Month: September 2020

A couple weeks ago I spent a Saturday binge re-watching the most recent episodes of Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”  It was the 10^th season of the HBO comedy and one of its best.  The story arc was Larry wanted to open a ‘Spite Store’ to compete with a coffee business, “Mocha Joe’s” that he had issues with.  David’s joint was called “Latte Larry’s.”

Each episode had its usual conflicts and peccadillos of daily annoyances that drive the lead character nuts and there were plenty of laughs along the way.  The two best shows being “The Ugly Section” and “Elizabeth, Margaret and Larry.”  The latter of those two featured studly former “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm doing character research for a movie and morphing into a junior Larry David.  As good as Hamm is at drama in film and TV, he’s equally adept at doing comedy.

One of the extra things that made this season enjoyable was how David featured some of my favorite B list actresses.  In the past Larry has clicked with me on this measure with roles for stars like tall and lovely Brenda Strong and the sultry Rebecca Creskoff, but this season was better.

Putting them in alphabetical order, “Curb” had a part for the saucy Sasha Alexander.  She’s been on shows like “Friends” and showed off plenty of herself on the series “Shameless.”  With “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Sasha played the no nonsense chief executive officer/ girlfriend to Richard Lewis.  Earlier in the season Lewis had another gal pal played by Isla Fisher who worked as a “professional crier.”

The next actress in the cue is Jane Krakowski.  I’ve always had a thing for the former co-star of “30 Rock” and other shows & movies.  Jane also played a role in the Dixie Chicks (sorry, ‘The Chicks’) music video for “Goodbye Earl.”  On ‘Curb’, Jane portrayed a frisky widow who liked Larry and possessed an allegedly “magical” lady part.  And the kid who played the son of a dermatologist added more hilarity to “The Ugly Section.”

Teri Polo, co-star of the “Meet the Parents” movies among other roles did a nice turn as another love interest for Larry.  The scene where he video records on a cell-phone all of their steps in a romantic session in an effort to avoid a sexual harassment lawsuit is another piece of true to life comedy gold.

Finally there was still ANOTHER girlfriend for Larry played by former “Rules of Engagement” star Megyn Pryce.  I like Megyn not just for her cute looks but her comedic timing and her speaking voice.  She’s fun to watch and seeing her play a woman who lost weight but goes back to enjoying lots of food made the episode she was in even better.  Was Megyn’s character yoyo-ing up in weight?  Who knows for sure?

So besides featuring these actresses of lesser fame, the past season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” had other high spots, including Larry mocking Jeff’s wife Susie for her stove pipe hat as he quoted Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  Then there was the painting of Susie he commissioned for her birthday which was both funny and scary. Larry’s ex-wife Cheryl confronting him about sleeping with her sister was also a gut busting laugh.

There is going to be an 11^th season of ‘’Curb” and you have to think the current Covid 19 Pandemic is going to play a major part in the season’s story arc.  And forgive my ‘enthusiasm’ but I can’t wait for the fun to begin.

NEXT BLOG- A Tribute to Tom Petty.

I have a few different things I’ve watched and listened to that you might want to check out.

“I Want My M-TV” Documentary on A&E.  This ninety-minute show tells stories on how things fell into place to start the channel back in 1980.  We see the growing pains, the development of new artists and how established stars became even bigger deals once they took to making music videos.  The story of how the M-TV people got Mick Jaggger and Pete Townshend to do promos for the struggling operation is a really cool one.  So throw on your parachute pants, dig out a Swatch or two and feather out your hair for a fun trip through the 1980’s and beyond.

“I Want My M-TV” tells us things we didn’t know about the iconic 1980 upstart and brings us plenty of memories too.

