Friday, January 30, 2009

A "Low Budget" Flashback

I should probably save this clip of an early version of Bill Kirchen and Too Much Fun doing the Kinks' "Low Budget" at Tornado Alley in 1991 for a future entry on Kirchen or Tornado Alley. But, considering the times, let's give it a spin today. The band is Kirchen on guitar and lead vocals, the late Jeff Sarli on bass and Dave Elliott on drums.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Shaq Man Love Incident Effects Caron Butler's Thinking

Let me qualify what I'm about to write by saying Caron Butler is my favorite Washington Wizard. He plays hard every night and is great in the community. With that said, I think the kiss Shaq laid on Caron last night effected his thinking about how good he actually his. In post game comments last night regarding being left off the NBA East All Star Team, Caron said this:

I know it's only a couple of guys, from an individual standpoint, that have done what I've done over the course of the last couple of years -- Kobe Bryant, myself and LeBron James. I know that team winning percentage [is important], but if you're going to reward an individual, I should be on that team.

Again, I think Caron is great. But, he isn't Kobe or LeBron. And, we all know the Wizards aren't the Lakers or the Cavaliers.

A Third Super Team Arrives in Tampa

A third team of pros is arriving in Tampa and, no, they're not coming from Arizona or Pennsylvania. Some members of this team are coming from Vegas and one claims to be coming from Dartmouth College. Who are they? They are strippers...I mean...exotic dancers...who are arriving in Tampa this week to help all those super visitors liberate some cash in the Tampa area's numerous gentlemen's clubs.

Here are two articles on the situtation. The first is from the AP and is very news like. Read it here. The second is from The St. Petersburg Times. It digs a little further into the "business" aspects of Tampa's adult entertainment scene, discussing cover charges & escort services and even quotes a pole dance instructor named Nikita Cash and the publisher of NightMoves magazine. Read that article here.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Quickies

First off, Ryan Zimmerman tells MLB.com there are no hard feelings between him and the Nationals over the inablility to get either a one year or multi-year contract done. Read the piece here.

Second, in the first of two of music related items that are VERY different, Texas country singer Amber Digby talks to Country Standard Time about her new CD. Read about it here. The piece includes the cut "We're the the Kind of People (Who Make the Jukebox Play)".

Finally, in a clip from one of the best music documentaries ever made, The Road to Memphis, Bobby Rush performs "I Ain't Studdin' Ya" with help from his lovely dancers.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Q & A With Frank Howard from Nationals.com

The Nationals' website has a great Q&A with former Washington Senator Frank Howard. Read it here.

Frank Howard is the subject in one of my favorote photographs. The picture is of Howard kneeling in the on deck circle at RFK Stadium, wiping away the sweat on a hot & humid D.C. summer night. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the photo, which was taken by a Washington Post photographer, anywhere on the internet to be able to include it in this post.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Shedd on D.C. Music Starts Here

The Thrillbillys celebrate the 5th anniversary of their regular Thursday night gig at the Sunset Grille on January 29th. Boy, time flies when you're having fun. It seems like just yesterday they took over for Bill Kirchen there when he moved to Austin. The Thrillbillys are one few remaining ties to the glory days of the D.C. music scene back in 70's and 80's. And, the Sunset Grille is one of the last places in the area where everyone seems to fit right in while a band rocks away on its small corner stage.

The Thrillbillys' anniversary started me to thinking about doing some blog posts on the D.C. music scene, so here is the first one in what will hopefully be an ongoing series. There will be plenty more on the Thrillbillys, the Grille, other bands and other venues in coming weeks and months, but for now you can whet your appetite with this clip of the Nighthawks during the days of their classic line up; Mark Wenner, Jimmy Thackery, Pete Ragusa and Jan Zukowski.

Good and Bad Times for Former Redskin Ryan Clark

I saw this article on Ryan Clark in The Washington Times this morning. It's good to see one of my favorite Redskins of the last decade do well in Pittsburgh despite his career almost ending from a freakish health isssue. Read the the story here. And, what about that hit on Willis McGahee last weekend?

