Feb 2012 Classic Bike Ramblings

Classic Bike Ramblings CHEAP TRICKS..........Deception Island.........and The End of Time Well my wonderful readers, another year has passed and it's 2012, and according to the Mayan calender our last months here on earth and while I believe they just "ran out of space " on their stone tablet, I'm thinking we all better use this as a reason to get out and do something. Not only has a New Year passed but so has another Christmas and with these amazing holidays a week apart comes the out of town friends and family. And I was no different. I had my best buddy Billy and his family come in for a couple weeks but unlike most guests and some family, I look forward to their trips here. You see my friend and I, like you my 63 loyal readers likes history and getting out to interesting local spots around town. Now Billy and the gang have been coming to the area for many years and its always great to try and show them some new "local and cool" spots. So with him and his son Justin in town through New Year's Eve I thought the new improved Jannus Live NYE Cheap Trick concert would be great. So my friends went downtown early and had a few drinks at what used to be the Detroit Hotel which Jannus now borders.

The Detroit was St. Petersburg's first hotel built in 1888 by Peter Demens and Gen. John Williams, who named it after his hometown. Rooms were available for $3.00 a night with its restaurant being added in 1926. Guests who have stayed here included Eleanor Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Will Rodgers and Jim Morrison. Closed as a hotel in 1993 and known as St Pete's oldest building, it was converted to condos in 2002 bordering Jannus Live. Although the old lobby and main dining room are all that remain of the old hotel now being part of the Garden Restaurant. It is there at The Garden (now the city's oldest restaurant) that Jim Morrison would play as part of his national debut. Jannus Landing has been a staple of local concerts since the 80's but like all things it was time for a change, in fact I was avoiding it. But I heard Jeff Knight and Bill Edwards were getting involved a couple years back and I can tell you after I attended the recent David Allen Coe show there, it's a great new spot.

New bars, new stage, better sightlines and sound, VIP suites and much better musical acts it was a great first new experiance at what was once a great spot. Knight who owns Clearwater based Knight Enterprises had gotten together with Bill Edwards who also owns Big 3 Records, T.I. Yacht Club and now BayWalk (Edwards while no longer involved with Jannus, now runs Mahaffey Theater

in addition to the aforementioned spots) and both promised to bring an upgraded venue and great acts to Jannus Live (as it is known now) and they have along with keeping its rustic New Orleans charm and history intact. Well we wanted to get a VIP area for the NYE bash (remember we only have a few months till certain doom). So I called up the very hot Marie Butler who was in charge of the Crystal Head Lounge and VIP Suites. I had been to the new Jannus Live earlier for the David Allen Coe show and the second story lounge rocked and had great upfront parking for motorcycles. But alas I was too late and all the suites were gone, but the very capable Marie took care of us and created an area for our group. And it was there I got to see local resident and lead singer of Cheap Trick.I saw Mr. Robin Zander dressed as the Chief of the Dream Police as he mingled at the Crystal Head Lounge, as the lights dimmed Zander would sing his way to the packed crowd and his band mates with the 18 piece orchestra over the stage beckoning him away from us, and the rest as they say is history.

Formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1973 and often referred to in the Japanese press as the "American Beatles" this band ranks #25 on the VH1's list of 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In October the Illinois Senate passed a resolution proclaiming April 1st. as Cheap Trick Day in the state. This influential band known for their rock, hard rock and what became known as "power pop" consisted of Robin Zander, Rick Nielson, Tom Petersson and Bun E. Carlos.

