Related To Yesterday's Post

(clicking on this image should make it easier to read)

The Measles were a Kent institution for 10 years, lasting through numerous personnel changes and a couple near misses at national breakthroughs to posthumous fame as a starting point for a rock-n-roll star and an anonymous appearence on a million selling 45. The Measles, chapter one, were formed by four Kent State University students in 1965. All four members were accomplished musicians, none more so than New Jersey import Joe Walsh and Larry Lewis as dueling guitarslingers. Original bassist Chas. Madonio left to join the Majestics (aka Styx) and was replaced by KSU student Bobby Sepulveda. Drummer Buddy Bennett was the only member to remain througout the duration of the band. The Measles hooked up with the Kent bars and got a fast reputation as a top-flight band. Although they played the top 40 dance action, the Measles pushed the envelope as much as they could, quickly mastering the burgeoning harder garage and psych sounds. An attempt to record some original songs at Akron Recording did not pan out, but through producer Bill Palmer they met Andy Apperson who arranged them to audition in New York. Apperson had already got the Music Explosion on the charts and the Kasenetz-Katz operation wanted more Ohio acts. Several songs were recorded in the spring of 1967. Although nothing came of the audition, the Measles were still packing the Kent bars. In the summer of 1967 bassist Bobby Sepulveda was drafted, and replaced with Chas Madonio (after the Styx disbanded) for the first of many changes. Joe Walsh grew restless with the bar scene and started working with some Cleveland musicians in a more progressive bag. Joe's replacement was former Comin' Generation guitarist Bob Webb. Meanwhile, the Ohio Express, the band that got the deal with Kasenetz and Katz, got a 45 out with "Beg Borrow and Steal" and the flip side "Maybe". Unknown to almost everyone, "Maybe" is actually a Measles song (composed by Joe Walsh), "I Find I Think Of You", that was stripped of the vocals. Shortly afterwards, the 1st Ohio Express LP was released that included two Measles songs, the full-up "I Think Of You" and a Bobby Sepulveda song, "And It's True". Bobby Sepulveda discovered this bizarre lineup when he heard the LP playing in the military barracks! After changing personnel, the Measles added a female singer, Mary Sterpka, and new bassist Jeff Curry, keyboard player Dave Andress (who had been in the Chancellors), and later, a new drummer, Tim Frazier, and got another recording deal with Mainstream records. A name change to something "hipper" was needed, so Lacewing became the new and short lived moniker . The Lacewing LP was recorded at Criteria studios in Miami, just like the other NE Ohio bands like Decembers' Children and Freeport. A 45 of "Paradox" was released but neither the 45 or LP got much action, as there was no promotion even at the local level. After the Mainstream deal had played out, the band reverted back to the Measles and continued to be a major local attracion for a few more years. Joe Walsh added some continuity to the Measles/Lacewing path when he included Mary Sterpka to sing the backing vocals on the James Gang hit "Midnight Man". Bob Webb joined the James Gang on the last LP.

Memories From College Days

Here is a picture of "The Measles", a band that was very popular during the mid-1960's in Kent. This picture was taken at a bar called the 5th Quarter, which no longer exists. That time period was also when Sue and I first met. We probably danced to this band's music.

Historical Note: You can't see him in this picture, but Joe Walsh played with this band. He is not visible here, but Rich Underwood, the guy in the middle, says he was there. He went on to play with another band called The Eagles.

Demolitions in Kent

Two houses on Erie Street were torn down recently. This is the start of a series of house demolitions that will make way for the construction of the Esplanade walkway extension connecting the KSU campus with downtown. I hope that the construction plans include hand rails along the walkway to aid those returning to campus on Friday and Saturday nights.

Happy Hour

Yesterday, Angela, Rudy, Joe and I provided some "old-time rock and roll" for Happy Hour here at IBE. We did two sets with a break in between during the 4:00-6:00 party.
Next month, we plan to do it again with a country music theme.

