TV Party Tonight! Season Two: Andy Kaufman vs Jerry Lawler - by Colin Gawel

Welcome to season two of TV Party Tonight! Just to get you up to speed, TV Party Tonight is us folks at Pencilstorm sharing the Youtube rabbit holes we are diving into to kill time during the boring Ohio winter. John Lennon didn't live in the Midwest, but if he did, he might have written a song called, "Whatever Gets You Through the Night". or whatever. Also, I'm writing this in real time. Grammar may be dicey. Just imagine we are in a bar together and i'm jamming my phone in your face screaming "Watch This!"

Anyway, I'm going to kick off season two with clips of Andy Kaufman and his feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler. I recently read the book Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman by Bill Zehme. The thing I enjoyed most about this book was....

"WAIT!! Did you see Man on the Moon? Did you see Jim & Andy? Or the documentary I'm From Hollywood?  Did you read the Bob Zumuda Book? Did you? DID YOU?? huh? HUH? HUHHHH?"

The answer is no. I just read the one book. And then starting surfing Youtube for wrestling clips. And typing this. 

I'm sure I will catch up on all that stuff eventually, but Andy Kaufman is sort of like Muhammad Ali in that no actor can do the real person justice. Andy had been wrestling women at his standup shows and on Saturday NIght Live. People HATED this bit. It pretty much ruined his career. Still, being a performance artist and pro-wrestling fan, Andy had the idea to take this act directly to the people. He proposed the idea to WWE CEO Vince McMahon but he passed. Just too much heat having Latka from Taxi do the heel turn against women. 

However, in Memphis, a budding young promoter and wrestler himself, Jerry Lawler,  jumped at the chance of having a huge celebrity become part of his local wrestling program. The two agreed to start a video feud with Andy promising to  eventually show up in Memphis .... Below are the highlights of that feud. I'm so excited for you to watch this. 

This shove prompts a Hollywood lawsuit. 

So this leads to the infamous Andy Kaufman / Jerry Lawler appearance on the David Letterman show. I watched this live as a kid while on vacation with my family in Ocean City Maryland. It blew my mind wide open. I had no idea what was happening. It made me a Letterman fan for life. A couple of thoughts before watching this..

- Lawler was every bit the performance artist as Andy. 

-The two were supposed to make up on air. Just before going on, Andy told Lawler, "you have to hit me". Jerry responded, "I'm just this hick from Memphis, these cops will arrest me." Just before break, Lawler went for it. Nobody on Letterman knew it was coming. There was a 22 minute commercial break while security sorted out the melee.

- Letterman handled it all beautifully. 

ENJOY

Even though it was over on the national scene, the feud kept going on local Memphis TV. Andy was not doing this for the money. He loved it. The crowd hated him!!

Can it get better? Yes, Kaufman goes face and humbly asks for Lawler's help.

Big mistake Lawler!! Kaufman and intellectual equal Jimmy Hart pull ultimate heel turn.

And then, cementing his greatness, upon learning of Andy Kaufman's death, Jerry Lawler doesn't break character. He does it the right way. Andy would have been proud.

As time passed, Jerry has come clean about his and Andy Kaufman's relationship. Listen here. 

Colin Gawel writes for Pencilstorm and is going to Wrestlemania this year. 

Vince McMahon and XFL Blow Second Chance for Heel Turn - by Colin Gawel

Colin's Coffee was abuzz with excitement when news broke that Vince McMahon was going to reboot and relaunch the formerly doomed XFL football league. Sure, we all mocked the previous incarnation with He Hate Me, gratuitous cheerleader-cleavage shots and overall lousy action, but after watching the recent 30 for 30 about the league I had an epiphany: The XFL failed because it was ahead of it's time. People just needed more time to "dumb-down" (or would it be "dumb-up"?) and it could be a gold mine. I think in the year 2018 the populace is now sufficiently stupid enough to embrace the new XFL.

Including yours truly. 

Picture this: The California Commies go on the road to face the Alabama Klan in Mobile. Fans erupt as the Commies, led by League MVP Colin Kapernick perform their traditional pre-game flag-burning during the National Anthem. "You'll pay for this Commies!!!" screams Klan color analyst Roy Moore. 

Meanwhile, top draft pick Johnny "Football" Manziel's squad, the Reno Pimps take on the Charleston Steeples led by "Saint" Timmy Tebow. 

Needless to say, both Tebow and Manziel would have a camera crew on them full-time for a weekly reality show covering their off the field exploits. Johnny spends off days "working" at the Mustang Ranch while Tim volunteers his time working with orphans on ponies. And reading the Bible to orphan ponies.  All of this would be available through the XFL app for just $9.99 a month. 

See where I'm going? THIS is the XFL Model I was hoping that Mr. McMahon would unveil at his press conference. And I'll admit, I was secretly hoping the LA KISS (formerly owned by Paul Stanley & Gene Simmons) would be given a spot in the league, too. I loved the show 4th and Loud. I mean, watching Paul Stanley address a football team is the reason reality TV exists in the first place. Let's think big: Fans calling plays on twitter; Injured players being left on the field until their team scores; Instead of just time outs, teams get one smoke screen or oil slick each half. Stuff like that. 

