Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Community

Drive Less, Live More (and make “One Less Trip”)

By Leave a Comment

The following is an update from our friends at the "Drive Less, Live More" organization here in Dayton (thanks Brenda!)…

Drive Less, Live More saves more than 11,200 miles in 14 days…
Participants surprised how easy it is

Two weeks into the Drive Less, Live More campaign, and area residents have cut their driving by nearly 11,250 miles (that’s like driving from New York City to Los Angeles and back twice), saving more than 239 gallons of gas, and preventing more than 11,000 pounds of greenhouse gases (CO2) from going into the air.

"This is a great start, and it comes at an important time of the year", says Don Spang, executive director of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, one of the four partnering agencies in the campaign. "Given the heat wave we’ve seen over the last few weeks and the number of Air Pollution Advisories we’ve issued, every little bit helps in reducing vehicle emissions."

[Read more…] about Drive Less, Live More (and make “One Less Trip”)

The Rickey Medlocke Interview

By Leave a Comment

The Guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd Speaks Out

May 9th, 2007

During a recent telephone interview, I caught up with Rickey Medlocke, one of the three lead guitarists in the current Lynyrd Skynyrd line up. Rickey was one of the original drummers for Lynyrd Skynyrd back in the early seventies who eventually went on to form the southern rock band Blackfoot, so named due to his American Indian heritage.

J.T.: Now, if I remember right, years ago you were in Skynyrd, but you were playing drums.

Rickey: Yeah, I was one of the original drummers, yeah.

J.T.: Do you ever miss being a little more in the background?

Rickey: No! No! No! No! Ha ha! Well, of course not! I was the lead singer and lead guitarist for Blackfoot. I mean, I love to play guitar, I love to entertain people. I just wasn’t…I guess I was a good enough drummer, but I wasn’t a great drummer.

J.T.: How is the current tour holding up. Everything still going good?

Rickey: Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah! Everything is going real good, man. We’re just taking it one day at a time, and so far so good. The crowds have been great, it’s a good package. I mean, Hank (Williams Jr.) has a little bit older fans and our fans are a little bit older, but we also get Lynyrd Skynyrd girls from fifteen to fifty-five now, so I think it works out O.K.  The deal is, it’s going good, the crowds are great, they’re all pumped, you know. Hank is Hank and Lynyrd Skynyrd, you know…(Laughs)…what can you say, what can you say!

J.T.: Now, with the younger audiences, do you think your bringing something new to them as well as the presenting the extensive history of Lynyrd Skynyrd?

Rickey: Well, I think so. Last year, we had Three Doors Down out there with us and that was phenomenal. Like I said, the audiences range from fifteen to fifty-five, so, uh, what can you say?

J.T.: With some of the collaborative stuff you guys have been doing with younger artists as well as some of the tour billings with, like you mentioned, Three Doors Down, does that change Skynyrd’s direction at all?

Rickey: Well, that’s really interesting. We’ve been writing for a new CD right now and we’ve been writing with a lot of different writers. We’re involved with a guy that’s been writing and been involved with Velvet Revolver and people like that. We’re writing with a guy that is the guitar player right now for Rob Zombie. On the other side of it, we’re writing with people that’s been, you know, that’s had hits with…country (artists). We’re involved with a bunch of writers and what I think it does is, whatever we put our hands on, it comes out as Lynyrd Skynyrd. Because I think Skynyrd music has a broad spectrum anyway.

J.T.: Yeah, it definitely crosses boundaries. From rock to blues to country…

Rickey: Oh yeah! Sure does, man.

J.T: I know there was some controversy among Skynyrd fans when you introduced the Travelin’ Man duet, where Johnny VanZant sings along with the vocals from the deceased Ronnie VanZant. Is that still part of the performance?

Rickey: Well, this year…I’m not going to let any secrets out, but we’re doing some really different stuff. You know, that came about back on the Thyrty record, and we introduced that and we’ve used it every once in a while, but we’ve got some other surprises in store for everybody on this thing. You know, they’re going to have to come out and check it out.

J.T.: Along those lines, with the song Red, White and Blue, is there more of a patriotic reaction to that song now then when it was released?

