Happy Anniversary KISS Army

It was on this day in 1975 that two rabid KISS fans in Terre Haute Indiana formed, The KISS Army when a local station, WVTS refused to play the rock bands music.

Bill Starkey and Jay Evans began constantly calling the station and sending in letters (including some that threatened to "blow up the station", which I do NOT recommend anyone doing, or threatening to do, ever) that the stations program director, Rich Dickerson finally gave in and started playing the band and referring to the KISS Army on the air.  In no time, fans were calling the station asking how to enlist in the KISS Army.

The official logo was created by Dennis Woloch and Vincent DiGelando of Howard Marks Inc advertising firm that was working with KISS and Bill Aucoin at the time, and was made the official fan club in 1976.

The show on November 21st 1975 (10,000 seats) was completely sold out, Bill Starkey was brought on stage and awarded a plaque by the band.

In 2010, Terre Haute Indiana officially declared that November 21st would now be known as, KISS Army Day.

Here is a photo of Starkey & Dickerson with the band the day before that show in 1975.

According to the former KISS merchandising manager, at it's peak, the KISS Army generated $5,000 per day with a membership of over 100,000 strong.

Like the great fan effort that kept Star Trek on the air, this shows what can happen when the fans come together for what they believe in!  ROCK ON!!!  46 years strong!!!

 

MTV killed more than the Radio Star

 

Today we mark the 40th anniversary of one of the darkest days in the history of music, the “birth” of MTV.

In reality, it was never about the music, the founders have come fourth on several occasions to admit that it was always about the money alone.

This weekend, the vapid and talentless VJ’s have been spouting their nonsense just as they did four decades ago, pretending to be the celebrities that they never will be.  Sirius XM would do the world a favor by flushing all of the “MTV VJs” and giving us real Rock N Roll DJ’s, and adding Casey Kasum’s American Top 40 each week.

Since the invention of MTV we’ve also seen the obesity rate in the

United States SOAR.  Before this musical disaster, kids played outside after school, they were active, but MTV gave them reason to lay around and vegetate on the television after they had outgrown after school cartoons.  The cartoon show has it’s dates wrong, it began not in 1990 but on August 1st 1981.

The Radio Star really was an important part of music, far more than most know now, it was defining to have good music, but look what’s happened to music since MTV, it’s gone downhill since, in almost every genre, it became about how you looked, not the music you made.  The afterbirth of this was the “talent” shows of today, American Idol & The Voice, can you imagine The Rolling Stones or Johnny Cash having to get through that crap to become stars?

I’m happy to say that I never saw MTV until my freshman year in college, my musical life wasn’t ruined by that nonsense like it did to a lot of people my age… note, I didn’t say “ALL” others but “a lot”, it did some good for some people, but overall, it killed the music business in so many ways and it finally oozed into the Country Music industry and did a lot of damage there, but that was part of what they wanted… but that’s another story.

MTV made it seem that if you couldn’t do a “cool” music video, your music must not be good either, it allowed MTV to control who got airtime and who didn’t, what they played effected what was played on many radio stations, lots of great talent fell off because MTV didn’t give them time. 

MTV also gave the false impression that if LA and New York didn’t like your music, you couldn’t be cool in any way.  They furthered the lie that New York and Los Angeles are the center of the “coolness” universe, when in reality, it was just mega-cities that made it easier to hide lies and frauds.  Most of the great music has come from the heart of America, Jazz in New Orleans, Country in Nashville, the Blues in Chicago and Rock & Roll from Memphis… I rest my case.

I’m forever anti-mtv and damn proud of it, I like GOOD music, made and produced for the heart and soul of music, not for money to people who had no creative input to the process (like the mtv vj’s and execs).

Baseball on Radio, another American Pastime

 Listening to Horton and Clairborne call a St. Louis Cardinals game is like listening to two college kids, that none of the fraternities wanted, try to call a high school ball game.  I change the station when they both came on to call the game.

Rick Horton is bad enough when he’s on with Jon Rooney, as he talks far too much and way too fast, as if he’s calling a horse race instead of a baseball game.  Not to mention he talks about himself too much, I didn’t even know who he was until I looked him up and still don’t know who he is.  If he was a somebody when he was a player, I can understand, but he tries to make everything about him.

Clairborne just seems very green and hasn’t done much on a microphone, still talks as if he’s a player, if he was one, he just has a lot of growing up to do and needs to speak more clearly, he’s calling a game, not talking to buddies in a bar.

Great sports announcers on radio are getting fewer and further between and that’s a crying shame, there is a lot of old tape they could listen to from pairs like, Jack Buck & Mike Shannon or Harry Carey and Pee Wee Reese, that really knew how to call baseball.

People want to chill while listening to baseball, in the hammock or on the couch, and if the announcer is calling it all like a horse race then you can’t relax, nothing wrong with a little bit of (almost) silence here and there, we can still hear the crowd.

Slow down, take your time… it’s baseball, enjoy it.

Happy Birthday Mike Shannon

 68 young years in the world and 50 years in Baseball, Mike Shannon is a true treasure to the St. Louis Cardinals, the state of Missouri and to Sports Broadcasting. 

Born Thomas Michael Shannon, he was the second oldest of six kids, raised on the south side of St. Louis.  His senior year in high school he was, Player of the Year in Football and Basketball (only student ever to win both in the same year) ... but not...? okay LOL  He went on to play football at the University of Missouri but would leave in 1958 to begin his baseball career with the Cardinals.  His former coach, Frank Broyles said that if Shannon had stayed at MU Football, he might have won the Heisman.

With the Cardinals as a player, he helped the team to two World Championships in 1964 and 1967, in July of 66 he was named NL Player of the Month.  Shannon hit the final home run in the original Busch Stadium and then hit the first homerun in the second Busch Stadium, his playing career was cut short in 1970 when he was diagnosed with a kidney disease.  He would go on to be part of three more World Championships as part of the Cardinals broadcast team.

In 1971 he began in the radio broadcast booth alongside the legendary, Jack Buck and was partnered with him for almost 30 years, in 2002 Shannon was named as the lead broadcaster, and he's been there ever since. Shannon was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014 and in 2016 he moved to only broadcasting home games, 2021 will be his final season broadcasting for the team.

For many years he was the proprietor of, Mike Shannon's Steak & Seafood House in downtown St. Louis (I've got four of the original dinner menus) and still has two, Mike Shannon's Grill, one in Edwardsville IL and one, that many eat at, in the St Louis airport, I always stop in for a bite when traveling.

Growing up a Royals fan, I missed the last part of the Jack Buck era, but since becoming a Cardinals fan, Mike Shannon has been the The Man when it comes to the radio calls of the Cards games and it's not going to be the same without him.  

Happy Birthday Mike, and Thank You. 💖⚾

My sports collection shelf, dedicated to Mike Shannon, just to the left is a couple of things for Michael Wacha (wacha wacha) 😆