Remember when...

[Jacob_Marley]

For those in the Detroit area ... one for this "Remember when" thread would be Pine Knob in the old days.

Pine Knob was a large outdoor music venue (capacity about 15,500) which once-upon-a-time allowed you to bring in any and all "picnic and beverage" items you wanted ... kegs included. Seeing rock bands, Humble Pie, Black Sabbath, ZZ Top, Nazareth etc, in those circumstances was ..... ah, memorable.

Folks might recall ... maybe even nostalgically, how Pine Knob's security people, variously "Sunshine Security" - "Smilin Security" et al, were notorious for getting in fracases with patrons.

What a party tho ... both inside and in the Pine Knob parking lot.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Yeah I know. Me too. I was a punk kid in my 20's. I was the weekend engineer/board op responsible for making sure everything was hunky dory, I came in on Saturday Mornings to relieve Famous Coachman. In fact about 4 in the morning he'd start making on air comments wondering if "Mahkle" was up yet, if he was coming in, if he was going to be there on time, if he was going to bring him breakfast....He was referring to me.

I also was associate producer of Robert Jone's Blues from the Lowlands. I did some of the weekly blues Calendar reads. My "nickname" from him was "Lightning Mike Copado" because I once did something similar to the scene in bradcast news where the guy runs through the building with live copy or a tape and jumps over desks and under an open file cabinet through the whole building to throw some tape on the reel to reel in the studio.

I mixed most of his and Matt Watroba's live musical guests, so I got to hang out in the studio with folks like like John Lee Hooker and folk artists like Maura O'connell.

I used to get to go home and nap during Larry Mcdaniel's program then I came back during Weekend Edition and was the producer of Jim Gallert's Detroit Jazz Alive.

And on Sundays I'd work up to Chris Felcyn's Classical show, though a couple times I actually ended up filling in for him...knowing nothing about classical music.

It was great times. I worked all the festivals, and concerts. This was back when Dave Dixon was working there. It was freaking amazing. I actually got to know a lot of musician...heck I even peed with Dizzy Gillespe.

Remember the blues group Saffire the Uppity Blues Women? Remember their song "I need a young man, to drive away my middle aged blues?"

I was him...

I was their escort one Saturday where they did two gigs and a record store appearance in between. Got to ferry them around town....they embarassed the heck out of me at the last gig, dragging me out onstage and doing that song, and throwing my name into the song and playing with my hair and crap.

Here's me with Famous Coachman....

The Bluegrass festival was great, I think I used to do a lot of the backstage and stage photography for those......

OMG Revvy. Gobsmacked.
I loved all those shows ... especially “Blues from the Lowlands” ... I was huge on the blues back then. My other absolutely favorite blues show was “Blues Before Sunrise” ... I used to catch it variously out of Ann Arbor ... possibly WDET(?) - though it originated in Chicago. It was on in the middle of the night ... perfect listening in the cool of a summer night in the dark, 3am under a moon with the windows open.

The sort of non-electric, ancient primitive blues on "Blues Before Sunrise" just did something for me. I still have a recording of their wonderful intro theme which was an old recording of one of the last known groups of Gandy Dancers, straightening a rail, their pinch-bars clinking in unison and them singing a call-and-response to it. Makes my hair stand up just thinking about it.

 

[Revvy]

You heard that Larry McDaniel died about a month ago, didn't you?

Passionate Bluegrass Broadcaster Larry McDaniel, Longtime WDET Host, Dies At 72

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Revvy are you familiar with The Bone Conduction Music Show hosted by "Thayrone" ?
Another great show not on the air anymore that had a great mix of music, as Thayrone would profess ... "white hot mega blast of wig singeing Rock & Roll, hip shakin' Soul music, and industrial strength Rhythm & Blues."

Got a boatload of recordings of that show on tape too.

I used to listen regularly when I was living in Ypsilanti off the EMU campus.

In fact just dug out those tapes and listened to "Cousin Cupcake's Got the Blues" by the Reverend Billy C. Wirts
(hey, another Rev. ;-)

(btw: for all you Cousin Cupcake fans out there ... the real Cousin Cupcake just died a couple weeks ago ... RIP.)

 

[Jacob_Marley]

You heard that Larry McDaniel died about a month ago, didn't you?