Douglas With Toothbrush

This picture was posted on Facebook by Kim Moomy. Douglas likes to brush his teeth since they put a stool in the bathroom. He even uses two toothbrushes.

Oops!!

I have been told that the pictures of the 1884 car that I thought were included in a recent post were only visible to me. Here is another try without the text.

Printer Upgrade

We have been talking about getting a wireless printer for a while, so last night we went to OfficeMax and got one. It's an HP Officejet Pro 8600. It's a major improvement over our old one. This model was "on sale" for $149.99. That's what most stores were asking for this model. But they were also offering $50.00 off if you traded in your old printer. Basically we paid $100.00 for the new one.

So now, both Sue and I can print documents from our laptops or my smartphone using our Verizon wi-fi. The printer also scans and copies like our old one and also faxes (if you have a land line). We just have to decide on an out-of-the -way spot for the printer that is still accessible. It will be easier when we get back to our house in Ohio. It's just nice not to have to be wired to it to make it work. It also does double-sided copies with out having to re-insert the paper. Cool!!

World's Oldest Running Car is sold at Auction in Hershey, PA

World's Oldest Running Car Fetches $4.62M

Oldest Running Car Fetches $4.62M October 10 2011 at 10:05am By Motoring Staff . This is the oldest motor vehicle car in the world that still runs. It was built one year before Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invented the internal combustion engine. The world's oldest running motor vehicle has been sold at auction for an astonishing $4.62 million (R36.5-million), more than double the pre-sale estimate, as two bidders chased the price up in a three-minute bidding war. The 1884 De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout drew a standing ovation as it was driven up onto the stage at Friday's RM Auction in Hershey, Pennsylvania - to prove that this 127-year-old car really does run! - and attracted a starting bid of $500 000, which was immediately doubled to $1 million. Encouraged by the applauding crowd, the bidding went swiftly up to $4.2 million (R33 million) - 4.62 million (R36.5 million) including the 10 percent commission - before the car was knocked down to a unnamed buyer. The Dos-a-Dos (Back-to-Back) Steam Runabout was built in 1884 by George Bouton and Charles-Armand Trepardoux for French entrepreneur Count de Dion, who named it 'La Marquise' after his mother. In 1887, with De Dion at the tiller, it won the world's first ever motor race (it was the only entrant to make the start line!) covering the 32km from the Pont de Neuilly in Paris to Versailles and back in one hour and 14 minutes (an average of 25.9km/h) and, according to contemporary reports, hitting a breathtaking 60km/h on the straights! La Marquise has only had four owners, remaining in one family for 81 years, and has been restored twice, once by the Doriol family and again by British collector Tom Moore in the early 1990's. Since then, it has taken part in four London-to-Brighton runs and collected a double gold at the 1997 Pebble Beach d'Elegance in California. Count de Dion winning the first ever motor race. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Text inserted by Panda GP 2012: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things Are Heatin' Up In FarmVille

Just A Cabin In The Hills

While we were spending a couple of days in Hendersonville, TN during the holidays, we toured The Fontanel, the former home of country music star Barbara Mandrell and her husband. Sue and I along with David and Barbara (Moomy, not Mandrell) checked out the gift shop, ate lunch at the Farmhouse Restaurant next door and then boarded a bus for the mile long ride to what is billed as the largest log home in the world.

The cabin has 20 rooms and 27,000 sq. ft. of floorspace. Even though there are large rooms for entertaining, the living area of the cabin is remarkably "homey" with much more normal sized rooms for eating, sleeping and relaxing.

Here are pictures that I took during our visit. There were guitars on the walls everywhere. They were donated by famous musicians. I especially liked one of the red, white and blue guitars that I watched Buck Owens play on "Hee-Haw". I put all the guitar pictures at the end of the album. I didn't take pictures of all of them, only a sample.

If you want to know more about The Fontanel, click on the link at the top right of the blog page.