Pat Blythe – Women of The “Traps”- Part One…and Music!

“Developed primarily in the United States, early drum kits were known as traps kits (short for trappings) and usually consisted of a bass drum, a snare drum on a stand, a small cymbal and other small percussion instruments mounted on the bass drum or a small table, all played with drum sticks or brushes except for the bass drum.” — Wikipedia\

“A synonym for “drum kit” this term was used earlier, when drums and percussion were beginning to be assembled into a single “station,” playable by one drummer. The story goes that early kits contained a tray that held percussion “contraptions,” such as cowbells, whistles, and other items. “Contraptions” was shortened to “trap,” eventually becoming “trap kit”.”  –Sweetwater Sound

Pat Blythe – The Stories Behind the Songs Part 4….

It’s a miserable, cold, sodden, rainy, pathetically dreary, rather dismal night. Moisture and freezing temperatures will create your very own skating rink on the sidewalk, front lawn and even the roadway. I look out the window and see everything enveloped in ice. Jane Harbury had very kindly invited me down to her Discoveries series at Tranzac tonight but between prior commitments and the weather, my ass is safely ensconced on the couch writing this. I have one artificial hip…..I don’t need two and I’d prefer to keep any modicum of dignity intact.

Doug Thompson – “MONEY, IT’S A GAS”

Anyone familiar with that Pink Floyd tune? (c’mon, who isn’t?  It’s from “Dark Side of The Moon” for crying out loud).  The album, released on March 1, 1973, made # 1 for only one week, but in total, spent 741 weeks on Billboard magazine’s album chart.  Let’s put that into years shall we?  “Dark Side of the Moon” remained on the charts from 1973 until 1988.  If you know the song, then you’ll know that the next lyrics to the title at the top of the page are:  “Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.  New car, caviar, four star daydream, think I’ll buy me a football team.”

Doug Thompson: “(WE’RE GONNA) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK” AGAIN

This column is the first of what hopefully, will become more of a regular one on DBAWIS by yours truly.  My intention (and we all know what happens to intentions, especially good ones) is to take a closer look at some of the hit records and hit makers from the rock era using some of my interview archives.

Segarini: 7 Decades of Top Tens – How Important is a Hit?

Like most of you, I have my ‘Go-To’ sites on the Internet that I check the first thing in the morning. And again later in the afternoon. And then again in the evening and late at night. In fact, I check them every chance I get, just like my email. One of my favourite sites is known to its followers as “The Big Yellow Board”, and is populated by folks who work or have worked, or want to work in radio. They are joined by fans of all aspects of radio, not just the content. Sometimes, they will have passionate debates about which station has the tallest broadcast tower in Phlegmville, or which disc jockey was the first person to play a Bobby Curtola record during a snow storm. Other times, they just bitch about the state of radio today or defend the state of radio today. Aside from videos of piano playing cats, they couldn’t be livelier or more entertaining.