Passionate Bluegrass Broadcaster Larry McDaniel, Longtime WDET Host, Dies At 72

No! .. that sucks. RIP.
The Arkansas Traveler has moved on.
He had an immortal voice ... I can still hear it ... rings in my ears.

 

[Revvy]

Revvy are you familiar with The Bone Conduction Music Show hosted by "Thayrone" ?

Yeah we used to co-sponsor some events with them and Thayronne and some of the others would come down and hang with us for some stuff, and we'd go up there for stuff. Like everyone, he was a character.

It really sucks how much of the good stuff is gone...honestly I don't listen to WDET anymore, I listen primarily to Michigan Radio, and almost no music programming any more.

 

[JeepDiver]

The sort of non-electric, ancient primitive blues on "Blues Before Sunrise" just did something for me. .

Use to listen to that show on either a late night coming back in from various places I shouldn't have been, or an early morning heading out on the water when I lived in the FL Panhandle. I had forgotten all about it.


Looks like it is still on the air, http://www.falconweb.com/blues/bbsstations.html going to have to figure out if I can pick up one of the CO stations

cool, you can download mp3s of the show http://www.bluesbeforesunrise.org/

 

[Airplanedoc]

My parents had dinner here the night before it became infamous

 

[Revvy]

My parents had dinner here the night before it became infamous

Oh geez I wonder if any of the guys who whacked Hoffa were in there casing the place out?

 

[Beernik]

Remember writing checks?

I had to write one today. It's the 7th check I've written in 2 years.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

My brother still gets over-the-air broadcast TV (as I still do ... I refuse to be gouged by the cable company - and besides, I waste enough time on the tube as it is).

Remember having to stand next to the television for your father so that the tv got reception?
"... over the the left ... ok, now put your arm up ... higher ... OK right there! - stay just like that ..."
My bro had that going on for a few minutes the other day with his youngest son when I was visiting.

While getting reception might take acrobatics ... we no longer smack the side of the television trying to get a bit better picture quality. Something else that isn't done anymore.

And for that matter, remember having to wait for the TV to warm up before you could get a picture? Not "booting up" but waiting for the tubes inside the tv to heat up.

 

[GrogNerd]

lamp in my HD projection TV has to warm up. and cool down.

as do the tubes in my guitar amps

 

[MrNatural]

Remember writing checks?

I had to write one today. It's the 7th check I've written in 2 years.

I write two a year. They're getting mailed out tomorrow.
Seem bigger this year

 

[processhead]

I write two a year. They're getting mailed out tomorrow.
Seem bigger this year

Feeling your pain +1

.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Remember before ATM machines you had to make sure to get to the bank on Friday if you wanted to have money for the weekend.

It got a little better when supermarkets started cashing checks for cash. Before that, you had to know exactly how much you were going to drink the whole weekend by 3pm on Friday - wish I had a dollar each time I guessed wrong.

 

[Beernik]

I write two a year. They're getting mailed out tomorrow.
Seem bigger this year

I have to adjust my withholding this year so I don't have that problem next year.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

My brother still gets over-the-air broadcast TV (as I still do ... I refuse to be gouged by the cable company - and besides, I waste enough time on the tube as it is).

Remember having to stand next to the television for your father so that the tv got reception?
"... over the the left ... ok, now put your arm up ... higher ... OK right there! - stay just like that ..."
My bro had that going on for a few minutes the other day with his youngest son when I was visiting.

While getting reception might take acrobatics ... we no longer smack the side of the television trying to get a bit better picture quality. Something else that isn't done anymore.

And for that matter, remember having to wait for the TV to warm up before you could get a picture? Not "booting up" but waiting for the tubes inside the tv to heat up.

Remember the wire coat hangers we used to replace broken rabbit ears antennae with? Sometimes we'd put aluminum foil on the ends. Or the 2nd knob for UHF channels? Or using the pliers to change the channel when the knob broke?
Regards, GF.

 

[bleme]

Remember the wire coat hangers we used to replace broken rabbit ears antennae with? Sometimes we'd put aluminum foil on the ends. Or the 2nd knob for UHF channels? Or using the pliers to change the channel when the knob broke?
Regards, GF.

I miss the wire coat hangers the most. What am I supposed to tie my muffler up with now? What am I supposed to use when I lock my keys in the car?

