Too Extreme?

One of the best albums produced in the early 90's was the ill-fated

THREE SIDES TO EVERY STORY by EXTREME.

Never heard of it?  Don't be surprised. 

Except for the die-hard fans, not many did. 

What a shame too as it truly is one of the most amazing albums I've ever had the pleasure to listen to, over and over again. I actually worked this record when I was at Polygram Records and let's face it, by writing this piece, I'm still promoting it.

The writing, singing, the many changes made throughout this album shows an insight and strength to song writing and production. it's now over two decades later and I still enjoy listening to this, dare I say... yes, a masterpiece. 

This was Extreme's third album, and it was the followup to the hugely successful "Pornograffiti," their second album, which features the massive airplay hit "More than Words."

The first time I met Extreme, Gary, Nuno, Pat, and Paul, we all ended up playing tug-of-war over someone's recent acquisition of the newly popular Gameboy. They were on tour for the recently released "Pornograffiti" and it wasn't a success... yet. We as a company purposely held back on promoting "More Than Words" - we knew it was going to be huge - so the band hadn't broken the "hit barrier" just yet. We promoted to their rock audience first before we released the pop ballad. So here we were at a restaurant, The Country Place, in Colony Square here in Atlanta, and they were passing the Gameboy around the table. It was the first time I ever played "Tetris." It was addictive and everyone was fighting for a turn. Who needed food? We had the Gameboy man! 

There is also a story of a woman, a Harley, and both of them riding down the hallway of the hotel room...

.. but I digress.. let's get back to "my side" of "Three Sides to Every Story." It would have been of interest to me to talk to them at length about this album, find out where the inspiration for this wonderful collection of songs and just where did this phase came from? It received positive response from some fans and critics, and also confusion from the same lot. This was understood as it was a different direction, and experimental to some degree.

This release, their third album, came at a time when the music was changing course with the "grunge" sound that was beginning to take over. This album appears to have gotten lost in the new atmosphere of radio. Again, it was still very different from a mainstream release so I'm not sure it would really have gained any foothold in radio anyway. I know it was a courageous  effort for them to release this album. It was not an easy sell. Wikipedia reports that it sold 700,000 albums. As the previous album sold 2 million, it's easy to attribute some of this popularity for "Three.." to fans who were collected during that sophmore run in "Pornograffiti." I'm a bit surprised that it even made it to gold status (500,000) given this very different direction.

Out of all three Extreme albums at the time, I think "Three..." is a perfect album, and Extreme's best. I liken this release to KISS's "The Elder" which was quite a different album for them, experimental, and here again it's my favorite KISS album. I won't go into it here, as I'm sure I'll have more to say about the "The Elder" at another time, but these two experimental albums both achieved clarity and substance that these bands other albums never even got close too.

The best way to show you this is to have you listen to the album, but for now here is a piece "Everything Under the Sun (all 3 parts),"  that will give you an idea of what this album is made of:

Greatness in rock n' roll.

Play the above piece and let me know what you think.

Enjoy.

~  Dave

I'm Phil Spector.. and You're Not

Phil Spector HBO Movie.

I've had a hard time watching this. I don't really have time to watch more about "the crazy" that is Phil Spector. I don't need an explanation of the Phil "I'm-maniacal-and-I-can-do-whatever-I-want" Spector. I've read so many stories over the years of his gun-toting insanity by people who have worked with him that the murder he was convicted for was no surprise.

His mania had finally caught up with him. His mania destroyed someone's life.

Ronnie Spector, his ex-wife and one of the Ronettes, did two smart things:

1) She divorced the abusive Phil Spector, but...
2) she kept his last name.




The world has sympathy for her, and his continued mania over the decades just gave more credibility to her testimony of the abuse she suffered at his hand. Physically, and financially.

I think I'm just disturbed by it all.
This coming from the guy who publishes horror fiction for a living.

However fiction doesn't even come close to the "real life" horror that some experience.

I'm fortunate. I just publish "fiction."

Here's a picture from studio time of Phil and Ronnie. Better times I'm sure.

Well, at least for Phil.

