In the Spring of 1976 most of the kids at my high school were jazzed about the KISS show coming to Maple Leaf Gardens. I still wasn't into Rock yet so the band really wasn't on my radar. The gig was part of the tail end of the KISS Alive tour though the band had finished recording Destroyer.
The day after the concert it seemed like everyone at school were talking about the show. On the PA they opened the morning announcements by playing "Shout It Out Loud." The song's catchy chorus struck a chord and I soon became a fan (and once I discovered Aerosmith Rocks a few months later I was living rock and roll for good).
Over the next few months I read every article I could about KISS. Not a month went by that I didn't buy Circus, Hit Parader, Creem and Rock Scene. I began buying all of the KISS albums. I covered my walls with giant KISS posters. I joined the KISS Army.
Later that summer KISS came back to Toronto to headline an outdoor show with Artful Dodger and Blue Oyster Cult. I had my ticket in my hand and I wasn't going to let it go. I showed up early and endured the heat, the smell and the opening acts (I didn't learn to appreciate BOC until a year later).
The lights went down well after the sun and that pronouncement that had been burned into my head filled the PA. "You wanted the best and you got the best. The greatest band in the world KISS."
The cheers rose into the Toronto night sky and 10,000 bodies crushed themselves towards the stage. The opening staccato of "Detroit Rock City" blasted at us followed moments later by the first of 100 bomb blasts. The lights flashed on and there they were - Gene, Paul and Ace - perched atop a ruined cityscape moving in unison to the song that had become my anthem that summer.
What happened next surprised me. I started to laugh. I mean really laugh. Out loud. If it hadn't have been for the thousands of people standing around me, I think I would have fallen over. I think it was the shock of actually seeing the guys move that got to me. I guess with the make-up and everything I kinda got used to them being cartoon figures and never really thought of them as moving beings.
The night was terrific. The show fantastic. I remained giddy right to the end. I saw KISS another 12 - 14 times in those years and never failed to be entertained. After seeing a crappy show where they introduced Eric Carr at the Palladium in New York in 1980, I stayed away until the Psycho Circus Tour. By then, the excitement returned and a good time was had by all.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
First Time (part two)
In the Spring of 1972 everyone was talking about the upcoming Rolling Stones Tour. My brother, 8 years older than me, had tickets for their Toronto show at Maple Leaf Gardens. He bought me a ticket though I never said I wanted to go (I wasn't a rock music fan when I was a kid). When the day of the show came, he and I had an argument because I said I didn't want to go. He tried laying a guilt trip on me about the price of the tickets (I think they were $5 each) but I wouldn't budge. That was until my dad said that he'd go with him. Gad! How embarrassing for my brother. I had to save him from the humility he'd obviously feel walking into the arena with his father. "Okay," I said finally. "I'll go." At least Stevie Wonder was opening the show and I already loved him.
The way I remember it, Stevie almost walked off the front of the stage as he wandered from instrument to instrument during one song. I think I remember Mick riding an inflatable penis and rose pedals falling down from the rafters during "Angie." I definitely remember the hash on a pin being passed from person to person in the row in front of us and the goat skin wine flask I handed to whomever was sitting to my left. After the show, as we crossed Carleton St. on the way to the subway I noticed that my hearing was shot. I thought that I had gone deaf from attending just one concert.
That was my first concert.
The way I remember it, Stevie almost walked off the front of the stage as he wandered from instrument to instrument during one song. I think I remember Mick riding an inflatable penis and rose pedals falling down from the rafters during "Angie." I definitely remember the hash on a pin being passed from person to person in the row in front of us and the goat skin wine flask I handed to whomever was sitting to my left. After the show, as we crossed Carleton St. on the way to the subway I noticed that my hearing was shot. I thought that I had gone deaf from attending just one concert.
That was my first concert.
Monday, January 8, 2007
First Time (part one)
I took my stepson to his first raptors game yesterday. he got to play pretty much everything they had in the fan inactive concourse before heading inside where we each got Andrea Bargnarni action figures. We sat at one end of the arena, 15 rows up from the floor so we got thunder sticks to use to try and distract the Washington Wizards from hitting freethrows. At half-time I bought him a two month early birthday present - a red and white Spalding raptor basketball. After the game he got to go on the floor and shoot a basket (he missed - but just barely). All that AND the raptors won! WooHoo!!! He's 8. I still have my ticket stub from the first NBA game I ever went to - Utah playing LA in playoff game - the players looked like running trees! I was 29.
