The Concert Room welcomes Dennis Parrish to the show! The early days Philly Concert Experience!

0:07 SPEAKER_02: Hey everybody, thanks for joining me today in the Concert Room. A podcast that's been dedicated to all the great concerts, performances, bands, and artists who played on the Spectrum Arena stage and all of the surrounding venues and clubs in the Philadelphia area back in the glory days of concerts. The Spectrum opened in 1968 and closed in 2009, in between hosting numerous concerts and events, earning the nickname American Show Place. So welcome to season two. I'm your host Bob Hill. So just a quick recap in season one.

0:45 SPEAKER_02: I featured specific performances from bands and artists that rolled into town to play for our sold-out crowds. In addition to the performances, I had some wonderful conversations with Inside Pros regarding PR promotions, journalism, and music critic from the Press Box perspective, overall concert experiences, and also inside the Spectrum Photo Pit from a local professional photographer. These conversations help shed a lot of light on the inside workings of concerts in general, and also shows and events at the Spectrum specifically.

1:27 SPEAKER_02: I look forward to more great performances and conversations in this upcoming season. Speaking of season 2, let's kick off with a nice conversation with my guest and longtime friend, Dennis Parrish. Dennis is a local musician who has a great inside knowledge of the local music scene going back to the late 60s to today. Dennis took on a great project a long time ago when he pulled out all of his ticket stubs to many different shows in our area back in the day, and he created a website archival site for all his many stubs, and he put notes on um next to uh each stub uh from each show.

2:15 SPEAKER_02: And I still use this web website for references today, and uh, I will certainly put a link to his website in my show notes, and uh also our conversation is geared towards some of the standout shows so you can go out there on his website and you can view them for reference too while listening to our session. Uh quick reference to the electric factory. Um quick background before the spectrum was built, the main venues in Philadelphia for hosting concerts was the Philadelphia Arena, and I believe the doors actually played there.

2:53 SPEAKER_02: And also the electric factory. So the electric factory was a venue in the city that was actually an old converted tire factory, and it hosted such bands as Cream, Hendrix, Janice Joplin, uh, in addition to countless other acts and performances. Um so as the spectrum got up and running as a concert host and quickly getting a good reputation for being a great concert room, the factory was still utilized for bands and acts. Uh so just a little bit of a reference there. As a matter of fact, the um the original electric factory closed down, and a newer uh electric factory site uh still in the city um was uh utilized.

3:42 SPEAKER_02: They actually changed the name from Electric Factory to the Franklin Music Hall a couple years ago. Okay, so I want to welcome Dennis Parish to the show, and uh I really appreciate him taking the time. So uh the reason why I want to talk to Dennis is because you go back farther. Now I'm not gonna say you're old or anything like that, but you have okay. Well, you have all those great archives that like your website, like all those great ticket stubs and talk about early shows at the electric factory, and yeah.

4:16 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because that's to me that's kind of the most interesting. I think with you, you go back, right? I mean, what was your your first concert you mentioned was Blind Faith. Wow, okay. What year was that?

4:28 SPEAKER_00: That was 19 July 16th, 1969. And I I'm on I'm on my page now, so that's why I'm not gonna be I'm not gonna say I'm not gonna remember these days like that. But I can, you know, any anything you ask me about, I can be able to scroll right down and tell you exactly when I saw it and and if I have any little notes on there too.

4:47 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I made some notes too, so that's cool.

4:49 SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, so was that at the electric factory or was that at the no the that was at the spectrum July 16th, 1969. Yeah, it was at the spectrum. The ticket was six the ticket I got was uh six dollars and fifty cents. Oh my gosh. And it was Blind Faith uh that featured Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Rick Kretsch.

5:08 SPEAKER_03: Yep.

5:09 SPEAKER_00: And the opening band uh that night was uh Rory Gallagher with a band called The Taste.

5:15 SPEAKER_02: Yep.

5:15 SPEAKER_00: And they were excellent. Yeah, he was real he was excellent.

5:19 SPEAKER_02: I love Rory Gallagher. I mean, you're a good guy. Yeah, me too. So uh I know all guitar players love Rory, underrated, one of my favorites absolutely.

5:28 SPEAKER_00: And uh and then uh Delaney and Bonnie, uh they they were the next uh band up, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends.

5:35 SPEAKER_01: Yes, and they were good too.

5:37 SPEAKER_00: They were it was just uh overall it was a great concert.

5:40 SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

5:40 SPEAKER_02: Uh Delaney Bonnie with uh that went on f to form Derek and the Dominoes, right?

5:48 SPEAKER_00: Um he um sat in with Del Delaney and Bonnie. He actually toured with Delaney and Bonnie because I saw them I saw him with them at the electric factory um February 11th, 1970, the original Electric Factory.

6:07 SPEAKER_03: Right.

6:07 SPEAKER_00: Um he played there with Delaney and Bonnie and friends, and um yeah, he sat in with them for that concert. And I had a a great oh there weren't seats back then. You pretty much stood up uh when you're because that was the old Goodyear tire factory. So there weren't really any seats in there, you just kind of stood and watched these shows. So that's right. Um yeah, and I I was way up there, um very close to um where he was actually standing and playing. Yeah.

6:38 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Delaney and Bonnie, so uh the I kind of remember the story. He was kind of getting tired of of uh of of playing with um blind faith, not tired of it, so he started sitting in sitting in more with uh Delaney and Bonnie.

6:55 SPEAKER_00: Well, what happened was that tour? Yeah. Okay. With Blind Faith, in the middle of that tour, the person that he pretty much raised him was his grandfather. His grandfather passed. And that's when that's what put an end to that tour. And he flew back to uh, you know, to uh attend the funeral and all that. And then the band just kind of fell apart after that. Oh, I didn't know. And that's when and then that's when he started playing with Delaney and Bonnie. Yeah.

7:21 SPEAKER_02: Oh gotcha. Okay. So a lot of uh great bands early on, you know. Dark and the dominoes, basically, right? I mean Yeah.

7:29 SPEAKER_00: Um right after, let me see, right after uh Blind Faith um The Who uh at at the Electric again at the Electric Factory, October 19th, 1969. The Who, they performed the entire they important they performed the entire Tommy concert.

7:45 SPEAKER_02: Oh my god.

