Hey Sucker...

What the Hell's got into you? Hey sucker Now there's nothing you can do.

It was 19 years ago today that Wham! made the announcement that they were breaking up.

Happy Birthday Paul Humphreys.

Founding member of OMD, a band originally "inspired by the experimental electronic music of German bands such as Kraftwerk and Neu."

Working with "radio sets and home made synthesisers, Humphreys and (Andrew) McCluskey christened themselves VCLXI (after a valve diagram on the sleeve of Kraftwerk's Radioactivity album)."

Naming themselves after an obscure VCLXI song, "Humphreys and McCluskey launched their own unique style of catchy electronic melodies that helped form OMD's reputation for intelligent pop."

Material: omd.com

"She Does Prance Around Town Wearing Pink Target Fake Uggs."

Here it is, the Bake Town interview of My Lovely Teenaged Daughter.

The Beat Goes On...

Of the six member band consisting "of Dave Wakeling on vocals and guitar, Andy Cox on guitar, David Steele on bass, Everett Morton on drums, Ranking Roger on vocals and toasting, and foundational first wave ska legend Saxa on saxophone," (thebeatuk.com), it was only Dave Wakeling last evening performing as The English Beat at Portland, Oregon's Barracuda.

Songs performed included Waist High's two favorite Beat songs "Doors of Your Heart," and "End of the Party." Dave also treated us to "Mirror In The Bathroom," "I Confess," "Save It For Later," "Tears Of A Clown," "Rough Rider," "Best Friend," "Can't Get Used To Losing You," and some General Public; "Tenderness," "I'll Take You There," and "Never You Done That."

With Wakeling sporting a Fred Perry shirt, Waist High went in search of the reason. "The Fred Perry laurel is one of the most enduring and timeless logos in the world and is associated with authenticity, heritage and integrity."

Happy Birthday Mike Peters.

Frontman for The Alarm.

A band that began in North Wales as Seventeen. Seventeen was "formed from the demise of such memorable stalwarts as 'The Toilets,' (Mike Peters, Nigel Twist) 'Quasimodo,' (Dave Sharp, Nigel Twist) 'Chuck Burial And The Embalmed,' (Dave Sharp) 'Pax,' (Dave Sharp, Nigel Twist) and 'Amsterdam.' (Eddie MacDonald)."

Spirit of 86': The band seemed to thrive on their fan-base, and more than mere showmanship, they really wanted to bridge the gap between artists and fan. In the middle of their tour, The Alarm decided to give something back. On April 12, 1986 The Alarm made their most striking mark on the world of rock music. In front of 20,000 fans at UCLA and millions more around the world watching on MTV, they played a free, 75 minute live concert called The Spirit Of '86.

They put on the show as a "thank-you" to all the fans who had stuck with them and all the new ones they had gained along the way. The show highlighted most of The Alarm's hits, and was considered a triumph by most people who witnessed the spectacle, even though there were a few problems.

Mid-way through "Marching On," a football thrown by a drunk frat-boy decimated Twists' bass drum, rendering it useless. To the live crowd it made no difference, but it severely crippled the low-end of the audio broadcast, making later songs like "Spirit Of '76" sound hallow and lifeless.

Furthermore, IRS waited a full six months to release the show on video, missing nearly any chance of capturing the momentum created by the show.

Material: thealarm.com
Photo courtesy of: narberth.co.uk

Photo: The Waist High Collection

I Saved It For Later Mike.

A bit of a Johnny-come-lately English Beat fan, Waist High has loved these gentleman ever since 1983 when she purchased What is Beat?, cut the sticker off the album and taped it to her Pee Chee to impress the boy she liked who just so happened to be a huge fan.

Waist High is still a fan this evening as she puts on her body slimmer, places that very sticker in her pocket, and heads out the door to see them at 9 p.m. at Portland's brand new Barracuda.

Photo: The Waist High Collection

Anyone Want To Adopt A 16 Year Old?

