice's shoes! You can get more details and take a look at all the auction items on the radiofreephoenix.com site.
Riopelle's 4 CD anthology set is currently being manufactured. It will be ready in time for fans to snap it up on New Years Eve at his Celebrity Theatre gig. The title of the anthology collection is Jerry Riopelle/The Works 1970-2000. For those of you who can't make it out to the Celebrity Theatre for Jerry's 30th Anniversary New Years Eve show, you should be able to purchase the CD set online and in Phoenix area stores in late January.
To pick up your tickets to Riopelle's 30th Anniversary New Year's blast, go to celebritytheatre.com or call 602-267-1600
See you there!
Mariah Fleming,
Radio Free Phoenix
AZ Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame
This New Years eve you can join Jerry Riopelle at the Celebrity Theatre for his 30th Anniversary New Years Eve blowout. I can say with authority that you won't find anything more entertaining to do this New Years Eve. Riopelle will perform a long awaited and sure to be spectacular reunion date at the historic Celebrity Theatre, the Valley's only intact original indoor rock venue.
The Celebrity claims a unique place in the Valley's rock and roll history book. In the late 1960's the Arizona State Legislature had collective cardiac arrest about Jim Morrison's performance at the AZ Veterans Memorial Colisuem. After the Door's performance, the alarmed legislators voted to close the AZ Coliseum doors to rock concerts. Thankfully it didn't take long for the new Celebrity Theatre to come to the rescue. The Celebrity gave us our first glimpe of a REAL venue for our music. The acoustics were fantastic. Seats were great. The line of sight couldn't be beat. Concerts were always packed.
In the 1970's the Celebrity, then known as Buster Bonoff's Celebrity Theatre, hosted greats like George Carlin (you can see this one on HBO!) Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Harry Chapin, Genesis, Loggins and Messina, Scherazade, and Loudon Wainwright III. Those are only a fraction of the Celebrity Theatre concerts that kept us groovin' in those days.
The theatre's revolving stage was a source of curiosity back then. Watching each artist react to the revolving stage was sometimes hilarious. Some said they would prefer to perform strolling around the circumfrence themselves than to be slowly orbited around the theatre. Once in awhile it came down to one of two things being stopped: the revolving stage or the show. I vividly remember George Carlin's raised eyebrow accompanied by a momentary look of paranoia as he realized the stage was revolving.
Cruising that circular path around the stage was an event for the audience members as well. Greetings would be hollered out by early bird fans as they spotted their laid back counterparts casually ambling across to their seats. The scene would have made a good R. Crumb cartoon. And though the Celebrity Theatre eventually closed for a few years when Bonoff sold it, it reopened and continued, although for awhile not as the premier venue it once was.
The Celebrity is now in its best incarnation since the theatre's heyday. A great time to come and visit this beloved Valley of the Sun stomping ground will be on Dec 31st for Jerry Riopelle's New Year's Eve concert. In the parlance of the times, it will be a happening, man! Even the AZ Republic newspaper is getting into the spirit by asking readers for their fondest (wild or mild!) memories of a Riopelle New Years Eve show. So, if you can talk about them, email your memories to the newspaper at entertainment@arizonarepublic.com. Your comments might make it into an upcoming article on Riopelle.
In addition to the 30th Anniversary New Years Eve concert there's also some very hip stuff happening with Jerry Riopelle and Radio Free Phoenix. Jerry, Paul, "Sweet" Naomi, and Jeff Hollie (Riopelle's sax player) will be guest dj's on the Valley's own progressive internet radio station Radio Free Phoenix. The show is scheduled to air on Saturday Dec. 17th at 5:00 pm and again on Sunday Dec. 18th at 3:00 pm on radiofreephoenix.com.
If you haven't yet heard the incredible stream of non commerical music that comes forth from this "radio with a heart and a conscience" you don't know what you're missing. True to the station's self description, RFP's Cheryl Sweet put an ebay auction together to assist New Orleans street musicians who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The auction, which ends on December 15th, features some rare and funky items.
Auction items include an original KCAC poster, original KZON memorabilia, some 60's era Top 40 KRUX and KRIZ mementos, and souveniers from the Wallace and Ladmo show (Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald were inducted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2005.) Well known artist Tracy Dove also donated two original works of art which beautifully embody the spirit of a generation.
