Greg Kihn

Creature From The Black Lagoon Tuesday 09-14-2010

2010-09-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

Creature From The Black Lagoon

Tuesday 09-14-2010 9:44am PT

I will be at At&T Park on Saturday for the Giants vs Brewers game, and then afterward I'll be sticking around for CREATURE FEATURES night with the legendary John Stanley as they show CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON on the Giant scoreboard. It should be a real hoot. That is one of my favorite movies and I used to have the movie poster for it hanging in my living room (something only a bachelor could do.) What a great poster!!!

I have a super busy week this week and the bummer is I won't get to see my grandson on Thursday like I usually do, so I'll have to reschedule for a few days later. Saturday is out because of the Giants game, so it has to be Sunday. I don't care what I have to blow off to see Nate, but whatever it takes, it doesn't matter- Nate takes priority. Besides, he loves his grandpa!

I just found out that Buffalo Springfield will reunite for a one time only gig at the Bridge School Benefit. They were always one of my favorite bands and what treat it would be to see them live on stage again. Two members have died- Bruce Palmer died in 2004 and drummer Dewey Martin died last year. That leaves Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, and Jim Messina. Of course, KFOX will have tickets to that event that you can win simply by listening. By the way- the rest of the Bridge School Benefit line-up is pretty impressive- Pearl Jam, Merle Haggard, and Elvis Costello among others.

Summer is slipping away and we really never got a chance to enjoy it. I love summer and this time of year I always feel a little sad, nostalgic even, that our precious time is slipping away and there's nothing we can do about it. I could live in summer 12 months a year- like in Hawaii!

On this date in 1716 the first lighthouse in the US was lit for the first time in Boston Harbor. It began guiding ships to safety immediately. I've always been fascinated by lighthouses and the people who live in them. It's frightening to know that the sea is swirling around you and that if a big enough wave comes along, it could knock the whole place over. The isolation must make some people crazy, while others don;t have a problem. But look at these pictures and fantasize about what life must be like on one of them.

There once was an old song, which was used in the Kubrick movie Clockwork Orange, called I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper. Must get lonely out there and you can't order a pizza.

Fascinating.

Oh Say Can You See... Monday 09-13-2010

2010-09-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

Oh Say Can You See...

Monday 09-13-2010 10:46am PT

I grew up in Baltimore. When I was in the Boy Scouts we went on field trips to many historical places in and around Baltimore. We regularly took train trips to Washington, D.C. to visit places like the White House, The Smithsonian, the National Gallery, the Washington Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the FBI.

It seemed like every spring we went to Ft. McHenry, on the shores of Baltimore Harbor, birthplace of the "The Star Spangled Banner". It was on this date in 1814 that Francis Scott Key wrote that song.

I grew up learning about how Francis Scott Key was a prisoner on board one of the British warships, and how he watched the battle of Baltimore that night, and kept looking to see if our flag was still there. It was the War of 1812. You have to remember, the British had just defeated Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo and were feeling pretty invincible. Also, they had just burned the White House, Capitol Building, and most of the rest of the town. They were looking to deal us a final death blow by destroying Ft. McHenry. Imagine if that happened today!

Francis Scott Key watched from the deck of one of the English Warships. "And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there."

Friday On My Mind Friday 09-10-2010

2010-09-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Friday On My Mind

Friday 09-10-2010 10:14am PT

I will be at Netos in Santa Clara for TROOPFEST 2010 tomorrow, Saturday, the 9th anniversary of 9/11. It's so important that we support our troops, after all, they protect us and our freedoms. If it hadn't been for these guys, we'd all be speaking German, or Japanese, or, God help us- Farsi. My father will looking down from Heaven to see who's there, so show up for sure! I will be there from 3-5 pm. Here's a nice photo of my hero- Lt.Stanley Kihn, US Army Infantry- 1944.

Let's show the troops that not only do we appreciate their sacrifices, but we will support their mission. Just like my father in WWII- remember what he used to say- "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

Netos is a really cool market and grll in Santa Clara where they make the best sausages in town. Did I mention that there will be bar-b-que? Look for the KFOX tent and the open air stage. I'll see ya there!

I just heard from Tony Lindsay, lead singer from Santana, and an old friend of mine. He called in at the end of the show today to tell me that he'll be performing in Los Gatos tonight at #1 Broadway with his band, and he'll be at the Mountain Winery on Saturday night working with Laura Johnston, daughter of Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers.

As a matter of fact, 18 year old Laura will be opening for her father's band The Doobie Brothers at the Mountain Winery this weekend. Lindsay tells me that she can really sing, and coming from him that's quite a compliment since Tony Lindsay is one of the best singers I have ever heard.

Speaking of kids- I spent yesterday afternoon with my favorite guy in the world- Nate! My grandson is talking up a storm these days. He clearly said, "Hi Grandpa" when I walked in. He pointed to the guitar and said, "Ga!" He's still working on that one. I love that kid!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND I'LL SEE YA MONDAY!

SUPPORT THE TROOPS!

Amazing Stories

2010-07-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Amazing Stories

Wednesday 07-28-2010 10:24am PT

Incredible story coming down the pike today! A trove of old glass negatives bought at a garage sale in Fresno ten years ago for $45 have been authenticated as the great lost negatives of Ansel Adams and are worth at least 200 million dollars!

A team of experts has determined that the glass negatives were indeed created by Ansel Adams and thought to have been destroyed in a fire in 1937.

Wow! 200 million! And he bargained the guy down from $50 bucks to $45, is that amazing? The guy who bought the negatives, Rick Nosigian, was a construction worker who bought them because he liked pictures of Yosemite. Little did he know that he had stumbled onto a fortune of lost artwork. Those guys on Antique Roadshow would freak! That's like the Holy Grail of garage sale items. It doesn't get any better than this!

Has anything like that ever happened to you? When Ry was just a little boy, maybe six or seven years old, we went to a garage sale and I saw a complete set of 1963 Topps Baseball Cards for sale for $20. I asked my ex-wife and she gave me 10 reasons why that was a bad idea. She went on and on about it. I gave up and we drove away. A few moments later I thought, "Wait a minute. That's gotta be worth more than $20." So I went back. Against the wishes of my ex-wife I purchased the set of 1963 Topps Baseball Cards. For $20!

