Static Live Magazine December 2020

The Joshua
Light Show
Cannabis
Chronicles
Happy
Holidays
Traditions
Unappreciated
The Loss of a Legend

ART Feature
The Joshua
Light Show
18
10 2020 as Rock History, Rock
History as 2020
14 Cannabis Chronicles
15 Musician’s Cookbook
16 A Day in the Life of a
Gigging Musician
23 A Word From the Throne
28 Mud Rooster’s Blues
30 Metal Compost
32 Events Calendar
34 Happy Holiday Traditions
44 Join the Disney Revolution
48 Dishonor to us All...
51 February, 1978
52 Music + Fashion =
The Decades
12
The Loss of a Legend
Eddie Van Halen
38
Fearing
Technology
in a Time
of Plague
24
EVH
was the
GOAT

54 What’s in
Your Phone
58 Unappreciated
61 Moments
Missed on a
Holiday Stage
STUDIOS
DREAM. CREATE.
6
Izabela
42
Rocktails
Sean Impara, Publisher
Billy Chapin, Co-Publisher
Jenny McLain, Editor
Jamie Lee, Managing Director
Bekka A. James, Graphic Artist
COVER ART BY
GARY KROMAN
2020, Static Live Media Group, LLC. All
rightsreserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form by
any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the authors.
Making great music since 1999
For scheduling, Contact Sean at (386) 847-2716

Oh My Goddess...
My name is Izabela Olejnik and I’m Polish/American. I’ve lived in
Florida basically my whole life and I love being on the beach. I’m a senior at UCF
and I’m completing my degree in Computer Science to pursue a career in Software
Engineering! My hobbies include modeling,
photography, coding, and reading. So happy to be a Premiere Model and featured
in Static Live Magazine!

3401 S. Atlantic Avenue, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169 386-423-8787
December LIVE MUSIC Schedule
Dec 5 th - Eric Von 2 pm
Dec 12 th - Jay Paski 2pm
Dec 19 th - Savi Fernandez
Dec 26 th - Smyrna Erb

2020 as Rock History,
In the 1960s, legend says Jim Morrison, the
shamanic singer of the Doors, liked to scurry
to the rooftops of buildings to walk along the
ledges. Myth says the Lizard King was seeking
yet another thrilling, Dionysian adrenaline fix,
although the brutal, deflating truth is that he likely
was just a drunk dumb-ass who didn’t realize he
might kill himself.
An even more brutal truth is that 2020 has made
all of us Morrison-like ledge-walkers – reluctant
ones, to be sure – in our daily lives. Going to
the grocery store can get you killed in these
pandemic times. Politically propelled paranoiacs
may go uzi on you if you note that Black lives
matter or, contrary to President Nero, you say
there are no “fine people” among today’s white
power gestapo.
When future historians look back and try to make
sense of the fucked-up-ness of 2020, they will be
more discombobulated and gobsmacked than if
Marilyn Manson had stuffed his soiled jockstrap
down their throats. So, as a public service, I offer
future historians this music-aided guide to 2020.
Like Jimbo’s ledge walking, the history and music
of rock, rap and pop can offer metaphors and
insights about what the hell is going on.
* If 2020 were a song – A lot of old songs are
vying to be the theme song of 2020, and yes they
are worthy contenders: “Don’t Stand So Close to
Me” by the Police, “It’s the End of the World As
We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” by R.E.M.,
10
“Epidemic” by Slayer, “Paranoia” by Black
Sabbath, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
(key lyric – “I feel stupid and contagious, here
we are now, entertain us!”), and “Baby Let’s
Play House” by Elvis Presley (this won the subcategory
for Best Lock-down Song).
But the hands-down winner is “I Put a Spell on
You,” that 1955 Screamin’ Jay Hawkins ditty as
covered by Diamanda Galas. Google your way to
her live version on YouTube – if you dare. “I don’t
care if you don’t want me, I’m yours right now, I
put a spell on you,” Galas growls, sounding like
the year 2020 itself singing with garlicky breath
right in your face – and without a mask at that.
Then Galas drives over the cliff and plunges
into screams and demonic ululations that sound
like Godzilla is farting on her face and Satan is
snacking on her balls –and Galas doesn’t even
have testicles (I think).
* What America was like before the plague – “The
Box” by Roddy Ricch. This will be the answer to
the future trivia question: “What was the last No.
1 song before lockdowns began in the U.S.?”
Yes, kids, be careful what you listen to, because
you never know how history is going to mark you
and your music.
* If 2020 were a rock ’n’ roll hairstyle – Ozzy
Osbourne during the 1980s. For some reason
the Oz, or his handlers, thought it would be
gold for the Black Sabbath frontman to sport a
high-haired, overly manicured bouffant hairstyle
that made him look like the tarty wife of some
televangelist -- minus the hooker red lipstick

Rock History as 2020
By Rick De Yampert
This paragon of devil rock had that whole
“the higher the hair, the closer to God” thing
happening. Ozzy has done a lot of weird shit
during his career, but sporting that hairstyle was
just damn disturbing – like 2020.
* If 2020 were a rock ’n’ roll fashion statement –
That swan dress that Bjork wore to the Academy
Awards in 2001 certainly wasn’t sinister, and it
was polarizing only in a playful love-it-or-hate-it
way. But that swan dress was fucked up in an
absurd, I’ve-never-seen-that-before manner –
exactly like 2020. Second place in this category
goes to Elton John when he wore a Donald Duck
costume on stage.
* If 2020 were a weird rock ’n’ roll moment –
Nothing in the history of rock can be as weird,
mind-blowing, depressing and distressing as
2020, you say. And you mostly would be right.
Pat Boone’s big-band crooner cover of Metallica’s
“Enter Sandman,” Milli Vanilli, Ol’ Dirty Bastard
just being his doomed, Grammy-interrupting self
– none of those are as twisted as 2020.
But there’s this: that day in 1970 when Elvis
showed up at the White House requesting a
meeting with President Nixon. In a letter to Tricky
Dick that Elvis hand-delivered to a security guard,
the King of Rock ’n’ Roll stated that “the drug
culture, the hippie elements, the SDS, Black
Panthers, etc. do not consider me as their enemy
or as they call it the establishment. I call it
America and I love it. Sir, I can and will be of any
service that I can to help the country out.”
Elvis added he had “done an in-depth study of
drug abuse and Communist
brainwashing techniques and I am right in the
middle of the whole thing where I can and will do
the most good.” The King wanted to be baptized
as a “Federal Agent at Large” in what was then
called the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous
Drugs (now the DEA).
White House officials quickly arranged a meeting
between Elvis and Nixon a few hours later, and
the King showed up looking like a Victorian pimp
version of Count Dracula, wearing a purple velvet
suit replete with cape, and a pro wrestler-style
belt with a Hulk-sized gold buckle. He also had
a present for the president: an encased Colt
.45 pistol that nervous Secret Service agents
examined then approved for Elvis to give to the
Commander in Chief.
While Tricky Dick loved to secretly tape meetings,
he evidently didn’t press the “record” button for
his meeting with Elvis, and so we have to rely on
notes taken by a White House aide for a sketchy
account of what the Prez and the King talked
about. We do know that Elvis walked away with a
narc badge, although he was clueless that it was
merely an honorary one.
The whole absurd incident is documented in
the National Archives online at archives.gov
– including that famous photo of Tricky Dick
shaking hands with the King.
The year 2020 may have been weird – but it’s
not purply velvet Elvis showing up at the White
House to bribe Tricky Dick with a Colt .45 to grant
him narc-hood weird. Or is it? Future historians
will decide.

I’m guessing that not many kids can say they
went to a concert all by themselves when they
were 14, much less a Van Halen concert on one
of their first world tours. Well, that
kid was me and you wouldn’t believe
how much sweet talking and begging
and pleading I had to do to my mom to
get her to let me go to the show.
The year was 1981 Van Halen was out on
their Women and Children First album
tour and I had just recently started liking a
little bit of the hard rock; when I was
younger I was more of a fan of the Beatles
and Simon and Garfunkel and other
mellow crap that my parents loved.
Even though the show was quite a long
time ago, there are a few things that I do
remember quite distinctly. Number one,
my mom preached the whole way there
and looking back it kind of felt like when
the mom was speaking to Cameron
Crowe in the movie Almost Famous.
She dropped me off at the
McDonald’s across the
street from the arena with
the final instructions,
“You’d better be here right
after the concert.” Of
course, back then there
were no cell phones so
she just had to trust that
I would do as she wished.
Walking into the show all
by myself was such a unique
experience, as I was only
about 5’ 2” and probably
looked like I was ten.
Back then, it was
basically general admission
so the fans who got there first
were the ones that were able to
be at the front of the stage. I, of
course, was late but after about 30
minutes of wiggling, joking and
basically shoving my way towards
the stage, by the third song my chest
was against the crowd barrier and
I was front row. I remember raising
my hands to scream and shout like
everyone else and because of the
pressure of the crowd I basically had
to hold my hands above my head for
the next ten songs.
What I’m going to tell you next is a
little embarrassing but it is true and
it is sort of funny. During one of the
songs, David Lee Roth came directly
in front of me and literally 3
feet away from my face. I was so
excited by the thrill of the crowd,
the pulsing of the music and the
fact that the lead singer of one of
the worlds biggest new bands was
right in front of me, creating a
euphoria that’ll never
be forgotten.
It was at that moment
I couldn’t control my
emotions and I reamed
what must’ve been a
girl-like pitch as loud as
I could “ I love you
Eddie”!!! It was not
my proudest moment
but I do swear today
that David Lee

Roth heard me that night; the look on his face
was utter disgust and he quickly moved down the
stage to other adoring fans.
The rest of the show was awesome, as I didn’t
know my ultimate faux pas and - believe it or
not - I made it back to the McDonald’s to a happy
mother to see that her son made it back from one
of the most epic concerts in Roanoke Virginia in
1981. Over the next few years Van Halen went
on to be one of the greatest rock ‘n roll bands of
all time and it’s lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen
will go down as one of the top five pioneers of
the electric guitar in the history of music. Here’s
a little bit more about the man in the legend and
why he will always be remember forever
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was born on January
26, 1955, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and
moved with his family to California in the early
1960s. He and his brother Alex took classical
piano lessons growing up; and Eddie showed
talent early. As teenagers, Alex started playing
drums and Eddie switched to guitar and started a
rock band called Mammoth.
In 1974 they were joined by David Lee Roth and
bassist Michael Anthony to form Van Halen. The
vocals of David Lee Roth and the guitar talent
of Eddie made them very popular. They got a
break in 1977 when Kiss bassist Gene Simmons
heard them and financed their first recording
session. They later signed with Warner Brothers
and released their self titled first album in 1978.
Within six months, the album achieved platinum
status. They quickly became one of the hardest
working bands in the industry and released
albums in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982. Their
popularity only grew with the addition of videos
on MTV.
In 1985, David Lee Roth recorded his own
successful solo album and he was replaced by
Sammy Hagar. Van Halen continued releasing
albums, including their first double-live album in
1993.
Eddie Van Halen received
treatment for tongue cancer
in 2000, which he blamed on
holding metal guitar picks in
his
mouth for so many years.
He was hospitalized in 2019
after battling throat cancer
for five years and he passed
away from the illness on
October 6, 2020 at the age
of 65. He was memorialized
and honored by several of
his fellow musicians at the
2020
Billboard Music Awards.
On November 16, 2020 his
son, Wolfgang Van Halen,
announced that Van Halen
would not
continue as a band
without Eddie.
By Reluctant Genius