7:46 SPEAKER_00: Um the the entire concert, yeah, it was the entire thing from start to finish. Uh and it was one of the few places, at least for a long time, that they um played the entire thing because after that they continued to tour that year, but they were only doing um pieces of it. Um they didn't do it from beginning to end. And for a long time it was uh it was the only place that they were known to play it from beginning to end.

8:14 SPEAKER_02: Wow.

8:15 SPEAKER_00: And uh the opening band for them that night was um The American Dream. And while a hit that they had was Can't Get to Heaven on the Frankfurt L.

8:25 SPEAKER_02: Right. Local band, right?

8:26 SPEAKER_00: Yes. She has local band.

8:28 SPEAKER_02: From here in Philly, that's right.

8:30 SPEAKER_00: But um, but yeah, that that the the Who that was uh that was amazing to see them. Um it was the first well, first time I ever saw the Who. Uh and then uh not long after that, that was October, and then November 25th, 1969, I see The Rolling Stones at the Spectrum for seven dollars and fifty cents. That's amazing, isn't it? Yeah, and BB King opened for them and Cherry Reed opened for for them. And BB King even sat in with them at at the end of the night. Wow.

9:00 SPEAKER_02: That's that's amazing.

9:02 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was a great show. I it made me a B.B. King fan, first of all. Uh, I ended up seeing him about ten or eleven times after that. Anytime he would come anywhere near Philadelphia, I would go see him. Yeah, yeah, he was amazing.

9:15 SPEAKER_02: What um what should you which did you like better? Did you like going to the factory or or seeing bands at the spectrum at that point?

9:22 SPEAKER_00: Uh well, look, the electric factory it was so it was much more intimate. I mean, I forget how many people it held. I don't I would be surprised if it was very much more than a thousand, really.

9:37 SPEAKER_02: Right.

9:38 SPEAKER_00: Um, where the spectrum, you know, you're just kind of lost in there, especially if you're up in the uh the rafters. And the the sound and the there's no comparison. The sound the sound uh at the electric factory was uh really fantastic.

9:55 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, do you know? Like the different like how did how did bands uh get promoted or booked to play the Electric Factory as opposed to the Spectrum. Spectrum in 69. Was it still too new in 69?

10:11 SPEAKER_00: Um I'm not sure. Well, well, look, um I didn't see him there, but uh Jimi Hendrix played at the Electric Factory. Right. Um that was before before yeah, yeah. Um I I think the guy's last name was Spe Spivak. Yeah, I can't think of his first name. Yeah, I think he had something to do with um uh the bookings at the electric factory too. He might not have been the only one, but I think he had a lot to do with it. Right.

10:38 SPEAKER_02: How bands, you know, back then at that point. Uh because I don't know, from 70 on, all the national acts you know were at the spectrum. You know, yeah, oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. Uh all the big acts, yeah. Yeah, even like Janice Joplin, the doors in 70 at the spectrum. Yeah, you know, they moved out of that uh smaller, you know, smaller arena and stuff. So um all right, I have to ask you about uh I have a note here July 8th, 1970. Yeah, Jeff Hurt. Small parks, I mean chicken pox.

11:16 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. Um yeah, I was at that concert. Um I took public transportation down there with my girlfriend at the time, Kathy Jones, who by the way I was just on the phone with her recently because of uh our birthdays are only a week apart. Oh my god. And she was my girlfriend at the time. And I went to that concert uh chicken pox free. But but by the end of the concert.

11:40 unknown: Are you kidding?

11:41 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I went down there and uh I I felt fine, but on the way home, we took public transportation. So uh probably the Broad Streets, the Broad Street subway and then the Frankfurt L. And I remember uh no, that's okay. Uh when we're on the Frankfurt L, there was a guy sitting across from us and he was reading a newspaper. So he's reading it and he's holding it up so he doesn't see us. But anytime he needs to turn the page, he puts the newspaper on his lap, and then he turns the page and then picks the paper back up.

12:12 SPEAKER_00: But when he anytime he put it on his lap, he would be glancing at us, and every time he looked at us, I had more and more chicken pox starting to show up on my face.

12:22 SPEAKER_02: You broke out on the face.

12:23 SPEAKER_00: And I could tell, yeah, I was breaking out. I was it was all happening right there on the Frankfurt Hill. Oh my god. I was and uh he was looking pretty freaked out because by at the end I was pretty much covered. And I never and I didn't know what it was, I had no idea what it was, neither did Kathy. And uh when I got home, my mother drove me to the emergency room. Kathy went with us, and that's when they said, uh, you have chickenpox. And they said you they said you never had it before. I said, Well, I I don't you only get it once.

12:52 SPEAKER_00: They said, Well, yeah, that's right.

12:57 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Jeff Hotel, seven 17. And it was a horrible summer because uh that was a summer too. I also fell down uh while playing softball and I had a cast on my arm, and the chicken parks pox were all down that cast. And and they're itchy as crazy. So that cast was pretty much uh I had it on for six weeks, and I whittled that cast down to my wrist from just scratching the chicken pots. You know, and uh yeah, I was using a coat hanger. I started out with a coat hanger by the end.

13:32 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's horrible.

13:33 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was it was awful. It was a a bad summer for me. So um I got the chicken pox and uh I remember going down to the shore. I still had the uh the some of the remnants of the chicken pox, and uh and it was it was just horrible. I had that cast on my hand. Yeah, not a fun time.

13:50 SPEAKER_02: Well, how was the show anyway? Jethro Toll. Yeah, that was yeah, Jethro Toll.

13:57 SPEAKER_00: It was it was awesome. I never saw them before.

13:59 SPEAKER_02: Um and um yeah, the open I love early.

14:02 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was a it was a great concert.

14:05 SPEAKER_02: A little pro, but very bluesy. Yep.

14:08 SPEAKER_00: And the opening bands were Cactus and Bloodwind Pig, and I I can't tell you too much about them, my memory of them, really. Um Jethro Tall, though, it was it was great. Yeah. Um then uh going scrolling down a little again, then October 16th, and I that's when I saw Derek in the Dominoes. Um and that was also at the Electric Factory, October 16th, 1970. I don't have a ticket sub from that that one. It just uh I have ticket subs for almost everything, but that one I just have next to it, Electric Factory.

14:40 SPEAKER_00: I just didn't have a ticket sub. Um someone took picture of a guy named Jeff A Aaron. Okay, and I have on my site, I it says click here if you want to see photos from the night that he played at the electric factory. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, it takes his site.

