All posts by Mickey

Episode 64: Fun Tickets in Our Pockets

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Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, March 26 2008 (10:00 PM – 11:30 PM) at Zodiac Racquet Club, Southgate MI
    “Between the last episode and this, it was announced that Jimmy is coming back to
Pine Knob and tickets have already gone on sale. Schmoe, Greg, Texas Mike, Hud, Mickey,
and Scott share their ticket-buying stories, with guest appearances by Jennifer and Lee.”

    00:19 – a topical reference to Hillary Clinton and her questionable memory on the campaign trail
    00:51 – Greg’s “smelled bad” comment is in reference to the pitcher of water Jennifer just brought
    01:10 – the international sign for water is reportedly holding up three fingers
    02:03 – the Pistons lost to the Raptors, 89 to 82
    02:20 – Houston is the site of the tour’s opening night, Monday April 21
    02:39 – Landshark Lager
    02:57 – Scott’s brother’s wrestling podcast
    03:23 – Straight Guys Who Love Show tunes, a member of the PodSchmoe podcast network
    03:58 – the first newspaper ad
    04:16 – #1 Overall Live Event on TicketNews.com, via Buffett News
    04:45 – Jen had a hole in her top. She was wearing a sweater top with white and navy blue horizontal stripes, and the hole was right along the bust line. She lucked out at least that the hole was right in one of the blue stripes, so it was almost hidden in the dim light of the Zodiac back room. Update: you can see the hole in this picture.
    05:03 – the tour page at Jake Shimabukuro’s website
    05:28 – “Tonsil Trouble”, South Park Episode 1, Season 12. Watch it here. Once again, this clip has been cut for time as well slightly re-ordered for clarity. One remarkable element of the clip is that they knew enough to use a modern-day Jimmy but they gave him the Live By the Bay band!

JB on South Park

    08:18 – Landshark was the drink of choice on the March 7 edition of the Diggnation podcast. Watch it here. (Thanks go to Listener Ed for dropping us a line about it.)

Landsharks on Diggnation

    09:13 – Advertising Age‘s article on Corona, via Buffett News
    09:55 – links for Miller Chill, Tecate, Dos Equis, and Bud Light with Lime
    10:20 – for one poker night long long ago Mike showed up with some lime-flavored tortilla chips. It was so outlandish we never let him hear the end of it. We had no idea how ahead of his time Mike would be … but we still give him hell over it.
    11:53 – introducing my new Samson H2 Zoom recorder. We switch now from the Core Sound mics and my Edirol R-09 recorder to the H2 Zoom which we could hand off between us
    12:57 – according to Schmoe this came from Family Guy Episode 6, Season 1, “The Son Also Draws”. Watch it here.
    14:22 – not counting TicketMaster’s additional charges, our $134.50 tickets included $3 for “traffic control”, an $8.50 “venue fee”, and $1 for Jimmy’s Singing for Change charity
    14:51 – first discussed in Episode 61
    22:50 – as heard in Episode 63
    26:58 – this is what we’re talking about

      >  Download Episode 64

Tragic Accident

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When someone you know and care about dies as a result of a freak accident, it knocks you off your feet. […] You think that what you’re seeing and hearing is so wild that it can’t possibly be happening.

That’s how many of my friends and neighbors in the Caseville area are feeling as they try to take stock of what happened to Judy Zagorski on Thursday [March 20]. Zagorski, a Caseville resident, was killed in Florida when an airborne spotted eagle ray hit her while she rode in a boat driven by her father. The accident was so incomprehensible that it made new reports across the nation.

I met Judy through her long association with the Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival, the 10-day party that transforms our village into Key North, a tropical paradise each summer. Judy, and her husband, Steve, who died in his own nightmarish way in December 2005 after complications from routine shoulder surgery, were among the original organizers of the festival.

Judy was what you call a “people person.” She was sweet and kind and generous, almost to a fault. If you met her, you liked her. It was automatic. She became an instant friend, someone who would do anything she could for you.

