There is Justice in the World

Props to The Rattler. And let's rock awhile.

Happiness to and for late Bengals great Ken Riley. He made the pro football HOF yesterday, nearly three years after his death. Mike Brown to Bengals.com:

"Ken was a top cover corner. He could play the ball at the point of reception so well that he became one of the top interceptors of all time. And he would tackle," Brown said. "Only 185 pounds, he hit hard. Receivers knew they would pay a price if they caught a ball in front of him. Most of all, Ken was a smart player. He didn't miss assignments. Ever. He was a wonderful person. He looked out for others. Everyone with all levels of the team respected him. He was a man that could be counted on."

Riley’s Hall admission suffered on a couple fronts: He was by nature a modest man, and he played for a team that never has liked to promote its players. The star of the Bengals show was always Paul Brown. Ironically, it was Brown who drafted Riley (a QB in college) and almost immediately shifted The Rattler to corner. The QB-in-residence then was Greg Cook.

Now, then. . .

A COOL THING about doing this job is the people I meet along the way. Youse Mobsters lead interesting lives. Don Treadway is today’s Hemingway. He was a concert promoter in college. Here’s his very cool story.

Sometimes when you are in the middle of an experience you don't realize how special it is. That happened to me. . .

As a student at Memphis State in the early 70s , a friend asked to borrow some money to promote a concert with Fleetwood Mac. I had $2,000 to my name and away it went. I quickly discovered my friend was clueless, so I learned quickly.

We paid $1,500 for the group, their first time in the South. Tickets were $4 at Ellis Auditorium. The show sold out, I made enough money for a cup of coffee. And so it began.

I loved music but learned quickly that I didn't have to like the music to promote it.

Steely Dan was next up, and I was hooked. I started booking shows at colleges. After The Dan came Muddy Waters, on the lawn at MSU.

We needed an opening act. I called Muddy’s agent and he suggested a local r and b group that everyone liked. He warned me they were a little strange, but as I’d learn everybody in the music biz was a little strange. And Muddy liked them. The agent said they’d all pile into a Cadillac and pull their equipment in a U-Haul haul trailer. Their fee was $500, which seemed OK to me.

This warmup band showed up after driving all night from Florida, set up their equipment to do a sound check and basically blew the bricks off the nearby buildings.

That group was Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The band came to my house after the show and met one of my female roommates who worked at a legendary record store in Memphis called Pop Tunes. Not surprisingly, she had a great collection of vinyl by obscure blues artists, stuff you just couldn’t find. Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant stayed all night and the next day. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

The first guy I booked away from Memphis was Al Green, in New Orleans. We sold 14,000 tickets at $14 apiece. On to Dallas with Al, where I learned first hand what “payola” was. You pay the radio host, he promotes your act.

It didn’t go well for me. I went back to school with Duke Ellington, plus an incredible pianist who opened the show, Phineas Newborn. He was ultra talented, but couldn’t handle the pressure and faded quickly.

My show, such as it was, went on. I’m a college kid, booking Bachman Turner Overdrive, hard driving rockers cloned from the Guess Who. They were probably the lowest maintenance bunch I dealt with. They wanted a 6 pack of Sprite, Fanta and Coke. (The soft drink, wiseguys.) Other bands want the world at their feet.

Then it was Lou Reed in New Orleans. That one almost got me sideways with the Mafia. I can’t talk about that one, wish I could. After walking on the wild side with Lou, we took the show up the road to LSU. I’m still laughing at the jokes George Carlin told that night.

The nicest guy I ever dealt with was Barry Manilow. (Remember, I said I didn’t have to like the music.) Barry sent my mother a card. David Crosby was another good dude.

David Bowie’s record label called, I told them I didn't think Memphis was the right venue for him. Big mistake. The label booked him into Overton Park and he was a huge success.

Unrelated to school came a show with Kiss/Blue Oyster Cult/Nazareth. My associate ran the show because I thought it was a bad idea. I was right. It was held on the state fairgrounds in Jackson, MS, and it ended in a riot. The combination of drugs, alcohol and heat exposure made a lot of folks crazy-angry. Nobody was seriously hurt, thankfully.

I booked Frank Zappa to play in Fayetteville, Ark., another instance where my instincts were wrong. I thought he would bomb. He sold the place out. Zappa came on stage wearing a “hog hat" and the crowd went nuts.

Next stop, Little Rock. Zappa comes in for a sound check carrying a small violin case.

“What’s in that?’’ I asked. I thought it was weed.

It was a ham sandwich. “I don’t do drugs,’’ he said.

Zappa does his check and leaves. Now, I’m waiting for the opening act to do the same. It’s Tom Waits. More weirdness. He’s nowhere to be found. Finally, a security guy finds him on the loading dock. I asked Waits why he was out there and he said, “Because you had me thrown out.’’

He was right. I did have him tossed. I thought he was a vagrant. If you’ve ever seen Tom Waits, you’ll know why.

Back to Memphis and Todd Rundgren. I pick him up at his hotel and had to show him how to roll a joint without seeds. He recorded my lesson with a Super 8 camera. Then he said, “Someday, concerts will be shown on film via TV.’’ I guess he knew what he was talking about.

Todd’s road manager was Susan Lee, the only female road manger I ever met. His manager was Albert Grossman, Bob Dylan’s manager.