I just checked the price of a set 1963 Topps cards- guess what it was? $5,000! I'd say that qualifies as a bargain! I gave the set to Ry to have hold and I think he's still got 'em. He may have been tempted to sell individual cards like Pete Rose's Rookie card, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantel, and Stan Musial for hundreds of dollars each. That set had more hall-of-famers than I thought! Absolutely amazing! God bless garage sales!

Only one other time in my life did I stumble onto an incredible bargain, was when the band was on tour in the Midwest during the 80's and we came upon a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere. We stopped for lunch. The local theater was going out of business and the guy had everything out on the sidewalk for sale- beautiful old glass display cases, old movie projectors, and memorabilia. I asked if he had any old movie posters. "Yeah, I got a whole room full of them- $20 a piece!" I spent several thousand dollars buying originals of some of the classic movie posters of the 1950's and 60's. The "one-sheet" for Creature From The Black Lagoon alone was worth almost $500.

I lost them all over the years. What a fool I was...

Bustermania!

2010-07-28T18:33:00.001-07:00

Bustermania!

Tuesday 07-27-2010 10:03am PT

Correction. In yesterday's blog I included an old-time magazine advertisement from the 1960's to illustrate the story about my mother's humongous Chevy Bel Air station wagon, the car I learned to drive in. The problem was that the car pictured was an Impala wagon, not a Bel Air. I was mistaken because both vehicles are ridiculously large, with over-sized engines and rear seats that faced the other way. My mistake.

We had dinner in San Francisco a few days ago at a very fancy restaurant. The food was great, the prices were insane, but the service was horrible! I don;t know about you,, but when I'm paying inflated prices for the food, I expect the service to be spectacular. When the waiter is snotty or rude it ruins the whole experience. Of course, poor service should be reflected in the tip. It was. I hate to do it, but what else can a guy do?

It's the continuing legacy of "Sister Double Happiness" from our local Chinese restaurant. At least "Sister Double Happiness" is genuinely pissed off at the world. She hates everybody, whereas the fancy waiters had a superior attitude, and didn't actually hate the world, it seems, just us...

I finally broke down and bought a FasTrack window sticker, and now I can breeze through the toll plaza. I recommend it. I bought it at the drug store, activated it online, and now I can watch my activity on the FasTrack website. I didn't think I went into the the city that much, but I've already used it 3 times in the past month. The convenience is nice.

Bustermania!
Buster Posey has hit safely in 19 straight games, having just passed Orlando Cepeda for longest Giant rookie streak- next are a pair of Willies- McCovey and Mays. Who knows how far the streak can go? Remember- the all-time record is 56 straight games set by Joltin' Joe DiMaggio! This kid can really hit! Check this out: if the season ended today the Giants would win the wild card. That means the strong likelihood of postseason baseball in the Bay Area! The trading deadline is coming up, let's see if they can pick up a player for the stretch run.

Yesterday Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays pitched a no-hitter! It was the 5th no-hitter this year! I guess that makes it the year of the pitcher! Who's next?

Cars I Have Owned

2010-07-28T18:32:00.001-07:00

Cars I Have Owned

Monday 07-26-2010 10:34am PT

I've had many cars in my life. After all, I started driving at the age of 16 when I got my learners permit. My mother let me drive the family station wagon- a huge Chevy Bel Air- two and a half acres of bright red Detroit muscle. That wagon sat about 40 people- it had the little seat in the way back that faced the opposite direction. We always fought to get those seats- it was a completely different vacation back there.

Anyway, I was reminiscing about all the cars that I have owned- some good, some bad, some ugly, some sexy, but I spent considerable time behind the wheel of all these vehicles. When viewed back to back they tell a story- the story of my life. To the best of my ability, here's a remembered history.

My earliest memories of driving with my parents in their Nash Statesman. I remember it broke down on our way to Ocean City for vacation one year, my father got so mad he traded it in and we never saw it again.

We were the hit of neighborhood when my father bought a brand new 1959 Chevy Biscayne with huge fins. It was black and long and looked like a space ship. There were no safety belts and my sister and I jumped up and down on the back seat as we drove. When mom hit the breaks hard we all went tumbling, but we never got hurt.

My father bought a second car to drive to work in when I was in elementary school. It was a 40's era Dodge. He took me to the dump once when I was a kid in that car and it got stuck in the mud. My father let me drive while he pushed from behind, but nothing worked, that car was stuck. My mother had to come and pull us out in her giant station wagon. The interior of that car always smelled like mildew.

By the time I was in high school my mother had taken over as the main driver and arbiter of the car rules. She bought a huge Chevy Bel Air station wagon. That was the car I learned to drive in. That was the same car I used to take on my first dates. It was the size of Cleveland. It was "fire-engine red" and sported cartoonish red and white vinyl couch-like seats. I used to park and make out with my early girlfriends in this car, which was so big it was almost like getting a hotel room.

My first personal car was a Buick F-85, I bought it used from a guy down the block. It was on its last legs when I bought it, and I took it the final stretch to infinity. That Buick had a 4 speed gear shift on the column. The clutch was as low as a birdbath, nearly non-existent. The radio had a reverb knob! The brakes gave out one day coming down a big hill on my way to college. I plowed into the car ahead of me. The cops were very sympathetic.

Then, when I became a hippie, I bought a VW micobus with my hippie girlfriend. That bus took us 1000's of miles and eventually we drove it into the ground. If it broke down (which it did many times) you could always camp out in the back.

Then I came to California. My first Golden State car was a turquoise VW bug. It served me well when Ry was a baby. I had to park it on a hill pointing downward so I could roll it down the hill and jump start it every morning. I once threw a roach out of the window during a Berkeley rainstorm and it stuck to the side of the car and a cop stopped me and I got busted. The case was later thrown out "in the interest of justice." I rolled that car at Stinson Beach on a Sunday afternoon.

Then I bought a Datsun 510 wagon off a neighbor.

I bought a little beat-up Peugot for my second car. It cost $300. I called it the refrigerator because it was "appliance white" and square as a washing machine. It was ugly but it always started. A drunk plowed into it standing at a red light in Oakland.

I started making a little money and bought my first new car- a Fiat Rally. What a piece of junk! Fiat stands forFix It Again, Tony.

When the band began to get successful I bought my first cool car in 1982- an Alfa Romeo GTV6 Balocco. What a great car! I loved it. There were only 350 made and each one was numbered. I had #40. I totalled it on New Year's Eve!