People in our tiny resort town will remember her vibrant smile, her great sense of humor, and her humanity for years to come.

— Taken from Dave Vizard’s Bay CIty Times column, via MLive.com

BONUS: 2008 Radio Ad

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    Carrying on the tradition, here’s the radio ad for our concert this year.

    Caught on WCSX (94.7 FM) at around 10 PM Thursday night, after only about nine hours of recording. (The ending is somewhat faked because it got buried under the start of the next commercial.)

Episode 63: Sharkjaws Adam at Bay

By Mickey on 1 Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, March 12 2008 (10:00 PM – 11:30 PM) at Zodiac Racquet Club, Southgate MI
    “The preliminaries out of the way, we finally get down to reviewing the Live By the Bay concert video. And the wait was worth it since Mickey and Schmoe were not only joined by Mike (on phone) and Hud, but Scott and Greg managed to show up again too! (Cameo by Jennifer.)”

    00:03 – Mike attended a work dinner, while in Houston, which he had feared might delay his participation on the panel
    00:55 – obviously MIke did not get disconnected. I can only assume the wire from the phone to our speaker had a shot
    01:03 – score by John Williams and Christopher Young
    03:01 – Hud remained pretty fascinated by the contents of Scott’s MacBook. (The YouTube stuff he mentions was archived, since Zodiac still doesn’t have wi-fi.)
    03:06 – Landshark Lager
    03:33 – Buffett World tour dates
    04:26 – “he’s playing Jul 17th in both Texas and Ohio”, Greg wrote, after perusing vividseats.com (the first place I saw the June 10 rumor)
    05:00 – #3 on Top Live Events, via Buffett World
    05:15 – tonight’s sponsor, Straight Guys Who Love Show Tunes
    05:41 – news on Captain Tony, via Buffett News
    06:15 – Amazon’s link to Sleepy Time Tunes Jimmy Buffett Lullabies. You’re probably not supposed to operate heavy machinery while listening to it, but the :30 samples available on iTunes might be safe enough. Having sampled the samples, I especially like how “CILCIA” is included. What better way to train your toddler to shout “Sonofabitches!” on cue. I do have to admit the album has a pleasing, easy-going feel (despite that monotonous sleigh bell); but ultimately the tracks all sound way too much like those self-loading MIDIs on your old mid-90s Geocities page.
    06:56 – Margaritaville Salsa at Garden Fresh Gourmet
    07:04 – Listener Josh wrote us on March 6
    09:40 – that’s Greg’s U of M inspired ringtone, by the way
    11:20 – Wikipedia describes the Miami Marine Stadium as “originally built for powerboat racing and utilized a floating stage in front of the grandstand that allowed additional concertgoers to listen from their boats in the water behind the stage.”
    12:01 – the Barbizon modeling school
    12:41 – a topical reference about some football coach who was guilty of pressing his naked self against windows, but I can’t find the news story any more
    13:22 – first heard in Episode 13
    14:26 – still need to find Westwood One info
    20:24 – here’s a screen grab off my laserdisc:

“Only visiting this planet”

    25:56 – now compare this to what Scott said in Episode 56
    28:21 – everybody knows the Fins to the Left part, everybody knows the Fins to the Right part. This is the third step…

    28:45 – the “Last Mango” chorus is written on the men’s room wall at Capt Tony’s
    30:24 – you know what? Screw it. The song sounds so good, here’s an MP3 download of it. It’s straight off my ancient bootleg CD, which somebody obviously recorded off the old radio concert LP.
    31:06 – in 1981, according to Wikipedia, “Sailing” won Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Arrangement; the Christopher Cross album won Album of the Year; and Cross himself won Best New Artist
    33:01 – another topical reference, to the mess Detroit mayor Kuame Kilpatrick got in texting saucy messages to his chief of staff, Christine Beatty

      >  Download Episode 63

*** CONFIRMED ***

By Mickey on Leave a Comment

    WA-HOOO!
    The rumor is true. BuffettNews confirms it.
    Jimmy is coming back to Pine Knob: Tuesday, June 10! Tickets are $37.50 or <gulp> $137.50 and go on sale Friday, March 21.
    Hand me a Landshark and a credit card — all systems are go!
    P.S.: the Detroit Free Press also mentions the concert news (via BuffettWorld). Strange how the Freep says “Ticket prices have not yet been announced”, since I got the above prices right off the Palacenet site.

Episode 62: My Kind of People

By Mickey on 1 Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, February 27 2008 (9:45 PM – 11:30 PM) at Zodiac Racquet Club, Southgate MI
    “Hud joins us again as we begin responding to Listener Ed’s suggestion to review Live By the Bay. We give a general overview this week and then, for our next episode (once we actually get around to watching the concert), we’ll go for the song-by-song review. Special Guests: Jennifer and some Landshark Lagers. (The Roger Clyne Podcast starts at 16:56.)”

    It’s the Leap Day Eve edition of our podcast — that is, if it wasn’t for the fact it took almost a week to get it edited and online.
    Notice the clarity in Mike’s phone call? You’d better! It’s a major reason the editing took so long. No expense was spared to get this show to you! We bought a new recorder just ro improve Texas Mike’s audio, we splurged on expensive beers, and I even paid for some of the background music.

    00:14 – I swear our opening theme music was there during the editing process. Evidently it got lost in exporting the mixdown.
    00:29 – dramaturgists call this foreshadowing. Though in truth it’s a callback, since we recorded our big finish before we recorded the podcast (so Jennifer could participate).
    01:27 – “Gospel From the Coast” was actually the original name of Episode 10
    01:44 – “at the Beachcomber” news (via BuffettNews.com)
    02:41 – Lulu’s Biloxi SunHerald interview. BuffettNews also points out this additional article.
    03:03 – Pulaski County’s February 21 win (via BuffettWorld.com)
    03:38 – tour date news is coming in too fast to use us as a source — better check the pages at BuffettNews and BuffettWorld
    04:11 – Sonny Landreth news (via BuffettNews.com)
    04:56 – Conan’s remarks slightly edited for time
    05:13 – Gently Weeps at Amazon or at iTunes
    06:37 – I’m pretty sure Hud said “Bookie Schmoe”, but I still choose to hear it as “Boogie Schmoe” just for the entertaining mental image
    10:00 – link to the Parrot Head quiz, as discussed in Episode 58
    16:09 – postulated because Hud has a mustache
    16:17 – this is the 80s usage of “pimping”, which is more akin to “disappoint, let down, backstab, or double-cross”
    16:50 – maybe Buffett thinks Michigan fans are like cicadas
    21:25 – link to the Garden Fresh Gourmet site
    21:33 – Crane’s Detroit Business article
    22:11 – dog food packaging?
    23:03 – Listener Josh provided us with information about the restaurant, but I think we will save it for our next episode
    25:59 – time for a Donate button? That organ music cost me 99¢
    26:22 – and a new catchphrase is born
    26:43 – the magic of editing. For the record, Mike’s phone did not die out that immediately. Nor did I get his voicemail messages that fast.

      >  Download Episode 62

Episode 61: Acrocashyto

By Mickey on 4 Comments

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, February 13 2008 (10:00 PM – 12:00 AM) at Zodiac Racquet Club, Southgate MI
    “Hud stays for most of the episode, Greg communicates via e-mail, and Mike actually
shows up in person. This week’s album under review is 1994’s Fruitcakes. And, by popular demand, we present another chapter of Hud’s Hooker Korner. (Guests: Jennifer and Jacob. Occasional yawning and fidgeting: Mike’s and Schmoe’s kids.)”

