The “commute” couldn’t have been nicer. My little red car was loaded down with speakers and Sinatra records as I headed west on 460. Check THIS.
I was off to make my Star City Debut with the Classic Radio Hour. “What do you do for a living?” people ask, not expecting a long answer. “I spin club bangers from ‘56”, and that’s just the start of it.
Partying like it’s 1959 is a heck of a lotta fun. I go into retirement homes, set up my DJ rig, and alternate between perching on my speaker dishing out anecdotes about the music, to spazzing out to James Brown tunes. “How do you dance like that?” “I mostly make it up, ma’am.”
There’s always something cool, or funny, or touching on the set. You get enough people in one place, and you’ll find something fascinating. Today, I met a lady who was from Selma “Not too far from the bridge, actually”, a dude with a green thumb and beautiful art collection, another who was neighbors with Elvis….
A favorite moment was with an avid dancer and flirty 93 year old. She continually gave the staff near-heart attacks with a shaky balance overcome with the force of her will. I took her hands to dance, offering a formal closed pose (one hand on the lady’s back, another stretched out.) She just hung around my neck instead. “I like this better.” Everyone laughed, and sang along to Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill.” The song ended, and she hadn’t let go. “Uh, it’s not on autopilot - gotta switch the music, now” I gently said.
We all did the YMCA, and talked a bit after the show. I also found a cool hole in the wall guitar shop. Yeah, the world is in a bit of a funk nowadays - but there’s some darn good folks in it. Let’s keep those beacons lit.