For punishment I drove a horrible Chrysler K Car for 2 years. That cured me of driving fast... for a little while at least.

Then I got Toyota Highlander- what a great vehicle. That car did it all. One of the most reliable cars I've ever owned. I wound up selling it to my manager who loves it and still drives it to this very day.

Ford Motor Company had a contest back in the year 2000 for the best radio commercial for the Millennial Mustang. I won with a stupid blues song! I wasn't even trying to win but I did! Amazing. Of course you all know the fate of that car- I totalled it.

And then I got the Corvette.

These are the cars of my life.

Telstar

2010-07-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Telstar

Friday 07-23-2010 10:22am PT

On this date in 1962, America launched its first communication satellite- TELSTAR. Russia was winning the early days of the space race. They sent up SPUTNIK in October of 1957, they sent the first animal in space- a dog named Laika in Sputnik2, and the first human being- Yuri Gagarin. So, we were playing catch-up ball for the first few years of the space program.

It wasn't until TELSTAR went into orbit that America could hold its head high and know it was part of the space race. It was an important turning point for American technology and began a new era of communications.

The TELSTAR satellite inspired legendary English record producer Joe Meek to write and record an instrumental song that captured the sci-fi nature of the achievement. The group he put together was the TORNADOS, but there already was a band called the Tornados in America, so he had to change the name of the group to the LONDON TORNADOS. They recently made a feature length movie about TELSTAR and life of Joe Meek- a true original.

I bought that record when I was a kid- I loved it! I loved the space sounds at the beginning and end of the record. I played it on my little record player a thousand times.

Many years later, when the Greg Kihn Band was on tour in Germany in the 1970's, we actually did a version of TELSTAR live. It was a fun encore number, and Dave Carpender, our lead guitarist did a great job on it. Watching the video again after all these years, I noticed that at the end of the song Dave leans his guitar up against the amp and turns it up so it will sheik with feedback... AND HE JUST WALKS AWAY- with the guitar howling through the amp like a banshee. The German roadies didn;t know what to do. They ran around shouting things in German, and eventually one of the braver ones reached over and cut the volume on the guitar.

This was recorded for a Eurovision TV special, live at the Audimax in Hamburg, Germany 1978 on a show called ROCKPALAST. I remember that our equipment didn't make it through customs and we had to use all rented equipment- that's why I'm not playing my vintage 1964 Rickenbacker 12-string, but another Ricky not nearly as nice. We had a great time on that tour. We were part of an all-Beserkley package tour including The Rubinoos, Tyla Gang, and Earth Quake. Beserkley of German released the concert as a double live album with one side by each band. That piece of vinyl is notable for the only recorded version of the song "Future Girl" which did not appear on any other record ever. That makes it a rarity.

I found the video on YouTube. Check it out!

Have a great weekend!

A Good Deed

2010-07-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

A Good Deed

Thursday 07-22-2010 9:53am PT

We were driving across the Bay Bridge from Oakland to San Francisco to see Paul McCartney on my birthday July 10, just a few weeks ago. It's usually a mess getting up to the toll plaza. We didn't have a FASTRACK pass yet (I bought one a few days ago) and things were confusing in the lanes. New laws had taken effect and the toll had just been raised. In addition to the higher fares, the car pool lane now cost $2.50 as well. The kicker is you have to have a FASTRACK transponder on your windshield or you can't use the carpool lane at all! There are no carpool cash lanes anymore. Yikes! This caused my wife and I considerable consternation.

Anyway, I had to cut across six lanes of heavy traffic to get to a cash lane. It was brutal. Traffic had slowed to a crawl, plus there was a certain amount of confusion about the change in tolls. In fact, people were freaking out.

I was just trying to get there without being crushed. After all, at the end of my ride- a Paul McCartney concert waited. All I had to do was get there. By the way, the next day I bought a FASTRACK pass so I wouldn't have to stop or slow down to pay a toll in the commuter lane. I used it last weekend when we went over to a Giants game. I've never used one before, but the first time we went through the toll booth a red light flashed, I hope it indicated that the device was working properly. A neighbor told me that he thought the damn thing was mounted too low on my Corvette and that maybe it couldn't be read. I hope not. All I need is more love mail from the DMV.

But I digress... Back to the toll booth.

So, after great conflagration and wringing of hands we finally made it to the cash lane. I should point out that this lane is moving at the speed of a snail with attention deficit disorder, and that cars are backed up to crack houses of east Oakland. It was in this rarefied atmosphere that our story takes place.

Tension were high, temperatures were rising, and tempers were short. In the cars behind and in front of us, people leaned on their horns like members of the South African Vuvuzela Glee Club.

Then along comes a blond woman in a black BMW, cautiously weaving her way across the treacherous white waters of the final half mile before the toll plaza. I could see the fear and terror in her eyes as she desperately tried to negotiate the last few lanes to safety. She was clearly in great distress, and nobody was going to let her in. She was trapped with her ass sticking out in the FASTRACK lane and her nose trying to inch its way forward into my lane. It was quite dangerous. People in the next lane were not slowing down, they just swerved to avoid her, blew their horns and gave the finger.

In a rare moment of chivalry, I graciously waved her in front of me. She was saved! So grateful was she that she waved profusely to me. When we got to the toll booth, she was directly in front of me. Little did I know, as we pulled up to the toll taker, that that woman had paid my toll! 6 BUCKS! Wow! I waved back, surprised at my good fortune. Good karma begets good karma... I guess. I just felt extra special good that day. She didn't know we were on our way to see McCartney or that it was my birthday! She was just being nice to a guy who let her in.

That's a true story. I hope she's out there listening, or maybe she'll read this- lady in the BMW- THANK YOU!

The Bleached Skulls

2010-07-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

The Bleached Skulls

Wednesday 07-21-2010 10:40am PT

The road to rock and roll heaven is paved with the bleached skulls of guys like me.

It's so true. My own daughter was once hiking through the jungles of South America when she heard my song "Jeopardy" playing through a speaker nailed to a tree in the middle of nowhere. It was a little shack that sold bootleg cassettes. She didn't buy one but I wish she had. The label said- I kid you not- "Jeopardy" by The Gren King Bang.

I have had the pleasure of being bootlegged all over the world, and you can hear those inferior audio transfers from dance clubs of Europe to the ladyboy bars of Thailand- we're downright global!

I Googled myself this morning. I had 311,000 results in .22 seconds. That's scary. What's up with that? You can use any search engine and the results will be more or less the same. There are a million Greg Kihn websites out there- of course the KFOX site is front and center, and you can always find my updated fresh blogs right here, and for those who are keeping track at home- you all know exactly where I am every weekday morning from 5:00-10:00am. I'm right here at KFOX. And I will be for many years to come. This is my home.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I've got several more websites running that feature fresh content and satisfy various hungers experienced by the well informed Greg Kihn fan. If you want to buy stuff- T-shirts, CD's, Books, DVD's, Photo's, etc. then you probably want to visit http://www.gregkihn.com. Also there are Greg Kihn sites at MySpace, Twitter, and FaceBook, all of them are fabulous, of course. I also do a syndicated 7-midnight show in 96 markets around the country, and that show has a website too- http://www.thegregkihnshow.com/. In addition to the official GK websites there are many Greg Kihn videos on YouTube, CD's and books at Amazon, and biographical information at Wikipedia.

You can find all kinds of interesting stuff in a Google search. (By the way, the world has been going downhill since the words PARTY and GOGGLE became verbs!) I found out that I have been nominated for the Bay Area Radio Hall Of Fame for my 14 years on the air here at KFOX. Hard to believe but it's true! I am nominated along with such luminaries as Giant's announcer John Miller, The A's Ken Korach, Ralph Barbieri, Gary Radnich, Hal Ramey, Bonnie Simmons, Scott Beach, Dave Morey, Stan Bunger, and Ben Fong-Torres. Wow! What an honor. I had no idea. Public voting has concluded so I am way behind if I wanted to influence the voting by putting in a plug- I blew it. That's the story of my life. I'm a day late and dollar short. I hope I win just so I can go to the banquette and sit next to John Miller.

My point is this- we live in a fishbowl. If you're in the public eye like me it's even crazier. I don't mind, though. I love my life.

Man On The Moon

2010-07-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Man On The Moon

Tuesday 07-20-2010 10:09am PT

A lot of people think it was the most famous event in history. It's hard to argue with them. It was on this date in 1969 that Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the Lunar Module and into history. The boot of his space suit sunk into the gray moondust about an inch.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

"Magnificent desolation," was how Buzz Aldrin described it.

It was the age of American exceptionalism, as different from today's world as day and night. Back then we thought we could do anything! And we could! And we did! WE were the world's #1 superpower. WE were the good guys. WE were the men. We never felt guilty or self-conscious about it. The responsibility of being the big dog never slowed us down. I don't know how to express it to you- was just different.

I remember it well. I was on vacation with my parents in Ocean City, Maryland. We all watched it on TV and the next morning, outside the condo where we stayed, written in giant letters in the sand, someone had written- TODAY AN AMERICAN WALKED ON THE MOON, GOD BLESS AMERICA! I stared at the message for ten minutes, wondering who had written those words. They touched me. I felt proud to be an American. I felt like we were all part of a great moment in history, that things would never be the same. JFK issued the challenge, and it's a shame he wasn't around to see it.

The Saturn 5 rocket that blasted Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins into orbit was the most powerful engine ever created. What those three Apollo Astronauts did was incredibly dangerous. They could have died a hundred times during the trip. This could never happen today. People aren't into taking chances anymore. The spirit of exploration has waned in our collective psyche. But, back then, American astronauts were heroes, and they did impossible, amazing things.

The Apollo 11 technology was clunky and obsolete- the IBM computer that plotted their course wouldn't run a cell phone in today's world. The command module was cramped and primitive. The fact they made it 238,857 miles through space to the surface of the moon, then descended to the lunar surface, got out and walked around, then returned to their ship, blasted off, returned to the mother ship and traveled all the way back to earth is incredible!

America was a different place back then. We got things done. God, I miss it.

Why Character Matters

2010-07-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Why Character Matters

Monday 07-19-2010 9:54am PT

I don't know what to tell young bands when they ask me for advice. Not only has the music business changed since I started, society itself has changed. The same rules no longer apply.

The Greg Kihn Band started in 1975. It was before anything. It was before the Internet, before cell phones, before MTV, before computers, before digital, before just about everything you rely on today. We had a rental space at Berkeley Rental Space on Gilman St.- a double garage where we stored our equipment and rehearsed. After they locked up at night, we had to scale a ten foot chain link fence to practice. You had to be in tip-top rock and roll shape. We rehearsed every freakin' day! Every day- I kid you not. We wrote three to four songs a week and played every gig that came down the pike. We worked our asses off, and that's no lie. There was nothing glamorous about it. Ten hours in broken-down van to make 20$ each. So why did we do it? There was no American Idol back then, or any other TV talent show (unless you count the Gong Show) we needed the money.

We toured on the strength our FM album airplay, doing interviews everywhere we went. I did a ton of radio, and we played clubs- great classic nightclubs like the Agora on Cleveland, Bogart's in Cincinnati, Cain's in Tulsa, the Main Point in Philly, the Cellar Door in Washington DC, Toad's Place in New Haven, The Park West in Chicago, The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, The Bottom Line in NYC, the Rainbow Music Hall in Denver, the Paradise in Boston, The Shaboo Inn in Willimantic, The Keystone in Berkeley, the Broadway and the Old Waldorff in San Francisco, The Troubadour and the Roxy in LA, The Keystone PA in Palo Alto, and The Catalyst in Santa Cruz to name but a few.

It was another age and hard work really counted.

We didn't have a top forty hit until our 7th album! Which is unheard-of today. We were on a goofy little independant label in Berkeley- way off the beaten path. We didn't earn an ounce of respect in LA until we had a hit. Not even the other bay area bands seemed to respect us. We didn't care, of course. We were just thrilled to be there.

In fact, if you'd have asked us at any point back in the old days, if we thought we had made it- we would have emphatically said YES! Hell, we were having a ball! We were so blown away by the fact the people would pay money to see us, we didn't care about much else. It seemed like a miracle to us.

I remember, backstage at the Bammies- back in 1981-1984, when we were winning Bammies every year, we would be hanging with the other groups in the "green room" waiting to go on. I couldn't believe the attitudes of some of the other bands! They actually thought the world owed them a gold record every time out! My guys were just happy to be there.

