http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/01/15/gus-van-sant-talks-electric-kool-aid-acid-test-casting-from-heath-ledger-to-jack-black/

Published by Eric Ditzian on Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 11:47 am.

While there is much in flux about Gus Van Sant’s upcoming adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s Zeitgeist-defining book, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” which centers on the LSD-infused cross-country road trip that novelist Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters took in the 1960s, the director is certain about one thing: he won’t be able to cast his ideal leading man.

“Unfortunately, Heath Ledger was a pretty obvious choice, and he’s gone,” Van Sant told MTV News in an exclusive interview. But who else could play zany philosopher-king and “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” author Kesey?

“There’s the opportunity that it could be Jack Black,” says Van Sant, hinting the film might possibly take on a more comedic feel.

At the moment, though, the “Milk” director is awaiting the initial draft of the screenplay, which is being penned by “Milk” scriptwriter Dustin Lance Black.

“He’s cracking the nut,” Van Sant tells us. “I’m not sitting with him every day. I probably should think about doing that, but I haven’t seen the first draft yet. I hope he cracks it. There are many ways to crack it.”

Indeed, Wolfe’s “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” is a sprawling, multi-storyline beast of narrative nonfiction following, among other things, the LSD “test” parties Kesey and the Pranksters staged in San Francisco; early Grateful Dead shows; the Hells Angels biker gang; the psychedelic bus called “Further” that Kesey’s wacked-out crew drove across the country, making experimental films and tripping their faces off; the drug-related legal troubles Kesey eventually encountered; and, of course, the wild, wild experience of dropping acid in Haight-Ashbury before the rest of America began to turn on, tune in and drop out.

However the finished script turns out, what is clear is the source material is dear to Van Sant’s heart. He cast Kesey in his 1993 film “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and dedicated 2002’s “Gerry” to the memory of the author, who died from complications following surgery for liver cancer in 2001. And for “Acid Test,” when it comes time to cast the leading man after Sean Penn blew critics away with his turn as Harvey Milk, the Kesey role as directed by Van Sant will surely be chased by almost every able-bodied actor in Hollywood.

What do you think of the potential casting choices? Who should play Ken Kesey? What about Jerry Garcia?

k~

COLD SWEAT!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIVLvs6IK98

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2UliHrzaB8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQLfMPmOocQ&NR=1

Wanna let yu know how much I appreciate our conversation yesterday afternoon.

A COLD SWEAT IS A COLD SWEAT!

H. would tell you that.
My mother & father would both tell you that.

You're over it now so it's not that big a deal but it hurts when you are betrayed.

ALWAYS

My little sister girlfriends have been wonderful,
but you, Sis, have been right on the money!

Thank you so much!


I said, "Somebody done HOO DOOED
THE HOO DOO MAN!"
www.myspace.com/curbsidejimmyandwashboardjean

Thank you so much for stickin' with me

best,
rr

Hey y'all~

Here's Dan Baker & Bruce Flurry's portraits from the '39 Gargoyle.







EL REG on EL DIABLO in the courtyard of La Hacienda de Cusin
with the volcano Imbabura
in the background (elevation 15,190 feet above sea level)


The Cool of the Morning @ Cusin


LAGO SAN PABLO in the background


Cusin


Indian Squatters New Ground Plowed By Oxen In the Background


'86 or '87


Sign by Bob Weston

Dear Mighty Field Hands !


I've also got some interview footage with JOHNNY SHINES, PERCY SLEDGE, JIMMY HALL and his brothers and Sister when they were performing as WET WILLIE...as soon as these Doogie Houser so called Doctors finish jerkin' me around I will try to get her done...right now I'm so stressed out about these people that really have no idea what they are doin' to me...They have me between a Rock and a Hard Place..,,but thanks to my friends I have a Little Wiggle Room...

But a couple of daze ago I started doin' what TOOTS does..I wake Up Dancin'...since I have no one to dance with...I DANCE ALONE...with my eyes closed....

Back In The Day when I played Trumpet and Bass with The RUBBER BAND..DENNY GREEN and TOMMY STUART played Sax and JOHNNY TOWNSEND also played Sax when he was not singin' with that GOLDEN VOICE he still has..We made up dance steps that we did while we played...I think The Most Fun I've ever had was with that Band...the 60's was a great time and so unlike this ORWELLIN" 1984 version of AMERICA...It really was The Good Ole Days !