Rickey: Well, I think that it’s about the same, maybe a little bit more.  I mean, the one thing that I do know that’s going on in this world today is everything is so polarized, you know? It’s a damn shame, you know? It seems like our country is being pulled completely apart, and for Lynyrd Skynyrd, we’ve been the American band for all these years…and it’s really sad for us to see how this country is being so polarized and pulled apart. When, in reality, a few short years ago, you couldn’t break this country apart… it’s interesting. Now, it’s like everybody’s losing their damn balls, man, and nobody wants to stand up and do anything. So, you know, that’s the whole thing about it; instead of getting stronger, instead of having some damn balls about ourselves, the country’s getting softer, being weaker. I, for myself don’t like to use the band as a platform to talk about politics, because I think that entertainers should definitely stay the hell out of politics, you know what I mean? Because, entertainers…we got our own kind of gig and a lot of Hollywood, those people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about when they get into politics. I mean, Ronald Reagan was a rare case, you know? Ha! That guy was a very rare case, you know? But the point of what I’m getting at is instead of pulling this nation apart, we should be pulling it together, you know? Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent or whatever, we’ve got one of the best countries in the damn world, and guess what? It seems like the damn thing’s being ripped in two.

J.T.: Yeah, it’s like everybody is in their own camps and you can’t say anything cause you don’t know if you’re going to end up in a fist fight.

Rickey: Yeah! Right! Also, its like, just think about it…guys have been cracking jokes for years and years and years and everybody kind of took it in stride. Now, you got to be real careful with what you say because you’re going to end up without a gig, your family is going to be broke, you’re going to be homeless, or whatever. It’s like, this country has become so politically correct, it’s sickening.

J.T.: Well, like what happened with the Dixie Chicks. A two-second comment cost them gigs and appearances.

Rickey: Yeah, I mean, I got my own opinions of the Dixie Chicks, man. You know what? We live in one of the greatest countries in the world, and that’s how they can become as wealthy as they’ve become. You know what I mean? By living in a place where they’ve had the opportunity to do that. But you know, man? At the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, we live in a great nation and we should learn to appreciate what we’ve got. People…just take everything for granted, you know, and that’s a damn shame, man.

The prolific powerhouse that is Lynyrd Skynyrd rolls on, playing town after town with various acts such as Saliva, Hank Williams, Jr. and Kid Rock. The group has faithfully released new material, starting with the album Vicious Cycle in 2003 and the most recent edition to their eclectic repertoire, Gods And Guns, was released in September, 2009. While there are those fervent purists who believe that the real Lynyrd Skynyrd perished in a flash of flames in a swamp in Magnolia, Mississippi, the true tradition of Southern Rock has been loyally carried on, with still one more from the road just around the corner.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9MXvO_8BiM’]

Southern Boys, Simple Men

By Leave a Comment

Southern Rock Is Pronounced Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Well every time that I come home nobody wants to let me be
It seems that all the friends I got just got to come interrogate me
Well, I appreciate your feelings and I don’t want to pass you by
But I don’t ask you about your business, don’t ask me about mine”
~Gary Rossington/Ronnie VanZant

Don’t Ask Me No Questions

The iconic band that is Lynyrd Skynyrd is at once an ever changing amalgam of talent as well as a indestructible thread holding together the roots of American rock. From their auspicious beginnings, practicing in a carport in the summer of ’64 in Alabama, to their recent Rowdy Frynds tour with Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd has remained true to their origins, playing the type of music that has made their name synonymous with “southern rock”.  The history of Lynyrd Skynyrd is one of tragedy, turmoil and triumph. Yet, throughout it all, their music plays a testament to the undying appeal of their sound and words.

The original line up of what was to become Lynyrd Skynyd was formed in 1964 with Bob Burns, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and Larry Junstrom. They practiced in the carport at Bob’s house, which gave inspiration for their original band name, “My Backyard”. “The Noble Five” quickly supplanted that name as the boys melded their Southern blues sound with the prevalent country influences that resonated throughout the south at that time. With the introduction into the mix of British invaders such as Free, The Beatles, Beck and Clapton, their sound was all but complete. There was an ever-changing roster of names that the group called themselves while they honed their sound; The Wildcats, The Sons of Satan, Conqueror Worm, The Pretty Ones and The One Percent. Then, one night at the Forrest Inn, Ronnie called out to the crowd, ‘Hey, we’re Leonard Skinner and we’re gonna play for y’all tonight’. Leonard Skinner, it should be noted, was the name of the gym teacher whom Gary and Ronnie had problems with on a regular basis. Most of the people in the crowd had had problems as well, so the new name was met with a thunderous applause. Later, the band would change the vowels in the name to y’s to “protect the guilty”.

