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STILL IN TOLEDO BUT NOT SURE WHY?
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Digging a Ditch: Tim Kerr & Brian Mank, 9/83
Thursday, April 14, 2011
DORITOS LOCOS TACOS: Yes Toledo, This Is Really Happening
Am I the only one in awe of the fact that a new Taco Bell menu item, a taco whose shell is comprised solely of a giant nacho-cheese Dorito is available ONLY in Toledo, Ohio*!? It's called “Doritos Locos Taco,” and frankly, I can't wait to barf one -or seven- up in the hopper next
I've searched and searched for the (Columbus-dissing, no less!) TV commercial on the webernets to no avail...till then, it appears there is a movement pending (insert bathroom joke here) to take the delectable nationwide:https://www.facebook.com/cheesyshells
Even better: At this point, "There is no indication that Taco Bell will make the Doritos Locos Tacos nationally available" according to widely revered authority on such matters, Foodbeast.
But really, can Toledo honestly be considered a test market? Where better to hawk nutritionally ambiguous gut-bombs encased in a radioactive-hued corn shell? Proud Toledoeans will stand in line all day and pay triple the going rate just for the privilege!
*I added "Ohio" in order to avoid confusion with Toledo, Spain, where tradition dictates all prepared meats and produce be served in a large nacho-cheese Dorito shell.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
04.16.11 Record Store Day Toledo 2011: Forty Sad Portraits Of Closed Record Stores
Sad, I've been in at least ten of these forty stores over the years. On the bright side, Steve Jobs can finally make the last lay-away payment on that sweet Kenmore washer/dryer combo his wife's been hinting at. I hear that little minx is quite the homemaker.
347 Yonge St. without the iconic "Sam the Record Man" neon signage?
How will tourists navigate Toronto?
It's not the commerce I miss so much, it's the hang.
Luckily, we've still got a few places worthy of your time and money right here in Toledo:
Culture Clash Records
Rama Lama Records
Shakin Street Records
And in Ann Arbor:
Wazoo Records
It just wouldn't be right to conclude this pity-party without shedding at least a few tears in honor of some personal favorite fallen temples of vinyl worship: Sounds, NYC; The original School Kids, Ann Arbor; Purple Phrogg, North Lima; Boogie, Toledo, Zed, Long Beach/O.C., and many, many, more.
Thanks to J.Yuenger for the heads up on this list.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
03.30.68 Jimi Hendrix Experience at The TU (aka University of Toledo) Fieldhouse
Sunday Special: Roast Beef OR Fried Chicken Only 99¢!
Honestly, do you think anyone is gonna' come out to that stinky-old fieldhouse and lay down $1.50 to see some equally smelly hippie with a Fender guitar jumping around onstage, stroking his ego and making suggestive (really, is there any other kind?) sex-faces at the young ladies in attendance with all these tasty and nutritious dining options available for the same coin? Likewise, if Mr. Hendrix had a sensible bone in his body, he'd put down that mid-performance guitar tartare he's so fond of and instead sink his teeth into one of Harold's tantalizing specials ASAP.
A side note to Mr. Promoter:
Look, all of us in the biz know hyperbole is part and parcel with concert promotion. From the xeroxed flyers stapled to telephone poles by excited teenagers to Grand Funk's legendary, sixty-foot high, city block-long Time Square Billboard, the goal is to "get the message out!" at any cost. But I honestly believe you've gone overboard here; some of that lettering is nearly one-half an inch tall! We don't need your kind tarnishing the otherwise sterling reputations of rock promoters.
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| From the Toledo Blade, March 30, 1968 |
Look, all of us in the biz know hyperbole is part and parcel with concert promotion. From the xeroxed flyers stapled to telephone poles by excited teenagers to Grand Funk's legendary, sixty-foot high, city block-long Time Square Billboard, the goal is to "get the message out!" at any cost. But I honestly believe you've gone overboard here; some of that lettering is nearly one-half an inch tall! We don't need your kind tarnishing the otherwise sterling reputations of rock promoters.
