WHAM-O WHEELIE BAR: Go with the Big Ones

Anyone else remember an America where you laid your money down and took your chances with the understanding that the very real possibility of bodily harm was just part of the thrill?
Kid-wise, it really separated the wheat from the chaff at the street level.

 #whamo, #wham-o, #wheelie-bar, #stingray, #little, red, wagon,

Burger Thang Detroit, May 29 - June 25

Neue Haus Detroit presents Burger Thang, a show of recent works by Matt O’Brien, Chris Moore, and Greg Bokor. Official Release: Around 1982 a small group of kids from Mt. Clemens, Ann Arbor, Hudsonville, Bloomfield Hills, East Lansing and Maumee, Ohio all would meet at a ‘hole in the wall’ around the corner of Cass Avenue and Willis. That ‘hole in the wall’ was called the Freezer Theatre. They played in bands together and hung out at the Burger King on Cass Avenue. Out of this petri dish came the bands; Negative Approach, The Necros, The Meatmen, and Bored Youth, to name a few.

Three of that small group, Matt O’Brien, Chris Moore and Greg Bokor have since focused their talents on making art amongst other ventures. This show reunites them and the city that gave them much of their inspiration during that time.

Burger Thang runs from May 29-June 25 at Spread Art @detroit contemporary on 5141 Rosa Parks, Detroit.

Public Opening and Artist Talk,Thursday, May 29 at 7pm with Matt O’Brien, Chris Moore, and Greg Bokor. Burgers and drinks will be available.

Admission: Free Donation of $5 is suggested.

Contact neuehausdetroit@gmail.com for more information or visit the tumblr http://neuehausdetroit.tumblr.com/.
http://gregbokor.com/ 
http://mtobrien.com/ 
http://www.mooresong.com/ 

Neue Haus Detroit is a roving art, music, and artisan exhibition. Augusta Morrison is the founder and curator. NHD focuses on emerging artists and creating experiential happenings in alternative art spaces.

This Machine Kills Teenage Boredom: Where Is It Now?

Ibanez Deluxe 59'er "Lawsuit" Les Paul Copy
Featuring a low price of entry and above average playability, this guitar was the ideal weapon in the war on teenage boredom. Some two decades before these gits were considered "collectable," this example came into my life wearing Grover tuning pegs, a brass nut, and a Dimarzio X2N pickup in the bridge and a Super II in the neck. In other words, massive ass kicking capability without the financial risk associated with domestic instruments. Artistic expression frustration soon revealed it possessed the almost supernatural ability to remain in near perfect tune, even after repeated aerial maneuvers and the associated hard landings. I had Lemmy sign it in gold paint marker in '85, but that had started to fade by the time it disappeared. It may or may not of had an "ULTRA 94" sticker between the pickups.

Unfortunately, it was "lost" in Minneapolis at 7th Street Entry in 1987. On tour with the Circle Jerks, the 59'er never made it back into the Necros van that night. Although the idea of this axe being haphazardly strummed by some 15-year old in a musty basement somewhere trying to play along with the Heartbreakers' L.A.M.F. LP is appealing, I'd rather have it back. In the slim chance this missive finds it's way to someone who knows of its whereabouts, do tell. The story alone will be worth the wait.

PS: They are called "lawsuit" models because Gibson sued-and won-to force Ibanez to quit using the "mustache" or "open book" headstock shape.
When lost, this Ibanez was in a generic case.
Circle Jerks, Necros, First Avenue, 7th Street Entry, Negative Approach, Punk, Touch and Go, Gibson, Fender, stolen guitar

FOUND!

Musty old Brooks leather jacket with the lining removed and the sleeves cut off. Awesome.

Danzig screened the Crimson Ghost image on the collar. I handled the Gone In Sixty Seconds logo myself. Punk outing, people shouting; you can't hack it, without a leather jacket.

Mister, if you don't shut up I'm gonna kick one hundred percent of your ass!

Learn it. Know it. Live it.

Spotted on the wall of the Tin Goose Diner and Aviation Museum in Port Clinton Ohio.
 

RIP Captain Beefheart 12.17.2010

5X7 Handbill from Beefheart's April 19th, 1974 appearance at the Toledo Sports Arena

Items # 5 & 8 of  "Captain Beefheart's Ten Commandments of Guitar Playing," two sentiments that reside near toke!'s heart:

#5. If you're guilty of thinking, you're out
If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.

#8. Don't wipe the sweat off your instrument
You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music. 

An interview with Beefheart conducted at Toledo Sports Arena on the very date of the handbill pictured above can be read here: Don Van Vliet

Below:
Dick Clark: "And that's the story of the vanilla wafer. Hey, got a minute? I've got a great idea for this hilarious blooper and practical joke show..."

11.09.76 ZZ Top & Montrose, Toledo Sports Arena

Click on image for large view

"It's not a picture about truckers, but about the people in this incredible new world of CB," said Fields, a superagent. Well duh.

The dirty low-lowdown

Freak Not, My Friends! You can still find a video of the The Oak Ridge Boys performing The White Stripes, "Seven Nation Army" by clicking here.
Not bad, but I prefer The Gaither Vocal Band's note-for-note rendition of "Dehumanized" by Void.