14:59 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna put a link to all to your uh to your definition on the podcast uh uh notes, definitely. Because well, let's uh let me ask you so how did you how did you keep your ticket stubs? Um were you conscious of it? Were like hey, I'm gonna keep this, or did you just throw them in a yeah, I just kept them.

15:22 SPEAKER_00: I I kept them I kept them in a in a uh on an envelope, I think, and a small cardboard box uh with a lid. I just would just throw them in there and I didn't think much of it. And one day I had them all spread out on my kitchen table.

15:39 unknown: Oh my gosh.

15:40 SPEAKER_00: And my son happened to come over at the time, my son Corey, and he saw the ticket subs and he thought it was so cool. And I think he was the one that suggested that I ought to try to somehow put them online. And uh I think that's when I figured out I think I figured out how to do it. I I think I needed help on how to do even do that because back then I wasn't very web conscious uh uh web uh literate like how to even do that. Yeah, that was early. Oh yeah, yeah. And I figured it out, and I'm forever grateful that he he he did that because it ended up being uh a much visited site.

16:20 SPEAKER_00: My my ticket subs, you know. A lot of people would email me.

16:23 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it is because those they're they're rare. I mean you can see them, yeah, you know, if you google it, etc. But you're you're here in Philly, you went to the show, so they're your tickets, and that makes it a little bit more special, I think, because yeah, you know, they're not just you know out there on the internet, you know, in the internet, you know, somebody just scanned it, you know, uploaded it somewhere. But yeah, I mean you have them, you have all these tickets, which is great, because the reason why I ask is because I went to a lot of concerts, you know, all the arenas, Spectrum, Tower, etc., all the clubs.

17:00 SPEAKER_02: And I I think I only have about five tickets left that you know, maybe maybe I I just somehow kept. But I just uh I lost so many tickets. I just never thought to keep them, and I just never thought to uh you know just hang on to them for prosperity. I never thought like uh you know, 40 years later I'd be I'd want to you know revisit them, like you said, spread them out, look at them, and you're you're almost you're looking at a time capsule there, you know. So yeah, yeah. It's just absolutely you know great.

17:38 SPEAKER_02: And uh I'm so glad you you know you you uh you got them up on up online.

17:44 SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm glad I did it too. I'm glad my son, I'm glad he suggested it because it ended up being a a much visited site, and I sometimes I would get emails um and get contacted from people really all over the world.

17:59 SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's awesome.

18:00 SPEAKER_00: Uh not not just the not just the United States, but people that say, Oh, I was at that concert too, and uh, you know, that kind of thing.

18:06 SPEAKER_02: See how that all that all ties us together. Yeah, you know. Well, let me ask you uh I have to ask you about I have a note here about February 5th, 1971. Um February, okay, little Richard.

18:22 SPEAKER_02: Oh man. He canceled his performance.

18:25 SPEAKER_00: Uh well and he interrupted the Alman Brothers. He didn't Yeah, well, he came out there in the middle of the Alman Brothers set. He comes out there, I can't, I don't remember the song they were doing, but he came out there and just grabbed the microphone and just he surprised the Alman Brothers. They certainly weren't expecting that. And he uh he said, uh, I need to talk to this, I need to talk to this audience. He goes, uh the the uh promoters are trying to screw me, they're not paying me, you know.

18:58 SPEAKER_00: He ended up getting booed if I remember. He got he got booed.

19:02 SPEAKER_02: I hope so because we don't play any of that stuff, man.

19:05 SPEAKER_00: Exactly.

19:07 SPEAKER_02: We don't we don't want to know about all that stuff, man. Do you know? Yeah.

19:12 SPEAKER_00: And I I'm sorry he didn't play because I I would have enjoyed having seen him in my lifetime, you know. But um but after that, again, he he got he got booed, and uh he never came back out after that. And you know, the Chambers brothers came out after that, and um that was it. That was the end of that concert. And uh for four bucks to see them. It was uh if I remember right, it was like one of those uh like a dance concert thing where they did it wasn't assigned seats, I don't think, if I remember right.

19:43 SPEAKER_00: But I'm I'm not I can't be a hundred percent positive about that.

19:45 SPEAKER_02: But uh yeah, no, I'm not surprised they had a lot of them back there uh then. And uh yeah, so for anybody that doesn't know that setup with the spectrum, yeah. It is there's no seats on the floor. So that's right, no seats on the floor. Your seats are up there on the mezzanine and and uh the rafters and stuff like that, but on the floor there's no seats. So if you have four tickets, you can make your way up to the stage or you can hang out in the back, right? So that's what they used to call quote unquote dance concerts, right?

20:21 SPEAKER_00: Dance concerts, that's right.

20:22 SPEAKER_02: Yep exactly. Yeah, I did see a dance concert, believe it or not. It was the only one I saw at the spectrum was uh believe it or not, uh Black Sabbath and Quiet Riot opening, and that was a dance concert. And oh, okay. Yeah, so that was that was interesting. But all my spectrum, you know, concerts um, you know, from 80 on were uh you know assigned seats, the folding seats on the floor. So this was a dance concert uh with the chamber brothers, um little Richard, and of course the almonds. And you saw Dwayne and Burry Oakley, right?

21:01 SPEAKER_02: The original members. Yes, the original members, yeah. See, that's amazing.

21:07 SPEAKER_00: And uh I was right up there too. I mean, uh I made my way very close to the stage, so it was a good night.

21:15 unknown: Wow.

21:16 SPEAKER_00: Um but yeah, that was a great band. I really liked them. Were they not long uh the Friendline or Chambers Brothers? No, the Almond Brothers, there the Cowboy was uh that band. I I can't I can't even tell you anything about Cowboy. Oh yeah, I do see Cowboy on there. Yeah, they they played first, then the Alman Brothers. Okay. Uh then the Chambers Brothers. But again, there was that interruption during the uh Almond Brothers uh uh playing that Bill Richard came out there, so I never saw him. And they they certainly they didn't offer any money back.

21:51 SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't know if there was anybody that even tried to get their money back, but they four dollars, even four dollars back then was even pretty cheap, you know.

21:59 SPEAKER_02: Yeah. That's it.

22:01 SPEAKER_00: I know.

22:01 SPEAKER_02: So uh that's amazing.

