Mailbag

From: John Brodey
Subject: Re: Re-The Frank Zappa Movie

I can't wait to see it. He was the only artist I ever interviewed who truly intimated me and I was very anxious about it. He was going to come to the station on my show (6-10 pm) and I had no idea what would happen. He was obviously was a deep thinker and didn't suffer fools period. He might stay or five minutes or not at all. How not to screw it up?.

He got there about 8 and all I could think of was to try something different. He said he might stay for a few minutes and I just wondered how I could change his mind, so I said; How about if you do my job. You be the DJ. You can play any of the 10,000 records in our library and we'll just talk. He went to look at the records and seeing the array of genres including classical, he then asked me if he could play anything and I said, of course (He couldn't believe we had a Moon Dog album). The he asked if I liked real wine, I said; I've never tried it. He gave his tour manager $300 (more than my weekly salary) to go out and locate three very specific classic Bordeaux's.

And we got cracking, drinking, talking and playing music for 3 hours. I didn't worry about the time because it was Frank Fucking Zappa and I wasn't about to say that we were out of time. We went over into the next guy's show for an hour.

He softened up a bit and it just clicked. Then he was done. But I got to see exactly how Frank Zappa would have done radio and it wasn't like anything else.

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Subject: Re: More TikTok

A great listen and lesson. I saw the power of these TikTok stars first hand at the 2020 Grammys. I brought my son (12 at the time) and niece (13) thinking they'd have a blast and it was my last year as a Trustee, so a nice way to go out. They had fun and got to meet a number of artists, but what blew their minds had nothing to do with the Grammys. In our hotel, they ran into Charlie D' Amelio and both just freaked out. All the music artists I'd introduced them to and they didn't ask for one pic. With Charli, it was all about getting pics with her and posting away. Mind you, at this point I had no idea who she was. I chatted it up with her dad for a bit and got the scoop. She couldn't have been nicer. The only "rule" was that the kids couldn't post where they were, because it would create a frenzy and the hotel would turn into a sea of screaming fans.

Richard Stumpf
CEO
Hawkeye Music Group

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From: Wade Mosher
Subject: Re: Brad Stone's New Amazon Book

The billionaire class, especially the likes of Bezos, need to be stopped. It's incomprehensible that this not only has been allowed to happen globally, but that it continues to happen and grow. People would rather follow the Divide and Conquer doctrine, Left vs. Right. Bezos and his kind are almost always absent from those online conversations.

I haven't ordered a single thing from Amazon in years; I'm not wealthy by any stretch, but I'll pay a little more and wait a little longer just to avoid using Amazon. Of course, I realize I'm still lining the pockets of other billionaires by doing that.

Here's a story about the last thing I did order from Amazon...
I was looking for a niche 'part', found it on Amazon and I accidentally ordered the wrong size. So, when it arrived, I realized that and sent a quick email to the 3rd party seller asking if there was a way to retro fit what I stupidly bought or if I could do a swap of some kind, admitting fully my dumb mistake. I'm in Canada, and the owner of the company called me within FIVE minutes in a panic. I explained again that it was my dumb mistake, no worries if he couldn't do anything about it.
He was in a panic. Once he realized I was the one apologizing, he went on to tell me the fear he goes through as a 3rd party seller on Amazon. That one tiny slipup or bad review could get him booted and that's where all of his money comes from. (It's a very small company that only makes these 'parts'.) We had a lengthy chat, and I really felt worse of an A-Hole by the end of it and told him that I'd just eat the cost. Instead, he insisted that he could send a replacement part that would work for me, free of charge. And he did just that, and I'm still using that product. Needless to say, I gave him a glowing 5 star review. He did ask me not to mention the favor he'd done in the review, which I complied with.

Big Brother is here. Let's stop pretending it's the government. Big Corp IS the government.

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Subject: RE: Gone Away

Hey Bob,

I feel similar to you about The Offspring, I respect what they do and am a casual fan at best. However, having grown up in Huntington Beach and have lived in Cypress for the past 20 years where most of the local taco and breakfast joints in town serve Dexter's Gringo Bandito hot sauce, it's hard not to feel The Offspring's influence and legacy in the community. West Garden Grove and Cypress are ground zero for the band and it's common to see stickers on cars, bus benches, gas stations, random walls and lots of people rocking the bands black t-shirts. I was still surprised to see you write about "Gone Away" and ironically I have been playing it non-stop for the past few weeks and really can't explain why. Maybe it's the strings? Who knows? I just know the song is resonating with me. I have taken it one step further. I announce the basketball games and play in-game music at Oxford Academy in Cypress, which means I play pop songs from MGK, Glass Animals, Polo G, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, The Kid Laroi, and 24kGolden. But I have been motivated to add "Gone Away" into the mix by starting off halftime with it, I guess I just want to share good music with people. In hindsight, I think it must be the strings.

Bill Gagnon

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From: Alan Johnson
Subject: Re: Extreme

I was mixing the live broadcast the day Extreme , along with Hootie and the Blowfish, Blues Traveler, Great White and a few other acts were a guests on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom radio show.