Monday, January 19, 2009

Quickies

Some music related items from the last week or so....

First off, Wanda Jackson will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2009. I'm sure I'll write more about Wanda in future blog entries, but for now you should check out her MySpace page here just to listen to "Fujiama Mama". You won't find many songs in today's era of political correctness that contain a line like "I've been to Nagasaki, Hiroshima too the same I did to them baby I can do to you".

Other 2009 class members include Jeff Beck, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Metallica, Run-D.M.C. and Bobby Womack. Elvis Presley band members Bill Black and D.J. Fontana will be inducted as part of the Sidemen category as will Spooner Oldham.

Second, Country Standard Time writer Robery Loy sounds off on the Sirius-XM merger and how it has reduced the amount of original programs aimed at the alt. country fan, among other changes. Read his letter here.

Finally, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member Little Jimmy Dickens had brain surgery last week. The Opry released a statement saying Dickens was resting comfortably, unlike he was here ,joking with a pre-Johnny Cash era June Carter.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sign of the Apocalypse 

A friend of mine who lives in Richmond occasionally sends me emails about weird things that happen in the worlds of music or sports he feels are a sure sign the end of the world is near. This morning, I heard something on CBS Sunday Morning I would definitely put in that category. Mariah Carey has more number one hits than any other solo artist in history (yes that includes Elvis) and has spent more weeks at #1 on the Billboard pop charts than the any other act in history (yes that includes the Beatles).

I don't know what turned my stomach more, hearing those tidbits or seeing the concert crowd shots where thousands of mindless lemmings were singing along with Carey with all their hearts.

Snyder & Cerrato Ready to Star in Smokey & the Bandit Remakes


Washington Redskins' owner Dan Snyder and Vice President Vinny Cerrato have agreed to star in five remakes of Smokey and the Bandit.

These movies will be set on a football field as Big & Litltle Enos Burdette, played by Snyder and Cerrato, wager large contracts to a long line of coaches playing the Bandit. The wager to Norv Turner, Marty Shottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs & Jim Zorn is the coach can turn around a franchise that Snyder destroyed and continues to meddle in while not ruining the coaches' individual reputation.


Rumor has it this was the lone creative project to come from Snyder's brief joint venture into Scientology with Tom Cruise. Meanwhile, Shedd's Spot has learned there is no truth to the rumor former senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson has signed on to play Sheriff Buford T. Justice.

(Pictured at the top are the original Big & Enos Burdette as played by Pat McCormick and Paul Williams. Just above are the new Burdettes, Snyder and Cerrato.)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Why are the Eagles in the Playoffs and the Redskins Sitting at Home? Two Word Answer...Akeem Jordan

It seems every year about this time, the Washington Redskins are either in some sort of turmoil or they are already looking forward to spending large amounts lot of money on flashy free agents in the coming spring, or both. I've heard the comment multiple times on sports talk radio that the Redskins win the free agent championship every March, but they never win a football championship on the field in the fall. And, except for an occasional limp into the playoffs, that fact has been true since Dan Snyder purchased the team.

There's no need to recount the many free agent signings and bad trade busts the Redskins have made during the Snyder regime. (Plus, I don't have the time to write a blog entry the supposed length of the Redskins 200,000 person season ticket waiting list.) But, it easy to assess the Redskins' basic problem, especially in comparison to the teams that are competitive on a year to year basis. Teams like the Steelers, the Patriots and, yes, the Philadelphia Eagles.