Well my 82 loyal readers, the year would be 1961 and Rick Nielson would form a few local bands such as The Boyz and The Grim Reapers and even then young Rick was becoming well known for the diverse and extensive guitar collection which he's become known for today. Well Brad Carlson ( a.k.a. Bun E. Carlos) played in a competing Rockford Band, The Pagans. Years later Nielson would form a band called Fuse with Tom Petersson, they would release an album in 1970 and upon returning from a European tour in 1973 they would again unite with Carlos. Randy "Xeno" Hogan was the original lead singer of Cheap Trick but he would leave at the very beginnings to join a band called Straight Up. Robin Zander born Jan. 23, 1953 in Beloit, Wisconsin. Child prodigy, read books by age 3 and was playing guitar at age 12. He played with his first group "The Destinations" in seventh grade and in high school it would be "Robin and the Hoods". In 1972 he was first asked to be the singer for "Cheap Trick" but was under contract at a resort in his home state. But Hogan would leave the band and Zander's contract would expire at about the same time and as they say my friends the rest is history. A diverse set

of singers credit his singing style as a major influence from hard rockers such as Vince Niel, Axel Rose and Bret Michaels to Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain. There's been a long running rumor that the band's name came from a Ouija Board session but it seems the true story is that Petersson and Nielson went to a Slade Concert and Tom commented that the band used "every cheap trick in the book" as part of their act. They would cover Slades 1974 song "When The Lights Are Out" on their 2009 album "The Latest". This band my friends has aged amazingly well both physically and their NYE webcast to the world Jannus Live concert proved that the 60 year old lead guitarist Rick Nielson should be mentioned in the same breath as the Claptons, Knopflers (Dire Straits) and yes (gasp) even Hendrix. While his massive guitar display often overshadows him sometimes (remember this is the guy that had a 5 neck guitar built for him) it shouldn't as anyone that has seen him play will attest to. Rick Nielson born Dec. 22nd. 1946 known for his antics on stage, his flipped up baseball cap and his affection for wearing checkerboard patterns, cardigan sweaters and bow ties. He also is a father of four, a golfer and one of "Cheap Tricks" major song writers.

born the 9th. of May 1950. Bassist for Cheap Trick for all but seven years when he would work with his wife and such bands as Concrete Blonde, Precious Metal and then while living in Nashville with the group Swag. He would become known for his out of the normal bass guitars. It would be Hamer guitars that would originally build him a 10 string bass, but Petersson wanted a 12 string and Hamer finally built it, an 8 string bass in concept but with four courses of three strings.

He hung out with John Lennon (he played un-credited on Double Fantasy in 1980). But Cheap Trick has not been regulated to the oldies circuit, and still has its glory days with Zander's soaring vocals, Nielson's epic guitar and Petersson's 12 string bass. Band member Bun E. Carlos fills out the foursome.

It would be in the middle of the Great Depression in 1933 that John and Mary Haslam opened a book store that would offer their cash starved customers gently used books and magazines at bargain prices and by the 1940's Haslams' was the largest independent book store in Florida.

The store now spans 30,000 sq. ft. and over 300,000 titles.

Three generations of Haslams have run the unique store now located on Central Avenue near downtown St. Petersburg. Haslam's would move to its current location in 1966 and it is said to be haunted by the ghost of iconic writer Jack Kerouac who is said to move his books to a more desirable location on the shelves, as he often did in life. Well my readers while at Haslams (and yes all 3 volumes of the books we sought were there) I bought a book that I had read some in High School and had to read in Collage, after finding out his ghost roams its aisles and he in fact has drank at a small nearby bar I occasionally ride to (the Flamingo on 9th st.) and along with the fact that he spent the final year of his life right here in our town at 5169 10th Ave. North. well I needed to do a "re-read" of his novel "On the Road". So I recently rode out to a great spot to reflect on local history, our limited time here and to read Kerouac's epic passages of cross country travel and try to take in this novel. Its a great area for motorcycles and kayaks alike my free spirited travellers and the place I speak of is Fort De Soto Park.