            By 1970, having honed their musicianship in countless bars and taverns, Lynyrd Skynyrd cut some demos of the originals that they had accumulated, using Quin Ivy’s studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, returning in ’71 to make a full album at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Skynyrd was finally signed in 1972 by Al Kooper, who also produced their first three albums: pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd (1973), Second Helping (1974) and Nuthin’ Fancy (1975). They immediately caught the eye of Pete Townshend who signed them up as an opening act for The Who’s Quadrophenia Tour.

Skynyrd was promptly propelled into a world of fame that they may have yearned for, but were perhaps not wholly prepared to deal with. Various changes in the band’s line-up, exhaustive touring and an accelerated drug and alcohol intake served to create fissures in the once impervious Southern rock band. Tom Dowd stepped in as producer on the Gimme Back My Bullets album, bringing with him a discipline and focus the band desperately needed.

Steve Gaines filled the void that Ed King left during the Torture Tour, bringing the band back to it’s original three lead guitars. They once again became a tight performance group, as captured in the 1976 live album One More From The Road.  The revived Skynyrd next created Street Survivors, arguably the band’s best since Second Helping. The album cover showed the group engulfed in flames and one of the songs held the lyric “The smell of death surrounds you” which ominously alluded to an impending tragedy that loomed on the horizon.

On October 20, 1977, just three days after the release of Street Survivors, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s tour plane, nicknamed “Freebird”, ran out of gas due to a mechanical failure, crashing into a marshy bog on Johnny Mote’s farm in Magnolia, Mississippi, killing band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, back-up vocalist and Steve’s sister Cassie Gaines. Skynyrd’s road manager, Dean Kilpatrick and the two pilots also died from the crash, as all of the deceased were in the front section that broke apart on impact. The other twenty or so passengers were injured to some degree or another. Powell’s nose had been utterly mangled, Gary Rossington suffered numerous broken bones and contusions, and Allen Collins had a hefty piece of metal embedded in his arm. Artimus Pyle, the drummer, managed to walk to get assistance, but suffered a shotgun blast by a person mistaking him for an intruder.

With only two of the original members surviving the crash, the days of Lynyrd Skynyrd seemed to have come to a fiery end. The label quickly pulled all the copies of “Street Survivors” depicting the band surrounded by flames. The following year, MCA records released the Muscle Shoals sessions and titled it Skynyrd’s First…and Last. Some of the members played with bands like Molly Hatchet, Alias and .38 Special. Gary Rossington and Allen Collins went on to form The Rossington Collins band in the early eighties after Rossington had undergone extensive surgeries to regain the use of his arm.

Tragedy still stalked the musicians when Artimus Pyle suffered a leg injury in a motorcycle accident, Allen Collins’ pregnant wife suddenly died and a 1984 car crash paralyzed both of Collins’ legs and killed his girlfriend. Collins died in 1990 after succumbing to pneumonia.

A 1987 concert commemorating the 1977 plane crash found Ronnie’s brother, Johnny Van Zant stepping into the spotlight as lead singer, showing the world that the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd was far from forgotten. Through many permutations over the years, Skynyrd has recorded several new albums, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, performed innumerable concerts and held onto the sound that has made the freebird a phoenix of American rock and roll culture.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDrk5DBHle8′]

Downtown Dayton Job Growth

By 1 Comment

A presentation of job retention statistics was given during the Downtown Dayton Partnership Annual Meeting last week.  The information was very interesting and highlights both the challenges and the opportunities that the community faces in job growth, office vacancy rates and perceptions of the economic health of downtown.   As we have frequently commented, one of the biggest problems that downtown Dayton faces in the fissure between the reality and perceptions of downtown problems.  The slides from the presentation statistically demonstrate the reality of the challenge to grow and retain jobs in the urban core and are highlighted here.

[Read more…] about Downtown Dayton Job Growth

Dayton Not Alone with Bus Stop Removals…

By Leave a Comment

The Dayton RTA’s decision to change bus routes and move all Main Street bus stops to their future hub at the location of the recently demolished Admiral Benbow Hotel has not been without controversy.  The over-hyped melee at the corner of Third & Main a few years ago (no folks, it was not a riot despite what you might think) is certainly a factor in these changes; One reason for the change is that RTA can control security better on their private property than on public property on the city sidewalks & streets.  But is removing bus stops from Main Street the answer?  it is valuable to check out what is happening in other cities, and here is a similar story from Minneapolis…

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

By Chris Serres and Terry Collins

Link: Will 3 blocks make a difference?.

police say crime has gotten so out of hand at transit stops along 7th Street that the Minneapolis Police Department, Downtown Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak has begun pushing Metro Transit to move bus stops from 7th Street downtown three blocks away to 4th Street.