    This week’s show name was stolen from inspired by a parody title in an old Mad Magazine
    00:03 – although the door squeak is gone, Hud compensates for it imitating the noise throughout the show
    01:09 – it was my idea, in fact. It seemed funny at the time.
    03:05 – …and an angel gets its wings…
    04:09 – Schmoe refers to events at the end of Episode 55
    06:01 – some conversation which was cut for time creates an awkward transition here. Schmoe now begins to talk about his plans for Good Friday which, juxtaposed to the previous talk about porn, make his mention of fish tacos particularly awkward. I left this segment in anyway, just because of my conversation with Hud.
    06:53 – follow-up post on Thomas Crompton’s blog
    07:40 – photos from the Nimitz concert can be found here, here, here, here, and here
    07:47 – link to Jimmy’s interview on Bloomberg TV, via BuffettNews
    07:57 – Margaritaville Salsa
    08:20 – one of these days I’ll edit the video from that night and upload it
    08:31 – check the tour date pages at BuffettNews and BuffettWorld
    09:23 – link to “Oysters & Pearls” story, on BuffettWorld
    09:52 – CILCIA on shuttle?
    10:07 – news of the Asheville CIP closing. The BuffettNews message board provides the follow-up info
    11:25 – photo album of our visit to the local CIP
    11:56 – audio from the Monk episode “Mr Monk Paints His Masterpiece”, from Season 6
    12:18 – note: audio clip slightly edited for time
    14:19 – audio from This Week in Tech #131: “G’Night Dad”.
    14:59 – Stephen Colbert is interviewing Rick Warren, author of A Purpose Driven Life, in this January 28 2008 installment of The Colbert Report
    16:41 – another inside joke
    17:33 – Drink of the Day was Amber Bock
    17:58 – my 1993 tour setlists page
    18:33 – information via the Google cache of alt.fan.jimmy-buffett
    21:44 – I know, it sounds like I contradicted myself. I meant something more along the lines of “too much, all at once”
    21:53 – you can play along at home with this PDF of Greg’s Fruitcakes review
    24:17 – in January 1991, four Cuban refugees in wetsuits arrived at Jimmy’s Key West dock in an 18-foot boat. Before the Coast Guard took them, Jimmy gave them a copies of Song(s) You Know By Heart to show them there was more to American music than Julio Iglesias and Gloria Estefan.
    29:31 – Here’s my little visual tribute to “Lone Palm”. It’s a tableau I discovered on the beaches of Antigua: pre-sunset | post-sunset
    30:12 – “Apocalypso” is the song with the flute solo
    31:53 – I intended to include an audio snippet of that, from the July 19 1994 concert, but there was so much talking going on during that song it was tough to make out Mike and Hud in particular
    33:13 – and, through the magic of editing and pre-recording, Hud will do just that
    33:33 – a reference to our great G.E. / C.E. Smith controversy of Episode 32
    37:01 – a reference to the End Titles of our previous episode
    37:28 – “The Booklovers”, on the Promenade album by The Divine Comedy, is another song that mentions Flaubert. As does “Living With Girls” from Doug Anthony Allstars.
    39:09 – “Quietly Making Noise” recorded July 4 1993
    41:23 – “In the Same Boat” recorded July 3 1993; the end was slightly edited for time
    41:40 – in my limited experience, French people you meet on the street were quite nice and friendly; it was French people on the job (as in, for instance, restaurants, trains, or post offices) who were the rude ones
    55:53 – RealName Jim and I refer to the “Homer Badman” episode of The Simpsons, Season 6
    57:25 – i’ve tried to dig this site up, but I cannot find a working link to include here

      >  Download Episode 61

Episode 61B: Quietly Mocking Schmoe

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, February 13 2008 (10:00 PM – 12:00 AM), at Zodiac Racquet Club, Southgate MI