There were many others: Wishbone Ash, Wet Willie, Marshall Tucker, Pure Prairie League, Leon Russell. Nils Lofgren whose manager was Art Linson, currently of “Yellowstone” fame

Lots of great memories. . .

Sitting in on Led Zeppelin’s recording at Ardent Studios in Memphis, hanging out watching the Memphis Horns recordings, watching sound mixing for Isaac Hayes, hanging out with great studio musicians like Jim Dickinson, Duck Dunn and Steve Cropper while they were at work. Stuff that back then I assumed was normal. It wasn’t. It was beyond special.

The run ended with several shows at schools in Louisiana and Mississippi, with Charlie Daniels, another really good dude. I was never much of a drinker and didn't get involved with alcohol on that trip but in one night Charlie and his band consumed more alcohol than I have in my 74 years. They wore me out and I was done.

Recently at dinner at my home my youngest daughter Taylor was wearing a concert T-shirt. It made me think of the shirts we printed and how I should have kept some. I went online just to see if any were being resold, its been 45-50 years at this point. I didn’t see the T-shirts but there were some of my original posters that I designed and printed for sale at $300-$400. (I got no royalties).The ultimate compliment was that there were other posters for sale that ripped off my idea/ design using a near identical logo and print style. I kept 3 photos from the shows: Zappa with his violin case, David Crosby, and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.

I didn't attend another concert for 20-25 years. I’d had enough. My memories are better than any music.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: How freaking cool was that?

AND NOW. . .

Hey Michelle! blows away your winter blues. . .

Alice (in Wonderland )~ The  Cincinnati Ballet is showcasing this whimsical tale with our very talented cast at Music Hall February 11th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 18th & 19th … go and follow down the rabbit hole! New seats released for $29 in a hurry they’ll sell out fast. 

Shakes .. “The Rewards of Being Frank” is now showing at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. If you want to be cool you’ll go see it because when it leaves it’s headed to NYC! Yes.. on March 3 it will open on off-Broadway so exciting right!? So for now through Feb. 18 grab your tickets and Shake it up! 

Annie ~ It’s a hard knock life!! Showing at the Aronoff now through the 12th. 

Fire & Ice Dinner experience ~ Moerlein Lager House has created a 3 course dinner with specialty cocktails with Cincinnati history by our local celebrity mixologist Molly Wellman! There will be fun performers, ice sculptures, fire pits, ice bars and more. Grab tickets now offered every Friday & Saturday in February. 

Golf Expo ~ This gives me hope that Spring golf is almost here! Duke Energy Friday 1-8, Saturday 9-5 & Sunday 9-2 $12 

Loveland ~ Hearts Afire Weekend ~ Love is in the air… Friday - Sunday in downtown Loveland join in the kick off to Valentines. 

Cupid’s Undie Run ~ You just need to know ;) Saturday Noon - 4pm Galla Park benefits NF research. Drink, dance and run/jog a mile(ish) :)

Ice, Ice, Baby ~ Contemporary Art Center is throwing a family fun party Saturday 11-2 with wintery projects, experiments, meet a penguin, and just maybe.a snowball fight! Free 

IMBIBER DAVE IS A COOK, TOO!

Imbibing at home this week, and whenever we have the chance to host friends, it gives me an opportunity to make one of their favorite main dishes.

This time it was an immediate vote for homemade chicken tikka masala. Hopefully you’ve had this before, ideally many times, but if for some reason you haven’t you should try to change that soon. Although it hails from India, CTM is lovingly referred to as the official dish of Britain, truly as common to see in London as Fish n Chips, and for good reason.

I was once intimidated by Indian cuisine, but it is shockingly easy to make at home, albeit a little time consuming, but most great dishes are.

The key is to marinate your chicken the day before. After it sits in its yogurt lemon garam masala bath for a day you are ready to rock. One of my favorite things about cooking Indian food is that you are encouraged to throw dry spices directly into your hot pan, which can really fill your entire house with the aroma. Luckily garam masala is the spice mix from heaven, so you won’t mind.

Now you can really spice it up, or keep it mild for the kids. Basmati rice is a must too, and it tastes so much better than the minute stuff.

We enjoy a nice champagne or rose while cooking, and then a medium bodied red with a little spice is perfect with a dish like this. The Tikal Patriota Malbec is absolutely delicious. We normally open a couple bottles of Line 39 Pinot Noir too, one of the best inexpensive bottles around.

Cheers!
cincybeerguydave@gmail.com

I’M IN FLORIDA FOR THE WEEK, so I don’t mean this as a gripe, just an observation:

The way cars are rented in this country hasn’t changed since I began renting them, 40 years ago. You still stand in line, you still do paperwork at the counter, you still wander a parking lot seeking your vehicle.

Why is this?

What other business do you know that hasn’t evolved in four decades?

Of course, it can be an easier deal if you belong to a company’s “club.’’ I dunno ‘bout you, but I rent from several different companies, depending on price and availability. I don’t want to be in every club.

I mean, you can even do all the paperwork online, ahead of time, and you still do paperwork when you get to the counter. Somebody help me on this.

Thirty minutes at the Budget counter in St. Pete yesterday. Only three people in front me.

PROGRAMMING NOTE. . . Tomorrow will be Super stuff. This is already running long and there really is no need for anyone to spend half an afternoon reading my nonsense.

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . In honor of today’s earnest Hemingway.

Workin’ for Don Treadwayyyy.