41 years ago April 22 - The Blues Brothers debuted on SNL by Kaye Spencer #prairierosepubs #BluesBrothers #SNL

Forty one years ago...

April 22-1978 - The soon-to-become legendary band the Blues Brothers debuted on Saturday Night Live.

Blues Brothers publicity picture
Full citation below

The frontmen for the Blues Brothers, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, made television history that night, and Paul Shaffer introduced them to the worldwide television audience with this fabricated story*:

It was Marshall Checker, of the legendary Checker brothers, who first discovered them in the gritty blues clubs of Chicago's South Side in 1969 and handed them their big break nine years later with an introduction to music-industry heavyweight and host of televisions' Rock Concert, Don Kirshner.

It didn't matter that this musical duo was a "not-quite-real, not-quite fake" creation of the comedic masterminds Aykrod and Belushi. They'd hit upon a novel idea, and they ran with it.

The Blues Brothers performed two songs on that SNL episode - Hey, Bartender and Soul Man. This video is a performance of Hey, Bartender, but not from the SNL debut.

Here are a few trivia tidbits about the Blues Brothers**:

• They were an American R&B, blues, and soul revivalist band with heavy influences from rock and jazz, and the band was created as part of musical sketch on SNL.
• Belushi played 'Joliet' Jake Blues
• Akyrod played the harmonica player/vocalist Elwood Blues
• Well-known and respected musicians have rotated in and out of the band (full list HERE)
• 1978 - released their debut album Briefcase Full of Blues AND (along with New Riders of the Purple Sage) opened for the Grateful Dead at a an Francico concert
• 1980 - the movie, The Blue Brothers
• 1982 - after Belushi's death, the Blues Brothers continued to perform with a variety of musicians in and out of the band
• 1988 - world tour
• 1998 - sequel to the original movie -- Blues Brothers 2000
• A documentary of the evolution of the band is included in some DVD editions of the first Blues Brothers film (Stories Behind the Making of the Blues Brothers.
• 1982 - After John Belushi's death, his brother, Jim, took on the role of "Zee Blues" and performed periodically with the band, and he was also a part of the album Blues Brothers & Friends: Live from House of Blues.
• Actor John Goodman also did a stint as band member "Mighty Mack" McTeer as a vocalist
• 2018 - Dan Akroyd hosted a radio show as Elwood Blues on the weekly House of Blues Radio House
• Between 1992 and 2017 - band recorded 19 albums ( 2 studio; 4 live; 2 soundtrack; 11 compliation)
• 1979 - their song "Soul Man" reached Number 14 on US charts
• Their soundtrack album from their movie, "Gimme Some Lovin'", was a Top 40 hit, and the band toured to promote the film.
• Belushi's wife (Judith Jacklin and his friend Tino Insana) wrote a book titled Blues Brothers: Private - offered back story for the original movie

 My favorite bit of trivia is this story:

To promote Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi, and John Goodman performed at the halftime of Super Bowl XXXI, along with ZZ Top and James Brown. The performance was preceded with a faux news report stating the Blues Brothers had escaped custody and were on their way to the Louisiana Superdome.

So fabulous. ;-)

To wrap up this brief stroll down Blues Brothers memory lane, here is my favorite song/scene from the original Blues Brothers movie - Rawhide/Stand by Your Man. (and, of course, every neighborhood bar has a bull whip hanging on the wall where the band can access it *wink*)

Until next time,
Kaye Spencer

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References, Resources, and Further Reading
*“The Blues Brothers Make Their World Premiere on Saturday Night Live.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-blues-brothers-make-their-world-premiere-on-saturday-night-live.

**“The Blues Brothers.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blues_Brothers.

***Blues Brothers. Digital Image. Publicity picture featured on the cover of the 45-tour disk, "Sweet Home Chicago". 1980. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BluesBrothers.jpg. Reproduced under United States fair use copyright law. 02 September 2009.

Fire Star Press: The Book Tour: Episode Three

Fire Star Press: The Book Tour: Episode Three: On the Road… Finally I was on the road, finally, dragging along a small but heavy rolling suitcase full of books with my right ...

The Book Tour: Episode Three

On the Road… Finally

I was on the road, finally, dragging along a small but heavy rolling suitcase full of books with my right hand, and another small rolling suitcase with essentials in my left (thud-a-thud-a-thud-a.) This was it: the book tour starring yours truly. I was the first author my small publisher had sent out in this way, and the venture was due to a combination of events: I wanted to do it; there was grant money from the Canada Council available; my publisher wanted publicity and hoped that a cranky sort of person like me could drum up a little business and sell books — many books.