Leave it to Riopelle to donate one of the coolest items to the Radio Free Phoenix auction: a pair of wild pink Doc Marten shoes that Alice Cooper gave Jerry when he mentioned that he liked Alice's shoes! You can get more details and take a look at all the auction items on the radiofreephoenix.com site.
Riopelle's 4 CD anthology set is currently being manufactured. It will be ready in time for fans to snap it up on New Years Eve at his Celebrity Theatre gig. The title of the anthology collection is Jerry Riopelle/The Works 1970-2000. For those of you who can't make it out to the Celebrity Theatre for Jerry's 30th Anniversary New Years Eve show, you should be able to purchase the CD set online and in Phoenix area stores in late January.
To pick up your tickets to Riopelle's 30th Anniversary New Year's blast, go to celebritytheatre.com or call 602-267-1600
See you there!
Mariah Fleming,
Radio Free Phoenix
AZ Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Hey World! We're Not Just Nostalgia!!
That's right! Imagine, you can see a big story about the moods and music of the 70's and you don't have to make a pledge for a tote bag!! Well it's true! All you've gotta do is get out your glasses and go find the December issue of Phoenix Magazine (I got mine at Walgreens at 2 am! A good story all by itself!) The magazine is a little tardy in giving a nod to the subculture(d) but nonetheless, for them, it's hot off the presses!! And it's a cover story no less.
It's about Bill Compton and almost all things 1970's. In the magazine aisle, just look for a bright yellow cover with a smiley face on the Dec issue. Don't think about the guy in that era who came up with the "Smiley Face" and reportedly never made a dime. Just marvel at the seriously cool pictures that depict the Valley of the Sun in those days. They're accurate. Thank God they didn't find one of me.
For instance there's Bill Thompson no doubt leering at Mary Jo West, the first woman anchor in Phoenix. It was probably taken her second or third night on the air when he asked her to show him her appendix scar. Was the patriarchal news gang at CBS in tune with the times or what??
The 70's story includes much on people who were honored at the first AZ Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame induction ceremony this last April. There's Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald of course. And some very interesting reporting on the KBKD heyday and Bill Compton. Anybody remember Belle Starr? Who knew??
Now's our chance! Let's start our own "We're Not Just Nostalgia!" movement. Read the article, and send lots of letters to the editor at Phoenix Magazine letting 'em know that Radio Free Phoenix thrives and KCAC Lives! Those times are alive and well (and newsworthy too.) Remember campers, we were all about "Just Do It" before it was a tennis shoe logo!! Are you with me?
Mariah
Radio Free Phoenix
It's about Bill Compton and almost all things 1970's. In the magazine aisle, just look for a bright yellow cover with a smiley face on the Dec issue. Don't think about the guy in that era who came up with the "Smiley Face" and reportedly never made a dime. Just marvel at the seriously cool pictures that depict the Valley of the Sun in those days. They're accurate. Thank God they didn't find one of me.
For instance there's Bill Thompson no doubt leering at Mary Jo West, the first woman anchor in Phoenix. It was probably taken her second or third night on the air when he asked her to show him her appendix scar. Was the patriarchal news gang at CBS in tune with the times or what??
The 70's story includes much on people who were honored at the first AZ Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame induction ceremony this last April. There's Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald of course. And some very interesting reporting on the KBKD heyday and Bill Compton. Anybody remember Belle Starr? Who knew??
Now's our chance! Let's start our own "We're Not Just Nostalgia!" movement. Read the article, and send lots of letters to the editor at Phoenix Magazine letting 'em know that Radio Free Phoenix thrives and KCAC Lives! Those times are alive and well (and newsworthy too.) Remember campers, we were all about "Just Do It" before it was a tennis shoe logo!! Are you with me?
Mariah
Radio Free Phoenix
Friday, December 02, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
Thanksgiving at Alice's Restaurant
Anyone turning on the radio yesterday was likely to hear a bit of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant," the 18-minute opus about a famous "Thanksgiving Day massacre" involving illegally dumped garbage, an ensuing arrest and imprisonment and, incidentally, a restaurant in Stockbridge, MA owned by one Alice Brock.
But did anyone go so far as to rent the Arthur Penn-directed, Academy Award nominated 1969 movie of the same name? Me neither.
