Scratch Crib

7:30 p.m. Oct. 11--

Over the summer I saw rock n' roll commerce played out in its most hopeless grandiose manner with the opening of the Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The $400 million amusement park opened on June 2.
It closed a couple weeks ago, filing for bankruptcy.

The park's CEO was responsible for developing Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando and other HR venues. But he and other creative officers had that bulletproof rock attitude, charging $50 a ticket in tough times. The park never came close to its projection of averaging 30,000 people a day. Hard Rock Park was on my beloved co-worker Robert Feder's bucket list. Now he will have to settle for that Beatle tribute in Branson.

The folks at Busy Beaver Button company in Chicago also have a rock n' roll pedigree. In manufacturing buttons for Beck, White Strips and local venues like the Hideout, they keep their passion in focus. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact the business is run by women. Here's a video of my visit (I guess I was so excited about buttonmaking I couldn't stop nodding like a bobblehead) followed by some essential links.

The links follow.......

Sam, the Man.

2 p.m. Oct. 6---

In conjunction with the opening of the "Million Dollar Quartet" musical in Chicago, I revisited my 1987 interview with Sun Records founder Samuel Cornelius Phillips. It was good stuff. It also keeps my mind off the Cubs. Here's an edited, encore version of my Sun-Times story. [Sam died on July 30, 2003 in Memphis.]

In what Knox Phillips called one of the most candid interviews with his father, Sam Phillips spent two hours on a hot afternoon addressing the dynamics that shaped rock 'n' roll. Sam Phillips has granted only a handful of interviews since he sold Sun Records in 1969. Here is the essence of a man who, according to Rolling Stone magazine, "created a music so innovative and alive that the music itself became a revolutionary force that in turn changed everything......."

Chinese Lantern Festival--in Chinatown! Toronto!

4:45 p.m. Sept 26---

People in Toronto live together like grooves in a record.
There are more than 240 ethnic origins in the city. As promised in my Sept. 28 Sun-Times Travel column, here are most of them (courtesy of Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population). Its fascinating just to type this out.

It also explains why I found so many great independent record stores in Toronto, especially in the Queen West district: the new Rotate This, 801 Queen West (www.rotate.com) where I bought Cuban and calypso vinyl and Soundscapes, 572 College St. (416) 537-1620 which has tons of alt rock and vintage Canadian pop. I forked over $20 for a Poppy Family compilation. (Which way you going Billy?) I also stumbled into Cloud 9, 372 A Queen Street W. which is kind of a head shop and kind of a music store where I scored a 1975 Bob Dylan at Maple Leaf Garden CD.
So, get your pencils and scorecards ready:

Future Sun-Times reporters (L to R) Madeline Asebrook, Ashley Thomas and Zayil Cuaya

5 p.m. Sept. 25----

With the current climate inside and outside a newspaper it is hard to buck up and be optimistic in front of a group of journalism students at a major university. But that is what I did Wednesday afternoon when I landed in the front row of Patty Lamberti's "Feature and Opinion Writing" class at Loyola University in Chicago.

I hope I inspired the students half as much as they inspired me.
When I asked the class how many read a daily newspaper, nearly 80 per cent raised their hand. And while they have more media options (Blogs, fanzines, podcasts, YouTube) than I had growing up in journalism, most of them were loyal to print. They get it.........

8:38 p.m. Sept. 23----
Now that I have had a henna I understand why it is mostly a chick thing.
Hennas are temporary. Women are prone to changing their mind.
A henna requires detailed attention, like applying makeup.
Noted Chicago henna artist Tejal Mehta told me to put vaseline or olive oil over my arm length henna before I took a shower the morning after she henna-ed me. I didn't bother. I thought my henna was already a lost cause.
Here is Tejal at work:

Between 11 and 11:30 a.m. Monday she carefully applied my Cubs henna at the cheery tin-roofed Under the Wire art boutique in Pilsen. Between 11 and 11:30 p.m. Monday I was picking at the henna while watching Bill Clinton on "Late Night With David Letterman." Midsummer is my favorite time of year. The dried up henna paste reminded me of peeling skin after spending a few days in sunny Section 242 at Wrigley Field.
I soon became bored and went to bed........

Chrissie Hynde performing at the opening of her VegiTerranean coffee shop and restaurant in Akron, Ohio.

3 p.m. Sept. 12---

There's nothing middle-of-the-road about Chrissie Hynde, guitarist-vocalist of the Pretenders and former journalist for New Musical Express.
Late last year the always spicy Hynde opened her VegiTerranean restaurant and coffee house in the Northside Lofts, the centerpiece of a new entertainment area north of downtown Akron. The neighborhood is rising from the ghosts of what was known as Lil' Dublin. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington played in area nightspots and live local music can still be heard at the Northside, 111 N. Main, across the street from VegiTerranean. The music club is in a former brick brothel that was built in 1914.....