Archive for May, 2012

A while back, a friend and I were driving to Cleveland to attend the Rock and Roll Hall of fame induction ceremony. We were in full KISS makeup. I was Gene, of course, and my friend was Ace Frehley. I was wearing a vintage Deep Purple concert T-shirt and he wore his Rush shirt from the 2112 era. It was going to be immense!

Van Dyke

We arrived in Joliet, Ill., around 9:30 a.m. It was at this point that we turned to page two of our printed driving directions. Upon his review of the second half of the trip, my friend says to me “We’re not gonna make it.” I was puzzled. We had over eight hours left to get there and about a five- or six-hour drive left. So I say to him, “Dude, they have underwear at the strip mall over there across the highway. We’re fine!” He says that underwear are not the issue this time and goes on to say that we have to drive around the state of Indiana because he is not legally allowed to be in it. At this point, I was somewhat concerned. I was not sure I wanted to hear any more. It turns out that he had belonged to the Columbia House Record club approximately 68 times during a 10 year period back in the 1980s and was told by someone on the phone that if he was found in the state of Indiana, he would be arrested. Now, I am not a lawyer, but this seemed a bit hokey to me.

From my own experience, debt collectors back then were extremely creative. I had one call me every day, and he had a New York meets Chicago accent. He was a tough guy, at least on the phone. He told me he was tired of bustin’ my chops every day about this and when am I gonna send a check, and what happened to all the money I made last week. Luckily, I was able to take care of it after a couple months. Years later, when I first heard the Jerky Boys, I swore that Frank Rizzo was that debt collector. He had the same voice and same attitude.

Nevertheless, we turned back because I was unable to reach my aunt, who is a lawyer, so she could explain the statute of limitations to my friend and that he was misled, if not lied to by whoever he talked to. I certainly was not going to tell him the truth, since it was my cousin that I dared to call and pose as a Columbia House collections agent…

Columbia House used to have an ad on the back of the Sunday paper magazine all the time. They also advertised in a lot of national magazines. The ad would look like several stacks of cassette tapes with the album title and artist information facing you. Their game was simple. Sign up with the club and get 12 albums free. You just have to buy a certain number of albums at “regular club prices,” which were the average price of a new album, plus shipping and handling. They gave you two or three years to fulfill the “agreement.” Being that I bought about two or three records a month, I figured it would be easy to do. That is until I bought the first one. With ‘shipping and handling,’ the cost of an album was almost twice what it would cost at a record store. I was mad for a day or so, then I thought that since I got all those records for free up front, it was still an OK deal.

The secret of these clubs was buying all of your “agreed to purchase” albums at once or as fast as possible, then canceling membership. Once you do that, a few months later, they would mail you a letter saying that they want you back, so you could join again and get the 12 albums free and repeat the whole process. When CDs entered the picture, they reduced the number of free albums, but it still worked the same. Once you fulfilled your membership agreement, they did have some good deals now and then, but by then, I had just about all of the albums I wanted.

The other shady thing clubs like this did is force you to return a “selection of the month” card. Unless you sent the card back telling them not to, they would send the featured album automatically. This seemed like a great idea for a disorganized lazy procrastinator like myself. I cannot tell you how many of those got sent to me because I either lost the card or forgot to send it back. And when the albums arrived, it was just too much work to send them back and it was so much fun to get a package in the mail. I could not resist.

It got easier when the Internet entered the picture. They did away with the cards. Then you just had to sign in to your account and click a box. Even that, it turned out was too much for me to accomplish. I did get a lot of CDs that I would not have bought otherwise. So it was not a total loss.

When I got older and wiser, I figured out that there were much better ways to discover new music, especially when I was hanging around the local music scene. Musicians always know what the good stuff is. I will let that statement stand on its own, since it has many applications. So, since record clubs have gone the way of well, records, talk to your musician friends and ask them what they like to listen to. Maybe you already do. Also, go listen to local artists when they play live. A lot of times, you will be reminded of a song you forgot about. Until next time, the selection of the month is a special combo package in honor of two great artists. The first is from the Bee Gees and it is called “Their Greatest Hits — The Record” and the second is Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” album. Enjoy!

Don Van Dyke

Rock Back to Summer featuring Devonte Clark, Unknown Faces, Somewhere In Between, Covets Avail (rock)
WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Turner Hall
COST: $3

Tim Hart (acoustic)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: School’s Out for Summer Party at Spirit Knob Winery, Ursa

Saints Avenue Opry (country)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Lewis Street Playhouse, Canton, Mo.
COST: $8

George Cate (acoustic)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire

Brushfire (country)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front

13 Stitches (classic rock)
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: South Side Boat Club, 640 S. Front

Cheeks McGee and Fielder (acoustic/rock)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front

Chris Cavanaugh (country)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Holler and Swaller Saloon, 500 York
COST: $10

The Human Aftertaste, the Texas Funerals, Busey’s Helmet and Dread Corsair
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The State Room, 434 S. Eighth
COST: $5

Big on Blondes (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Dock, 1021 Bonansinga Dr.

