Found Toledo #1: Toledo Steel Products

Toledo Steel Products Neon Clock.
"Makers of Fine Automotive and Aircraft Parts."
Spotted while cruising the vendor aisles at the Fall Carlisle Swap Meet.
Asking price $650.00

From the comments:

Fill me in on the fencing dude? Was that some sort of logo for the city or for Toledo Steel Products? Was fencing big in Toledo? -- Dave Martin

Toke! said...

@ Dave Martin: Yes Dave, before skateboarding and punk rock, the streets of Toledo were littered with roaming bands of disenfranchised youth, often engaging in impromptu fencing duels to settle turf disputes. The penalties for appearing in public without a mesh face-guard were swift and severe. But once Barry mail-ordered that Germs record, the fencing scene just died.

Actually, it was just a continuation on a theme started centuries ago in out sister city, Toledo, Spain.

From Wikipedia: Toledo steel, known historically as unusually hard, is from Toledo, Spain, which has been a traditional sword-making, steel-working center since about 500 BC, and came to the attention of Rome when used by Hannibal in the Punic Wars. Soon, it became a standard source of weaponry for Roman Legions. Toledo steel was famed for its very high quality alloy, whereas Damascene steel, a competitor from the Middle Ages on, was famed for a specific metal-working technique.

11.2.74 Lou Reed / Hall and Oates, University of Toledo Fieldhouse

Toledo Can't Dance

Lou Reed brought N.Y.C cool to the University of Toledo Fieldhouse on this November day in support of his most recent album, Sally Can't Dance. Blue-Eyed Pennsylvania Dutch Philly Soulsters Hall & Oates tagged along in the warm-up slot.

Of his fourth and most successful L.P. to date, Reed remarked:

"It seems like the less I'm involved with a record, the bigger a hit it becomes. If I weren't on the record at all next time around, it might go to Number One."

Although Hall and Oates had not yet struck gold singing about rich bitches, smiling Sara and private eyes, their third and current LP, Abandoned Luncheonette, did contain the literal composition, "She's Gone," which would go on to chart at #7 in 1976, only after being re-released by Atlantic on the strength of successful cover versions released by both Lou Rawls and Tavares.

Fine print running along the bottom of the poster rather desperately proclaims:  "This will be a very exciting show...and at a bargain price!"

UPDATE:
First hand account of the gig from Boogie Records/Culture Clash proprietor and wise elder statesman of all things Toledo-rock, Pat O'Connor:

Plantland was a great concert promotion company headed by Ron ? a TU (sic) law student. He put a nice array of progressive shows, well for Toledo and the times.

I did see this show which I remember could have easily fit in the Student Union room. Not a lot of people but avid rabid fans. It was rather a schmultz feat as Lou was i his "super asshole I love when you hate me" phase. Gone were those hot as lightning Dick Wagner riffs from R n R Animal. In in with blonde hair product.

Glad I saw it. I didn't realize we'd all respect him, not only for his past endeavors, but also as a lobe artist, at the time. I can only hope we look back and say, "Man the album he did with Metallica was sooo great"

Respect your elders: Get into the Culture Clash and BUY SOMETHING!

4020 Secor Road
Toledo, Ohio 43623
(419) 536-5683

10.31.71 Pink Floyd, University Of Toledo Fieldhouse

Kicking around on a piece of ground
in my hometown.

Here.

Has The Cream Set Out Too Long?

Click image for larger view

We're Strong for Toledo.

Check It: JUPMODE

Nice work people:
The Miracle Vitamins: http://www.themiraclevitamins.com
The ‘Leles: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Leles/128746847185246
Steven Mullan: StevenMullan.com
Mighthaveben the Band: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mighthaveben-the-band/191104720917730?ref=ts
Bozarts Art and Music Gallery: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bozarts-llc/111207106675
Audio by Little Elephant Recording: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Elephant-Recording/115528228470642
Video by 3BYONE Media: http://www.3byone.com

"It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."

I'll talk ta' Bob.

Hello Dave.

This is Dave.

He played football with Mayor Bell at The University of Toledo back in the day. Now he makes BBQ. Really, really good BBQ. This is Brisket. So tender you don't need teeth.

Check out his self-contained mobile BBQ-rig; it's even got on-board hot water and a Coke cooler. Here's the back side, complete with separate wash sinks to keep those pesky health inspectors happy:

Here's some of his trophies and sauce. That's one of his many auxiliary BBQ's in the background:

Here's a front view of the whole operation, including the chicken grills on the right. Note the guys just hanging out batting the fat. Experts will tell that's how you find a good BBQ place; look for a bunch of old guys -non employees, preferably fat- just hanging around, doing nothing. Everyone needs heroes.

I would have gladly paid twice the price:

It was hot and humid the day I visited, 95 in the shade easy. But that only added to the experience.You can find Dave on St. Route 703 (AKA Celina Road) in St. Marys Ohio.
Here's the link to Google maps, if you can't find it on your own with this, you just don't like good BBQ.