22:03 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. And then you mentioned Black Sabbath, right? Two months after that is when I saw Black Sabbath. Again, that was a four-dollar concert, so I guess that was considered a dance concert too. Black Sabbath and Mountain and Humble Pie with Peter Peter Frampton.

22:19 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah. I have April 2nd, 71. That's amazing. Yep. Wow. Great night of tunes there. I mean, yeah, fan of those bands, right?

22:28 SPEAKER_00: So I was. And especially that's what I I wasn't that familiar with Humble Pie back then. But I quickly became a fan.

22:36 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, with Peter Frampton. It's amazing.

22:38 SPEAKER_00: And I I'm not sure I guess Black Saddam was this popular back then. I guess I just wanted to see them because I I can't say I ever really became a much of a fan of theirs. Right. Really. And I think I seen them more than once. One of them, if I'm not mistaken, I actually fell asleep at their at their concert when by the time they played.

23:01 SPEAKER_02: You fell asleep on the floor?

23:03 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, not on the floor. In fact, it would this would have been I would I made my way up to the up to uh kind of like uh almost like kind of behind the stage. And me and my girlfriend at the time we we fell asleep. Oh and uh God, that's I I remember we got woken up, and when we got woken up, the spectrum was almost empty. Oh my god. So we must uh look, I don't know. I I I was never really heavily into pot or anything like that, but maybe maybe I smoked some that night, and maybe I just maybe I just dozed out, dozed off.

23:37 SPEAKER_02: You know what, Dennis? The spectrum fog was probably oh I know. Absolutely. That night was probably the those three bands, Savage. Holy crap.

23:50 SPEAKER_00: Well, just about any concert back in the back in the day, man. The spectrum is it's always uh you could there's a cloud of smoke in that spectrum.

23:59 SPEAKER_02: That was the best, wasn't it?

24:00 SPEAKER_00: And you weren't even supposed to smoke at the spectrum.

24:03 SPEAKER_02: No, no, but you know what? It was uh nobody hassled you or anything like that. It was always cool about it, you know what I mean? Yeah, that's right. It is funny because the lights were off for two and a half hours and and your ears are in, and also the lights go up and it's just can't see anything. Eyes are trying to get used to the lights, and it's fog everywhere, and it's it's just uh that's kind of funny though that you fell asleep during one of the heaviest I know.

24:34 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like just the sound keep me up, you know. All right, let me ask you uh while we're in 71. You know, like uh Alice Cooper.

24:47 SPEAKER_00: Well, I I'll tell you one that um right below the the Alice Cooper one, August 17th, 1971. Um Jefferson Airplane. Um I did not know that there was going to be any opening band that night, if I remember right. I did not even know. And then White Trash with Edgar Winter came out.

25:08 SPEAKER_02: Oh wow.

25:09 SPEAKER_00: And they just brought the roof down. I mean, people did not want them to stop. Uh incredible. In fact, Jefferson Airplane ended up being kind of boring that night, and I think the crowd even sensed it. They just did they I think they wanted White Trash to come back out on stage, really.

25:27 SPEAKER_02: That's a hard act to follow.

25:28 SPEAKER_00: You could that's yeah, oh my god. It really was, man. And I I had not I was familiar with Johnny Winter, I was a big fan of Johnny Winter, and uh I knew he had a brother named Edgar Winter, and and this band was just so powerful. It was a horn band and um kind of gospel sounding, you know, uh at times. Right. But man, it was just so powerful. The the music was just so driving. Um, they just brought the man. If you weren't dancing, uh you certainly felt like dancing when they were playing. Um they just um just just really great.

26:03 SPEAKER_02: Uh was White Trash was his band, or was that the album?

26:07 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it was called White Trash, Edgar Winners White Trash, yeah.

26:10 SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's such a great name for a band. I love that.

26:13 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know.

26:15 SPEAKER_02: White Trash. Did Frankenstein, was that uh the era of Frankenstein?

26:20 SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I think Frankenstein, I think that they actually came out later with that song. Okay. I think it was one of the few instrumentals that made it into the uh top ten on the radio, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, it's kind of yeah, it became a very popular song.

26:35 SPEAKER_02: Well, he's multi-instrumentalist. I mean, he was saxophone and keyboards and drums and everything.

26:43 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he was great. Uh and his vocal range. My God.

26:46 SPEAKER_02: His brother, I agree. His brother is more, I guess, bluesy. Uh Edgar's Edgar's what more uh like rock in Prague, if I will. Something like that.

26:58 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he he he was more versatile. I he ventured out a lot more of his music. Yeah. But um, but uh, you know, I I tell you when I saw Johnny Winter with Rick Derringer with that band, man, that was uh that was magical too at the electric factory.

27:16 SPEAKER_02: Oh, nice. Remember when that was?

27:19 SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah. Uh hold on, let me scroll up a little bit. Uh oh, it's Halloween. Nice. Halloween, 1970. Wow. Johnny Winter with Rick Derringer. Again, I didn't have a stub for that one, but then I'll never forget that concert because uh uh it was so good. I went to the uh I when I first saw them, it was October 30th. But they were so good I went the very next night too, October 31st to see him again. Dude, that's awesome.

27:49 SPEAKER_02: It's October 16th. You saw Dirk and the Dominoes.

27:54 SPEAKER_03: Yep.

27:55 SPEAKER_02: And then a couple of weeks two weeks later, uh Johnny Winter. That's that's correct. Oh my gosh. Two weeks later. Yeah. What you caught the concert bug, obviously. Were you playing guitar back then?

28:09 unknown: Yeah.

28:10 SPEAKER_00: By the way, were you that that's I played uh I started playing when I was 13, I think.

28:14 SPEAKER_02: So you were out watching all these great bands. Like you had the concert bug, right?

28:21 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you and I probably played, you know, or at least jammed with bands back then, jammed with other musicians.

28:28 SPEAKER_02: Right.

28:28 SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I was uh, you know, didn't actually play with a uh band regularly till um a band called Sound Advice, which turned out to be like a top 40 rock band, but man, when we started playing it, that's when disco took over. And like we had to learn disco tunes, you know. And I honestly I didn't mind. I didn't mind as long as people were dancing, you know. Yeah, that's right. I didn't mind I didn't mind. I I I was still able to really throw in a lot of riffs that normally wouldn't be thrown in a disco song.

