Paul Barrere died over the weekend. The 71 year old made his mark in rock playing with a California based band named Little Feat. Their style of rock had a southern accent with some blues and boogie thrown into the mix for good measure. They were a fun band that is best known for songs such as "Dixie Chicken," "Fat Man In a Bathtub With the Blues," and my favorite, "Willin'." And back in the day, no less than Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page proclaimed them to be his favorite American band. Their stuff was the music of my college years where I was turned on to them. Little Feat was formed by Lowell George and Billy Payne. George died very young at 34 in 1979. Billy Payne, along with Barrere, lead the reformed band from 1987 - 1993. And at some point in the early 90s, I had both of those gentlemen in studio for an interview and they couldn't have been nicer guys. These days, Payne is touring on keyboards with The Doobie Brothers. So I'm sad today with the news of Barrere's death but grateful for the gift of their musical legacy. Click here and enjoy one of their most memorable tunes. RIP Paul Barrere.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! We've all heard and used that well-worn adage before, haven't we? But I found this story about something new that is happening in Sin City that has nothing to do with sin or debauchery. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see other cities adopt this policy. Las Vegas will start allowing residents to "pay" their parking tickets with food donations. Their city council unanimously voted in favor of allowing parking tickets that are issued until November 16th to be paid off in food, thus providing for the needy during the holiday season. The ticket must be for a non-public safety parking infraction and you can pay it off by furnishing non-perishable food items of equal or greater value to the Parking Services Offices until December 16th. You'll need to show the authorities your receipt for the food in order to get a pass so you can just forget about raiding your pantry for that months-old can of green beans to pay the ticket. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame released the nominees for induction into the Class of 2020. As usual, the list each year is met with similar reactions such as; "It' about time!" Or "Why not (insert band name here)?!" Or my favorite "That's not rock!" And in the case of say Whitney Houston I'd tend to agree but influence plays a factor, too. There's no denying she was a talented singer and that no doubt influenced many who came after her. Did you know Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders was influenced by the likes of Karen Carpenter and Barbra Streisand. You make what you make of your own personal art but influence set that spark. Many would say Notorious B.I.G. is not rock but I'd argue that kids listening to his story-telling in the east coast rap genre defined what "rock" was to them. It's a feeling that can cross over many styles. It's a sense of freedom that thumbs its nose at authority or can tell a relatable story of the human condition while moving from adolescence to adulthood. Case in point "My Generation" or "Young Man Blues" by The Who. The list will always be diverse and fill a variety of demographic holes and let's face it, that's good for business and gets feet walking through the doors.

Each year when the list comes out, I look for the innovators and the influencers. I see the aforementioned Houston and B.I.G. as strong contenders. The same goes for Todd, T-Rex, MC5, (a 1960's era prototypical punk band from Michigan). I think Nine Inch Nails has the edge over Depeche Mode and Judas Priest over Motorhead. We'll see The Doobie Brothers before Thin Lizzy and Soundgarden before the Dave Mathews Band. As for Pat Benatar and Rufus featuring Chaka Kahn, I'm going with Pat and her husband Neil because hey, we like her and he's from Cleveland. Kraftwerk is a wild card. They have received the most previous nominations, having been on the Rock Hall ballot for induction five times previously. This could be their year.

All this is in my humble opinion of course and you may agree or disagree. That's cool. I'll be interested in seeing which five of the sixteen nominees will be chosen and who waits for another year. The good news is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame invites you to voice your opinion in the fan vote. It doesn't count for everything but it does carry some weight so let them hear ya! Here's some other good news for the local economy, the inductions will be held at Cleveland's Public Hall on May 2nd, 2020. 

I was looking over some "this date in history" notes and came across this. It was on this date in 1912 when former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest before giving a speech. What he did next is what makes this story so remarkable. He told the unknowing audience what had happened. They gasped as he showed them his blood stained shirt. He asked them to be as quiet as possible, (no microphones and speakers in those days), so he could deliver as much of his speech as he was able to do...with a bullet in his chest!  Perhaps you've seen his famous quote, "“I do not care a rap about being shot; not a rap.” He went on to speak for 90 minutes. It's a good read. Click here for the full story. 

