February Almanac

 
February is... National Blah Buster Month,  
February is... International Twit Award Month, 
February 1 is... Serpent Day
February 3 is... Cordova Ice Worm Day
February 4 is... Create A Vacuum Day
February 16 is... Do A Grouch A Favor Day
February 17 is... Champion Crab Races Day
February 20 is... Hoodie Hoo Day
February 23 is... International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day
February 25 is... Pistol Patent Day (Samuel Colt)
February 27 is... Weird Al Day 
February 28 is... Public Sleeping Day
February 29 is... National Surf and Turf Day 
February 30 is... When Hell Froze Over Day
February 31 is... Worldwide Osama Bin Laden Appreciation Day (in jest)

For more holidays, visit the Today in History site at... http://davytany.tripod.com/

First No Singer, Now No Label For Van Halen (Feb 2, 2002)

The band severed ties with Warner Bros. Records last month, according to a source close to the group, who emphasized that the band willingly left the company. "There's been a major housecleaning at the company over the last couple months, and anybody that was actually any part of anything when we were around is gone," he said. "They're all about taking care of their young bands now."

A publicist at Warner Bros. confirmed the band is off the label and said the decision was mutual.

Where Van Halen go next is anyone's guess. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen continue to write new material, and last summer Eddie Van Halen said he had three albums' worth of new songs, but still no lead singer (see). The group's last vocalist, former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone, parted ways with the band in 1999 after just one record, the poorly received Van Halen 3 (see).

Since then, rumors have circulated that David Lee Roth had recorded three songs with the group and was getting ready to rejoin, but the band has no plans to do anything with its original vocalist, the source said.

"I think they're just getting over Ed's health problem right now," he said, referring to Van Halen's recent battle with cancer. In April, the guitarist announced he was fighting the disease but was on the mend and feeling great (see).

A View from a Palomar College Radio Station

Some on and off this list have asked me when "Oldies and Oddities" will stream on the Internet... Our website does NOT have Internet streaming. Our General Manager has refused to stream on the net due to litigation involved about radio stations streaming on the Internet.

Currently KKSM pays royalties for our on-air broadcasts. What's being settled in the courts are royalties, should we pay our regular royalty fees or pay double? Some stations have begun to stream while others haven't.

We do have a (who shall remain nameless) on-air person who is against streaming and always screams "THE DIGITAL MILLENIUM ACT!" whenever we mention streaming. I don't know what the hell this Millenium Act is but I do not recognize it's authority.

If all goes well you can see us on-line (with hopefully a new website) by next month. While reading this article I have found the line: "Radio stations do not have to pay double." VERY interesting. But I can assure everyone when the month of May comes around you'll be hearing our sweet sweet sounds on your computer. Wink wink.

I'd like to see the RIAA or whoever come and bleed a penny outta KKSM. NONE of our jocks are paid, that's right you heard me...we do it for FREE!

For three years I have been bringing you these cool sounds for FREE! KKSM is a non-profit just like WFMU is. Only the GM, PD, and APD (me) get paid.

Get Dr. Demento In Your Car

Lets get San Diego and Los Angeles Dr. Demento back on your car radio one way or another. If you want to keep on listening to boring music programmed by corporate radio, that's your choice. Let the soft music moonies in the San Diego Outland keep dishing out brain-numbing bullshit as long as you don't bother to start a revolution.

Beat The Car Radio Blues!

Well, snap out of your doldrum and lift your head up high! I have found a way, aside of the expen$ive satellite radio, for you to get the music that you want to hear in your car...

BUY AN MP3 CD CAR RADIO!!!!

Just think of it! Listen to anywhere from 10 to 40 hours of music on a single CD! You can listen to your favorite music in your car without carrying dozens of CDs costing hundreds of dollars! You can rip the MP3s from your favorite CDs and burn them on your CD-Rs! You can also download the songs from file-sharing services and burn them on the CD-Rs as well! Burn your favorite songs and radio shows on CDs, pop the MP3 CD in your car, and say goodbye to Clear Channel and their redundant music formats!

You could spend $400 outright plus $10 a month to get XM full of mostly talk as well as a list of genres that probably don't include yours in the lineup.