My job was to conquer hearts, and I thought I’d manage, all right. I’d been to many book talks in recent months, and I knew one thing was essential: I had to stay lucid although I might be as nervous as a sack of gelatin. I’d seen the tragedies that befell those who didn’t: some babbled senselessly; others were painfully bland, or terrified and mumbling; one shy gray mouse read a paper about her book, head down, never once looking at the audience, putting the entire audience soundly to sleep. I’d heard brilliant, funny speakers too, and had come to the conclusion that what an audience wants is someone energetic, amusing, but disciplined. If I had to use notes, they were for reference only, but I couldn’t read from them; excerpts had to be lively and short. Perhaps, it didn’t even matter what I said: when I was up there, in front of the crowd, I had to be entertaining.

***

From Toronto to Ottawa, I took VIA rail and it felt like luxury. I’d recently been living in and traveling through eastern Europe, taking not the sleek trains most tourists know, but small rattling branch line vehicles, and this modern Canadian train was quite a treat. There were carpets on the floor, comfortable seats, and the staff, smiling and polite, spoke in soft reassuring voices. This was not so for some of my fellow travelers.

When the service attendant came by with drinks and sandwiches, the woman across the aisle from me, she with hair frizzed into stalk-like clumps, said she wanted to see a menu. The attendant, smiling, patient (he’d seen it all) explained there was no menu, then he again listed what foods were available. There was a long silence while madam took in the information.

            “I still want to see a menu,” she insisted loudly and with much entitled petulance.

Did she think this was the Ritz? The attendant was ever patient — he had to be — but I threw spikey clumps my dirtiest look. Which she returned, of course. Still, I think it was the dirty look that finally silenced her.

***

In Ottawa, I had two book talks to give: the one this evening was in the public library; a second, tomorrow, would be in a cultural center. I checked into the hostel where I was be staying (on a long book tour like this one, there would be no hotel luxury, but that was fine with me.) The hostel was inside a 150-year-old former jail — some claim the place is haunted. I hoped it was (for pure entertainment) but still, just to err on the side of caution, if you’d done an enforced stint inside, why send your spirit to serve more time? Nevertheless, my single room, once an authentic three-by-nine foot cell, was anything but dismal, and the jail was within walking distance from the library where I was scheduled to talk.

I killed time walking around town. I don’t know Ottawa at all well, and I hadn’t been there in years. Besides, what was the point in showing up at the library early? I knew things would roll on as smoothly as eggs on a sheet of glass: after all, my publisher’s publicity agent — she with sufficient piercings and tattoos to decorate an entire herd of cattle — had taken care of all the arrangements.

***

“We don’t get my people turning out for book talks,” said the nervous librarian a polite young man who seemed puzzled by why anyone would even consider such a thing. “I did mention that to the woman who contacted me. But we do have copies of your books on the shelves.”

“Yes…well… we’ll just wait and see what happens,” I said with comforting bravado. We went into the small auditorium where the talk would take place. It was perfectly empty. So we sat, waited for something to happen. 

“I did mention that we don’t get many people turning out for book talks,” said the librarian, once again.

“Yes, you did.”

“Unless it’s someone very famous, of course.”

“Of course.”

“Or someone who’s known locally.”

“Yes, there’s that too.”

“I did tell that to the woman who contacted us.”

“Yes, I imagine you did.”

Five minutes before the talk was to begin, my friend Isa showed up with her latest beau. I was pleased to see her. We chatted like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in quite a while. Her beau was charming. The librarian was a nice guy. Time passed. No one else showed up. I talked a little about my books, then I left with Isa and the beau, and we went out to eat.

“Tomorrow is another day,” I said confidently. And that proved to be true.

***

“You’re here for a book talk?” said the confused-looking woman at the cultural center.

“Yes, uh…it was arranged by my publicity agent.”

“Well, yes, she did contact us, and we told her we would be more than happy to do one, and that the date was fine with us. But she never followed up, so we haven’t publicized or arranged anything.”

“Oh, I see.”

“We could see if anyone in the lobby is interested.”

 The idea was not highly successful. One woman said she would be more than happy to hear me talk about the book, so we sat and chatted for a while. She even bought a copy, which was success, albeit on a very minor scale. The events organizer — she probably felt horribly sorry for me — invited me back to her house for a drink. It was a lovely house, warm, secure, inviting, cozy. It looked rather ideal from the rather dreary position I now felt myself to be in.