These organizations continue to build the core of their team through player scouting, the draft and player development. Then, these teams use an occasional big name signing to help them take the final step toward a deep run in the playoffs (e.g. the Patriots signing of Randy Moss). While the Redskins continue wallow away in the glitz of free agent signings, trading away mid round draft picks for busts, and drafting flash over substance in the early rounds of the draft (two WRs in the 2008 draft), teams such as the Eagles are scouting colleges at every leval and in every area of the country and signing players like Akeem Jordan.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed LB Akeem Jordan in the days following the 2007 NFL Draft as undrafted free agent rookie out of James Madison. Jordan made the Eagles' roster at the end of training camp, but days later was cut by the team and then signed to their practice squad. Jordan remained on the Eagles' practice squad for the the first half of the 2007 season, earning the practice squad salary of $5000 per week.

When the Eagles' linebacking corps was decimiated by injuries in the second half of the 2007 season, Jordan was promoted to the active roster. He immediately exceled on special teams and, because of even more Eagles injuries, he was starting at outside linebacker by the final game of the season.

Jordan made the the Eagles' 2008 roster as the Eagles' fourth linebacker and as a speacial teams standout. During mid-season, Eagles coach And Reid and Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson decided to shake things up in their defense and benched starter Omar Gaither in favor of the quicker Akeem Jordan. Jordan has started since then and should start Sunday as the Eagles take on the Cardinals for the NFC Championship.

Now, obvisously one linebacker from a Division I-AA school, making the league minimum salary, is not the reason the Eagles have a top three defense this year and are competitive most every year. But, when you team Jordan with two mid round draft picks at the other linebacker spots, you begin to see a trend. The Eagles also start Chris Gocong and Stewart Bradley at linebacker. Gocong and Bradley were both 3rd round draft picks in 2006. Bradley was drafted out of Nebraska, while Gocong came from Caly Poly-SLO, of all places.

On the surface, when and where a player comes from may all seem irrelevant. But, when you dig into the financial and salary cap aspects of it, it's an entirely different ball game. The 2008 base salaries for the Eagles starting LB corp are:

Stewart Bradley $370,000
Chris Gocong $445,000
Akeem Jordan $370,000

The total you ask? As Big Enos Burdette once said in Smokey and the Bandit, "chicken sh*t money" of $1,185,000.

Meanwhile, Dan Snyder, who thinks himself to be the Big Enos Burdette of the NFL (I guess that makes Vinny Cerrato Little Enos), is paying the Redskins' linebackers base salaries of:

Marcus Washington $4,4250,000
London FLetcher $1,240,000
Rocky McIntosh $445,000

Those total base salaries of $6,110,00, bought the Redskins one certified bad a** (Flectcher), one nice guy who is on his last leg...literally (Washington), and a young player who was benched mid game during a loss to the Bengals (McIntosh).

The comparison of the two teams linebacking corps is even more shocking where the rubber meets the road, the salary cap. The Eagles trio of LBs comes in at:

Stewert Bradley $541,000
Chris Gocong $644,630
Akeem Jordan $1,476,360

Even with Jordan receiving other bonuses, which are not signing bonuses, the Eagles cap number is $2,661,990.

Out at Redskins Park, Big and Little Enos Burdette had to work out the salary cap issues with a linebacking group who had these cap numbers:

Marcus Washington $6,445,416
London Fletcher $3,440,000
Rocky McIntosh $ 1,520,000

That's a not so chicken sh*t total of $11,405416, or over four times the salary cap charge the Eagles are taking for their three starting LBs.

So Redskins fans, feel free to brood over the reality that is the Snyder led Redskins as you watch Akeem Jordan from "little James Madison" (as John Madden used to say about Gary Clark) play in his first NFC championship game. And, try to forget the Eagles are playing in their fifth NFC championship game since 2001.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

What Shedd Knows that Apparently the Nationals Don't


I read this morning Nationals OF Elijah "Put Up Your" Dukes owes his estranged wife NiShea Dukes over $40,000 in back child support. Dukes was in court in Tampa yesterday and was given until January 23rd to pay up or face 90 days in jail.

Dukes has kept his nose (and hopefully, his "bat") relatively clean since he landed in D.C. last spring. Yes, there was the excessive celebration problem against the Mets and the yelling match with Nats' manager Manny Acta, but in the entire scheme of thing, those flare ups are minor compared to him sending a picture of a gun to estranged wife's cell phone with the caption "you dead dawg".