If you're still looking for something different to watch over this long weekend, though, here's a review off the IMDB site from someone who's actually seen it:
"Seeing this cultural artifact from the late '60s is less like watching a story unfold than stepping into a time machine. The good, bad and tragic aspects of that turbulent era are all represented here, and the past - as observed from our tainted and narcissistic age of SUVs, AIDS and the Internet - seems positively innocent. And, with a few obvious exceptions,idyllic.
"The 1960s may have been a tumultuous era, but those years embodied one crucial concept sorely missing from today's society: youthful idealism. Way back when, before a six-figure salary became the college student's holy grail, when saving the world was more important than earning a law degree, young people were actually passionate - about freedom, about peace, about the long-term prospects for humanity. If that passion has not completely vanished, it has certainly been redirected - and not, in my view, toward a positive or productive end.
"Whether Penn's film works or not as a cinematic adaptation of Guthrie's song, whether it successfully mixes deadpan humor (hippies vs. bureaucratic clods) with tragedy (the dark side of drug use) seems almost irrelevant now. The movie succeeds in capturing a remarkable moment in time, a short period when the future may have been uncertain, but there was still a brilliant ray of sunshine at the end of the tunnel - and a youthful force propelling us toward it."
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Daniel's backyard
For those fellow Arizonans already longing for snow, here's a fantastic photo from blog contributor Daniel (vagabondvet) that he says is taken from his back yard in Oregon. Luck-ee!
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The Lefsetz Letter
It's hard to find people anywhere on the radio who still remember vinyl, the feel of album jackets and the anticipation of getting home to play a new album on the record player, not just sliding the shiny little disk into the car's CD player as soon as you get out of Best Buy.
That's why it was fun to discover Bob Lefsetz's podcast on the Rhino Records site. He's a funny, opinionated guy whose rambling recollections about his favorite albums and artists remind me a little bit of Toad Hall. He manages to push his musical tastes on you in a way you don't mind, and may actually have you coming back the next week for more.
Here's Lefsetz after playing some of his favorite Little Feat tracks: "This is exactly like it was in college. If you came to my house, I would drop the needle on the record - this was in the days of vinyl - and I would make you sit there and listen to these tracks. Little Feat's are not the type of records that you play in the background and people say, 'Oh, this is phenomenal.' You either force people to listen to it, and force them to get into it, or else they find out about it independently, and you run into them and you're soul mates."
The Lefsetz Letter is a podcast I'd be inclined to force someone who misses the kind of radio voices we celebrate on this page to listen to as well.
The Rhino podcasts are available here: http://www.rhino.com/rzine/rhinocasts/
The one on Lefsetz reviewing a recent Eagles concert (Rhinocast 007) is a good place to start.
That's why it was fun to discover Bob Lefsetz's podcast on the Rhino Records site. He's a funny, opinionated guy whose rambling recollections about his favorite albums and artists remind me a little bit of Toad Hall. He manages to push his musical tastes on you in a way you don't mind, and may actually have you coming back the next week for more.
Here's Lefsetz after playing some of his favorite Little Feat tracks: "This is exactly like it was in college. If you came to my house, I would drop the needle on the record - this was in the days of vinyl - and I would make you sit there and listen to these tracks. Little Feat's are not the type of records that you play in the background and people say, 'Oh, this is phenomenal.' You either force people to listen to it, and force them to get into it, or else they find out about it independently, and you run into them and you're soul mates."
The Lefsetz Letter is a podcast I'd be inclined to force someone who misses the kind of radio voices we celebrate on this page to listen to as well.
The Rhino podcasts are available here: http://www.rhino.com/rzine/rhinocasts/
The one on Lefsetz reviewing a recent Eagles concert (Rhinocast 007) is a good place to start.
Friday, November 11, 2005
KCAC/KDKB Memories
Hi Folks:
I was born and raised in Phoenix, left there in '72 and have hardly looked back since. Anyway, the other day the name "William Edward Compton" just popped up in my head and I wondered "whatever happened to that dude?" So I Googled the name, came up with your site and also found out that Bill died tragically in 1977. Sad!