Watch the movie if you're interested. Al Pacino is spot on with his performance and Helen Mirron is just good. She's always good.

Two blog posts in two days. My keyboards on fire!

That is all.

Mallo's Mah Thing

Here's the thing..... I love Mallo Cups.

Love 'em. What? Never heard of 'em? Good.. MFM!
(as my Mom still says... "More For Me..." ) 

Mallo Cups are like Reeses Cups... 'cept they ain't. They're filled with a marshmallow creme, and there's coconut flakes within the chocolate on top. Best sweet stuff ever. EVER I tells ya.

Guess what chicken butt? They-don't-sell- 'em-down-South. 

If you do find them down here they're at Mr. Carter's grocery store, out on West Hwy 666, off a dirt road (look out fer rattler's crossin' ) down around the corner from I don't know where the hell I'm at!
 

Get it?  Ya just can't find these puppies anywhere... 

So... what arrives today? A WHOLE DANG BOX FULL OF GOODNESS PEOPLE! from my beautiful cousin Jaime Hinchberger Hiwiller, who lives in Pennsylvania where they make the darn "goodness" up there in Alatoona, PA.

Jump back I wanna kiss mah self! WHoooo Hoooo!

Thank you darlin'... what did I ever do to deserve this.. ?

Sorry? I couldn't hear ya? I'm sorry.. I'm too busy schmackin' my way through all this choclatey-marshmallow-coconut-goodness-lord-sakes-alive-somebody-come-and-take-these-outta-mah-hand... 

What? You say my hand's too sticky?

The funny thing is... I'm not big on marshmallow with anything else. 

I haven't looked too deep into why. You shouldn't either.

That is all.

PS: And no, you can't have any of my Mallo Cups.. get yer own cute cousin to hook ya up ;-)

The World is a Lot Closer Than it Appears

   In my business, as a publisher and book seller, I deal with people all over the world. When Japan was faced with the Tsunami in 2011, the after effect of an earthquake in their part of the world, we were in touch with one of our customers there. He had to spend the night at his job, along with a few of his co-workers (some did get out of the fray before it hit) and wait for the water to recede, and the train to be made right again for travel. He made it home okay.. but we didn't know for a couple of days what happened to him. I don't know these people "in person," but you do form a connection with some of your long distance customers and working associates over the years.

   With facebook I've come to know them even more, and in some cases they've visited our bookstore when they've come through Atlanta. It's usually our only face-to-face meeting, but we have the best time catching up and discusses our love of books, movies and music. It's just like we've always known each other... just through the mail, the internet, and social media. I've got customers that I've known so far back that they were single at first, but now are married, with a mortgage and five kids in the SUV. One in particular is T. in Macau. Yes, that's how I've known him... "T" for almost 15-20 years. Just in the last decade did I find out his first name is "Tim." Now I can put a picture with the face, his wife is in touch for special gifts, and I can see his whole family. I like that.
Scratch that. I love it.

After all these years you form bonds, relationships, and trust.

With all the recent trouble in Israel I checked in with one of our customers yesterday.

This morning I awoke to Moshe's e-mail, with the following communiqué:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel compared to the US. I've placed the size of this country
over my own state of Georgia.. which is about a 1/3 the
size our state. Puts it into perspective doesn't it?

 








Hi Dave,
                  Good to hear from you. I & my family are ok. I live in the North and the Hamas terror organization is rocketing the SOUTH and UP to Tel-Aviv & Jerusalem. My daughter lived deep in the South and escaped from there because of the bombings 2 years ago. They are shelling us every couple of months. They're a thorn in our lives. 6 years ago the Hizballah was rocketing the North, hitting Haifa, my town. A hell to live here, sometimes we are tired and fed of all these political issues. There is no end, no light in the horizon.

Thanks for your caring,

Best, Moshe

PS: Dave, one second I have finished writing you, as if it's not enough - a bomb exploded now in a bus in Tel-Aviv. It's on the news , TV airing from the area. Couple of years ago Hamas used to bomb  buses with people during traveling, killing hundreds in a minute. This is now the beginning of it again. F...king lousy situation. They don't leave us alone peacefully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel is outlined in red.
Moshe lives in Haifa, which is the green dot.

