These people influenced me or my music style and knowledge:
Charlie Chaplain: My mother played a lot of his music, and I have listened to his recordings with awe.
Judy Garland: Especially Live at Carnegie Hall, the best selling album that year (released July 10th, 1961). I have listened to this album hundreds of times. Absolute perfection.
Billy Holiday: I have been Influenced by many many hours of listening to Billie Holiday (as well as Diana Ross portraying her on the “Lady Sings the Blues” Soundtrack).
Frank Sinatra
Tony Bennett
I saw these artists live or saw them in person somewhere:
Live: Elvis Presley (MGM, Las Vegas NV)
Live: Liberace (MGM Grand, Las Vegas NV)
Live: Psychedelic Furs at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington (circa 1985)
Live: Thompson Twins at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington (circa 1986)
Live: Bette Midler in Seattle (circa 1975)
Live: Liza Minelli at the Pier in Seattle, Washington (circa 2011)
Live: Loggins and Messina in San Bernardino, California (circa 1972
Live: Glen Campbell at a casino in Fife, Washington (circa 2010)
Johnny Cash: He had dinner at the Smugglers Inn when he play at the Orange Show in San Bernardino (circa 1972)
Barbra Streisand: Saw her at a furniture store (circa 1979). Never got to see her perform live.
Live: Don Rickles: Classic humor. Did not go easy on anyone.
Live: Jimmy Durante played at the Del Mar State Fair. I worked there for my grandparents in a hot dog stand at the fair.
Live: Iggy Pop: Jammed at my nightclub at 3:00 am in the morning after a nearby concert (circa 1981)
Live: Wall of Voodoo. I booked this band through IRS records. Never hear of them when I did book them, but they were quite entertaining. I only had hear the song “Mexican Radio”.
Live: Grace Jones played at my nightclub to a packed house (circa 1981). My friend Wes Bradley had connections with Warner Bros, and I think he had done her a favor in the past. I was quite relieved when she showed up for the screaming 3-400 people. The power went in the nightclub at the end of the last New Wave song from the “Nightclubbing” album. The music was different than the music people were familiar with. After that, only the sound system stayed on because it was on a separate electrical panel. The familiar beginning to the song “I Need A Man” came on the reel to reel. It was pure chaos and the room was definitely over capacity, you literally could not move.
Live: Romeovoid played at my nightclub to a packed house (twice, circa 1981). I was fortunate to be the light man for those shows. Some songs were hypnotic like “Do You Think I Don’t Mean it”. Ben’s sax was mesmerizing. At the second show, “Never Say Never” had topped the charts. Again, Wes Bradley booked this one for about $750.
Joan Rivers: In her early years she played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I even bumped in to her and Melissa in the gift shop. I think Melissa was about 3 years old. The show was hilarious. I will always miss her wit.
Siouxie from Siouxie and the Banshees: Visited the nightclub I was DJing at after a nearbly concert in Seattle, WA (circa 1984)
People that I know, knew, or wish I knew:
Dan Ireland: Dan was not only my friend since he started the film festival near my nightclub in the 70’s, He went on to direct quite a few movies. He was one of the hardest workers I have ever met. Here is his imdb link and here is another link with some video of him on the website called Trailers from Hell. He casted Rene Zellweger and Jessica Chastain early in their careers, and knew so many people in film around the world, many through the Seattle International Film Festival, and many that he got to know in Hollywood or other places. I miss him alot, he left us much too soon. I have some old pics that I will post here soon. There is quite a bit of information online about him, as well as his business partner Darryl MacDonald, who started SIFF with Dan, and went on to lead the Palm Springs Film Festival. They were both incredibly knowledgeable about film, and were both highly respected.
Rami Malek: This guy is fun to watch no matter what he does. And he seems like a nice guy in general, not to mention he is a fantastic actor. He picks great parts, or gets picked for them. I remember hearing that before he was well-known, that he used to put fliers or business contact info in the pizza boxes he was delivering. Not sure if this is actually true, but it’s funny and shows how determined he was if it is true. Nonetheless, I will see any movie he makes.
Denzel Washington is one of my favorite actors, especially in crime dramas.