 

[Beernik]

I'm actually seriously considering becoming a "ZeroTV" house and anything I want to watch, I'll stream over Netflix, Hulu, & podcasts.

 

[lschiavo]

I miss the wire coat hangers the most. What am I supposed to tie my muffler up with now? What am I supposed to use when I lock my keys in the car?

I never noticed that they are not in stores anymore. I have a huge stash that my old man hoarded for brazing rods. I'll send you some. They sure hurt better across the back than those cheap plastic ones

 

[lschiavo]

I'm actually seriously considering becoming a "ZeroTV" house and anything I want to watch, I'll stream over Netflix, Hulu, & podcasts.

That is the future of TV. Do it now! Pretty soon you'll be paying a few hundred a month for streaming. They will get your money somehow

 

[Beernik]

The only drawback I can think of is that my daughter would only be able to watch DVDs when I telecommute or my wife works from home. I'd almost have to buy a computer and dedicate it. Or what I should say is, buy my wife a new laptop for her business and dedicate her old one to it.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Remember a candy called "Black Cow"? It was like a Sugardaddy, but chocolate instead of caramel. I'm wondering if they quit making it due to political correctness. Remember life before political correctness? You could watch a cartoon & laugh cuz it was funny, instead of looking around to see if there was anybody too busy being offended to laugh at the humor. This is why you'll never see any "Inki" cartoons on TV anymore. You remember "Inki":

 

[MrNatural]

Reminds me of this blast from the past..............

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

I know many of you guys can relate to this one.

Remember when you found your daddy's 1970's adult film collection and you shared it with all of your friends.

And for those who lived the era as adults..

Remember when it was socially acceptable and fashionable for the ladies to keep things not so tidy south of the border?

 

[bleme]

The only drawback I can think of is that my daughter would only be able to watch DVDs when I telecommute or my wife works from home. I'd almost have to buy a computer and dedicate it. Or what I should say is, buy my wife a new laptop for her business and dedicate her old one to it.

My 6 year old is quite proficient at playing her own Netflix shows, both on my desktop and our Blu-ray player. And Netflix's parental controls are pretty easy.

 

[Revvy]

Does anyone remember "Space food sticks?" They had this strange cakey/fudgey/plasticy consistency, but tasted great. I've been trying to remember the name of them for a decade and GF's post about Black Cow triggered something in my mind.

I guess you can get them here.

Space Food Sticks are snacks originally created for the Pillsbury Company in the late 1960s by the company's chief food technologist Howard Bauman who later was instrumental in establishing the HACCP regulations used for food safety.

Bauman and his team were instrumental in creating the first solid food consumed by a NASA astronaut—small food cubes—eaten by Scott Carpenter on board Aurora 7 in 1962. (John Glenn had consumed the fruit-flavored drink Tang in space three months earlier aboard the Friendship 7.) Space food cubes were followed by other space-friendly foods created by Pillsbury's food engineers, such as non-crumbly cake, relish that could be served in slices, and meat that needed no refrigeration.[1]

In 1970, Pillsbury filed for a trademark for a "non-frozen balance energy snack in rod form containing nutritionally balanced amounts of carbohydrate, fat and protein" which they imaginatively dubbed Space Food Sticks.

A forerunner of energy bars, Space Food Sticks were promoted by Pillsbury for their association with NASA's efforts to create safe, healthy and nutritional space food. In 1972, astronauts on board Skylab 3 ate modified versions of Space Food Sticks to test their "gastrointestinal compatibility."[2]

Capitalizing on the popularity of the Apollo space missions, Pillsbury marketed Space Food Sticks as a "nutritionally balanced between meal snack." Fourteen individually packaged sticks were included in a box, and came in six flavors such as peanut butter, caramel, and chocolate.[3]

Space Food Sticks disappeared from supermarket shelves in the 1980s. They were revived by Retrofuture Products, of Port Washington, NY in 2006. Two flavors, chocolate and peanut butter, were released. They are being sold at flight museums such as the Kennedy Space Center and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum as well as online.[4]

In Australia, Space Food Sticks have remained continuously in production since their introduction, but in fewer flavor varieties than the American versions (chocolate and caramel only). They are marketed under the Nestlé Starz brand to modern-day Australian children as an energy food.

