A treasure unearthed, thank Fox! Over three decades ago, David Lee Roth mimed his brand new single to an indifferent world. Out with his new 1994 album, Your Filthy Little Mouth, a short-haired Dave put on the smiles for an audience that would have cheered for a beer fart. With his new band including guitarist Terry Kilgore, Roth unveiled his new direction: back to the roots. Again. The event was “Fox’s Wild Adventures in Paradise: The Rock and Roll Luau”, but I was unable to find out much about this show. My own memory tells me it was early in 1994.
Information below is provided by drummer Ron Wikso:
Yeah, that video was from the Hard Rock in Honolulu, HI and we did that show not long after I joined the band, sometime in either late January or early February of 1994, but I don’t know what date it aired…probably not long after we did it. And yes, that’s Terry Kilgore on guitar there, Jamie Hunting on bass, as well as Brett Tuggle on keyboards and vocals along with Dave and me. They cut off the ending and also made a weird cut in the middle but that’s showbiz!
Paulie Shore and Pamela Anderson were hosts. Incredible flashback to that weird mid-90s period where everybody was pretending to get serious when they were really getting wasted!
RECORD STORE TALES #1131: Foxes & Fireworks Five New Things This Weekend at the Lake
After 52 years, it’s not always easy coming up with new experiences to have at the lake. Sometimes it’s a fortuitous mixture of planning and luck. I am always conscious that every second at the lake counts. Unfortunately, my energy isn’t what it was. I don’t remember having so many naps back in those days. I just remember going, and going, and going! Gosh, when Peter Cavan used to come up to the cottage for a weekend, we’d go from one activity to another without taking a break. We’d go from badminton to throwing around a football, to playing a video game to making a stir fry for dinner. Then we’d be in the car to buy some fireworks. We like it easier these days.
New thing #1: Road tunes
Our weekend began on Thursday evening for the first spin of Arkells’ new album Disco Loadout Volume One on the road. It was a singalong success from start to finish, but it only took us as far as Listowel. For the rest of the trip, we played the Moody Blues Long Distance Voyager. Another success. It is always a pleasure to try new tunes for the road. I am happy to report that both albums did very well, and voices were raised.
We settled in quickly for a quiet weekend. Well, quiet for the moment. I inaugurated the weekend with some Deep Purple on the porch. This was done to celebrate Rock Daydream Nation’s excellent Deep Purple Stormbringer episode, which I was a part of. The episode was well received and I had a blast doing it. Of course, Friday night was Grab A Stack of Rock which I always love doing from the lake. There’s only one issue with doing anything on the porch involving a computer.
As another hallmark of my increasing age, my back hurts plenty after a day of rocking out and a night of live streaming from the porch. Writing? Extremely difficult. The deck chairs are very comfortable there, but only for leaning back. For working with a keyboard and a screen, they are not so practical. Not to mention, we just have these small glass deck tables to put my laptop on. I’ve used a number of laptop stands, but none offered the height, position and stability that I needed to easy my aching back. There must be a solution. Enter: Amazon.
New thing #2: Amazon calling
I heard through the grapevine that Amazon were now delivering to the cottage, though sometimes they have problems finding the addresses. Some of these places are not on GPS. However, let’s give it a shot. I picked a new desk that I thought would work on my front porch, and had it delivered straight to the cottage.
Much to my surprise, it worked! The delivery truck backed into the driveway at 3:00 in the afternoon, and I went outside to find a cardboard box on the deck, waiting for me!
The game has changed. With Amazon now offering next-day delivery to the cottage, imagine what things I will waste my money on when I’m bored! When we were kids staving off boredom, we were limited to whatever toys and cassette tapes the local stores had to offer. Not anymore!
Now, time to set up the desk!
New thing #3: I have a desk on the front deck now
The desk was easy enough to assemble, though the included tools were no match for my dad’s ratcheting screwdriver. It would have taken me an hour or more if I used the wimpy little screwdriver that came in the box. Soon, I had my desk set up, and adjusted for maximum comfort. The game has been changed.
I could spent all day typing now. It was like I had my own little porch nook, surrounded by coffee, lego, potato chips and CDs.
With this new desk, I should be able to do more writing and more video editing than ever before. If I want to! That’s the key to remember. The cottage is for relaxing. I must remember to do what feels right, instead of pressuring myself to “produce”. That said, it was great broadcasting Grab A Stack of Rock with such comfort.
I did want to produce a video short this weekend, and that was semi-successful.
New thing #4: Slow-motion fireworks
My mom and dad left us some Roman candles from the May 24 long weekend. Though not as practical as fountains, they would do for my attempt to get some slow motion video of fireworks.