Anyway, your blog has really brought back some memories. It's not really accurate that KCAC/KDKB was the first attempt at free-form radio in the Valley. I remember that KRIZ-AM in 1967, feeling the winds of change, loosened up its playlist considerably. It wasn't exactly "free-form radio" but they did play the Doors, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe & the Fish and others of that Ilk, even the odd Zappa track! Then in the summer of 1968 KNIX-FM got going and AM radio in Phoenix was done for as far I was concerned! The thing about KNIX was so few people were listening you could really make out on the call-in contests. I remember winning tickets to a Who concert (where I saw Pat McMahon wearing a Nehru jacket-ha!), and I won all kinds of albums and stuff over the station's short lifetime.
I was even at that infamous New Year's Eve 1968 concert at Memorial Stadium that got the station in so much hot water! The Fraternity of Man (mainly known for the tune "Don't Bogart That Joint" on the Easy Rider soundtrack) did a song about a guy who'd just gotten dumped by his girlfriend. The refrain was "FUCK HER!" Then there was the Crazy World of Arthur Brown with their songs making fun of Jesus. I remember seeing a couple of 12-year-old teenyboppers in their "mod" gear wandering around the place with dazed looks on their faces, probably thinking "what am I doing here?" I believe Three Dog Night also played. This was before anyone had heard of them.
Well, after that concert the shit hit the fan. The Arizona Republic and Ev Mecham's throwaway rag the Weekly American made a big stink and Rock 'n Roll was banned from Memorial Stadium for awhile. I believe it was March or April of '69 that the plug was pulled on KNIX without any warning.
Even before KNIX there were a couple of lights in the darkness. There was a guy named Rich Rogers who did a jazz-R&B show (on KXIV?) that all of us hipsters at South Mountain High School listened to in 1968. I had a cool student teacher in my English class who was friends with Rich and brought him down to talk to us.
Then in the Fall of 1969 KCAC (and later KDKB) saved the day! I remember the old place on Camelback Road, then the studio at Tower Plaza and finally the place in an old converted Safeway store in Mesa. I got involved in the antiwar movement (I was friends with Morris Starsky, the college professor who was railroaded out of ASU) and I remember Bill Compton & KDKB were always happy to help out with publicity or whatever. We were always welcome down at the station to talk about whatever we were up to. I never really got to know Bill but he seemed cool & didn't let his fame go to his head.
Remember getting stoned and listening to bands down at the Encanto Park bandshell? The concerts out by Pinnacle Peak? Or for that matter, Wallace and Ladmo? Those were kinder, gentler times.
So long, and thanks for the memories!
John Beadle
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Riopelle's 30th New Year's Eve at the Celebrity
This just in from Mary Passarella at Evening Star:
Evening Star Productions is very proud to announce
JERRY RIOPELLE
30th Anniversary of Rockin’ In The Round
NEW YEAR’S EVE
CELEBRITY THEATRE
Tickets on-sale Monday, November 14 AT 10AM
Phoenix (November 7, 2005) – On Saturday, December 31, 2005 JERRY RIOPELLE will celebrate the 30th anniversary of his inaugural New Year’s Eve concert at Celebrity Theatre. The show will begin at 9pm with a soon to be announced special guest.
Jerry Riopelle started the New Year’s Eve tradition in Phoenix in 1975, 30 years ago, when he headlined his first New Years show at the Celebrity Theatre. He has played dozens of sold out shows there since then, and remains the biggest ticket seller in the history of the Celebrity Theatre.
“Playing New Years Eve at the Celebrity Theatre is my favorite gig, in my favorite theatre, in the world. It became a grand tradition in my life, starting 30 years ago, and I am thrilled to celebrate this 30th Anniversary and to share it with the incredible Phoenix fans, who have partied with me and the band all these years. It's been a great run and I'm sure it will be a night to remember. Many thanks.” remarked Riopelle when asked about performing on New Year’s Eve 2005.
"Jerry is a great legend in this city. He is known all over the world because of his regular appearances here since the 70's, with his fans branching out around the globe, spreading the word....but he remains Arizona's own. His legend has endured because he always gives such great shows, and is known to be a great guy. You can walk into his show and just get intoxicated with all of the good vibes in the room. That to me, is the definition of a great career and a great life." commented Evening Star Productions’ Danny Zelisko.
Mayor Phil Gordon furthered those sentiments, “Jerry Riopelle's New Year's Eve concerts are legendary. And that's exactly what you expect from a Phoenix legend. In my earlier life, I actually produced an album for Jerry for release on 8-track tapes. Jerry, of course, has gone on to bigger and better things while I have to wear a tie every day and am still sitting on a pile of 8-tracks."
