Great story Shorty Wave.  Nice that you met and worked with one of your musical heroes.  As an artist and performer Bowie was a pioneer and unique.  He really was one of a kind musically and on stage.  His passing was a real shock since nobody knew he was ill.  And just eight days later on January 18th 2016 Glenn Frey of the Eagles passed away at 67.

Some interesting tributes on the BBC to mark the date..

Brixton boy David Bowie's rise to global stardom

'I tried on David Bowie's costumes while he was out'

And then there's this list, which you may or may not agree with.

Bowie's 29 greatest songs, ranked

RadioActive wrote:

Speaking of sad deaths, one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead has passed. Bob Weir was a guitarist and singer and succumbed to lung ailments at age 78. 

Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir dies at 78

Oh no. I have not been following things today and just saw this. I got to see the Ace Bob Weir with the Dead in 1982 in Buffalo at the Aud. and guess where I won the tickets including the bus ride. Yes CFNY. Was a blast driving with those Dead Heads but getting through customs took a long time.

One of the first albums I ever bought was American Beauty by the Dead.. I bought at in the drug store in Guildwood. One other record I bought there was Hot Smoke and Sassafras by Bubble Puppy. American Beauty along with Working Man's Dead are two of the best folk/county/rock albums of all time.

I will listen to Playing in the Band  now for Mr Weir.



 

Shorty Wave wrote:

Fitz wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

Speaking of sad deaths, one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead has passed. Bob Weir was a guitarist and singer and succumbed to lung ailments at age 78. 

Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir dies at 78

One of the first albums I ever bought was American Beauty by the Dead.. I bought at in the drug store in Guildwood. One other record I bought there was Hot Smoke and Sassafras by Bubble Puppy. American Beauty along with Working Man's Dead are two of the best folk/county/rock albums of all time.

I will listen to Playing in the Band  now for Mr Weir.


 

 
Small world as I live in Guildwood and there’s still a drugstore, I wonder if it the same one you bought albums from? Could be, as things don’t change much here my neighbour once told me!

The drug store is still exactly in the same place but the store name has changed. There's few other change since that time. I believe the grocery store was called Red and White but was still in the same place. There was a small plaza on the other side of the road besides Laurier. Just south of Laurier. There were two Gas stations on Guildwood Parkway on the either side  side of the road. There was a barn like structure at the top of the hill besides the Guildwood Gates.I don't think the Townhouses at the end of Livingston were there when I bought the album.

The residential layout was more or less the same except the addition of a few Apt buildings.. The Bluffs were a play place and TV/Radio reception with an outdoor antenna was excellent. I recorded a whole bunch of radio air checks there and some TV as well.

I love a neighbourhood with TV antennas! I'm the only one in my area with a tower and a rotor. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

Shorty Wave wrote:

Fitz wrote:

Shorty Wave wrote:

 
Small world as I live in Guildwood and there’s still a drugstore, I wonder if it the same one you bought albums from? Could be, as things don’t change much here my neighbour once told me!

The drug store is still exactly in the same place but the store name has changed. There's few other change since that time. I believe the grocery store was called Red and White but was still in the same place. There was a small plaza on the other side of the road besides Laurier. Just south of Laurier. There were two Gas stations on Guildwood Parkway on the either side  side of the road. There was a barn like structure at the top of the hill besides the Guildwood Gates.I don't think the Townhouses at the end of Livingston were there when I bought the album.

The residential layout was more or less the same except the addition of a few Apt buildings.. The Bluffs were a play place and TV/Radio reception with an outdoor antenna was excellent. I recorded a whole bunch of radio air checks there and some TV as well.

Wow, thanks for the update Fitz! The drugstore is an IDA these days, I support them by shopping there instead of going to Shoppers as I like having them here. The grocery store is a “Your Independent” now, the plaza by Laurier was there when I first moved here and it was torn down for the new seniors home. And I noticed quite a few old tv antennas initially and some have been replaced with newer models, still, there were a lot of them! The one thing that bugs me is that my barber got closed down to make room for a library expansion. I contacted my councillor about it and was treated like crap, which surprised me! I barely see anyone in that library when I walk by and my barber lost his nest egg, it was sad.

That Barber shop and even one of the same barbers was there for years. The side of the plaza with the library and Pizza Nova was added later. The variety store was close to where the current one is but was called Village Variety and that 's where I bought many issues of magazines like Hit Parader, Rolling Stone, Creem and Crawdaddy etc BMO was in the other smaller plaza and I don't think CIBC was there in the early 70's.
 

RadioActive wrote:

Shorty Wave:

I recall you saying that you spent some time in London as a kid, going to school there. 

Perhaps this is a place you might want to visit on your next journey over 'ome.

David Bowie’s childhood home in London is set to open to the public next year

 
Thanks for this RA, it is actually something I would like to visit and hopefully will on my next trip over. My pal who lives over there had heard that this may happen but didn’t know for sure, I bet he’ll be there opening day! Thanks again!

Shorty Wave wrote:

Fitz wrote:

Shorty Wave wrote:

Wow, thanks for the update Fitz! The drugstore is an IDA these days, I support them by shopping there instead of going to Shoppers as I like having them here. The grocery store is a “Your Independent” now, the plaza by Laurier was there when I first moved here and it was torn down for the new seniors home. And I noticed quite a few old tv antennas initially and some have been replaced with newer models, still, there were a lot of them! The one thing that bugs me is that my barber got closed down to make room for a library expansion. I contacted my councillor about it and was treated like crap, which surprised me! I barely see anyone in that library when I walk by and my barber lost his nest egg, it was sad.

That Barber shop and even one of the same barbers was there for years. The side of the plaza with the library and Pizza Nova was added later. The variety store was close to where the current one is but was called Village Variety and that 's where I bought many issues of magazines like Hit Parader, Rolling Stone, Creem and Crawdaddy etc BMO was in the other smaller plaza and I don't think CIBC was there in the early 70's.
 

 
The barber that was there for years was probably Tom Cefala, starting working there for his father-in-law when he was late teens in the 1960s. He eventually took over and worked there his entire career until he was evicted for the library in 2018, which crushed him sad to say. I believe Village Variety was there when I first moved here, then became the BMO when it moved over Livingston.

I apologies to board members if this is a bit dull to you all but the truth be told, Fitz has told me more about my neighbourhood than any of my neighbours, and many of them are now gone, so I really learned some of my local history from him, thanks Fitz!

You are correct Shorty this is probably boring most board members. I continued to go to Guildwood b/c my parents lived there until about 10 years ago. I still sometime visit. I kept seeing that barber when i would visit the plaza and was amazed he was still there. Not sure if you live north or south of Guildwood Parkway but here's a change I witnessed to the residential make-up of the neighbourhood. Catalina used to end just north of Elizabeth Simcoe school and there was a light forested area and then it continued again. The forested area went kaput and they put up more houses and eventually there was a link between the two parts of Catalina. 

Some board members are probably aware of the Guild In and it s a very nice neighbourhood that has had various phases of expansion probably since the late 50's to the 70's and beyond.
 

Last edited by Fitz (Today 12:56 pm)