Of course, you can buy a CD changer for your car, but most CDs are filled with junk you don't care to hear. Audio CD-Rs can give you 74 minutes of music per disc. You can tape shows on them as well and listen to them in 44.1kHz, 16bit audio. If you like swapping CDs or remembering to run to your car trunk to pop in and out a half-dozen audio CDs, you're welcome to that too, but don't leave the CDs parked in a hot place. That's why I make copies and use the copies in the car!

Got every Beatles record ever recorded? Put them on a couple of MP3 CDs! Like tradtional jazz? Listen to KSDS or make your own CDs! Like Euro dance and electronica? Tape the dance stations off the Internet and burn them to the CDs! Like today's adult rock? Burn some CD-Rs and say goodbye to KGB!

The Year Hits Rock Bottom Today (Jan 31, 2002)

Fall-Winter, the first third of Winter, ended around January 20th, and the Winter-Winter third began, which runs through February 18th. On Feb 19, the last third, Spring-Winter, begins, in which the weather will be slowly starting on its way to warming up in the Norhtern Hemisphere, and the Vernalmas Holiday season will be just around the corner. There are less than 60 days until Equimas on March 21st, the biggest holiday of the year where anyone of any religion (or even athiests, pagans, whatevers) can all celebrate the holiday together in high spirits and festivities as by then Winter will have come to an end.

While the over conservative Catholics are in Lent and will, as Billy Joel says, "start much too late" to party, the last weeks in March will be warm enough for finally getting into the holiday spirit as Equimas shopping for presents (the season lasts just a week from March 14-20th, it's short on purpose) gets underway for family and friends.

And the season continues for two weeks from late March through April 1st with special holidays including the celebration of New Year's Day on March 25th when it's not too bitterly cold to be standing out at midnight in Times Square.

Why do all these people put on mega holidays in December when its too cold to travel to see families and party? Dec 21 may be the day when the sun's angle begins to climb once again, but we prefer to celebrate it on March 21st to celebrate the point where the sun's angle is finally high enough to make the days longer than the nights, which is then the time to celebrate the holidays.

Tomorrow...the Feb-RU-ary holidays.

Fox Cancels "The Chamber" (Jan 31, 2002)

"The Chamber"'s ratings tanked in its first outing on Friday night last week and was shelved until possibly spring.

In its place for the next two weeks after this will be followed by the movies AMERICAN PIE and LOST IN SPACE, respectively.

Meanwhile, "Dark Angel" moves to 9pm.

The Wires 1-31-02

Los Angeles/Orange

TV and Entertainment (Jan 30, 2002)

``There's a Mother's Day and there's a Father's Day, but there's no Children's Day,'' he said in the current issue of Vibe magazine.

``It would mean a lot. It really would. World peace. I hope that our next generation will get to see a peaceful world, not the way things are going now.''

Jackson, 43, often surrounds himself with tykes, and buses in terminally ill children to play at his sprawling Neverland Valley ranch north of Los Angeles.

The Children's Day idea was one of the cornerstones of Heal the Kids, a charity launched by Jackson and author Rabbi Schmuley Boteach in August 2000. Boteach told Reuters he made ''significant efforts'' to pitch the idea to U.S. lawmakers such as Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, but it never gained traction. The charity is now on hiatus, he added.

Wayne Brady Show To Debut in Fall in Syndication

The Wayne Brady Show aired in a limited run last summer on the ABC TV Network, and the network is expected to bring the show back for a limited run this season.

The ABC owned stations include WABC/New York, KABC/Los Angeles (which never carried Rosie O'Donnell, which airs on KNBC), WLS/Chicago, WPVI/Philadelphia, KGO/San Francisco, KTRK/Houston, WTVD/Raleigh-Durham, KFSN/Fresno, WJRT/Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, and WTVG/Toledo.

Buena Vista Televsion, the syndication unit of Walt Disney Co., is producing the Wayne Brady Show. Brady is also expected to continue as a comedy improv artist on the prime time show "Whose (corrected) Line is it Anyway?"

Broadcasting and Cable: http://www.broadcastingcable.com - Brady getting 10 a.m. slots on ABC O&Os The ABC station group said it will slot The Wayne Brady Show in the coveted 10 a.m. time period leading out of dominant daytime talker Live with Regis & Kelly on the East and Central time zones. The West coast ABC O&O's such as KABC and KGO air ABC-TV's daytime schedule beginning at 10am instead of 11am.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros.' The Caroline Rhea Show -- which is replacing The Rosie O'Donnell Show in syndication, will shift to late fringe such as 12:35am on those stations, or earlier if ABC doesn't renew "Politcally Correct With Bill Maher" if Maher and ABC don't agree on a contract renewal.