The PimpKatz (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Adams Trading Post, Liberty

Raised On Radio (classic rock)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire

Cheeks McGee (acoustic)
WHEN: 11 a.m. Sunday
WHERE: Bike Show and Barbecue at Kelly’s Tavern, 2902 Broadway

Bo Casey (acoustic)
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Spirit Knob Winery, Ursa

More details on upcoming shows are available on the calendar page at www.thelocalq.com.

For information on bands and concert venues, go to the music page at www.thelocalq.com.

Submit details for upcoming shows at www.thelocalq.com/node/1767.

Highway 99 (country)
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Lake Hill Winery, Carthage

Raised on Radio (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Blind Pig, 900 N. 12th St.

Keith Mullin Family Fundraiser featuring Cheeks McGee, Moon and Raised on Radio (acoustic/rock)
WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The State Room, 434 S. Eighth St.

Ketcham Louden Live (acoustic)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Lake Hill Winery, Carthage

Madd Hoss Jackson (country)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Dock, 1021 Bonansinga Dr.

Bowlers Banquet featuring Reunion (rock)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Turner Hall, 926 Hampshire

Mike Coultas and Kathy Brink (acoustic)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Cellar 21, 121 N. Fourth

Nowake and Further Ado (rock/country)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: River City Billiards, 603 Broadway Hannibal, Mo.

Dave Griffin (acoustic)
WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Spirit Knob Winery, Ursa

Diamonds In-the-Rough (acoustic)
WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire

More details on upcoming shows are available on the calendar page at www.thelocalq.com.

For information on bands and concert venues, go to the music page at www.thelocalq.com.

Submit details for upcoming shows at www.thelocalq.com/node/1767.

This weekend is the Local Q Music Fest at Johnny Bang Bang’s. What better way could there possibly be to unwind after all the Dogwood activities than to cool off with some fantastic live music with us? As of this writing, the temperature is supposed to be about 90 degrees all weekend, so a cooling off is definitely in order. Along with Ami Moss and the Unfortunate and Max Simmons, the five finalists in The Local Q Singer/Songwriter competition will be performing. Thankfully, there will be no opening production number like those found on some televised contests. It will be a great night, so get down to the first big riverfront party of the season. I will be attempting to do some live updates at the venue from soundcheck up until I am chased from the establishment in the early morning hours (if not before).

Van Dyke

So, who are some of the best singer/songwriters? Where can you find them? Are there any around here? Well, I am glad you asked. The first actual singer/songwriter, I remember hearing was Jim Croce. He had a bunch of hits back in the 1970s and my dad would play his greatest hits album seemingly nonstop in my early childhood memories. Then I heard a steady stream of the great country singer/songwriters like Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash until I started going to school. It was at that point I kind of got more into rock bands like the Beatles, Kiss and Cheap Trick. I rediscovered singer/songwriters when I heard the Bruce Springsteen song “Hungry Heart” and decided to check out some of his other tunes. I am not exactly sure what it was about that song. It was not really one his best. I am thinking it may be that the lyrics were coming from the point of view of some guy you may have struck up a conversation with in the local tavern. It is like you asked him, “What’s your story, fella?” Bruce has a lot of great material to mine in the unlikely event you are unfamiliar with him. Then, in the early 1980s, there was a guy named John Mellencamp (he went by John Cougar back then). Not only does he have some good tunes, but also he introduced the world to Kenny Aronoff, one of the best drummers ever. Kenny also played with John Fogerty, a tremendous singer/songwriter also. Then, there is Paul Simon, who is just a genius, Neil Young, Carole King, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell — I could go on for a couple hours, but I will stop here. The point is that there are tons of them to discover and rediscover out there, and it is easier than ever with the technology available today. You can put one of these artists into a streaming music app like Pandora and find hundreds of others.

As far as around here, while I think you will be quite impressed with the level of talent displayed by our five finalists, there are a few others worth mentioning. I went to a local acoustic showcase a couple years ago. There were like six or seven acts on the bill, maybe more. I think a national act was playing in town also, so the crowd was kind of small. All the performers were really good, and I was having a great time. Then this guy makes his way toward the stage carrying a guitar and long dreadlocks. It was Logan Kammerer from the local band Fielder. I was familiar with Fielder and had heard their CD’s, but I was totally blown away by this performance. If you like music at all, you owe it to yourself to go see Logan acoustic or the band Fielder. Actually, you need to do both of these things multiple times.

I mention that not to single out one artist, but to show that you never know what you may find going to a local show now and then. Hopefully, one or more of the performers in the contest will have this same effect on you. In case you forgot, the finalists are George Cate, Bo Dirte, Katie Jean, Elizabeth Mannhardt and Michael Reynolds. Some other local artists to check out are Cheeks McGee, Esther Moore, the Sharrows, Keith Franx, the McKay Brothers, and I am sure I have left some out. Let me know who they are so I can hang my head in shame…

See you at the Local Q Fest! As usual, I will be the creepy old guy.

Don Van Dyke