Extreme's song "More Than Words" was climbing the charts and they refused to play it. Everyone in the room was stunned.

It's something I've given a lot of thought to over the years … good decision, bad decision, why even put it on the record if you're going to refuse to perform it?

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From: Phil Brown
Subject: Re: Vaccinations

My sister and I were talking about polio today. I'm 74 and she's 72 and people born after the late 40s have no idea about polio. Think you're afraid of COVID? Multiply that by one hundred and you've got polio. And multiply again by X because pretty much every school class had a kid in braces who'd sort of recovered from polio so you had a daily reminder of the horror. Every summer the disease returned in force. People born after the vaccine have no idea of the fear. Swimming pools seemed to spread it so no swimming. Anything could spread it. COVID may put you in the hospital for a while but polio put you in the hospital FOREVER. COVID long haulers? I have a friend my age who recovered from it in childhood and then in her 50s the symptoms returned.

I will never understand the anti vaxers at all. If they had lived through the polio epidemics they would get down on their knees and thank God for the vaccines. I do.

Phil Brown

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From: Shari Ulrich
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports

Travellers to certain countries have been required for eons to be vaccinated for certain diseases, and if the traveller elects not to, they don't get to travel there. Pretty simple. People are being asked to get vaccinated against Covid for their own protection, their friends, their families, and strangers they may come in contact with.The exponential economic impact alone on the medical system should they become ill thanks to their determination that it's "they body" and "the man" can't tell them what to do, is staggering. Business owners, venue owners - they all have the right to create a safe space for their clients, and those clients or audience members have a right to feel safe entering. Period. As a society we have allowed personal "rights" to override any consideration for our fellow man or even our very survival. You don't get to hold this up as a "Human Rights" issue. Your right to refuse to give a crap about anyone but yourself does not get to prevail and put countless other people at risk.

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From: Toby Mamis
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports

Good piece. I think even "Vaccine Verifications" is too strong. I'd go with "Vaccine ID." Like a driver's license. You are not required to have a driver's license, it's strictly voluntary. But if you want to drive, you have to have one.

It's not just Rapino and/or AEG (which reminds me, when LN launched Crew Nation providing millions of $ for out-of-work tour personnel, and the Grammy gang offered millions more $ from MusiCares to crew and musicians, what did AEG do?). It's SPORTS. The Buffalo Bills have already announced that all fans during the upcoming 2021 season will be required to show proof of vaccination to attend their games. Other teams are likely to follow suit, though teams in Florida and Texas (and possibly elsewhere) may have problems due to their state governments. And the NFL is requiring higher level employees, who interact with the teams, to be vaccinated. And the NFL is big business, with a lot of fans who may be in the non-vax camp. I think we need to watch, and maybe pressure, NASCAR, to do the same. Basketball and hockey are nearly in their playoffs, but they play indoors and might follow suit in the fall. Major League Baseball, outside of Texas, are still not at full capacity, but they all want to be. So they've got incentive as well. And thanks to the Buffalo Bills, nobody else has to be first.

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From: Corey Bearak
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports

Interesting.
If you follow what's going on in NYS, Yankee Stadium and Citfield have Vaccine sections and non Vax sections. So as of May 19, 75% capacity but if no vax very limited seating options.

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From: Dave Conklin
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports

Yep. Fuck 'em. Bring on the MAGA-free shows. Can't wait to hear how ticketed events have anything to do with their constitutional rights.

Because of the seasonal timing, we're going to see events open up in the outdoor venues first, where the atmosphere is inherently safer. Later this month, the two NY baseball stadiums are opening 100% capacity in designated "vaccinated" sections. If you're unvaccinated, you're in pod seating, 33% capacity. You think these teams want to sell 33% capacity sections instead of 100%? Prices have been low thus far because all the seating was pod style. Moving forward, I expect the unvaxxed seats to cost more. At Citi Field, they're offering on-site single shot J&J on the way into the games! Ok, fine, push push push. But at a certain point, soon, we're going to max out on converting hearts and minds. All we'll have left is making it inconvenient. Live events, cruise lines and air travel. I'm already over the bribes, the freebies and the bonuses. If you don't want the shot, we get it - we heard your solopsistic decree of indepedence, now fuck off. The rest of us have some living to do.

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Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports

Venues should install glass walls and have that 25% portion of the venue be available for 'socially distanced unvaccinated tickets'

The genera population vaccinated pays $50 and the behind the glass wall 'tradesman entrance' ticket costs $250. I would bet my bottom dollar that the 'not me' contingent would all rush out and get the 'free shot' all of a sudden.

If it's financial and not political, we would be at herd in two seconds haha!

Loved this letter - best yet.

Paul Clegg

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From: lizzz kritzer
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports

Bob, I live in the Hamptons and my friends sister died today from Covid, she lived up island, around Hampton Bays, still Suffolk county. Anti Vaxer/Trumpsters. This isn't over. She was in her 50's.

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Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports

I got my first shot today.
Thank you for helping me make my decision and my heart goes out to you this day
Your first one without your Mom . . .
My prayers are with you towards your continued good health.

Mark Flores
Guitar

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