OCR Text |
Show i Wednesday, March 29, 1978 Page 13 mm mm By Jay Meehan KPRQ Radio He handed the binoculars -to the music writer who had been shadowing him all afternoon and, staring straight up into the sky through tear-: tear-: glazed eyes, said to some unseen force: "The earth will live." The tone was conversational yet declarative. The speaker was Juan Cadiz, the forceful chairman of the board and majordomo of Greenpeace, the ecological organization out to save the whales, the earth and Jimmy Buffett. Cadiz and his small entourage were atop the reverend Timothy Mertens trailer near Kimball Junction attempting to get a wide angle view of the now-immense concert crowd. When Ernie and "The General" had been approached about possible use of their rodeo grounds for the benefit concert, they had been told by those-in-the-know that a turnout of "at the very most 4,000 but more than likely 2,500" should be expected. Yet by noon, with the show only one hour old, police helicopters were estimating a crowd of "about 22,000 overflowing the rodeo grounds-Hidden Haven area, with at least another 5,000 making their way toward the music from both east and west." Of course, what attracts people to concerts, whether benefit or not, is the talent and mystique of the performers. Before "the reunion rumors" started to gain momentum, the entire "Greenpeace "Green-peace Utah Benefit Concert" concept seemed to make a lot of sense from a perspective standpoint. stand-point. A "nominal" amount of money could be made for an eco-charity whose time, seemingly, had come. But more important to the organizers was the message that could be sent to those "entrepreneurs" "en-trepreneurs" in New York and Los Angeles who "couldn't put a comb together with a piece of cellophane in order to save the wooly worm," as Cadiz so succinctly put it. Two weeks earlier, after all the performance, land, and insurance contracts had been signed and the respective Chambers of Commerce, county commissions and city councils appeased, r and the final go-ahead received from the fj "outraged residents of rural Summit County'I (an obscure organization whose protest was easily side-stepped when a James B. Kilby was named grand marshall of the opening ceremonies parade), Juan Cadiz took one look at the recently printed posters for the event and, in his usually understated way, announced: "Never has the conscience of man had better musical representation ! ' ' And, indeed, it was the case. It was hard to think of one activist musician who hadn't committed com-mitted his band or himself to this worthy cause. They were all there: Donnie and Marie and the Osmonds, Debbie Boone, Bobby Vinton, the Partridge Par-tridge Family, Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Bobby Sherman, The Lettermen, Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods, Bobby Goldsboro, and the O 'Jays. Many of the "old folkies" were performing perform-ing without the groups that had brought them fame in an effort to show solidarity. Such famed "wobblie rockers" as Tommy James (Shon-delles), (Shon-delles), Dennis Yost (Classics IV), Bobby Vee (Strangers), and Gary Lewis (Playboys) were giving of their time. And when it came time to choose an M.C., who but one of the true patriarchs of the movement, Wayne Newton, could have been chosen. (Especially when it was learned that Jerry Vale had a prior commitment. ) And it was with this talented line-up that those-in-the-know had predicted a turnout of "4,000 at the most." But then came the "reunion rumors." Both the "Monkees" and "Grand Funk Railroad" were going to get back together "this one last time, for the good of the planet." The denials were swift but not enough to stop the snowballing effects such rumors carry with them. Mark Farner, ex-lead dolt of Grand Funk, even went so far as to eat a whale filet on top of Buffett's latest LP in front of some members of the "working press" at the blue-collar-chic "Odyssey 2001" disco in Brooklyn. But that only added fuel to the fire and it wasn't long before widows were getting $200 a night for an extra room in Wallsburg. Even "Diamond Lil" was able to locate a tennent. It all started to fall into place. First there was Gilbert Roland hawking rosaries along the frontage road right next to Bob Dean's martini stand. And Digger selling tickets to the afterparty ($6 covers everything) . Meanwhile, back on "Dirty Mertz" mobile home roof, the music writer asked to again see the binoculars, and trained them on the stage. Marie Osmond was relating some anecdote concerning con-cerning Donnie and how as a youngster just getting get-ting interested in music, he used to hide "Muddy Waters" records inside Annette Funicello LPs or something. It was hard to hear due to the ever-present ever-present helicopter circling the area, but by now most blues buffs were aware of the story anyway. How six-year-old Donnie Osmond had gotten into such Chicago illuminaries as Junior Wells, Buddy Buy, Otis Spann, Homesick James, J.B. Hutto, Jimmy Cotton, Big Walter Shornton and Johnny Young. And how a quick, hush-hush lobotomyrhad; brought him arwnd to the Eugene Gelesnik school. , The benefit was a smashing success. You had your usual milk overdoses; calcium deposits being the bent chromosome of the 70s. But on the whole it worked. Kimball Junction is now on the music map. If