A couple weeks ago Bruce Springsteen released “Letter to You” which is the title track of a new album he has coming out October 23rd.  The mid-tempo song is O.K. and while there are other new tracks to check out, Bruce is also tagging three never before released tunes written over forty -five years ago.   The whole set of songs was recorded live in the studio with the E Street Band in a short span of days.  Considering how tainted and over produced Springsteen’s more recent albums have been, this is good news.  Still, the magic will be in the songs themselves. Can a seventy-one year old Bruce Springsteen still write material that reaches fans?  That’s the question I wait to answer.

New Springsteen music starts with the title track “Letter To You.”

Remember the band Semisonic?  They brought us the late 90’s hit “Closing Time” and “Chemistry” which in my opinion was their best song.  Well, after many years away from each other the trio is back with new music.  Last week CBS’ Anthony Mason interviewed Semisonic lead singer and writer Dan Wilson. I saw and heard more about the guy’s other impressive songwriting credits.  (Adele, Dixie Chicks & Carole King among others) We’re never too old to hear new music from a band.

SINATRA REMEMBERED– If you want to kick it ‘Old School’ then try out Netflix’s Frank Sinatra documentary “All Or Nothing At All.”  Plenty to learn there to from one of popular music’s greatest.

THE VOW  – Every Sunday night I watch “The Vow” and by the end of the hour all I have to say is, ‘Wow!’  The Vow is a nine-part true crime series on HBO revolving around the sex cult NXIVM and its leader Keith Raniere.  So far there’s been five episodes seen and this story is nuts.  We’re talking about women and men dedicating themselves to a bizarre regimen of sacrifice, mind control and forced labor.  Oh, and the women starved themselves to impossibly skinny weights and allowed themselves to be branded with the initials of Raniere and his co-conspirator former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack. Yes, I said BRANDED, not tattooed but branded!

“Dynasty” actress Catherine Oxenberg helped produce this series as her own daughter India was deep into the NXIVM organization.  There’s more to learn about what went on in this twisted cult that makes the weirdness of Scientologists seem like the Boy Scouts.

Meat isn’t always murder– Finally, if you catch Mc Donald’s current TV commercials, the voice describing the food is that of character actor Brian Cox.  So?  Well, the actor describing the tasty sizzling meats from Mickey D’s is the guy who played Hannibal The Cannibal Lester in “Manhunter.”  This was a few years before Anthony Hopkins made that role famous in “Silence of the Lambs.”   So just picture people eating Hannibal Lecter describing burgers from Mc Donald’s and you get an odd juxtaposition. 

Currently, actor Brian Cox narrates the tastiness of Mc Donald’s meaty burgers.

And here’s Brian Cox as the first creepy Hannibal The Cannibal Lecter in the late 80’s movie “Manhunter.”

NEXT BLOG- An appreciation for Season 10 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

I’m a lifelong movie fanatic and that love for film was instilled in me at an early age by my parents.  My father in particular had excellent taste in quality cinema and a deep knowledge of film history.  I’ve seen hundreds of movies, some with family, some with friends, on dates and many by myself.  I actually prefer seeing films alone because then I’m not paying attention to my movie partner’s reactions. I’m totally focused on what’s happening on the screen. Also, I like seeing my movies during the daytime because as Woody Allen said in “Crimes and Misdemeanors”, “It feels like playing hooky.”      

With that, I thought I’d list some of the more memorable times I’ve had while watching movies.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of the best films I ever saw, just a look back at special times experienced in the dark of a movie theater.

“The Godfather” 1972- When Michael Corleone has his wedding night scene with his first wife, that was the first time I ever saw female nudity on screen.  My mom told me to shield my eyes but this eleven-year old boy still saw plenty.

“Deliverance” 1972- My dad and I saw this intense movie and while the Ned Beatty scene was unforgettable, so was the rest of the story. Burt Reynolds was never watchable as both a badass outdoorsman and then a whimpering injured victim of the river’s rapids.  Dad used to say it was one of the best and worst movies he ever saw.  He was never so right.

