Bill Kurtis Day

Today is Bill Kurtis Day in Chicago, by official proclamation.

You've got to love Bill Kurtis. I met him several times over the years and he was always gracious and polite, but there's a side to him that not many people see. One morning we had him on the John Landecker show. He showed up around 6:30 in the morning wearing a yellow suit, and proceeded to tell some incredible stories about hanging out backstage with the Rolling Stones. Try to imagine him dressed like Huggy Bear talking in perfect journalistic cadence about the rock and roll decadence of Keith Richard. Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Enjoy your day, Bill. You deserve it.

Sweetness

The portrait of Walter Payton painted by a new book (and this article in Sports Illustrated) is obviously not a very flattering one.

I knew about some of this, and ran into the bad Walter once or twice during my radio career, but I will always remember him for his football greatness. He made it a pleasure to watch the Bears during some very dark years.

Despite his less than attractive side, he also had a great sense of humor, and a big heart. I ran into the good Walter a few times at charity events. I also fondly recall the time he appeared on the John Landecker show.

The Rolling Stones

I met Rob Barnett, the current CEO of MyDamnChannel, when he was running CBS radio about six or seven years ago. He was one of the people that interviewed me for the job of executive producer for the David Lee Roth show (a story in itself). I didn't realize it at the time, but Rob had a great Rolling Stones story from his early days in radio. The RAMP newsletter told that story on the 30th anniversary...

"It was Sept. 14, 1981 when Barnett, a baby MD at WAAF (then based in beautiful Worcester, MA) at the time, pulled off what he describes as "the most psychotic rock and roll radio promotion of all time" -- he engineered a secret, free Rolling Stones concert for 300 listeners at a local nightclub, a feat that would be impossible today thanks to cell phones and social media. The enormity of The Rolling Stones playing a local club at that time is like the modern-day equivalent of convincing U2 to play a local VFW hall... without being able to tell anybody! Thanks to a loose-lipped employee at Longview Farm, a nearby recording complex, Barnett discovered that the Stones were camped out there rehearsing for a tour to support their then-just-released album Tattoo You. Employing a potent mix of overconfidence and B.S., Barnett wrangled an interview with Mick Jagger, during which he suggested that the Stones should do a secret, live, free gig for his station within the intimate confines of a Worcester nightclub, the nautically named Sir Morgan's Cove. Completing the subterfuge, the Stones were billed as "The Cockroaches." The rest, as they say, is rock and roll history. Per the band's instructions, no audio or video of the event exists."

That would have been pretty damn cool. About ten or fifteen years ago I had the chance to attend something similar. The Stones performed a few "secret" club dates at the Double Door (a small club in Chicago). Unfortunately, I was working on a morning show in those days, and the idea of seeing anyone at 11:30 at night knowing my alarm would go off at 2:30 in the morning was completely unthinkable. Believe it or not, I said no to the ticket.

The Dixie Chicks

It has only taken eight years, but it sounds like country music radio is slowly forgiving the Dixie Chicks for saying they were ashamed to be from the same state as George Bush.

You may not remember exactly how crazy those days were, but just playing the Dixie Chicks on the radio was considered grounds for dismissal at the time. I know what I'm talking about here--it almost happened to me.

In retrospect, it even sounds crazier.

After the kinds of things that have been said about our presidents since that time (both Bush and Obama), that comment by Dixie Chick's singer Natalie Maines is laughably tame. Honestly, I even thought it was tame at the time after some of the things that were openly said about President Clinton just a few years earlier.

Thankfully time provides perspective.

Dylan Gardner

I've known this young lad since he was born. He's the son of Landecker and the Legends guitarist Mark Gardner, and he was born around the same time as my oldest son Tommy.

We used to go to Mark's house every year for a Legends Christmas party, and little Dylan would be playing the drums in their basement (I seem to remember him doing this at a ridiculous age like 3 or 4). Dylan has also appeared on stage with Landecker & the Legends, most recently in 2009 when he performed the Doors song "Roadhouse Blues" at the age of 13.

The Gardners moved out to Arizona shortly after that show, but it's obvious that Dylan's musical career is just getting started. He plays guitar, bass, and piano on the song. I'm very impressed with the youngster.