Rabu, 14 Mei 2008

WE VIRGOS CELEBRATE EVERYTHING

In answer to requests, all from their relatives, agents and creditors, I present pics of some purveyors of our project, WHODAGUY HAWAII. These hombres, shown on the day we kicked off, July 7, 2007, are (from left) Ed Kanoi, Kevin "Fingers" Gershan and Gus Pearson.

Kanoi first worked with me at KKUA in 1976, when he was one notch above a groupie, called music librarian. Gershan first "met" me when he sneaked into KHJ in 1965, a precocious 11-year-old who was immediately thrown out of the facility.  He kept hustling his way in and kept getting tossed. Now he produces for E. T. INSIDER, PHI, etc.

Kevin went on to produce shows for Robert W. Morgan, Word's Greatest Morning Deejay. Morgan left us ten years ago, but not after leaving his mark on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Radio HOF.  If you want to hear what a true deejay is, click on the the REEL RADIO link at the right.  It's worth the few bucks (not for profit) to be able to tune into America's greatest deejays in their prime.  We celebrate him on May 22.

Gus Pearson walked into KKUA-Honolulu with his partner Frank Makaawaawa soon after I arrived in July 1976.  Pearson and I have been through mos every high and low imaginable.  He now live right up the road in what he calls Aliamanu but is actually Kaneohe.   He retired from working over and under ground for the telephone company after 30-plus years.  Nowadays he works with kids in a school up the street and lives with his two beautiful daughers and wife (who really runs the operation).  Pearson and Jacobs are partners in LOLOMATICS HAWAII, an operation that exists mainly to allow us to pass out business cards reading, "Hire loco boys."

I originality met Chip Monck when he came down to L. A. from Frisco, where he was staging shows for the legendary Bill Graham at the Filmore and wherever they could draw a crowd. Monck hit it off with my concert partners and we all agreed to his brilliant, albeit preposterous scheme.  The plan was to stage the first ever pop festival on the east coast at the end of 1968.  

Two cohorts, Mitch Fisher and Mel "The Money Man" Lawrence were dispatched to Florida with the mission being to hire the Gulfstream Park racetrack as our venue.  Somehow the two guys pulled it off and we were in business.  And the Mad Monck "Flower Stage" would be erected in the empty field next to the track with another constructed facing the giant grandstand.  Somehow the wild men he rounded up for the chore had it all in place the just before the three-day show extravaganza opened.  What happened thereafter would be a wild movie of the best and worst of the Flower Power 60s. 

A film was made of the project that the Miami Pop Festival hurled Mr. Monck into with the force of what was Hurricane Chip. If you've seen the movie of the original WOODSTOCK, the emcee in the amber-tinted shades who keeps the mob in line with his mellow proclamations is Monck.  The photo above was taken in in 2003 when he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for doing all his things. Monck's blog is to the right. The man's work has been mind blowing.  I love the man because we share the same middle name, he can deal with my first wife when I can't and Chipper has walked the walk with me since the creation.  How cool is it to be in his spotlight?  

To my left is Ernie Nearman, the best man to have near you, man, if you want anything involving radio tech stuff done Old School, which is to say the correct way. Nearman is not as aged as me but we love the Analog Zone of our little setup here.  Like the old Bake radio as cue speaker.

When the Mackie mixer's toy LED's were driving me nuts I eBought a VU meter. Waited weeks for the simple hookup. Nearman never got it going,  Instead he and Lance Momoki brough tin a totally restored tube-driven 20-channel Autogram mixing board that once ran the #1 radio station in the state.  Working with this man reminds me of when we beefed up The '58 Bonneville and kicked butt when the first quarter-mile stretch of freeway opened in town.  Now it's the H-1.  Then it was called Mauka Arterial. Don't blame you if you doubt it. Check out my story in CAR & DRIVER if you find it. 

If you have scrollled past all the male mugs above, we present one of our wahine announcers. I invited two, both Oahu girls. The Lovely Hula comment that Desiree left at our first blog is modest on her part. I've worked with some of the greatest announcers in broadcast history. The other lady, the akamai. smooth Honolulu Skylark, has accomplished enough to deserve her own story here. That will happen, as well as stories about the many other voice talents listed at the Credits link at our WDG home site.  

Somehow I've landed in an Internet Trifecta.  I've been a blogmeister for a week.  This is almost as difficult as traiing daily for a year to run a Honolulu Marathon.  Been there, ran that, got the finisher's T-shirt, but never again.  PODJOCKEY now offers shows and stuff that you can download, stash and hear where and when you want.  But first and foremost, WDG is all about spreading the culture of our Hawaii.  We all do this for love of the place -- and radio the way it should be.  All profits are assigned to APHO, the Association for the Preservation of Hawaiiana Online.  Our first chairman was Don Ho, who left us before we signed on.   

THAT is the real story.  THAT is how we will help build a "brick and mortar" site for The Hawaiian Music Hall Of Fame.  And that -- when you listen -- is how you will hear sounds from the Most Musical State In The Nation.  Mahalo nui loa to everyone who pushes me daily and carried us this far ... 

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