“The Exorcist” 1973- I saw this shocker with my mother and sister. Like everyone else, this devil possession story blew me away. Little Regan’s exorcism was fascinating and unforgettable. Still, the one scene I could not watch was when Linda Blair was undergoing medical tests and had a catheter placed into her neck and blood spurted out. That was too real for me.

“Jaws” 1975-  I got my parents to take me to this first ever summer blockbuster on the first weekend it opened.  I think I jumped out of my seat about five times but when we see Hooper check out the hull of Ben Garner’s trashed boat, whoa!

“Rocky” 1976- My dad took me to see this underdog boxing classic.  When Rocky Balboa got up from the canvas in the fourteenth round it was beyond inspiring. Trainer Mickey begged him to “Down! Down! Stay Down” but Rocky refused and got back up to fight some more. I loved how he gestured to Apollo Creed to come and get him again and Creed has this bewildered look on his face.  For the final round my dad, me and half the Oak Brook theater were out of our seats cheering on as if we were watching a real fight in person!

“Carrie” 1976- Remember the opening shower scene when Carrie White had her first ever period? Oh my God. I was in the theater seated between my mother and father and wanted to die right on the spot.

“Rocky 2”- 1979  Seeing a sequel be better than the original movie is unusual.  But THE best scene is when Adrian comes out of her coma and whispers to Rocky to “Win.” As the bells and music swelled and Rocky starts his intense work-out, I had chills running up and down my spine. 

I’ll share more of my movie moments in future blogs.

NEXT BLOG- Some things I’ve been watching and listening to that you might want to check out.

Having worked in radio for over twenty years and being a lifelong music aficionado there’s lots of useless trivia and tales on songs and artists I’ve picked up along the way. Often times I assume EVERYONE is aware of these little tidbits (especially in our high-speed internet/information age) but I can sometimes be wrong on that.   So here are a few stories you may or may not know about some past popular songs.

“HOW LONG” – Ace  While this 1974 hit sung by the great Paul Carrack sounds like your basic “My lover has been cheating on me” tune, that is not the case. “How Long” was written about Ace bassist Terry Comer who was sneaking around playing in other bands. The rest of the group got wind of Comer’s musical duplicity and they felt like they were being cheated on.  So “How Long” WAS a cheating song but not about issues between a man and a woman.

SUNSET GRILL- Don Henley Most people know this hit was about a REAL place.  The Sunset Grill was a burger joint on Sunset Boulevard owned for many years by the same immigrant family before they sold it in 1997. The new owners tore it down and rebuilt the place. The song was said to be about the different types of people who frequented the place and wondering why so many chose to live in L.A. That answer is found in the last line of the song, “All our friends are here.”  In concert Don Henley has often mentioned that the food served at the Sunset Grill was, “Bad for the heart but good for the soul.”  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used that line when talking about other places to eat.

NO SUGAR TONIGHT The Guess Who This might be my favorite story behind a song of all time. Back in 1970 Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman was walking in Berkeley California and came upon some biker dudes.  Randy wanted to slip across the street to avoid any hassles but then a car came screeching around the corner and it pulled up to the rough looking guys sitting on their Harleys.  A woman got out of the car and got into a heated argument with one of the bikers.  Lots of screaming and lecturing ensued and as the woman left her man she yelled out, “One more thing honey, you’re not getting no sugar tonight!” Bachman heard this and knew he had a great song title.

KILLING TIME- Clint Black  Back in 1988 Clint Black was signed to a deal with RCA records. However, after Black and his band recorded all their tracks there seemed to be a long delay in releasing his debut album.  Anyway, one evening Clint and his songwriting partner and guitarist Hayden Nicholas were driving to a gig in Houston and sharing frustrations over waiting for the album to be issued to the public.  Clint said to Hayden, “This killing time is killing me.”  Both of them looked at each other and knew they had a great frame up for a song.  The two of them turned it from a ‘waiting on our album’s release’ song to one about killing time over “a love that’s passed away.”  Once “Killing Time” was recorded, RCA went nuts for the tune. The song was included at the last minute on Clint’s debut disc and it became the title track for the album and a number one hit!