ALAS, the "new" XFL promises NONE of that. What's worse is there aren't even any heels allowed. You can't even have a DUI and get in the league. I'm not sure if Mr. McMahon knows exactly who plays the game of professional football but somebody better give him a copy of Pros and Cons to leaf through on his private jet ride home. It would be tough to field a respectable defensive line with a clean criminal record, let alone an entire league. 

And, Vince McMahon knows better than anybody the power of the heel. They generate the heat. The cheap heat gets you the ratings. He himself is one of the best heels of all time. Could you imagine WWE with only John Cenas and no Bray Wyatts? BORING.

Vince leads us to believe the selling point of the XFL is that the games are going to be punctual (just two hours), played clean, and with everybody standing at attention for the National Anthem. 

YAWN. Count me out. I suppose a master such as Vince McMahon could just be setting up us suckers for a master heel-turn when he clocks Tim Tebow over the head with a chair before the XFL Super Extreme Bowl, but it seems unlikely. My day just got a little less fun. 

Colin Gawel watches WWE Monday Night Raw instead of Monday Night Football but is a fan of the Cleveland Browns so there is never a conflict. He wrote this at Colin's Coffee while ignoring customers.  

Tom Petty: A Real Highwayman's Farewell - by Ricki C.

(editor’s note/reader advisory: Ricki C.’s first blog in awhile on Pencilstorm contains strong language, which, truthfully the Pencisltorm Editorial Board chose not to edit, because we’re all a little afraid of Ricki, so we don’t like to screw with his copy.  Consequently, you might wanna keep the kids from reading, or at least monitor the new words they learn.

Also, the Editorial Board HAS detected the vaguely suicidal leanings in the piece, but Ricki is, after all, a West Side Rocker, so we all think he’ll be okay in the long run, but we ARE monitoring the situation.) 

It’s not exactly a state secret that I haven’t been writing for Pencilstorm for the last few months.  Long story short: my sister Dianne died at the end of November, 2017, after losing a two-year battle with cancer, first slowly, then suddenly (to quote a Watershed tune, I just realized) and I was staying with her at her house in Grove City for her last six weeks while she was in hospice care.  I fully realize that thousands, if not millions, of people have lived through that situation: caring for a loved one in hospice, and I'm not presuming to speak for anyone else here, just for myself, but I have to say - it’s not noble, it’s not life-affirming, it doesn’t offer a loving sense of closure, it’s just sad and heartbreaking.  (I don’t know how hospice care nurses – all of whom, Mount Carmel nurses in my particular case, were wonderful & caring – do their jobs.  I only had to do this once, they do it dozens, if not hundreds, of times.)  

Plus Mike Parks – the fucking GENIUS lead guitarist of Colin’s League Bowlers band – lost his bout with stomach cancer a couple of weeks ago.  

And right before all that Tom Petty died.

Tom’s back in the news this week, because it seems he didn’t die of heart failure at 66 years old as was initially reported, he died of an accidental opioid-related overdose.  Myself, I will turn 66 in 2018, and I’m already on my second cardiac pacemaker (got my first before I turned 50), so I wasn’t all that elated about the “dead of heart failure at 66” news reports about Petty.  It’s oddly comforting to me that Tom died of an overdose, and truthfully, I’m not at all sure it was all that accidental.  It might be comfortable to his children and loved ones to believe it was an accident, but I like to think that Petty took stock of his situation: “I’m 66, I just finished an extensive Farewell Tour with what I thought was just a bad hip, which now turns out to be a fully broken hip that will pain me for the rest of my life, this just might not be a bad time to check out of this existence for good.  I’ve had a long life, I rocked for upwards of 55 of the 66 years I resided on the planet, I made millions of people happy with my rock & roll, in the immortal words of Robert Johnson: I believe it’s time to go.”

I can’t say I blame him.    

I consider an overdose death from Tom Petty after a long & fulfilling GENUINE Farewell Tour a more fitting conclusion to a Rock & Roll Life than many other rockers – Gene Simmons of KISS and Don Henley of the fucking Eagles leap immediately to mind – are ever going to attain.  And Pete Townshend is NEVER going to leave this mortal coil with as much integrity as Tom Petty did.  I find myself wishing at this point that Pete HAD died before he got old.  (And just so our loyal readers don’t find that sentiment a little TOO harsh, I might wish it for myself too.)  

Mr. Petty, I salute you for a Real Highwayman’s Farewell………

"just junk all all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell"

- Bruce Springsteen, 1973
 

A Recap of TV Party Tonight! Season One: January - March 2017, Episodes 1-10

Congratulations! If you are looking to kill about 300 hours of time watching music videos, you have come to the right place. Each TV Party Tonight! episode is designed to be a launching point for your own never-ending rabbit hole. We set 'em up and you knock 'em down. Below is a summary of Season One, which is sure to keep you up past your bedtime and leave you bleary-eyed the next day.  They also make for fine conversation starters with people you disagree with on Facebook. Enjoy!!! - Colin G. 

