Thursday, June 29 2006

Episode 7: Stranded on a Sandbar

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, June 28 2006, (9:00 PM - 11:00 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “A veritable Sargasso of a show, as our cast (Schmoe, Mike, Mickey, Greg, and Schmoe’s sons Jacob and Nate) struggle to find the Topics of Conversation: more Caseville, souvenirs, Uncle Warren, a shoutout to Jackson Quigley, and memories of Buckeye Lake ’93.”

    We sensed this would be a sub-par show, only because there’s so little to talk about.  Jimmy would be back performing, but this would ne the day after our podcast.  Nevertheless, we talked for ninety minutes, mainly hashing out plans for the Caseville road trip (and still got to watch some of the NBA draft).  The references to Chicago are about some plans to see Roger Clyne in November.  Tickets will be only $8 [hear that Jimmy?], and it’s felt that attendance is inevitable now that Mike & Joe learned the opening act is called “Mike & Joe” and the place is called Joe’s Bar.  And as far as remembering the song lyrics to “Life is Just a Tire Swing”, Mike is correct and Mickey is wrong.
    Greg piqued the curiosity of fellow Big Al’s patron Mary, who dropped by our recording studio for a brief visit.  And if Schmoe seems a bit more loquacious tonight perhaps it’s because of his birthday shot of Cuervo.  Happy Birthday Schmoe!  Feel free to send him birthday greetings at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  [I think that’s the address he said.]
    Folliclephobia is not the accepted term for fear of hair.  According to the Phobia List, “chaetophobia” is.
    Culture references: The Chris Farley Show, a Weenologist business card, “three is a magic number”.  The book title Greg and Mickey can’t figure out is Invest Like Warren Buffett, Live Like Jimmy Buffett.  (And did you ever notice how people still misspell Jimmy’s last name but hardly ever Warren’s?)
    For those of you who keep confusing Jimmy and Warren, Stephen Colbert, American hero and host of The Colbert Report, has this handy reminder (from his March 10 show, where he took a look at Nebraska’s Second District—“the Fighting Second”):

      >  Download Episode 7

Wednesday, June 28 2006

Episode 6: Ticketo Trauma

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, June 21 2006, (7:30 PM - 9:30 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Topics include our Ticketmaster misadventures, tailgating plans,
summer storms, the shortest longest day of the year, punchline races, Caseville cheeseburgers, and even jury duty. Greg joins the group and it turns out we don’t even really need Greg 2.0.”

    Comments from Greg 2.0 were recorded but who needs them with Schmoe’s uncanny impersonation?  The Downriver area was beset with thunderstorms all day long, so this week’s gab session occurred much earlier than usual.  Mike was busy at work but still managed to show up for the recording (and was a bit peeved Schmoe and Mickey had discussed going on without him).  Our weekly technical problem was Low Battery once again.  We were able to edit around it, but the break in taping occurs around the halfway point of the show.
    Harmony House Records & Tapes was a chain of record stores and a popular source for Ticketmaster purchases.  But as Amazon.com and other online outlets became prominent, Harmony House was forced to close almost all their stores. 
    The Fluorescent Light story comes from when Hud used to live by a power tower, and Greg’s declaration one rainy evening that we could get a fluorescent bulb to light up if we went out and held it beneath the power tower sizzling in the rain.  Mickey sure he was risking sterility nevertheless volunteered for the experiment, declaiming “I HAVE THE POWER” as he held the bulb aloft.  It did not light up, unfortunately.  But Greg still swears the experiment should have worked, and blames the wind for spoiling the conditions. 
    Mickey’s friend’s music store was called Record Den.  For no real reason, here are links to Frenchtown Square Mall and Southland Mall
    Mike & Mickey shouldn’t be too concerned about their “LT9” tickets.  Similar seats are going for $195 to $270.
    And here’s Greg’s Fishfly Festival link.

      >  Download Episode 6

Sunday, June 18 2006

Episode 5: Shoooow Tuuuunes!

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, June 14 2006 (9:00 PM - 11:00 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “A double-wide show to make up for last week. Mike, Mickey, and Schmoe review the last five concerts, look back at past shows, and critique Sirius radio. Plus the latest on Scott.”

