The heck with
ER how-to books-- let's get on to the good stuff.* I just finished
"The Showman of the Pacific - 50 Years of Radio and Rock Stars" by local DJ & promoter Tom Moffatt.* He grew up on a Detroit farm and went to a college as far away as he could get-- UH in 1950.* Amateur radio work in high school led to a DJ night job after college classes, and he even served his Army draft time running the Tripler Hospital in-house radio show for injured soldiers.*
Moffatt's a likeable & creative guy but he admits that he ended up in a market with only a few radio stations & DJs (unlike NYC or LA) and just about every entertainer wants to get away for a Hawaii vacation.* After a couple years of local shows and some Mainland talent he was lucky enough to hit it off with Colonel Parker & Elvis.* Pretty soon Moffatt's name spread through the agent network and he's been doing it for over 50 years.* He turned 75 last December but he still promotes a dozen concerts & shows a year and DJs a Saturday-morning oldies radio program.* Now he's doing shows with the grandchildren of people he promoted in the 1950s.* He has no intention of ever retiring (why would he?) and he'll probably drop dead over his mic.* The book is full of pictures (my favorite is Carlos Santana with hair) and memories of "I was there when...".*
My favorite story was his tale of being stuck in Tahiti with few books in English, so he picked up an old copy of Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific".* Before long he came across the mention of British sea captain Buffett of Norfolk Island (a tiny little dot in the South Pacific) and his descendants.* Moffatt wondered if this guy was an ancestor of Jimmy Buffett, the son of a son of a sailor, but when you're Moffatt you can also just pick up your phone and call your good ol' buddy Jimmy to satisfy your curiosity.* A few months later Tom, Jimmy, and Warren Buffett's sister were all on Norfolk Island enjoying a family reunion.
It's great summertime reading and I enjoyed the "local color".