If There’s a Rock n’ Roll Heaven

Posted on December 29, 2011 by bvanrysdam

The end of the year gives an opportunity to pause, look back and remember the people who passed away, but will always be remembered for the music they made. 2011 was no different, so in no particular order, here’s a look at some of the people who are now jamming in the greatest band ever, may they rest in peace…

Clarence Clemons
(1/42/1942-6/18/2011)

Sure, we all know that Clarence provided the expressive saxophone for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band, but he also worked with Jackson Browne (“You’re A Friend of Mine”), Nils Lofgren, The Four Tops, Todd Rundgren, Aretha Franklin (“Freeway Of Love”), Joan Armatrading, The Grateful Dead, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, Ian Hunter, Twisted Sister (“Be Chrool To Your Scuel”), Alvin Lee, Joe Cocker, Roy Orbison, Gary U.S. Bonds, Janis Ian, Norman Seldin & The Joyful Noyze and Lady Gaga.

Gerry Rafferty
(4/16/1947-1/4/2011)

Rafferty, whose smooth sound set him apart from many of his contemporaries, was a member of many bands including The Mavericks, The Humblebums, Stealers Wheel (“Stuck In The Middle With You” and “Star”) and The Fifth Column. He may be best know for his solo work which included “Baker Street” and “Right Down the Line”.

Carl Gardner
(4/29/1928-6/12/2011)

He was a member of The Robins (They did, “If Teardrops Were Kisses” and “I Must Be Dreamin”) and The Coasters (They did, “Charlie Brown” and “Yakety Yak”). Gardner was also the Father of singer, Carl Gardner Jr. and he is a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Amy Winehouse
(9/14/1983-7/23/2011)

Another classic example of a musician that was lost way too soon. To say that Winehouse was a singer, is a huge understatement. She had many hits including “Stronger Than Me” and “Rehab”. In addition to her solo work, Winehouse was also a member of Sweet ‘n’ Sour. Winehouse could colleberate with anyone, and she did when she worked with The Dap-Kings, Ghostface Killah, Mutya Buena and The Bolsha Band.

Phoebe Snow
(7/17/1952-4/26/2011)

A wonderfully gifted singer and guitarist, Snow recorded such hits as “Poetry Man” and “Sweet Disposition”. She also worked with some of the biggest names including Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Boz Scaggs, Cyndi Lauper, Roger Daltrey, Chaka Khan, Lou Rawls, Buddy Miles, Al Green, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Laurie Anderson, Garland Jeffreys, Jewel, Donald Fagen, Billy Joel, Queen and Jackson Browne.

Jerry Leiber
(4/25/1925-8/22/2011)

Never heard of him? Well you should. Leiber was a very busy songwriter and producer. He co-wrote, “Hound Dog” and “Stand By Me”. That alone makes him special. In addition, his songs have been recorded by The Coasters, Big Mama Thornton, The Drifters, Conway Twitty, Joni Mitchell, Count Basie, Dion, Elkie Brooks, The Robins, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, James Brown, The Monkees, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Cheers, Edith Piaf, The Clovers, Stealers Wheel, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, The Everly Brothers, John Mellencamp, Ray Charles, John Lennon, Donald Fagen, Ben E. King, Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Peggy Lee, Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis, Buddy Holly and Bobby Darin. That kind of legacy is good enough to be both, a Songwriters Hall Of Fame Inductee and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Nate Dogg
(8/19/1969-3/15/2011)
Dogg was a Hip Hop/Gospel artist who was a member of 213 (“Groupie Luv” and “So Fly”) and nominated for 4 Grammy Awards. He also worked with Dr. Dre, Warren G, Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Innate Praise.

Nickolas Ashford
(5/4/1942-8/22/2011)

The soulful singer and songwriter was half of the duo, Ashford & Simpson. The recorded such hits as “Solid” and “I’ll Find You”. Ashford wrote songs with his wife Valerie Simpson that were recorded by Ray Charles, The 5th Dimension, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Teddy Pendergrass, Chaka Khan, Rufus, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. All this was good enough to be a Songwriters Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Don Kirshner
(4/17/1934-1/17/2011)

Producer and promoter extraordinaire. Kirshner co-wrote Connie Francis’s, “My First Real Love” and The Coasters’, “Wait A Minute”. He also wrote jingles with Bobby Darin – Co-founded the Aldon music publishing company, but he’s most known Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and helped the careers of Bobby Darin, Kansas, Sarah Dash, Neil Diamond and Carole King.

Johnny Dee
(1951-10/17/2011)

While not known nationally, no list coming out of Texas would be complete without acknowledging the death of Johnny Dee. Dee fronted the band Johnny Dee and the Rocket 88’s which shared the stage with Wolfman Jack, Dick Clark, James Brown, the Beach Boys, Charlie Daniels, Tanya Tucker, the Pointer Sisters, and Ricky Nelson. Their website says “They take their fun seriously, which means you’ll have serious fun with Johnny Dee & the Rocket 88’s” which rings true with anyone who saw them live. While a great showman, I’ll always think of the “Don’t Mess with Texas” public service announcement they did. Who else could have made an anti-littering campaign so cool.

More Fun w/ Photoshop

Posted on December 23, 2011 by bvanrysdam

It’s been a few days since my last post. I guess the holidaze gets in the way of my writing, so I thought I would share some new images I made.

The photo was taken by either me, or my wife (probably my wife since it came out so good :0).

Yes, I know it’s kinda hokey, but I have seen similar prints in Hobby Lobby and other craft stores, so who knows, maybe I can have a 2nd career as a graphic artist.

The Changing View of Memorial Park

Posted on December 16, 2011 by bvanrysdam

A dear old friend of mine is not doing well these days. I’m speaking of one of the largest urban parks in the United States, Houston’s Memorial Park. This year’s historic drought has severely impacted much of Texas and Memorial Park has not been immune from its effects.

I often like to go for a run around the Seymour Lieberman Exercise Trail (a 2.93 mile run that is used by nearly 3,000,000 health fanatics every year). You could not help but see the telltale orange tag on numerous trees that needed to be removed. The full impact of this did not hit me until I finally saw what the park looks like with the trees cut down.

The gaping holes I saw were much worse than I ever imagined. It was as if an insane maniac with a chainsaw, hell bent on destruction, was let loose to do appalling damage. These trees have survived hurricanes, ice storms and high winds, but finally succumbed to lack of water. In all, over 5,000 trees (mostly red oak and pine) are scheduled to be taken down and removed.

During a recent run, I thought of the history the trees were witness to. Before becoming a park in 1924, the area was known as Camp Logan and site of a horrific riot in 1917 that resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and sixteen civilians. In the end, a total of nineteen men would be executed, and forty-one were given life sentences. It’s hard to imagine such violence took place where people now seek tranquility from the big city hustle and bustle.

Thankfully, the trees have also seen happier moments such as Arnold Palmer winning the 1957 Houston Open Golf Tournament (collecting a purse of $7,500), at the 18 hole Memorial Park Golf Course which opened back in 1936, along with countless picnics, family reunions, art festivals and people simply seeking refuge in a little bit of nature.

So where do we go from here? Henry David Thoreau said it much better than I ever could when he wrote these words in A Succession of Forest Trees…

“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.”

I for one, hope we have faith in new seeds and that future generations can expect new wonders for one of Houston’s magnificent gems.

Where is the Love?

Posted on December 14, 2011 by bvanrysdam

Why do people hate Tim Tebow? For those of you who don’t follow football (and you know who you are); Tim Tebow is a 2nd year Quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Before becoming a pro, Tebow led his college team, the Florida Gators, to a national championship and, oh yeah, he also won a Heisman Trophy.

So why are so many people rooting against him? One pundit on the Mickey Mouse sports network, Mel Kiper, Jr. believed Tebow didn’t have the intangibles to play quarterback in the NFL. “I don’t think he can be a full time quarterback. I don’t think he can be the quarterback of the future for you”, said Kiper. (Disclosure notice: I am long suffering Buffalo Bills fan, so I really don’t have an axe to grind either way)

It’s not the difference of opinion that is getting a lot attention, but rather the “way the opinions are being given” which again begs the question; why don’t people like Tim Tebow? Is it because he beats up his girlfriend? Has he been involved in dog fighting? Maybe he was arrested for DWI? No, it’s because he’s a Christian and proudly displays his faith.

Stephen Tullock, a linebacker for the Detroit Lions, made it personal when he mocked Tebow after sacking him in a game this year. As Tebow picked himself up off the turf, Tullock started “Tebowing” – a mocking prayer on bended knee.