TV Party Tonight Part One: A George Martin Rehearsal with Queen  by Colin Gawel

Part Two : Friday's by Scott Carr. (featuring The Clash, Devo, Stray Cats, KISS and more)

Part Three: My Inauguration Rabbit Hole. Colin goes on a post-election bender and takes you along for the ride. (Featuring RATM, Dylan, Prince, 3 Doors Down, Buddy Miller, The Hives and many more. Seriously, he was on a bender. 

Part Four: The Dictators and The Neighborhoods by Ricki C. 

Part Five : Mark Linkous of The Dancing Hoods and Sparkle Horse by JCE

Part Six: Random Stuff from Great Rock Docs by Colin Gawel

Part Seven: Powerful Political Music for President's Day  (featuring Staple Singers, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and more) by Anne Marie

Part Eight: Generation Axe (featuring Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and more) by Wal Ozello

Part Nine: Gulity Pleasures (featuring Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Van Halen, The Bangles and more) by Jeremy Porter

Part Ten: Bands I've gotten mail from. (featuring The Dictators, The Pop, The Atlantics and more) by Ricki C. 

January, 1981: April Wine Releases The Nature Of The Beast - by Scott Carr

April Wine The Nature Of The Beast Released January 1981

After a decade of releasing albums, Canada's April Wine made their commercial breakthrough with The Nature Of The Beast in January of 1981. April Wine formed in Nova Scotia in late 1969 and soon relocated to Montreal. The band signed their first record deal with Aquarius Records and released their self titled debut album in 1971. 

April Wine continued to release records and tour throughout Canada during the 70's. By 1977 lead vocalist/guitarist Myles Goodwyn was the only member that remained from the band's original lineup but the band seemed to be settling in to a stable configuration. During 1977 April Wine played a charity concert at the El Mocambo Club in Toronto opening for The Cockroaches. The Cockroaches turned out to be The Rolling Stones playing under a secret identity, but it was a fairly well known secret and the event drew a huge crowd. April Wine recorded a live record at the El Mocambo show and the Stones also recorded their set and used some of the recordings on their Love You Live record.

April Wine toured the United States for the first time in 1977, including some dates with The Rolling Stones. The band also added a third guitar player during this time which gave them a harder edge and would be the final piece to complete the band's classic line up.

1978's First Glance album was the first to feature the new three guitar version of April Wine and was the bands first significant commercial success outside of Canada. The album featured the FM rock radio staple "Roller" which became a Top 40 hit in the US and gave the band their first gold album outside of Canada. Harder Faster followed in 1979 and featured another hit with the song "I Like To Rock" and also included a great cover of King Crimsons "21st Century Schizoid Man."  Harder Faster also went gold in the US.

With two radio hits under their belt and touring that had taken them around the globe, the time seemed right for April Wine to achieve major success. The band delivered their 9th record, The Nature Of The Beast on January 12th, 1981 and from the first note it feels like this is the one.

The Nature Of The Beast opens with "All Over Town" and "Tellin' Me Lies," two upbeat rockers that set a tone for a record that is near perfect. Up next is one of the two big hits from the record, "Sign Of The Gypsy Queen." This song is actually a cover of a song released in 1972 by a Canadian singer/songwriter named Lorence Hud. April Wine gave the song an overhaul and made it completely their own and it became a huge hit on radio and MTV.  I remember seeing the video on MTV almost every time I turned on the TV. This was the very early days of MTV and most of the videos at that time were live performance videos, which was the case with the videos taken from The Nature Of The Beast.

Next was the album's biggest hit, the power ballad "Just Between You and Me." The song has all the signatures of a great power ballad ....a delicate vocal, catchy chorus, a blistering lead guitar and for good measure one line sung in French. This song also received heavy play on MTV and was the band's highest charting single, hitting No. 21 on the Billboard singles chart. "Just Between You and Me" could be compared to REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" but I think April Wine would win the battle of the power ballads.

The rest of the album is nothing but wall to wall ROCK! The real star of this record is the guitar. This is a guitar record - or better yet - a three-guitar-attack record. Highlights include "Crash and Burn," "Future Tense," "Wanna Rock," "Big City Girls" and "One More Time". 

The Nature Of The Beast was recorded in England in 1980 just after the band finished up a tour of the UK and made an appearance at the Monsters of Rock festival. The album was co - produced by Mike Stone, who had worked extensively with Queen and had also mixed Paul Stanley's 1978 Kiss solo album. Stone managed to capture April Wine's live energy and helped them construct an album that still sounds great 37 years later.

The Nature Of The Beast is one of those records were everything seemed to go right: it sounds great, the performances are amazing and all the songs are winners. I have a short list of other records that also fall into that "everything seemed to go right" category: REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity, Billy Squier's Don't Say No, Blue Oyster Cult's Fire Of Unknown Origin and a few others. Not saying they are the most important records ever made but if I am having one of those days were it seems like there is nothing to listen to, I can pop on one of those records and think, "Yeah, this is a great record!"

The Nature Of The Beast is a GREAT record!

Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH  bands Radio Tramps andReturning April.  Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.