Tell him HAL sent ya'.

Three Nights, Six Bands, Seven Bucks.

I Got Your Toledo Rock Party Weekend Right Here:

Friday:  The Bob Seger System & Electric Sideshow.
Saturday: MC5 & Orphic
Sunday: The Rationals and Orphic

State Theater, 2476 Collingwood Blvd. Toledo, Ohio

Pass the word.

Happy 4th of July, Bitches!

click on image for full-size display

For your information, it's real. And it's spectacular.

World's Greatest Literary Achievement?

Silent Flaccidity

A pair of Franco-Italian relics from Citroen's hydro-pneumatic empire sit quietly awaiting their fate.

Citroen bought Maserati in 1968, hanging on to their Gallic independence until filing for bankruptcy in 1974.

Optimistic 1960's space-age elegance still apparent despite years of neglect.

I've been lucky enough to witness fully operational Citroen SM's in the wild, first in in N.Y.C. and then S.F., where the quirky and sophisticated SM seemed somewhat at home. Stumbling across these derelict  examples here in Toledo, I experienced the the same feelings of confused elation I imagine UFO-conspiracy kooks feel when they happen upon the remote scrap-pile of a residential bathroom remodel gone bad they're just sure is a UFO crash site.












The hydro-pneumatic suspension system that permits the SM to navigate crater-strewn streets and highways with such aplomb and neutrality also provides for the vehicle's variable ride-height capabilities, the bodywork often settling merely inches off the ground while at rest.

A total of 12,920 SM's were produced from 1970-'75, including 2,400 exported to North America in 1972-'73.



Where: Dorr St. near Holland Sylvania.
Best Case Scenario: These are simply parts cars, and a fully-functional Citroen SM is at this very moment plying the streets of Toledo, swallowing Fiat 500-sized potholes with indifference and wowing kiddies and jaded bystanders alike with impromptu curbside displays of automotive-suspension calisthenics. 

Worst Case Scenario: After completing an arduous restoration of concours quality, the formerly carefree enthusiast becomes a demanding pecksniff and begins to unravel with the sad realization that his meticulous grande routière will never experience the intoxicating effervescence of  genuine French air and hydraulic fluid simultaneously escaping from numerous locations along the vehicle's undercarriage while circling Avenue des Champs-Elysees during la vendage. Crushed by this glaring inadequacy, narcotics become the owners only form of relief, eventually abandoning the vehicles here during an opiate-fueled stupor.

Bosco Got A Roscoe

Twenty-one year old random doodle from the pen of elusive Booger Clown/Lobster Boy Comix Head Cheese Felix Wilson Jr., recently unearthed during the latest attempt to organize the massive PDGB archives. Sharp-eyed devotees of the punk music will undoubtedly recognize the illustrator as the same guilt-ridden neurotic that gave the world, among other things, the gut-busting antics of "Bazooka Morris and His Gang" comic strip, the cover art for Toledo based rock band, Gone In Sixty Seconds, and most notably, the notorious 1983 LP cover from the band that boldly declared "You Suck!," a sentiment held so closely by the politically correct-adverse rock combo they found the need to reiterate it in 1994, and again in 2008.

For approximately three years, Bosco navigated the transient population and innate debauchery of Toledo's mighty Perth Manor with ease, always eager to share his portly and stylish fuzziness with anyone who offered a pant leg to rub up against. Over the years, Bosco* shared a mattress with numerous traveling luminaries and musicians including The Rollins Band, The Misfits/Samhain, and Das Damen. And he could eat like a freak.

*AKA Bosco Buddy, The Luxurious Bosconian, Samwich-Havin' Bosco, and about six-dozen other random nicknames. Just the very mention of the name "Bosco," can send former Perth House resident Michael Montgomery into an involuntary semi-catatonic state, tales of Bosco's adventures spilling forth with the gravitas of sacred words from a peyote-ingesting tribal elder.

Collect call for Mr. Paul Allen of Seattle:

You and your wallet are needed in Pittsburgh, STAT!

Paul Mawhinney was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. Over the years he has amassed what has become the world's largest record collection. Due to health issues and a struggling record industry Paul is being forced to sell his collection.

This is the story of a man and his records. I hope you enjoy it.

But wait! How do we know he's not just some huckster trying to make a fast buck on a bunch of vinyl he pulled from the dumpsters behind the local Goodwill?

1. Shirt-straining gut?--------------------check
2. Gender neutral eyewear?--------------check
3. Mewlery (PDGB for old guy bling)?---check
4. Facial Hair?----------------------------check

It's cool-he's legit. He's one of us.
Never can be too sure with this type of thing.

Seriously, this is the most touching thing I've seen in quite awhile. But then I'm like that. Any readers know the current status of Paul and his vinyl?

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen is a well-known fan of music and pop culture, philanthropist, creator of the Experience Music Project, owner of the Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trailblazers and a really, really, big boat. He's probably one of a handful of people with the cash to buy the collection and a place to put it.