Chronicals of Cannabis
By John Kent
Recalling - Recreational launch of
July 2018 was incredible. We had
lines of customers 21 and up
waiting hours to come see and
experience Nevada legal cannabis.
Working myself sick, I had my buddy
AJ filling my veins full of nutrients
through an IV bag. AJ was a male
nurse at that time who worked above
us with Dr. Kathy - fast forward
several years, a buyer and industry
influencer in our small core industry.
My exhaustion was naivety fueled by
passion, purpose and a personal
“why” which led to me worked myself
till I was sick. But the market was
hungry and ready! We were eager and
well prepared. It was incredible to see
a jump from 50 people a day to over
500 instantly! The Legal cannabis
industry in Nevada was born - July
2018. Since then, I’ve managed
a peak of 5000+ daily transactions
across several Dispensaries here in
the Nevada market. Talk about
drinking life like through a firehose -
a baptism by fire. I promise you we’re
ALL still learning even now - kaizen - a continual
work of improvement in progress.
Through this platform, I got lucky and was
featured on Viceland’s Most Expensivest for an
episode hosting 2Chainz and getting him lit on the
Cannagars, Hunibadger and an assortment of Vegas
premium cannabis. A couple years later today, it’s
garnished over 10 million views. The rawness of the
industry’s birth allowed my creativity to spill over
like when I launched Nevada market’s first CBD
Water - Golden CBD - which evolved into one of my
treasured Cannabinoid Partnerships,it’s a Himitsu. At
the time, this CBD water became a top 3 SKU while
CBD occupies on average only 5% of the retail sales in
any given dispensary.
My visiting mum & sister from Australia to a
cultivation I frequently do business with. See,
Cannabis suffers from cognitive dissonance - what
cannabis is perceived to be versus what it actually is.
Most people go wide eyed and shocked once they
learn all mammals have an endocannabinoid system
making it’s own THC & CBD. So for you or any
mammal to consume cannabis is like hydrating your
body with water. While there, mum met a lady whose
son was enduring cancer. My mum witnessed pain no
parent should and listened to cannabis experts discuss
science and provide plausible help for an improvement
in quality of life for this mother and son. That
experience she remembers still today.
And in an absolute paradigm shift of platform
opportunity conveying this wide market, I was invited
- a couple of times - to speak at the AVN’s Internext
on Cannabis and the Adult Entertainment Industry
- oh the stories there to come in following months.
What an opportunity to reach another audience -
not one CBD enterprise existed at that convention
and the product empowerment towards a sector of
individuals which could benefit from such operational
tactics and product support. This industry is largely
untapped and I am eager, excited and overjoyed to
reach what Dr. John Demartini had placed in my
heart and soul as my personal definition of success -
where ones vocation and vacation is synonymous. I
feel blessed and I’ll continue to serve my purpose in
purifying products and uplifting the marketplace. -
John Kent

MUSICIAN’S COOKBOOK
THAI CHICKEN PIZZA
Welcome to a new month…
December! The time for festivity is
here. Deck the halls and celebrate
with some comfort food. I truly
love this time of the season, but I
find myself getting burnt out on
traditional holiday favorites. For
your holiday extravaganza, I wanted
to present you with a truly unique
dish. Give your tastebuds a true
gift… something they’ve most likely
never tasted before…Thai Chicken
Pizza. The combination of the
following ingredients creates a truly
mouthwatering dinner option for you
and your family. You will instantly
want to make it the following week,
and again, and again.
Thai Chicken Pizza is perfect for
everyone. This particular recipe
is not particularly spicy, but you
can dial it to zero by omitting the
recommended hot pepper flakes.
Everyone likes chicken, everyone
likes pizza. PEANUT ALLERGY
readers BEWARE as this does
contain peanut butter and peanuts.
From prep to serve, this meal takes
about 30 minutes total. Each piece is
loaded with ingredients (No skimping
out here!) Usually, I encourage the use
of Tupperware for leftovers but each
slice stores perfectly fine in wrapped
tin foil. Keep a few slices in the fridge
(trust me, you’ll want them). Also,
keep some in the freezer for easy
reheat later.
Ingredients:
Fresh Pizza Dough
½ Cup Duck Sauce
½ Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 Cups Shredded Monterey Jack
Cheese
1 Green Bell Pepper (Sliced)
BY 1 Tbsp Oil
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
2 Tsp Hot Sauce
2 Tsp Steak Seasoning
2 Chicken Breasts (Chopped into bitesize bits)
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
4 Scallions (Chopped)
¼ Cup Peanuts (Chopped)
Optional Cilantro
Let’s cook a pizza! Preheat the oven to 425 and
prepare your dough. I buy a fresh rolled dough
at my local Publix for $2.99. Use a cookie sheet
and line with tin foil. Place rolled dough directly
in middle and spread the edges out evenly to fit
the rectangular shape of the cookie sheet. The
dough is easy to work with and I feel that the
rectangular style is well suited for this type of
pizza. Add duck sauce to the dough in place of
standard pizza sauce and evenly spread it around.
Sprinkle pizza with crushed red pepper flakes
and cheese. Bake until golden and cheese is
slightly brown for approximately fifteen minutes.
Next, you will need to prepare the chicken to
go on top of the pizza. Once the pizza is done
cooking, you will add the chicken. You can use
the pizza cooking time to prep the chicken.
Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Add your
oil, soy sauce, peanut butter, hot sauce, and
steak seasoning to the skillet. Heat this mixture
up so it’s nice and steamy. Chop your chicken
before cooking it into small bite sized bits. Add
the chicken to the skillet and cook for about 4
minutes on each side. The chicken will cook fairly
quickly since it’s in small bits. Once chicken is
cooked, add honey and vinegar. Mix the chicken
around and turn off the burner.
Pull your pizza out of the oven and top with the
chicken mixture. Do your best to spread it evenly
so that all pieces have bites of chicken on them.
Top pizza with scallions, cilantro, peanuts and
serve. Enjoy!
Watch my full cooking video for this recipe on
my Facebook page
“Ian Opalinski Music” or follow
the link:
facebook.com/ianopalinskimusic
15

RING!
A Day in the Life of a
Gigging Musician
BY ADAM FLOYD
RING in the holidays and the new year for that
matter. Working musicians are at our busiest
this time of year. Lots of parties everywhere.
Homes and offices, streets and bars are filled
with revelers. With recent events it seems
everyone wants to blow off some steam. We
can’t disappoint the masses and I want to fill the
coffers with cash so it’s time to dive in.
Gig musicians need to keep our holiday season
music fresh and sharp. It’s a good idea to review
the tunes in the summer so they are ready when
the time comes. When the holiday season is in
full swing, it’s too late. Singing seven nights a
week, dealing with an agent and the venues,
working out schedules with other performers.
Meanwhile the rigors of life don’t slow down. Stay
ready, don’t get ready. Plus, I like most of the
holiday songs even if I tire of them by the time
New Year’s Eve rolls around.
One fun way to add a little zip to tunes I have
played since early childhood is to perform them
on a bunch of different instruments. Try the
season’s favorites on a simple fife or ukulele. Get
a recorder or a harmonica. It gives me a chance
to work up my musical skills while the audience
really gets a thrill. Something about seeing the
tunes played well, on simple folk instruments,
makes for real inspiration, even if it’s easy for the
musician.
This is also a good time to shout out to all the
special someones. If your partner is playing
music all month and you don’t get much alone
time - never fear! It will all be over soon and you
can go back to the normal routine of only being
ignored on weekends and practice nights. You
can bet your sweet potato that when you do get
some loving, it will be passionate and from the
deep heart of an artist!
When we play three gigs a day it can be a bit
much. I try to eat right and avoid heavy drinking
to stay fit. My party comes later when the crowds
have gone home. Also, beware of traffic which
can be much worse in the season’s rush. I can’t
be late because all of these events depend on
ME! Planning ahead, stocking the fridge and
leaving most equipment in the vehicle are a few
of the ways I cope with the onslaught.
Keep your business card out and visible at the
gigs. Make sure to mention on the mic that you
are available and love doing events. Most people
don’t know any professional musicians and some
are looking to book last minute parties. This one
tactic could add thousands to my holiday season
payday. Get noticed by the movers and shakers
in office buildings or hotels and the season can
really make your cash register RING!

Live Music - December ‘20
4th - Casey Picou 5pm
5th - Ceasar Frazier 5pm
11th - Hannah Wilson 5pm
12th - Jimmi Soldo 5pm
18th - Savi Fernandez 5pm
19th - Chuck Morel 5pm
26th - Jay Paski 5pm
Happy Hour 5pm-8pm

The Joshua
Throughout history, certain people have become
true pioneers in whatever world they help create.
Each has niched their place in history to be
forever remembered because of what at the time
seems like divine intervention. Most of these
legends are long gone but there are still a limited
few that live on today and are currently
paying it forward and passing their knowledge
to the younger generations. This month’s artist
is no doubt a pioneer amongst peers in that he
has carved out a life of amazing accolades and
is now sharing his ideas and beliefs with others
so that we all can gaze at the wonder they’ve
contributed to the art world.

Light Show
By Bartholomew Betelgeuse III
The original members of the Joshua
Light Show were resident artists at the
Fillmore. From March 8, 1968, until the
venue closed in on June 27,1971, the
group performed multiple shows every
weekend for up to a total of ten thousand
people, receiving nearly equal billing to
such acts as the Who, the Doors, the
Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, the Jimi
Hendrix Experience, Albert King, Chuck
Berry, and Iron Butterfly. Joshua White,
who had studied electrical engineering,
theatrical lighting, and magic-lantern
techniques at Carnegie Tech and
filmmaking at the University of Southern
California, where he made a number
of stop-motion and direct animation
shorts, founded the group. The JLS
consisted of six to eight members during
its initial run, with the most stable lineup
including White, Tom Shoesmith, and
Bill Schwarzbach, who met at Columbia
University while studying theatrical
lighting and electrical engineering; Cecily
Hoyt, a photographer and painter; and
Jane Ableman, an art student.
1968 photo by George Cohen “of the hippie
scene on St. Mark’s Place between Third and
Second Avenues, looking east,” around the
corner from Fillmore East. from EV Grieve.

The group employed a panoply of imagemaking
apparatus to achieve diverse visual
effects: three film projectors, two banks of
four-carousel slide projectors, three overhead
projectors, hundreds of color wheels,
motorized reflectors made of such materials
as aluminum foil, Mylar,
and broken mirrors, two hair dryers, watercolors,
oil colors, alcohol and glycerin, two
crystal ashtrays, and dozens of clear glass
clock crystals. White and his

cohort designed a rear-projection
system, situated roughly twenty feet behind
the Fillmore stage, where several tons of
equipment was arrayed on two elevated
platforms. The conventional seated theater
setup of the Fillmore meant they had to focus
on a single screen versus an overall
environment.
The Joshua Light Show’s craft-based
ephemeral cinema results in a staging
that details and commingles nearly the
entire history of the projected image.
Its use of projected and reflected light
is a practice that dates to religious
ritual in ancient Egypt and Greece.
The group’s magic-lantern techniques
date back to the mid-seventeenth
century. The display of artisanal film
loops alongside examples culled from
the entire history of industrial cinema
illustrates the heterogeneity of
moving-image conventions.