Jerry Riopelle’s performances reflect a genuine honesty while his music offers husky vocals, intimate lyrics with heavy doses of rock, country and rhythm and blues. Songs featuring the trademark Riopelle sound include “Easy Driver,” “So Young,” “Naomi’s Song,” “Blues On My Table” and the instant classic, “Walkin’ On Water” to name just a few. Riopelle’s natural ability to draw from different contemporary styles while utilizing wide-ranging instrumental ideas and rhythmic variations gives the Riopelle sound a very distinct character. Of his music, Riopelle says it’s very “American,” with that he concentrates on writing lyrics in a caring way, with his belief that love is what music is meant to address. Check-out Jerry’s music at www.jerryriopelle.com/jrmusic.htm
Evening Star Productions is very proud to announce
JERRY RIOPELLE
30th Anniversary of Rockin’ In The Round
NEW YEAR’S EVE
CELEBRITY THEATRE
Tickets on-sale Monday, November 14 AT 10AM
Phoenix (November 7, 2005) – On Saturday, December 31, 2005 JERRY RIOPELLE will celebrate the 30th anniversary of his inaugural New Year’s Eve concert at Celebrity Theatre. The show will begin at 9pm with a soon to be announced special guest.
Jerry Riopelle started the New Year’s Eve tradition in Phoenix in 1975, 30 years ago, when he headlined his first New Years show at the Celebrity Theatre. He has played dozens of sold out shows there since then, and remains the biggest ticket seller in the history of the Celebrity Theatre.
“Playing New Years Eve at the Celebrity Theatre is my favorite gig, in my favorite theatre, in the world. It became a grand tradition in my life, starting 30 years ago, and I am thrilled to celebrate this 30th Anniversary and to share it with the incredible Phoenix fans, who have partied with me and the band all these years. It's been a great run and I'm sure it will be a night to remember. Many thanks.” remarked Riopelle when asked about performing on New Year’s Eve 2005.
"Jerry is a great legend in this city. He is known all over the world because of his regular appearances here since the 70's, with his fans branching out around the globe, spreading the word....but he remains Arizona's own. His legend has endured because he always gives such great shows, and is known to be a great guy. You can walk into his show and just get intoxicated with all of the good vibes in the room. That to me, is the definition of a great career and a great life." commented Evening Star Productions’ Danny Zelisko.
Mayor Phil Gordon furthered those sentiments, “Jerry Riopelle's New Year's Eve concerts are legendary. And that's exactly what you expect from a Phoenix legend. In my earlier life, I actually produced an album for Jerry for release on 8-track tapes. Jerry, of course, has gone on to bigger and better things while I have to wear a tie every day and am still sitting on a pile of 8-tracks."
Jerry Riopelle’s performances reflect a genuine honesty while his music offers husky vocals, intimate lyrics with heavy doses of rock, country and rhythm and blues. Songs featuring the trademark Riopelle sound include “Easy Driver,” “So Young,” “Naomi’s Song,” “Blues On My Table” and the instant classic, “Walkin’ On Water” to name just a few. Riopelle’s natural ability to draw from different contemporary styles while utilizing wide-ranging instrumental ideas and rhythmic variations gives the Riopelle sound a very distinct character. Of his music, Riopelle says it’s very “American,” with that he concentrates on writing lyrics in a caring way, with his belief that love is what music is meant to address. Check-out Jerry’s music at www.jerryriopelle.com/jrmusic.htm
Monday, October 24, 2005
Vampire Bill?
Bill Compton, a vampire? Apparently so - at least in the fiction of Charlaine Harris, proclaimed by Amazon editors as "One of the best-known and best writers of the new American mythology." Harris has authored four novels now (in her Anthony Award-winning Southern Vampire series) that center around the story of psychic waitress Sookie Stackhouse who has fallen out with her undead lover, Bill Compton.
Hey, this blog is getting desperate for attention. Come on, you old KCAC/KDKB heads - play our Song of the Week and tell us why (or why not) our hero could be an undead lothario exiled to Peru.
Hey, this blog is getting desperate for attention. Come on, you old KCAC/KDKB heads - play our Song of the Week and tell us why (or why not) our hero could be an undead lothario exiled to Peru.
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