Been to see Zappa?

Dave,
That Holiday Inn is just about a mile from my house! It's actually had the name changed about four times in the past year and is even more dodgy now if you can believe it.

I have a spare bedroom (actually, I'm refinishing it now), so you're welcome here anytime.

To find my place just go to The Booby Trap on 8 Mile and look for the house with all the antennas on it.

Ron The Mon

Thanks Ron.

So you live near there, wow! Sorry if I appeared rude - it was a memorable visit, though.

A couple of questions. Firstly, the Booby Trap - does the name say it all or do I need an explanation and diagrams?

Secondly, is that record store still near the hotel? I went there with the Technical Editor of the engineering magazine I was working on at the time. He was also into his music - played guitar in a covers band - so we went to the record store to check out what was available. Barry, the editor, gets talking to the clerk (fat guy, ponytail and a personal hygiene issue) behind the counter and asks where we should go to hear some decent music. The clerk, evidently enthralled with Barry's "British accent", mistakenly thinks this to be a pick up line and tries to invite him back to his place for some "action". I had to explain to Barry that he was in danger of getting himself hurt (but not emotionally) but at least he managed to get a couple of bucks off a Robin Trower album.

Dave

quote:

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I don't suppose the Mothers still do things live?

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Don't forget "The Grandmothers" who have toured from time to time over here, certainly within the last two years. They played at the Stables in Milton Keynes and I missed them!! AFAIK, Jimmy Carl Black is in there and a bunch of others from the earlier incarnations of the band.

The Band from Utopia released a DVD of one of their gigs from '94 and it is absolutely stormin'. Those guys are such tight musicians it's incredible - even my 70 yr old father-in-law is impressed! They also released a CD but I haven't tracked it down yet.

Regards,
Ed.

Dave,
The Booby Trap is a gentlemen's club with a clever name. When I used to give street directions to my house, people would pass by my house because they'd be distracted reading the sign. Now I just tell everyone to look for it!

The record store you're refering to was called Harmony House. They at one time had about 30 stores in the metro-Detroit area. They had such a good local following that it wasn't until just a year or so back that Tower and Virgin started moving in. Mostly what killed Harmony House was the big book stores such as Borders and Barnes and Noble when they started selling CDs and DVDs.

They also went through a phase for a few years and completely abandoned vinyl, losing many customers to independents. They also didn't buy or sell second-hand. Basically, they had no niche with the exception of being a Ticket-Master outlet. Come to think of it, I bought all my tickets for Zappa's last three shows there!

What was cool about the Hazel Park location was it was the very first Harmony House. They started about 1957 and carried guitars as well as records. Because it was their premiere shop, they still carried a fair bit of vinyl up until its closing last year.

Ron The Mon