Dancin' is great exercise and it's good for your Soul as well...Try it...nobody will laugh at you if you are alone and doin' your Spirit Dance...or as EDDIE HINTON called it...The MIGHTY WALK !!

I have so much I want to share with ya'll...I feel like I have wasted this hold month due to circumstances beyond my control,,,created by these so called Healers...sometimes you have to go outside of The Box...A Man's Gotta Do what he has to do !

Love & Respect !
wwwwwwwwwwwwwyker

John D. Wyker aka SAILCAT
MIGHTY FIELD of VISION FOUNDATION
www.MFVR.com
Worldwide NET RADIO 24/7

Alison Heafner is from Mississippi, http://myspace.com/alisonheafner
from an imaginary cross between
Clarksdale, the city where the Delta Blues was born, Memphis, which saw the birth of Rock “n” Roll and Tupelo, the native town of Elvis Presley ...

don’t look further why she has been raised with Rock Music since her childhood and why her voice went naturally to music, for which she obviously has a natural gift!

Studies of literature have somewhat influenced her writing and it’s with various musicians among who we notice Hal McCormack and Will Smith on guitars, Dean Daughtry on keyboards or Robert Nix on drums that the fiery Alison went in studios in Nashville, Memphis, and Atlanta to record an album whom, is in her own image, owns all it needs ...

We sure won’t miss this jewel!

Writing no fewer than nine of the ten songs featured on this self-titled effort, the singer appears from the outset as a true songwriter able to produce blistering songs where Blues and Soul just balance a Rock that fits like a glove.

The voice deep and rasping just enough to titillate tympanums perfectly settles amazingly on beds of comfortable guitar lines, leans on inventive keyboards and bounces on a rhythm section at once sensual and strong to give pure moments of happiness as “Designated Lover”, “Face in the Mirror”, “Crucified” or “Mista’sippi” on which each arrangement is weighted at her best and where the guitar flights abound.

Able to push her notes, accompanying it with beautiful vibrato and to modulate scales to make it irresistible and to allow it to pass various emotions.

Alison Heafner obviously appears as one of the very best Rock singers of her generation. One of the expected ones to become at least as famous as Joan Jett, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithful and Janis Joplin... and its not her great “Ode to Billy Joe” interpretation that will allow anyone to say the opposite!

We now sincerely hope that a French or European label will have the good idea to make her cross the Atlantic Ocean to present her to crowds who are only waiting for her to restore confidence in the Rock.

Fred Delforge

Zicazine - France

zicazic.com

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

"CHER!"

All of the Hard Times

They’ve been a School for you

YOU’LL SMILE AGAIN

WITH HOPE IN YOUR HEART

YOU’LL SMILE AGAIN BELIEVE ME MY FRIEND

YOU’LL SMILE AGAIN

WILBUR WALTON JR

Click on the link below to purchase Wilbur's first recording in 35 years
http://playgroundrecordingstudio.com/_wsn/page2.html

http://playgroundrecordingstudio.com



Or click below to download Wilbur's four new tunes
http://www.digstation.com/AlbumDetails.aspx?albumID=ALB000018284




all three images courtesy of http://myspace.com/playgroundrecordingstudio

Jim Lancaster @ PLAYGROUND put a new Wilbur video on the Internet called
YOU'LL SMILE AGAIN
http://tinyurl.com/bvkwom


image courtesy of http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=454959216
FRA! Promo Art by Derek Yaniger

Like I said before,
our old Yankee buddy Mal Thursday is like that EVERREADY BUNNY!
HE'S BACK & STRONGER THAN ACID plus
YOU KNOW WHAT!



MUCHAS!!!!
to HARRISON!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe5w0_ray-charles-jerry-lee-lewis





Thanks Kathy for showing us Hilton's book!

I got a little scanner promblim right now but I would have included a scan of Mr. Dan Baker from the '39 Gargoyle. He was on the school board.

Mary Ann Howell Spann has Bruce Flurry's copy of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD.

Celebrating Valentine's in Los Angeles, CA 2-14-09 with a concert featuring Ms. Lewis
Aloha All,
I wanted to send you mine and Larry's picture taken with Barbara Lewis last Sat. night (Valentine's) in LA. Larry and I celebrated our 45th. Valentine's together (2 Valentine's going steady and 43 Valentine's married). My Valentine's gift from Larry was a trip to LA to see her perform. We have "Hollywood" connections and they put us in contact with her manager. As it turned out, when she found out we were flying so far, she arranged comp tickets and had her manager take us backstage to meet her after she performed. We had taken her an orchid lei and I was able to meet her manager beside the stage 30 minutes before the performance and give it to him. She went on second and came out on stage singing "Hello Stranger", wearing our lei. When she finished singing the song, she told the audience of 7,000-10,000 that there was a very special couple there who had flown all the way from Hawaii to see her (Ann & Larry Adams) and to bring her the lei. She had the spotlight find us and thanked us. Then she sang "Make Me Your Baby" and "Baby, I'm Yours" (my personal favorite). As she was walking off stage, we went down and were escorted to meet her. She was so sweet and very appreciative that we had come so far to see her. I had her to autograph my album, "Baby, I'm Yours", which Larry bought me shortly after we began going steady in high school. She also autographed one of her publicity pictures that I had gottten on eBay. She told us she was 19 when the picture was made. She signed it, "Ann & Larry, thank you for loving me so long. Best Wishes, Barb Lewis". She told us it was people like us that kept her going. I told her I wished she would record an album of classic love songs. She said she wasn't dead yet. And I said if Etta James can do it, she can. I've attached the picture we had taken with her. Larry and I stayed backstage maybe ten minutes because we didn't want to "wear out our welcome". We had taken her a Hawaiian basket of goodies but had a little trouble getting it to her. They wouldn't let us take it in to the Forum. Luckily, we found a sympathetic secutiry guard, who agreed to take it to her dressing room. I was glad because I had written her a letter that I included in the basket.

It was a short trip, but we had a blast. The concierges at our hotel made us dinner reservations at a wonderful restaurant before the concert and when we arrived, we found that we had one of the best tables in the house, a little booth with curtains. Our meal and the service was wonderful and we even celebrated with a glass of champagne.

Barbara Lewis is our favorite female singer from the 1960's, and we've always wanted to see her in concert. Her voice is incredible, and Larry and I think she sounds even better "live". But she has gained weight since the 1960's and it doesn't seem easy for her to get around.

It was very ironic that we had to turn back on both of our flights though. We were in line on the runway to take off for LA and had to return to the gate because someone was having chest pains. Then when we were two hours into our flight back to Hawaii, a man had a heart attack and we had to return to LA. We were met by about ten fire trucks and an ambulance. They took him off in a wheel chair. Our first flight was delayed two hours and our second one was delayed five hours but we were thankful that the people were able to get help and that no one died on the flights. We thought it was ironic that it was Valentine's weekend, a celebration of hearts and there were "heart related" medical emergencies on both of our flights.

Fond Aloha,
Ann http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=347236370


On facebook http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009795&id=1595262505#/profile.php?id=1595262505
Rockin' Rodney has shared some SUPER images!


With Roy Orbison,The Small Faces and Paul and Barry Ryan backstage after our opening night Finsbury Park Astoria, London,England





DATEBOOK Magazine PinUp of THE CANDYMEN
seated: Rodney Justo & John Rainey Atkins http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=198156299
standing: Dean Daughtry, Robert Nix, Bill Gilmore

Hey Robert

I am doing a documentary on the Mexican Airforce in WWII any info you can supply would be great, you suggested this subject to me a while ago . I have new doc about the History of Japanese Baseball check the promo on www.HappyTrailersHD.com on completed projects page .

Lance a Matic

Did you know that the Mexican Air Force that fought the Japanese in WWII earned their wings at Napier Field?

A History of The Women Airforce Service Pilots at Napier Field Dothan, Alabama: Covering the Period 2 January 1940- 20 December 1944. Compiled for Historical Division Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Detachment





GRIFFY ~ The official mascot of Napier Field


The Mexican pilots were under the same command as the Tuskegee Airmen but you've never heard of them...
The Mexican Expeditionary Air Force, 201st Fighter Squadron received their wings at Napier Field in 1945. This was the only Mexican unit to conduct combat overseas during World War II. The Army Air Corps used a lot of British instructors at Napier Field and pilots from many Latin American countries, Ireland, England, France, Spain and China received their wings there.
Click here for the Mexican unit's history:http://www.military.com/HomePage/UnitPageFullText/1,13476,701286,00.html