Friday, January 5, 2007
More Neil Young
I found a couple of original reviews of the 1971 Neil Young concert at Massey Hall:
"Records haven't shown musical power and presence displayed by Neil Young"
"What makes the new disc Goldrush such a disappointment is the predominance of his inaccurate and watery singing." - Toronto Star
"His songwriting isn't his strongest talent. (His lovely clean voice is).";
"...his songs suggest a need for more seasoning...and more work."; and
"...he's bound to stick around for a long time..." - Globe & Mail
"Records haven't shown musical power and presence displayed by Neil Young"
"What makes the new disc Goldrush such a disappointment is the predominance of his inaccurate and watery singing." - Toronto Star
"His songwriting isn't his strongest talent. (His lovely clean voice is).";
"...his songs suggest a need for more seasoning...and more work."; and
"...he's bound to stick around for a long time..." - Globe & Mail
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Exciting new Neil Young news
With the New Year came the delivery of an unmastered, unsequenced advance copy of the next release from the Neil Young Archive series. Live at Massey Hall is an incredibly well-recorded document of Neil's show at the venerable Toronto venue on January 19, 1971. What makes this album an important historical document is that it features many of the songs that would end up on Harvest a year later.
The show features Neil solo (accompanying himself on guitar and piano) during the After the Goldrush tour. Neil's between song banter also give this record historical perspective as he talks about being asked to tape Johnny Cash's TV show and working with Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor (both of whom would later turn up on Harvest).
The album is scheduled for release in March. I'll post more information as it becomes available.
The show features Neil solo (accompanying himself on guitar and piano) during the After the Goldrush tour. Neil's between song banter also give this record historical perspective as he talks about being asked to tape Johnny Cash's TV show and working with Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor (both of whom would later turn up on Harvest).
The album is scheduled for release in March. I'll post more information as it becomes available.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Day One
It's the first workday of a New Year. Everything feels like a fresh start which is why, at this time of year, I always seem to reflect on how I got into this kookie business.
In 1982 I had graduated from NYU wanting to be a screenwriter. I figured that my most reasonable route would begin as an advertising copywriter, move on to TV and then to the movies. Without a real clue in my head and a bogus resume in my hand I trudged up Madison Avenue in hopes of kick-starting my career.
After dropping off a few resumes I stopped in at the offices of Aucoin Management. Aucoin's office were built off the fat of the land that was KISS in the 1970's. Their sprawling space used to encompass two floors of a Madison Avenue office tower but they were no less impressive now that they were merely one entire floor of the building! My friend Milhan Gorkey was the receptionist their so I stopped in to say "hi."
Aucoin no longer managed KISS at this point. It was the middle of the music industry's first real recession and Aucoin's other big client, Billy Idol, hadn't yet hit the charts. During the course of our conversation, Milhan mentioned that 15 employees had been let go the previous day, including the office boy and things were piling up. I offered that I'd work there for free if i could use the office for my writing. Before long I was was in the Stephanie Robertson's office. Stephanie used to be a production manager for Aucoin but was now the office manager. We talked for half an hour and agreed that I'd come in three days a week in exchange for being able to use their offices for return phone calls and general writing.
I had never considered that a backroom existed in the music industry. I always thought that a band writes some songs, records them, gets them on the radio, goes on tour, sells t-shirts, scores groupies and then break-up. Although this all turned out to be true, it seems that it took a lot more people than I thought to make all of that happen.
After my first day in the office I was hooked and ended up coming in five days a week. My pay consisted of subway reimbursements which I pocketed in lieu of running across town to pick up and deliver packages. After three months Aucoin started paying me. Actually they shared me with Chrysalis Records who had just moved to New York (into the old Aucoin offices which we moved down to his apartment in the Olympic Towers).
During my time at Aucoin I met the members of KISS, watched Billy Idol record Rebel Yell, was there when Huey Lewis delivered Sports and Toni Basil "Mickey." Before I returned to Toronto I even met Muhammad Ali. Good times!
In 1982 I had graduated from NYU wanting to be a screenwriter. I figured that my most reasonable route would begin as an advertising copywriter, move on to TV and then to the movies. Without a real clue in my head and a bogus resume in my hand I trudged up Madison Avenue in hopes of kick-starting my career.
After dropping off a few resumes I stopped in at the offices of Aucoin Management. Aucoin's office were built off the fat of the land that was KISS in the 1970's. Their sprawling space used to encompass two floors of a Madison Avenue office tower but they were no less impressive now that they were merely one entire floor of the building! My friend Milhan Gorkey was the receptionist their so I stopped in to say "hi."