    But wait, there’s more!
    I guess having Mike in person again got us even more talkative. Not only did we record our second longest show (as of this writing) but we talked long enough to record a bonus show. Here are a few extras salvaged from the cutting room floor: Mike and Schmoe reminisce about being asked to work security for a recent concert by The Knack (they performed at Mike’s sister’s company Christmas party); and Schmoe continues our tradition of reviewing the Super Bowl halftime show.
    (Show title suggested by Texas Mike. Other nominees include “Henchmen for the Night” and “With a Rebel Yell, He Mocked Schmoe, Schmoe, Schmoe”.)
    Listen now…

…or…

      >  Download Episode 61B

 

 

 

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Episode 60: Havana Nagila

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Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, January 23 2008 (10:00 PM – 11:30 PM) at Zodiac Racquet Club, Southgate MI
    “This week, Mike, Schmoe, and Mickey return to reviewing albums, taking a look at
Havaña Daydreamin’. Plus, we introduce a new segment to the podcast: Hud’s Hooker Korner, hosted by special guest Hud. (And the Roger Clyne podcast starts at 38:49.)”

    So much for resolving to do a faster turnaround with the editing. This episode was recorded on Wednesday and didn’t get uploaded till late on the following Monday! For some reason Zodiac was very crowded on that Wednesday and we were thinking we might have to resort to the old empty haunted beauty parlor again (as we had done in Episode 34); but fortunately, the back room cleared out in time for us to set up and make our phone calls. Greg, who had suggested this week’s album review, was unexpectedly incommunicado; but we were able to reach Mike.
    01:30 – Lucy’s cookbook at Amazon & Borders
    01:53 – Lucy’s cookbook at Barnes & Noble
    02:02 – Ralph MacDonald’s CD, Mixty Motions
    02:19 – Ralph MacDonald’s site
    02:39 – Paul Shaffer’s Day in Rock
    03:49 – the decade and millennium too, but century sounds better
    04:19 – no pun intended
    04:48 – announcements not “announces”
    05:22 – as you can see here, our last album review was Homemade Music in Episode 55
    11:19 – no, it’s a tilde there, too. Here’s the Wikipedia source of my Havana information; and here it is at BuffettNews and at Buffett World
    13:32 – no, I’m wrong. My dictionary defines “dapper” as “neat in appearance” (not just in attire) so I guess it can still apply
    16:33 – the other song titles from this January 19 2008 episode of Car Talk were “Get Off the Stove, Grandma, You’re Too Old to Ride the Range”, “I Don’t Know Whether to Kill Myself or Go Bowling”, “One Day When You Swing that Skillet, My Face Ain’t Gonna Be There”, “If You Won’t Leave Me, I’ll Find Someone Who Will”, and “Billy Broke My Heart at Walgreen’s and I Cried All the Way to Sears”
    20:34 – anyone else remember the old Radio Shack CB tribute LP All Ears?
    20:51 – I don’t know why but I always pictured the narrator of “West Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown” as a trucker. But, now having admitted it out loud, I went back to check the lyrics and there’s really nothing there to suggest that idea
    22:52 – songs taken From the Vault at COBO.org. The first one was edited to save time
    25:10 – also, edited to save time
    26:45 – I really should not have been so quick to say that. Not having bought that CD, I don’t know what its liner notes might have been
    28:58 – Schmoe sees “Defying Gravity” as being about getting high. I see “Defying Gravity” as being about death.
    36:15 – speaking of carbonated beverages, it’s fairly well known we in the north call it “pop”, the coasts call it “soda”, and the south calls it “Coke”. This map is a good breakdown of usage
    38:39 – Schmoe refers to our Changes review in Episode 34
    38:55 – link to Turbo Ocho concert clip
    39:11 – an unnamed person recommends the Download Helper add-on for Firefox
    39:42 – hear “I Do”, “Mercy”, and the other Turbo Ocho songs at the RCPM audio player
    40:15 – that would be Chad Heckler, who appeared in Episode 52
    40:30 – more details about Mike’s custom guitar coming soon…
    42:24 – “Jim” being, of course, Mike’s brother and the singer of our theme song
    42:40 – Government Honey and Voodoo Cafe
    42:56 – themes for Hud’s new Hooker Korner segment by Bernard Herrmann and Ira Newborn