So there you have stories about some songs from the past.  I have a few more to share, and they’ll wait until another blog.

NEXT BLOG-     Memorable Moments at the Movies

It’s time for a new round of “Have You Ever.” This is the “Medical History” edition.  So get out your health insurance records and figure out which ones you can say “Yes” to.

HAVE YOU EVER:

HAD A TATTOO REMOVED?

GONE THROUGH A ROOT CANAL?

HAD AN MRI?

GOTTEN PLASTIC SURGERY?

BEEN A PATIENT IN ICU?

HAD A GROWTH REMOVED BY A DOCTOR?

FAINTED?

HAD CATARACTS?

HAVE YOU EVER:

TAKEN ANTI-DEPRESSANTS?

WHAT ABOUT MEDS FOR ANXIETY?

HAD A BODY PART REPLACED (KNEE, HIP, ETC.)?

HAD A TONSILLECTOMY?

HAD AN APPENDECTOMY?

HAD YOUR GALL BLADDER REMOVED?

SUFFERED FROM FOOD POISONING?

BEEN TAKEN AWAY IN AN AMBULANCE?

HAVE YOU EVER:

HAD STITCHES?

BROKEN A BONE?

GONE TO DRUG OR ALCOHOL RE-HAB?

BEEN UNDER PSYCHIATRIC CARE?

HAD A COLONOSCOPY?

BEEN TREATED FOR CANCER?

HAD A PANIC ATTACK?

BEEN TREATED FOR AN S.T.D.?

I can answer ‘YES’ to 11 of these 24 items however HIPPA laws protect me from revealing which ones.  (But NO, I’ve never been treated for an STD!)

NEXT BLOG:  Some stories behind some popular songs.

It’s easy to recall the events I experienced on 9/11/01.  Tens of millions of others can say the same thing.^. The previous Sunday September 9^th I attended the wedding of my cousin Bills’ son and had Monday the 10^th off from work on the radio. The fall ratings period would start in a few days and we were discouraged from taking time off once the fall listenership started getting measured.  It was later learned those hijacking terrorists chose Tuesday and not Monday for their attack because they were aware how often Americans took three day weekends during the summer months. The killers knew most people would be back to work and in their offices by Tuesday.

I was producing the Big John Howell and Trish Biondo morning show at US*99. On Tuesday 9/11 we were having a regular broadcast when Trish came into my studio a few minutes before eight a.m. to tell me to tune my TV to the Today Show. I switched channels to see that first plane stuck in the side of the north tower of the World Trade Center.  I wasn’t even sure if it was an airliner or a private plane.  There’d been times when small planes crashed into office buildings or outdoor sports stadiums. Heck, the previous year WGN radio legend Bob Collins died when the plane he piloted had a mid-air collision with another small plane and crashed into the roof of a local hospital. John Howell told listeners about what was on TV but nobody knew what was happening. I stayed in my studio to screen calls and monitor the TV.

Less than twenty minutes later, while on the phone with a listener, I kept one eye on my TV screen and saw another plane hitting the World Trade Center’s south tower! I was frozen with shock. Howell announced what just happened and that we were under attack.  I wondered to myself if there was some computer hacking that took over the airliners’ controls and steered them into the towers.  Our phones were lit up, pulsing fast like my heart rate and I answered every call.  So many questions and updates from listeners kept coming in and it was crazy. 

 About a half hour after the south tower was hit came word that a jet crashed into the Pentagon in D.C.  A caller told me this and I flipped TV channels to get confirmation.  With the Pentagon attacked the first words that came to my mind were what Governor Connelly said when JFK’s motorcade was being fired on in Dallas in 1963, “My God they’re going to kill us all!” I truly remember thinking this.

My rationale was if the Pentagon is our country’s base for military operations/defense and it’s under siege, who the hell makes calls on how our country defends us?  We were in a world of shit. I was never more scared in my life than when the Pentagon got crashed into.  Was this the end?  Was this our end? 