Aucoin no longer managed KISS at this point. It was the middle of the music industry's first real recession and Aucoin's other big client, Billy Idol, hadn't yet hit the charts. During the course of our conversation, Milhan mentioned that 15 employees had been let go the previous day, including the office boy and things were piling up. I offered that I'd work there for free if i could use the office for my writing. Before long I was was in the Stephanie Robertson's office. Stephanie used to be a production manager for Aucoin but was now the office manager. We talked for half an hour and agreed that I'd come in three days a week in exchange for being able to use their offices for return phone calls and general writing.
I had never considered that a backroom existed in the music industry. I always thought that a band writes some songs, records them, gets them on the radio, goes on tour, sells t-shirts, scores groupies and then break-up. Although this all turned out to be true, it seems that it took a lot more people than I thought to make all of that happen.
After my first day in the office I was hooked and ended up coming in five days a week. My pay consisted of subway reimbursements which I pocketed in lieu of running across town to pick up and deliver packages. After three months Aucoin started paying me. Actually they shared me with Chrysalis Records who had just moved to New York (into the old Aucoin offices which we moved down to his apartment in the Olympic Towers).
During my time at Aucoin I met the members of KISS, watched Billy Idol record Rebel Yell, was there when Huey Lewis delivered Sports and Toni Basil "Mickey." Before I returned to Toronto I even met Muhammad Ali. Good times!
Monday, January 1, 2007
Dogtown and Z-Boys
One night, a couple of months ago, I was madly clicking the converter looking for something that wasn't a repeat of a desgin or renovation show and I ended up on OLN which was running the documentary Dogtown & Z-Boys. I was immediately mesmerized. Watching footage of these guys surfing the pavement of Southern California playgrounds was spellbinding.
In the mid-sixties my friends and I used to ride skateboards. These were wooden planks with metal roller skate wheels on them. We couldn't do too much except for flying down hills trying not to get ourselves killed. I quit riding around 1970 when we moved to a new neighbourhood. In the mid-seventies I remembered hearing about some crazy kids that had started riding their skateboards in swimming pools and saw some skateboard competitions on ABC's Wide World of Sports. I never really thought too much about it.
I the 80's I noticed a proliferation of skateparks and was aware that some skilled kids were flying through the air but it was a concept foreign to me and my metal wheeled days. Tony Hawk became a phenomenon and I started snowboarding (nothing aerial though). I have my own skateboard again but I stay strictly grounded.
Watching Dogtown & Z-Boys was an education in the re-birth of skateboarding. It was a revelation to see the footage of the surfers that these guys were emulating on the asphalt. A few weeks later the doc was on CBC Newsworld and I watched it again. I was totally hooked and spent the next couple of weeks researching the likes of Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. If you visit www.angelfire.com you can reach some of the articles originally published at the time. These articles, written under various pseudonyms by Craig Stecyk, contributed, in large part to the legend of these guys.
For Christmas, my fiance bought me the DVD for Dogtown & Z-Boys as well as a book written by Stecyk with photographs by Glenn Friedman. The fascination continues. These skaters, writers and photographers were creating a new art form in our lifetime and these are the documents of that creation.
In the mid-sixties my friends and I used to ride skateboards. These were wooden planks with metal roller skate wheels on them. We couldn't do too much except for flying down hills trying not to get ourselves killed. I quit riding around 1970 when we moved to a new neighbourhood. In the mid-seventies I remembered hearing about some crazy kids that had started riding their skateboards in swimming pools and saw some skateboard competitions on ABC's Wide World of Sports. I never really thought too much about it.
I the 80's I noticed a proliferation of skateparks and was aware that some skilled kids were flying through the air but it was a concept foreign to me and my metal wheeled days. Tony Hawk became a phenomenon and I started snowboarding (nothing aerial though). I have my own skateboard again but I stay strictly grounded.
Watching Dogtown & Z-Boys was an education in the re-birth of skateboarding. It was a revelation to see the footage of the surfers that these guys were emulating on the asphalt. A few weeks later the doc was on CBC Newsworld and I watched it again. I was totally hooked and spent the next couple of weeks researching the likes of Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. If you visit www.angelfire.com you can reach some of the articles originally published at the time. These articles, written under various pseudonyms by Craig Stecyk, contributed, in large part to the legend of these guys.
For Christmas, my fiance bought me the DVD for Dogtown & Z-Boys as well as a book written by Stecyk with photographs by Glenn Friedman. The fascination continues. These skaters, writers and photographers were creating a new art form in our lifetime and these are the documents of that creation.
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