    Scott did not show up all, but we discuss that during the episode.  Gregular stayed for a while, but had to leave before we started the recording.  The line “Get that shit on the podcast!” results from when Greg 2.0 flipped us off upon taking his leave.  The episode unfortunately starts with some noticeable hiss, due to poor mic levels, but this clears up after two minutes; a sad consequence of recording while drinking.
    Thanks to Buffettnews.com for help with the setlists and thanks to Jimmy Dreamz for help with the music.  Thanks to the Washington Post‘s “Buffett concert reviews: 1978 to 2006” article for hogging up the last twenty minutes of the show.  And for information on the Caseville Cheeseburger Festival, you’ve got a choice of domains: http://www.cheeseburgerincaseville.com or http://www.cheeseburgerincaseville.org.

      >  Download Episode 5

Sunday, June 11 2006

Episode 4: PEBRAC

Show Notes:
Recorded Friday, June 2 2006 (7:30 PM - 2:00 AM) at the Schmoe abode and Wednesday, June 7 2006 (9:00 -10:30 PM), at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Our Wednesday show is actually last Friday’s show, due to Problems Existing Between Recorder and Chair.  The gang assembles at Schmoe’s house to make margaritas and listen to the Atlanta concert on Sirius.  But where’s Scott?”

    As we promised on the 5/31 show, we were going to assemble on Friday to listen to the Atlanta concert on Sirius and comment on this leg of the Party at the End of the World tour.  Mike even bought a Home Kit for his Sirius “Starmate Replay” radio.  Only the core group showed up (and Scott swears he wasn’t invited, even though his e-mail address was included in all correspondence).  The concert was fun, Schmoe’s margaritas were tasty, and we ended up doing more listening than podcasting.  We did manage to record a bit after the show, but by then everyone was too relaxed and tired to say much.  The comments might be good to add to next Wednesday’s show, but we doubted they’d stand on their own.
    Fast forward to Wednesday.  Big Al’s was very crowded and the back room was taken over by a bunch of bikers.  We were too intimidated to go claim our recording studio, so we stayed in the main room for the podcast.  The conversation was good and lively and Schmoe’s cat story was even greater the second time around!  It went so well we even recorded some stuff in the parking lot on the way out.  When Mickey checked the tape, however, nothing existed of the conversation.  The only thing that got recorded was five minutes of Scott’s comments, before the podcast proper began.  Mickey swears he checked the recorder and the “REC” symbol was lit up and he was seeing mic levels; but evidently he never bothered to check if the counter was moving and tape was rolling.  Which means we were forced to resort to our Friday tape after all.
    By remarkable coincidence, Friday was the same night we discovered our first review on iTunes, and our reactions to Twinkles’ pithy comments take up much of the show.  Although Mike had had Sirius since Christmas, this was the first time he (and we) would be hearing a live show live; thus we were particularly dismayed when it started out so badly.  Fortunately this was only a temporary technical problem.  It’s possible Schmoe might be confusing Carmen Harlan with Doris Briscoe.  Schmoe’s dad’s ‘dance’ refers to when we encouraged him to stand up during “One Particular Harbour” to show off the back of his Caribbean Soul t-shirt, which displayed the lyric “I used to rule my world from a pay phone”.  (This was back when people only stood up for the second half of “One Particular Harbour”.)  In honor of Schmoe’s dad, we still perform this move (using your thumbs to gesture to your back), during that line of the song.  The new Buffetnews setlist database can be found here.  Hopefuly someone can fill in the blanks regarding the 80s tours which will go a long way toward filling in the blanks in our own memories.  And, by the way, Schmoe’s mom is not 42.

      >  Download Episode 4

Saturday, June 3 2006

Episode 3: Post-Game, Pre-Tour

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, May 31 2006, (9:30 -11 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Start time was delayed by the Pistons/Heat Game 5.  Mike, Mickey, and Joe are joined by Greg; and we got cameos from Don, Meredith, Greg 2.0, and BK Kevin.  We sound tired and worn-out by the game, but hopefully the bonus three endings might make up for it.”

    A more low-key show this week, seeing as everyone was worn down from the rain plus we waited till the Pistons game was over before starting.  Shots were purchased in honor of birthday boy Mike.  Our choices were Hot Damn or Hot Sex.  When queried, Meredith replied with the immortal “Damn is hot and Sex is sweet” which unfortunately was not recorded.  Greg 2.0 and Kevin’s intro was obviously recorded early (and was in regard to a personal pizza), as was our discussion on TV finales.  Surprise guest Don hung around till the start of the show and Rgeular Greg lasted almost halfway through.
    As you already know, Jimmy Buffett’s selections for the Today show appearance were “Margaritaville”. “Changes”, and the up-tempo version of “Floridays”.  Regarding Jimmy’s movie cameos, TV Week.com puts it succinctly: “Jimmy played the role of the armless guy in the 1994 film Cobb.”  And “Jimmy played the role of the 727 Pilot in the 1995 film Congo.”  (Of course, he has other connections to Hollywood, but these are the ones discussed in this episode.)  Mickey is confused about Buffett’s heckler character being “quadriplegic”.  Yes, all four limbs are affected, but only two are immobile.  If memory serves, the character sat in a wheelchair and had hooks for hands.  We’re still not sure when Buffett’s cameo occurs, but we’re not that eager to rewatch the movie to find out.  Mickey’s comment about Congo can also refer to character actor and Michigan native Bruce Campbell, who also beat a timely retreat from the movie.

Re: the Hoot auction.
    Again with the Hoot auction.
    Mike sent out an e-mail Wednesday morning:

According to BuffettNews, the Buffett worn wardrobe from Hoot is up for bid now.  Current winning bid is $293.  The sale ends 6/5/06.
Mick, wasn’t this up before and there were no bids?

    Coincidentally, Tuesday morning Mickey received an e-mail of four new Hoot auctions (because he subscribes to the New Line Auctions newsletter ever since trying to buy props from Lord of the Rings [NERD!]); but these four new auctions do not include the Buffett one.  Buffettnews’s link works, of course, and it shows a full-bodied red-blooded auction for Buffett Hoot wardrobe—in complete disregard to the auction link New Line sent out in its first Hoot newsletter, which is the one Mickey described back in episode 1 (and 2, and 3, and 4, and 5, etc).
    Mickey’s favorite Hoot link still shows an auction that ended with only one $25 bid.  A closer, closer inspection shows the auction was closed after one day, suggesting it was published in error.  The auction Buffettnews links to is obviously the correct auction and is the one you should bid on, except for the fact it’s probably over and done with by the time you read this.
    Note: the Buffett auction has ended, with a winning bid of $902.00.
    Can we move on now?

      >  Download Episode 3

Saturday, May 27 2006

Episode 2: Low Battery

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, May 24 2006, (9:30-11 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Guests stars: Scott, Greg, Greg 2.0, and Patti.  Despite the tape trouble we still manage to talk too long about Buckeye Lake, Buffett parties of yesteryear, and, once again, Alpine Valley.”

    The audio editing was finished Thursday morning, but not soon enough to upload it before the work shifts started.  Thus these notes are actually posted in advance of the podcast itself.
    It’s official, our emcee is now Greg 2.0, who begins every show by ridiculing us.  Not only are the core three speaking tonight, but we have two guest stars: Sublymonal Greg and Alpine Valley Patti.  It was a marathon session, but a large chunk of it was lost due to battery problems.  Only the first five minutes of the podcast survive from the first tape; the remainder of the cast comes from the forty minutes recorded on the second tape.  (And that constant squeaking noise is a ceiling fan.)
    What was missed: Schmoe is still obsessed with a Nicolette Larson concert CD, sled dogs, and confusing “T” with “P”.  And boy was that cat story hilarious!  [By the way, as Scott could tell you, if he cared enough to record something, the version of “Margaritaville” from the Nicolette Larson tribute is not available separately in iTunes.]  Plus, Mickey did extensive research on concert tickets.  Unlike usual, he verified the research before announcing it on the cast, in an attempt to not be so prominently corrected in these show notes; but since it did not recorded, it ends up in the show notes anyway.
    DTE Music Theatre had a two page ad in Sunday’s Free Press (2F-3F) which finally announced tickets for Jimmy Buffett’s September 12 concert go on sale June 19.

The Palacenet website states lawn tickets cost $36.50 and pavilion seats are a whopping one hundred dollars more!  This makes it the most expensive concert in DTE’s summer line-up.  In comparison, Bruce Springsteen is only $92.50; Ozzfest is 86.50; Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls are $67.50; John Fogerty/Willie Nelson are $59.50.  The second most expensive show at Pine Knob?  $128.50 for Crosby Stills Nash & Young.
    Not only is Buffett’s $136.50 the most expensive show at Pine Knob, the Pine Knob show is almost the most expensive stop of this first leg of Buffett’s summer tour.  All the other shows are $126.50, but for some reason Jimmy has to add ten bucks when crossing the Ohio border.  Maybe this surcharge is the reason he hasn’t performed here for a few years.  The most expensive stop is New York’s Jones Beach, where the top ticket price is $156.00.  (By comparison Crosby Stills Nash & Young’s top price is an incredible $251!  And this isn’t just some high-priced New York thing, since the John Fogerty/Willie Nelson show is the same $59.50, and the Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls show is actually cheaper: $49.50.)  Remember, these aren’t packages or broker prices; these are face value.
    A quick look at Ticketmaster reveals pavilion seats are still available for Alpine Valley.  Mickey was able to reserve three seats, together, in row U of section 201; but, oddly, Mike and Patti were not interested    During Mike’s Bocephus story Schmoe and Mickey are look at a sheet with “the year on the back”.  The sheet is a print-out of a ticket for a 1975 Portland (OR) show.  The King Kong Trio was a mini-tour in the mid-80s of Jimmy, Mike Utley, and Robert Greenidge.  Mickey’s “cartography classes” jest is another Arrested Development reference.  Take it from us, it was much funnier on TV.  We advertently reported Greg’s leg was amputated following Episode 0.5.  This was printed in error.  The movie music comes from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory—but you already knew that.  And the robot’s name is Ralph.
    Jimmy will be on the Today show Friday morning.  Mike and Schmoe will be Cedar Point-bound and will miss it.  At his last appearance, Jimmy asked Katie to request what song he would play; conventional wisdom says she’ll point at the middle of the back cover of Songs You Know By Heart and will choose “Cheeseburger in Paradise”.  And then, a week later, Jimmy’s tour kicks off in Atlanta.
    As per request, here’s your chance to help decide details of our special remote podcast…
    [And, once again, hats off to 24cast, from whom we get our best ideas.]

      >  Download Episode 2

Saturday, May 20 2006

Episode 1: Mapped and Charted

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, May 17 2006, (9-10:30 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Almost down to twenty minutes!  This week: a few words with Greg 2.0, a chat with Mike, Mickey, and Schmoe; a shot with Scott; and a visit from Heidi.”

    The gang wanted to watch end of the Pistons/Cavs game (which the Pistons lost, 86-84) so the recording session was delayed.  In the meantime, we recorded a segment with Scott, a few comments from Greg 2.0 (including the first of what assumedly will be many mentions of Schmoe’s Cat Story), and, as we repaired to the recording studio, a visit Big Al’s waitress Heidi.
    Our new theme song, courtesy of GarageBand, is called “Two Seater”.  Schmoe misses the date by only one full week.  Hopefully this won’t confuse people when next week’s show comes out.  Both Schmoe and Mickey came prepared with notes, determined to keep the conversation brief and on course.  As mentioned, Scott’s movie review was recorded ahead of time.  Mickey wants to point out his comment about it being “beautifully recorded” was supposed to be self-deprecating.  “At the time I was assuming the bar noise would be too loud.  It came out much better than expected, but we didn’t know this till we were all done.”  Incidentally, we returned to using the Core Sound mics this show.
    • Ebert & Roeper’s Hoot review
    • Turks & Caicos Margaritaville
    • Learn more about Tom Ball here and here
    • Roger Clyne’s Buffett quote [PDF]
    • Some gossip about Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills
    • [Beware searches for “one legged chick”]
    This is the Hoot auction to which Mickey refers.  A quick look at the Bid History shows that although the auction has ended, it did not end successfully.  Evidently the minimum value was not met and the auction has been closed.  Poor Jimmy, no wants to get in his pants anymore.
    • Mike’s brother Jim’s My Space page
    • Mike and Schmoe’s Dog/Ice/Winter Movie Picks:
                Disney’s 8 Below
                Disney’s Snow Dogs
    The mention of a “robot podcast” refers to this offering [iTunes link] from 24cast.
    The end title music is called “Greasy Wheels” and is also from GarageBand.  Post-production was much more elaborate this week, with contributions from Peak, GarageBand, iTunes, Final Cut, and Soundtrack Pro.  Still hearing spots that need a little bit more work—but it’s too late now: the file is up,

      >  Download Episode 1