Moshe is a world away, physically, but now I have a face and a concern that is just more than the CNN reports that we all see daily. This is real, and it alarms me. It's a hopeless feeling sitting here in my fairly calm world. At least we can talk, and discuss this and the fiction we love, and hopefully, for a bit, it brings some solace and calm in a wacky world.

I can also blog about this, which I've done here, and put a real face on the horrible situation at hand. People are bombing people. People are dying, and it's more than just the video we're shown. We're constantly bombarded with information. It's easy to become desensitized to so much overload. 

If you're in a calm part of the world, be thankful.

It's Thanksgiving here in the US, and a nation of millions is celebrating with their family and friends, and having a nice day. In this world of real, and possible, chaos, be thankful for the peace we have.
 

I am.

FIFTY Going on Eighteen

As I write this I’m FIFTY today. 

Wedding Day

   Every year for at least the last fifteen plus years I have been receiving a Halloween /  birthday card and well wishes from a long time customer, Jim Colson. As I will sometimes do I always responded to him as “Jimbo” which has stuck all these years. This year  was no exception as Jimbo sent me another card this week with the Halloween stickers adorning the orange envelope. This must really be my year though ‘cuz this one has an official us postage stamp of Pixar’s “The Incredibles”  in the corner. Hey, the day’s young.. let’s see what it brings. If the Pixar theme continues I might get enough balloons to lift the house!

 

   

What is FIFTY? I dunno. I can only tell you that I don’t feel twenty-five, thirty seems young to me, and it’s a few shades different than forty. Be that as it may, the mind is still planted in my teens (which may explain a lot) so it’s all working out pretty good I think…

In the grand scheme of this thing called “life” I feel very fortunate. I’ve got some great kids (mostly adults at this point J) that I’m proud of, a wife who looks out for me in so many ways, and some of the best friends any person is lucky enough to have. One thing I have learned is: there’s the family you grow up with, and the family of friends you gather along the way. In that respect I’m the richest guy I know. 

Brothers, Sister, Mom, Nieces, Nephew at
Atlant's Olympic Park

Oh, wait, phone’s ringing… it’s Mom... I’ll be right back.

Dad Hinch

   I don’t care how old you are, when you’re with your Mom, you’re a son or daughter again. They know all.. or enough.. and they’ve been with you on this trip that we’re still travelling on. Be sure to let your mother and father know you appreciate them. It may not always have been easy, but they’re your mom and pop. 

   So Mom reminds me I was a little over 8lbs 50 years ago today. Man how things have changed.

BOYS to MEN: John and Ian, my first two.

During birthdays Mom used to give us cards with dimes within… you remember those cards? This card is the one that spreads delight when as a young one you open the card to see all the glittery money sitting in the cut-out pockets within. Those were very cool surprises, plucking the dimes to feel our new loot (card? What card?).  Eventually the change  turned to dollars, and the dollars matched our current age. For some reason I remember receiving 23 dollars on my 23^rd birthday… but I don’t really remember receiving more bucks in future years. It’s okay Mom, I never expected it to go on forever ;-). The fact that you’re the mother of five children, the yearly dole becoming ever larger on our anniversaries, well, who could keep up with that? At some point I’m sure the bank clerk knew Mom by name. “Good morning Anne. Another withdrawal? All in one’s I take it? Oh, two tens and three ones this time eh? They do grow don’t they?”

   One ringy dingy... two ringy dingy... it’s Lee and Sue, my in-laws, calling to wish me the best on my day of FIFTY. Lee, or “Pops” as he’s called, is singing to me from Panama City Beach, Florida. “Just called to wish you a happy FIFTYith Dave, but can’t talk long.. we’re on our way out the door to Hunt’s Oyster Bar for lunch and we’ll be thinking about you when we munch down a dozen Cajun’ baked oysters with those garlic, buttered new potatoes you like so much. In your honor of course.” If you know Pops, you know he’s grinnin’ on the other end of the line. Me, I’m already droolin’ after one of my favorite moments that will come in the future when we get back down to Florida. ‘til then I’ll just have to savor the phone call from them today. Somebody pass me the cocktail sauce and some crackers, and a Tecate with lime…. I can dream can’t I?

