Saturday 9

(Link in meme-roll)
Surf City (1963)
... Because Melissa suggested Jan and Dean. Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) When the song was written, "Surf City" was a fictitious town.* Tell us a song that is set in a real place.

One of my favorites is "Wolf Creek Pass" by C.W. McCall. My brother and I have it memorized, and he does it with the same panache as McCall, whose name was really Bill Fries. We sort of got hooked on his work when he became mayor of the tiny mountain town where we had our "cabin" when I was a kid; he wrote a number of songs about that area, which we also have permanently etched in our brains. And yes, I spoke to him a few times. And yes, I've been over Wolf Creek Pass; it's all true, except the cigar part. ;-) To my surprise, Fries is still alive (age 87!) and living in Ouray. Another reason to move there!

2) In the song, Jan and Dean sing about riding around in a 1934 station wagon, which means the car was 29 years old when the song was recorded. How old is your vehicle?

I think it's a 2013.

3) Are you good on a surf board?

Well, seeing as I can't swim, it would probably be somewhat foolhardy for me to check and see, eh?

4) When you spend time out in the sun, are you careful about applying sunscreen?

If I plan ahead, yes. I'm so rarely out in the sun anymore, though, that it's a bit of a moot point; I'm allergic to everything this time of year and mostly run from car to building to car to home.

5) Dean's original partner was Arnie Ginsburg. When Dean was drafted into the Army, Arnie didn't feel like waiting so he abandoned show business and went back to college. Today he holds several patents. What is something you wish someone would invent?

Earmuffs that selectively drown out Trump and other insane and hate-filled people.

6) Jan was a perpetual student who juggled college with recording. He not only graduated from UCLA, he completed two years of medical school at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. Have you ever considered going back to school?

Yes. It's been in the back of my mind for 30 years. I don't think I could deal with the other students these days though.

7) In 1966, Jan was sidelined by a serious car accident. During the years that he was unable to perform, partner Dean became a graphic artist. He designed logos and album covers for Steve Martin, Diana Ross and others. Do you feel you respond most to words, pictures, or music?

Words, by quite a long stretch. Pictures are dead last--I don't remember graphically at all. Music is fairly strong though.

8) In 1978, CBS made a TV movie about Jan and Dean. If they approached you about a made-for-TV movie of your life, who would you like to play you?

I've always gone with Sandra Bullock in the past and I see no reason to change.

9) Random question: Growing up, how did you learn about the birds and the bees? (From books/the web, from parents, from your friends...)

Friends and the "classes" we did in 5th and 6th grade (and the booklets we got). In 8th grade, I had to get my parents' permission to take "Family Living" and my mom couldn't sign the form any faster than she snatched it from me to do!

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*Huntington Beach changed it's name to Surf City in the 1990s.