New computer-based effects and
digital projection systems demonstrate the
continuous mutability of shaping light in time.
Combined together, the Joshua Light Show
epitomizes what Kerry Brougher has cited as the
maximalist trajectory in sixties
filmmaking, wherein artists saturated “the
information in the frame, pushing the image to
such a complex and multi-level state that film
was shoved up against its boundary lines of
possibility.”
And that is what the Joshua Light Show was
and continues to be—a reservoir of the moving
image’s memory, unmoored in an ephemeral
celebration of its
possibilities.
Next month, we’ll bring you
more of the Joshua Light Show,
including their current members
and projects.
All images and information was given with written consent by The Joshua Light Show

Onward, Always!
By Billy Dean
As a toddler, my parents traded my
baby crib to a family friend for a drum
set. At five years old I could name
all of the members of Poison, Motley
Crue, and Guns n Roses. By seven I
had an opinion about who was a better
frontman—David Lee Roth or Sammy
Hagar? By eight, I knew the reason
why Led Zeppelin and Rush kicked so
much ass (Saints Bonham and Peart ).
By age 10 I was aiming for the speed
of Basket Case. By 12 I was faking
double bass drum like Niko McBain.
By 13 I joined my first punk band and
played a handful of shows. At 14
I came in touch with Wynona’s Big
Brown Beaver, The Descendents, and
Suicide Machines. Age 15 brought another
hardcore band. 16 was my first
drum and bugle corps tour—3 months
on gym floors.
17 brought Carter Beaufort
and another drum and
bugle corps tour. With 18 came
Tool and Music School. 19 years
old playing across Central Florida
with fledgling bands. 20 brought Billy
Cobham, Mahavishnu Orchestra,
and a disastrous cover band gig that
almost derailed me. 21, dropout of
music school to focus on making a
living playing music. 25 I completed
my first regional tour with an indie
rock trio across the southeast. At 26
I toured east of the Mississippi River
with two different rock bands. 27–
my first international gig. 28-I join a
promising blues band, record several
independent albums, tour domestically
and abroad. At 34 we rebrand band,
sign with reputable label, record first
our self-produced record. 35 first
Grammy nomination. 36 travel and
record THE RECORD.
37 COVID-19, session work, zoom
lessons, home studio, and family time.
Onward, always!

Edward Van Halen was the G.O.A.T.
Hello, friends!
Edward Van Halen was the G.O.A.T.
He literally recalibrated and reimagined the way
a human being attacks the guitar. The roaring
sounds and effects he was able to produce
pioneered a genre and redefined a niche of
rock music. I remember being late to the Van
Halen party but once on board, I was forever
changed by his tone and creativity. I started
working at a record store in 1983 and remember
selling Van Halen albums like they were bread
and milk. And Van Halen was truly an ALBUM
band. You could break off a single and label
them by that particular sound, but in at least
the David Lee Roth era, the band was truly a
spectrum of musical influences and vibes. Their
albums needed to be heard in full and I happily
obliged. The retail music job allowed me my first
opportunity to meet this icon of the electric guitar.
It was October of 1988. I had made friends with
the Warner Brothers record rep that worked our
store and passive-aggressively begged for an
opportunity to get backstage. In my estimation,
there was NOTHING cooler than meeting your
heroes. I had not heard the adage about NOT
meeting them because they may let you down or
not be all that you had conjured in your head. So
there I was, a pre-show Meet and Greet on the
OU812 tour in Atlanta. The album cover poster
and flats covered the walls of the dressing room
that me, my roommate, and 6 other people were
herded into. Alex entered first and waved as he
passed by me and my roommate. We posted
up closest to the door so that we could get the
first shot at Eddie. Then came the super affable
Micheal Anthony. We said hi and passed him
on to the rest of the people in the room. Sammy
Hagar was next as while I’m a Dave purest, it
was cool to see the red rocker roll into our room.
I could see Ed just outside the room speaking to
his guitar tech, an animated discussion that went
on for a few minutes.
I was hyped with nervous excitement as I realized
it was about to go down. He entered the room
with a cig in hand and upon making eye contact
with me & my friend Greg, he said “Alright, I got
some rock and roll brothers here!”.
We were the only long-haired dudes there and I
guess that bought us some credibility. He walked
between us and threw an arm around each of us
and asked what’s up. We mumbled something
but before a full response, he said “what do we
have happening in here tonight?”. I assumed he
meant the girls in the room, so I gestured toward
one of the ladies and said “well, I know she has
been waiting for you”. He then says “Nah, I’m
hanging with you guys... So, you in a band?”. I
told him I wasn’t but needed some guitar tips
so that I could get one together. I realized after
those first few seconds that he was hammered
and the wafting aroma of his smoldering cigarette
and the many he had clearly recently had was
overwhelming. And then all I could think about
was how this guy, who is clearly drunk from some
pre-show fiesta, has to go out there and rock the
stage in like an hour. We continued to talk about
guitar players and songs we love and time sorta
faded into the fold. I mean, Eddie Van Fucking
Halen was supporting his body weight on MY
shoulder and telling me stories and I should be
recording every second of it. But it was ‘88 and
that wasn’t an available tech like it is now.
It may have been all of 5-10 minutes in that
backstage room but I eventually realized that
they were wrapping up and NO ONE else had the
chance to get autographs and speak to him. A
few of those acquaintances and strangers were
annoyed at us for dominating the Eddie time.

Catch RIGGS, GUY, & INTERN STEVE
The Morning HOG / 95-7 The HOG Weekday 5-10am
& SATURDAY NIGHT LOUD 9-midnight
@saturdayloud on Twitter The Morning Hog on fb
riggs@957thehog.com
I didn’t feel bad for a second. We posed for the
group photo and he quickly met the others, but
made it a point to come back before leaving the
room and hug and thank me. I’ll never forget the
shit-eating grin he left me with. And despite the
pre-show drinks he had, his playing during the
show was perfection. That was the quintessential
“Rock Star” experience.
I was in Los Angeles in 1992 for the Billboard
Video Music Awards. I had dinner with a Warner
Brothers Records rep and we began talking about
Van Halen. She was working closely with the
band and told me that Ed had suffered dexterity
issues associated with drinking. Frank Zappa’s
son Dweezil was a friend of the Van Halen family
and had learned all of Eddie’s riffs on a guitar he
gave to him. She said that Ed had been working
with Dweezil on some of the classic solos and
songs that he now had trouble with. I couldn’t
imagine the idea that Dweezil was teaching Eddie
the solos he created. I interviewed Dweezil
later and he modestly claimed that they just got
together to jam, but given what we later learned
of Eddie’s ongoing health issues, the puzzle
pieces fit. And certainly those Van Hagar-era
records don’t have the guitar dynamics of the first
6. And if tasked with assembling a Van Halen
Ultimate Playlist, I’d probably go 98% Roth tunes.
But the body of work from Eddie throughout the
singer changes still stands alone as rock & roll
greatness.
I had another opportunity to meet Eddie in July of
1998.
I accompanied some radio grand prize winners
backstage on the VHIII tour, aka the “Gary
Cherone Experience”.
It was another great 5 minutes of rock bliss as a
small group of us got to chat and get photos with
the ultimate American rock band.
Eddie was overwhelmingly kind and selfdeprecating
as I told him how psyched I was to
see him shred later that evening. I gave him
one of our radio station t-shirts and he humbly
thanked me, then asked if he could cut the
sleeves off. I gave him my blessing. This was
at one of the lower points in the band’s career.
Record sales were down. Some fans didn’t know
what to do with Gary Cherone as the lead singer.
I loved his work with EXTREME and he was a
very humble and kind guy with a great, unique
voice. Ed and the band certainly could have “big
timed” us and who would blame them. They had
met thousands of people like us, played much
bigger venues and didn’t have to seem happy
about these obligatory moments. (Alex, in full
disclosure, seemed the least enthused about it
all.) But Eddie made me feel welcome, without a
hint of a rock star attitude of being over all of it.
It was another dizzying encounter that I’ll always
remember.
Hearing all of the stories after his passing of what
a normal, kind and funny guy he was fits every
bit of my experience. His guitar work excites me
and inspires me.
And I’ll keep trying to learn some of his simplest
guitar parts. And fail. But the Eddie Van Halen
legacy of music will always be at the forefront
of my speakers. I’m forever grateful for the few
chances to meet and speak with him. R.I.P.
brother.
Cheers!
RIGGS

DAVID VS SAMMY
1. Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody
2. Mas Tequila
3. Yankee Rose
4. Heavy Metal
5. Eagles Fly
6. There’s Only One Way to Rock
7. Goin’ Crazy
8. California Girls
9. Right Now
10. When it’s Love
11. Cabo Wabo
12. Right Now
13. Jamie’s Cryin’
14. Black and Blue
15. Pretty Woman
16. Panama
17. You Really Got me
18. Runnin’ with the Devil
19. Why Can’t This be Love
20. Love Walks In
21. Jump
22. Best of Both Worlds
23. Dreams
24. Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love
25. Dance the Night Away
26. Hot for Teacher
27. Runaround
28. Can’t Stop Lovin’ You
29. Runnin’ With the Devil
30. Everybody Wants Some
26
BONUS! What year did David Lee Roth leave Van Halen and was replaced with Sammy
Hagar?

MUD ROOSTER’S BLUES
By David Dequasie
In this month’s installment, I’d like to dive right
into some great renditions of blues tunes as done
by legendary bands that are better known for
their work in the hard rock realm. As a record
buying teen in the 1970’s, little did I know that
many of my favorite
album cuts that the bands were
rocking out on, were
actually old blues
standards.
Foghat comes
to mind. Willie
Dixon’s ‘I Just
Wanna
make Love
to You’,
Chuck
Willis’ ‘
Feel so
Bad’ and
Robert
Johnson’s
Terraplane
Blues’ are
just a few
tracks that
are absolutely
cranking.
No horns or
other acoustic
instruments here, just
blasting electric guitars
and drums, and what a clever band name. Alter
the letters in ‘Hogfat’ and you’ve got an amusing
take on blues and barbecue.
Steppenwolf was originally a modernized blues
band. Everyone has heard their version of
‘The Pusher’ but ‘Forty days and Forty Nights’
and ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ are much heavier
remakes.
The first time that I heard the Aerosmith song
‘Walking the Dog’, I just assumed that it was
one of their own compositions. Not many groups
would think to turn a blues tune into a hard rock
jam and then add a wood flute section in the
middle.
Probably my favorite take on Howlin’
Wolf’s ‘Evil’ is the downright nasty
version that Cactus played. It’s
interesting to note that they
pumped up the second
(psychedelic) version that the
Wolf recorded. This being the
version that he hated. It’s so
fired up and loud that it
reminds me of Black Sabbath’s
remake of ‘Warning’ or Led
Zeppelin’s version of ‘How
Many more Times’.
The Rolling Stones have an
impressive catalog of blues
standards such as ‘Stop Breaking
Down’ but give a listen to what
The White Stripes did with that
one. It’s totally frantic.
When it comes to great guitar riffs that
are used to support blues classics, check
out Damon Fowler’s take on Johnny Winter’s
‘TV Mama’, Albert King’s ‘The Hunter’ as played
by Free, ‘Crossroads’ by Cream, ‘Wang Dang
Doodle’ by Savoy Brown, or ‘Sugar Mama’ by
Taste to name a few.
In closing, with one of today’s greatest tools
being the internet, it’s never been easier to
discover obscure artists from years past. Why
have I never been turned on to Chicken Shack?
What a great blues band disguised as a hard rock
band.

