The 4th of July with the ZAMBELLI FAMILY!

For eight long years, I lived a half mile from Disneyland... Lots of tourists came through Anaheim, to visit the magic kingdom, and also to see the Angels, the Rams, the Mighty Ducks, the Crystal Cathedral, and all of the other exciting and interesting stuff that developed riding the coat tails of Walt Disney... One thing that you always got to see in Anaheim was a world-class fireworks display. Every night at 9:35 p.m., Disneyland would start firing, and all of our neighbors would congregate out in the yard to watch. Disney had a tremendous display, but as you can imagine, after eight years this daily routine became rather boring...

Then I moved to Pittsburgh, HOME of the ZAMBELLI family. The Zambelli family is world-famous, and respected as the greatest innovators in their industry - the fireworks industry. They have been responsible for some of the greatest displays the world has ever seen, and how fortunate for me that Mr. Zambelli and sons call Pittsburgh their home.

The family must give Pittsburgh some kind of special deal on the 4th of July. Pittsburgh is a medium-sized city of about 350,000 people, with another million or so in the immediate surrounding area. But on the 4th of July, you would swear you were in the richest city in the world when the annual Independence Day fireworks begin. WDVE, our local classic rock station on the FM dial, provides music that is synchronized with the fireworks, and every year is something special! The folks at Zambelli definitely have a flair for the dramatic, and the choreography between the musical pieces and the booming, sparkling display is always awe-inspiring.

One year, I was lucky enough to get invited on to a small boat that was parked at the point where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers converge to form the Ohio river. The fireworks are shot off from a barge that is also on the river. We had to lay on our backs to get the full effect, and let me tell you, it was awesome. The display was so devastatingly loud and bright that there were several times when I thought that the trailers were going to land right on us and set the boat on fire! My appreciation for the work done by the Zambelli family was multiplied to the tenth power after being at a location where we could see the men on the barge lighting the displays, running for cover, and quickly running to the next station in a well-rehearsed and perfectly timed effort.

Since joining Rick K. and the Allnighters, I have not gotten to see the incredible Pittsburgh 4th of July fireworks diplay, because our band is in heavy demand on that day, and we always end up performing right before the fireworks display in places like Marion, Ohio or Fairmont, West Virginia. Hey, it's cool to end your show with a rousing rendition of "God Bless The USA" and have it followed by a big fireworks display that dazzles the crowds that are gathered at the fairgrounds. But there is nothing quite like being in Pittsburgh for Independence Day.

Luckily for me, my 4th of July gig this year starts at 12:30 p.m. in Petersburg, West Virginia, so I'll have plenty of time to get back to Pittsburgh in time to see what the Zambellis have cooked up for 2005! I can hardly wait - it's been quite a while since I've experienced it, and all my fond memories of past Independence Day celebrations always start out with me burning some meat on the grill, and the Zambelli family burning the sky with their incredible fireworks displays that truly are works of art, and part of a great American tradition…

Hit Him With Your Jiggly Puff!

In case you didn't know, Pokemon is not an ancient form of martial arts. Becoming a Pokemon master isn't quite as prestigious as becoming a Tang Soo Do Master, but a Pokemon master sure can impress a lot of friends at a sleepover party. Pokemon is from Japan, and Tang Soo Do is from Korea. Pokemon was incredibly successful in Japan and had lots of spinoffs like Digimon. Korea's martial arts evolved in an effort to defeat Japan, and they had a lot of spinoffs too. Tae Kyon and Subak, plus Bang Soo Do, Kong Soo Do ("Way of the Empty Hand"), Kwon Bop, Tae Soo Do ("Way of the Foot and Hand"), and Tang Soo Do ("Way of the Tang Hand").

