July '10 Entertainment—Little Anthony's This and That Column

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Moving Day Is “Move For Less (Turns Out To Be More)”
I
think two of the hardest things to do in life is to give birth to a baby and to move. Of course, I don’t mean that a man is having a baby either. We all know that women have babies plain and simple. But moving, that is something that disregards sex and gender combined. Moving is a trauma waiting to happen psychologists claim and they are right as far as I am concerned.

Linda and I decided to move to another part of Las Vegas—part of town we longed to be back in. It’s a beautiful gated community and I used to think communities like these confining. I could not be more wrong. I’m getting ahead of myself.

When you are moving, the first thing you have to do is find a moving company. It sounds simple—doesn’t it? Trust me, if you are planning to move, the moving company can be a “mission impossible.”

Like most Americans, I Google search to find out the information I am seeking. In this case, it is “moving companies in Las Vegas.” What happens? I get postings for every moving company across the country. I thought the link would lessen my search but it

did just the opposite. Funny, yes but remember this is only the beginning of your moving journey.

A friend of mine asked, “With all those companies how do you decide? What is the best choice?” Well surprise, surprise you really don’t get to choose. You just close your eyes and say, “Eeny, meeny, miny moe—this one.” You hope, you just hope, it is right. No lie.

I closed my eyes and I picked this particular moving company. It said, “Move For Less” and right then, right there, a red flag should have gone off. I wasn’t thinking clearly and frankly I was boxed in. Everything we had was in boxes and at the same time, I had concert dates to address. I just wanted to get the move over with—big mistake.

“Move For Less” caught me at a lax and desperate time. The first cardinal rule when you are planning to move is, get it in your head, there is nothing cheap about moving. It will tax you beyond belief and you spend weeks or months saying, it is in a box somewhere.

Well, we are now, as they say, “Moved in” but your moving trauma lingers man. Remember when in the “Old West” they would refer to the new people as “settlers.” Well, in the “New West,” moving and settling has a new meaning and it costs you.

So, it is moving day and we’re pulling up to the “new house.” The movers then explain how the $900 fee does not include: dining room furniture, office furniture and your refrigerator. So, by the time the moving guys get to the “new house,” there is a “new price” with the “Move For Less” reps since now, they need to have two trucks and additional movers to move everything. The final bill was in excess of $1,900—twice the price. Our “Move For Less” was really “Move For More.”

To make matters worse, we painstakingly marked every box boldly so you would know the room it was to be unloaded. Our “Move For Less” guys put a bunch of the boxes in the garage instead of the intended rooms. We’ll be sorting boxes and trying to make sense of it all for months to come—maybe the rest of the year. What a mess.

It is like being stuck with someone’s debris—you try to make sense out of it. You try to organize things but when that fails, look in the garage. “It’s in a box marked Dining Room I’ll bet ya.”

My President—My President

Here we go again—it seems to me that our President lives a parallel universe that only he comprehends. The rest of us, I think, live in a real world and we call it “Earth.”

Can’t you hear them saying, “This is Mission Control—Earth to Mr. President—Earth to Mr. President—This is planet Earth calling Mr. President. You’re breaking up.”

The public is saying “up” and you say, “down.” They say “blue” and you say “brown.” They say “in” and you say “out.” He’s like that hit record Katie Perry has.

This “180 degree Presidential thinking” is not good for the country’s progress. Let me give you an example: The President calls for a moratorium on drilling for oil in the Gulf Of Mexico. Sure they want to assess the oil rigs out there and see if there is another “barn door left open.” Think of the ramifications though: if the company cannot drill, they will cut their employees—they will not hire anyone. So, thanks to non-productivity, Gulf unemployment grows. This is equal to kicking an economy when it is down for the count.

Here we go again. It just doesn’t make sense—especially economic sense. Maybe the truth of the matter is they, meaning BP and the President feel the “small people” will have to suck it up. This disturbs me and like I said, this is just my opinion, maybe Mr. Obama is in over his President’s head. What I mean to say is—is President Obama just plain incompetent? You heard me—and I said it—just my opinion folks.