GPOYW
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| Photo: Daniel Byrne |
Here's a (rare)early A.M. shot of toke! and four-time AHMRA British European and American Racing Series National Champion Kenny Cummings preparing to unleash the sonic fury of his Vintage Norton Commando race bike on the still-slumbering citizens of the West Village.
Rise and shine people!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Necros T-shirts: Get 'Em While They're Tepid!
6/14/11: HEY! They can be found HERE.
Necros
"So Uncool"
"So Uncool"
Maumee Gym (kinda) T-shirt
- Straight from the source: The fellas printed these up last summer for the Why Be Something You're Not book release party/concert in Detroit, where three of the guys performed as Sorcen-Get it? S-O-R-C-E-N. Clever, no?
- Scholars of Midwest Hardcore History will undoubtedly find these shirts as witty as they are stylish; Do you know which barely-released (original pressing of only 100 copies, but bootlegged ad nauseam) Necros song the quote is from?
- Get 'em while you can, when these are gone, there won't be no more
- Size M measures 17" pit to pit and 23" collar to bottom hem, they increase dimensionally from there.
- Gildan 50/50 cotton blend T
- Maumee provenance: Actually printed by Jimmy from next-generation Maumee rockers Henry and June, 1/2 half of which would later become the Soledad Brothers, the half with Jimmy becoming Boogaloosa Prayer, whose drummer happens to be original Necros drummer Todd Swalla. Patchwork threads of integrity woven here, no waiting
- No stains, pit or otherwise, but we're happy to entertain any requests regardless of perversion
Get Yours Here: Maumee City Madhouse.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Why Did Glenn Frey Roll The Rationals Van?
- Because the Detroit Native suffered a momentary, hallucinogenic-induced glimpse of a future world gone mad some forty-years hence, where, even after writing dozens of criminally-mellow top ten money-making hits for the Eagles and guest-starring on Miami Vice, his seemingly incoherent, booze-addled band-mate Joe Walsh would still be considered "the cool one," by non-dicks everywhere?
- Because he was hurrying to meet Cher at a Bally Total Fitness Center to engage in a shiny, satin/spandex-clad and poofy-coiffed workout of such crass intent that even fellow wealth enthusiast and Eagles band-mate Don Henley would hang his head in shame?
- Or was it simply a case of the heat, in fact, being on?
"Frey rode along with The Rationals to the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, and upon arrival immediately encountered the MC5, who were wasting no time leaving Chi-town and suggested The Rationals do the same, post-haste. And, due to the chaos, rioting, and confusion in the streets, the van went greasy-side up during a high-speed evasive maneuver required to guarantee the band and their gear safe passage from the streets of Chicago." A romantic story, but bogus nonetheless.The Truth Comes Out:
Years later, Frey came clean while being interviewed about gigging at Traverse City, Michigan's 1960's teen hangout, The Tanz Haus:
“Yeah I remember the place,” laughed Frey. “One time I borrowed The Rationals van to get up there and I was flying through a small town (Manton) and lost control of the van on the curve and totaled the van and trashed the equipment I borrowed as well.”
“It was May 13, 1967 and I noted in my diary that his band, The Mushrooms, were not very good, they were mediocre at best. But I also noted that the singer (Glenn) was good and had talent. You could tell he was better than the rest. Though most of us were shocked when he made it big.”FUN FACT: Glenn sings backup and strums acoustic guitar on the awesome original version of Bob Seger's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man."
Although The Rationals' legacy may not shine with the same intensity as their rust-belt rock'n'roll brethren, they stood shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the MC5, The Frost, and The Stooges while hammering their own R&B influenced sound out of the indigenous hard Michigan rock. So much so, John Sinclair named his book Guitar Army: Rock and Revolution with The MC5 and the White Panther Party after the Rationals song of the same name.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
NIPTDWTT (Nuthin' In Particular To Do With Toledo Thursday) Post
Although many Toledoeans may find it to be of particular interest.
Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World from Joey Tosi on Vimeo.
Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World from Joey Tosi on Vimeo.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
"P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me."
First date on Badfinger's second US tour.
Friday, February 11, 2011
02.11.75 Queen and Kansas at University of Toledo Student Union Auditorium
Mercury, seated before a personalized tea service whilst clutching his velvet-draped scepter: "Hmmmn, hmm, hello boys. Join me in a cup of tea?"
Kansas members, replying in satin tour-jacketed unison: "Helmet laws suck motherf#*%er!"
Faintly, from a Kansas roadie in the distance: "Peavey Ruuuuules!"
Within a year or so of this gig, I read a quote (a bold pull-quote, no less) in Creem Magazine from a member of Kansas regarding the artistic integrity of the then chart topping media darling, Bruce Springsteen: "That's not talent, it's just two chords going back and forth." Suddenly, the phrase "Comparisons are odius" made complete sense. I like to think that somewhere, the narrow chest of my seventh-grade English teacher* swelled ever-so slightly against the constraint of his cable knit sweater vest. If they can't see something in it's own light, so be it; I'm not going to try and change any minds. But that didn't mean I had to give a shit about any of them.
Later that week I picked up the Ramones first Album.
*Mr. Kratzman was my seventh-grade English teacher at Gateway Middle School In Maumee, Ohio. In addition to banging his head against the wall in response to our generally knuckled-headed juvenile existence, dropping the occasional Lydgate, Cervantes and (attention pecksniffs: feel free to argue the spelling/origin of odius here, I haven't the time or concern) Shakespeare reference, he could bang out show tunes night and day on the old Gateway upright piano, often accompanied by Mrs. Uhause(sp?) on vocals. He was truly the son my mother wished for. If only the Maumee curriculum specified for a yearly visit from TRCKAK(The Rock Combo Known As Kansas), we'd all be editing the Westminster Review by now.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Reunited and it Feels So Good, Reunited to Kick the Jams Born in the Maumee Hood...
To celebrate all the freshly minted audio excitement, it's only fitting the guys reconvene not only to rescale the sonic summits of their formative years, but ultimately to try and eclipse them. As the sage in-between Maumee rocker (i.e., he's older than H & J, but younger than the Necros) and guitar wunderkind Kelley Cimney once profoundly inquired from high atop his post-party throne of beer-soaked Ramen noodles: "Are you high? Well I wanna' take you higher!" Cimney, who generally chose to voice this query in an aneurysm-inducing falsetto shriek that could shame Rob Halford into a taking work as a telaflora phone representative, clearly liked to get to the point and stay there.
Likewise, after Henry & June members Jimmy Danger, Dooley Wilson, Ben Swank and Johnny Walker stood up together for the last time, each moved on to various bigger and debatably better things without disowning their collective past: Danger and Wilson to Boogaloosa Prayer; Swank and Walker to the now-defunct Soledad Brothers. When the band took the stage for a one-off reunion gig in April 2010, someone had either the foresight or folly to hit the REC button and commit the performance to tape, the results of which were apparently impressive enough to warrant an official release. To provide the proper context for the 2010 live recordings, a selection of choice cuts culled from the classic "rehearsal tapes" familiar to close friends of the band make up the remainder of the two-disc set.
Henry and June, 1993
WHERE AND WHEN:
THURS. FEBRUARY 10TH-COVINGTON MASONIC BALLROOM COVINGTON, KY
FRI. FEBRUARY 11TH- MAGIC STICK DETROIT, MI
FRI. FEBRUARY 11TH- MAGIC STICK DETROIT, MI
SAT. FEBRUARY 12TH- OTTAWA TAVERN TOLEDO, OH
FRI. FEBRUARY 18TH- BAYPORT BBQ BAYPORT, MN
SAT. FEBRUARY 19TH- CACTUS CLUB MILWAUKEE, WI
FRI. FEBRUARY 18TH- BAYPORT BBQ BAYPORT, MN
SAT. FEBRUARY 19TH- CACTUS CLUB MILWAUKEE, WI
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| DANGER LIMITED |
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