THE INTERVIEW: GORDON BETHUNE! (PART 2 OF 2)

"This is the part where we're supposed to act like good buddies"!

With Gordon Bethune, Chairman of the Board,

Aloha Airline Holdings & Aloha Airlines!

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[ In our conclusion, Gordon covers a wide area of subject matter that I selected as Editor of my Blog for it's appeal. While the concluding edit appears long visually, it is actually a fairly quick read as I adjusted the pagination for the Blog. Again, I'll remind the squeemish, that this contains Adult Language--which I found amusing. Gordon is candid, and with that let's get back to a fun and memorable visit!]

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BETHUNE: You asked an earlier question about how other airlines are getting off-track. I think sometimes they measure the wrong stuff. I noticed that the big Airbus airplane was here in the United States—the A380. And I asked myself. I said, ‘Okay, who do you think decided that bigger was better?’ Some engineer or some government official who wanted to crow about how their airplane was bigger than your airplane. But they didn’t ask people who buy tickets. Because you say, as a person who buys tickets ‘What is in it for you to wait in line with 600 people to get on board? What is in it for you to get off with 600 people on board? What’s in it for you to wait for your bag with 600 other people?’ If you’re flying internationally, will you have to wait in Customs and Immigration with 600 other people? And will you wait in a taxi line with 600 other people? So, how does that help you? The answer is, it doesn’t! That’s not what you would consider to be “better”. “Better” is defined by you, not some engineer, not some state politician. So, they measured the wrong thing and guess what? They got the wrong stuff. The airplane won’t sell in this country at all. None. You know why? It doesn’t fit our markets.

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MANNING: No, it doesn't. I quite agree.

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BETHUNE: A lot of people don’t want it. (Leaning into the microphone) You take one airplane in the afternoon, and load that son of a bitch up from New York to L.A. once a day. I’ll take five small airplanes and I’ll kill ya with 8 O’clock, and 10 O’clock and 12 O’clock and 2 O’clock and 3 O’clock and 10 O’clock and BANG! ---take the market right away from those people! If those people want to go when they want to go and they want to go nonstop, and don’t want to go to London to catch a plane to Mumbai, they want to go from Mumbai nonstop. Well, how do you get that kind of plane in markets the size of Chicago or San Francisco? It doesn’t fit. Not enough people want to do it. So, they measure the wrong stuff. You take a look at American (Airlines) wanting to be the biggest airline in the world. They buy TWA to do it, right? Remember TWA? (Trans World Airlines--a Class act in 2001). How did that work out for them?

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MANNING: Not too good. It was a waste. (Note: American reacted to the potential merger of United and US Airways by forcing TWA to agree to enter Chapter 11 a third time, then layed off all but 500 pilots, cancelled the new Boeing 717 aircraft and kept MD-80's and a St.Louis hub where they closed Concorse D. They cherry-picked and essentially let the TWA employees go, quite shamefully. The United and US Airways merger was denied by the Department of Justice and American took home its "prize". TWA was a Class operation at the end. Now TWA is, sadly, a mere memory with a ton of dormant routes that will likely never be flown throughout the globe. This deal made American "The biggest airline in the world".)

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BETHUNE: Nobody gives a shit whether you’re the biggest airline in the world or not. You either make money or you don’t. I mean, you never saw Herb Kelleher (Chairman of Southwest Airlines) worrying about being the biggest airline in the world did you?

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MANNING: No, no.

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BETHUNE: How’s he doing’? Pretty good, right?

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MANNING: Pretty good!

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BETHUNE: So, flying to all 50 states—that was United’s big claim. I think they went to North Dakota just so they could say all 50 states. How is that good for you? I think when we put in a flight from Newark to Hong Kong; they put in a flight from JFK (New York) to Hong Kong so it could be longer than our flight –58 more miles or something. But they didn’t have the 777, they had to use the 747 and they could only carry like 60 people on it because of payload restrictions on the route where we had an unrestricted payload because we had the right equipment on the proper routing. So, wanting to be the longest flight? How does that work out? How did measuring success like that work out for you? I noticed they went bankrupt! Maybe because of too much of that type of thinking like more states and longer flights—bigger. So, when you start measuring the wrong stuff, you get the wrong results. And I think that most failures, I mean the mediocrity you see is people measuring the wrong stuff. I got a bigger airplane that you got! Oh. That’s good, that’s really smart. I fly more flights than you can fly. Well that you can really muster. Remember America West when they bought 747’s?

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MANNING: Yeah, two of them.

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BETHUNE: Two of them killed them!

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MANNING: Yup.

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BETHUNE: You know, what the hell did they do that for? Gotta have a bigger airplane. You see, just ask Herb Kelleher. Did he think it’s important for Southwest to have 747’s like that? I don’t think it ever crossed his mind. It comes down to what he measures. (Note: Kelleher, who like Bethune is quite a sharp 'maverick' is stepping down in 2008 as Chairman of Southwest Airlines--the industry's most profitable airline for 35 consecutive years. Herb stated years ago that Southwest will fly one type of airplane--the 737 and only the 737, because it suites the mission Southwest flies so well).

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MANNING: Last year, Bob Crandall (ex-Chief of American Airlines) stated that bankrupt carriers who cut fares below cost while they’re in Chapter 11 harm the healthier carriers and they ought to be shut down.

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BETHUNE: Bob would be right if that were true. And what I saw---and I really respect and admire Bob Crandall by the way---in the United, Northwest and Delta bankruptcies is that the Creditor’s Committee put a lot of pressure on the testosterone management to knock that behavior off. And they wanted to see profitability restored. In other words, you put a lot of pressure on people to get a business that works—not fix yourself here and there. And so, you saw a huge reduction in the available seat miles from United, from Delta and from Northwest. Cincinnati (a Delta hub) got pulled back; I mean things that are just way over capacity and doing things for all the wrong reasons. Fifty states, flying the longest flights—they gotta stop that shit. Creditors Committees made them do that not the management! The discipline of a court process—I mean you’ve got to start showing them some results here or I’m going to remove you and put in a Trustee like they did over at Eastern (with my late friend, the brilliant Marty Shugrue).

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MANNING: Absolutely.

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BETHUNE: So, I haven’t seen too much of that. I did see them lowering their costs pretty dramatically through re-negotiations of airplane leases, re-negotiations of labor rates so they could make a profit at a lower fare. And that put pressures on the guys that have higher costs. But that’s the name of the game. I’ve often thought, had I the opportunity that Southwest had where they were smart enough to buy fuel hedges---and I give them credit for the way they did it—that I would have taken the benefit of that and priced my product as if I was paying 70 dollars a barrel like everyone else was. I would have taken the profits from that and put it in the bank. They didn’t. And they priced pointed it so that they could still make some money, but Delta, United and Northwest couldn’t. I think that helped drive United, Northwest and Delta into bankruptcy, whereupon they used that process to get rid of their pension costs, cut their costs in their airplanes, cut some labor. You have to come back out now with a much lower cost basis than you have at Southwest. At about the time Southwest—their hedges (puchased in 2002) are expiring—so now their going to have to price to the same oil that everyone else does. But these guys are much leaner and tougher competitors. And at Southwest, the costs have gone up in the end. I’m sure it’s a tactic. But I do know that the bankruptcy process did allow those three carriers to dramatically reshape themselves and to cut a lot of crap that had built up over 60 years out of the picture. And they’re very, very competitive—as is US Airways today in the marketplace.

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MANNING: Do you think this process is a band aid or is that a long term fix?

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BETHUNE: No, I mean to the extent that there’s compound learning in our business—which I don’t believe there is—we suffer from flat-learning. We learn the same shit over and over again. So, I already hear labor leaders crying out, you know, ‘Let’s go back to the old ways and let’s get that again’. Do you know, Michael, that a Walrus isn’t born fat and ugly—they become that way?

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MANNING: (amused) A Walrus?

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BETHUNE: A Walrus, yeah. You know, they’re not born that way. So, if you want a date, you gotta kinda slim-down and keep yourself in shape. And you know, there’s going to be a Jet Green, a Jet Yellow, a Jet Red—I mean it’s never gonna stop. So, if you get fat and ugly again, someone’s just going to take it away from you—just like they have taken it. Who are the big losers? The employees lost the most. The pensions, income. Well, don’t let that happen to you again! You know, the guy that over eats is the one that dies. So, quit it! Don’t get fat. Where there’s a management that says “Fine. We have to sign this contract, that we know that if we do will put us at a very non competitive situation and will ultimately kill us".Don’t sign it! “Well, if we don’t sign it they’re going to strike and take the company out". Well, let em do it! Do it now. How do you pull a band aid off?
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MANNING: Slowly…

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BETHUNE: If you do it fast (makes a 'swishing' sound) do it quick. See? One hair at a time or get that goddamn thing off—it’s got to come off. Get it over with! So, United, Delta, Northwest and others were a victim of compromised—another layer of fat, another deal they shouldn’t have signed, another concession because the consequences are severe right now if you don’t. Take your medicine now. Don’t let that build up, because you’re gonna die.

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MANNING: They felt they couldn’t take a strike!

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BETHUNE: Well, take it! Shit, you’re going to go broke anyway! It might as well be them that causes it and not you! Who’s the dumb S-O-B’s that caused Delta to go bankrupt financially? Why? Cause it came to the cost. They should have done it.

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MANNING: Well, the reason I keep asking you about the rumors we keep hearing out here that you’re going to take over as Chief of Delta is that (Gerald) Grinstein keeps telling us, “Hey, look. Once we emerge from Chapter 11, I’m out of here”.

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BETHUNE: (visibly amused) The guys that are running that place and the guys that are making those decisions are committees. The people who make those decisions are committee members. I know that cities are on those committees. At Northwest, it’s the City of Detroit or Minneapolis are on the Creditors Committees. Delta had a big Atlanta and Cincinnati presence. They have a different agenda than a bond holder would. So, creditors are a diverse group. And they don’t always see the world the way like each others see it. They actually argue amongst themselves. So, the labor leaders, the cities, the bondholders and some of the suppliers all have a different perspective of what needs to be done. And those people decide who gets to run it. And that person will have to take the test of what’s good for the company, this city---and I don’t know how you find a guy that can kiss everybody’s butt. I’m probably not the guy.

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MANNING: Let’s talk for a moment about the high costs of security our airlines pay for. Do you feel the government should be paying for these costs the way we see it done in so many foreign countries where they pay for the costs of their carrier’s security?

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BETHUNE: Well, let me put it this way. Every April 15th I get to send them a huge check personally and you do too. And that is, ostensibly, a check for the social programs in out country and our national defense. That’s what income taxes are for—national defense. 9/11 as an example: They didn’t want to blow up any airplanes; they wanted to blow up The White House, and the Trade Centers and The Capitol. Isn’t that what we have an Army and an F.B.I. and an Air Force for? Who should pay for that? Just the people who happen to be captured on the airplane that is going to be used? So, we somehow made it a transportation issue when they weren’t trying to blow up an airplane…

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MANNING: ...No.

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BETHUNE: So, why would airline passengers have to pay a national tax so that The White House is protected? Isn’t it in everyone’s interest? Isn’t that a national security issue? But you know how the elasticity of the market works. Like if you get one more dollar on the ticket you actually sell less tickets, and the net is you lost money instead of made money on that dollar, because with enough people there was a breaking point where this won’t go. So, you’ve lost the whole goddamn money on that ticket. Enough of those that even the dollar extra that you did sell didn’t make up for the ones you lost. That’s called elasticity. So, if we’re pricing right there and the government says ‘No, I want another three bucks, that’s three dollars more on the ticket price' which causes some people to drop out. The government says “We’re not paying it, the airlines are paying it.” The airlines in the last three years borrowed money to cover their losses on things like pensions they pay to the government. And they had to borrow the money to give it to the government, because if they didn’t make it, they couldn’t sell enough tickets to get that much money. I don’t see that as a good thing.

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MANNING: You’re Chairman of the Board at Aloha Airlines. Is the Hawaiian market large enough for three competitors?

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BETHUNE: Not even three. They only need one airline out there. I say Aloha (Airlines) can do it all. The answer is if you look at cities like Cincinnati, like Dallas, like Atlanta, like Houston, how many airlines do they have? Just one big one. And then a lot of guys just serve it as a point but they don’t hub it. Honolulu (Hawaii) never got it. Honolulu is like the next Atlanta where Eastern and Delta fought it out. There’s only one guy in town. And you know, in the Hawaiian market really would be better served with one large, strong carrier dominating a hub and using that to get more nonstop flights to more places because you can get enough scale to put that non-stop in and make it work. Just like Dallas is done, just like Atlanta and Cincinnati has London service, right?

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BETHUNE: You know why?

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MANNING: Of course.

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BETHUNE: Because you have enough feed and enough focus and concentration that you can get an airplane out to London and make it right. But if it were two carriers fighting neck-to-neck then Cincinnati wouldn’t have London because neither one of them would have enough to go to London. The Hawaiian Islands need to let that consolidation occur. I think that would be smart. But we’ll see how it goes.

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MANNING: What are you most proud of in your long career and what does the future hold for you?

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BETHUNE: Well, I’m proud of my limited role at Boeing. Obviously, I’ve made a contribution. My personal contribution on the New Generation airplane (Boeing 737 NG)—I was just briefly for a year—in charge of that. We came out with the 737-700, the one that we sold to Southwest. But we were also tasked with making an 800! And Phil Condit (ex-Boeing Chief) wanted that airplane to fly from New York to L.A. and he wanted it to carry 150 people. So, our engineering guys tackled that and because the fuse-bonding with the wings was going to be the same, we had to get more fuel so we put in a bigger center wing tank. We made that standard so we redesigned the center wing tank to make it bigger with more fuel volume—no box tank—just a standard tank. And I said “I want to take the airplane to 41,000 feet". And I said. “Well, you guys get paid by the month. Just do it! Okay? But I want this airplane at 4-1-0”. Well, I was the general manager, and everybody looked at me and said “Okay”. So, today the New Generation airplane –the 737-800 flies Newark to L.A. nonstop, 157 people at 41,000 feet. And so, it’s like a dog mark on a (water) hydrant. That 737-800 that goes 41,000 feet is (laughing) my little posterity. And then Continental, obviously. I’ve been tremendously proud of the job there that Larry (Kellner) and Jeff (Smisek) have done with the company after so many J.D. Powers Awards—I forget how many—and then they won it again! And you see us now as the most admired airline in Fortune Magazine. It’s a good company and it wasn’t just kind of fixed up and burnished and painted to look good. It’s a structurally sound, good company, good product, good people, and I’m proud of that.