Flickin' and fun-in'. That was my Saturday night at Chuggers in Streetsboro. For the first time ever, I got to play U Flick 'Em with so many awesome listeners for prizes. It was a blast! And, OSU was taking care of Michigan State-- so that was a good thing. Thank you to Nikki from Yuengling providing the libations and swag, and to all of you who spent some of your Saturday evening with me. Let's do it again! If you've never joined us for this kind of gaming, you must the next time we're out and about... Two things I learned: 1. Flicking those paper triangles was waaaay easier when I was a kid. LOL 2. We have THE BEST listeners in the entire Buckeye State. :) -- Kathy

Don't you love a good conspiracy theory? Especially the ones wherein notable people fake their death only to "resurrect" years later. Remember when a long-dead Elvis Presley was discovered working at a Burger King in Kalamazoo, Michigan? Yeah, that was a Whopper so to speak! And did Jim Morrison really die in Paris? And is he really buried in a widely visited grave in Père Lachaise Cemetery? Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarek used to fuel this rumour by saying, "No one saw the body before it was interred, man!" Whatever! 

Here's the latest and perhaps the greatest. Some are now saying Jimi Hendrix escaped the music business rigors by faking death by asphyxiation and reinvented himself as actor Morgan Freeman! The argument is slim. I think all they're going on is the resemblance between the two men due to time progression but that's almost racist,  like saying, "they all look the same to me." Another angle could be the actor's last name. "Jimi became a 'free man' when he shed his Jimi Hendrix persona!" Nope, not buying it. 

You could say this theory is the holiest because of the obvious "holes" in the story. Treat yourself to the story which debunks this cockamamie idea. 

I found out that today is National Black Dog Day. Kinzbach & Co. told me so then they played "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin, (but I don't think the day is set aside for that song, though). I knew right away what my blog was going to be about today; my two black dogs.

Scooby is a mix of Collie & Newfoundland breeds. Most Newfies weigh about 120 lbs but thankfully Scooby is about 40 lbs lighter. He's a very sweet old boy, as black as pitch and fluffy soft. We figure him to be about 11 years old. Then there's Coco, the Lab/Greyhound mix. She's as big as Scooby but about half his weight. We adopted her in 2016 and were told she was about 10-12 years old then! She was an owner surrender but we never heard the whole story. Perhaps the owner passed away and no one was able to care for her. She's been pretty spry up until just recently when she began showing signs of slowing down and more white was moving into her black coat.

We didn't set out to rescue two black dogs, it just worked out that way, (we even had a White Shep for a time), but statistics show that black dogs are often overlooked in shelters because they're virtually invisible. So if you're looking to rescue, look twice for the black beauties and always adopt - don't shop. 

(Photo Credit: Oliver P. Kennedy)

I was saddened to read this news today. Rob Garrison has died at 59. His is not a household name but I'll bet you remember him from the 1984 film "The Karate Kid." He played Tommy, the Cobra Kai member famous for the line, "Get him a body bag! Yeah!" My connection to Garrison came in college. We attended Ohio University in Athens at the same time. I didn't know  him personally but would see him around town. Prior to "The Karate Kid," he appeared alongside Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman in the 1980 film "Brubaker" some of which was filmed at the vacant Junction City prison, southeast of Columbus and not far from Athens. I saw the movie when it came out and then one day, I recognized him sitting at an OU coffee shop. I didn't approach him but just thought "this isn't something you see everyday in little old Athens Ohio." Not that he was some huge A-list movie star but just a working actor and I respected that. He was also my age and hey, 59 is way too young to exit this earth. So, rest in peace Mr. Garrison.

A few weeks back, we held our annual "Blues For the Blue" at Lock 4. Today, Sgt. Frank Williams, who is the Fraternal Order of Police President, stopped by to pick up the money we raised. It totalled $225 and will be put to good use for FOP members and their families. We have some folks to thank including the SMP Acoustic Project for giving freely of their time and talents to entertain the blues loving crowd who dug down deep in their pockets to make donations to the FOP when we passed the buckets. It was a beautiful night all around. This event began a few years back when a former employee of our station, now a Cuyahoga Falls Police Officer, was injured on the job in a deliberate act of violence against our safety forces. We knew the city of Akron had a weekly, admission-free Blues Night at Lock 4 every Wednesday so we asked if we could have the final night and call it Blues For the Blue and solicit donations as a way of saying "thank you" to the men and women who work on our safety forces, those who put themselves at risk each day when they go to work for our sakes.  (L-R: Tim Daugherty, Promotions Director Alyssa Brown, Kathy Vogel, Sgt. Frank Williams) (Photo Credit: Justina Bucceri)

I recently came across this newly enhanced version of the old Raspberries' song, "I Wanna Be With You." Man, it's a tasty little Raspberry treat! Growing up in the 1960s Cleveland, there was a lot of reasons to love the Raspberries! They were local guys who had a rockin' delivery with a pop sensibility that translated into a bunch of hits that still hold up today. Even huge rockers such as Bruce Springsteen said their sound was an inspiration. There's even a picture of John Lennon wearing a Raspberries' T-shirt. I know you'll love the song. Click here and relive some of the Pride of Cleveland's past.