29:01 SPEAKER_00: I was still able to like riff out on you know some of these tunes. Uh and they they were fun to play. A lot of them are fun to play.

29:08 SPEAKER_02: Make it your own. Cover bands did that back then, you know. Yeah, they kind of made it their own. What was your favorite band back then, by the way?

29:15 SPEAKER_00: Oh boy. Uh well, I really like Johnny Winter. I was really um really like Johnny Winter for sure. Of course, I liked Eric Clapton too. But um, I was hooked on Johnny Winter for a while. Um, I just like the blues. My my my playing took a yeah, my playing took a change uh then. And uh I I felt like I uh instantly or within a year got much better on guitar from like learning a lot of Johnny Winter songs. So um yeah, it definitely influenced my playing. But of course, you know, I've uh always loved Eric Clapton too.

29:52 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love Clapton.

29:54 SPEAKER_00: And Rick Derringer, Rick, Rick, Rick Derringer, when he he when he played with Johnny Winter, he was um I I don't think he was really known for being a great guitarist, but he was a great guitarist.

30:04 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think he's underrated.

30:06 SPEAKER_00: He really was. Yep, yeah, definitely underrated. But it was and um a lot of people didn't realize he was he was in the band that did Hang on Sloopy, the real the McCoys.

30:15 SPEAKER_02: Right, yep.

30:16 SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

30:17 SPEAKER_02: And then with uh uh winner and then um you know Rock and Roll Hooch, you know, with his bass. That's right, yeah. And there he showcased, you know, his his guitar skills, you know, that great riff. Uh just right. Yeah, yeah. Great riff.

30:34 SPEAKER_00: Um if you're if you're on the page, um do you see July 13th, 1972? Uh it was Led Zeppelin for$4.50. Yes, July 13th, 1972. Can you um if you're on the on the page, can you see that ticket? And the the story behind this, and I was I was I had when I had these ticket subs during that Michael Smartkonish program, I was a little worried because he pulled out that ticket and it was it's a fake ticket that worked. Are you kidding? Yes, no, I'm not kidding. You if you look at that ticket closely, um I made that ticket but I was picked up hitchhiking after I bought tickets to a concert.

31:22 SPEAKER_00: I bought them at Gimbal's on Compman Avenue, and I hitchhike, I was hitchhiking home, and the person that picked me up said, uh, oh, you got tickets. He goes, uh he goes, you know, he goes, uh you can make you know you can make those tickets. Did you know that? I said, What do you mean you can make them? He said, Yeah. He goes, just go to a library, copy the front and back of a ticket of a on a of a real ticket, and use uh Elmer's glue, a very thin coat of Elmer's glue. Oh my gosh. See, there wasn't much color to those tickets back then.

31:54 SPEAKER_00: Right. They weren't that complicated. And um he said, just uh use uh Elmer's glue and uh do it um glue them together, uh put it uh put them in the middle of a book so it keeps it real flat, and then you know, take it out and then use a razor blade to make the little cut that looks like a preparation to where they would tear the ticket. He says, and I guarantee you it'll work, and they did. I made uh at that concert, Led Zeppelin, there was probably uh 40 or 50 people using that same ticket, uh copies of the same ticket.

32:33 SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.

32:34 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, years this is Jul Jul June June 13th, 1972.

32:43 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I'm looking at it.

32:44 SPEAKER_00: So yeah. And the thing is, is you know, of course we couldn't go to the seat. We had to just kind of like walk around the spectrum and watch the concert standing up, you know.

32:55 SPEAKER_02: Yeah. Yeah, you had to go up the steps, like look in there, and then you know.

33:02 SPEAKER_00: So again, I'm just not not my proudest moment, you know, but I was young, you know, I was young, did stupid, silly things back then. And I didn't do it all the time, but that that particular concert and maybe two or three other concerts.

33:15 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm looking at the ticket now. That's amazing.

33:18 SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

33:20 SPEAKER_02: Tuesday, June 30, 429, 450 total. Yeah. Dude, it looks legit, I can tell you that. Yeah, it did it pass.

33:32 SPEAKER_00: In fact, uh, there's this one girl named Diane McKenney. She, wherever she went at the the door where the guy was taking tickets, he took her ticket and he's looking at it closely, and he's looking at her, and she thinks she's not gonna get in. She thinks he detects. And he and he's looking at the ticket, and he actually says her. He goes, he goes, I don't know about this one. He goes, but if this is fake, it's a good job.

33:57 SPEAKER_02: Go in and have fun.

33:58 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he he was suspicious, he knew. Wow.

34:02 unknown: Oh my god.

34:03 SPEAKER_00: And and I think it happened, you know, I think it happened maybe when he went went to tear the stub. I think it didn't, I think it kind of came separated a little, where normally a regular ticket would not.

34:14 SPEAKER_02: It's not the right paper, right? Yeah, different paper. Yeah. Hey man, that's that's a great story. That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, I'm looking at the other tickets. Um yeah, not too far down from that is uh Rolling Stones again, 72.

34:31 SPEAKER_00: Again, yeah, just six dollars and fifty cents.

34:34 SPEAKER_02: Yep.

34:34 SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

34:35 SPEAKER_02: So you have a note there. It's the last time you ever uh wait in line. I think you told me this story a long time ago. Yes, oh my god. You told me this about 10 years ago.

34:44 SPEAKER_00: So I went for the night before, yeah. Uh the tickets were gonna be going on sale, and I decided to go there because I wanted to get good seats. And um I went there, and when I got in line, there was probably only about maybe 50 people in front of me, and I thought, oh, this is good. This is the spectrum box office, right? The spectrum box office, yeah. Okay, and but the tickets didn't go on sale to I don't know what time in the morning that maybe 9 or 10 a.m. I don't know. And it was a ridiculously hot day, and now there was no line, it was just complete mayhem.

35:24 SPEAKER_00: People, like there just was no line. It was just people, it was just a big crowd in front of all the ticket windows. Oh my gosh. And and I was in the mix, and uh again, you know, I was there the night before, and I guess at about I don't know, two or three in the afternoon, I was just felt like I was gonna pass out from heat exhaustion. And I was just not even anywhere close to the window yet, and I just thought this is this is looking impossible. And uh so I stepped out of line and then you know I cooled off a bit and I got a s a second wind, so to speak, and I got back in line, and then I finally ended up, you know, getting all the way up to the ticket window.

