Friday Desk Dance

Today, I'm rocking out with the Michael Stanley Band, a Cleveland area rock ensemble that gained notoriety in the 80's with the above song. They even appeared on Bandstand! What with all the discussion about Midwestern literature and its merits over at Megan's place, I was inspired to do the back-breaking labor required to dig up these videos on YouTube.

I know most of my peeps will know the history of Michael Stanley and his Band, but I'll go ahead and give you other four some background. I believe they were discovered and presented on the local and nationally proclaimed WMMS, Home of the Buzzard. This radio station was named the best radio station in the country by Rolling Stones for much of the 70's. I may not have my facts right, as I was a very young person at the height of 'MMS's fame, so check the links, if you want a more accurate accounting. I'm not nearly as gifted a rock historian as Johnny Yen, Frank or Genn6 are.

Anyway...

After MTV was invented, their video for "He Can't Love You" launched them into fame. But then they quickly settled back to mere local notoriety, much like the Georgia Satellites probably did when their Southern hit: "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" began seriously to bug. Oh, let's hear it for old time's sake and to give "Southern Rock" one hit wonders equal air time:

Once the all the ado died down for MSB, they started playing around the state, then just the NE Ohio region. They started writing songs that praised their home town, emulating the Boss and John Cougar, I imagine. Instead of touching a nation's heart with it's homespun pluck and never-say-die spirit, it mainly caused the nation to stretch, yawn, and ask each other, "So, who do you think shot J.R.?"

Here is a sample of the cloying lyrics for "This Town (Is My Town)"

This old town's been home long as I remember
this town's gonna be here long after I'm gone
East side, West side--give up, or surrender
--been down,
but I still rock on...
(CHORUS:)
Oh, and this town
is my town--alright?
Love or hate it--it don't matter
'cause I'm gonna stand and fight
This town--is my town
she's got her ups and downs
but love or hate it--it don't matter
'cause this is my town
This old town is where I learned about lovin'
this old town is where I learned to hate
This town, buddy, has done its share of shovin'
This town taught me
that it's never too late
(CHORUS TWICE)
This is MY TOWN
This is MY TOWN
This is MY TOWN...

So, yeah. Then they tried to reach out to the Midwest and did a song called "In the Heartland" (my time line might be off here, but please forgive for poetic license and whimsy). It's so awful, that I can't even find the lyrics to it. Don't get me wrong, though, MSB had some great tunes like "Strike Up the Band" and "Lover". They were sort of on the same level, fame/talent-wise as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. MSB's notoriety probably drew misinformed producers to make the lame movie Light of Day with Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett as siblings (!) who lived in Cleveland and were trying to make it as rock stars. They filmed it at the Euclid Tavern, a place I've actually gone to.

Anyway, Michael Stanley minus the Band, has become quite a local celebrity. He co-hosted on a lightweight TV talk show in the 80's (what was the name of that show? P.M. Cleveland?), he's a DJ and he and his new band, The Resonators (gag) do concerts in the summer time.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I almost knocked him over once. In college, Elizabeth and I were strolling down Detroit avenue. We were headed to the Detroiter, a 24-hour diner for an off-hour snack. We were talking animatedly to each other, as we are wont to do, and I slammed into a leather-clad shoulder. The owner of that leather-clad shoulder then slammed into a parking meter. I said, "sorry" and looked up to behold the bearded beauty of Michael Stanley himself. I looked at Elizabeth and said, "Was that...?" and she said, "Yeah!" and we turned to gape at him. He looked back and smiled. Then he strutted the rest of the way to where ever he was headed and we giggled our way to the Detroiter for some Chicken Strips.








PS: Isn't this a great album cover?: