Perfectly Frank (Frazetta)

For months, I've had this folder full of jpegs on my desktop that says "Gauntlet." Here's some of the stuff that's in it.

Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke meeting with the great Frank Frazetta in 1977, in preparation for Frank's poster art for The Gauntlet.

An early sketch.

Another work in progress.

The finished art, before all the type was added.

Here's the half-sheet. It remains one of my favorite movie posters, perfectly matching the over-the-top majesty of the film itself. (I got much of this stuff here. Frazetta's art for The Fearless Vampire Killers is great, too.)

This art would also grace the LP of Jerry Fielding's terrific jazzy score.

The video tape and standard DVD of The Gauntlet used an alternate ad campaign. For the recent Blu-Ray DVD, they went with Frazetta's artwork. That's not the kind of restoration you typically think of with movies showing up on DVD, but I'm sure thankful for it in this case.

Here's a screen grab from that Blu-Ray DVD. Click it to see it larger. "This is my gun, Clyde"

(Un)Changing All Those Changes.

Buddy Holly is one of the greatest humans to ever walk our planet.

Now that we're all in agreement on that, there's the matter of this CD, Down The Line: Rarities. It just came out a month or so ago, creepily timed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Buddy's death. It's a great great thing — Jennifer got it for me as an anniversary present.

For starters, there's "My Two-Timin' Woman," recorded when he was 13. Not great, but certainly interesting.

There's the "garage tapes" from late 1956. There's some session outtakes and stuff. And then there's the Apartment Tapes, recorded by Buddy in his New York apartment just a couple months before his death. All of these would be drug out, overdubbed and thrown onto the market well into the 60s.

Here, we get the unadorned, undubbed versions. And in my opinion, that's the way you want 'em.

It's hard to believe that classics like "Peggy Sue Got Married" were nothing more than demos when Buddy last touched them. Knowing he'd soon be gone, hearing him messing around at home with his new bride and coming up with new songs is a little hard to take. But it's great stuff.

A lot of this was available in the The Complete Buddy Holly vinyl set back in the late 70s. And most of this material has been heavily bootlegged for all us Buddy Holly nuts out there. But it's good to have them officially released again — they sound great — and it seems to mean that MCA and Maria Elena Holley have made amends. (There's also the new Memorial Collection, a pretty thorough best-of package.)

But I'm still waiting for the big fat massive boxed set of everything.

That'll be the day.

Hidden Love For Peter Case.

I've been a fan of Peter Case for what seems like forever. Maybe it was "A Million Miles Away." Who knows.

He wrote on his blog:
On January 15 I underwent emergency open heart surgery, at a hospital in Santa Monica. The surgery was successful, but I am now on a long program of recovery. In other words, I'm glad to be alive, but it really kicked my ass.

Like so many working musicians, he had no medical insurance. So he's got some big fat bills coming his way. Some of his friends have organized Hidden Love Medical Relief. They describe it thus-ly:
Hidden Love Medical Relief is an effort by Peter’s friends, fans and fellow artists to help alleviate the burden of these mounting medical bills so that Peter can recover, get back and focus on what he does best – writing and performing his songs. No one involved with Hidden Love is going to make money on this endeavor. That's not the point. All money raised through this effort and the Hidden Love Benefit Concert will be applied to Peter’s medical expenses.

That link-y thing will take you to the site. Give one of Peter's records a listen, and you'll realize you really should give generously.

11 Years And Counting.

It's been around 4,000 days since February 23, 1998 (at 6pm Vegas time).

Hello, Dummy.

What a night! Hit Don The Beachcomber for some Cantonese food and a Mai Tai or two or twelve, then slide over to the Casbah Theatre for Mr. Warmth.

Back in February of '98, we saw Tom Jones at the MGM Grand. Again, what a night.

And a bonus: Fremont again, by night.

Way Way Gone.

Built alongside the Stardust, opening in 1960, was the Aku Aku Polynesian Restaurant. A giant tiki head stood outside the A-frame building. It was closed in 1985 to make room for more gaming expansion.

Behind the Stardust was a drive-in theater which was bought by the casino and renamed the Stardust Drive-in.

Of course, none of this stuff exists anymore.

Fremont, The Non-Experience.

First, standing near the Coin Castle, looking at the Plaza. While Hurricane Fran was tearing the crap out of my neighborhood in Raleigh, I was staying at the Plaza. Had a great patty melt at the Golden Gate.


Next, from the Plaza, looking down (or is it up?) Fremont. This was long before the Fremont Experience light show thing went in. One of the side streets has a great menswear store that sells Sansabelt pants. Sure hope they're still there.

By the time of our wedding, in '98, the Fremont Experience was in full swing. (It was completed in 1995, I think.) There was a man with a paper towel hanging out of his nose walking up and down. Nosebleed maybe?

The Green Shack.

We ate here in February, 1998. It closed in 1999 and was demolished a few years later.

At the time, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It was the oldest restaurant in Las Vegas, once known as The Swanky Club.

Fabulous Las Vegas!

The fabulous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was designed by Betty Willis in 1959.

It has been moved a few times as the Strip has grown.

The design was never copyrighted, which is why it's been plastered on so many souvenirs — and why it's become such an icon.

Old Vegas

My wife and I are coming up on our 11th anniversary — on the 23rd. We got married in Vegas, so Sin City always comes to mind this time of year.


For the next few days, to commemorate this whole deal, I'll be sticking some Vegas-y stuff, all vintage, on here.

Two of my favorite things

The Beatles (in this case, George) and James Bond — circa 1965.

The Who, Charlotte 1971

A friend of a friend shot this, The Who in their prime from the Who's Next tour.

November 20, 1971
Charlotte Coliseum
Charlotte, NC

Setlist:
I Can't Explain
Summertime Blues
My Wife
Baba O'Riley
Bargain
Behind Blue Eyes
Won't Get Fooled Again
Baby Don't You Do It
Magic Bus
Overture
Amazing Journey
Sparks
Pinball Wizard
See Me Feel Me
My Generation
Naked Eye

A trip to The Who Concert Guide provided all the details.