Steve Johnson, a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills was fined $10k when he celebrated a TD pass in which he mocked NY Jets Plaxico Burress by pretending to shoot himself in the thigh. (Burress served 20 months in prison on a weapons charge after accidentally shooting himself in a New York City nightclub in 2008).

What does one take away from that? Don’t mock someone for being an idiot with a gun, but go ahead and mock the guy who prays?

Now I’m not a big fan of someone coming to my door (causing me to miss the prize puzzle on “Wheel of Fortune”) to hand me a pamphlet on how I can become a much better person by giving my life savings to his church. Tebow thanks God for his success, but is that any reason to root against him? Would you rather see someone celebrate by banging their chest, or doing the throat slash sign instead?

Television announcers love to proclaim to us mere mortals that “the NFL is a results business” (and I thought it was about making money). Well so far this year, Tebow is delivering the results. After becoming a starter in the middle of the season, Tebow has gone 7-1 and, despite his faith getting in the way, engineered another miracle comeback last Sunday. (It was his fifth comeback in eight weeks, but then who’s counting).

So go ahead, mock him when he wants to thank the big guy upstairs, just don’t count him out when you need a miracle to happen.

Where Have All the Bowl Games Gone…

Posted on December 6, 2011 by bvanrysdam

The 2011 Bowl Game schedule was released last night. I always look forward to learn who gets to play where. Which school got rewarded with a fun trip and which school got stuck playing in Shreveport always makes for entertaining reading.

The University of Houston gets to play Penn State in something called the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas after being unceremoniously blown out by Southern Mississippi in the C-USA Conference Championship game (how does Dallas host 3 different bowl games a year?) . Texas A&M is rewarded with their 6-6 season by getting a trip to Houston to play in the Meineke Bowl and the Texas Longhorns head out west to compete in the Holiday Bowl. (You see the entire bowl schedule here)

After reading down the list, I started to plan my New Year’s day viewing. Sure, they moved all the really big games to later in the week so they don’t go against each other, but there are still plenty of good bowl games left to nurse that New Year’s Eve hangover. Right?

Imagine my shock when, after taking a closer look, I learned that there was not one single game scheduled for January 1st! The traditional New Year’s Day games like the Rose, Sugar and Orange bowl are all scheduled for Monday, January 2nd. Even the early games like the Capitol One, Outback and Gator Bowls are being played on the 2nd. What gives?

It can’t be because they are afraid to play on the Sabbath and offend their Christian fan base can it? (as if the Penn State scandal wasn’t enough to do that) No, the real reason is because the bowls don’t want to go against the NFL. As usual, the all-powerful television networks dictate sports with the all mighty dollar and those of us still clinging to tradition like gum to a shoe are left to remember the good old days when men were men, and girls were still a mystery.

Still, there are 35 bowl games played this season for crying out loud. Could they not move the Go-Daddy Bowl (Arkansas St. vs. Northern Illinois), or the Pinstrip Bowl (Rutgers vs. Iowa St) to New Year’s Day? I’m sure that somebody like the Longhorn Network would broadcast it (on second thought, never mind).

It’s not the first time these games have been moved from the 1st, and it won’t be the last, but put me down in the “I don’t like it” category.

New Coke Promotion Fizzles

Posted on December 2, 2011 by bvanrysdam

Once again, the country is facing a crisis of biblical proportions. It’s not about the record deficit, or class warfare. This catastrophe involves the new white Coca-Cola can.

The white cans were to be part of the company’s partnership with the World Wildlife Fund to help raise awareness to save the snow-white Polar Bear. What could possibly go wrong?

It appears that the white cans are causing much confusion and angst among the die-hard soda drinkers. Some thought it looked too much like the silver canned Diet Coke and bordered on sacrilege! There have even been reports of Diet Coke drinkers being fooled and tragically putting real Coke into their systems.

Others insist the Coke in the white can taste different (although admittedly, these are the same people who swear they saw Elvis Presley working at a Valero gas station in Henderson, Tennessee).

The fine folks at Coke say the people complaining represent a “small” minority and that the campaign has generated a lot of interest and excitement. Yet, the company plans on replacing the white cans with the traditional red ones faster than your 401k tanking after another riot in Greece.

You would have thought Coke had learned their lesson when they introduced “New” Coke back in 1985. That became one of the most expensive and disastrous marketing fiascos of all time. While the new white can is not causing the same level of rage, it still has many Coke fans seeing red.