What they both have in common is problem solving. If that sounds like oversimplification, consider this: In Pokemon the subject is presented with a variety of different attacks from dozens of creature weapons that have unique attributes related to their strengths, weaknesses, abilities and preparedness. The Pokemon master must carefully choose the best weapon in his arsenal that will counter the estimated abilities of the opponent's weapon. If a Pokemon master fails to defeat the opponent's creature, he loses. Tang Soo Do, Moo Duk Kwan and Taekwondo have some similarities. Each form was developed specifically to anticipate the style of the opponents' attack. Japan's forces occupied Korea and imposed a ban on fighting arts, which sparked a renewed growth of Subak in the buddhist temples, a traditional place of refuge for out-of-favor warriors, both in Korea and Japan. In 1930, Hong Hi Choi, the future "Father of Taekwondo," began his martial arts instruction, while Hwang Kee, the future founder of Tang Soo Do also practiced the outlawed arts. The attacks of the Japanese Judo and Kendo fighters were anticipated by the Koreans, who were victorious in 1945 with a little help from the Americans.

Millions of American dollars were spent on Pokemon products in recent years, and the American influence on Pokemon has been pronounced. The Japanese game has taken on many American-friendly characteristics during its development. Americans contributed to changes in both Karate and Taekwondo, primarily as a result of American tournament experience. Americans began receiving Taekwondo instruction on army bases in 1946. In the 1960s, Chuck Norris became a champion by combining Korean kicks with Japanese hand techniques. He was also the first fighter to successfully introduce combination techniques. Joe Lewis also came to fame by the use of the lead leg side kick and the crossing back kick, leading to the establishment of American Kickboxing.

After the WTF concentrated on the sport form of Taekwondo, Korean instructors began emphasizing competition rather than self-defense. Pokemon evolved the opposite way, from a gaming competition into a means of self-defense. There's nothing worse than losing a Pokemon battle to kid who's younger than you, and survival on the street could all come down to knowing WHEN to use your JigglyPuff!

Baseball Cards - The Art Form

A child's toy? A collector's habit? No, much more than that. It's a form of art. It's Americana art.

Here are pictures of childhood heros, forever emblazened in living color, donning the costumes they wore into battle, complete with intricate chronological details of the warrior's successes and struggles. Upon review, these artifacts of the glorious past create a longing in us for those days when everybody was getting their ring finger measured on a yearly basis. Yes this is art, because baseball cards do more than report information, they create stories for inspiration for future generations of fans. The hopes and dreams of every young baseball fan have been recorded for all time, and the magical men who delivered all the excitement and an eternal source of local pride have been captured and shrink-wrapped with large pieces of pink chewing gum.

As you sort through the 1992 Topps baseball card box (792 cards) and assemble all the Pirate cards into a group, you begin to wonder... Who will be the next Barry Bonds? He started in Pittsburgh in 1986, and he shattered the record for home runs in a season with 73 in 2001, many years after the tiny Pittsburgh market was unable to support his commanding salary requirements. You ask yourself, will there ever be another outfield as talented as Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke, especially with backups Orlando Merced and Gary Varsho? According to Topps, the fabulous trio batted for averages .302, .292, and .269, respectively, and combined for 299 RBI's, 96 doubles, and 55 stolen bases. And there are couple of gold-glovers in that trio!

If you find yourself wondering, "what's an RBI?" or "where can I find some of those gold gloves?," please accept my apologies. Baseball cards are an Americana art thing. They feature professional photography, they capture a moment in time and they tell a story. The faces of the heroes reveal the passion they pour into their performances. And to a frustrated sports fan, they bring back happy memories of more prosperous days and give hope that the farm system still might discover the next Jeff King, or the front office might snag the next Doug Drabek as a "player to be named later." Hey, you never know... The Pirates might win half of their games this year!

The Hardwood Ballet

There's nothing more beautiful to watch than the graceful strides of a 7-foot-tall dancer as he prepares to leap and fly through the air with a windmill motion and deliver a powerful slam to the cheers of delighted fans! Welcome to the Hardwood Ballet.