From the above link on the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force:

The replacement training plan considered forty-eight more pilots for refresher and P-47 training. The training, initially conducted at Foster Field, TX, was changed to Napier Field, Alabama, near Maxwell Field. Maxwell was the home of the Air Corps Tactical School, the US center for development of air power tactics and strategy. After finishing the unit training, the MEAF, which received the Mexican Flag on February 22, 1945, was ready to go overseas.


http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Mexico/MEAF-201/index.html The Mexican Expeditionary Air Force is Mexico's only military organization that saw combat overseas in World War II. This organization and its operational unit--the 201st Squadron--were part of the Allied forces that battled against the Axis in the South West Pacific Area. However, there are few history works that mention the participation of this unit. Hence, the history of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force is not well known. In this research paper, I explain some aspects related to the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force, concentrating on the organization, training, and operations of the 201st Fighter Squadron. I consider that there are valuable and very important lessons to learn from this experience.

I want to acknowledge the guidance and assistance from my research advisor, Dr. Richard R. Muller, who suggested the topic, and helped me to focus my research and my writing. I also want to acknowledge the insights provided by Captain Amadeo Castro Almanza a--201st Fighter Squadron flight-leader in combat missions--and Lieutenant Charles H. Volz Jr., an instructor of Mexican pilots in 1945 at Napier Field, Alabama. My thanks to the librarians and staff at the Historical Research Agency in Maxwell Air Force Base for their invaluable support. My appreciation, finally, to Don Humberto Gamboa Montoya, who served as a Sergeant in the 201st Squadron, and later became a mathematics teacher in my hometown Mazatlán, Sinaloa. Thanks to him I first learned about the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force in World War II.

Strike of the Aztec Eagles
by Jack Fellows

P-47 Thunderbolt fighters flown by the “Aztec Eagles” of the 201st Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force attack a convoy of enemy trucks in central Luzon, the Philippines, in June, 1945. The Squadron flew close air support missions, assisting American ground troops in the liberation of the Philippine Islands from the Japanese occupation in World War II. It was the first Mexican military force to serve outside of that country, its participation in the war led to improved relations between the U.S. and Mexico.

http://www.azteceagles.net/.

http://www.airartnw.com/strike_of_the_aztec_eagles.htm

http://gorvtexas.com/azteceagles.htm

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=28282.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP8tcorHnZ8

http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jul/25/magazine/tm-mexpilots30.

Lance Miccio http://happytrailersHD.com
to me~

I knew that because of you , I might want to interview you down in Bama

Robert Register to Lance Miccio~

You want to interview folks at the Historical Section at Maxwell AFB @ Maxwell.
or find out what happened to Lt. Charles H. Volz, Jr. who trained the Aztec Eagles @ Napier Field.

I have a lot of Napier Field images that are Web ready. None with Mexicans but some pretty cool stuff.

I can probably get a cheap place to stay in Dothan if you want to film at Napier Field or at the Army Aviation Museum @ Ft. Rucker or at the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin.

P-47N

44-89320

DEC02

P

Air Force Armament Museum Eglin AFB (FL)

VOLZ, Charles H., Jr., age 83, passed away on Monday, February 2, 2009. He was a longtime attorney of Montgomery and member of The Kiwanis Club of Montgomery. Survivors include his wife, Connie; son, Charles H. Volz, III; daughter, Judi Martell; granddaughter, Emily Volz; grandsons, George Kreutzjans, Bill Kreutzjans & Tony Kreutzjans along with their families and four nephews in Virginia. The family will receive friends Saturday, Feb. 7th in First United Methodist Church’s Reception Room from 3-4pm. A Private Memorial Service for the family will follow shortly afterwards. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Montgomery Humane Shelter.


Robert:

I stumbled upon your Blog quite by accident, and read it with great interest. Some of the names, bands and locations brought a torrential flood of cobwebbed memories back for me of days gone by in the old south.

I grew up in Montgomery (saw a Big Bam show or 2), and started going to Tuscaloosa in the early 1970s to visit my older brother and his friends in school there. I started in 1975 and graduated from UA in 1979, moved around the south (Birmingham, Chattanooga, Atlanta) before settling, if you can call it that, here in Dallas in 1991.