Although he has been side-lined recently (he did not play at at the NYE Jannus Live event) by reoccuring back problems, which my friends is not a good problem to have when you are a full tilt power drummer. You see it was Bun E. who first offered young Zander the job singing for Cheap Trick and together these four would bring a new meaning to the term "power pop" a phrase Pete Townsend came up with to describe the early "Who". They have a sound still relevant today, with a band still making new music and re-inventing their old catalog. Kurt Cobain once described his band as Cheap Trick with more guitar distortion. Nielson said " I never analyzed why we had an effect on people. We've done some cool things and we've done some stupid stuff. People look at us and realize we're not perfect, but the fact is that we are still around doing something more than living off our old hits is kind of amazing . "Bun E. Carlos" born Brad Carlson in 1951, who was a huge fan of the Beatles and was very heavily influenced by Cream's Ginger Baker and although left handed he has alternated between left and right handed playing his whole life. Tom Petersson

The band's third album would do two things (Heaven Tonight) in 1978, it would be the first album recorded with a 12 string bass and it would make Robin, Rick, Tom and Bun E. mega-stars in Japan.

Live at Budakhan would propel them to stardom in their home country and lead to world wide tours and make them one of the most influential bands that the United States has ever produced and as they say my friends "the rest is history". I had taken Billy to downtown St Pete a few days before Christmas to show him the layout of Jannus Live and the "bar district".

He asked me where we could get a certain set of books for his wife Donna as a gift.

And I said to him I'm going to take you to another piece of local history, and if they don't have these books here new or used you most likely won't find them anywhere and as a plus its said to be haunted by former resident and reknowned author Jack Kerouac.

In 1849 Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee (yes that one my friends) and three other US Army Engineers surveyed the area of Mullet Key and Egmont key and concluded both should be fortified, at the

time both could only be reached by boat. When the Union Army blockaded Tampa Bay during the Civil War (18611865) troops would be stationed on both Keys. The troops left after the war and it would not be untill 1882 when the military would re-occupy the two islands, but it would be the Spanish -American War that would lead to the main fort on Mullet Key and "Fort Dade" the "cross fire" battery being built on Egmont Key. Construction of Fort De Soto (named for the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto) began in November of 1898 and was completed in 1906.

The fort used a shell stone and concrete mix with its walls 8-20 feet thick in many places, with the outside slopped in order to use sand, trees, and palmettos' into "deceiving" the enemy that no fort guarded the entrance.

Each of the two gun batteries named Laidley named for Col. Theodore TS Laidley and Bigalowe contained four rifled barrel 12 inch motors each, then the most destructive weapons in the United States arsenal to protect the fort. 72,000 cubic yards of sand covered the entire fort and its gun pits, ammo rooms and gun powder. The eight 12 inch M180-M1 mortars were made by Watervliet Arsenal in New York. These guns could be elevated between 45 and 70 degrees and fire 800, 824 or 1046 pound projectiles using up to 70 pounds of gunpower to "git er done". At 70 degrees of elevation the mortar would have a distance of 1.25 miles and at 45 degrees it would fire an amazing for its day, 6.8 miles. There were 29 buildings including a 100 foot long barracks, a horse stable, hospital and mess hall everything needed to make the base self-sufficient for both Fort Dade and Fort De Soto and both could

not avail themselves to any of the beaches, the fishing or the pleasures of this paradise as you will see from this 1908 report.

The suffering of the men daily at work or at drill has been greater then can be imagined by any one who has not actually experienced it. There have been nights that the men have had no sleep due to the mosquitoes in quarters, even though mosquito nets are used.

At present, life for the men is torture both night and day and the mosquitoes have to be fought with a brush continuously whether at work or resting. In 1917, four of Laidley's mortars were disassembled and shipped to Fort Rosecrans in San Diego.

Severe storms in 1921 and with advances in mobile artillery to protect Tampa, the fort was no longer needed, in Nov. of 1922 the Army said it would close both Forts. On May 25th 1923 the Army would complete its pullout and only one caretaker remained on post. It would be in Sept. of 1938 that Pinellas County bought the areas for $12,500. It would be a short purchase though my 91 loyal readers as the War Department would buy it back in June of 1941 for $18,404 for use as a bombing range for planes at Mac Dill Field. In 1948 Pinellas County would again purchase the land for $26,495 and has controlled it since. In 1962 a toll road the Pinellas Bayway was constructed and this would open up the key and the Fort to cars, bikes and yes motorcycles. On Dec. 21st 1962 Fort De Soto Park opened and as they say "the rest is history". Well after running a few different machines out to the fort, I finished the epic 312 page novel and inspiration to a generation. With my good friends from Kentucky gone till our next local adventures, I decided to go sit at the Flamingo Bar and there you could almost see the man who influenced rock stars, poets and an entire generation.

