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".
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".