No matter have sophisticated it got, or how far from home we strayed, or how over-our-heads culturally we were- we always kept one thing in mind- always be true to yourself. We didn't put on aires because we knew in our heart of hearts that we couldn't pull it off. We just weren't hedonistic enough; we didn't pack enough hubris; we were never actually cool, we always felt uncomfortable in limos. By staying true to ourselves, we avoided having to be pretend to be something that we weren't.

I have no idea what it must be like to be Lady Gaga- but if this is the freak show you have to be in to make it, then I guess the next generation of rock bands will have silly costumes on and cover their faces. It won't matter, of course.

Whoever they are, and however weird they may be- if they want to make it the real way- they'll have to be true to themselves. People will be able to tell if it's bogus. They will have to live by the same convictions we did: don't lie, cheat, or steal. Always do a good job. Treat people with respect. Get there early and stay late. Wash your face and brush your teeth. Do your homework. Don't be a jerk. And rehearse.

Good luck! Character matters.

Character is what you are when nobody is looking.

Private Acoustic Concert

2010-06-09T14:25:00.001-07:00

Private Acoustic Concert

The auction for the private Greg Kihn acoustic concert is going on right now at KFOX.COM, but it ends on Friday. In years past this acoustic show has raised around $10,000 to $15,000. Wouldn't it be great to hand over a check for that amount? Let's see if we can beat it this year!

So, what this means is- if you make the winning bid, I'll show up at your house with some nice acoustic guitars and proceed to sit down and play my ass off. Well, one glance at my ass and you'd probably think, "OK, he's already done that, because this man has no buttocks." But let's not focus on my buttocks, let's focus on beating cancer. We're raising money for the Leukemia/Lymphomma Society.

These Team In Training people are wonderful. I have had the pleasure of working with them for some time now and they really care. What can be more compelling than a kid with cancer? My God, it breaks your heart while at the same time fills you with hope.

I can see a day when all kids will be vaccinated against all forms of cancer. That day is coming, but it's going to take a lot of money.

If that auction for the private concert is too rich for your blood and you still want to help out- you can always make a donation for ANY amount. Here's the link to donate:
http://svmb.manwoman.llsevent.org/pledge/index.cfm?mid=GREGKIHN

The week is flying past, and Friday is just around the corner. The auction will be over before you know it. Please make your bid now.

And thanks for voting!

The Day After The Day After D Day/ Auction

2010-06-09T14:24:00.002-07:00

The Day After The Day After D Day/ Auction

Tuesday 06-08-2010 10:12am PT

I can't believe Sunday was the anniversary of D Day and I hardly saw or heard anything about it on TV or in the media. I wouldn't expect our politicians to acknowledge the efforts of our fathers and grandfathers on that day, when they risked life and limb to liberate Europe. They died for the freedoms of people they didn't even know. How noble. Think these clowns in Washington could pull that off? Think again. People seem more than happy to give away freedoms for a free pass through life these days. Let's never forget the sacrifices those veterans made all those years ago. And whereas the media and Washington for the most part forgot, I remember.

Let's hear it for the greatest generation!

Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower addresses the troops before the invasion. Imagine the emotion as many of these men would not be coming back. Such bravery is rare today.

Today is ELECTION DAY! Please vote! I'll be voting on the way home today. Participate in democracy while you still can. It's important.

The auction for the private concert at your house is still on, until Friday at least. Make your bid now. Help me bash cancer.

I need people to make some donations. Can you help? I know a lot of you out there know me personally. Come on, I haven't asked for anything lately have I? No! I need you to step up to the plate and write a check. It's crunch time!

D Day/ Paul Guaguin/ Auction

2010-06-09T14:24:00.001-07:00

D Day/ Paul Guaguin/ Auction

Monday 06-07-2010 10:20am PT

Yesterday was the anniversary of D Day in WWII. 160,000 allied soldiers landed on a 50 mile stretch of beach in France. They came to liberate Europe. They weren't pros, they were school teachers, factory workers, farmers, everyday guys- they weren't Rambos- they were regular guys like my father. They came together to do one of history's dirty, ugly, unforgiving jobs- that absolutely had to be done.

Imagine what they were thinking when the front dropped on the Landing Craft and they looked out onto the beach and all the German defenses. The crack of rifle fire, the booming of artillery, the water, the wind, the sand, the fear, the Adrenalin, and there's only one way to go- forward!

Let's hear it for the greatest generation!

My father used to say, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." I miss him.

Unfortunately, we're losing these veterans at an alarming rate. Pretty soon there will be no one left who was part of it- someone you could actually touch and say, "you really did this, didn't you?"

My father passed away several years ago (before 911) but I always think of him on that day. My dad wasn't part of the D Day invasion, he crossed the English Channel several months later on a troop transport ship, heading into the heart of the fight, in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, where he had a date with destiny and a German bullet.

Today is Paul Gauguin's birthday!

He's my favorite French Impressionist artist. He walked away from a banking job in Paris to join Vincent Van Gogh in the south of France to paint. They hung out together until Paul left for Tahiti to paint naked island women. Smart move, Paul- Vinny ws nuts and he would never sell a single painting during his lifetime. Now days, Gauguin and Van Gogh are two of the most revered names in art. Read The Moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maughn, a novel inspired by his life.

Paul was an impressionist and loved bright colors. I love his art. Check out his style:

I get the Gauguin Syndrome every year around this time. I get island fever really bad.

I want to remind everyone that the auction is on at KFOX.Com for the private acoustic concert at your house. I'll show up with a selection of acoustic guitars and a handful of songs.

Make a bid today!

Next Week's Auction For A Private Concert

2010-06-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Next Week's Auction For A Private Concert

Hey, next week the auction begins for the private acoustic concert by me in your house!

As you may know, I am up for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training MAN OF THE YEAR! Yeah, I know what you're thinking- I'm not worthy! It's true, I'm not, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm trying to raise money to defeat cancer. It's sooooooooooo important that we keep the research going. A breakthrough is just around the corner! Let's keep the pressure on.

So, you can go over to the KFOX.COM website and click on the auction page and make a bid. Just think- I'll come to your house and play an entire acoustic gig just for you and your friends! Cool, huh?

All you have to do is make the winning bid at KFOX.COM. Auction ends on next Friday about the same time I get off the air. This is one of my favorite promotions here at KFOX and it's a great chance to raise some money to crush cancer.

I'll probably be playing the acoustic 12 string Boulder Creek guitar...

...and no doubt my Voyage-Air fold-away guitar...

