The Only Thing On -- Late night televison pt.1

After Night Flight went off the air in the early 90's, it was replaced by a somewhat comical and wacky late night show called The Only Thing On. Usually two B movies were shown (Zone Troopers, C.H.U.D., Slave of the Cannibal God, Frightmare, etc.), with a half hour break in between which originally was Jessica Hahn's Love Phone infomercial, and then later The Twilight Zone.

It was hosted by two local radio dj's out of Cape Girardeau, John Riley and Marty Mckee. Sometimes they would have special guests on the show, usually the crew wearing various costumes, and would also feature a Killer Tomato hand puppet named Grumpy. Grumpy (voiced by Riley) was relentless in his sarcasm and insults. Mckee was usually the butt of his jokes.

The show ran from 91 to 93 on channel 23, station KBSI out of Cape Girardeau, MO. If I recall correctly it was taken off the air shortly after FOX bought out the station. It was then replaced with infomercials and reruns of bad tv sitcoms.

I was fortunate to have grown up in an era where late night television was risque and a bit surreal and even goofy. Now, I would rather sleep.

Yoshino Fujimal

One of my all time favorite J-Pop musicians is none other than Yoshino Fujimal. A one time member of the legendary Japanese funk/pop band Shogun and AB'S, Yoshino also wrote jingles for Japanese comercials and was a soundtrack composer. Yoshino is well known for being a technical guitar player and can transition easily from Japanese to perfect English.

Yoshino's two solo album's are hard to track down, and can you can expect to pay anywhere from thirty to fifty dollars on Ebay for one. However, if J-Pop is your thing, then you'll enjoy his self titled debut Yoshino Fujimal (1982), and Romantic Guys (1983). You may also enjoy another J-Pop group he was in, AB'S.

The Uggly Family

I remember many a times growing up that I would wait impatiently for the next issue of Cracked magazine's Monster Party. One of my favorite comic strips featured was The Uggly Family. Just your average all American family. Sure, if you lived next door to a toxic waste dump.

So, would someone please tell Mort Todd and Daniel Clowes, that many of The Uggly Families admiring fans have been waiting years for some new comics. How about a graphic novel?

David A. Hess, A Legend (September 19, 1936 – October 8, 2011)

What could be said about David Hess that hasn't already been said a thousand times over? From being a legendary horror film actor to a Grammy award winning song writer and musician, the man had more talent in his pinky finger, than most of today's shoddy entertainers combined.

Although this is a little late in posting (he passed away last October of a heart attack), I felt it my duty to share a bit of his work. Mainly due to the fact his website went down within a few days of his death and much of the info posted is lost. While I will miss reading some of witty posts, and his terrific film performances and music, he lives on in memory and his art.

I still have an autographed picture of David with Giovanni Radice (House on the Edge of the Park). If anyone has any info on the album he had been working on before his death, please drop me a line.

Here's a few song's of his I found on Youtube.

Vincent Price and his Monster Mash

Vincent Price has always been a favorite of mine. Throw in The Monster Mash and you have a cult classic.

Velvet Underground

Might as well start things off with an old favorite of mine, The Velvet Underground's Sunday Morning.