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MANNING: And your future?

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BETHUNE: My future? I just pick up the phone and say “Hello?” And that’s all you can do. I’ve got plenty of irons in the fire. But I want to do the things I really want to do, which is kinda nice.

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MANNING: Gordon, it's been an honor and a lot of fun for me. I want to thank you for being so flexible with your schedule and giving me your time.

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BETHUNE: You're welcomed anytime, Michael. My pleasure.

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My sincere thanks to Kay Jennett for her invaluable assistance with the original interview and of course to Gordon Bethune. Portions of this interview first appeared in Airways International magazine's July, 2007 Edition. It was re-edited here for space amd time constraints. Copyright (c) by Michael Manning.

THE INTERVIEW: GORDON BETHUNE! (PART 1 OF 2)

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If Morley Safer from the Television show "60 Minutes" was sitting in this chair this morning, I'd like to think that it wouldn't make much difference. You are about to meet a man whom I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing in March of this year on assignment for the magazine Airways. What follows is a heavily edited version for my BLOG. Even if you haven't the slightest interest in business, much less the airline industry, Gordon Bethune is considered by Business Week and others as among the Top 50 CEO's in America today. And he's one of the few "Mavericks" left in the commercial aviation industry. It is largely because of his no-holds barred personality that I felt you would enjoy hearing from not only a different sort of boss, but one that is beloved by employees and air travelers alike! Our visit took place at Continental Airlines' Worldwide headquarters in downtown Houston, Texas. Dressed in blue jeans and a safari shirt, Gordon is a man who genuinely "walks to the beat of a different drummer"; he is also the last airline CEO post-9/11 to step down from a major U.S. airline in 2004. Beyond his folksy-charm and steely resolve as a guy who knows how to get things done, Gordon is the author of the New York Times Best-Seller "From Worst to First" that details his arrival at Continental in 1994 and takes us through how he and the employees and staff brought the company back--literally--from the brink of death. Whatever business you are in, this book ought to be required reading in a corporate world that lacks common sense. By the time Bethune had stepped down ten years later as CEO, Continental Airlines went from being "the Worst airline in America" in 1994 to "the Best" and most revered among the "Legacy Carriers" in existence today in the United States. And he took a hell of a risk leaving behind a cushy job to begin what many business analysts said could not be done. First a few facts before we begin.

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Gordon Bethune is a Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic who rose to the position of Vice President and General Manager of Boeing Commercial Airplane Company's 737 and 757/767 programs. He is a licensed pilot of the Douglas DC-3 and Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft. In a bold risk, he accepted an offer to become the 11th CEO of a decimated Continental Airlines after notorious corporate raider Frank Lorenzo left the airline in an absolute financial and operational mess. The Continental that Gordon Bethune walked into was an amalgamation of several major airlines. Among them: Texas International, New York Air, People Express, original Frontier Airlines, assets from Eastern Airlines, and commuters: Britt Airways, Provincetown-Boston Airlines, Bar Harbor Airways and Rocky Mountain Airways. Bad management and unforgivable tactics in treating employees and customers with get-tough tactics ruined morale and led the company three times to the brink of collapse. Twice the carrier had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and as Gordon entered the scene, it was on the verge of a third Chapter 11 filing. Today, employees enjoy their jobs and are treated with the utmost respect. The airline has repeatedly won the J.D. Powers Award for Excellence for many years. Here are excerpts from my meeting with a man I sincerely came to enjoy immediately! And just so I don't get any e-mails, this interview contains adult language and is probably not always "family friendly". Here's how it went:

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MANNING: I wanted to ask you about your recent assignment as a consultant to the Creditors’ Committee at Delta Air Lines. You were evaluating the $10.2 billion takeover offer from US Airways. What were your impressions of Delta’s circumstances and what in your view is ailing that carrier?

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BETHUNE: Well, I mean Delta—obviously—if you go back to 1994 had the best balance sheet in the industry. Right? I mean no one had a healthier balance sheet with cash position, debt-to equity –all the things that you would want. And so, the erosion of Delta occurred over a ten to twelve year period where it was mismanaged. That’s the only characterization that you could give it. The board and management were incompetent as evidenced by their slide into Chapter 11. And so, Chapter 11 as you know won’t fix your company. It’ll fix your balance sheet with fixed debt and restructures things. But if you are a crummy company and you go into bankruptcy a crummy company, and you don’t change—you come out a crummy company. Just like Continental did in 1983 and went back into bankruptcy in 1991 because Continental didn’t change. So, Delta needs to change and hopefully they will. Otherwise, I don’t think they have a future.

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MANNING: Many have questioned how Delta can survive in the long-term as an independent carrier after they’ve eliminated fifteen percent of their domestic routes and expanded that amount into international flying. What would you have done differently?

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BETHUNE: I would have started years ago. Maybe I wouldn’t wait until you were in bankruptcy to address the fact that you’re failing. Obviously, Delta needs to find its niche. It has a very good hub operation in Atlanta; I think Cincinnati’s a very secondary hub as is Salt Lake City. And they need to diversify their sources of income. and management at Delta is doing something now that they should have done years ago. They can make a dent in the New York market. L.A. seems like a smart move for them.

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MANNING: There are rumors that you will be asked to take them over. How would you respond to that offer?

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BETHUNE: Well, I wouldn’t do it! I mean, first of all I’m a Continental guy. All my friends are here. If you look at what Mr. (Gerald) Grinstein made last year—I think I read it in The Wall Street Journal—he made $350,000 a year? Why would you work for that kind of money, and take all the heartburn, crap and the negative publicity and the hard work? there are plenty of people they can find out here that can do the job.

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MANNING: Many analysts would disagree and say you’re one of the few guys left anymore who can fix Delta.

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BETHUNE: I think you find, Michael, that you can say that as an objective observer, the people who make those kind of decisions are not objective. They have their own agendas. And so I think the people who now run the place, kinda like running it and want to keep on running it. So, I’m not sure that company’s always do what’s best for the company. They often do what’s best for the incumbents inside the company.

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MANNING: On this BLOG many of my readers fly regional airlines. Many people predicted that Delta would spin-off Comair as they did with ASA (Atlantic Southeast Airways). And again, going back to your success at salvaging Continental Airlines, what do you see as the answer for regional airline ownership in terms of whether to keep them separate or for the main airline to continue to own them?

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BETHUNE: As you saw with Continental Express, we spun them off and divested ourselves one hundred percent. You don’t need to own your regional feed carriers. Well, the regional markets and the main line markets are two very different markets and they have very different costs and pay structures. So, if you get yourself burdened with main line pay structures at a regional carrier, you’re certainly at a disadvantage. We spun them off because when we needed money. As an independent company, they have to compete with other independent companies. I saw Delta buy Comair just at the time we’re selling (Continental) Express. I said ‘How dumb can you be! You’re going the wrong way’. It’s almost like a tape worm. It goes where you go, eats what you eat, die’s when you die. How do you extricate yourself? You need an independent source of regional services to supply you, and you don’t need to own it.

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MANNING: Overall, where are the ‘Legacy Carriers’ (American, United, Delta, Northwest, US Airways) running amuck? What are some common mistakes as you see it among these carriers that land hem in such hot water?

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BETHUNE: Well, I tend to think they do things that are more window dressing than they are fundamental. At the end of the days, airlines ought to be really good at something; you ought to pick something—whatever airline you are be something. You say 'why don’t you give me an example of American, Delta, United, Northwest—what one thing would one of those be good at? What one thing would they excel at? In other words, are they best at something?' I can’t tell you what they are. They all seem kind of mediocre to me. Continental decided they were going to be the best at reliability, and customer satisfaction is measured by reliability. So, getting there on time safely would be something that we could excel at; we’re going to beat you at that measure—and we did. That drove the J.D. Powers Awards, that drove customer recognition—that drove a lot of revenue. It also reduces your expenses because you don’t have overtime, you don’t have disruptive operations. You actually do the plan and you’re not catching up. So, Continental became known as the most consistent product. Well, why wouldn’t you want to do something like that if you were a United, Northwest, Delta or American? What wouldn’t you want to be known as when you say ‘American’, you own the world—the best food or, the best service or the most punctual or whatever? Be good at something! Don’t just be mediocre.

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MANNING: There doesn’t seem to be any marketing differentiation…

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BETHUNE: (interrupts and becomes animated) ...They’re not innovative people! Mostly I think for the large part, most people who can’t cut it in the pharmaceutical industry come to our business because it’s easier to compete because the lower level of intelligence and the expertise is kind of low. That’s the only reason I was able to do something! (mutual laughter). The competition wasn’t that tough. Otherwise I’d have been a failure.

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MANNING: In 2001, you testified before a Senate subcommittee and you stated that you were opposed to the mega-mergers on the table at that time such as America with TWA and DC Air, and United and US Airways. What are your views on airline consolidation today?

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BETHUNE: Well in those days—for one—that was pre-9/11. And number two, we were looking at it from a field place where a United and US Airways clearly was not good for Continental. And my job was to represent Continental’s employees and shareholders. So, if I could thwart that, I should do that because letting those two guys become a 900 pound giant is not good for us. American and TWA—it was our intention as we put a bid in for TWA and opposed the then-American deal that not allow them to take over the pensions of TWA as part of the acquisition—we opposed that and they reluctantly accepted agreed to accept the pension costs. And we wanted to load American up with as much debt as we could because what’s usually good for American is bad for Continental. A lot of competitiveness in our business is to stop your competitor from getting a good deal—to stop your competitor from getting to big, or stop your competitor from gaining that advantage on you. In the regulatory arena, you try to stop whatever it is that he wants that would give him an advantage. If he’s buying something, make sure he’s pays too much for it. You don’t want him to use that against you. So, it’s a tough business. And if it’s good for Continental, I’ll be for it. If it’s bad for Continental, I’ll be against it.

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MANNING: Are there any current potential mergers that mike make sense?

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BETHUNE: Well, sure there are! United and Continental makes a lot of sense. I mean, you could do an American-Northwest and make a lot of sense. I thought US Air and Delta might make sense; I didn’t say it didn’t make sense. My job was to handicap the probability of success versus the handicap of Delta’s stand-alone success and give advice . But we don’t need fifteen to twenty air carriers. I mean if look at the last ten or twelve years, Michael, we keep adding. I mean we have Spirit, we have JetBlue, we got Frontier, we got Air Tran. Do we always add airlines and never get rid of any? Do we not consolidate? Why wouldn’t the big boys try to get some scale of economies to fight the ever-encroaching low-cost carriers? I looked at the statistics that said five or eight years ago, low-cost carriers were 10 percent of the market—now they’re 35 percent in every hub in America. So, it’s changed the competitive landscape. And I think that guys that can diversify their revenues, get scales of economies and keep their costs under control—number one: it’s good for the consumers, number two: it’s good for the shareholders and employees. They should do it.

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MANNING: David Segal (ex-Chief of US Airways) stated that he sees a shakeout where we’ll end up with three ‘Legacy Carriers’ and basically three Low-Cost/Low-Fare carriers. How do you see this industry shaking out?

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BETHUNE: But you see David—and I know David. David’s logical. But what’s ever happened in our industry that’s been logical in the last ten or fifteen years? So, that should happen. But what keeps that from happening—I was giving a talk yesterday. What’s in it for an executive at an airline to make an acquisition of another airline? Let’s say the CEO. What’s in it for the CEO? Well, he’s not going to get a raise. His stock won’t appreciate. He’s going to get all this trouble, all this heartburn, all this integration problem, and his net income won’t go up any at all. The guy who gets acquired—if he agrees to step aside, gets his severance, gets his options cashed out at the acquisition price, get’s his shit load of money and goes home. So, he may or may not be opposed. But why would the guy want to do it? Well, the guy who’d want to make the purchase would want to do it because it would be good for the company, in terms of strategically if it would work. But personally, he wouldn’t want to do it, because he could be a failure. And why not play it safe and get my check and go give a speech in Hong Kong and ride in limos? So, they don’t because there’s nothing in it for them. And there’s only the fear of failure. Now if they’re forced to do something –like the competitive e landscape’s changing and they’re going to die, then they will do the things they need to do because there’s something in it for them that’s called security and tenure. But absent the threat to their security and tenure, why would a guy want to take his comfortable job and his company’s making money and thing’s are just fine and go buy a competitor? They should but they don’t because it’s not in their best interest personally. And they’re not many guys that will do what’s in the company’s or the employee’s best interest over their own. Not many.

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MANNING: Not many, no I agree. What’s your view of a coherent aviation policy for the 21st century? Many say that we need to re-regulate. Others differ.

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BETHUNE: Well, you know I don’t look to the Congress to do anything but get re-elected and whatever that takes they’ll do that. We’re the most ‘regulated-deregulated’ industry I’ve ever seen. If Congress would take the word ‘airline’ out of their vocabulary, we would be better off. If you never heard from Congress, you would be better off. Congress is not here to help you, they’re here to meddle and to make life much more difficult for you—and they have! And they haven’t helped the consumer. When they said that there were too many flights scheduled into the New York area, the flights were full of people. How could there be too many flights if they were full? Who do we tell can’t go to New York today? Who get’s to decide? Airlines are in the business of taking people where they want to go. So, we were accommodating that but there was too much traffic for them. Blaming the airlines for that was foolish. It’s still foolish. I think we need an aircraft control system that’s user-based, fee-based, stand-alone outside of the budget process like anybody, borrow money and make the investment they need to make in the technology to optimize the traffic control system so that the people who want to go there can get there. That’s the kind of policy we need—get out of the way of the company’s that want to fulfill the public demand for safer travel and to help them do that and give them the tools—the infrastructure to accomplish it. I mean, you know what? If you screw up and leave your people stranded on the runway for ten hours at a time, they’ll quit flying and come over to us. We don’t need a law that it’s against the law to lose your bag; we don’t want to lose your bag. In other words, we lose a bag, it takes 25 to 50 bucks depending on where we have to deliver that bag to you the next day. We didn’t make that much on the ticket. So, we’re already motivated not to lose the bag because we’ll lose the whole profit of the ticket. So, making it against the law and fine to lose your bag is like whipping the horse when he’s running flat-out. That’s the Congress’ way of addressing the issue. Make the fines bigger; make it against the law.