In regards to Dukes court appearance, Nats GM Jim Bowden released a statement saying the Nationals have "kept abreast of Elijah Dukes' financial situation through his advisors, agents and attorneys." With that said, either Dukes or the Nationals should hire me as an "advisor" and here is why.


Apparently, no one involved in this situation has heard the words "wage garnishment". Having been the controller of a pest control company for 18 months, I had the displeasure of withholding plenty of child support from plenty of paychecks. There aren't too many industries with more shady characters than the pest control industry and a lot of those guys acted as if the never heard of the words "rubber", "raincoat", "jim hat" or "condom". In fact, I wish I had dollar for each time I got a complaint about one of those garnishments that was followed by a sentence that started with "my baby's mama" and ended with a word that begins with a "b".

So, my beloved Nationals, take my advice and get over your fear of Elijah Dukes ripping the front office apart and just withhold the child support directly from his paycheck. We'll all be better for it.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Third Person Hall of Famer

Before Manny ever started "being Manny", Rickey was "being Rickey". And even after Rickey was out of the majors, he was still "being Rickey" as evidenced by the time he called San Diego Padres' General Manager Kevin Towers in search of a roster spot and opened the conversation with "This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.".

This week it was announced Rickey Henderson will be joining Jim Rice as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2009. In my book, Rickey was already in one Hall of Fame, my personal Illeism Hall of Fame. He joined Leon from the Budweiser commercials of a few years past in the innaugural class immediately after I heard Kevin Towers recount the story mentioned above during a story on Henderson in an epsisode of HBO's Real Sports.

Now, there are more Rickey speaking in the third person stories than there are children fathered by Shawn Kemp, but this one has always been my favorite. While playing for an independent minor league team in a comeback effort shortly before hanging up his spikes for good, Henderson was heard saying:

Last night, I dropped down on my knees and I asked God, 'Why are you doing this to Rickey? Why did you put me here?'

Who knows if Rickey's questions were ever answered. But, it's good to know there is at least one person who Rickey thinks more highly of than himself.

I have to admit I didn't care for Rickey too much when he was playing. Actually, I hated him. When I was younger, I thought the hatred was driven by his attitude. But now as I look back, I think the hatred was driven by all the time Rickey spent in the pinstripes of the Yankees. Being an Orioles fan throughout most of Henderon's career, I disliked all thing Yankees. (I have to say now that I'm a Nationals fan that feeling hasn't subsided.)

A friend of mine who grew up in the the Bay Area, and who now is Shedd's Spot west coast bureau chief, once tried to convince me Rickey Henderson was the fifth best baseball player of all time. If I remember correctly, my friend had Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron ahead of Rickey. My reaction at the time was "no f**ckin' way". My friend has recently admitted to me he may been "overzealous in that argument" regarding Rickey's standing among all the all time greats. But, I think both my friend and I agree Rickey Henderson is possibly the all time best in the field of illeism.
__________________________________

If you would like to know more about Rickey Henderson's exploits, both on and off the field, read this 2005 piece from The New Yorker.

And finally, in a case of "if it's on internet, it's gotta be true", the Wikipedia entry on Rickey Henderson says he was named after Ricky Nelson. I wonder if Henderson has a sister named Mary Lou?

Monday, January 12, 2009

Quickies

While I work on a couple of stories, including one which is an explanation of why the Philadelphia Eagles are headed to the NFC championship while the Washington Redskins failed to make the playoffs, I thought I'd put these items out for consumption. First, Tadcranky explains on his blog how Northern Virginians are being treated like second class citizens. Read it here. Second, again some morons are going after Hooters (the chain of restaurants, not the...well...you know). Only this time it's from a slightly different angle. Read about it here.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

January 8th Happenings: National Debt Was Once $0 and a Former National Retires

On this day in 1835, the United States' national debt was zero for the first and only time. No wonder Andrew Jackson, the President at the time, has long been on the $20 bill. Nevermind all the other things he did, like defeat the British at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, help found the Democratic Party and sign the Indian Removal Act (I didn't say everything he did was good.)