Four Brothers Hinchberger, youngest to oldest.. some time ago.

   In 6^th grade we lived in Jerome Prarie, Oregon. A little community in the South of the state where my Dad was going to college and we lived for short time. My sister Heidi, who was 7 at the time,  pronounced it “Jah-rome, Pah-rare-ree,” I’ll never forget it.  I clearly remember that school. We lived so close that I could walk to and from school every day. I remember sitting in math class one day thinking about how old I would be in the year 2000 – a thought that was truly “science fiction” –  as that was “forever” to come and so far out of my mental reach. At the time, it was. Nothing could come fast enough when you’re young. You see the possibilities, earning money for all the comic books, toys and bubble gum you want. Girls were starting to show up on the radar, but still too early to see any financial issues in that area. Rent? Utilities? Car payments? Never entered my  mind of course. Mom and Dad took care of those things.  Thirty-Eight was to be my number for the year 2000. Man…  no problem.. I’ve got lots of time.

A GREAT and WONDERFUL DAY!
The Groom side from 2007, June 23rd.
Kyle Smith, Clay Culver, Pops, Dr. John, Reece, Brother Chris,
Groom Chick Susan!, Gene Byrum, Ian, John, and Kevin

ON TOP OF THE WORLD MA!
Dave and Clay with the family at the
Space Needle in Seattle June, 2012

   The phone rings yet again ( I should be so lucky). It’s my buddy Kevin. We met while we worked at Relativity Records. That’s almost twenty years ago. Again, another weird moment as time pops up it’s ugly head. I’ll call Kevin back. I’ve got to finish this blog, a newsletter, and then get ready to go see my 16 year-old and the Hiram Band play in competition today. It’s a gorgeous day and the best part is I get to go with my sweetheart, Mrs. LeeAnn Hinchberger, and see our boy and his band play their stuff. Ironically they’re playing “Mad World” by Tears for Fears in their repertoire this year. That was one of the first bands I worked with at Polygram Records back in the mid 80’s. Working on that record, and at that company, was a grand time for me. Thank you Larry Hensley for making it a great place to work. It was the time of my life. It changed my life. Now I get to revisit it with my son today as he plays Tears for Fears on the field. It doesn’t get much better than that people.

This is some of what makes me happy at FIFTY.

   Now it’s FIFTY and my life is so full it’s amazing. I don’t have enough time to see, do, and read all the things I want too. And there’s some old friends I’d like to catch up with. I have to make the time. There’s nothing like good people in your life. 

Trey and Pop on the wedding day!
June 23rd, 2007

Seriously. If you think about your life in years, let’s say I’m here ‘til eighty. Good safe number. That’s thirty years. Seems like a lot right? But if you break it down to weeks I have 1,560 weeks left. That puts it in a whole different perspective. “Years” seems huge. Weeks? Well those go by pretty fast don’t they. That’s not a question, they do go by fast. This isn’t a concern but an observation.  I’ve got some kind of back log on reading that I “want” to get through. I would say out of everything this is what does concern me. Why? Because I enjoy it, but with work and life, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time.
   Thankfully I have enough time to sleep!

   I’ve posted a few photos here. This isn’t a slide show of my FIFTY years – did you notice that FIFTY is prominent in this piece?  Just giving it it’s due ya know – if it was we’d never get out of here.. you’d be stuck for awhile ;-) But some people to recognize that is my family and life today. 

   Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me on the big ol’ day. As David Byrne says “It’s the same as it ever was,” it is.. but it isn’t. If it were wouldn’t that be boring? No time to lose (literally!) so y’all have a great day too and I’ll catch ya on the flip side. I’ve got to save a house from burning and get those FIFTY candles blown out before it all comes down.

   Oh, and my Mom also said when she first took me to church back in '62 a lady said “what a beautiful baby”

Man.. how things have changed ;-)

Thank you for a great day. Thank you for a great life. Love and hugs to all.