30

HOLIDAY
CROSSWORD
1
1
2
2
3
4 3 5
6
7
8
9 10
4
5
11
6
12
13
7
14
8
15
9
18 19
16
17
10
ACROSS
DOWN
4. This Christmas decoration was once made from 1. The color of The Grinch
strands of silver. 2. The skin that hangs from a turkey's neck
10. Name the spirit that is often added to butter and 3. Stollen is the traditional fruitcake in which country?
served with Christmas pudding. 5. On the Big Bang Theory, Sheldon tells Penny he and
11. This iconic Christmas decoration is actually a Leonard aren't putting up a tree because they do not
parasitic plant.
celebrate this ancient pagan festival.
12. This state set the Guinness World Record in 1988 for 6. Scrooge’s first name.
the world's largest snowman. 7. The name of The Grinch's dog.
13. What is the Latin meaning of the word “Noel”? 8. What gift did Caspar bring?
14. Christmas beverage known as “milk punch”. 9. What is the name of the little girl in most versions of
16. Which reindeer is not mentioned in "The Nutcracker"?
"The Night Before Christmas"? 12. The poinsettia is native to this country.
18. How many ghosts were there in “A Christmas Carol”? 15. Snack that is often left for Santa.
19. This chipmunk wants a hula hoop for Christmas. 17. The name of Rudolph’s elf friend in the 1964 classic
"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".

DECEMBER 2020
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Bounty Bar - Jessie Abbey, 7pm
Grind/Kona - Jarrard George, 6pm
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Bounty Bar - Chcuk Morel, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Randy Williams, 9pm
Grind/Kona - Jonny Odis, 6pm
Ormond Garage - Robert Keele, 8pm
Outriggers - Laree App, 5pm
Thursday, December 3, 2020
31 Supper Club - The Transfers, 8pm
Bounty Bar - Hannah Wilson, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Griffin Sinclaire, 5pm
Flagler Tavern - Reed Foley, 9pm
Grind/Kona - Chuck Morel, 7pm
Outriggers - Allan Wood, 5pm
Friday, December 4, 2020
31 Supper Club - Beartoe, 8pm
Bounty Bar - Jay Paski, 7pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Jonny Odis, 4pm
Grind/Kona - Reed Foley, 7pm
Ormond Garage - Cory Worsley Duo, 8pm
Outriggers - Griffin Sinclaire, 6pm
Yellow Dog Eats - Casey Picou, 5pm
Saturday, December 5, 2020
31 Supper Club - Mud Rooster, 8pm
Bounty Bar - Claire Vandiver, 7pm
Chase’s - Eric Von
Crabby’s Oceanside - Jessie Abbey, 12pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Nate Utley, 5pm
Flagler Tavern - Reed Foley, 5pm
Grind/Kona - Brent Clowers, 7pm
Ormond Garage - Bradford Bukley, 8pm
Outriggers - Sugar Fly, 6pm
Tayton O’Brians - Jay Paski, 9pm
Tortugas - The Cyclones, 6pm
Yellow Dog Eats - Cesar Frazier, 5pm
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Bounty Bar - Bradford Buckley, 7pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Smyrna Erb, 12pm
Flagler Tavern - The Transfers, 5pm
Outriggers - The Cyclones, 2pm
Tayton O’Brians - Casey Picou, 8pm
Monday, December 7, 2020
Bounty Bar - Jonny Odis, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Chuck Morel, 5pm
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Bounty Bar - Linda Long, 7pm
Grind/Kona - Griffin Sinclaire, 6pm
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Bounty Bar - Brent Clowers, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Jay Paski, 9pm
Flagler Tavern - Walter Lee, 5pm
Grind/Kona - The Transfers, 6pm
Ormond Garage - Are Friends Electric, 8pm
Outriggers - Laree App, 5pm
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Bounty Bar - Griffin Sinclaire, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Reed Foley, 9pm
Flagler Tavern - The Cyclones, 5pm
Grind/Kona - Ian Opalinski, 7pm
Outriggers - Corey Shenk , 5pm
Friday, December 11, 2020
31 Supper Club - Dana Kamide Band, 8pm
Bounty Bar - Savi Fernandez, 7pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Bradford Buckley, 4pm
Grind/Kona - Cory Worsley Duo, 7pm
Ormond Garage - Psycoustic, 8pm
Outriggers - Off the Road, 6pm
Yellow Dog Eats - Hannah Craig, 5pm
Saturday, December 12, 2020
31 Supper Club - Big Beat Band, 8pm
Bounty Bar - Casey Picou, 7pm
Chase’s - Jay Paski
Crabby’s Oceanside - Brent Clowers, 12pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Griffin Sinclaire, 5pm
Flagler Tavern - Reed Foley, 5pm
Grind/Kona - Heather Craig, 7pm
Ormond Garage - Nate Utley, 8pm
Outriggers - The Waverlys, 6pm
Tayton O’Brians - Dustin Seymour, 9pm
Tortugas - Smyrna Erb, 6pm
Yellow Dog Eats - Sugar Fly, 5pm
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Bounty Bar - The Evening Muze, 7pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Heather Wilson, 12pm
Flagler Tavern - Brent Clowers, 5pm
Outriggers - Are Friends Electric, 2pm
Tayton O’Brians - Casey Picou, 8pm
Monday, December 14, 2020
Bounty Bar - Hannah Wilson, 7pm Tuesday, December 15,
2020
Bounty Bar - Jessie Abbey, 7pm
Grind/Kona - Casey Picou, 6pm
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Bounty Bar - Jay Paski, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Randy Williams, 9pm
Grind/Kona - Are Friends Electric, 6pm
Ormond Garage - The Cyclones, 8pm
Outriggers - Laree App, 5pm
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Bounty Bar - The Transfers, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Reed Foley, 9pm
Flagler Tavern - Robert Keele, 5pm
Grind/Kona - Jessie Abbey Duo, 7pm
Outriggers - Stereo FM, 5pm
Friday, December 18, 2020
Friday, December 18, 2020
31 Supper Club - Velvet 45, 8pm
Bounty Bar - Griffin Sinclaire, 7pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Jay Paski, 4pm
Grind/Kona - Bradford Buckley, 7pm
Ormond Garage - The Evening Muze, 8pm
Outriggers - Reed Foley, 6pm
Yellow Dog Eats - Savi Fernandez, 5pm

Saturday, December 19, 2020
31 Supper Club - Joe Young Trio, 8pm
Bounty Bar - Jonny Odis, 7pm
Chase’s - Savi Fernandez
Crabby’s Oceanside - Casey Picou, 5pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - The Cyclones, 12pm
Flagler Tavern - Reed Foley, 5pm
Grind/Kona - Jay Paski, 7pm
Ormond Garage - Smyrna Erb, 8pm
Outriggers - Billy Dean, 6pm
Tayton O’Brians - L&G, 9pm
Tortugas - Bradford Buckley Trio, 6pm
Yellow Dog Eats - Chuck Morel, 5pm
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Bounty Bar - Bradford Buckley, 7pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Heather Wilson, 12pm
Flagler Tavern - The Transfers, 5pm
Outriggers - The Evening Muze, 2pm
Tayton O’Brians - Michelle Marie, 8pm
Monday, December 21, 2020
Bounty Bar - Ian Opalinski, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Jay Paski, 9pm
Bounty Bar - Jason Lee, 7pm
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Grind/Kona - The Evening Muze, 6pm
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Bounty Bar - Brent Clowers, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Griffin Sinclaire, 9pm
Flagler Tavern - Walter Lee, 5pm
Grind/Kona - Hannah Wilson, 6pm
Ormond Garage - Are Friends Electric, 8pm
Outriggers - Laree App, 5pm
Thursday, December 24, 2020
31 Supper Club - Andre Martins, 8pm
Bounty Bar - TBD. 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Reed Foley, 9pm
Flagler Tavern - The Evening Muze, 5pm
Grind/Kona - Jeff Accorneo, 7pm
Outriggers - Corey Shenk, 5pm
Friday, December 25, 2020
Bounty Bar - David Dequasne, 7pm
Saturday, December 26, 2020
31 Supper Club - Dana Kamide Band, 8pm
Bounty Bar - Hannah Wilson, 7pm
Chase’s - Smyrna Erb
Crabby’s Oceanside - Savi Fernandez, 5pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Shaker Jones, 12pm
Flagler Tavern - Reed Foley, 5pm
Grind/Kona - The Cyclones, 7pm
Ormond Garage - Heather Craig, 8pm
Outriggers - Jay Paski, 6pm
Tayton O’Brians - Bradford Buckley, 9-pm
Tortugas - Big Beat, 6pm
Yellow Dog Eats - Jay Paski, 5pm
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Bounty Bar - Chcuk Morel, 7pm
Crabby’s Oceanside - Claire Vandiver, 12pm
Flagler Tavern - Hannah Wilson, 5pm
Outriggers - Bradford Buckley, 2pm
Tayton O’Brians - Casey Picou, 8pm
Monday, December 28, 2020
Bounty Bar - The Transfers, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Bradford Buckley, 9pm
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Bounty Bar - The Evening Muze, 7pm
Grind/Kona - Heather Craig, 6pm
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Bounty Bar - Hannah Wilson, 7pm
Flagler Tavern - Casey Picou, 9pm
Grind/Kona - Are Friends Electric, 6pm
Ormond Garage - The Cyclones, 8pm
Outriggers - Laree App, 5pm
20NYE
NYE20
Thursday, December 31, 2020
31 Supper Club -
Dana Kamide Band, 8pm
Bounty Bar -
Griffin Sinclaire, 7pm
Grind/Kona -
Bradford Buckley Band, 8pm
Ormond Garage -
Jay Paski, 8pm
Outriggers -
The Evening Muze
Tayton O’Brians -
Cody & Kyle, 9pm
Community Events

Happy Holiday Traditions
“The Nutcracker” has become an annual holiday
tradition around the world since its debut more
than a century ago. Most likely it was a big part
of your childhood holiday routine as it was mine.
For many, its magical score sets the tone for
the season. For me, Tchaikovsky’s immortal
melodies are indelibly ingrained. Within the first
few notes of the overture I can almost smell the
cold and snow of upstate NY where I grew up.
The symphonic interplay of every instrument,
the dreamy swell of each crescendo, the
percussive perfection of it all pirouettes through
my mind, clear as the celesta bells in the Dance
of the Sugarplum Fairies. As a child I longed
to be Clara, lithe and coquettish, dancing with
her life sized dolls, dreaming of a winters love
story, traveling to The Land of the Sweets in
my pretend pointe shoes. This was a yearning
shared with my little sister Christie from the
first time we watched Mikhail Baryshnikov’s
Nutcracker on PBS as a family. In our flowy
nightgowns and long johns, slippers slipping
across the floor, we dance-fought all winter break
over that Nutcracker doll til its head popped
off. Our Mom might have jokingly called us little
nut crackers (ball busters) but we were prima
ballerinas in our minds.
For thousands and
thousands of children
worldwide,
“The Nutcracker” is their very first exposure
to ballet and classical music. Perhaps one of
the most iconic of its kind, the sheer number
of interpretations (in family living rooms), on
the stage, the big screen and by symphony
orchestras globally are staggering in number.
By Candice Beu
For ballet companies it is often a major source of
yearly revenue but for the dancers, performing in
“The Nutcracker” is an ongoing rite of passage.
Little known fact, ballet dancers often work their
way up from “angels” in the chorus to starring
roles in the cast during their many years of
training. It’s an enormously lengthy, intricate
endeavor, with choreographers,
costumers, crew and talent
all working annually
towards the Winter
Season. Most dancers
will know how to
dance every part by
the time they leave
a company.
It’s no surprise that
the cancellation of
live theater in 2020
has eliminated much
of the usual funding,
impacting the income
of so many creatives
worldwide who make
their living in the arts.
However, there are
countless ways to help.
Become a patron of
the arts, seek out
entertainers you
know to personally
give to (Disney has
laid off many as well)
or donate to theaters
that have gone dark
and struggling ballet
companies offering
online holiday events.