I certainly don’t have all the answers but there are a lot of people who do. They are trying to help, the world over, to solve the Gulf’s oil leak—even Kevin Costner. Initially, the President, or his reps refused help with a “we know what we are doing” frown. Go figure—is this a sign of arrogance or ignorance? I’m just thinking out loud—that’s all.

A good friend of mine, Jim Full and I were discussing the Gulf oil crisis—not my moving experience—and he came up with a great suggestion. He said that Congress, every one of them, should be required under penalty or loss of campaign contributions to watch a classic black and white film starring Jimmy Stewart. It’s called “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” and our Congressmen would be required to watch the film repeatedly.

Clips from “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” starring Jimmy Stewart.

Maybe then, and only then, will our President and Congressmen remember what America is all about—it’s about the people. It is not Big Oil, not the Democrats, political idealism, stuffy bureaucrats and it is not the Republican agenda—it is about the American people.

The #1 Station In New York City—CBS-FM

Congratulations, I just heard that CBS-FM is now the #1 station in New York. I want to take this opportunity to say how delighted I am that they are #1 again. I lived in New York City for over 30 years—about half of my life—and listening to CBS-FM was part of that life. They turned it around from that awful “Jack format” 3 years ago and that is a modern-day feat. CBS-FM is legendary and hitting #1 again is a statement of our times.

It was brought to my attention however, that CBS-FM’s airplay doesn’t include key Little Anthony & The Imperials songs. Now let’s get down to the heart of the matter. CBS-FM proclaims to play the hits of the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s and if that is the case, why don’t they spin the ’60s hits of LA&TIs? Our New York fans would be the first to echo that question and that cannot be overlooked.

So, let’s set the record straight. You can rule out “Tears On My Pillow” and the flip-side “Two People In The World” because that was 1958. The record was a two-sided hit 45 rpm single. “Shimmy, Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop” was released in 1960 so that is marginal. But, I can’t let CBS-FM off the hook with “Goin’ Out Of My Head” (1964), “I’m On The Outside Looking In” (1964), “Hurt So Bad” (1965) or “Take Me Back” (1965).

Frank Sinatra was quoted as saying, “Goin’ Out Of My Head” will become one the greatest standards in the world. Now, with a compliment like that from “Frankie” don’t you think LA&TIs deserve more airplay in the CBS-FM rotation?

I’d like to pose a qualified question: Why is LA&TIs music—the ’60s hits—not featured on CBS-FM more than they are?

Maybe I have to set the record straight (I think that is a pun, by-the-way). Little Anthony & The Imperials had their biggest hits right in the middle of the British invasion—1964–65. That statement is true and I’m just asking why it seems our songs are passed over? With that off my chest, the guys and I are gonna take the “high road” and I’ll end this item congratulating CBS-FM on their #1 milestone position.

Rock Con’s Top Ten Rock Hall Of Fame

Clarence Collins and I are honored to be two of the “top 10” Rock Hall Of Fame inductees attending the July 30th through August 1st “Rock Con: Weekend Of 100 Rock Stars”—Meadowlands Sheraton Hotel in E. Rutherford, NJ.

Here are the other Rock Hall Of Fame inductees:

Marty Balin—Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship
Gene Cornish—The Rascals
John Idan—The Yardbirds
Al Jardine—The Beach Boys
Terry Sylvester—The Hollies
Hilton Valentine—The Animals
Mary Wilson—The Supremes
Ronnie Spector—The Ronettes

Marty Balin—Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship

I heard that they are calling Rock Con “the Woodstock of rock conventions” and I have tell ya, this 3-day event could be the start of something good. Country artists meet and greet their fans and have done so for decades.

Rock artists were resistant to meeting their fans and at times, dismissed their meet-and-greet fans completely. I used to think like that too and I was so wrong—so wrong. I love meeting our fans nowadays and if I could go back in time, I would have changed my attitude. I would meet as many fans as I could possibly schedule in. What is it they say about hindsight?

This Rock Con event is one that I am looking forward to and I plan to “meet and greet,” sign as many autographs, see some old friends and enjoy our time in Jersey. It’s a month away and if you want more information, click on NationalRockCon.com for details, time and schedule of events.