      >  Download Episode 60

Episode 59: 1,080 New Resolutions

By Mickey on Leave a Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, January 9 2008 (10:00 PM – 11:30 PM) at Zodiac Racquet Club, Southgate MI
    “Happy New Year! Not only is Mike still on speakerphone but now Greg is too, discussing, with Schmoe and Mickey, their Buffetty Christmases and New Year’s resolutions. Special guests: Hud and Jennifer. (The Roger Clyne podcast starts at 7:51.)”

    00:00 – Hud’s holiday cheer was taped Wednesday as well, but he had to leave before the formal podcast session started.
    01:04 – Mike and Greg were upset I prompted Schmoe like that, but I wanted him to get the date right
    01:25 – …giving me a chance to experiment with my iPhone’s conference call capability
    02:13 – Make it Right NOLA
    02:16 – YouTube video from the event, via BuffettNews
    02:22 – Dan Folgelberg‘s site. (It appears Mr Folgelberg cowrote “Domino College”, which makes me think I was confusing him with David Loggins, who cowrote and co-sang “Island”)
    02:39 – The Innocent Age
    02:47 – our local paper’s copy of this article
    03:15 – BuffettNews’s photos of the appearance | and their links to YouTube videos
    03:23 – BuffettNews’s coverage
    03:29 – “Blackwell”. I know, it’s “Blackwell”. (Maybe I was thinking of Nina Blackwood, having recently listened to a Martha Quinn interview from the Stuck in the ’80s podcast.) And here’s the link for Episode 50
    03:39 – Somewhere Over Hong Kong
    03:47 – Top 20 or 21 Tours of 2007, according to Pollstar
    06:08 – BuffettNews’s Top Story of 2007 Poll
    08:03 – RCPM’s Turbo Ocho page. But to be honest, writing eight songs in eight days pales in comparison to Jonathan Coulton’s song a week schedule or Beatnik Turtle’s recently completed song a day for an entire year project! (Though there’s still a lot to say for quality over quantity.)
    09:08 – here’s the video Schmoe describes
    10:33 – Steve Larson’s MySpace page
    11:55 – “Wackity Schmackity Doo!”, courtesy of Patton Oswalt, track 20, Werewolves and Lollipops (2007)
    13:03 – the famed Schmoenade recipe
    17:39 – mentioned because I recently saw Xanadu on Universal HD. The movie is pretty bad, but I have to admit I still like the songs
    18:22 – this show was recorded Wednesday night and went up Friday night, which I think just barely falls within the parameters of my self-imposed time limit
    18:55 – even trying not to say them I still said them tonight. However, I edited them out, for my own sake
    20:12 – for the record, Mike & Schmoe’s HDTV’s are 1080i plasmas from Vizio
    21:02 – some say “jacket”, others say “inner sleeve”
    22:39 – see 11:55
    23:02 – The Whole Enchilada
    23:50 – for the record, I’m referring to the Samsung BD-UP5000. And I completely forgot how I also got the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy on Blu-ray, which I guess could be considered Buffetty
    24:30 – nice, inventive pronunciation of “supposedly” there, if I do say so myself
    25:43 – an explanation on why I’m laughing so much. To cut down on interference we have my phone on one end of the table and the speaker (a plain old computer speaker) on the other end. Even though Schmoe and I should be facing the phone and its microphone, so that Mike and Greg can hear us, we inevitably start addressing the speaker just because that’s where Mike and Greg’s voices are emanating. At this particular point in the recording, I noticed Schmoe was really leaning in toward the speaker. I gestured that he should turn and face the phone. He nodded, turned toward the phone briefly, and then turned right back to the speaker. The fact he acknowledged it and then two seconds later forgot it really cracked me up. Then again, maybe you had to be there.
    26:16 – see 11:55

      >  Download Episode 59