The proposal comes as violence has intensified on Metro Transit buses. A fatal shooting Sunday of a 16-year-old boy in St. Paul was the second homicide and third violent attack on Metro Transit buses since early March.

So what do you think about the bus stop changes in Downtown Dayton?

Dayton and the Creative Class

By 16 Comments

     Last night, Richard Florida (American economist and urban studies theorist) spoke at Wright

State University.  His book Rise of the Creative Class was one of the things that inspired me to get more involved with urban advocacy.  Yes, I am included in that creative class group – I’m in my 30’s, I am an entrepreneur, I work with technology, I live downtown, I enjoy coffee shops, I go to the theater.  But that isn’t what Florida’s "Creative Class" is all about, despite what many people believe.  No matter what your profession, if you frequently express yourself either through art, music, writing (even bloggers), acting, etc., then you are in fact creative and thus in this group.  If you work at a job where you use your mind to create – whether that is at a software company or a manufacturing plant where your input leads to process improvement – you are in the creative group.  The point is, many people think of this "creative class" idea and think that it only applies to high tech people or artists.  Those "yuppie types" as I’ve heard some people say.  But as Florida spoke last night, he emphasized the fact that this class of people is not very exclusive; most of us are indeed creative and thus are part of this group.

[Read more…] about Dayton and the Creative Class

Bohemian Today, High-Rent Tomorrow

By 3 Comments

Anybody that has been to a major city has noticed the significant number of art galleries, live theaters and live music venues that exist in these cities’ urban cores.  These creative types typically live in areas where their surroundings are condusive to their creativity.  Edgy urban neighborhoods filled with eclectic people, historic or funky architecture, and other things that are not bland attract artists, who in turn make these neighborhoods even more diverse and eclectic.  Eventually, hip professionals both young and old start to move in as they are attracted by the same things that the artists are.  But when they start to move in, something happens – demand (and thus prices) begin to go up.

[Read more…] about Bohemian Today, High-Rent Tomorrow

New Edwin C. Moses Bridge – which do you prefer?

By 6 Comments

The City of Dayton is soliciting feedback on the design of the Edwin C. Moses bridge.  The bridge type, lighting, railing, and color options for the new Edwin C. Moses Bridge over Wolf Creek are presented here.

Please indicate which design options you prefer.  The City would like feedback by mid-February; it should be sent to Keith Steeber.  Also, we’d like to hear your thoughts here as well – please comment below…

(Photos below – click to enlarge)

[Read more…] about New Edwin C. Moses Bridge – which do you prefer?

Cities rediscover allure of streetcars

By Leave a Comment


There has been much talk about Dayton’s electric trolleys as of late.  And though the local media has reported that the RTA is considering the possibility of getting rid of the trolleys because of their maintenance expense, RTA officials insist that this is not necessarily true, and that they are simply analyzing all aspects of their operations to determine how best to manage their budget.

This is happening at a time that cities elsewhere in the country are rediscovering the allure of the streetcar, which were popular a century ago.  Unlike buses (which are unfortunately viewed as transportation for lower-income folks in many cities like Dayton), the streetcar is considered to have a sense of nostalgia, and are being brought back in cities in order to connect recently revitalized urban neighborhoods and districts.  Dayton and its sea of revitalization islands might want to consider a similiar project.  Heck, we already have the electric cables in place.  And it would be yet one more thing that can’t be found in the suburbs.  What do you think?

Link: Cities rediscover allure of streetcars – USATODAY.com.
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY

The streetcars that rumbled and clanged through many American cities from the late 1800s until World War II helped shape neighborhoods. More than a half-century later, streetcars are coming back and reviving the same neighborhoods they helped create.

Several cities have resurrected the streetcar tradition and about three dozen others plan to

NCR to spin off Teradata

By 3 Comments



Well this was just a matter of time.  Let’s hope that the city of Dayton is in the running for the location of the new company, and then let’s hope that the city does everything it can do to keep the company here.

Link: NCR to spin off Teradata – Dayton Business Journal:.

NCR Corp. is spinning off its data warehousing business as a separate publicly-traded company.

The new company, to be called Teradata, had $1.5 billion in revenue in 2005 and operating income of $309 million before pension expense.