...plus I'll most likely play my recently rebuilt by C.B. Perkins Guild 12 string from 1967. It's my most prized possession and I love that old guitar.

Help me strike a blow for the good guys and kick cancer's ass! This concert comes with a full measure of attitude and just the right groove.

Make your bid starting Monday! I'll see you at... your house!

Mello Yello Commercial 1983

2010-06-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Mello Yello Commercial 1983

Back in 1983, when we were flying high, the Coca-Cola Company hired the Greg Kihn Band to do a series of Mello Yello TV commercials. One of them was inspired by Jeopardy- it had the same music with new lyrics which I still remember to this day- imagine these words sung to the melody of Jeopardy-
Mello Yello to the rescue, Mello Yello to the rescue, Mello Yello to the rescue, Drink Mello Yello and go!

Mello Yello was similar to Mountain Dew- a high caffeine 7-up style soda that was marketed to young adults. I thought it was vile.

They flew us to Atlanta to shoot an entire concert during which we would stop and do several versions of the Mello Yello commercial. The crowd took it all in stride, plus they were probably pumped up to be in a TV commercial.

Backstage we had to shoot a series of pick-up shots of the band chugging Mello Yello after a hard concert. We did take after take- and we had to drink a few gulps of Mello Yello each time.

After about 10 minutes, my partner in crime- Steve Wright (bass player and co-songwriter) says to me, "Screw this, I'm pouring this swill out and refilling this can with beer!" And he did! He poured it out and carefully replaced it with ice cold Budweiser, which we chugged happily take after take. After an hour we were completely tanked. The shots of us drinking were particularly effective, according to the director. "You guys look like you're really lovin' it!" We didn't have the heart to tell him.

That TV commercial ran on the east coast in the mid 80's and we actually saw it a few times on tour. Those satisfied smiles after we chugged the drink were truly genuine! Little did they know we were chugging beer!

If you can find a live video of the GKB doing Tear That City Down, it was recorded later that same night. It featured Greg Douglass on lead guitar.

Oh, and one other thing- they paid us a freakin' fortune to do it! Years later, the money is all gone, and the commercial is lost to the sands of time, but the memory lingers on- in the form of this blog. Ain't life strange?

Oh, and one other thing-
Robert Berry (bass player in the Greg Kihn Band) is playing an acoustic show tonight in Felton, CA. at Don Quixote's. Apart from being a member of the GKB, Robert is an accomplished musician in his own right. This is first acoustic gig and I know he'd love it if you could show up.

Incredibly Strange Albums

2010-06-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Incredibly Strange Albums

I remember buying some weird albums over the years. Why? Hell, I don't remember. Maybe they were heavily discounted, or maybe I was just plain nuts, I don't know.

Most of these albums came out when I was young and impressionable.

The first really strange album I bought (right out of the cut-out bin) was Sounds Of The Zodiacon Elektra Records. Cyrus Faryar narrated some goofy spoken word stuff over space-themed other-worldly music with lots of reverb. I lit incense and played it in the dark. It set astrology back 500 years. That was my first. There were others, I'm ashamed to say. I went looking for some other incredibly strange albums on the web and here's what I came up with.

My sister actually bought this one by the fake Beatles- The Buggs! Obviously a rip-off.

Christmas with the Colonel? You gotta be kidding! Original or extra crispy? Hand me that drumstick.

I wish I could have been there for this one...

This one requires no explanation, or maybe I just don't have one...

One can only conjecture what this Yule Tide Classic sounds like... John Waters? Does Divine do a solo?

From an era of album cover art that will never be repeated!

Even the great Mohamed Ali got in the act.

And finally this... I have nothing to say. Your guess is as good as mine.

Sgt. Pepper/Giants/Troopfest

2010-06-01T18:38:00.001-07:00

Sgt. Pepper/Giants/Troopfest

On this date in 1967, the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. I remember going to the record store that very day (I think it was a weekend) and staring at the cover and wondering what new madness the Beatles had dreamed up this time. We loved the Beatles and the release of every album was a major event.

It blew our minds. What a cover! There were cut-outs inside, plus printed lyrics!

Looking back, it's hard to believe that one band could hold us all in their sway like that- but the Beatles did! They were magic. Music really mattered back then. In fact, music was the most important thing in our lives.

In those days it wasn't unusual for people to go to the record store the very day a record came out just so they could be the first on their block to own it. I went with a buddy of mine. We both had enough money to buy one album. After hours of discussion we decided that he would buy Sgt. Pepper and I would buy Jimi Hendrix (Are You Experienced?) which had just come out that same week. We each kept our respective albums for a week, then switched. I loved the first Hendrix album... but Sgt. Pepper was beyond the beyond.

It was the greatest rock and roll album of all time.

It still is.

I traveled all the way to Abbey Road Studios in London a few years ago for the anniversary of Sgt. Pepper and I got to sit down at the famous piano in Studio One, and play the final monumental chord of A Day In The Life. It was spectacular... except for one thing. When I got back to the States and checked it, I found out that I had spent all that energy to play the WRONG CHORD! I played a "G" chord and it turns out the last chord of A Day In The Life was an "F!" God, did I feel like an idiot!

Thanks to all the listeners who showed up on Sunday at AT&T Park for the Giants Vs. Arizona. I sang God Bless America and Take Me Out To The Ball Game during the 7th inning stretch. Operation Care and Comfort was there to collect money and everyone had a great time. I'll have the video of that posted here shortly.

Speaking of Operation Care and Comfort- this year's TROOPFEST will be coming up in 2 weeks June 19 at the Britannia Arms and I will be performing an acoustic set. There are a limited amount of tickets so it might be a good idea to buy early. More on that later...

Memorial Day

2010-05-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day

Memorial Day Weekend is here! Have a great one!

Here's the man I honor on this day- my father.

Lt. Stanley J. Kihn, U.S. Army, 289th Infantry, 75th Division, wounded in battle December 26, 1944, Battle Of The Bulge, awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in the Ardennes Forest while recovering in a Field Hospital somewhere in Belgium.

Dad's letters from WWII are incredible. I plan to publish them someday, but in the meantime, here's a direct quote from one dated Jan 1, 1945:

"...the Germans kept coming, wave after wave, and the boys, green in battle, mowed 'em down, until it got so you couldn't reach out of your foxhole without touching a dead German..."