36:08 SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, is uh there's so the the pressure from the people behind you, it made it so that when you got to the window, your face was right up against the glass because the people were pressing up against you. And like I like I I couldn't even speak into the spot on the window where you would normally say, I want two or three tickets, or whatever we're gonna say. So crazy. Yeah, they can barely understand me. I just said I think there was a limit on the tickets. I think you could only get four at a time, and so that's obviously that's what I got.

36:40 SPEAKER_00: I said, I want four tickets, you know, and paying cash. And um, yeah, so I finally got the tickets.

36:46 SPEAKER_02: I was happy and where was security?

36:48 SPEAKER_00: I mean, where was you know Yeah, who knows where where or if security was even around that day on the outside? Yeah.

36:57 SPEAKER_02: You know, bad. Everything surrounding the stones at that point, especially that tour, was just yeah, mayhem and crazy. I mean, that tour is legendary, you know. The world touring party. But man, that's that's scary. That's crazy. Yeah, but you got tickets for the 20th, right?

37:19 SPEAKER_00: Uh July 20th, 1972, yeah. Stevie Wonder opened for them, and it was they're they were both great. First time seeing Stevie Wonder. Wow, nice. And um, he jammed with them at the end of the night. Um, it's really cool. And uh I became um Stevie Wonder fan after that.

37:36 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, Stones were great that peak in that tour, yeah, just legendary. They played three nights or three three dates, three shows.

37:49 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they probably they probably did, yeah.

37:51 SPEAKER_02: The 21st they played a matinee and then they played an evening. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, they played uh I think the matinee was at three. And then that sounded about right. Yeah, and then they played uh like an eight o'clock. They did that a couple times on that tour, but uh Philly did it, which was pretty cool. Yeah, it's mayhem, man. Well, where did you usually buy your tickets? Why why did you end up down at the box office and not um I don't know.

38:19 SPEAKER_00: I don't know why that night, uh why I decided to go that night. I can't remember the circumstances which which made me want to go down there. Maybe that particular time, maybe they said tickets are only gonna be available at the spectrum. I I don't know. Yeah, that's a that's a possibility. So maybe that's why I went down there.

38:36 SPEAKER_03: Yeah.

38:36 SPEAKER_00: Or or maybe that's where maybe that's where I thought I would be able to get the best seats. Maybe that could have been another reason. I don't know.

38:43 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and you camp out and you're pretty close and everything's cool, and you think like uh next day I'm gonna get great seats because I'm up close, you know, and then all mayhem, you know. Then it's like a riot.

38:56 SPEAKER_00: But uh and they were decent seats. I mean, I'm still in the upper level, but uh they were still decent seats.

39:01 SPEAKER_02: Well, I always said that after as long as you're in the building, you know, with those big events. I'm in the building. That's all that counts. Like back then we had you know, concerts that I really wanted to get to. I didn't care where I was sitting, I was just happy I got tickets. Yeah, I'm in the building, I'm in. You know, I'll you know, yeah, check out my seats. And if I'm not happy about it, you know, maybe we'll sneak down down there on the floor or whatever, but we'll worry about that. But uh, I'm in the building, that's all I cared about.

39:33 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so all right, that sounds good. Um yeah, I'm just uh so tower theater, you saw some shows, any big events at the tower. I love the tower, by the way.

39:44 SPEAKER_00: I still yeah, the tower was a great place. Um where are we at here date wise now? Or what which one are you?

39:51 SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm just kind of skipping around, you know. Anything there for the tower that stands out.

39:57 SPEAKER_00: Okay, it looks like uh the first concert I saw there. Oh, yeah, this was a great Roy Buchanan. Um, yeah. I I had heard him on the radio, and the way they were advertising him, like they were really really bringing him up as like one of the greatest guitarists that ever lived. And I'm thinking, really? And then we never heard of him? Really? And then I went and saw him and I thought, wow, he really is one of the greatest guitarists I ever lived. Yeah.

40:29 SPEAKER_02: I don't know if I've ever heard a song by him. Like what genre is he? Yeah, is it blues?

40:33 SPEAKER_00: Um well, yeah, he did blues, yeah. Blues, rock. Um I've heard him.

40:39 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't know if I've ever heard a song by him.

40:43 SPEAKER_00: He did uh uh if you uh Google the song The Messiah Will Come Again, he was he was kind of a religious guy, uh, but he it wasn't like he got up there and just started preaching or anything like that. But um but he does do a little like like a little little speech about uh Jesus at the beginning of that song. And but the song the song itself is great. Uh that song was just just a beautiful blue song. And um I just yeah, I mean I uh I became a fan of his uh very uh very early on. And then uh I remember seeing him.

41:19 SPEAKER_00: Oh, um let me see. Uh because I'm gonna tell you a little story about him. Um let me put his name in here and be scanning. Uh I saw him again at the main point. But okay, um the place where I saw him that was crazy was the Chestnut Cabaret, 1983.

41:38 SPEAKER_02: Love the Chestnut Cabre.

41:40 SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah. He was um he was the only only um person book. That was uh April 13th, 1983. And um he they actually uh ended up turning off the electricity on the stage because he would not stop playing.

41:59 SPEAKER_03: Oh my god, that's awesome.

42:00 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I'm telling you, and I I remember running into him in the bathroom. I had to go to the bathroom, right? I go and I ended up at a urinal right next to him.

42:11 SPEAKER_02: I believe I've done that at the Empire and the Amber Cabs.

42:17 SPEAKER_00: And I said, uh I said it was a great show tonight. Sorry they turned off your electricity. And man, he just rambled on here. Uh he was obviously very, very high on some kind of speed where he was just talking a mile a minute. And it almost came out as gibberish, almost, you know. And uh I just thought, oh man, I felt a little embarrassed, you know. I said, Yeah, okay, well, uh take it easy, Roy. And he's still talking away, but then really it was pretty weird. But um, and it was a shame because I don't think he lived that much longer after that.

42:57 unknown: Right.

42:59 SPEAKER_00: Oh, Stevie Wonder. Yes, speaking of Stevie Wonder, thank you. Yes, Stevie Wonder, okay. So he was playing at the Valley Forge Music Fair, yes, and he was playing eight days in a row there. Um, and so I went on the opening day, I went with a friend of mine named uh Bill Furness and his uh Delphine, I can't remember her last name. I went with those two people, and during that show, uh, first of all, there was no opening act, it was just him, and he he did the whole whatever three or four hour show uh with an intermission.