The dancers are millionaires of rare athletic quality, with skills sharpened by years of training and practice. They twist, turn, dribble, drive, slash, slide, pass, dive, spin, stride, leap, fly, hang, crash and cry. They are icons of the hardwood ballet, and millions of adoring fans hang on their every move, and leap for joy with every thundering dunk. They come from all over the world, and they gather in the venues where only the most gifted may perform. Their faces are seen on television, newspapers and magazines. Their stories are documented in books and radio broadcasts. And their images are forever engrained on the minds of the children who will imitate them, and embrace them as heroes.

As the epics unravel, the audience sees the good and the bad, the right and the wrong, the beautiful and the ugly. The characters take shape as the story evolves and resolves with some ironic twist of fate, where the balance of a season comes down to one play in one second of one final game. Every ounce of energy is expended, and all the blood, sweat and tears of a lifetime hang on the lip of a cold steel rim, where ten chiseled bodies wait to snatch away the rebound that will ensure their victory. When it is over, the victor is judged by his character in victory, and the loser is remembered for the "almosts" and "what-ifs." The winner has reached the pinnacle of achievement, and the loser has learned a valuable lesson in humility. The champion's face will appear on the children's cereal boxes and the runner-up's face will show up on the waiver wire.

The hard-fought victory is short-lived, and the next chapter is composed in the minds of coaches and managers, who dream of new combinations, new role players, and new schemes to deceive the opponents. Sometimes the news is good, but with every passing season come changes in the faces. The young compete for their right to perform, and old teammates are scattered throughout the land, as friendships are severed and new conquests begun. Generations of families teach their young to shoot, dribble, and pass in a time-honored tradition of coaching future stars and helping them use their incredible abilities at the highest possible level. They fight on, struggling over a long and grueling war of attrition, hoping to hang on for that last-second shot!

Now that's what I call "dramatic arts."

Why CLEVELAND?

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its latest class of honorees for 2005, it was a fine list of talented folks, including Buddy Guy, The O'Jays, The Pretenders, Percy Sledge, and U2. I saw the O'Jays perform a concert at a casino where my own band was playing in Louisiana just a couple of months ago. They were incredible performers, and very deserving to be inducted. Great music, great people, but WHY CLEVELAND? All across the U.S., the kids went crazy for Rock and Roll in the 1950's, so how did the shrine to the greatest rockers of all time end up in the tourist mecca that is northeastern Ohio?

Disk jockey Alan Freed is widely credited with coining the term "rock and roll" to describe the uptempo black R&B records he played as early as 1951 on Cleveland radio station WJW. Born in Johnstown, PA, Freed called himself "the Moondog" and billed his show as the "Moondog Rock ‘n' Roll Party." He called it rock and roll because "it seemed to suggested the rolling, surging beat of the music." The Freed-sponsored 1952 Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland is believed to be the nation's first rock and roll concert. Only two short years after conquering Cleveland, he took his show to WINS New York. There, he spread the popularity of rock and roll via TV, movies and the celebrated all-star shows he promoted at Brooklyn's Paramount Theater. Those stage shows remain the essential rock and roll revues of the era.

So why isn't the Hall of Fame in New York? Millions of people from all over the world visit New York every year and a tiny percentage of those folks have ever been to Cleveland, sometimes called "the mistake by the lake." Despite the fact that Freed wasn't from Cleveland and didn't stay there long, and even though the payola scandals of the late Fifties left Freed blackballed within the business and a broken man when he died in 1965, the city of Cleveland embraced this man and even went so far as to have his cremated remains transferred to the Hall of Fame's Museum on March 21, 2002 – fifty years to the day since Freed hosted the Moondog Coronation Ball at the Cleveland Arena.

"The entire Freed family is in agreement that Dad would have wanted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to be his final resting place," said Lance Freed, Alan's son. Maybe so, but Freed would never have predicted that his final resting place would be the city that he abandoned for greener pastures in 1954! The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exists to educate its visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and significance of rock and roll music. How unfortunate that the New York Chamber of Commerce was asleep at the wheel - the legacy of Rock and Roll would have been better served with a venue in a city where countless more visitors could have been educated.