Playboy

  When a concert is announced, there are sometimes opening acts leading up to the headliner.  That person or group is who people come to see.  Usually, the opening people are not as well-known as the headliner, and they are being promoted by the organizer.  Sometimes, the opening acts are people you have heard of.  Such was the case in both at this show.  

 It was put on as a benefit for the local firefighters in Columbia.  The acts were The Shirelles, Andy Childs, and Gary Lewis.  I didn't know who Andy was, but I had come to see Gary Lewis.  The Shirelles opened the show.  

 I knew some of their music from the fact that they were on tour with The Beatles back in the day.  I was sitting on the 2nd row with my friends Chris and Del.  During their set, they wanted an audience member to come up on stage and sing "Going to the Chapel of Love".  They pointed at me.  My heart sank.  I kind of knew some of the words of that song, but not enough to perform on stage. My life had passed before my eyes.  As I was about to stand up, the man sitting in front of me on the first row stood up.  I was so relieved!  They put on a great show.

 Next came Andy Childs.  I wasn't familiar with his work, but it was kind of like country rock.  He had the audience eating out of his hand.  He was amazing.  Every song came with massive applause from the audience.  By the time Gary Lewis (formerly of The Playboys) came on stage, the crowd was exhausted.  He sang almost all of his hits from the 60's which were many.  There was one problem:  our hands were sore from clapping for the two previous acts.  Everyone was polite to Gary, but we were exhausted.  By the way, for those who don't know, Gary Lewis's father was Jerry Lewis.  

 After the show, Chris, Del and I stayed outside at the stage door to meet Gary.  He signed the albums and cd's that we had brought.  He was nice to talk to, and we gave him a copy of our music from The Cobbwebs.  He heard it later and emailed us that he liked it.  

Crouch

  I went to Explo '72 in Dallas which was sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ.  It was June in Texas.  Even though the heat and thunderstorms dominated the week, we also got to see some amazing artists.  Among them where two Christian acts:  Andrae Crouch and the Disciples and Danny Lee and the Children of Truth.  

 Crouch was a gospel singer at the time, but he later went on to work with pop acts including Michael Jackson.  His music has been covered by Paul Simon and Elvis Presley.  He started his career with Billy Preston.  When he was there at Explo, he sang soulful gospel music.  It was a blessing to hear him.

 Danny Lee (Stutzman) sang upbeat songs which was referred to as "Jesus Music".  His was more like rock and roll with Christian lyrics.  I really liked his music.  There was a lot of dancing in the crowd, when he performed.

 Both have gone on to be with God in Heaven.  Andrae had a rocky road later in life.  Danny was a little truer to the faith.  But, both knew who their God was and is.  

Heat

  Canned Heat.  They played at Woodstock in 1969.  That was when The Blind Owl (Alan Wilson) was with them.  By the time I saw them in 1972 at Clemson, Alan had died.  The Bear (Bob Hite) was still with them.  They did an impromptu show at Clemson along with Mountain.  There was one problem though.  Canned Heat came in two vans, and one of the vans got lost on the Blue Ridge Parkway, so only half of the band showed up.  Bob Hite was there, along with their drummer and a guitarist.  It really didn't matter.  There was enough Boone's Farm Wine circulating through the crowd.  Mountain was good, too.  Leslie West and company played very loud.  They had been at Woodstock, too.  As some know about me, my hippie name was The Woodstock Kid.  We had a fine, old time that night.  

Zoom

  With the advent of modern technology, it has become possible to meet someone via Zoom without having to be in their physical presence.  The interaction is still there, even if there is no firm handshake or hug.  Being seen and heard by someone else on a one-to-one basis still counts in my book.  Such was the day I met two giants in the journalism field.

 I had been invited to participate in a discussion on mentoring by Ashleigh Banfield.  She has worked for NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Court TV and now NewsNation.  She was hosting a Zoom meeting to inspire young journalists by inviting people to the meeting who had made an impact on TV or Radio journalism.  She would let the participants ask questions of the guests during the meeting.  She was very approachable, as well as extremely funny.  Professionals need to learn to laugh at themselves at times, and then know when it is time to get serious.  

 Her first guest on the program was Shepard Smith.  He had worked for Fox News for many years but resigned over his journalistic integrity.  He later worked for CNBC.  My question to him was about the difference between journalists who just read teleprompters versus those professionals who care about their work and what comes out of their mouths.  I waved to him, when my question was asked, so that he would know who asked it.  He waved back and then called me by name when answering the question.  He said he left Fox just for the reason that my question was raised.  He was very interesting.

 When the Zoom call was over, I gave him a thumbs up, and he gave one back at me.  I have participated with other of Ashleigh's meetings including one with Dan Rather.  I wasn't able to ask my question which was about Texas, which is where he is from, but he was very good.  Ashleigh and I comment back and forth on chat during the meetings, so she knows who I am.  When Dan Abrams was on the call, he would be talking about legal journalism, while she and I were chatting back and forth about how great On Patrol Live was, and how I knew Curtis Wilson on that show.  

 Meeting someone in person is the best way to go.  Meeting someone online is almost as good.  One day, they will invent a procedure to reach through the screen and shake someone's hand for real.  I hope I live to see that day, although it might be kind of creepy.