Golden Gate Bridge

2010-05-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge opened on this date in 1937. Construction began on January 5, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression.

Workers overcame many difficulties: strong tides, frequent storms and fogs, and the problem of blasting rock 65 feet below the water to plant earthquake-proof foundations. Eleven men died during construction. On May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to great acclaim, a symbol of progress in the Bay Area during a time of economic crisis. At 4,200 feet, it was the longest bridge in the world until the completion of New York City's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964. Today, the Golden Gate Bridge remains one of the world's most recognizable architectural structures.

Tragically, it is estimated that over 1200 people have committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. It is the most popular suicide spot in the entire world. The fall takes over 4 seconds and the jumper hits the water at 75 mph, a speed that renders the surface of the water like concrete. 98% of those who jump die on impact. I once talked a guy out of jumping during my first year on the air. He called in while I was on 7-midnight and claimed to be a jumper. I asked why. He said because his girlfriend left him. I told him that was the dumbest reason to jump I ever heard. If I felt like that every time I broke up with someone, I'd be dead twenty times over by now! I suggested he call a buddy and go have few cold ones. He called back the next night and thanked me. Apparently she just wasn't worth it! I have since met this guy at gigs over the years and he always refers to me as "the guy who saved my life" but I'm not really. He is. I just pointed out the obvious.

The bridge is still the #1 tourist spot in the Bay Area. I always take out of towners there for sight-seeing, even my mother when she was still alive.

Once, when my son Ry was about 10 years old, we bought some balsa wood gliders and walked out to the middle of the bridge and threw them off. They sailed forever before hitting the water- must have been miles! What a thrill. You can't do that anymore. There are laws now that prohibit throwing anything off the bridge- much less balsa wood airplanes.

The Golden Gate Bridge has always represented the California dream to me. When I first came here from Baltimore, I went out and saw it and it filled me with wonder. I knew I was in God's country. Anything was possible here. Is that still the dream? Is it still possible? I don't know anymore.

Remember the words of the immortal John F. Kennedy when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather, what you can do for your country!" My God, what an idea! We need to get back to that philosophy.

On tomorrow's show- comedian Pablo Francisco!

John Wayne and the KGB

2010-05-27T00:15:00.001-07:00

John Wayne and the KGB

One of my all-time favorite movie stars, John Wayne, was born on this date in 1907. He was 6'4" and weighed 250 pounds.

He hated communism. A lot. He was an American patriot who believed strongly in personal freedom.

His iconic image had been painted and sculpted by many famous artists including Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol.

But he was much more than just a movie star and the airport in Anaheim.

Did you know that John Wayne was nearly assassinated by Russian agents of the KGB? It's an incredible story, but true. I just read a new biography about John Wayne by Michael Mumm called John Wayne, The Man Behind The Myth, and I learned these facts (gleaned here from Guardian.co.uk).

From a review at Guardian.co.uk, Nick Walsh writes:

Joseph Stalin ordered the KGB to assassinate John Wayne because he considered his anti-communist rhetoric a threat to the Soviet Union, according to a new biography of the film star based on interviews with Wayne's close associates and the movie legend Orson Welles.

Stalin apparently learned of Wayne's popularity from the Russian filmmaker Sergei Gerasimov, who attended a peace conference in New York in 1949. Michael Munn, a film historian and author of John Wayne - The Man Behind The Myth, said Gerasimov told Stalin of Wayne's fervent anti-communist beliefs.

"Stalin decided that he would have him killed," said Mr Munn, who says he was told of the plot by Orson Welles at a dinner in 1983. Welles had said that the KGB was given the task of assassinating Wayne.

A prominent Russian filmmaker, Alexei Kapler (who was imprisoned for an affair with Stalin's 16-year-old daughter, Svetlana), had told another Russian filmmaker, Sergei Bondachuk, about the order. Bondachuk was sceptical at first, but after Gerasimov confirmed the story, Bondachuk told Welles.

Mr Munn said Wayne had also told him that his friend, the stuntman Yakima Canutt, had "saved his life once". Mr Munn later asked Mr Canutt what he had meant by this comment. The incident is thought to have taken place in the early 50s.

"Yakima told me that the FBI had discovered there were agents sent to Hollywood to kill John Wayne," said Mr Munn. "He said the FBI had come to tell John about the plot. John told the FBI to let the men show up and he would deal with them."

Wayne then apparently hatched a plot with his scriptwriter at the time, Jimmy Grant, to abduct the assassins, drive to a beach and stage a mock execution to frighten them. Mr Munn said he did not know what transpired, but heard the two men stayed in the US to work for the FBI.

A further attempt to kill Wayne was made in Mexico on the set of the film Hondo (which was released in 1953), led by a communist cell, according to Mr Munn.

Wayne also told Mr Munn about an attempt to kill him by an enemy sniper while he was visiting the troops in Vietnam in 1966. "One of the snipers was captured," said Mr Munn, "and said there was a price on John's head, put there by [China's communist leader] Mao Tse Tung."

Wow! What a story! What other actors can you name that have been targeted by the KGB? It's like something out of 24. Did you get the part where the hapless Russian filmmaker had an affair with Stalin's 16 year old daughter? What a death wish! Plus, the guy was a Jew! A Jew in Stalin's Russian having a fling with the dictator's underage daughter? Outrageous! He was later thrown in prison for life, of course. But what was he thinking?

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy that little bit of Hollywood history.

Support The Troops Day!

2010-05-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Support The Troops Day!

Tuesday 05-25-2010 10:11am PT

I will be singing at the Giants game at AT&T Park this Sunday May 30th at 1:00pm vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks for SUPPORT THE TROOPS day. Now, I just checked, and the situation is this- I will be singing "God Bless America" and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch. I WON'T be singing the National Anthem (my usual performance) for some reason that was not revealed to me.

But, that's cool. I am more than happy to do those two songs...

Of course, it's quite an honor to sing at the ballpark any day, and I always jump at the chance to see some great baseball.

It will be SUPPORT THE TROOPS day at AT&T Park. Operation Care and Comfort (one of my favorite charities) will be on hand to collect donations and items to send to the troops at all the entrances. Patrons can make cash donations OR bring items to be shipped, which are always popular. OCC has also arranged for a goodly number of military families to view the game. There will be lots of men and women in uniform. Come out and shake hands with the troops! Everyone who donates at the ball game will get a special gift from Operation Care and Comfort.