The last 24 hours have been very rough around the Waist High household. Waist High's Lovely Teenaged Daughter let Waist High down in a way she has never let Waist High down before. Waist High might even have to ask Lovely Teenaged Daughter to move out of the house. It is THAT BAD!

Never before has she upset her mother this much.

It is still hard to talk about, but Waist High feels a duty to share the sad news with her readers. The pain is still too great, but...

Who: Lovely Teenaged Daughter
When: Yesterday afternoon
Where: Waist High's Ford Taurus
What: Asked Waist High, "Did Bake Town really win an iPod?" (Insert sound of screeching brakes...)

My only child. The child I thought was perfect, the child I thought had some sense about her is A FULL TIME READER OF BAKE TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If anyone needs to reach me I will be at Meridian Park Hospital.

Lovely Teenaged Daughter Says...

WAIST HIGH RULES! ANY OTHER BLOGGER THAT CALLS MY MOM A "HALF-BAKED WHACK JOB IN PORTLAND" DROOLS!

Photo: LTD for The Waist High Collection

Happy 50th Birthday Howard Jones.

Voted Keyboard Player of the Year by Rolling Stone Magazine in 1986, Howard is releasing a 20th Anniversary Concert DVD, recorded Live at the Shepherds Bush Empire on Sept. 20, 2003.

Midge Ure joined Howard on stage for Ultravox's "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes," and "Vienna."

Waist High.

Bake Town.

Cheers To Bake Town!

Frank and I would like to say Congratulations on your 6 month anniversary.

From Bake Town 8/14/04: "I must give credit where credit is due. Bake Town would not exist were it not for Amy in NY and Waist High - two wonderful blogs I enjoy at every opportunity. It was them which inspired me."

Photo: The Waist High Collection

Happy Birthday Roger Charlery.

Best known as the singer/toaster and co-frontman of The English Beat and General Public, Ranking Roger became a punk rock fan as a teenager. He joined ska revival pioneers The English Beat in 1978, where he teamed with singer Dave Wakeling to give the group a unique one-two punch out front. After three albums, Wakeling and Roger departed in 1983 to form the more pop and soul tinged General Public, which also included members of The Specials and Dexy's Midnight Runners. (allmusic.com)

Word Of The Day: Epigone.

Discussions of haunted places with a full time Waist High reader led the full time reader to the discovery of several "Haunted Bakersfield" sites. The discussions also led the full time Waist High reader to discover a clever, funny, and way-ahead-of-it's-time 5/21/04 Waist High post from a time when Waist High epigone Bake Town was still in diapers:

While You're At It Why Don't You Just Knock Over The Nursing Home Down The Street Or Go Piss On The Father Garces Statue?

Trout's Bar, one of Bakersfield's country music landmarks, was robbed Thursday morning. 3 men robbed the North Chester Avenue establishment armed with a knife.

(bakersfield.com) During the robbery, one of the customers at the bar tried to intervene and was hit with a bar stool by the other two suspects, said Vern Hoover, manager of the bar and president of the company that owns Trout's.

Trout's, on North Chester Avenue, was opened in 1945 by Ralph Trout, Hoover said. The bar has been a mainstay of the honky-tonk music scene and is "one of the great country dancing bars in Bakersfield," said Mary Duckett, the manager of the nearby Longbranch bar.

One of the reasons I love Bakersfield is because the robbery took place at 6:30 a.m. and there were already customers inside.

Pampers or Huggies Bake Town?

Photo courtesy: carpenoctem.tv

Happy Birthday Dave Wakeling!

Of many good things including The English Beat, "one of the most popular and influential bands of the British Ska movement." (davewakeling.com)

Bake Town Bows To Her Master.

Read the Waist High interview everyone's talking about.

Stories? Oh We've Got Stories.

Tri-Tip? Tri-Tip. Tri-Tip. Tri-Tip.

Might I remind you that you are Waist High's Special Correspondent? You were elected to that position because you have got stories. And my readers want stories. They are fed up: "Where are all the stories...on your toolbar you list characters, but all I see are washed up rockstars...tell stories. Tell tell tell."