You can find some very
talented out of work
dancers, singers,
comedians and artists of all
kinds
displaying their work on
TikTok who have linked
patreon
accounts for tips and
donations. There are so
many ways to get your
holiday fix while also
giving back. A quick
google search will get you
started. The Joffrey Ballet
for instance has many
interactive virtual festivities
throughout this holiday
season,
as do lesser known companies who could
use the support. The UBC, Universal Ballet
Competition, will keep the Nutcracker tradition
alive with an international competition held
online. The contest live streams on Dec 12th
featuring all submissions that make up Act 1 and
Act 2 submissions air on Dec. 13th. The event
culminates with The Virtual Nutcracker, a full
length video (you can view on their website)
consisting of the winning
entries, on Dec 19th.
Some local Florida
venues also have
theirdoors open again and
will be performing live!
I highly
recommend
the
Orlando
Ballet’s
annual
Nutcracker
at Dr. Phillips
Center
from Dec.4-20th
and the Volusia Civic
Ballet performance on
Dec 5-6 at The Daytona Ocean Center.
Visit responsibly.
35

If you vote to stay inside this season, or you don’t
have extra funds to go to live events or donate,
no worries! Charity starts at home anyway. You
can still expose your stay at home family to a little
holiday culture. Ovation channel hosts an annual
Battle of the Nutcrackers in late December.
Check listings. If you don’t have cable but you
have Youtube, you’re in luck. Get interactive with
your family and create your own battle of the
Nutcrackers. Even just listening to the classical
score by Christmas light without the visuals,
while dancing wildly
in the living room
can be exciting for
young children.
Dress up andmake
them use their
imagination. Teach
music appreciation
by pointing out the
different instruments
they hear. Have
them Google
Tchaikovsky
and learn the
history of
The
Nutcracker.
Did You Know
that Tchaikovsky wrote part of his most famous
work as a dare by a friend who said “I bet
you can’t write a melody based on an octave
in sequence” or that Clara was originally
named Maria? Finding cool facts and musical
interpretations based on the traditional can
be enriching and a lot of fun for the fam. My
daughter’s favorite Nutcracker Suite is the jazzy
Brian Setzer Orchestra version from the “Elf”
movie soundtrack. Mine is an impressive lyrical
Nutcracker done in the 1940’s vocal stylings of
Fred Waring and The Pennsylvanians. What’s
yours?
As we wrap up this bizarre 2020 year, I urge us
all to use any holiday magic we can muster to
propel us into 2021. In the face of the unknown,
get creative, go easy and don’t be afraid to inject
new life into old traditions. Breaking from the
traditional isn’t necessarily a bad thing either,
just different. It’s ok to evolve and change. One
last note, if a stranger wishes you a “Happy
Holidays”, just say “Thank You”. There is no
war on Christmas guys. Different people just
use different syntax. Don’t let it ruin your day.
If someone who doesn’t know how I celebrate
takes time out of their holiday season to wish
me tidings of goodwill, then cheers to that.
How very kind. For those who balk at and insist
on correcting others with a staunch “Merry
Christmas!” perhaps it’s time to revisit another
holiday tradition, Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas
Carol”. Don’t be a Scrooge out there and let’s
instead appreciate the fact that as a society
we have decided to dedicate an entire season
to the celebration of multiple, diverse holidays
with personalized traditions recreated yearly by
people from all walks of life. Isn’t that something?
If we’ve learned nothing else this year, it’s that
Life is fragile’...(“it must be Italian”)...so handle it
with care.
36
Stay healthy, everyone.

Fearing Technology in a Time of Plague
By Hank Harrison
Living through the worst pandemic in history
and technically the most wide sweeping plague
in World history can’t be easy, many people
can’t cope… but it gets worse if you are afraid
of computers and technology; if you are angry
because too much money is spent on space
exploration and advanced engines of war and
destruction; if you are upset because your bank
computer spit out the wrong balance; if the app
on your phone locks you out; if you are harboring
thoughts of computer sabotage or hacking, you
are undoubtedly a normal human being suffering
all the symptoms of alienation in a screwed up
world.
In spite of all of this crisis one should not be
afraid of the technology itself. There is nothing to
be afraid of because electricity has been with us
for many centuries. The virus will be gone soon, if
you define ‘one more year’ as soon… and when
the Pandemic I over all of the devices, machines,
bulbs, glowing wires, automatic, autonomic and
atomic reactions will still be here.
Let us not fool ourselves. Electricity is more
important than all of the computers and handheld
gadgets on Earth and infinitely more
dangerous than any virus. In fact electricity, when
out of control, is dangerous in both a political
and a bio-physical sense. Recently several
massive forest fires in California were started
by mismanaged electricity, and people are
subconsciously afraid of it. We plug up household
outlet sockets so that crawling and curious infants
can’t insert metal objects into the plug slots. We
panic in a rolling blackout because the company
who brings the vital power to our homes might
be screwed up. Recent research has shown that
Sudden Crib Death is traceable, in part, to static
electrocution. Electroshock therapy is used as
punishment in some mental
hospitals and has been employed successfully in
brainwashing and, lastly, electricity is the focus of
the energy crisis... because natural gas and fossil
fuels are obviously nasty, awkward, imprecise
and scarce.
But why are we afraid of computers? Sometimes
they make us seem ignorant, but actually,
computers are nothing more than elaborate light
bulbs run by electricity and light bulbs are nothing
more than a thin wire glowing in a vacuum. In
a general sense, light bulbs are electronic. The
study of “Electronics” is the study of discovering
ways to put electricity to work.
It was discovered long ago that raw electricity
could be manipulated in many ways. It can be
sliced into sections, made to shoot out in bursts,
made hotter, made cooler, faster, slower and it
can be made fatter or skinnier depending on the
final result one wishes to attain—but at all times,
mankind is ostensibly the master of the electronic
device and its power source. At no time can the
light bulb do anything on its own, it can only go
on and off then eventually burn out. Even artificial
intelligence relies on the information supplied by
humans.
People who believe that computers are
living human beings are neurotic, confused,
dispossessed souls with a bleak outlook at best.
They are cinderheads who have been tricked into
signing over their human rights. To fight against
any monstrous contraption is probably futile but
to sit and wait for it to eat you is boring. Many
people die of ennui each year. Millions of people
feel depressed, cheated, defeated and helpless
because computers have sorted them out and
rejected them. They don’t see themselves as
part of the big program. Welfare recipients get
a payment each month from a computer, not a
human

eing. Funds for education are given on the
basis of average daily attendance counted by
a computer. It seems like there isn’t anybody
home any more. And lately we seem ruled by the
portable communication Dick Tracy and
Star Wars pocket computer
device known as our cell
phone, especially since
during the pandemic we
rely on computers to
deliver our
meals,
groceries
and toys to keep
us busy during
lockdown. Will working and
learning from home become
the norm?
Some people
thrive under
these
restrictions
but for
millions, life
is emptiness!
The stainless steel computer, on the
other hand, is dust free. It is alone and
never gets lonely. It never rusts and men
and women seem irrelevant by comparison. This
feeling of irrelevance cannot, however, be a valid
emotion. But, actually computers
are very passive and very dumb.
In a technological society every advance, indeed
every failure, is a reflection of every man and
woman in that society. Every human being is,
then, a reflection of his Weltanshung (world
view) and every system is the reflection of an
ultimate system, which may take many forms. In
a purely technological society there are only three
theoretical sizes:
Things infinitely larger than our imaginations,
Things infinitely smaller than our imaginations
and
Things roughly our size.
One of the drawbacks to technology and science
is that they keep our imagination tied down to
certain tried methods which psychologists call
reality, but when reality changes it gets scary for
some folks and those who roll with the punches
thrive and grow, it’s the way evolution works
and this pandemic is a mutating factor, a lot like
electricity or the lack of it.
Because knowledge is power, the technological
elite get lots of money. After
World War II they were called the
Nouveau Riche.
But even the Nouveau Riche are
riddled with anxiety because the
technology is always lagging
behind their needs. Techno
logical greed in its many
forms spurs the rich man
onto newer and greater
gluttony, and
computers can be
programmed
to aid him in his
quest. It is nice,
however, to know
that anxiety breaks
everybody down before we glote too much, some
people grow obese, some turn to alcohol or some
other drug. In a technological society the wise
soul realizes that there are more events than
there are systems to explain those events and
realizes further that the ultimate

way to view the world is to see all events as
systems within themselves without interpretation
from a computer or a guru.
So we see that a computerized society can
improve or uplift or alienate even those who
make it run. Yet, when people finally understand
the source of their alienation they tend to go back
to respecting one another being compassionate
and acting like the natural animals we really are.
The alienated man or woman, the solemn
unloving human being can be likened to an old
digital computer. This kind of computer does
nothing but move data, swiftly and coldly from
one pile to another.
The objective human being who appears to be
cold but who is capable of loving and giving
can be likened to an analog computer. This
kind of computer is able to sense things, smell
and touch things and then if programmed in an
enlightened way make basic decisions. Callous
hostility, glibness, and pathological behavior
betray alienation as an internalized process. This
mass rejection of electronic reality is misplaced
aggression because the real source cannot be
found. The people who have made a marginal
adjustment to technology keep a good machine
distance away from those unable to accept or
understand the “tricks of the electronic trade”.
This is clearly demonstrated. Many of the
“computer haves” view the “computer have nots”
as a food source just as a lion eyes a herd of
gazelle. There is, however, a small and emerging
daze of humans who deal with computers and
technology on an everyday basis and have
managed to make a lucky leap. They are neither
poor nor hostile nor glued to their radar ranges
and OLED television. This is the New-Bohemian
Technology, hip ‘snowflakes’ making their way by
feeling the vibes, while not fearing electricity.
crisis has forced us to grow up, evolve, be kinder
to one another. Because of the Pandemic,
misplaced hostility towards computers can be
seen quite clearly in two rather striking examples
of computer sabotage which were manifestations
of the general reign of anti-tech sabotage that
started in the mid-sixties.
In 1970, someone blew away a computer center
in Madison Wisconsin, located on the University
of Wisconsin campus. Not only was the computer
destroyed but the entire building was virtually
destroyed — whoever planted the charge was an
expert. One graduate student who happened to
be in the center was killed, but no one else was
injured and no other buildings were eliminated.
The computer and peripherals were fried to a
crisp—this was an estimated eight billion dollar
installation.
Though the federal investigators finally made
one arrest, the American press hushed up the
incident: Why? The answer is quite simple.
The building was the ARMY MATHEMATICS
BUILDING, which loosely translated means
MILITARY LOGISTICS COMPUTER. This
building housed a think-tank for military
operations. Yet, still, the computer itself is not
culpable for its existence, and blowing up the
computer center was merely an indirect variation
on the sugar-in-the-gas tank trick.
Whoever dosed us with the Virus, needs to be
thanked… sure it seems like Germ Warfare, and
part of an asymmetrical version of World War
III but maybe they are doing us a solid favor.
Whomever it was, the Virus

Also in 1970, in New York City, a similar computer
was blown away. This computer center was,
however, on the 20th floor of a modern building
overlooking Manhattan. No one knows what that
computer did for a living. Perhaps the Madison
caper stimulated the Manhattan explosion.
Perhaps one was planned by an intellectual with
some computer background and the other was an
an irrational, almost random, ELECTR0-
ASSASINATION. Still the computer is not the
wizard behind the computer, the computer does
not mythologize itself, only humans can think in
mythological terms.
Lenny Bruce once said: “Don’t demonstrate
against the Policeman. No matter how ferocious
he looks he’s only the Mailman, he’s still taking
orders from somebody!”