Dave

Can't stand the heat?

Big political year this year. It's become very nasty out there in the "arena of the parties" as we come closer to the new Presidential election in November. It's become nastier than I think I have ever seen, at least in my adult lifetime.

Because of this climate I lost a friend on Facebook today. Someone I've known a long time, but that's the rub: she kept posting inflammatory political rhetoric, posting dumb Obama pictures, and anti-President comments that I eventually responded to by asking her questions. She is one of those who has posted "I will move out of the country if Obama is elected again." Yes, it's that kind of odd. I don’t agree with everything Obama has done either -  however -  these comments and the like are not helping. I asked her questions, tried to get an intelligent discussion going, but I was usually met with a couple of words, and then, eventually cussing with the last comment being "He (Obama) is a f**cking Marxist." I thought I knew her better than that. It's unfortunate but here's the issue: if you're on any public forum, and FB is a public forum, then expect to be put to task if you're posting controversial remarks, etc. 

Since being removed was the last thing she had to say to me, it also showed me just how much of an echo chamber she and others have become to the right wing media. This was evidenced by the fact that she couldn’t voice any concrete responses to any of my questions. You should at least know “why” you’re so angry at the political powers that be. Instead her, like so many others, just get stirred up by the fear mongering that is created by the right wing media. Ever listen to them? I do. I am amazed at what comes out of their mouths at times. They may have a good point every now and then, but for the most part they inflame instead of inspiring.
You can create an atmosphere of discontent and rebellion, but in the end does your listeners truly know why they're so upset?

This is why I don’t get into religious or political discussions much. I don’t believe you’re going  to change your position, but I ask to understand yours when I ask questions. Who knows, I might even learn something!  After I receive the usual pat responses that most people in these  groups respond to, what I eventually only get back are a couple of words or just “crickets.” 

This leaves me to wonder how you got to your conclusion on these topics in the first place.
Oh, yeah, Rush, maybe Hannity, and I’m sure Beck’s in there somewhere.

All I ask is you learn the facts for yourself and let's come together as a people and try to figure these things out together.

Calling politicians names and claiming you'll "move out of the country" just isn't the answer.

End of an Era?

Original Band Art and a 1998 Bangor Concert Poster

Have They Rocked Their Last?

As you may have heard Stephen King, Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Amy Tan, Roger McGuinn and the rest of the authors and artists that make up "The Rock Bottom Remainders" rock band gave two farewell performances in late June. They decided since their founder and fellow band member, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, passed away from cancer in May, that they would make this their farewell shows.

Some of you may remember when we had Rock Bottom Remainders videos and CD's at our Overlook Connection Bookstore. It was Kathi who got in touch with us to offer these cool items from this unique and wonderful group. We offered them for years until she was sold out of them. I was fortunate enough to see them in Atlanta on their 1993 "Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America with Three Chords and an Attitude" tour. That was a fun show. Yeah, there were some squeaks here, and a twang there, but they were having a blast and it spread out throughout the crowd. I remember back at the hotel bar I spoke with Roy Blount, Jr. for awhile (who's a Georgia boy), and Dave Barry bought me a drink. It was a night to remember. I even got into the press conference they held at the Hard Rock Cafe earlier that day and was able to ask quite a few questions. Steve came right over after it was done and shook my hand. "If you hadn't have been here Dave, I don't know what would have happened." He was referring to the fact that no one in the press was asking questions. Frankly the press didn't know what to make of this "authors-turned-musicians" idea. I had plenty of questions and then that seemed to break the ice as others began to chime in. 

That was the only time I was able to see them but glad I did. 

Oh, and I did bring Steve my first printing of The Shining to sign and we took a couple of photos with an Overlook Catalog ta boot. Sits in a frame in my hallway today, and, when I remember to look, it always brings a smile.


I'm very sorry to hear about Kathi's passing but she left behind a legacy with this unique band that's been playing now for twenty years. My guess is they'll be back again someday. When you get that "performing fever" it's never easy to give up.

Never say never.

See More Rock Bottom Remainders at the Overlook Connection Bookstore HERE!