Shedd's Spot's west coast bureau forwarded this news to the home office today. Former Nationals pitcher John Patterson has annouced his retirement. Patterson showed glimpes of greatness during the Nationals innaugural season in 2005, but injuries have hampered his career since then. Read more about it here.

Long Live the King...and Esau Smith

Today, January 8th, would have been Elvis Presley's 74th birthday. There won't be any long tributes written here, but you can watch one of the last highlights of the King's career. It's Elvis' perfomanace of "Burning Love" during his Aloha from Hawaii concert that was televised to millions around the world in 1973.



(I spent a few days this past September in Memphis. You can read my travel blog entries about my visit to Graceland here and here.)

So, please wish both Elvis and Esau Smith a big happy birthday!

If you are curious as to Esau Smith is, read my second travel blog entry on Graceland. You may find it very interesting.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Who In The Hell Is This Honky Bitch?

Singer-songwriter Marshall Chapman turns sixty today (January 7th). For better or worse, Chapman's two best known songs are "Betty's Bein' Bad", recorded by Sawyer Brown, and "Don't Go Messin' With a Country Boy", co-written with legendary songwriter Doc Pomus and recorded by pro wrestler Hillbilly Jim. (How often does someone post two blog entries in less than a week that mention Hillbilly Jim?)

Among the many albums Chapman has released over the span of her 30+ year career is It's About Time...Recorded Live at the Tennessee State Prison For Women, although the CD almost had an entirely different title.

In 1993, Chapman accepted a four year old invitation from the prison's warden to play a concert for the inmates. Although the inmates had no idea who Chapman was at the time, she recorded the concert to release as a CD. Microphones were set up in the audience prior to the concert to record the inmates' reactions during the show. The engineer started rolling tape as the inmates filed in. When Chapman listened to the playback of the tape the first time, she heard an inmate utter, before the show, the words which were almost the CD's title, "Who in the hell is this honky bitch?"

Mexico's Grand Warlock Predicts U.S. Troop Build Up on the Mexican Border as the U.S. Looks to Expand into Mexico


Yes, Mexico's Grand Warlock, Antonio Vazquez, predicts the U.S. will pull troops out of Iraq in 2009 and place them on the Mexican Border in an attempt by the U.S. to expand U.S. territory.


Meanwhile, West Virginia's Exalted Cylops, Senator Robert Byrd, has predcicted WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins will make it thru 2009 without getting a DWI or wearing his infamous gold suit and matching shoes.

Monday, January 5, 2009

A Musical Oddity

This musical oddity comes courtesy of Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee show on Sirius/XM radio the weekend of December 27th/28th. Hillbilly Jim played a Yayhoos cover of ABBA's "Dancing Queen". Now, everyone has heard of ABBA, but most, if not all readers, are scratching their heads and thinking "who to hell are the Yayhoos?". The Yayhoos are a rock band fronted by former Georgia Satellites lead singer and primary songwriter Dan Baird. Maybe that piece of information will give you an idea of how this version of "Dancing Queen" sounds.

At first I thought it funny a rocker such as Baird would cover "Dancing Queen", but then I rememberd the Georgia Satellites' hits, Baird's "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" and their cover of "Hippy Shake", weren't exactly known as literature set to music. In fact, when the Satellites attempted to move away from such songs and toward Baird's more serious compositions, the band fell from the public eye. During an interview after the glory days of the Georgia Satellites, Baird said

The most gratifying and shameful moment of that whole experience was at the Indiana State Fair. Some woman came up to me and said, "I love that "huggie-kissie" song you do. My two year old dances every time we see it on CMT." I knew then that I had reached the lowest common denominator.