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BETHUNE CONTINUES: Why don’t you make it against the law to have cancer? See if that stops people from getting it! People don’t want it; we’re already trying not to get it. They actually came to Bush (International) Airport and counted the number of people and said we had too many people in line. And I asked, ‘How long were the people in line?’ He said 'we didn’t notice that'. There were a lot of people in line but the lines moved very fast. I was only there for three minutes. So, what difference does it make how long the line is versus how long you had to stand in line? I said, ‘Did you ever try to get a Passport? How long is that line?’ Ever try to visit the Statue of Liberty at the Park Service? How long is that line? You’re a line-measurer; we’re in the customer satisfaction business'. If you leave people in line, they just go someplace else. The government ought to stay out of it. First of all, the government’s no good. They’re the worst at customer satisfaction.

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MANNING: What about the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy process and how it relates to the airline in bankruptcy protection? It’s enormously expensive with every creditor constituency group with legions of investment bankers, lawyers, accountants, meeting rooms in hotels that have to be rented, catered lunches, limousines. What is your view on reforming all of this?

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BETHUNE: You hire consultants to give you advice.

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MANNING: But why does an airline need 300 lawyers and CPA's telling them what to do instead of keeping the structure lean? If I'm a Trustee I report to a Court Judge. Why do I need all of this...

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BETHUNE: ...Well, you know from a company like Continental that was in there (in Chapter 11) twice to say that bankruptcy doesn’t have a place in American business would be wrong. Because Continental wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for that. It’s a second chance. So, bankruptcy is an opportunity to fix yourself, get a time-out. But it won’t fix your company. It does give you a chance to reorganize your thoughts and your product. And if done wisely, you can come out and be a Continental and be at the top of the industry again from the worst to the first (Bethune’s best selling book on Continental’s turnaround is titled “From Worst to First”). But you need to fix the company. The courts have an obligation to look at everyone’s rights. And it’s it’s difficult and I wish it were simple. The guys who run company’s into bankruptcy just wish everybody would go away and leave them alone. So somebody’s put the thing in the tank and now everybody’s paying the price for that. So, my advice to others is ‘Don’t screw it up’.

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MANNING: That was a tough guy that you followed at Continental (Frank Lorenzo).

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BETHUNE: (narrow his eyes and pauses): You know where “Peanut Fares” came from in 1983? Frank Lorenzo and Texas International had the cheapest fares—tore up all the labor contracts, tore up all the airplane contracts, had the lowest cost product in the industry—absolutely the lowest cost. What happened? They went bankrupt again in 1991. So, it says: ‘Wait a minute. It ain’t all about the lowest cost'. Let’s say that you would reduce the cost of your pizza by doing something smart like taking the cheese off? How many pizzas are you going to sell? Can you make a pizza so cheap that nobody will eat it? Can you make an airline so cheap nobody will fly it? We did it. Still went bankrupt. Came out in 1993 and almost went bankrupt again in 1995. Why is that? Lowest costs, but still a shitty company, still a shitty product, crummy morale. People don’t want to buy that. That isn’t the type of pizza they want to eat. That’s not the kind of airline you want to fly. We at the same time needed to be on-time because we needed a good product. And we needed to treat our people well. But the facts are that the marketplace will decide whether you’re a big company or not. They get to decide what good is.

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{We conclude our memorable visit with Gordon tomorrow!}

FUN GUITARIST PROFILE: JIMI HENDRIX!

Jimi on stage: Amp builder Jim Marshall counted 8 stacks

of his famous 100 Watt Heads and stacked Cabinets.

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American-born Jimi Hendrix was influenced by Muddy Waters, BB King, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James and Johnny Lee Hooker and then by Curtis Mayfield. Few bring this up, but he also backed Little Richard, The Isley Brothers and Lonnie Youngblood before Chas Chandler, ex-bass player for The Animals noticed Jimi and brought him to London. It was in London where he formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience. His short life (1942-1970) yielded only 5 albums during his lifetime: Are You Experienced? (1967), Axis: Bold As Love (1967), Electric Ladyland (1968),Smash Hits (1969) and Band of Gypsies (1970). In both the original Motion Picture "Woodstock" (1969) as on Band of Gypsies' "Machine Gun" , he was a genius at incorporating sounds such as warfare with what many still argue as an unsurpassed control of a Fender Strat and stacks of Jim Marshall amplifiers (that he insisted on paying full retail for at Marshall's shop in London). A left-hander, he also used minimal effects beyond feedback (which was not popular then) and tons of ear-catching diminished fifts between bass and guitar (which opens up Purple Haze) along with enriching chords ("the Hendrix chord" is 'E7#9 from Purple Haze). Jimi was initially booed by teenagers unaccustomed to his new sound, when he debuted his classic Purple Haze. He was so enraged that he smashed his guitar to pieces after the performance and left the stage after serving as an opening act for The Monkees on a handful of dates. On Paul McCartney's recommendation, Jimi was booked into 1967's Monterrey Music Festival and gradually gained fame. Tragically, Jimi died after suffocating on his own vomit from a drug overdose of sleeping pills and wine. He has influenced virtually every rock guitarist from Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and the late rock and blues great Steve Ray Vaughan. Invariably, the two are unfairly compared with one another, as they were completely unique artists. Jimi is largely credited with introducing Marshall amplification in the United States. Despite many fine vintage and newer brands (such as the high ticket Mesa/Boogie amplification systems), virtually every serious rock band uses Marshall as standard equipment credited to Jimi. Hendrix' immortal Star Spangled Banner at the 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in early August was poignant, as America was deeply embedded in the Vietnam War. Rain and wind gusts pummelled the Festival Sunday night and by Monday morning only 180,000 of the original 500,000 who attended the Music Fair were present. The highest paid of all performers (at $18,000) Jimi performed a two-hour set as campers are seen (in the Motion Picture) packing up and walking away. The Jimi Hendrix Experience included British musicians bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. His speed and dexterity is what he will always be remembered for, inasmuch as he could play the guitar behind his back, on his shoulders or with his teeth with the volume settings on the Marshall stacks at "Hendrix 10". His work has been covered by everyone from Nigel Kennedy to The Pretenders. Fender has manufactured two signature guitars named for Jimi. Greed led to posthumous lawsuits after Jimi's father, Al Hendrix died and these proceedings dragged on until 2004, when a trustee was appointed to manage Jimi's estate. He is buried in Seattle.

IT'S "FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT"!

See Yesterday's Blog for Our Feature Presentation!

FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT: "NETWORK"!

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For the third time in the past couple of months, comes a dose of serendipity I couldn't have imagined among topics I've Blogged about with the film NETWORK. This gem was Directed By Sidney Lumet and Written by the brilliant Paddy Chaefsky . It was Chaefsky whose initial rant in the film was memorably quoted--and with great Respect--during the 1981 Academy Awards Ceremony by an unknown Actor memorializing the great writer, who had died of cancer that year at age 58.

