4_kidd_4

So we like Cowherd now? Asking for...a friend.

Trusting The Cakewalk! Welcome aboard!

Ok, just got off the horn with Vegas, they want me to fax them the deed to my 32 acre cake farm before they agree. Done and done.

Cake. Walk.

Awwwww yeah!

Long live The Ralph! And I miss The Aud too. Great place to watch hockey in that old school environment. No video board? Check. Death defying slope in the Oranges? Check. The musty dank? Check. I had/have a small obsession with The Aud, and took several unauthorized trips inside, around 2007. Have tons of pictures and probably some asbestos exposure to go with them. It was pretty awesome having the whole barn to myself. I have a nice Aud collection too, 5 blue seats, several pieces of the limestone exterior, a piece of painted concrete from the interior hall, a beautiful art deco glass light cover, and other assorted randomness. Have some interesting paperwork from my trips inside, including a marketing report from the early 80s on how to make the Aud experience better. I also made a nice charcoal rubbing of the ‘1939’ cornerstone. The building was already fenced off for demo, but I went in anyways. Several workers came over while I was making it and were like “cool!”. Then a supervisor came over and said “You really shouldn’t be inside the fence...but go ahead and finish and then ya gotta go”. I like to believe that I was the last person “kicked out” of the Aud.

My back patio. Can’t stand bars during games, too many insta-spicy hot takes all at once.

The only interesting tidbit from Rob Ryan is guessing what tidbits are stuck in his beard.

Preseason zzzzzzzzseason.

Mandelbaum! Mandelbaum! Mandelbaum!

Oh, you two.

I mean the guy’s face is kinda annoying, but whatever, not like I have to smooch him before bed every night.

Or, yanno, the Royal Inbreds... 1682: King George I married his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea 1705: King George II married his third cousin, Caroline 1761: King George III married his second cousin, Charlotte 1795: King George IV married his first cousin, Caroline 1818: King William IV married his third cousin, Adelaide 1840: Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Albert, and the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha begins

I bet most of them say “Jagwires”.

Ah, gotcha. Still haven’t heard that any games have sold out thru the box office so far though.

Yeah I’m gonna go ahead and say 3700 still left for the opener is not a good sign at all. There’s been years where opener sells out before general public even gets a crack.

Ok, I have to tell my story here. I think it was the 98 season, we had an odd Saturday game vs Jets, I believe it was a “win and you’re in” game, playoffs on the line. Anyhap, Cox was with the Jets at this point, so I made 3-foot neon green letters that spelled out C-O-X S-U-X. We hauled them to our seats in the upper deck and held them up proudly, used them to start a few Cox Sucks! chants, the whole section was loving it. People I knew across the stadium told me after the game that you could read the letters clear as day. Which leads me to about mid-first quarter. NFL staff came up and confiscated them. Not the rent-a-cop yellow jackets, but these were legit NFL employees, they looked like feds, ties, sunglasses, ear pieces, walkie talkies, except where it would have said “FBI” on their blazers it was the NFL shield instead. We tried to argue that these letters were allowed, but they said yes soE and shape, but the “language is inappropriate”. So they took ‘em away. And we lost the game. I like to still believe, almost 20 years later, that we made Bryan Cox cry a little, so he told on us.

Did Memphis in 2015, amazing experience, Stax Records, Sun Records, Graceland, and The Lorraine. And what a spiritual experience the Lorraine Hotel was. We turned the corner of the block to see the balcony and whoa, powerful, heavy stuff. You immediately feel the solemn importance of where you are standing. Wife and I are big big music people, Stax is my fave label of all time, next time you are there make sure to go. Yeah it’s a rebuilt replica, but they followed exact blueprints for the studio/office section and the exterior. Tour starts in an actual relocated southern church that they moved from Mississippi(i believe). Again, pretty powerful stuff, and you learn that the rock/soul backbeat we all know and love came from gospel music. Tour ends in the studio, and they play old outtakes and studio sessions over the playback speakers. I sat on the floor for a long time and just listened to banter and cut-takes of Booker T and the MGs, Otis, Issac Hayes, Sam and Dave, among others. Could have sat there alllll day. Here’s a couple books I’ve read, great stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Respect-Yourself-Stax-Records-Explosion/dp/1596915773 https://www.amazon.com/Soulsville-U-S-Story-Records/dp/0825672848

Memphis is an amazing piece of music history. Bands were self-integrating in a hotbed of racial divide. Music unites. For starters, I would suggest picking up a book on the history of Stax Records. Amazing stuff, especially considering the era. It even ties in with The Lorraine Hotel, so many hits were written there because it was black owned and all were welcome. Steve Cropper’s story of writing “Knock On Wood” there is fantastic.

Soul Sister Number One. That’s why. Glad I got to see her in 2011, she was still killin it. She spent some childhood years in Buffalo after her parents split, told a great story about riding her bicycle up and down Broadway and stopping in front of the music clubs to listen. Legend.

Circle of liiiiiife....

What are District Tix? *edit- Looked them up says no seats for saturday. Sold out? Perhaps Jim Thome jersey day has something to do w it? Been to the ballpark a couple times back when it was Jacobs, it’s a very nice yard indeed. Also, the neighborhood by The Agora Theatre, what’s good over there for dinner, something to sop up the booze at the ‘Lips show later on?

Thanks for all the suggestions! Looking forward to a little roadie this weekend. Might try Baltimore@ Indians on saturday if street tix aren’t too crazy.

Will actually be in Cleveland fri nite but not at the game. Is there a Bills bar or something to check out Fri nite, postgame? We’re going to a concert and will be looking for something to do after. Clevelanders- how is The Agora? Good room? Also, Great Lakes brewery, is it as good as the menu looks? Thanks!

Throw right at him and find out who’s right. Simple.