Jack Kerouac born March 12th. 1922 in Lowell, Massachussets, considered a literary iconalist who often went against the established status quo or what was conventional and along with William Burroughs and Alan Ginsburg was a pioneer for what became known as the "Beat Generation".

only be serviced by boat. The buildings built of wood, not of stone and shell were lost to the storms and elements long ago and only pictures record what they once were. Battery Bigelowe was destroyed by the hurricane of 1921 and its ruins rest to the West of the main fort in the beaches shifting sand. The battery was named for 1st. Lt. Aaron Bigelowe of the 21st. U.S. Infantry. He was killed during the War of 1812.

Little remains of this gun battery or of the ones located on Egmont Key at Fort Dade which contained the 6 inch Armstrong Rapid Fire guns now displayed on the n.e. side of Ft. De Soto named the worlds best beaches numerous times (#1 in 2005). The troops stationed at Fort De Soto could

He is known for his spontaneous continuous method of writing although he often rewrote and edited pieces to try and sell them. In his short and troubled alcohol and drug filled life he was known for tackling topics such as Catholic spirituality , promiscuity, Buddhism, drugs, poverty and lots of travel. Many who have said he inspired their lives and writings include Bob Dylan, Eddie Veder, Tom Robbins, Hunter S. Thompson, John Lennon and Jim Morrison. In his book "Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors" Ray Monzarek (keyboard player for The Doors) wrote " I suppose if Jack Kerouac had never written On the Road , The Doors would have never existed." Born to French Canadian parents who were very religious, it would be his skills as a running back for Lowell High School that would earn him scholarship offers from Boston College, Notre Dame and Columbia University. He would choose Columbia but broke his leg and would soon drop out. He would join the U.S. Merchant Marines in 1942 and then the Navy in 1943 but this would only last for 8 days of enlistment. He would be honorably discharged on psychiatric grounds of a schizoid personality and already our troubled writer was forming.

These 8 days of service would lead to his first novel at age 20. titled "The Sea Is My Brother". It would not be untill 2011

that this book would be published as he thought this 158 page book was "a crock of shit as literature" and never sought its publication. Kerouac wrote constantly carrying a notebook wherever he went. Even letters to his friends and family tended to be long and rambling (sound familiar my 63 readers?) and would delve into his thoughts and ideas in great detail. Although not quite as autobiographic as his other work "The Town and the City" (512 pages) would be his first novel published in 1950 it would sell poorly but receive a few positive reviews.

Its interesting to note my intellectual friends over 400 pages were edited out ! But it would be the next 6 years that he would write the book that would make him an underground celebrity and bring him the fame he came to hate and the noteraity that some say killed him.

While living in Manhattan he would complete what is now known as "On The Road". It would be April 1st. of 1951, this novel was almost totally autobiographical in nature and would describe Kerouac's road trip and his adventures across the United States and Mexico with Neal Cassady in the late 1940's a novel said to inspire such films as Easy Rider, Paris, Texas and Thelma and Louise and this should play well to you my independent, two wheeled travelers. He wrote this 312 page epic in three weeks on a 120 foot roll of teletype paper that he cut to size and taped together, this would allow Jack to type continuously without "breaks" to reload paper into the typewriter. In 2001 Jim Irsay owner of the Indianapolis Colts would pay $2.43 million dollars for the original scroll, he said he would have went to ten. It would be a long and hard road to find a publisher for this novel that would make Jack Kerouac a major author of the 20th. century. Publishers rejected On the Road due to its experimental writing style, you see he had decided to tell the story of his years on the road with pal Cassady as if writing a letter to a friend, but in a form that reflected the improvisational fluidity of jazz music, tough to write and to some very tough to read. But not to the likes of Bob Dylan or Van Morrison, as both as both would say "It changed my life like it changed everyone elses". It was also rejected because of its sympathetic tones to minorities (its 1951 my friends) and for that era the graphic description of drug use and sexual behavior when in fact according to Kerouac it was really a story about 2 Catholic buddies roaming the country in search of God and as Jack said "we found him". It is said that every piece of his daily diary bore a sketch of a crucifix, a prayer or an appeal to Christ to be forgiven. But Viking press would pick it up and publish it six years after Kerouac would finish it.