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This movie is set in real-time--1976. Things are changing rapidly for the news industry and what passes for public entertainment--or an "idiot box" climaxes when a network exchanges it's entertainment division for its one-time news division in a bid to drive ratings. Terrorist violence is quickly seized upon by UBS (Union Broadcasting System), a failing fourth-place news organization that hands the "pink slip" to its aging News Anchor, Howard Beale (bearing more than a passing resemblance in stature to America's beloved Walter Cronkite). Beale is played by Peter Finch, who sadly died after the film's production and as such, he never lived to see the accolades that his over-the-top performance created at the Oscars. In the film, Max Schumacher is the News Editor from the Murrow school of journalism (played so well by William Holden). Having just lost his wife and now fired, Beale sees nothing to lose and shocks the living daylights out of his unassuming viewers by announcing that on Wednesday's broadcast, he has decided to commit suicide "On the Air". An ego-driven and sexy heir to Schumacher materializes in the form of Faye Dunaway as Diana Christensen, married to her work and the "orgasmic" prospects of achieving a 20-share!

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Almost instantly, Beale's announcement of his retirement and intention to kill himself on live television--fundamentally overnight--turns the tables and makes him a major television commodity as "The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves" and a valuable asset to the Communications Corporation of America (CCA), a company that has been gradually buying up UBS stock. (Not to worry. This was filmed long before the real life 2001 takeover of Paine Webber by Union Bank of Switzerland/Swiss Bank Corporation). Given his destabilizing mental health, Christensen sees an opportunity to give Beale free reign over his own show with 100 percent creative control. The program is a huge ratings success until it's own formula begins to do itself in and lives are forever changed. Beale discovers UBS itself will soon be taken over by a Saudi Arabian conglomerate and exposes this scheme on the air.

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The film's worldwide notoriety is credited largely with the scene in which Beale has an "epiphany" during a live newscast and tells his audience to stop everything they are doing, go to the window of their dwelling in the middle of a dangerous thunderstorm, open it, stick their head out and shout: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" You judge for yourselves (given my BLOGS of this week) if this was relevant on my part as a "good call" for "Friday Movie Suggestion Night". The satire here is thick; don't get me wrong. Much of it is in many ways more indicative of today's television industry than the one in 1976. It simply makes you want to sit and think after the credits begin rolling. The Cast: Faye Dunaway is Diana Christensen; William Holden is Max Schumacher, Peter Finch is Howard Beale; Robert Duvall is Frank Hackett; Wesley Addy is Nelson Chaney;Ned Beatty is Arthur Jensen; William Prince is Edward George Ruddy and Beatrice Straight is Louise Schumacher.

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ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS: Best Actor in a Leading Role: Peter Finch (Nomination and award were posthumous. Finch died of a heart attack on January 14,1977 while promoting the film and became the first posthumous winner in an acting category. His widow Eletha Finch and screenwriter Paddy Chaefsky accepted the award on his behalf); Best Actress in a Leading Role: Faye Funaway; Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Beatrice Straight; Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Paddy Chaefsky;

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NOMINATIONS: Best Actor in a Leading Role: William Holden; Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Ned Beatty; Best Cinematography: Owen Roizman; Best Director: Sidney Lumet; Best Film Editing: Alan Heim; Best Picture: Howard Gottfried. Note: "Network" became the second film to win three awards for acting, following 1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire".

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ENJOY!

FUN GUITARIST PROFILE: NANCY WILSON!

Nancy Wilson with her Epiphone Les Paul Ultra

"I am so excited about this guitar. It is a dream to play and sounds amazing. I used it yesterday for some score cues and the weight is perfect. I also love the tone of the body due to the hollow section inside. It makes for a new, sweeter tone" says Nancy Wilson . "Then when I got the prototype, I took it into the studio and was able to find that certain type of distortion that I’m always looking for....and is hard to find. The one where there's enough “clean” in it that if you want to play open strings like an acoustic, you can....like the way Neil Young’s distortion often sounds. It’s beautiful enough to pull off any style of playing, not just big rock block chords, you know? You can play open strings or acoustic type figures and the distortion doesn’t cancel the open strings out. The Ultra brought that to me. I think it's partially due to the open spaces inside the body".

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Nancy and her sister Ann created "Heart", arguably the most successful female-fronted band in hard rock history three decades ago. Six Top 10 hits and worldwide sales of 20 million albums with sold-out stadiums, they are still relevant today.

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Born in San Francisco, California Nancy married Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe in 1986 and gave birth to twins in 2000. She has composed music for her hubby's films films including Vanilla Sky and Elizabethtown. While Ann handles a majority of the lead vocals, Nancy has sung lead in hits such as "These Dreams", "Stranded", "There's the Girl" and "Will You Be There in the Morning". She is Heart's rhythm guitarist. In 1999 she released her solo effort, "Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop".

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Nancy grew up in a musical family and began playing ukulele and piano at an early age. By the mid 1960's she was struck by the lightning bolt that was The Beatles and knew she had to have a guitar. She almost immediately began to write songs and put bands together, ultimately settled into a collaboration with her sister Ann that became "Heart" with huge hits such as "Barracuda", "Dog and Butterfly", "Even It Up", "Magic Man", and "All I Wanna Do" which afforded them the opportunity to play to sold out audiences around the world. The band is still going very strong today!

On 24 May 2007 at the second annual Vh1 Rock Honors, Heart was an honoree and performer! Nancy and Ann continue to inspire new guitarists worldwide.

JUST AHEAD FOR SUMMER!

For 141 years, the ASPCA has done a wonderful job of uniting individuals and families with Cats and Dogs who are most deserving of a safe and loving home through adoption. Having visited the Chicago branch, I can tell you that so many of these beautiful animals are all alone. Some are timid. Some may have been rescued from abuse and neglect that stirs each of us to action for these defenseless creatures. In so many cases, the loneliness shows in their eyes as they await a new owner. ASPCA is very thorough in doing background checks on new families and making certain that the Cats and Dogs you will be visiting are very healthy, and adoptable. The staff of ASPCA can also assist with information and background wherever possible on each pet and provide real answers to what you need to know before you take your new pet home. The sheer Joy of a success story from rescues to foster homes and placement in new homes is very endearing. I have been working on bringing a member of ASPCA to "THE INTERVIEW" feature here on my website for about six weeks now. Summer time is a very busy season. So, over this weekend, why not take a moment and Click Onto the "Donate Now" button to watch singer Sarah McLachlan's Television Public Service Announcement found on the ASPCA link here on my Blogsite. You'll probably want to visit a nearby shelter. I hope that at least one of you is able to bring home a new Cat or Dog this upcoming week! The Joy and unconditional Love they have to share is simply incredible in this often weary world. And in the meantime, I will continue to work and get the visit coordinated on "THE INTERVIEW". Stay tuned!

FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT: KEY LARGO!