If we are going to tell stories, you are probably going to have to:
1) Start reading this site.
2) Keep saying things like, "Damn. I don't have any of that stuff. I've lost it all. Only things I have are all my police reports."

Happy Birthday Andy Taylor.

Guitarist: Duran Duran.

There's No Place Like Gnome.

Two weeks after they disappeared, 20 decorative gnomes are back in their various Oregon homes.

This post is dedicated to Pratt.

Anyone Want To Loan Me $255,000?

Thanks full time reader "M" for letting Waist High know that her childhood home is for sale. The walls of that home actually talk.

Happy Birthday Ali Campbell.

Still going strong as UB40's lead vocalist.

Happy 46th to the voice of Labour of Love, "The first direct tribute to the musicians who had inspired and influenced them." (ub40.co.uk)

Happy Birthday Mikey Craig.

Born Michael Craig: Bassist for Culture Club, formerly known as Sex Gang Children, formerly known as In Praise of Lemmings.

She Breaks Kneecaps Too I Hear.

Say hello to Waist High's new assistant "Lovely Teenaged Daughter." The demands of maintaining Waist High, working 60 hours per week, and obsessing over how much I hate my neighbor, have prompted the hiring of an assistant who: evidently charges $2.00 to properly crop a photograph, $1.00 per picture for the use of her digital camera, $2.00 to size and enhance a photograph to perfection, and $1.00 per incident for any type of "advanced expertise."

My assistant handed me her invoice last evening with "Payment Due Upon Receipt."

For calling her father, upon Waist High's request last Sunday, to tell him she would "rather be with mom" for the evening instead of going out to dinner with him, Waist High was billed $1.00.

Happy Birthday Peter Hook.

Bass player: Joy Division, New Order, Revenge, and Monaco.

"His bass playing is quite unique: the bass is omnipresent in Joy Division's music, it has more or less the role of a lead guitar, and the way Hooky plays it is absolutely stunning."

Quote and photo courtesy: enkiri.com

There Be Fighting In These Parts.

Blockbuster Inc. has begun a hostile takeover of it's smaller rival, Wilsonville Oregon based Hollywood Entertainment Corp.

Photo: The Waist High Collection

Happy Birthday Henry Rollins.

Black Flag frontman, spoken word aficionado, smoking hot 44 year old.

Black & white photo courtesy: Bill Wilson via ipass.net

The Doors Of My Heart.

Waist High is receiving preliminary reports on the wire that The English Beat is playing Friday Feb. 25 at Barracuda in downtown Portland.

You Know You Have Nothing To Wear To Work When...

You wear a Generra shirt you bought in 1987.

Happy Birthday 2 Tone Records.

"The legendary British ska label 2 Tone are celebrating 25 years of releasing pioneering records with a UK tour of special acoustic gigs."

More on 3MEN+BLACK, and A brief 2 Tone history.

"Here Is A Small Prize..."

After 23 years, Gang of Four has reunited. And are coming to Portland.

"Gang of Four knew how to swing. I stole a lot from them." --- Michael Stipe

This Is The One Time I Am Thankful I Live In An 800 Square Foot Apartment!

So the conversation in the grocery store with my Lovely Teenaged Daughter this morning regarding her staying home alone while I go on a 5 day vacation in March, went something like this:

Waist High: "NO! Absolutely not!"
Lovely Teenaged Daughter: "You don't trust me do you?"
Waist High: "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that..."
Lovely Teenaged Daughter: "Your parents left you home alone when they went out of town..."
Waist High: "Oh no they didn't. They knew better!"
Lovely Teenaged Daughter: "Mom!"
Waist High: "And the one time they did was the time I had that kegger where 200 people showed up and were all in the cul-de-sac and there was a fight and a guy got his eye kicked out and the BPD started hauling people away, and..."
Lovely Teenaged Daughter: "I would never do that!" (pause)
Waist High: (Thinking to myself WOW, I have raised a wonderful daughter. Maybe I could leave her alone...)
Lovely Teenaged Daughter: "We don't have the room."

Photo from a party in Bakersfield in 1985 in the home of parents that were presumably out of town courtesy of: The Waist High Collection

Non-Thieving Family Members Need Not Comment.