It would wind up on Time's Magazine list of "The Best 100 Novels" and be number 55 on Modern Libraries "Best English Novels of the 20th Century". It continues to sell 100,000 copies a year in the U.S.A. and Canada alone. Author John Leland of "Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons Of On The Road (they are not what you think)" says, "We are no longer shocked by the sex and drugs. The slang is passe and at times corny. Some of the racial sentimentality is appall-

ing , but adds " The tale of passionate friendship and the search for revelation are timeless. These are as elusive and precious in our time as in Kerouac's, and will be when our grandchildren celebrate the books one hundredth annniversary". In 1957 he would move from the N.E. to a small home in Orlando to await the release of On the Road. The New York Times would publish a review hailing Jack Kerouac as the voice of a new generation and proclaim him a major American writer. The success and accolades brought him instant fame to the point he didn't feel safe in public. In 1958 he would write "The Dharma Bums" while living there and it would do well but not approach the sales or acclaim of On the Road. He would continue to travel around the U.S. and Mexico, father a child and complete the drafts of what would become ten more novels. Politically he would not fit in the times, the right hated him for his association with drugs and sexual liberalism and the left hated his anti-communism and Catholic views. He often fell into heavy bouts of drug use and intense drinking which had come to be the norm for his entire life.Which brings us to the last year of his life right here in St Pete Florida and it would be here at his home on 10th Ave. around 11am on Oct. 20th 1969 that he would be sitting in his favorite chair drinking whisky and malt liqour trying to write notes for a new book. He began throwing up massive amounts of blood and eventually his wife would convince him to go to the hospital and was taken by ambulance to St. Anthony's Hospital where he nearly depleted their blood bank through his transfusions. He would undergo surgery that evening in an attempt to stop his internal bleeding, but his liver decimated by a lifetime of drinking would not let his blood clot. Jack Kerouac the voice of an entire generation, a conflicted soul and a man chased by personal demons would die at 5:15 the next morning having never regained consciousness from the surgery. So there you have it my 87 loyal readers for those of us that live in the bay area there are so many cool "1 gal. trips". No I don't think you have to hurry to see these spots, find new ones or go to a concert real soon. I'm pretty sure I will be taking in NYE 2013 at a show at Jannus Live or at one of Bill Edward's spots, and like you I will have great company in again for the holidays. We have had and still do have a lot of unique and offbeat history and unique people here. I wrote this story this month Kerouac style freehand on one long piece of paper ... did'nt look back, did'nt edit and yeah it was fun!

I'm still writing for myself and not for others and I'm very sure I will stop when that reverses. No my good friends I'm not paid by the places I speak nor do I know most of the people, it's just my version of "On The Road". It's just what I do in my history filled hometown. So ride down to the Flamingo, go to Haslams or find your own unique historic spot. Take a pen and paper, or document it with photos for it is the creative people that make and build history and are remembered even if it's just by friends and family. As Jack Kerouac found out, fame is not all it's cracked up to be, while Mr. Zander seems amazingly happy. So go my friends explore, document, travel and don't put to much stock in those Mayans. I will leave you with this epic quote written not by the epic author I wrote of in this story but by the epic band...... "Surrender, Surrender but don't give yourself away"........and as they say my friends the "rest is history".

Robert "Mr 540" De Moss