Rocktails
Van Halen fans can often be divided into groups - Before
Sammy Hagar and After Sammy Hagar. There’s no doubt
that Sammy Hagar is a brilliant businessman, as outlined
below; however, in my opinion the only Van Halen is with
David Lee Roth.
Sammy Hagar, born Samuel Roy Hagar on October
13, 1947 is also known as The Red Rocker. He is an
American singer-songwriter, guitarist and entrepreneur.
After gaining prominence in the 1970s with the hard rock
band Montrose, he launched a solo career and had the hit
“I Can’t Drive 55” in 1984. He replaced David Lee Roth as
the lead singer of Van Halen in 1985 and left in 1996 but
returned to the band for a two year reunion from 2003-
2005. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame as a member of Van Halen in 2007.
Sammy Hagar’s business ventures have probably made
him as much or more money than his music career.. Hagar
founded Cabo Wabo Tequila in 1996 because he was
looking for a house spirit for his bar in Cabo San Lucas,
Mexico. It was one of
the first 100% blue agave tequilas available in the United
States. Grupo Campari, which also owns
such brands as Skyy Vodka, acquired 80% ownership
of the tequila in 2008, and subsequently bought the
remaining 20% in 2010.
Cabo Wabo Cocktail
(yields 2 drinks)
~ mango, peeled, pit removed, cut into 2 pieces
~4 fresh pineapple rings, core removed
~ice
~3/4 cup simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water
heated until the sugar dissolves)
~1/3 cup freshly squezzed lime juice, about 3
~4 ounces Cabo Wabo tequila
~1 tablespoon chili powder
~1 tablespoon kosher salt
~pineapple for garnish
1. Preheat grill to high. Place mango and pineapple
on grill, cook for 2 minutes, turn over and cook for 1
minute more. Remove from grill to a cutting board and
let cool. Roughly chop the fruit and put in large glass
or cocktail shaker with 1/2 cup of ice, muddle, and
add simple syrup, lime juice and tequila. Shake or stir
to combine.
2. Combine chili powder and kosher salt on a
small plate. Rub the rims of 2 serving glasses with
pineapple wedge, and coat the rims with the chili
powder/salt. Fill each glass 3/4 full with ice and pour
in cocktail mixture. (
Enjoy!

The Disney Revolution is a movement that a
bunch of true Disney fans decided to start shortly
after the company’s threat to replace the Song
of the South characters in Splash Mountain
with ones from The Princess and the Frog.
When the company made the announcement
on June 25th, 2020, that was the last straw for
most true Disney fans. This was the one that
not only broke the camel’s back but shattered
it, making it impossible to deny any longer that
The Walt Disney Company has had its magic
systematically taken away from it piece by piece
over the last 3 decades.
The company has largely stopped caring about
its true fans and what they want and decided to
ignore concerns and feedback from their guests.
To make matters worse, they have given in to
political correctness and woke society-destroying
agendas such as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter
every single time. And they’re not even good at
it! Disney’s attempts at virtue-signaling just come
off as hollow and insincere, not actually giving
people what they want and doing nothing to solve
real-world problems. These uninformed decisions
have not only caused the company to become a
mockery and result in fans abandoning them, but
they have helped put the company in a financially
vulnerable position at a time when it can ill afford
it.
The company has clearly forgotten that it was
true fans like us, flocking to Disney parks from
every corner of the globe, who made The Walt
Disney Company successful. Had they actually
listened to them and had given them what they
actually asked for, they would realize that’s what
helped the company become one of the largest
in the world. But that success has come at a
cost. Not only have far too many executives and
managers whom The Walt Disney Company
has put in such positions since at
least the early 1990s abandoned
all of us—they have actively turned their backs
on the company’s roots, history and the golden
standards that Walt Disney himself created and
that the company strove to uphold for a while
after his death.
One of the most important things is their
standards of maintenance, something that should
never be ignored if for no other reason than
consideration of the safety of guests. But even
that has been in decline lately. Among the many
missteps that Disney has made over the past 3
decades include:
—Cutting corners wherever possible on
maintenance, upkeep, repairs and cleanliness
throughout the Disney parks and resorts,
resulting in things from a sinking boat on Jungle
Cruise to a sinking log on Splash Mountain!
—New and promising projects getting
compromised or cut altogether.
—Eliminating Live Entertainment in the parks,
even though Social Distancing is NOT involved in
most of those cuts!
—The variety of meet-and-greet characters
throughout the parks has been all-too-greatly
reduced.
—Cast members being very poorly trained,
including in terms of learning how to handle and
recognize people with neurological disorders
such as Autism! (How to handle a meltdown!)
—The Parks and their offerings appear to have
become way too focused on children, giving
adults the shaft, even though the parks are
supposed to be “family-friendly”.
—Cast members’ and characters’ interactions
have become too rigid and discriminatory with
too many policies put in place, and they have
become less outgoing and less willing to be
affectionate and interactive (giving kisses on the
cheek, partner dancing, etc., without question
and without saying out-of-character things like
“my significant other will get jealous”) with adults
and not just the kids,

By Phillip Kippel/ Photo Credit Phillip Kippel and Fair Use
like they used to be.
—The quality of the parades and live shows
has seemingly gone down. A lot of the newer
shows and parades are not as lively, lavish,
exciting, high-energy or use as many variety of
characters as the older ones, lack actual dancing/
choreography, costumes worn by the dancers
have become way too modest and less sexy (for
lack of a better term), etc.
—Everything has become way too sanitized,
watered-down and made politically correct.
This manifests itself in the neutering of classic
attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, such as
changing the auction scene.
—Removing popular, highly beloved attractions
that never should’ve been removed such as
The Great Movie Ride, the original Journey
Into Imagination (which even Michael Eisner
called a ‘disaster of a change’), World of Motion,
Horizons, Kitchen Kabaret, Universe of Energy,
the Walt Disney World version of Mr. Toad’s Wild
Ride, the Disneyland versions of Country Bear
Jamboree and the Peoplemover and the Disney
California Adventure version of The Twilight Zone
Tower of Terror, to name a few examples.
—Replacing attractions instead of ADDING!
—Announcing a re-theme of the highly popular
Splash Mountain, as covered in my previous
article.
—Disney seemingly refusing to stand up to
the outrage industry and becoming spineless
and cowardly by giving in to groups of constant
complainers, moral guardians, social justice
warriors, etc., who will NEVER EVER be happy
no matter what the company does!
—Taking away popular seasonal and holiday
offerings in the parks, such as Walt Disney World
getting rid of the Country Bear
45

Vacation Hoedown, Country Bear Christmas
Special, the Lights Of Winter arches, The
Osborne Family Spectacle Of Dancing Lights,
etc., and refusing to add more seasonal offerings
such as bringing Haunted Mansion Holiday
and It’s a Small World Holiday to Walt Disney
World, eliminating the full version of the Magic
Kingdom’s Easter Parade, etc.
—Discontinuing the celebration of other ethnic
events, such as Chanukah and Kwanza, which
were celebrated during Michael Eisner’s tenure!
—The quality of certain seasonal events like
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party has greatly
diminished.
—Keeping Song of the South, a fantastic classic
movie that is not racist in any way, locked away
in the studio vault, while offering only a bare
minimum of Walt-era and pre-1990s classic
catalog titles on Disney+ or on DVD and Bluray
when some of the few titles they do offer
are edited despite the majority of audiences
preferring to see them all uncut and uncensored.
—Allowing the parks and resorts to get way too
overcrowded, making for much less magical and
enjoyable experiences at them.
—Constantly raising prices and taking away free
perks.
—Being too focused on their “popular” franchises
such as the Disney Princesses and Star Wars
and not doing more with equally-beloved
franchises that have TONS of untapped potential
such as the Muppets and Roger Rabbit.
—Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy not following
George Lucas’s original plans for the Star Wars
sequel trilogy and ruining the character of Luke
Skywalker and the Star Wars franchise as a
whole.
—Disney appears to be attempting to inject
politics and political agendas into the Disney
parks and other Disney media, even though such
entertainment is supposed to be a

source of escapism and a way for people to get
away from all that nonsense for a while, not have
even more of it forced down their throats! Politics
are not allowed in entertainment!
—Not accepting ideas or suggestions from fans
and other people outside the company, especially
if they are ideas that could help make things even
better.
—Killing traditional hand-drawn animated
features, making Walt Disney Animation
Studios and Pixar Animation Studios almost
indistinguishable from each other and taking
away what made each of them special.
—Not doing a good enough job of reaffirming
what is or isn’t canon (such as reaffirming that
the direct-to-video sequels and TV shows based
on Disney animated canon features are noncanonical),
causing lots of confusion.
—Repeatedly ignoring the concerns of
stockholders by refusing to answer questions
from anyone other than large brokers.
—Laying off tens of thousands of employees/cast
members while restoring executive pay levels to
pre-COVID-19 status.
And that is only the beginning.
Among the many goals we are looking to
achieve as part of The Disney Revolution is
reversing all these mistakes and more and
bringing the company back to its former glory and
bringing back things they never should’ve taken
away!Here is the link to The Disney Revolution
Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/TheDisneyRevolution
A full website for The Disney Revolution is in the
works and will be unveiled in early 2021.
And please join my Help Save Splash Mountain
Facebook page as well—help it reach
1,000 members by December 31st:
https://www.facebook.com/
groups/751080852358711
47

Dishonor to Us All: Is Disney Really Guilty
of Enabling Human Rights Abuses with the
Live-Action Mulan Remake?
In 1998, the year Disney released its 36th animated
feature, Mulan, my father and I went to Washington,
DC One of the things we visited was the Holocaust
Memorial; it was one of the most chilling experiences
of my life. As a Jewish person, seeing my people
being targeted for genocide made me sick and angry.
Recently having come out as gay doubled the anger
because gays were also among the many groups
Nazis targeted for extermination. When we Jews say
the phrase “never again,” we mean it.
Fast forward to the year 2020. Michael Eisner is no
longer the head of The Walt Disney Company, and
even his replacement, Bob Iger, has stepped down
from the CEO position. Sanctimony has replaced
imagination, and politics has replaced storytelling
while remakes have overshadowed new ideas.
And what’s the remake du jour? Mulan. No songs,
no dragon, no drag queens, no love story, no
gay- or bisexual-coded characters, no comedy. All
seriousness this time because that’s what supposedly
makes a film “adult.” But even before its release, the
studio’s new take on the old Chinese legend became
a lightning magnet for controversy.
First, when pro-freedom protesters demonstrated in
Hong Kong and faced police attacks, Liu Yifei, the
film’s star, sided with the police. Specifically, she said
on Weibo:
“I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack
me now. What a shame for Hong Kong.”
Such a statement sounds especially tone deaf in light
of recent American protests against police violence.
But Disney shrugged it off. After all, they have parks in
both Shanghai and Hong Kong so they can ill afford to
take sides.
There is no position they could take that would not
hurt someone’s feelings, but one takes such risks all
the time simply by existing. However, the other risks
they took have proven not to be worth taking.
Even before its intended release, there was already a
backlash brewing. #BoycottMulan started trending on
Twitter after Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong called
for one. The film might have financially weathered
such attacks had the COVID-19 pandemic not closed
most of the world’s movie theaters. Between this and
the parks closing for the same reason, Disney lost two
of its major sources of cash flow. With the 116-minute
film costing $200 million, there was more riding on it
than the 1998 original, which runs a taut 88 minutes
and was made for only $90 million. They had to do
something with it, so they put it on Disney+, where the
disastrously received film Artemis Fowl landed with a
thud, as an exclusive and charged a premium of $30
for access to it … even for subscribers who already
paid the monthly fee! Subscribers who canceled their
subscriptions would not even keep access to it. Did
The Disney Channel make you pay extra for original
movies when they were a pay-cable channel? Equal
parts desperation and greed, the strategy didn’t
seem to work, and the movie quickly moved to other
platforms for purchase. Meanwhile, Trolls 2 cost only
$20 on digital and has apparently sold more copies.
While the 1998 version was a box office hit that has
aged beautifully, it was not exceptionally well-received
in Mainland China, where its release was conditional
at best and still fraught with controversy despite their
best attempts to side-step it. The Chinese government
took issue with Martin Scorsese’s Kundun, a
Hollywood Pictures release about the Dalai Lama, for
being too sympathetic to him at the expense of China.
They threatened to ban all Disney films from the
country. Though the film got good reviews in the US,
Disney capitulated; Michael Eisner denounced the
film, while Bob Iger called it a “mistake.” Nevertheless,
Kino Lorber saw fit to release it on Blu-ray recently.
The new version of Mulan has been carefully crafted
so as not to offend any Chinese people. Anything
perceived as being inauthentic to the culture has been
scrubbed away. Or so they say.

By Matthew Anscher
But even under those circumstances, they still got a
lot of things wrong in ways the 1998 film did not. And
in deference to #MeToo, any hint of romance between
Shang and Mulan is gone, along with Shang himself!
Even with the more government-friendly changes to
the story, Chinese audiences still didn’t take kindly to
a second Disney version of their homegrown female
warrior, especially when they had their own locally
produced movie versions to choose from, most
notably a 2009 film called Mulan: Rise of a Warrior.
There’s even a Chinese animated version, Kung Fu
Mulan, making this new Disney version even more
superfluous.
But the worst was yet to come…
Those who sat through the whole film to the end of
the closing credits saw a “special thanks” credit for
the Turpan Public Security Bureau, an organization in
southern
Xinjiang that manages concentration camps designed
to hold over a million Uighur Muslims. Seriously, in
2020! A major American movie studio, one that made
pro-Allied propaganda films such as Der Fuehrer’s
Face and Victory Thru Air Power during World War
II, and one that won an Oscar for Bedknobs and
Broomsticks in 1971 and two Oscars for Aladdin in
1992, were now collaborating with mass murderers
in a Communist country! They actually gave special
thanks to multiple bureaus responsible for such
horrific atrocities as forced sterilization, forced labor,
and re-education, while many prisoners have even
died because of the conditions of the camps. This is
the same studio known for opening every movie with
“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference
who you are”? They proved once and for all they don’t
really mean that. Even their excuses don’t wash. A
company representative told Vanity Fair that this was
necessary for “authenticity” and to get permission to
even shoot in China at all even though most of the
movie was shot elsewhere, particularly New Zealand.
If so little of the Turpan footage made it into the film,
and there’s nothing there they couldn’t get
elsewhere, then why bother shooting there at all?
Much criticism of Walt Disney revolves around
the fact that he was a “friendly witness” for the
House Unamerican Activities Committee regarding
Communism in the 1940s when there was still a
USSR and when Mao Tse Tung took over China.
But in light of what the studio that bears his name
has done, can you still actually read his remarks and
come to the conclusion that he was wrong?
“I believe [Communism] is an un-American thing.
The thing that I resent the most is that they are
able to get into these unions, take them over, and
represent to the world that a group of people that
are in my plant, that I know are good, one-hundredpercent
Americans, are trapped by this group, and
they are represented to the world as supporting
all of those ideologies, and it is not so, and I feel
that they really ought to be smoked out and shown
up for what they are, so that all of the good, free
causes in this country, all the liberalisms that
really are American, can go out without the taint of
communism. That is my sincere feeling on it.”
The idea that Walt was a vicious anti-semite
was, and still is, a hoax that many former Disney
employees have refuted. His anti-Communism was
used as evidence of that, but Jewish studio head
Louis B. Mayer, co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer, was just as fervently opposed to it. It’s not
very hard to see why. To see Walt’s Magic Kingdom
actively collaborate with a country that relocated
an entire group of people to concentration camps
is beyond horrific. It is a major betrayal of trust, not
to mention a publicity embarrassment the studio
was sheepishly forced to acknowledge while, as
usual, trying to play the Glad Game in doing so.
Much like the issue of John Boyega’s differing
level of prominence on the Chinese and American
Star Wars posters, it is only more proof of Disney’s
hypocrisy on human rights issues. Things like this
show how insincere

the Disney company is when they talk of racial and
cultural sensitivity. It’s also why their reasons for
not letting Song of the South out of the vault, not to
mention their reasons for wanting the characters out
of Splash Mountain, ring hollow. Not only has Disney
collaborated with Communists, it is complicit in their
violations of human rights. If China is punished for
this, then Disney should be, too.
Compare and contrast this with how the company
behaves in the United States. Despite a burgeoning
film and television production industry in Atlanta,
Georgia, which has been home to such acclaimed
and popular movies as Game Night, Love Simon,
and I Tonya, as well as being the home of Tyler
Perry Studios, and despite the fact that Marvel had
already shot Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame
there, Disney announced that they would no longer
film there if the governor signed a controversial
anti-abortion bill into law. The law would have made
abortion illegal at the point where one could hear the
beating heart of an unborn baby, which is usually
six weeks in most cases. Disney opposed the law
because they believed its female employees would
not want to work under these conditions. They claim
to care about reproductive rights here, but those
claims don’t hold up to scrutiny when one considers
the fact that among the atrocities at the Xinjiang
camps is forced sterilization!
Mulan pays lip service to the concept of honor,
but in reality, the current Disney management has
brought dishonor to the company in ways no previous
administration had. The star of the new film has not
helped matters. Imagine if a white American actress
openly supported police brutality against anti-racism
protesters in the US. She probably wouldn’t have
a career for very long. And imagine if Walt Disney
Productions during WWII had shot the live-action
portions of The
Reluctant Dragon in or around Japanese-American
internment camps, a shameful practice the US later
apologized for. We would never hear the
end of it even if the movie went down the same
memory hole in which they’re trying to bury Br’er
Rabbit. In reality, that movie grew out of the strike
of 1940 that changed Walt Disney, his studio, and
the animation industry as a whole. His upbringing
was actually quite left-wing; his father Elias was a
Christian Socialist who wrote a leftist newsletter.
The company changed before, they can change
again. Now, they have no choice but to make some
adjustments. But they have to be good ones. Change
for change’s sake is a waste of time and money, and
in the end it makes no one happy.
This is one of many reasons why it has been a critical
mistake for Disney to rely so heavily on attempts to
literally recreate their past glory days. Even when
Ron Miller was running things, they could still make
films that were at least nominally different from their
Walt-era predecessors. If a lack of imagination was
the biggest crime they had committed here, that
would be one thing. But this is a much greater crime
than systemically throwing out new ideas for endless
retreads of the tried-and-true. This is literal crime we
are talking about. The International Criminal Court
in The Hague, Netherlands is specifically devoted to
prosecuting crimes of this magnitude. It has never
prosecuted a major corporation before, but that
doesn’t mean that individual people who made the call
to collaborate with the camps on the making of the
film can’t be held liable for their actions. That would
require them to prosecute the Chinese government
first. Even in the absence of prosecution, there’s
no way Disney can spin this public relations
nightmare to their advantage, try as they might.
When will their reflection show who they are
inside?

February, 1978
My friends were talking about this new band
that had just put out their first album.
Van Halen. Granted, it took me a while to
finally listen, and the first cut,
“Runnin’ With The Devil” kinda left me
a little flat. Then, it happened.
The next 1:43 changed
everything I thought about
how a guitar was played.
I had been listening
to the guitar
By Jeff Shaw
greats of the day: Ted Nugent, Ace Frehley, Tony
Iommi, Jimmy Page. But nothing, and I mean
NOTHING could compare with what I had just
heard. How was that even possible (it took me several
years to actually SEE how it was done)?
There’s not a lot I can say about Edward Van Halen that
hasn’t already been said: innovator, inventor, musician,
composer, guitar wizard. The King.
I had the opportunity to see Van Halen in Chicago in the
summer of 1981 (I was supposed to see them in Jacksonville
in August of 1980, but the show had to be postponed due to
an injury to David Lee Roth, and when it was rescheduled,
I was in boot camp). I paid $20 per ticket, which I thought
was steep at the time, but when I got to my seat, I would
have paid as much as is charged now. 3rd row, stage right,
at the old Chicago Amphitheater. We missed the
opening band, but got there just in time for Van Ha
len’s set. I couldn’t tell you much about the set list,
but I can tell you that during Eddie’s solo, when
he came to that side of the stage, I stood there
mesmerized. Transfixed. In the presence of a
rock & roll deity.
Eddie went on to provide many more licks and techn
iques that left guitar players in awe. Spanish Fly, Cathedral.
One thing that makes me laugh, in a CNN interview, he
was talking about his work on Michael Jackson’s song “Beat
It”. He said “Who’s gonna know I played on some black kid’s
record” Uhhh, anybody and everybody that’s ever listened to
you, Ed. He had a very distinctive style and tone that within
about two or three seconds of hearing it, you know it’s him.
He also did a couple of movie soundtracks, or
contributed songs to them. Twister, being
one of them, and a forgettable
movie called The Wild Life.
An old saying goes
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because
it happened”. Thank you for happening in my lifetime,
Eddie. Thank you for all the music. Thank you for inspiring
me to play guitar better.
The king is dead: long live the king.