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With all of the rain Florida's Lake Okeechobee needs, I thought I'd set this up as an omen. No, wait! Just kidding. I have held this movie fairly "close to the vest", as 'they' say. KEY LARGO is a curious film to curl up with a blanket (and some diet caramelized popcorn) if you happen to find yourself shut in by an actual storm (or have some diet caramelized popcorn on hand that is any good!). This is a very interesting film made in 1948 when Bogart's star was beginning to eclipse Robinson's. Ever the good hearted guy I've read about, Bogart insisted that Robinson retain star-billing. Humphrey Bogart is war hero Frank McCloud who decides it's time to pay a visit to Lauren Bacall and her father-in-law, because he served with her husband, who died in action. Bacall is a breathtaking beauty in this film--as ever. Shortly after McCloud arrives, it's obvious that the only other guest at the hotel is a notorious, exiled gangster "Johnny Rocco" (played by Edward G. Robinson and interestingly modeled on real-life gangster Lucky Luciano, who had just been deported to Cuba) who's trying to get back into the business. Robinson's a small time hood who's glamor days are well behind him. But that doesn't stop him from raising the psychological stakes with his two-bit buddies and taking everyone hostage just as a hurricane is about to make shore. Bogart is the hard-bitten realist here and the film gradually builds up tension as the storm approaches. Edward G. Robinson's "Rocco" is a piece of work. Amusingly, he offers Bogart an empty gun to shoot it out with him, when he's actually a man who is terrified for his own safety with the impending hurricane. He hates McCloud as a war hero----mocking and taunting him because his courage is something more reminiscent of a gaping hole in Rocco's own pathetic life. The Frank McCloud character that Bogart creates is at once disillusioned and complacent, but like co-star Claire Trevor they have their limits. And McCloud doesn't like how Rocco is abusing her.

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I learned by chance that this was the fourth and final Bogart-Bacall movie pairing for the real-life married stars. As the true story goes, Claire Trevor wanted the part of Gaye Dawn. But she was nervous and asked Bogart to pinch-hit for her and ask Jack Warner if she could have it. Why was she nervous? Because in her big scene, she had to sing and reportedly wanted to rehearse it. Director John Huston would stall her by saying "there's plenty of time". Then one day after lunch, he suddenly told her to get into her costume, he'd decided to shoot the scene! He stood her in the middle of the room, an off-screen pianist played one note, and he told her "Go." She was hugely embarrassed and commented later, "I was supposed to be embarrassed, I thought the day would never end. That was torture. But that's what got the effect", she later said. Immediately thereafter, one of the actors playing Rocco's henchmen turned to another and actually whispered, "She's going to get an Academy Award for this." And she did win the 1949 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress! It was interesting to note that the violence of the wind outside underscored the tensions inside the wooden hotel. And I say this because the film was shot during the unfortunate House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) meetings that were taking place in Washington, D.C. The proceedings ruined many actors careers. The Cast: Humphrey Bogart as Frank McCloud; Edward G. Robinson as Johnny Rocco; Lauren Bacall is Nora Temple; Lionel Barrymore is James Temple and Claire Trevor is Gaye Dawn.

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ENJOY!

FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT: "SHADOWS & LIGHT": JONI MITCHELL IN CONCERT!

"Every picture has its shadows and light..."

---Joni Mitchell

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Another first for my "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" feature is a true concert film that follows two previous films that are music-based in theme (with a spacer in between). I doubt anyone will feel betrayed if they give this one a spin. The year is 1979 and showcasing a career begun a decade earlier, Joni Mitchell’s "SHADOWS AND LIGHT" marks her highly controversial evolution into the Jazz arena. As I mentioned in an earlier BLOG post, Joni could have easily cashed in on remaining a strict folk musician. Like her live CD "Miles of Aisles", where Joni plays out her Folk period music, this DVD finds her hand-picking an all-new back up band lineup that cannot escape mention. We have Pat Metheny on the guitar, Lyle Mays on the keys, Don Alias on drums, and Michael Brecker on the sax and a very, very rare appearance of the late Jaco Pastorius on bass, in what is one of the few commercially available films of his live playing. The set list kicks off with “In France They Kiss on Main Street”, from her CD "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" and is joined by “Edith and the Kingpin”, “Coyote”--a lyrical treat from the CD "Hejira" and one commercial hit you'll probably recall from the CD "Court & Spark", "Free Man in Paris”. The film carries sonic treasures like Joni's solo on "Amelia" that I find to be magical and the memorable “Black Crow”. It's worth a mention that the late Jazz genius Charles Mingus shocked Joni by approaching her to finish some of his musical work as his life was slipping away. And we are given a pair of her lyrical arrangements for classic Charles Mingus tunes, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the severely under-rated "Mingus" CD and a humorous “Dry Cleaner From Des Moines”.

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Pat Metheny fans will not be disappointed and since Jaco Pastorious was the recent focus of my "Fun Guitarist Profile", the late bass player--thankfully--looks to be in peak physical form and pulls out a treat: with his personal rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone From the Sun” by creating layers of sound with his digital delay before tearing into an over-driven assault of machine gun harmonics. I owe a debt of gratitude and respect to have seen this young man as a kid in a small auditorium with the legendary fusion band Weather Report, and I must tell each of you that I knew then and there that what I was witnessing was sheer genius in Jaco that today has garnered respect from the most aspiring bassists. His senseless murder in Miami was a shock to so many and he is sorely missed to this day.

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Lastly, I want to mention ahead of time that Joni also directed this film--an outdoor concert and there are film clips from the 1950's such as Chuck Berry and the late James Dean Classic, "Rebel Without A Cause". At the time, Joni had completed an interview in Billboard where she declared Rock & Roll dead as audiences once knew it. So, I'm sure the subtext the following year may have been to interweave her statement about creative freedom. Having said that, this is a real "Supergroup" of more modern Jazz Legends and the concert itself is one that I hope you'll appreciate as a fine summertime choice.

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ENJOY!

LUCKED OUT!

Pure Magic: "For the Roses"

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Two words to describe the weekend for me would be "lucked out". I found two perfectly pre-owned CD's: Joni Mitchell's CD, "For the Roses"---still my favorite. The day before, I was in a bookstore and discovered a book written about Joni that really detailed what was going on in her life as the recording studio sessions unfolded. A complicated, but deliriously wonderful talent, she spares no expense on the studio musicians for this 1972 release that is always over-shadowed by the CD "Blue". David Geffen provided direction; Stephen Stills provides the "Rock 'n Roll Band on "Blonde in the Bleachers"; ex-boyfriend Graham Nash played harmonica; Tom Scott handled Woodwinds and Reeds and Legendary Guitarist James Burton, (then touring with Elvis and a studio musician to everyone--most recently part of Guitar Fest) is joined by drummer Russ Kunkel--one of my favorites. Joni handles the chorus overdubs and of course the artwork--as usual. Both "Blue" and For the Roses" are cited by many artists from Sarah McLachlan to Jewel and others for lending inspiration to their own careers. The live set "Miles of Aisles" is a tour in support of both of these recordings and contained glimpses of the Jazz direction Joni took quite courageously that is said to have alienated her core base of folk fans. She took that road. End of story. An amazing artist who is still somewhat of an enigma to me.

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In Concert: 2005

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Quite apart from this was a Canadian CD import from Direct Source called "James Brown Center Stage: LIVE" with the irresistible lyrics to 1970's "Sex Machine". "Get on up/like a sex machine/ stay on the scene/ like a sex machine". During this recording, released in 2000, "The Godfather of Soul" invokes (out of respect) the names of musicians in the 1980 hit film "THE BLUES BROTHERS" as he mentions the late John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Cab Calloway, and Guitarist Steve Cropper. Most of these songs were memorably performed at his Atlanta funeral last December and James' last stage band, The Soul Generals were tight. "Cold Sweat" and "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" were actually recorded here in Cincinnati at the now-defunct King Records. But it's always fun to uncover jewels like these CD's.

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FUN GUITARIST PROFILE: BRUCE KULICK!