Space Food Sticks have shown up in popular culture including animated TV series The Simpsons,[5] the books of R.L. Stine,[6] and the film Super 8. They are frequently cited as the favorite snack of Olympic gold medal winner Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe.[7]

 

[GrogNerd]

Does anyone remember "Space food sticks?"

those things were FOUL. those & Tang, just thinking about them is gonna make me retch

 

[Beernik]

those things were FOUL. those & Tang, just thinking about them is gonna make me retch

I'm convinced that SunnyD is premixed Tang.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Revvy, those space food stix are quite the blast from the past! I remember eating those, & thought they were pretty cool back in the day. I mean we were eating the same snacks the astronauts were eating. Let's face it, back then NOTHING beat an astronaut. Hey, anybody remember these?
http://likeakidinacandystore.com/?p=640

Or maybe this will ring some bells:

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Banana Shake-a-puddin eaten with a chocolate space food stick. Now there's some early 1970's nutrition for ya.

btw I've seenTang available at Kroger in the past year. Nearly $4.00 a jar.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Speaking of PC ... it was a sad day when they changed "Ding-Dongs" into "King Dons".

And just how are "King Dons" morally superior??????? IDK.

And how did "Ho-Ho's" escape the dragnet? I suppose because they weren't called "Hoe-Hoes".

And while I'm at it ... TWINKies ... oh, nevermind ...

 

[Beernik]

Budweiser's 3-year in the making, 2 times as much aluminum using, 6% smaller volume bowtie can got me thinking about New Coke, the Gold Standard by which bad business decisions are compared.

Remember New Coke? How long did that even last? 6 months?

 

[JeepDiver]

Budweiser's 3-year in the making, 2 times as much aluminum using, 6% smaller volume bowtie can got me thinking about New Coke, the Gold Standard by which bad business decisions are compared.

Remember New Coke? How long did that even last? 6 months?

It was either 45 or 90 days, don't remember which buy saw a show on the 80s a day or 2 ago that was talking about it

 

[lschiavo]

Budweiser's 3-year in the making, 2 times as much aluminum using, 6% smaller volume bowtie can got me thinking about New Coke, the Gold Standard by which bad business decisions are compared.

Remember New Coke? How long did that even last? 6 months?

I still have an unopened can in my collection somewhere. I'm not so sure it was bad business with the frenzy it stirred up...

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Came across this photo today ... a really nostalgic feeling, comfortable like an old shoe.

Wiki's page on Our Gang/Little Rascals is a good read too (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Gang ).

Reading that wiki page now, I realize what a window the early series was into a time that was so much closer to the 1800's than to modern times .... both chronologically and as far as how ordinary life was ... a magical window into the past.
I remember sitting in the armchair as a very little kid watching The Little Rascals and being fascinated. Them and the Stooges too.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Chronologically, Our Gang, having started in 1922, was to the 1800's, say 1899; as us thinking of the year 1991 is today.
Same 22 year difference.
I know that sounds like an odd analogy, but I'm fascinated by everyday life from long ago. My parents ... grandparents ... great grandparents times. Most movies from that time had enough production behind them that the filming was effectively done with props and actors and to a degree "movie sets". Our Gang on the other hand was done with a low enough budget that you mostly see what everyday life looked like, as it was.

 

[Airplanedoc]

I remember running over to Canada for lunch, or just to shop for the afternoon. No passport, no hassle, no BS. Just $.75 over the bridge and back. It was also nice that Canada was a 40% discount to the USD.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

I remember running over to Canada for lunch, or just to shop for the afternoon. No passport, no hassle, no BS. Just $.75 over the bridge and back. It was also nice that Canada was a 40% discount to the USD.

That's for sure. I used to go all the time to the little Italy district on Erie Street ... often to Brigantino's for dinner and then to walk Erie and visit the little Italian shops and get an Ice Cream and coffee with my Better Half.

My other favorite place in Windsor was an old fashion British Pub in a big victorian house called Nisbet's. Every Thursday they had a great Celtic / British Isles pick up night and people would show up with instruments and just start playing. It was sooo good.
Now with the exchange rate not as favorable and lines at the border I haven't been to Windsor in years. Nisbet has been gone for at least 5 or 6 years.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Remember these?
http://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5941630/il_fullxfull.331390988.jpg
Wish I had a pair now.

or what about these?
http://www.oocities.org/roadside_66/Dog_n_Suds.jpg
Regards, GF.