The Real Memphis Mike (don't settle for imitations)

I wish I was an Okie from Muskogee...you know, that place where even squares can have a ball. It seems like too many people have lost the ability to just have FUN anymore. These days, it seems like folks can't have a good time without drinking, smoking pot, snorting something, popping a pill or belittling someone else (usually someone not present). What happened? I thought that we, as a species, were evolving. Instead, it seems that we've stunted...and as 8th graders to boot! I remember when I was a kid, I couldn't wait to be 'grown up' so that I wouldn't have to deal with childishness anymore. Alas, it seems that the grown ups have all gone off and died and left the brats in charge. Everywhere I look these days, I see rampant immaturity. No one wants to take responsibility for anything anymore. Guess what, part of taking responsibility means facing up to the mistakes we make. These days, it seems that most folks would rather sweep their follies under the prover...

You could almost say I have a ghost in my own backyard! Well, not quite my back yard but at least close to home. You'd think that living close to a cemetary, I'd be telling of ghosts there but you'd be wrong! This is the story of Peter, a little boy ghost. I've heard this story for years! My family has lived in this area since the early 20th century. Up until recently, the oldest house in Allegheny county was our family homestead, but after the death of my great aunt Alberta, the house was sold. My grandmother and great aunts used to tell me stories of prohibition and all the crazy times. I wish my great aunt Ann was alive so I could get more information on this alleged 'bordello'. (she lived right up the street...but WAS NOT a working girl! LOL)Anyhoo, on with the story... BLAHA FLOWER SHOP (Etna, Allegheny County) Shop owner David Kornely relocated his flower and gift shop to Bridge Street in Etna in 1991. He had heard the building was haunted but had no secon...

Grrrrrrrrreetings and welcome to my 1st Halloween-inspired blog!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA OK, everyone loves ghost stories and such...well, at least most of the people I know do! I know I love them...and as I'm also a bit of a history geek, I thought I'd mix the two! So here goes nothing! A bit of 'haunted local history'. If you know of some scary local history, please fill me in! It doesn't have to be Pittsburgh, it can be from anywhere! NOTE: I didn't write the following. I took it from a web site. As a bit of a Halloween prank, I'll let YOU figure out which one! MWAHAHAHAHAHA Enjoy....... The Original Most Haunted House in AmericaCongelier Mansion, 1129 Ridge Avenue Formerly known as the Most Haunted House in America, the home of carpetbagger Charles Wright Congelier, his Mexican wife Lyda, and a young servant girl, Essie, was located at 1129 Ridge Avenue, in the Manchester, North Side, neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The story of its life as a haunted house* begins i...

I've long said that I liken creativity to psychosis...and if you really think about it, it's probably not far from the truth. The creative mind sees/hears/smells/tastes things that don't exist until we create them. As a musician, writer and photographer, I view the world with my own weird set of senses. I hear music that no one else can hear. I see images that while visible to others, are probably not perceived the way I perceive them. I have stories running through my head at all times. It can be quite a frightening mess at times! LOL But every now and then, I can get these ideas OUT of my head and transform them into something that others can (hopefully) enjoy or at least recognize. I, for years, played in rockabilly bands almost exclusivley. During the past few years, along with some serious personal issues, I found this to be severely stifling. My photography suffered from it as did my writing and composing. I found myself becoming a caricature of myself. I did NOT enjo...

30 years in the music biz and damn, alot has changed...except for the money. Musicians make LESS now than 30 years ago! LOL But I was just thinking about all the places I've played over the years...and how many of them are gone. Just here in Pittsburgh, the list goes kinda like this... The Decade (and its many later incarnations, The Next Decade, Tobacco Roadhouse, Ribbits, etc...) The Upstage The Attic Zelda's Thirsty's Kangaroo's Anthony's Nick's Fat City Jack's on 18th Dolly B's Boo Boo's Luciano's Skelly's Del Frati's The Jukebox The Electric Banana Club Ed The Riverside Penn Cafe/Nooner's 3 River's Brewery Rosebud Metropol Graffitti and the list goes on & on....(these are just places that I used to play regularly See kids, THIS is what happens when you don't support LIVE music. Businesses go under. That means that YOU have to pick up the tab for those lost tax dollars! LOL Man...it's just sad.......