We actually have sunshine this morning here in Portland Oregon, but Waist High has still been enjoying Bake Town's Grapevine area photos.

Greatest thing about the above photograph of the Grapevine is that it was actually taken by my grandmother. Worst thing about the above photograph is that I stole it from that very grandmother over the Christmas holiday to make it part of: The Waist High Collection

Viking Pride.

If you graduated from West High School in Bakersfield California in 1986, check out West High Class of 1986. Thanks goes to Amy and Bake Town for getting it going.

Photo: The Waist High Collection

El Rincon de San Pasqual.

If you are the individual who
1. Pretends not to read Waist High because it is so hideously crass.
2. Is actually a regular reader.
3. Finds Waist High hideously crass.
4. Lived in/around the Pasadena, California area for the better part of 40 years.
5. Really really loves Brazil nuts.

There are a couple of things you need to know: This and this.

For the above individual who NOT ONLY is a regular reader but who clicks on my outside links to see what the latest is, here is more on the history of Pasadena, "Rancho San Pasqual."

Correction: This Is The Last Steve Perry Post!

From damnmillionaires comes: "I know next-to-nothing about the man, and pretty much the same about his former band. I know he once did a solo album, the most successful song of which was about his girlfriend, Sherry. I am fairly certain they broke up soon after its release - probably because she could not bear the thought of becoming Sherry Perry. Maybe that would make a good song..."

Quote Of The Week.

Waist High friend, who also happens to be a TEACHER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL that inspired the blog name Waist High: "Hey, remember how you used to say West High was 'Waste High?' Well, it's wasted now."

Happy 45th Birthday Steve Bronski.

Bronski, along with Jimmy Somerville and Larry Steinbachek, formed Bronski Beat in 1983 "for something to do."

Photo from a party in Bakersfield in 1985: Courtesy of The Waist High Collection

In James Taylor's Voice: "You Just Call Out My Name..."

And although Waist High contuinues to appreciate her World Domination this fine morning, she is also celebrating a more commendable kind of achievement: 10 weeks smoke free.

It has not always been easy, and below is why.

Photo of one of Waist High's long time and closest friends' hand not too long after Waist High explained to him that being around a smoker would not be in Waist High's best interest during the critical first 90 days, courtesy of: The Waist High Collection

Waist High Turns 1.

Dear Readers:
This week marks the one year anniversary of Waist High, the annoying little Blog that could. The Blog that celebrates life, and drinks a couple of shots of the past every night before bed.

To those who assisted in getting Waist High off the ground, I thank you. To the relatives that check in to Waist High to see just how far off the deep end I've gone, I thank you too. To fellow Bloggers who rage against the hate mail and nasty comments daily, you are my heroes. To those that are embarrassed to know me, your discretion is heavenly. To my brethren in Bakersfield, Fresno, and Chowchilla, cough cough. To all those unfortunate souls whom I write about with out permission, smile. To the sites and the sounds of Bakersfield, California, just know that I have your best interests at heart. And to my personal trainer, who when first meeting me said, "What are you, about 24?" year two of this site is for you.

Peace,
Waist High

Photo: The Waist High Collection

Last Steve Perry Post. I Swear! (Unless Sherry E-Mails Me)

Check out Fresyes' Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'... and Crime Fightin'. Just another reason we will never forget the man "Born in Hanford. Raised in Lemoore. (with) Pipes from Heaven."

Hundreds Of Negatives Found In A Box In A Dirty Storage Shed? They Are Kind Of Like Waist High's "Stargate."

Photo: The Waist High Collection

Another Bakersfield Mystery Solved.

Waist High's man on the street "Preacher Man," with the help of some of his people, delivered to Waist High yesterday, all of the answers to her lingering "Oh Sherry" questions. At this time, Waist High is not at liberty to discuss the findings. She will however, if three events should ever happen:

1. Sherry Googles herself.
2. She clicks on the #1 return for oh Sherry +Bakersfield.
3. She reads this post and e-mails me.