Next was a local news report that a bomb threat had been phoned into Chicago’s Sears Tower and they were evacuating the entire building.  I picked up a hotline call from our GM Steve Ennen.  Steve, who heard about the Sears Tower evacuation, told me if the Hancock received the same ‘get out’ order we were to switch our transmission to simulcast sister station WBBM AM, Newsradio 78, then get out of the building ASAP.  I relayed this information to Big John on the air and noted that since the Hancock was considered to be one of the most recognized buildings in the world, I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a similar threat.

As I left the air studio an announcement blared out of a hall speaker from the Hancock Security people ordering everyone out of the building immediately.  I told John this news and Trish left the studio, grabbed her purse and was out the lobby door.  John and I were talking about the Hancock evacuation and he wanted to stay. I said, “John, we HAVE to go.”  He grudgingly agreed, signed off then switched our broadcast transmission to Newsradio 780.

Hustling into the morning show office I grabbed my briefcase and called my mother. I told her I was O.K., on my way out of here, and that I loved her.  Mom was puzzled. “What are you talking about?”  Turns out she was in her garden tending to her flowers and tomatoes and just got back in the house when I called.   She knew nothing about the planes and the unfolding chaos.  My mom told me to be careful getting out of the city and said she loved me too. In just about an hour’s time we went from a plane has struck one of the World Trade Center buildings to evacuating our building because the world went nuts.

Before leaving the 13^th floor, I needed a quick bathroom break.  When I got to the men’s room, the paralyzing fear I had over the Pentagon getting hit suddenly lifted.  I thought, “If this is it, and it’s my last day on this earth, I’m O.K. with it. I had a good life and if the worst happened, I’m ready for what’s next.”  Washing my hands, I smiled thinking if the Hancock got slammed by a jet right at this very minute, I could die like Elvis did, in the bathroom. 

John and I met up at the elevators and headed down to the Hancock lobby together.  The doors opened and I pivoted toward the parking garage elevators so I could get my car.  John walked to the street exit doors and saw I wasn’t with him.  He called out and asked if I was going to stay downtown and wait out the building’s evacuation.  I told John this might be the end of everything and I was going to be with those I love.  With that, my elevator door opened and I was on the way up to fetch my car to get out of Dodge.  It was very spooky to see a practically abandoned parking garage and my car was one of the last in the place.   

Minutes later while driving across Michigan Avenue en route to the hopefully safe suburbs, I saw so many people on the sidewalks on their cell-phones.  Nobody knew what to say or what to make of anything.  A couple months later Alan Jackson would come up with the best words to describe 9/11 with the song “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?” Alan nailed the mood and the feelings we all had in ways that can still be felt today. 

Once the Hancock evacuation was lifted, John Howell did make it back on the US*99 airwaves and did a stellar job updating listeners on the insanity of the terrorist attacks.  He took calls and provided a smart, calm and measured voice of sanity during an insane day.  I admired what he did but at the same time was fine with getting the hell out of the city and taking everything in from the TV reports at home.

The day after the planes hit, concrete barricades surrounded the Hancock and every car coming into the parking garage needed to be searched at street level. I had to pop my trunk for inspection and the guards used long poles with mirrors on them for security to check for bombs under every vehicle about to drive up the ramp. This went on for a couple of weeks.  Within a month, all Hancock workers had picture ID badges that were to be worn at all times and everyone was on high alert. “Vigilant” was the new watchword.

 We all knew 9/11 would change hundreds of millions of lives forever.  However, the depth and scope of those changes were way beyond what anyone ever anticipated.  To this day, it’s pretty scary to think nineteen hi-jacking terrorists could have such an effect on the world.  Alan Jackson’s song was a profound moment to come out of 9/11 and while the world turns in a different way these days, I’m just glad we’re still here to live in it. 