you think now is the time you can afford a Sheepskin coat you're getting warmer. (IMS BOB GREAT COATS & VESTS FOR THE GOOD LIFE IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS, ALL LOVINGLY SEWN FROM PURE LAMB SHERLING. LARGE STOCK SELECTED SHEEPSKIN COATS FOR MEN AND LADIES REDUCED 20 TO 50. SUPER SHEEPSKIN VESTS SPECIALLY REDUCED FROM $85.00 TO $55.00. Our shop will be open 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. , .Monday through Saturday ANTIQUES INTERNATIONAL 421 Main Street Phone 649-9132 UTAH WILDERNESS by Kim Crumbo to cool off my passengers when that damn fish swam up and ate one," Frogg said, "1 was afraid he'd eat the while boat, so I started throwing in more passengers, hoping to keep the fish distracted until I reached the shore." Frogg made it, but only after a rough battle that resulted in severe cuts, bites and lacerations all over his body. "Those customers can' sure put up a tussle," explained ex-plained Frogg. The National Park Service ' announced that Lake Powell would be closed to public access, ac-cess, at least temporarily, ft appears that a 50-foot carp has terrorized some of the popular marinas. The closure came in spite of protests from marina operators and Utah's congressional delegation. Senator Garn complained that the closure was arbitrary ar-bitrary and would result in a severe economic loss to the community. "Nobody wants to get eaten by a carp" remarked the senator, "But closing the lake discriminates against the vast majority of Americans who won't get eaten for the benefit of the few who will." The giant carp, recently nicknamed "Jake," has at least 300 recreationists under un-der his belt. Actual sighting of the famished fish didn't occur until a Coca Cola film crew-lost crew-lost a celebrity water skier. "We were shonHnn the "Mertz and Farrah" sfunr team when Jake swam up and grabbed Farrah right up to the waist," said the Coke spokesman. "She seemed delighted until she realized it wasn't Mertz who had her." The big fish has caused problems for river runners who end their trips on Lake Powell. Frogg Stewart, veteran river guide, complained com-plained of harassment. "I had called a swim break Snowbird Hosts Equitable Challenge The competition to determine deter-mine the fastest parent-child team in the world of recreational ski racing is scheduled at Snowbird, Utah on March 29 and 30. The Equitable Family Skiing Challenge, hosting racing programs in 75 ski areas in 25 states throughout the country, has been searching search-ing for the finest team since December of this season. Families have been racing for three months to qualify for the regional competitions held at eight ski resorts during late February and early March. And, the fastest from these events will be flown to Utah for the finals of the 1978 season on March 29 and 30. Members of the U.S. Ski Team, which endorses the race program, will be at ' Snowbircl during the two-day event to coach the teams, hold race clinics, and greet the racers. Cindy Nelson, Andy Mills, and Jamie Kirlander are among the Team members who will be at Snowbird. Cindy and her Donut Shop Robbed Mac's Donut Shop, at 580 Main Street, was robbed Sunday, March 26. Shop operator Pat Larkin was in a rear washroom cleaning utensils when ' someone entered and took two $20 bills and a $10 bill from the closed cash register drawer. Larkin returned to the front of the shop after hearing the noise to find the cash register open and the visitor gone. None of the small bills or change was reported missing. The police also reported two ski thefts. A pair of Olin Mark I's belonging to Paul Lyer was stolen Sunday evening from the porch of his home at 2727 Park Meadows Drive. Cheryl Bagley reported the theft of her rental Olin Mark I's left over night last Friday in a locked ski rack at the Resort plaza. parents will forerun the races, having been involved in the program since its beginning. Cindy learned to ski with her family in Lut-sen, Lut-sen, Minnesota years ago. The Skiing Challenge, now in its second successful season, pairs MotherDaughter, Mother Son, FatherDaughter, and FatherSon teams together in giant slalom competitions. Handicapping according to age differences, is used to adjust the combined times of the two-member teams, and the winners placed according accor-ding to the fastest combinedadjusted com-binedadjusted times. Racing is due to begin on Wednesday, March 29 with a U.S. Ski Team Clinic on Big Emma at 10:00 a.m. and the finalsat 11:30a.m. The same format will be used on Thursday. "When you're sick orhurt,Icangive you some old- fashioned attention!' l i i i! TOM LIGARE MOUNT AIR MALL &19-9161 ;- i i; See meforState Farm health insurance. Like a good neighbor, State Farni is there. STATE FARM INSURANCE State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ' Home Office: Bloomington. 'Hlmois ; o Beautiful view Beautiful view of the mountain Beautiful view of the sky Recently remodeled Lots of room to add on Thanks to extensive advertising on this one, we still have 2 for sale! Call Mardi Smith, Skyline Realty, 649-9066 We sold fifty of these in a day and a half! A MSfiif I & 1 KTi-jL '-XlXmfk Of hi tv A i't ii 'J THE PRINT SHOF ....for all your -gmphfc needs 419 Main Street 649-9592, 649-9548 ""Whether it's yesterday's fish or today's printing, The Print Shop wraps it up. |