retro-the-best....: Feb 12, 2011

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Retro: Kimmer

Posted: 12 Feb 2011 06:11 PM PST

Rick Nelson

Yesterday I was talking with my dear friend Scott Richardson the lyricist/writer/vocalist of SRC. Scott is such a technicolor guy! He remembers everything.... Scott's voice is so fantastic, hopefully soon I'll be able to share some of his new music with my readers. We got to talking about Scott's career after SRC. More to come on that story later.... But Scott taught me about Baker Knight.... and his song "Lonesome Town" Very interesting story.

Baker Knight

Baker Knight (July 4, 1933 - October 12, 2005) was an American songwriter and musician from Birmingham, Alabama. He was born Thomas Baker Knight Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama where he wrote music in his spare time.

Knight moved to Hollywood in 1958 in hopes of pursuing a career in acting, but was unsuccessful. He became friends with Eddie Cochran and Cochran's girlfriend, songwriter Sharon Seeley, who helped him find work as a songwriter.

Knight wrote "Lonesome Town", which became a hit for Rick Nelson in 1958, as did the B-side, Knight's "I Got a Feeling". Nelson continued to record Knight's songs, many of which became hits. Read more HERE

Scott R told me that "Lonesome Town" was a favorite song of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Paul chose the song for the funeral of his beloved wife Linda. Paul did record "Lonesome Town" Here is a video of him performing it. Love it but still like Ricky's version best.

Scott collaborate with Baker Knight for over 4 years on his biography " A Piece of the Big Time" and Scott feels that his work with Baker and "Lonesome Town" was a very important part of hiw own musical journey.

Scott Richardson

RETRO: KMMER AT THE 8 BALL WITH SCOTT MORGAN!

Posted: 12 Feb 2011 04:34 AM PST

Happy Birthday Scott!

Kimmer and pal Scott

Yesterday was Scott Morgan's birthday! Mine was the 9th and Scott the 11th. His family gathered to take Scott out for a nice dinner at the Real Seafood Co. in Ann Arbor. After dinner everyone was meeting up at the infamous 8 Ball Bar underneath the Blind Pig.

Scott Morgan and his beautiful sister Jeannie xxoo

Scott's sister Jeannie was there with her husband and her daughter Jennifer. Jennifer is an artist too like my daughter Lesley. Really sweet girl.

Back in action once more

For the first time since the 80's I picked up a pool cue. Used to shoot tournament pool back in the day and was way out of practice. It was really funny... I sunk like 4 bank shots! Even Scott cheered when I banked the most difficult one. Really fun!!! I won every game I played! Maybe I'll go buy a cue and take up the sport once more...

Scott Morgan Kimmer and Gabe Heiss

Someone kept blowing up my cell inside the club and I didn't recognize the number so I ignored it. It was GABE... he was sitting at the rail looking right at me ignoring that phone! LOL Gabe drew the cool picture of Stanley T. Madhatter that I framed for my living room wall. Here it is:

Great pic by Gabe...photo Dane Gussin

[New post] Realm of the Weird: Gene Roddenberry's Spectre

Realm of the Weird: Gene Roddenberry's Spectre

dailypop | February 12, 2011 at 8:16 pm | Tags: culp outer limits spectre, john constantine hellblazer alan moore jamie delano peter milligan morrison gaiman, occult film, retro cult film, roddenberry star trek, TV movies of the 70's, weird film | Categories: Cult TV | URL: http://wp.me/p4kUt-2jm

After Star Trek was cancelled, Gene Roddenberry started to work toward a new project. 1977 was apparently a time when several similar occult projects were pitched for TV, which may be why Roddenberry's Spectre was dropped for consideration as a series, but the pilot was released as a long-form film and it is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen.

Robert Culp, familiar to many for his stint on I Spy, The Outer Limits and Greatest American Hero stars as a world famous criminologist turned occult detective after he has a breakdown. His former partner 'Ham' Hamilton (played by Gig Young) answers an urgent summons only to find a man he expected to be in dire straights living a lavish life of success, surrounded by strange cryptic books and artifacts of ancient lore. It appears that William Sebastian has cracked, but it's working out alright for him. In fact, no sooner does Ham arrive than a beautiful lady falls at Sebastian's feet asking for his help. Sebastian is involved in a case involving the dealings of a powerful British family named Cyon. The female visitor identifies herself as Anitra Cyon and tries to influence Sebastian to drop the case entirely, and she plans to make it worth his while.

While Ham attempts to deny his recently diagnosed alcoholism by treating himself to the open bar, Sebastian exposes his guest as a succubus and destroys her using black magic. No sooner does one odd event happen then Sebastian reveals a peculiar scar on his chest to his former partner. It is a remnant from his dealings with the dark forces of the mystic world who asked a deed too base and offensive for his tastes, leaving him scarred both physically and spiritually. It's all too much for Ham to take in, but Sebastian demands that the two of them travel to England to assist him in his investigation of the Cyon family.

The pair are flown to England by Mitri Cyon (played by John Hurt), an incredibly talented pianist and gentleman who has chosen to let his brother Sir Geoffrey steer the family estate. The plane is nearly destroyed in a freak bout of turbulence which Sebastian takes as further indication that there are forces at work trying to prevent him from uncovering the true nature of the Cyon family. It's all nonsense to Ham who trusts his senses more than anything else and obviously feels that his good friend has lost his mind.

It turns out that someone in the Cyon family is indeed in league with a demon that has granted great power and success on them in return for unquestioning loyalty and sacrifice. It's up to Sebastian and Hamilton to stop the dark forces of beyond from gaining a foothold in this world. Using their wits and the wisdom gleaned from ancient lore, the pair battle with demonic beings bent on world domination.

With a pitch like that and a stellar cast, how could you go wrong? The pacing is consistent with other TV productions of its time, but the black magic elements, nudity and sexual tones are highly unusual. I understand that the demon is using the attraction of lust and greed to drive the Cyon family to obey him, but it all gets a bit 'Eyes Wide Shut' at times with much of the nudity removed for domestic release (though much of it found its way onto a late night UHF transmission, legend says). Whatever the case, the conclusion is a ritual involving incest, rape and murder... how did any of this end up in TV???

Adding to the weirdness is Culp's intense performance. I adore the actor, but his behavior is so over the top that it becomes a pantomime. In trying to 'sell' the occult angles of the story, Culp seethes with every line of dialog and exposition, making it all seem a bit much given the limitations of the program. I am used to watching Doctor Who were polysterene is meant to be terribly heavy, robots are made of aluminum foil and bubble wrap is terrifying, but when the monster of Spectre finally arrives, it's a bit of a let down to find that it is basically a rented monkey suit.

Clip

I do think that Spectre is an oddity worth exploring if you can get your hands on it. One can see the similarity in the Ham/Sebastian relationship as a kind of Kirk/Spock routine as well. I just can't get over the fact that someone like Roddenberry would be involved with a production steeped in so much perversion, but it was the 70's, that was the hip thing, I guess.

I'm reminded of the Bronze Age of Marvel Comics that was so interested in black magic, monsters and the like and think that there must have been something in the water that similarly influenced this production. Predating the DC Comics/Vertigo series Hellblazer, Spectre does very much feel like a proto-John Constantine, both sexy and cool yet tragic and cursed all at once. Sebastian doesn't seem to smoke, but he rocks a pair of aviator shades and flips a blood-red-silk-lined pea coat like it's nobody's business.

There are no commercial copies of Spectre available, but you can watch the entire (edited) film on youtube or buy a copy from any number of online resources.

Add a comment to this post