All posts by Dave Hoekstra
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November 28, 2023

Newly Discovered Songs from Springfield Mo.

“Doubles on Ice is a previously unheard Lou Whitney composition and I always wanted to use the image of a figure skater in a celebration of Lou.

 

A couple of years ago recording engineer Eric Schuchmann was doodling around The Studio, the beloved recording space on the outskirts of Springfield, Mo. He stumbled across a DAT tape marked “publishing demos 98-99.” Schuchmann had been long-time right-hand man for the brilliant bandleader-bassist-singer-producer Lou Whitney.

Whitney was also the spiritual force behind the great American rock n’ soul bands The Skeletons, The Morells, and the seminal [...]

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September 2, 2023

The Sun Will Never Set On The Spirit Of Jimmy Buffett

 

Jimmy Buffett was a best-selling author, songwriter, businessman, airplane pilot, sailor, surfer, father, husband, environmentalist, tequila drinker, dog lover, and more. Yes, he lived a huge life.

Buffett died on Sept. 1 from cancer. He was 76 years old.

The thread of all his magical pursuits is how he paid attention to detail.

Jimmy Buffett listened for every heartbeat.

He found a twinkle in the eyes of everyone he met.

I have dozens of Buffett stories. Twice I brought Richard Harding and his daughter Catherine to Buffett shows in the Chicago area. Richard Harding was the grizzled owner of the Quiet Knight music room south of [...]

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September 1, 2023

A Walk Between Today and Tomorrow

Design by Janet Hill.

 

The future is the foundation of finding every right house.

People bring visions and dreams into a new landscape. Midcentury Modern, or Post WW II architecture came along at the right time. Midcentury ranch homes emerged in 1949, four years after the end of World War II. Americans were looking towards a different tomorrow, one with a more approachable ceiling. The affordability of automobiles led to the growth of suburbs. People downsized from colonial homes to ranch houses with ample windows and open space. Midcentury architecture became clean and linear.

Westchester, IL. is [...]

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July 28, 2023

“Beatle Bob” Matonis, a life of music: 1953-2023

Bob Matonis, we loved you yeah, yeah yeah.

One of America’s greatest rock n’ roll fans known as “Beatle Bob” Matonis died on July 27  in his native St. Louis, Mo. He was 70 years old. He died of complications from ALS.

Matonis spent decades dancing a mosh-up of the Twist and the Frug in the front rows of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, South by Southwest in Austin, Tx. FitzGerald’s in Berwyn and hundreds of other music clubs. He often wore black suits that matched his black bangs, even as the world spun into global warming,

Matonis said he saw 9,439 days of concerts in a row.

That number was in an e-mail he sent out earlier this year [...]

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