The first one didn’t give me any footage. The problem is the firework is mostly pauses between bursts of colour. It’s hard to hit record at the exact right time to capture anything, and even at super slow-mo, it’s hard to get more than five seconds of footage. Next time we’ll try a fountain, but for this experiment, I was able to get two videos up on Youtube.
I love it when a plan comes together!
The last new thing that happened was complete serendipity.
On the Saturday night, Jen and I went down to the beach after finishing our delicious ribeye steak dinner. It was after sunset, but the glow of the sun lingers for hours, and you don’t need a flashlight at the beach during twilight. I got up to have a pee in the bushes, and after doing my business, I sang a little song and turned around. That’s what I saw him.
The fox was heading straight towards me. He had a gait unlike a dog. He was unmistakable. With absolutely no fear of humans, he walked with intent right past both of us, and on down the beach.
New thing #5: I finally captured the fox on camera
I’ve been trying for four years now, and I finally got him. The pictures don’t do him justice, but you’re never expecting the fox until he’s right there in front of you. I named this one Eric Caravello.
We didn’t even get into the Lego, the steaks, the fish fry! That will eventually make it into the cottage video.
A wonderful weekend of firsts. Maybe the next weekend will just be old favourites!
There’s a wily fox that’s been prowling the grounds up at the lake. This weekend I caught my first real sight of him. I saw him twice in one day. He has no fear of humans. He is usually carrying prey in his mouth. I’ve named him Reddy, after Reddy Fox from the classic children’s cartoon The Green Forest.
The first time I saw the fox, I was on the front porch rocking away as I often do. The porch did a lot of rocking this weekend. The star of the show was the new album by Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen. The debut Smith/Kotzen CD is turning into an early summer favourite. In particular, the song “Running” is quite incredible. I didn’t know how well the two very different singer/guitarists would mesh. Like cream and coffee. Glowing review to come.
Styx, Kiss, Queen, Ace Frehley, Rush, and Marillion all saw a lot of porch action this weekend. I was playing one of them when the fox ran past again, this time up close and personal. I saw a flash of red and then the movement. He was swift. He moved with the steady determination of a wild animal completely disinterested in its surroundings. He was within six feet me of when he strode past. It made a hacking sound. It did not care that I was there, nor anyone else that he galloped past on his way to wherever he was going.
On neither appearance did I have any chance of grabbing a picture. There was no way. It happened in two seconds. There only chance would have been if he walked past during the rare instances I was running my lake cam. But he never did. I know I’ll see him again. His blatant disregard for humans means he’ll be back. He wasn’t phased by the Schnauzers barking at him either. He’s like a Borg, only interested in one thing and that’s where he’s going. So long as you’re not in his way, he’s completely disinterested. He moves swiftly with no hesitation and no pause. It was an interesting thing to feel so completely outside of nature at that moment.
I’ve been coming to this place for almost five decades. I missed a few summers, but a fox is a rare sighting indeed. We’ve had plenty of rabbits, porcupine, skunks, and even a few deer and one bear. Foxes are elusive. Not this guy though.
I doubt I will ever be quick enough to get a picture of that fox, but I will make sure to keep my eyes open for a sighting. At least we know he’s not afraid of the sound of music. I have the new Styx on deck for next weekend. Let’s see what happens.
FAMILY GUY – “It’s a Trap!” (2010 20th Century Fox)
First, they did Star Wars. Due to popular demand, they did Empire next. And just as Jedi was the weakest of the original trilogy, so is Family Guy’s version.
The full 57 minute episode “It’s A Trap!”, available on its own for those who only like the Star Wars spoofs, follows the same concept as the first two. Favourite Family Guy characters portray the legendary characters from Star Wars. After two, though, the well seems rather dry. Presumably running out of original characters, they peppered the cast with characters from both American Dad and The Cleveland Show. Rollo Brown, Klaus the Fish and Roger the Alien are some of the characters making a Family Guy appearance in the Star Wars universe.
Still, it must have been awful dry in that well when they were writing this.
“It’s A Trap!” had moments that were as funny as any previous Family Guy Star Wars. Then there were stretches that that were as dull and uninspired as Seth MacFarlane’s worst. It was very much a rocky ride, but luckily the good outweighed the bad in this episode.
Likes:
As always, the surprise of what characters are playing who (which I won’t spoil, google it if you must know).
Many celebrity cameos (again I won’t give you spoilers).
The Emperor rocked.
Looked awesome in 1080p.
Ample bonus features (similar to previous instalments). Even the Trivial Pursuit challenge was fun for one viewing.
Dislikes:
Boring Yoda.
One scene where Peter/Han snaps and torments three Imperial officers…just took it too far.
MacFarlane likes jokes that go on too long, but they didn’t work this time.
Pick it up and complete your trilogy.
Or, you know, just watch it on Netflix.
3/5 stars
And, no — there is next to a 0% chance that Disney will let Seth do any more Star Wars.
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