Then I went back out to my cell at the former jail. “Tomorrow is yet another day,” I told myself. And I knew that, once again, I would probably be proved right.

BEYOND THE FIRE--NEW COVER AND GIVEAWAY! by Cheryl Pierson

When Kendi Morgan witnesses an attempted murder near her home one stormy November night, she makes the only choice her heart will allow: she has to help the victim. But bringing the handsome stranger into her home traps her in the middle of a deadly drug war.

Wounded DEA agent Jackson Taylor is a man with nothing to lose and nothing to fear—until he falls for the beautiful woman who risks everything to save his life.

With his cover blown, Jackson knows he’s all that stands between Kendi and Benito Sanchez, a powerful drug cartel lord. Sanchez swears his vengeance, vowing to see Jackson and Kendi both dead.

Love comes fast when there may be only hours left…can it survive? Or will Jackson sacrifice his partner’s life—along with his own—in exchange for Kendi’s safety? Does a future exist for them BEYOND THE FIRE…
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I'm relaunching my Fire Star Press story, BEYOND THE FIRE, with a brand new cover, and I want to give away a digital copy of this wonderful story to celebrate!

This is a story that was pretty "gritty" to write and make it realistic, but I think you'll be surprised with some of the twists and turns it takes! In BEYOND THE FIRE, Kendi Morgan has been horribly hurt by her ex-husband, but she never lets go of her dreams. She's my kind of girl! She's been knocked down, but she gets up and keeps on moving forward in life. When a wounded DEA agent, Jackson Taylor, shows up on her property, she's not sure if he's a "good guy" or not, but she takes a chance--a big one!

What's the biggest chance you've ever taken in your life? Be sure to comment to be entered for the drawing for a digital copy of BEYOND THE FIRE!

Amazon links for BEYOND THE FIRE:
https://amzn.to/2WTFGSU -- KINDLE
https://amzn.to/2uS6GGo -- PAPERBACK

Easter Eggs and Honey Bees

With Easter Sunday fast approaching, I thought I’d write a post about Easter eggs.  But not the colorful dyed kind you hide around the yard for children to find.  And not the chocolate kind you find at the drugstore to stuff into festive Easter baskets (and your mouth).  Although I have nothing against either - I used to love dying and searching for Easter eggs at my grandmother’s house every year when I was a kid; and I still stock up on Cadbury Creme eggs each year between February and April, when Valentine’s Day is over and retail stores immediately don their aisles in a pastel Easter theme.  

I’m talking about the ‘Easter eggs’ you see in movies or find in books.  In my experience, I have seen or heard about more ‘Easter eggs’ in films than discovered them in books.  A popular one is the depiction of R2-D2 and C-3P0 as hieroglyphs on a pillar in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”  However, I recently discovered something that I like to think of as an ‘Easter egg’ in my father, Bill Crider’s, last Sheriff Dan Rhodes story, “Tell the Bees.”  The title of the story comes from the custom in which bees should be told of important events in their keepers’ lives; otherwise, the bees might die, leave the hive, or stop producing honey.  The story revolves around bee rustlers, and at one point references bee hive boxes that are painted in various bright colors.  It is my understanding from my own experience and a quick search on the internet that bee hive boxes are usually painted white on the outside to reflect the sun and heat, but it doesn’t really matter to the bees what color they are.  

My father’s father kept bees, which probably had a hand in inspiring my father’s short story, although I don’t think my grandfather ever had any bees rustled.  I don’t know much about my grandfather’s bee-keeping enterprise, but I do remember benefitting from the fresh honey he would give us in little plastic honey bear bottles.  

I was recently going through some old photos and came across one of my grandfather showing off his bee hive boxes - and they were as brightly colored as dyed Easter eggs.  

Billy Crider and his colorful bee hive boxes

I can only assume that my grandfather’s multicolored bee hive boxes influenced the similarly colored bee hive boxes in my father’s short story.  I love getting a bit of personal insight into a writer’s inspiration.  And if my grandfather’s boxes had nothing to do with the story?  I don’t really care to know.  

Coincidentally, Bill Crider has a story called "The Easter Cat" in Fire Star Press's Nine Deadly Lives:  An Anthology of Feline Fiction.  Check it out on Amazon.

Happy Easter to all!  What are your favorite Easter traditions?  A big family lunch? Dying and hiding Easter eggs?  Eating lots of chocolate?  Tell me about them in the comments.