NEXT BLOG- A new round of “Have You Evers”

The following is an excerpt from my book “Raised on the Radio” (which I’m still tinkering with)  It being Labor Day weekend I thought to share some memories of my days as a slider seller.

In 1977 at age sixteen, I began working part time in nearby Lombard at White Castle, home of the greasy bite sized ‘sliders.’  Most of my friends had similar jobs which were easy for teens to find.  Back then, it wasn’t IF you were going to work, it was WHERE.  My pals Bobbo Ciciora and Todd Beja ended up working with me at the castle for a time. My pay started at $3.30 an hour and considering the minimum wage at that time was $2.30 an hour, it was a decent job. This was 1977 when a movie ticket would cost no more than $2.50 and gasoline was around fifty cents a gallon.  White Castle took good care of their employees with even part timers getting a week’s paid vacation after working there a year.  Working on holidays like Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day and Easter we earned double time pay. 

When Todd Beja moved on to a different White Castle in nearby Villa Park, a box of frozen White Castle burgers and a couple boxes of buns mysteriously fell into his car one night. Todd would end up hosting a late spring “Slider Party” at his parents house during our senior year of high school. It was a raging night of food, beer and fun!

 I saw some unusual things while working at that fast food joint. One weekday afternoon a wedding reception took place in the White Castle dining room.  About thirty people bounced in, the bride in her gown, groom in his suit and everyone else dressed like they just came from church. They even brought in a wedding cake and champagne.  The bride told us she dared her man to have the reception at White Castle and he went with it. She kept telling her new husband, “I’ll never marry you again.”  We burger makers even posed in some of the photos with the wedding party.  I sometimes wonder if that couple is still married today, probably not.       

Working the occasional weekend late hours of 11 pm til 7 am, I got a glimpse of what adult party life was like. White Castle was open 24/7 and the bars would stop serving booze by 2:00 a.m. so we’d have lines out the door til about 4 a.m. I mean just ask Harold & Kumar about the joys of late night castle burgers when you’re high or liquored up. Working those graveyard shifts exposed me to a heavy stream of drinkers and stoners. Customers’ slurred words and laughing loud at just about anything said was the norm for those hours.  Some of these sloshed folks were pretty funny and while serving their food we used to take notice of who came through our doors with the worst cases of bloodshot eyes.   Cleaning the men’s restroom on that shift was the worst. Drunks pissed in the sink, on the floor, walls, toilet paper roll and every once in while they even managed to squirt a little in the toilet bowl.

I can’t count how many times I went to take garbage out to the parking lot dumpsters in the middle of the night and found drunken Castle patrons passed out in their idling cars. They usually had a door open with their bagged food still sitting on the car hood or roof. I would reach in, turn off the ignition and let the pooped party animals sleep it off. They’d later wake up to cold burgers and fries which may have been a great hangover cure. 

In the summer of 1979, I was planning to quit White Castle in August because full time college classes were coming. However, I was shown the door a couple weeks early. On a slow overnight shift, a man was giving me his order a bit quick and I told him to slow down so I could get things right.  He raised his voice to me and was in as crabby a mood as I was.  I looked the guy in the eye and being the stupid 18 year old I was said, “If you ever yell at me like that again, I’ll knock you on your ass.”  Well he screamed for my boss to come out and deal with this hassle.  The night manager was given the story of what went down, I admitted to my part and was sent home for the night.  Two days later I was summoned to meet with the castle supervisor to be let go.  My first firing.  Lesson learned, the customer, even a jerk customer, is ALWAYS right.  

Three years later, a similar customer/fast food employee confrontation played out on the big screen in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”  Judge Reinhold played the role of me as he told his irritated customer, “Mr., if you don’t shut up I’m gonna kick 100 percent of your ass!”   Cameron Crowe wrote the ‘Fast Times’ book and screenplay and it was almost as if he was in White Castle with me that night back in 1979.

NEXT BLOG: My experience on 9/11.