L-R: Bruce Kulick Lead Guitars, Mel Schacher, Bass;

Don Brewer: Drums & Vocals; Max Carl: Vocals & Harmonica

Terry Cashion: Keyboards

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If the name Bruce Kulick vaguely rings a bell, it's because he's been playing professionally since 1975. He first gained national attention as a member of the touring band for the Meat Loaf classic release "Bat Out Of Hell" album in 1977. After that tour, he joined the band Blackjack with singer Michael Bolton. The band folded after two albums, and Kulick was then asked to join KISS, where he remained as their lead guitarist for 12 years, joining the band for the "Animalize Tour" in 1984 and continuing with the band until their 1996 reunion tour.

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After leaving KISS, Bruce formed UNION with John Corabi in 1997, who would go on to release three albums between 1998 and 2000 before going on hiatus. Bruce and John teamed up with Eric Singer and Karl Cochran in the Eric Singer Project (E.S.P.), releasing an album in 1998, while Bruce kept his connection to KISS with contributions to 1998's Psycho Circus album, the Detroit Rock City soundtrack in 1999, and, more recently, solo efforts from Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, he remains busy year-round.

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In early 2001, Bruce released "Audio Dog"--his solo CD, which was followed in 2003 with "Transformer". Then in 2001, a personal invitation from Grand Funk Railroad drummer Don Brewer to join as lead guitarist to replace original founding member Mark Farner coincided with the addition of Max Carl from .38 Special to replace Mark on vocals and harmonica. The reinvigorated Grand Funk has a robust summer 2007' Tour underway (dates appear below). And while Bruce says there isn't too much room to stray from the band's original opening musical statements made standard and known worldwide, for example, on such hits as "We're An American Band", his "Star Spangled Banner" from the KISS "Alive III" CD often finds its way on the set list. On his equipment:

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"I am currently using either an ESP vintage strat with a Duncan JB humbucker in the treble position, or a Les Paul Classic Sunburst guitar also with Duncan pickups. I also use several Gibson Guitars, mainly Vintage and Custom shop Guitars. My gear is very basic. I use Marshall 900 heads or the new 2000 head. 4 X 12 Marshall cabinet, with Vintage 30's speakers.My pedal board is very important. It has a chorus pedal, analog delay, digital delay, phaser, wah wah, and a BOSS SD 1 for overdrive distortion. VOX Wah Wah, MXR Distortion Plus Various Vintage Phasors and Flangers and Distortions Sans Amp Pedals. Most of your sound really does come from your hands, but I am blessed with great gear for sure. My strings are SIT and I use either 10's or 9's or a combination, depending on the guitar.

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Authors Note: If this historic Rock & Roll band is in your area, don't miss them!

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GRAND FUNK RAILROAD SUMMER TOUR DATES:

7/06/07 - Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton, California
7/07/07 - KRFX's Hawg Fest, Copper Mountain, Colorado
7/14/07 - Beloit Riverfest, Beloit, Wisconsin
7/18/07 - Firelake Grand Casino/Evt Ctr, Shawnee, Oklahoma
7/20/07 - Rock Fest 2007, Cadott, Wisconsin
7/21/07 - Rock Fest 2007, Farwell, Michigan
7/27/07 - Peppermill Casino Concert Hall, Wendover, Nevada
8/03/07 - Benton County Fair, Corvallis, Oregon
8/04/07 - Dunefest-Umpqua Dunes, Winchester Bay, Oregon
8/07/07 - Buffalo Chip Festival, Sturgis, South Dakota
8/09/07 - Waterfest Series, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
8/12/07 - Indian Ranch, Webster, Massachusetts
8/16/07 - Ameristar Casino-St. Charles, St. Charles, Missouri
8/17/07 - Trails West Festival, St. Joseph, Missouri
8/22/07 - Kitsap County Fair-Griffith Pk, Bremerton, Washington
8/25/07 - Discovery Lodge-Burdette Park, Evansville, Indiana
9/02/07 - Mohegan Sun/Wolf Den, Uncasville, Connecticut
9/07/07 - Hampton Bay Days, Hampton, Virginia
9/11/07 - Utah State Fair Grandstand, Salt Lake City, Utah
9/29/07 - Lucy Park, Wichita Falls, Texas
10/6/07 - Snyder Bike Rally, Snyder, Texas
11/03/07 - Rib Fest/Homestead Air Rsrv Pk, Homestead, Florida
11/30/07 - Cactus Pete's Gala Showroom, Jackpot, Nevada
12/01/07 - Cactus Pete's Gala Showroom, Jackpot, Nevada
1/17/08 - The Community Theatre, Morristown, New Jersey

WALL STREET!

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We are barely two-weeks into this summer, and I find myself in the position of having blogged about one subject only to substitute (on the following Thursday) what I originally had scheduled for our "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" for the sake of continuity. This weeks unpredictable- predicament, began with my post about how lost we've become as a nation when it comes to the "The Delicate Art of Answering a Phone Call". In that post, I attempted to connect the fictional character of Gordon Gekko played by the great actor, Michael Douglas with a point taken from his "Greed is good" speech in the film to take hubris with good manners versus bad manners.

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The speech itself is based loosely on two controversial real-life characters, arbitrageur Ivan Boesky who gave a speech on "Greed" at the University of California in 1986, and real-life activist investor / corporate raider Carl Icahn who wound up in a hostile bidding war the previous year where he acquired the now-defunct Trans World Airlines. Soon after taking over control of TWA, Icahn took to the microphone at a shareholder's meeting and shocked the evening's guests with a number of comments. Among others, "If you want a friend buy a dog". By the time Icahn concluded his speech, the room was said to have fallen into an eerie quiet. A colorful TWA Marketing Vice President known for his entertainment acumen, resumed his place at the podium after Icahn sat down and told the crowd, "Well, all I can say is: 'Woof, Woof". The comment literally brought the house down. Icahn fired him the following Monday morning. But it was largely through watching tapes of Icahn at these contentious board meetings that Douglas was able to gather the necessary subtext for his role in Wall Street. Here we are 20 years later, and the American Film Institute has named the fictional Gordon Gekko Number 24 of the top 50 movie villains of all time.

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Tuesday's BLOG centered on the sense of artificial empowerment bordering on bad taste and poor business ethics with the subject of telephone calls that went unanswered. Here we find a fictitious, young stock broker in Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen) who desperately pursues a meeting with Gekko and is eventually introduced to the testosterone-driven world of greenmailing and insider-trading (a practice outlawed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) woven into a story of seduction, romance, power and corruption. The film earned Michael Douglas an Academy Award in 1988 for Best Actor in a Leading Role and is fairly intense. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film is said to capture the power and greed of the self-absorbed 1980's. The Cast: Charlie Sheen is Bud Fox; Tamara Tunie is Carolyn; Franklin Cover is Dan; Chuck Pfeifer is Chuckie; John C. McGinley is Marvin; Hal Holbrook is Lou Mannheim; James Karen is Lynch; Leslie Lyles is Natalie; Michael Douglas is Gordon Gekko; Faith Geer is Natalie's Assistant; Frank Adonis is Charlie; John Capodice is Dominick; Martin Sheen is Carl Fox and Daryl Hannah is Gordon's girlfriend/model. This is a riveting summer film with sizzle!

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ENJOY!

HAPPY 4TH!