The Passing of the Greats (Andy Rooney, Stan Kann, Virgil Fox)

(Andy Rooney - What is Art?)

RIP Andy Rooney.

He died one month after giving his last address on 60 Minutes.
Mr. Rooney had gone to the hospital for an undisclosed surgery, but major complications developed and he never recovered.

In my mind's eye, he was a champion in my "The Emperor's New Clothes" campaign. He, too, realized that the 'Emperor' was stark naked, no matter what other people tried to talk him into believing, the Emperor still wasn't wearing any clothes! I have definitely suffered from saying so, especially at the hands of my own family, but since I was first able to speak, I have always been the little boy that noticed that everybody was putting on an act - when in fact, the "Emperor" was still neekid! The difference is that I was brave enough to SEE the truth, and honest enough to TELL it.

I don't know whether to attribute my premonition to general life experience, or to my nursing background, but I had a feeling that after he gave his last address on 60 Minutes, he wouldn't last long afterward.  


I don't know the details of his surgery, but I suspect that Andy did the same thing that St. Louis' own Stan Kann did.   I personally knew Stan from the St. Louis social circles.   


Even though Stan was (I believe) the nation's last full-time working theatre organist, restoring and playing St. Louis' Fabulous Fox Theatre's 4 / 36 "Crawford Special"  Wurlitzer organ, Stan Kann was more famous for his record breaking 77 appearances on the Johnny Carson Show, and 89 appearances on the Mike Douglas Show.  


Stan Kann was 83 yrs. old when he passed away. He waited too long to have a heart cath, and died on the table during the test.  I suspect Any Rooney's story is similar.  


Here are some Stan Kann videos.  With a latency of 1.5 - 2 seconds, he could accompany a silent film, for example - for 3 hours, non-stop!  That accomplishment is just a drop in the bucket.  Not only could Stan keep up with the activity on the screen, considering that LONG latency, he could also whistle another entirely unrelated tune - at the same time!  In essence, he was playing 3 songs at the same time:


1) the one that his FINGERS was playing
2) the song that came out of the pipes 1.5 - 2 seconds later
3) the 3rd unrelated tune that he was whistling.  


I asked him, "How the Hell do you do that?" The little man whipped, "Your problem is that you are actually listening to what you are playing!"


Pure Genius!


But then again, the late great Virgil Fox once arrived at a concert venue the day before the scheduled event, and he  sat down to play an organ that he was playing for it's inaugural concert.  The organ was newly installed, and the organ company had to hire temporary help that was unfamiliar with their work, to get the job done in time (BAD IDEA!).  This new, hurried tech accidentally wired the pedals backwards!  As was his custom, Mr. Fox played a practice tune with a flourish, and barely missed a note.  A representative from the organ company was with him, awaiting his approval on their instillation.  He turned, look at the organ tech and said with a chuckle, "I can play it as you have it, but I would prefer that you rewire it before tomorrow!"


Stan Kann YouTube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Stan+Kann&aq=f

Additional Stan Kann info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Kann

A tribute to Stan Kann, compliments of Channel 9 Public TV:

An interview with Virgil Fox:

Today, I'm missing Stan Kann, Virgil Fox, and now - Andy Rooney.  More and more genius is leaving this planet, and it's not being replenished at the same rate.  

- Michael

Old junk" can work better than "new and improved" !

Go figure.  This is further proof that, more often than not, "Old junk" can work better than "new and improved" !

At the same estate sale that I bought the Farfisa organ, I bought a  Morley Power Wah guitar pedal - for $1.  There was a sign taped to the pedal that read, "Needs Work - $1".   I paid a total of $26 for the Farfisa AND the Morley pedal. I use many effects pedals, including chorus, distortion, tape delay and wah pedals attached to many of my keyboards, from the digital piano to my Wurlitzer piano and now, the Farfisa.

The work that it needed was that the tiny light bulb that is the basis of it's function needed to be replaced.  It isn't economically viable for  electronics companies to sell and ship these tiny bulbs individually.  They are only 22 cents each. 

So.... I went to Walgreens and bought a string of mini Christmas lights.  I pulled a blank metal plug out of a hole in the side of the pedal, and stuck in a couple of the tiny lights.  This pedal now works perfectly - for a total of $6.99!


On the other hand, the guitar pedal that I bought new several years ago only has about 5 minutes of play time on it, because the damned thing doesn't work right.  It never has.  


A rigged 1970's vintage guitar pedal, bought for a total of $7  - works perfectly.
A brand new $70 pedal doesn't work at all. 


Go figure.

- Michael