Music +

Fashion = Decades
By Jamie Lee
Music plus fashion equals pure entertainment
for the masses. Music was “invented” over
55,000 years ago, probably starting with naturally
occurring sounds and rhythms from which even
the most isolated tribes of the world created
their own version of music. According to music
archeology, the ceremonious garb we know as
fashion came along with the creation of beats and
rhythmic incantations and was worn with pride at
all formal meetings of each cultural manifestation.
Fast forward to a more modern age; the music
and fashion scene exploded into a phenomenon.
During the early ‘50s, Elvis Presley used sexy
smiles, gyrating hips and the buttoned-up
classic looks of the post-war era to develop his
eroticized image by adding some flash and flare.
He became a cultural revolutionary by bringing
rockabilly to a more diverse audience, which
made him a 20th-century icon.
The Beatles invaded America, pioneering as the
“Greasers of England”. The Fab Five donned
many different looks ranging from fierce to leather
jackets; from cowboy boots to pompadours.
The ’60s brought an upheaval of music, fashion
and attitudes. The arrival of Motown and R&B,
originating in Detroit, marked a significant
progression in the Civil Rights movement; but
Motown also taught the world how to dress.
Groups like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
and Diana Ross and the Supremes brought forth
pop-soul classic lines and the two or three-piece
suit was a favorite.
The ‘70s sparked David Bowie’s alter ego, “Ziggy
Stardust”, oozing with extraterrestrial tendencies,
boosting, “We Come in Style.” Bowie said, “I think
if you’re really going to entertain an audience
then you have to look the part, too.” By 1976
he had trailed from his ‘Ziggy Stardust’
ego and cleansed his palate of crazy (for now),
emerging classic and clean as “The Thin White
Duke.”
The ‘80s saw Madonna and her cones, Devo and
the hats, and the lace - so much lace, along with
multi-colored hair as high as the hairspray would
hold it, necklaces dangling with the latest emblem
- as many as your neck could hold. These were
not to overshadow your shoulder pads or hide
the fact you were wearing a fanny pack complete
with an extra pair of leg-warmers inside in case of
emergency.
Enter the ‘90s, dubbed the anti-style era with MC
Hammer pants, mini skirts, high waisted denim,
and ridiculous animal print (gag)! Grunge was
popularized as an anti-fashion in answer to all the
colorful ‘80s fashion and made up of mostly thrift
store clothing and anti-flash. This style genre
was made famous by grunge music and worn by
artists who were influenced by the Seattle music
scene, including County Love, Cranberries,
Nirvana, and Mudhoney.
The millennium (we made it) shock is in all
the cards leading to Stefani Joanne Angelina
Germanotta. What? No guesses? (Hint: meat
dress). Lady Gaga’s meat dress on the red carpet
shocked America and made a new statement for
the fashion culture that has taken over … well,
everyone! How could you not listen to her? She
is a classically trained pianist turned superstar. I
listen to her with gusto pleasure!
Whatever you pull over your body in the mornings
most likely came from a genre originating with
a musician who wanted to make a statement.
History repeats itself, as do music and fashion,
always doing so in exquisite harmony by adding
a unique twist for the time.

FRI 4-8 PM
LIVE MUSIC
SAT 12-4 &
5-8PM
SUN 12-4 PM
December ‘20
4th – Jonny Odis - 4pm
5th – Jessie Abbey - 12pm &
Nate Utley - 5pm
6th – Smyrna Erb – 12pm
11th – Bradford Buckley - 4pm
12th – Brent Clowers – 12pm &
Griffin Sinclaire - 5pm
13th – Heather Wilson – 12pm
18th – Jay Paski – 4pm
19th – The Cyclones - 12pm &
Casy Picou - 5pm
20th – Heather Wilson – 12pm
26th – Shaker Jones - 12pm &
Savi Fernandez - 5pm
27th – Claire Vandiver – 12pm

What’s IN Your Phone?
Most Used App:
ESPN +
iPhone 10
Number of
Contacts:
500
Sean Impara
Number of unread emails
I have two accounts one there’s just too many to mention
in fact it was a reason I switched to my second account
and I would say on my second account there’s probably
only about 13 or 14.
Most-listened-to Artist
That’s a really tough one but I guess if you held a gun to
my head it would be the band Group Love I’m addicted to
that station on Pandora.
Most-recent car-service ride
Never. I live on an island and can ride my bike or walk
anywhere. If I had to answer the question truthfully the
last time would be a taxi service in New York City.
Battery % at which you feel compelled to
charge your phone
I have a newer iPhone so the battery lasts almost the
whole day. I have a habit of plugging in either when I’m
sleeping or in the car so I don’t really look at it that much.
Our own Co-Owner/Publisher, 53, writer
and entrepreneur sharing his phone.
Outgoing voice Message
It’s very basic and boring. I probably need to change
it soon, as people have told me so many times.
Essential travel app
I don’t travel like I used to so I don’t even have a
travel app. I traveled for a living at various times so
I’ve been to most places many times and I have a
really good memory. If I really needed one, Google
Maps would ultimately be my last resort if I really
needed one.
Does Your screensaver have a meaning
Right now, no. I’ve been really lazy and I’ve never
even changed it. In the past, I had pictures of my kid
but he drives me crazy now so I don’t dare put him
on there.
Can you live without your phone
That’s A great question. I used to work in a business
where having a cell phone would’ve been extremely
important and essential but I never had one and I
managed. Now I work in another business where
it’s extremely important and essential and there’s no
way I could go without it.

56

UNAPPRECIATED
BY RANDY PEPPER
Since the 1960s musicians have never had a pay
increase; in some places, rates have actually gone
down. Now we found out that minimum wage will
go up to $15 an hour in six years. In a band, most
musicians make $62.50 a night. So, let’s look at what
it takes to be a musician:
Most musicians spend all week practicing for your
upcoming gig, practicing hours and hours without
pay. Now, let’s look at the equipment; most musicians
have around $5,000 to $10,000 worth of equipment
just to do their job plus they’re always updating their
gear to make the show better. When was the last
time you saw an employee of a fast food restaurant
spend that kind of money to do their job. You haven’t!
Yes, I know they probably don’t need to spend that
kind of money to do the job; they are just given a
uniform shirt just and they go to work. But even in an
office environment, when was the last time you saw
someone working spend that kind of money to do their
job. You haven’t!
We’ve always heard the saying that a musician is
a guy that drives a $500 car with $10,000 worth of
equipment to drive to a $100 gig two hours away. Yes
a lot of this is brought on by musicians who are just
looking to play somewhere and will do it at any cost.
But for the musician who is trying to make a living and
pay their bills, this isn’t helpful. Not all musicians are
weekend millionaires; some of them are working two
jobs just to make ends meet then others are playing
seven nights a week just to pay their bills. There are
some who play in bars and restaurants just to eat
or to drink; at the end of the night, some of these
musicians drank more than got paid.
Unfortunately being a musician often comes with
other costs. Many musicians become alcoholics
because they work in bars all the time and just can’t
say no to the next free drink. I’m not saying it’s a bad
thing to buy the band drinks, but sometimes it’s better
just to put money in the tip bucket because not all
musicians drink. That way, the musicians can use the
money for whatever they want. And for the people that
drink all of their paycheck, that tip money may be the
only money they make.
Let’s look at why musicians have never gotten a pay
raise in over 40 years. Is it that perhaps the people
running the bars and restaurants feel they are doing
it for the love of music? In some cases that’s true.
Maybe one of the answers to the question of why
musicians are often underpaid for their services is
that musicians in general are not the kind of people
who will stand up to the bar or restaurant owner and
say, “Listen I know you used to pay us $400 a night
but now we want $1,000 because that’s what we are
worth. Most musicians just think, “Oh well, at least I
got paid, and I can help out with some of the bills or
buy that new pedal to nail that tone of that new song
we learned.” It’s crazy to think that in six years if you
count in all the work that a musician does he will be
the lowest paid person in the bar.
Now, there’s an exception to most anything and,
sure, if Blake Shelton shows up he’s going to get paid
$60,000 for the night or bands like Modern English
(who had one hit) will be paid $10,000 for the night.
While there are some bands that are paid decently
for the night, most are still only going to make $400-
$500 a night. And these are the bands that show up
really early to the venue to set up and they are also
the last ones in the bar after closing because they
have to tear down their whole stage show. They show
up at 1 or 2 o’clock in the afternoon and set up all
their equipment and by the time they have finished
tearing down their show and loading out at 4o’clock in
the morning, they’ve done 14 hours of work. Is there
anyone else in the bar working 14 hours? Why do
you think there are so many singles and duo’s? It’s
because they have figured out how to make a living
at working normal hours. But when the $15 an hour
minimum wage kicks in, that might not be the case.
It’s going to be interesting in the next six years for
sure.
Randy Pepper is the owner of the Guitar Attic in
Holly Hill and a freelance guitar player for hire.

Trivia & Crossword
1. David Lee Roth
2. Sammy Hagar
3. David Lee Roth
4. Sammy Hagar
5. Sammy Hagar
6. Sammy Hagar
7. David Lee Roth
8. David Lee Roth
9. Sammy Hagar
10. Sammy Hagar
11. Sammy Hagar
12. Sammy Hagar
13. David Lee Roth
14. Sammy Hagar
15. David Lee Roth
Solutions
16. David Lee Roth
17. David Lee Roth
18. David Lee Roth
19. Sammy Roth
20. David Lee Roth
21. David Lee Roth
22. Sammy Hagar
23. Sammy Hagar
24. David Lee Roth
25. David Lee Roth
26. David Lee Roth
27. Sammy Hagar
28. Sammy Hagar
29. David Lee Roth
30.David Lee Roth
Bonus: 1985
12
2
W
G
R
E
A E G
3
4 5
T I N S E L S E M M
T R C A B R A N D Y
L M I S T L E T O E X R
M A I N E A A U N B I R T H
14
E E G G N O G R R E H
X Y A N Z C
I A E O
C L R U D O L P H
18 19
1
11
9 10
F O U R A L V I N K E
6
16
7
13
A I R
E M
S E
Y
15
8
17

Moments Missed on a Holiday Stage-
BY JOE YOUNG IV
The holiday season to most people’s imagination
is one of decorations, of family, of gifts and of
merriment. And while my vision of the Christmas
holiday season includes many of the same nostalgic
images as the next American, what I will be missing
most is my musical family. My vision of the holidays
has never been much of a Rockwell painting, more of
a mix of Dalí and Warhol, set to a soundtrack by Jaco
Pastorius. Since 2007 I have considered Orlando
my base of operations, moving there initially to go to
the University of Central Florida. Between working
at Walt Disney World and SeaWorld during the
Christmas season I have been fortunate to perform at
theme parks for the last nine out of twelve Christmas
seasons. When you mix in holiday parties, the many
snow bird shows that happen throughout Central
Florida and The Villages, as well as the normal ebb
and flow of freelance work, I would easily put 6,000
miles on my car between Thanksgiving and the
end of the year. The sense of purpose derived from
performing during the holidays easily outweighs all of
the late nights, long drives, hours upon hours spent
waiting in a theme park break room and missed time
at home with my family.
While it is a drag to have to work on a holiday,
especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, the
comradery with musicians is what I will miss most
from the 2020 holiday season.
he down time between shows in the breakroom (often
in an odd store room, tucked back by the dumpsters)
would lend itself to spirited hangs, everything from
friendly poker games to how to work on improving
your music composition skills to the latest jazz
albums. The moment right after you get backstage
and are able to break character to laugh at the park
guest that just made a fool of themselves during
the last set. Even wearing the costumes, which are
almost exclusively made of the heaviest and hottest
materials known to man. After work there were always
opportunities to take a late-night gig, or to sit in with
one of the bands performing at the downtown bars.
Going on the road with The Glenn Miller
Orchestra I would miss a portion of the holiday
season here in Central Florida. However, the
tradeoff was pretty fair – the band’s Japan tour
was often during the month of November into the
beginning of December.
There is truly nothing like Japanese Christmas.
The Christmas season is celebrated as
a lovers’ holiday in Japan, more akin
to Valentine’s Day than American
Christmas. The level of deco
rating is like no other, from
giant Christmas trees to
shop window displays,
to some of the
most
egregious
representations
of Santa Claus
EVER (my favorite
being a Gremlin like,
puke green variety that
was very popular one year).
I have so much to be
thankful for this holiday
season, and so many
reasons to look forward
to celebrating Christmas
with my family,
uninterrupted by work.
But even in the midst
of Christmas I know I
will be deeply yearning
for my musical family
and the time that we
can go back to
performing. And I
know that if
Christmas 2022
finds me back
on a stage I
will never
complain
about
playing
Rudolph
The Red
Nosed
Reindeer
ever again.

From Static Liv

Happy
Holidays
e Media, LLC

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