43:38 SPEAKER_00: But at some point in the show, he asked for a volunteer out of the audience. He goes, I he goes, This is the way he put it he goes, let me get a white brother down here and some background singers. Let me come on down the stage and join me. And nobody nobody was, I guess they I don't know if they misheard him, but nobody was doing anything. he goes and so he repeated himself he goes no I'm serious he goes I want to I want someone to I want someone to come down here and sing a song with me I want a a white a white brother and some background singers so finally some people came down and um basically basically what he was going to do was the song that he did with Paul McCartney back then that was a hit Ebony and Ivory so um they did the song and I'm and then I remember saying to my friend Bill and Delphine at the time I said damn I said you know what I'm gonna get tickets to another show and if he does if he says that I'm gonna run right down there you know and um so I did I got tickets to his very last show uh it was a Sunday night if I remember right and um I got tickets to his last show and this time uh I went with my wife uh at the time um um her name is Faith and um I went with her and you know I told her what I was gonna do what I was planning on doing um and this time my seats uh I was in the very next to the last row and I'm thinking man this is gonna be tough um but um but I'm but as soon as he says anything about wanting a volunteer I'm gonna run right down there and I'll tell you so he at at that particular the first night when I saw him when he did this he did it pretty early on in his show he I think he did it even before the intermission well this time the intermission had already passed and I'm thinking gee maybe he's not gonna do that tonight you know and now it's getting towards the end of the night I'm thinking wow he he really he's probably not gonna ask anybody to come down darn it and got I said but it's you know still good to see him again so but all of a sudden he did he goes okay I'm gonna ask for a volunteer as soon as he said that I shot right down there as fast as I could and I where I happen to but I wasn't the only one when he said it I saw people from uh and all the other aisles come down too so apparently I probably was not the only one that got tickets to another show after seeing him that first night you know and uh so now I'm thinking all right now I'm not gonna get picked what are what are the chances but where I happened to go down was uh where his brother was and his last his brother's last name I think was something like Hartagay or something hard again hardaway I can't remember but anyway that's the guy that always walked him out on the stage when it no matter where he played so he was the guy that happened to be standing at the the little gate where I ran down and I'm pleading with him I said look he goes uh I can do the top part or the bottom part I know all the words I will do a good job I I know the song inside out I said please please let me please let me pick me please and you know so he's looking around he's looking around at the other there's people at the other uh um places you know and there we don't know who's gonna get picked at this point but again I kept pleading with him and all of a sudden he he takes my hand he raises my hand and he looks at the other people that were manning the other uh locations and he says I'm taking this guy and so he picked me and then I went and sat right next to uh Stevie Wonder and uh oh my gosh I I wish even though it's online you know people can go and actually listen to me singing with him what I wish though was also online was the little interview part where he asked me where I was from and stuff like that and I told him where I was from Rome New York and it turned out that I don't know if it was just one or two people that were in his band that night maybe the background singers they were also familiar with Rome New York.

47:54 SPEAKER_00: Oh what you know and he's and so I don't know if they were from Rome New York. I can't remember if they said exactly if they said they were from Rome New York but uh you know he says oh he goes we're familiar with Rome and then he points to his background singers and they wave at me and I said yeah cool you know and um so I that's the I really wish that that part hadn't also made it on the tape. Yeah but it didn't and so when after that happened you know I came back up to my seat and the the people around they it's almost like they thought I was part of the act you know like I was like I like I was like really scheduled to be there that night you know and uh because I I did do I did a pretty decent job like oh can we get somebody up here to say oh we'll pick this guy so um and even driving away that night like in the parking lot I I would make uh eye contact people would see me in my car and I could see them pointing at me like and like I could see them saying that's the guy there he is you know awesome Dallas so I couldn't even I went home that night I couldn't even sleep and then the next day I go to work I got I go to work uh the very next morning and there's a guy I'm working with his name's Ed Lewis I said Ed I did it I sang with him he he knew he apparently he knew that I was going to be trying to do this I said I did it I said but I said unfortunately I said you know I don't have anything to show for it I can't prove it and he said well why don't you put an ad in the paper or something so I did I put an ad in the paper uh it ran in the Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer for uh at least a couple weeks I think yeah and um and people were calling me and I I was very specific in the ad.

49:40 SPEAKER_00: I said the Sunday night show only his very last show if you are at that show and you took pictures or have a recording please let me know. Please contact me. And some of the people that contacted me they seemed like suspicious like uh are you like are you looking for people that recorded the show because you want to uh um report them or something like that I said no no no I said I'm the guy I said if you were at that show you remember the guy that's got out there and sang with Stevie Wonder that was me I said I will I don't I don't have anything to prove it though pre-iPhone and um so a couple weeks went by and uh you know people were calling me and some people were calling me that weren't even at that particular show they were at another show I said well I said look I mentioned this show specifically because I sang with them that night I said so you know I appreciate that you call me but I said but you're not gonna have anything I I'm I want and um but finally someone had called back that had called me fairly early on he says hey you know what I called you before and I said I did not have um I did not have any pictures I don't have any pictures I said but I do have a recording.

50:50 SPEAKER_00: Oh nice I said really I said how how do you know it's me he says it's you man I'm telling you it's you I said well how did you get how did you get the recording I he said I worked there I recorded it I recorded it through their FM signal or something like that. He said so I have it and it's you I said I said what I said can you play a little bit of it for me over the phone and when he played it I knew it was me I said my God I said I will I I said I would like to make a copy he says you don't have to make a copy I'll give you this tape I said really he goes you don't have to buy it I'll give it to you um so I went down there and I met him really nice guy he played the tape for me I said man I said I don't know how to thank you I said but really I said please take this money he goes I don't want your money man he goes I know what what it means to you he said just take the tape so I I did I did I took the tape and what I'm really sad about or regret that um I'm sure he introduced himself to me but I'm surpr I'm I regret not keeping in touch with him like I regret not having his first and last name and his contact information to where literally I could send him a Christmas card or even a a gift certificate every year you know for as long as I live in in how much I appreciated getting this this tape and I was able to actually put it eventually you know put the tape online so it's on YouTube.

52:20 SPEAKER_00: What a thing can you imagine you know Stevie actually calls me by name I just wish the whole interview part you know where you talked about talk about being from Rome New York. Oh it did yeah it really it really did man I just uh like I said I didn't sleep all that night and uh and I'm thinking thankful that that guy talked me into or mentioned that I I put an ad in the paper to see if I can get it. Because I I had given up after two or three weeks I didn't think I was ever gonna you know I was gonna stop telling the story.

52:50 SPEAKER_00: I I I seriously would have never kept telling the story because I was thinking people aren't gonna believe me so but now I you know I actually had the proof so hey we saw Michael Jackson JFK wait Michael Jackson played JFK yeah yes he did yeah and I got a little story about that too yeah Michael Jackson yeah it was the Jackson 5 yeah September 28 1984 JFK Standard Jackson's I got tickets for that I got them from a scalper um I saw the ad in the paper you know tickets for Michael Jackson and uh and I so I paid a scalper price but it was only like even even for a scalper it wasn't that expensive back then I think I paid like 60 bucks or something like that.

53:40 SPEAKER_00: I got three tickets for me my wife and uh my daughter at the time she was uh very young and um and then uh then that one got that one got rained out it got rained out but they rescheduled it they said if you hold on to your tickets you could still use the tickets for when we for the reschedule date.

53:58 SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah ticket September 3rd right yeah okay so um so I then we went to that show and here's the thing about that show uh unfortunately I was I was I think I was in the 11th row so it was a decent seat and um and if people had just stayed in their seats it would have been fantastic but they didn't now they didn't rush the stage or anything like that but what they did was they didn't just stand up they stood up in their seats they stood on their chairs which meant then for me to be able to see I also had to stand on my chair and I have uh uh I forget how old my daughter was at the time maybe she's six or seven or I now I have to hold her while I'm standing on a chair for her to be able to see and I had to d the entire concert I mean I was exhausted just it was such a drag but uh you know look look we saw him and it was fantastic it was a great concert great sound system uh again there was they put on a heck of a show always like Michael Jackson yeah I did too um never would have thought that uh he and the Jacksons played JFK were they able to bill with anybody or just um no I think it was just them really yeah it was just them usually JFK has a all day you know event uh like three bands and then the headliner but just them yeah finding him on the page yeah Michael Jackson yeah it was the Jackson Victory tour yeah uh the date says September third but that was canceled due to heavy rain then it happened on September 28th yeah and all the original tickets were accepted like dumbfounded they played JFK instead of and so the tick on the ticket itself it says 2975 but I think if I'm I'm pretty sure I paid a scalper for those tickets.

55:55 SPEAKER_00: And um again it was like I don't know if they were 60 a piece yeah I guess it would have been like 60 a piece I guess which I thought was still a like you know I was happy to pay it. Yeah it's a Jackson's yeah I mean uh that's still a good price you know yeah oh my god that's amazing yeah just scrolling down I mean you saw a lot of great shows and stuff um anything else got any other stories anything else you want to add to the um to the show I'll tell you one uh one uh incident this isn't necessarily a happy incident but I can't remember what show it was but okay at the end of the night I fell asleep outside of the spectrum and I fell asleep and uh I ended up this really I'm this is uh an awful story really I ended up getting beat up oh my god pretty badly by the police that night and I didn't did not do anything wrong except fall asleep uh and that's not certainly not a crime but they woke me up and they just decided hey no one's looking let's just have some fun with this guy and they beat the shit out of me with Billy clubs yes I and I and I got taken to jail that night and and uh I woke up in I woke up in jail in a daze and uh I remember thinking what the hell why why did they do that you know and I had to go to court the next day and I did get released right and I remember going home I I could barely walk I was I had so many bruises on the back of my thighs and the but my back.

57:31 SPEAKER_00: So yeah it was it was a crazy crazy story and I'll tell you my off minding your own business. Yeah exactly that's exactly what I was doing. Holy crap yeah yeah but that show that was um oh boy you know I want to say Johnny Winter one of the Johnny Winter shows but I'm not positive oh here's another weird story another quick one this is a good this is a funny good cop story okay we were hitchhiking on Broad Street and um we actually got picked up by a police he came he decided he was going to give us a ride to wherever we were going it was probably just to get the next subway or something like that.

58:15 SPEAKER_01: Yeah you're and we get we get we get in the car there's two people in the front seat with him and three of us in the back and uh the cop actually says I by any chance you guys uh got any got any pot on you and I'm thinking all right nobody answer that please that's that's what I'm thinking and this guy this this guy named Billy um Billy Williams he's in the backseat he says yeah and he goes I have I have a joint on me he goes oh he goes let's light it up and the cop smoked a joint are you kidding I thought we were gonna get I thought we were gonna get yes we come we smoke a joint with a cop with a Philly cop in the cop car.

58:57 SPEAKER_00: My God that's wild and and I was thinking I I'm still thinking no we're still gonna get busted somehow somehow he's just playing along and acting like he smoked he's probably not even inhaling but no he he smoked with us and uh and I I didn't I didn't smoke I didn't take any hits off of it because I was still totally ridiculously paranoid about what was happening at the time I don't blame you somebody's gotta somebody's got to keep their head in this car. But yeah that that actually happened and he he he gave us the ride and we thanked him and he said have a good night that's like the two cops right there.

59:33 SPEAKER_00: That's a tail there you go good and bad good cop bad cop they were wild times back then right crap.

59:42 SPEAKER_02: All right well I can pick up for now we can always pick it up think something else we can always do part okay it's been a lot of fun Dennis I really appreciate it all right well take care then okay good talking to you you too Dennis appreciate it man all right I'll talk to you soon thank you so much out okay fun conversation in this episode we talked about the spectrum's beginning to host big and important shows uh and help form the reputation of being America's showplace along with some great stories of particular shows so I want to thank Dennis Paris for spending time and going through some of these great shows about the spectrum and the electric factory.

1:00:26 SPEAKER_02: I'll put a link to Dennis's website so you can go out and view his display of ticket stubs and uh also notes for each show in which we referenced throughout our podcast session. And uh maybe you saw some of these tours and uh hopefully our show and his website brings back some great memories. So thank you again for joining me I appreciate tuning in and continued support. Please subscribe and feel free to leave a review or a comment stay tuned for our next session where I'll continue to feature specific performances at the spectrum and the surrounding venues and also some sessions and conversations with the guests that will include photographers, journalists and of course fans like myself and guests