Maybe when you feel you've already hit the lowest common denominator, singing "Dancing Queen" doesn't seem so bad.

More info on the Yayhoos can be found here:
http://www.yayhoos.com/

And yes, the aforementioned Hillbilly Jim is the Hillbilly Jim who once wrestled in the WWF.

Congratulations to My Friend Steve Tuttle

Congratulations are in order for my friend Steve Tuttle. His August 1st piece railing on Crocs was the 8th most read story on the Newsweek website in 2008. You can read Steve's story here:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/150240/
and see the entire list here:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/176822

Unfortunately, none of Steve's other pieces, including the ones on the electorate in Appalachia and Steve's personal battle with cancer, made the list. But, the Crocs piece did generate thousands of comments on the Newsweek website, including a few which were marriage proposals. Steve, good luck with your Newsweek pieces in 2009.

It's a New Day in Washington...and It's Not What You Think


Yes, big changes are coming to our Nation's Capital. Most everyone thinks those changes begin January 20th when Barrack Obama is innaugerated as our country's 44th President. But in fact, the changes begin when the 111th Congress convenes on January 5th.

The 111th Congress will feature a Senate Appropriations Committee chaired by Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and not by Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia. After serving on the Committee since 1989, Byrd succumbed to pressure from Democratic leaders this past November and gave up the Committee chairmanship. On the surface, this may not seem much. But, in many ways, it's comparable to taking a child out of a candy store.

Byrd's long record of bringing pork barrel projects to West Virginia has been documented dozens of times over. It seems you can't swing a dead cat or, more appropriately, a dead road kill deer anywhere in West Virginia without hitting something named after Senator Byrd. My favorite Byrd project I've read about is the Robert C. Byrd Hardwood Technologies Center. If you search the internet for information on the Byrd Hardwood Technologies Center, you'll find dozens of articles on Byrd's long history of pork projects, but very little on what the Center actually does.


Now, I have to admit to being somewhat of a hypocrite in criticizing Byrd's pet projects. My parents moved back to West Virginia twelve years ago and I use the Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System every time I visit them. Byrd's road projects have brought transportation to and from West Virginia light years forward from the awful crooked two lane roads that never failed to make me car sick every time my parents dragged me to West Virginia back when I was a kid.

One of Byrd's latest pork barrel goodies is a road project called Corridor H. Corridor H is will be a four lane divided highway which will run from the West Virginia-Virginia border west of Strasburg, Virginia to Interstate 79 near Weston, West Virginia. Several small sections of Corridor H have been opened, but the entire project won't be completed for years. With Interstate 64 entering West Virginia from Virginia to the south and Interstate 68 entering West Virginia from Maryland to the north, the need for Corridor H is very much in question. In question for everyone, that is, except me. Corridor H would cut the time it takes me to drive to my parents' house by an hour or so.

Although Senator Byrd is best known for his pork barrel projects, he is also known for his ego, his somewhat checkered past and his attempts at fiddle playing. Byrd has been known to refer to himself as "Big Daddy" and, as recently as last summer, was shown on a national news program bragging about the number of pork projects he has brought to West Virginia.


As to his past, prior to his election to the House of Representatives in 1952, Byrd was an active member of the Ku Klux Klan and had been elected Exalted Cyclops of his local chapter. (And all this time, I thought the only Exalted Cyclops in the Klan was John Goodman's character in Oh Brother Where Art Thou.)

Byrd and his fiddle have made numerous appearances throughout the years. He has sawed away on Hee Haw, at the Grand Ole Opry and even at the Kennedy Center, all the while playing up his image as a true West Virginian. My dad recently told me I saw the good senator sitting in with a distant cousin's bluegrass band back in the 70's. I don't remember it, but then again, how many nine year olds would pay attention to a fiddling senator?

Now 91, in poor health, and the longest serving Senator in the country's history, Robert C. Byrd doesn't play his fiddle much anymore. And beginning January 5, 2009, he won't have the country's purse strings to play much with either.