Operation Care and Comfort has been doing a great job sending care packages to our troops all over the world. So far they have sent over 585,000 pound of stuff! That's not just talk! That's a lot of work, and Julie DeMaria, Cookie Crissman and their band of volunteers work very hard. I try to contribute every month and I recommend you do the same. After all, these troops are the ones who keep us safe and guarantee all those freedoms we take for granted every day. God bless 'em. They are our children, our sons and daughters, our nephews and nieces, our neighbors and co-workers, and they are in harm's way. Anything we can do to help them is greatly appreciated.

So, come on out to AT&T Park on May 30th, this Sunday, and help support the troops and see some great baseball at the same time. Oh, and you can also hear me do my best Kate Smith impression!

Wish me luck!

The pitching match-up depends on whether or not Wellemeyer pitches in his spot in the rotation, if he DOES, then Tim Lincecum will be on the mound for the Giants on Sunday, and if he DOESN'T, then it will be Matt Cain on the mound. It's too early right now to tell and these projections are based on my own feeble information, but hey! It's looks good either way!

Boulder Creek Guitars, Harley Davidsons, and Slash!

2010-05-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Boulder Creek Guitars, Harley Davidsons, and Slash!

Monday 05-24-2010 10:34am PT

The Boulder Creek Solitaire acoustic guitar is up for auction at eBay right now, all proceeds go to The Leukemia and Lymphoma society.

This guitar also comes with a guitar lesson! If you're a beginner, I'll give you your first guitar lesson in life, or, if you are advanced, my son Ry (a professional guitar teacher- college trained at Cal Arts) will handle the chores. Ry is involved with teaching guitar in the Bay Area and is one of the best guitar teachers around for advanced and beginners alike. The lesson will be included with the price of the guitar so whatever the final bid might be, the guitar lesson comes with it.

This is a beautiful guitar. I own several Boulder Creek Guitars and they are outstanding instruments. They have a revolutionary new way of bracing the underside of the top of the guitar so it resonates like you wouldn't believe, plus you probably noticed that there is no sound hole in front. The sound hole is located on top of the guitar! What does that mean to you? It means lively, bright, clear, sharp guitar tones!

This acoustic guitar features an exotic spruce top, rosewood sides and back, and the famous "Cabo Sunset" sunburst finish. It has a Dreadnought style body. It also has a built-in pickup so you can run it through an amp or a sound system.

The bidding is on now at eBay! Make your bid today! It wraps up at the end of the week. The link is on the Morning Show Page on this website.

Nothing like an auction, is there? The idea that you could actually get a bargain is a hell of a motivator. It's for a great cause, too- to destroy cancer!

And it's all on eBay!

No more will you have to endure the unpleasantness of the smoky backrooms of the auction house of old Shanghai, full of smarmy men of indefinite lineage and questionable breath, shouting gibberish in foreign tongues. No more will you have to put up with the smell of cheap cologne mixed with the scent of angst. Never again will you be forced into uncomfortable positions with cruel shoes and even crueler socks. Because now, you can make your bid on this fine guitar out in the open on eBay, with the light of reason splashed across your face.

So, shake off the yoke of oppression and breathe free!

Thanks to everyone who showed up at House Of Thunderin Morgan Hill for the Harley Days of May on Saturday and participated in our Harley Davidson Motorcycle give-away. Tons of people were there. I saw more black leather than at a Judas Priest gig! Rob Halford included!

Oh, and speaking of black leather-

On Tomorrow's show- SLASH!

Ralphie May/House of Thunder/SJ Sharks

2010-05-21T17:34:00.001-07:00

Ralphie May/House of Thunder/SJ Sharks

Friday 05-21-2010 10:09am PT

We had comedian Ralphie May on the show this morning and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Ralphie was hilarious! I got a cramp from laughing! He's appearing the Improv this weekend and I recommend his show- it's fresh, topical, and very funny. Ralphie's rapid fire delivery is infectious. I predict Ralphie becomes a big star. He's just too funny to not make it.

I will be at the HOUSE OF THUNDER in Morgan Hill this Saturday at 12:00 noon for the big HARLEY DAYS OF MAY. 98 people will try their keys, one of which will unlock a new era in your life with a new "Street Bob" Harley Davidson motorcycle.

If you're in Morgan Hill this Saturday, you should stop by and say hello at HOUSE OF THUNDER. Also, a few keys will be held out for people who show up in Saturday- just so they can have a chance to win the bike too.

We'll have two bands playing live and bar-b-que up the wazoo! Drop in and have lunch and check out some hot r&r, plus possibly even win a motorcycle!

And last but not least, the Sharks travel to Chicago to play the Blackhawks tonight in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and they really need to win. It is very important that you root for the Sharks tonight. Of course, that game (and every Sharks game, playoffs of not) will be broadcast right here on KFOX. Dan Rusanowsky will do the play by play with his sidekick Jamie Baker. The pressure is on. The Sharks are down 2-0 and it is imperative that they win tonight!

This game should be an epic struggle. The Sharks need to win one of the next 2 games in Chicago to bring the series back here to San Jose. Make some noise even if you're alone at home!

McCartney/Dolley Madison/Praying Mantis

2010-05-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

McCartney/Dolley Madison/Praying Mantis

Friday 05-21-2010 10:07am PT

First things first:
Sir Paul at At&T Park! On tomorrow's show- McCartney Tickets!
This is the toughest ticket in town and we got 'em! I don't know if you've checked the prices but these tickets are not cheap! And you can win them tomorrow! For free!

OK, back to normal...
Yesterday, my first batch of praying mantises hatched! I got a couple hundred healthy little buggers! I kept about a dozen and let the rest go in the yard. I'll have more updates tomorrow and maybe even some video!

And so it begins again...

My favorite First Lady of all-time was born on this date in 1768. Dolley Madison was married to James Madison, fourth President of the U.S. (It was her second marriage.) James was 17 years older than Dolley and a confirmed bachelor.

She was a plucky woman with a strong personality, but the reason I really like her was what she did during the war of 1812. When the British troops invaded Washington D.C. in the War Of 1812, they intended to burn the entire city down. Dolley loaded up all the expensive silverware, jewels, and valuables from the White House and secertly shipped it to Maryland for safe keeping.

Then, in a burst of patriotism, she took down the portrait of George Washington and removed it from the White House before the English troops torched it!

Dolley- we need more like you today!