Ironically, my oldest daughter is a freshman at Alabama this year, so I have been back a few times to see her. Very different. Tippy Armstrong, Don Nix and the Alabama State Troopers, Rabbit Branch, Allman Brothers Chuck Leavell, Wet Willie from Mobile, the concerts at Woods Quad, Frank Zappa at Morgan Auditorium, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt (Johnnie Shines completed her set that night) at Foster, Rave Up (Boz Scaggs, All Star Frogs, Freddie King), Glen Butts and company playing at Ireland's, Jumpin' Johnnys downtown...I could go on for a week. Amazing times.

Do you write books, or does this all exist in a blog form? Very curious to know more.

Best,


D.M.

Dave,

Glad I jogged your memory.
I have a huge unorganized collection of Tuscaloosa print media from the Seventies but it is completely unorganized.
Right now the blog is the main way in which stuff is getting organized.
As far as I can tell Google destroyed the superb old Blogger search engine after they bought Blogger
so all we're left with now is damn Google.

The way I find stuff on my blog is with Google.
For example, if you Google
"tippy armstrong" robertoreg

you'll get two hits on Zero, Northwest Florida, but when you click on "more results" you get 23 more hits.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=i1F&q=+site:robertoreg.blogspot.com+%22tippy+armstrong%22+robertoreg

I gotta figure out a way to pay myself while I organize our archives.

My latest proposal is to produce a reality show called
SOUTHERN ROCK PILGRIMAGE.
An episode devoted to Dallas would focus on Deep Ellum & musicians like T. Bone Walker, Bob Wills, Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs & Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Dallas The City
will be THE STAR
& the rockers will be the tour guides.
Their commentary in cemeteries (Laurel Land Memorial Park)
& at the sites of former crash pads, family homes & neighborhoods(St. Marks of Texas, Oak Cliff, Kimball High School), night clubs(Deep Ellum, Bob Wills' Ranch House), girlfriend's houses, dope dens, recording studios, restaurants, crime scenes, etc. etc. will be accompanied by the appropriate music & archival footage.

ROLL TIDE & KEEP IN TOUCH!

Best,
rr

P.S. Check out what Wikipedia sez 'bout Dallas Music...

Dallas

Dallas has a rich musical heritage. The number of prolific musicians who played in the Deep Ellum Central Track area was rivaled in the south only by Beale Street. T-Bone Walker, Leadbelly, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, and even Robert Johnson himself first recorded in this area, just as Bob Wills and the Light Crust Doughboys were leaving the studio. Throughout the 1940s, 50s and 60's, country, western, and blues continued to flourish, producing a plethora of notable entertainers including Stevie Ray Vaughan. As rock'n'roll swept the land, Dallas has also become a hotbed for producing progressive, edgy music... a trend that has continued to this day. Dallas has a vibrant live music scene, that continues to center around the Deep Ellum area. Unfortunately the City of Dallas has restricted the growth of this neighborhood, an attempt to control traffic and crime, to the point where the history and heritage no longer thrive, but are a distant memory being replaced by "less offensive" tenants.

Robert,

Spend a lot of time in Deep Ellum over the years, and the City has actually done a decent job of trying to help it survive and thrive. I works just down the street — sorry to hear if Wikipedia or anyone else is painting it otherwise.

Musically speaking, Dallas is an interesting place — much like Atlanta and T Town (haven’t said that in a few years).

Many music people are from here (from Blind Lemon Jefferson and Robert Johnson playing on street corners in DE, on up through folks like Ronnie Tut (Elvis’ drummer for years), Johnny Taylor, Steve Miller/Boz Scaggs, Stevie and Jimmie Vaughn, and more from Oak Cliff I feel sure. More recently Edie Brickell, Roy Ayres, Eyrka Badu and Norah Jones, all from the great Booker T. Washington Performing Arts High School

But one one stays in D-FW, much like Atlanta and, sadly, albeit understandably, Tuscaloosa.

My brother and I worked on the UPC at UA for years — he still has all the old concert posters that Pat Covert designed (Ronstadt, Grateful Dead, Allman, Lynyrd, Bad Company, Joni Mitchell and the LA Express, in mint condition I might add. And T shirts from the day out the wazoo. My nephew’s band tours all over the country and he wears some of them — gets the weirdest comments!

Yes, I will stay in touch. In the office right now working on employee performance reviews — man, for just a few days of yesteryear — today.

Best,

Dave