ABC affilliates such as KGTV 10 are not affected since they are programmed by the station owners who happen to not be in the Disney family. KUSI 51 now carries "Rosie O'Donnell" after KNSD 39 passed on the show in favor of the new daytime version of "The Weakest Link," carried on most NBC O&O stations such as this one.

The 10 a.m. Eastern slot has been the most successful launch pad for syndicated talk shows including Oprah and Rosie OİDonnell.

NBC: Conan's Not Going Anywhere (Jan 29, 2002)

O'Brien's contract expires this summer, and NBC is in the process of negotiating a new deal with him. Network spokeswoman Rebecca Marks tells the AP "it's pretty much a safe bet" O'Brien will stay.

Reports last week stated FOX, whose last late-night effort was the disastrous "Chevy Chase Show" in the mid-90s, had talked with O'Brien about switching networks. A FOX late-night show would presumably air earlier than "Late Night's" 12:35 a.m. slot.

Neither O'Brien's agent nor FOX offered any public comment on the reports, but a FOX official says the possibility of luring O'Brien is slim. The network is doing other business with him -- including ordering a pilot called "Beat Cops" from his production company. >>

Eddie Murphy, Wife, Have Baby Girl (Jan 29, 2002)

Bella Zahra Murphy arrived Tuesday night (Jan 29) at a Los Angeles area hospital weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces, publicist Arnold Robinson said. She joins three sisters Bria, 12; Shayne, 7; and Zola, 2; and brother Myles, 10.

``We are overjoyed about this newest addition to our family,'' the couple said in a statement that Robinson released.

``Everybody's doing great,'' Robinson added, adding mother and child were healthy.

Murphy is filming the comedy ``I Spy,'' and will next be seen with Robert De Niro in the cop comedy ``Showtime.''

National Wires (January 28, 2002)

Nationwide (Jan 29, 2002)

Mariah Flops on DVD

Sultry singer MARIAH CAREY's acting career is going from bad to worse - DVDs of her debut movie GLITTER have drastically flopped.

The busty blonde played aspiring crooner BILLIE opposite MEL B's beau MAX BEESLEY in the film, which failed both critically and in the box office.

Reception to the movie in Britain was so poor, it was pulled from cinemas within a few weeks of release.

Since the DVD was released in America two weeks ago it has sold only a measly 200 copies!

One Hollywood executive labeled the flick "the worst DVD release of a major motion picture ever".

And news of the sales figures couldn't come at a worse time, the singer is currently searching for a record deal after her multi-million contract with VIRGIN was "terminated" last week.

2002 American Music Award Winners

Complete list of the 29th American Music Award winners

The following is a complete list of winners at the 29th annual American
Music Awards, which took place Wednesday at the Shrine Auditorium.

POP/ROCK

Favorite male artist - Lenny Kravitz

Favorite female artist - Janet Jackson

Favorite band, duo or group - 'N Sync (news - web sites)

Favorite album - ``Survivor'' (Destiny's Child)

Favorite new artist - Alicia Keys

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES

Favorite male artist - Luther Vandross

Favorite female artist - Aaliyah

Favorite band, duo or group - Destiny's Child

Favorite album - ``Aaliyah'' (Aaliyah)

Favorite new artist - Alicia Keys

COUNTRY

Favorite male artist - Tim McGraw

Favorite female artist - Faith Hill

Favorite band, duo or group - Brooks & Dunn

Favorite album - ``Set This Circus Down'' (Tim McGraw)

Favorite new artist - Trick Pony

ADULT CONTEMPORARY

Favorite artist - Sade

SOUNDTRACK

Favorite album - ``Save the Last Dance''

RAP/HIP HOP

Favorite artist - Nelly

LATIN MUSIC

Favorite artist - Enrique Iglesias

ALTERNATIVE MUSIC

Favorite artist - Limp Bizkit

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL

Favorite artist - Yolanda Adams

INTERNET FANS AWARD

U2

ARTIST OF THE CENTURY (noncompetitive)

Michael Jackson

AWARD OF MERIT (noncompetitive)

Garth Brooks