In the summer of 1960 I was working as the afternoon deejay on KGW in Portland, Oregon. In two weeks I was to be shipped off to Fort Ord, California for basic military training as I was a resident of the U.S. It’s a long story but two weeks prior to leaving town I recorded a song called G.I. Rock and sent a tape to Dave McCormick at C-FUN. He played it and the song charted; however, there were no discs for sale as non were pressed. Now, Larry Hennessey, of Larry & Willy fame, has released it as a 45 rpm vinyl disc with only 500 copies available. You can find the discs at Neptoon Records on Main Street in Vancouver. It is really good for a laugh… Saltspring Island resident Randy Bachman appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman in the past two weeks. Fellow Canadian and music director for Letterman Paul Shaffer invited Randy to be on the show to jam with the band. This was Randy’s first appearance ever on the show… Recent visitor to Vancouver, Kid Rock has been sentenced to 12 months probation and six hours of anger-management counselling for his involvement in a post concert fight at a restaurant near Atlanta, Georgia last year… Rocker Lenny Kravitz and his Love Revolution tour will hit the stage at GM Place on November 5th… I had the pleasure of interviewing Dan McCafferty during the appearance of his band Nazareth at the Red Robinson Show Theatre. They took their name from the first line of Robbie Robertson‘s hit The Weight which goes, “I pulled into Nazareth / I was feeling about half past dead”. This stop was part of the group’s 40th anniversary tour…
“Click me – I talk!”
Even a bit of rain could not dampen the Pemberton Festival. From the group Nine Inch Nails to the legendary Tom Petty, the music continued all weekend long to the delight of thousands of fans, which battled traffic jams for hours in getting to the site. For a first time effort, the promoters must be pleased with their incredible success. They will most likely learn how to better handle the crowds and the facilities as showers and “porta-potties” were far short of what was required by the over 40,000 patrons who attended the event. It was also a test of the highways to Whistler/Blackcomb for the 2010 Olympics… Ladysmith citizen Pam Anderson has told the press that she is not back together with her former husband Tommy Lee, however he and the couple’s two sons are currently living with Pamela until renovations to her Malibu home are completed… Kudos to X- Files creator and director Chris Carter for staging the premiere of The X-Files: I Want To Believe movie in Vancouver with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in attendance. Much of the film was shot here, as was the original television series… Here are a couple of acts you won’t want to miss at the River Rock: on August 29th and 30th Howie “Deal or No Deal” Mandel and on September 20th Melissa Manchester. Over at the theatre they named after me, it’s Bonnie Raitt August 29th and 30th.
Check out Red Around Town every week… along with detailed television listings, more movie information, and more authoritative opinions on what to watch. Plus all the information on your favourite TV shows and in-depth profiles of local celebrities… only in TVWeek!