Angela Crider Neary is an attorney by day and writer by night. She is an avid mystery reader and especially enjoys reading novels set in interesting locales. She was inspired to write her first mystery novella, Li'l Tom and the Pussyfoot Detective Bureau: The Case of the Parrots Desaparecidos, by one of her favorite areas in San Francisco, Telegraph Hill.  Her second book, Li'l Tom and the Case of the New Year Dragon is now available.  To learn more, visit her on Facebook and Amazon.

DNF

I've read several posts in various forums about how often other readers Do Not Finish, or DNF, a book. It has been quite an eye-opener for me. It takes a lot to make me add a book to my small DNF pile so it has been quite a surprise to find out how often - and how quickly - others do.

Many seem to decide within the first couple of pages if they are going to finish the book or not. I have to give it more time. Some books just get off to a slow start and I would have missed some really great reads if I'd given up in the first few pages. Other times, it takes me a while to get used to the author's voice and/or writing style before I can fully lose myself in their story.

Image courtesy of www.depositphotos.com

One of the last books I DNF'ed was a best-seller that even became a movie. I finally gave in and tried to read it and I just couldn't. For me, the whole tone of the book was very pretentious which annoyed the crap out of me. Even though I tried to finish, after a few chapters of rolling my eyes and yelling at the author I had to call it and move on to something else.

However, after only tossing the one book on my DNF pile over the last year, I've added two in the past two months. Whereas many will DNF a book based on a trope or something similar, I have now found the thing that is my DNF trigger: telling.

The discussion of "showing vs. telling" is a constant in the writing world. One of the most descriptive quotes is:

"Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." Anton Chekhov

I never realized I had such strong feelings on the topic until the two books I didn't finish. Both of them were just constant telling which quickly set my teeth on edge. "They got up. They went for a walk on the beach. They went to a cafe. They had lunch." *screams* Why did they pick that cafe? Did the couple hear their song drifting through the open door? Did the smell of pizza draw them in? Show me what they are seeing, hearing, feeling - don't just tell me.

What makes you not finish a book?

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Fantasy by Michael E. Gonzales

I recently finished a fantasy novel, my second actually, and I have been thinking about the distinctions between fantasy and fiction, specifically Science-Fiction.

In SyFy the writer must adhere to the basic tenets of science as much as possible. In HARD Sci-Fi the only thing an author can get a pass on is time travel and FTL (Faster Than Light) travel. All else must have a firm scientific foundation.

In so called “soft” SyFy the Author is allowed considerably more latitude, but the hard-Sci-Fi fans will not look sideways at your stories. Nevertheless, in all SyFy there are certain rules that must be followed. I have not found these rules restrictive of my imagination, however. They just insure you remain in the genre.

Not that these rules can’t or haven’t been bent. In my novel, Across a Sea of Stars, I have blended SyFy and fantasy in a rather seamless manner, if I do say so myself, and I’m far from the first to do so.

Fantasy, on the other hand, presents the author a limitless canvas upon which to allow his imagination to explode, to explore its own vast depths.

Having said that, there are a few rubrics an author should operate within. In the world of fantasy, as in every genre, there are canon one should, generally adhere to, i.e.:  should you bring a dragon into your story the reader will expect you to present that dragon as he exists in popular thought. 

Oh, don’t get me wrong, you can take considerable license, but should you describe a mouse with bat wings who is able to spit ice cold rainbows he’s not going to be generally accepted as a dragon, accept in children’s book, of course.

I have discovered  there is a very large segment of the fantasy readership out there who are dragon devotees.  They will seldom accept anything short of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Smaug as a dragon. Unless of course you are very, very good with your winged mouse.

And there is also sacred canon to be observed. If you should invoke any part of the Arthur myth into your story be prepared to plunge in to vast amounts of research long before you even open Word, or prepare to burned on the spit of public rejection.

In fantasy there are certain “must haves” such as magic, wizards and witches (in some form or another) and creatures from legend, or from the legends you create.

So, it would appear that the limitless canvas has its signposts, its roads and paths, some seldom trod. Regardless, fantasy writing, for me, has been a great deal of fun. I will linger in this genre a while, I think.

I do hope those who have read my SyFy stories will follow me...down the yellow brick road.

Please visit my Web Site:  http://www.mikegonzalesauthor.com/home.html

And follow me on Face Book:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010275572869

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Dark Moon Rising, Battle of Broken Moon, Across a Sea of Star, The Vampires of Antyllus, The Blue of Antyllus, Action, Action Adventure, Alien worlds, Aliens, battle, Dark Moon Rising, FireStarPress, Michael E. Gonzales, mikegonzalesauthor.com, NewRelease, Romance,science fiction, syfy