Jamie White has now completed two days as part of the BJ, Howie and Jamie team on Alice in Denver. I’ve heard it has sounded pretty good (But I haven’t listened so I can’t give you a first hand review!) But there is another new show in town, and this one I have listened to! Michael “Stretch, Stench” Roberts debuted as morning show producer of The Tattoo and Cece Show on KDAY in Los Angeles! They aren’t letting them talk much yet, but I did hear Stench in the background, and the show is only going to grow, so add 93.5 fm to your presets! I am so excited for both of them… I hope both shows are huge!!!
He wasn’t fully a friend, but he was more than an acquaintance. For a few years of our lives my sister and I spent a lot of time in his store, my sister as an employee and me as a customer. DB Cooper’s Wholesale Music Exchange was the best record store in Burbank for most of the 90′s. Its close location to many of the record labels and radio stations in the Los Angeles area guaranteed a steady flow of the most current releases and there was always a good selection of collectible older releases too. The owner, Geoff Cooper, wasn’t always the most agreeable guy and he could be quite eccentric, but he was always interesting and loved music and records. I lost contact with Geoff years ago, as did my sister, the shop closed back in 2004, but I knew he still lived in Burbank.
A few weeks ago my sister received a call from an ex-Cooper’s co-worker who informed her Geoff had passed away. We were both bummed, despite his quirks he was a good guy. I can only speak for myself, but I had many fun afternoons rummaging through the bins of his store looking for rare imports from The Cure or out-of-print Sisters Of Mercy records and catching a little conversation with Geoff as he smoked a cigarette in front of the store.
A couple days ago I went for a walk and happened to walk by Geoff’s house and they were having a garage sale. Bins from the old store dragged out of the garage and sitting in the driveway for the bidding, tables set in the garage with his stuff spread on them and sign on the tree that read “more items inside.” I know you can’t take it with you, but it really bummed me out to see his life reduced to a garage sale and I know no disrespect was meant (it’s really something we don’t think about much, what will happen to all our “stuff” when we go)… but it bummed me out none the less.
So I thought I’d give him a little space here on this blog , I found this really nice obituary:
Alum’s Roto Rooter Good Time Christmas Band recorded Dr Demento novelty song “Pico and Sepulveda”
TFT alumnus Geoffrey P. Cooper ’69 passed away on November 28 at his home in Burbank, after a brief illness. Cooper was a Hollywood sound engineer and avid record collector who from 1992 to 2004 owned DB Cooper’s Wholesale Music Exchange in Burbank, “Burbank’s Most Necessary Record Shop.”
Born on October 19, 1946, in Los Angeles, Cooper was a proud member of the UCLA marching band while a student at TFT in the late 1960s. Known as “Engineer Geoff,” he was the head cheerleader at UCLA during the 1968-69 season.
After several years in New York City working as a recording engineer, Cooper returned to Southern California and with several former UCLA bandmates formed the Roto Rooter Good Time Christmas Band, in which he performed under the stage name Dr. Mabuse.
The band specialized in bouncy satiric novelty songs with titles such as “The Martian March,” “Martha My Deer” and “The Buick LaSabre Dance.” The band became a fixture on the radio show of personality and DJ Dr Demento, who was a customer at the Burbank store.
After Cooper arranged an introduction for Demento with singer Napoleon XIV (Jerry Samuels), creator of the all-time novelty hit “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haaa!,” the DJ began playing Roto Rooter numbers on his show, beginning in 1973 with what he calls their “brilliant rendition of ‘March of the Cuckoos,’ the Laurel & Hardy theme.”
The RRGTCB recorded an album for Vanguard Records in 1974 that included their version of the 1947 novelty song “Pico and Sepulveda,” the recording that became Dr. Demento’s theme song. At the peak of its popularity the band shared the stage at the Hollywood Palladium with Danny Elfman’s Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.
Cooper worked a day job for NBC in the sound effects department for 13 years, ringing the buzzers and bells on the great game shows. He amassed a huge collection of vinyl LPs, CDs and videos, which he loved sharing with his friends and family. Cooper was an avid fan of reggae music and all things Jamaican and attended the Sunsplash Music Festival seven years in a row in the 1980′s.
Geoffrey Cooper is survived by his sisters Virginia Cooper Latham of Culver City (class of ’73) and Susan Cooper Clobucker of Reno (class of ’76).
The Cooper family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Theater Department Scholarship Fund. Gifts can be made online at https://giving.ucla.edu/Standard/NetDonate.aspx?SiteNum=20 (choose Theater Scholarship Fund) or by sending a check made out to UCLA Foundation, with “In memory of Geoffrey Cooper” in the memo section, to:
Office of Development and Industry Relations
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Box 951622
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1622
This year has started with some Jamie, Jack and Stench news (Well, not Jack news and not the three of us together, but there is news!)
First, Jamie (White) is returning to the airwaves! She will be joining BJ and Howie on ALICE in Denver, CO. This is doubly exciting for me, one because I’m glad to see Jamie working again and two because it’s good to actually see a radio station adding staff and not firing or down-sizing. KALC will be airing the new line-up with Jamie starting Monday, January 9th.
Second, Stench’s son has his first MMA fight on January 14th! He will be fighting at the Normandie Casino on the 14th and tickets are $50 (click link for details.) Also, we are very close to being able to hear the radio show Stench produces on L.A. Radio. They will be on mornings soon, I’ll post when they officially announce.
As for me… Not much going on, but I am so happy for my friends!
The kids and I had a very nice holiday season, spending Christmas in Burbank and ringing in the New Year in San Diego. Now it’s back to reality. There is a depression that sets in after the holidays, all the hype and expectation and then it’s just over and everything returns to the way it was. I’m hoping the job market gets better for me and many of my friends who are out of work (And I think we’ll see a little bit of improvement… It’s an election year, even if falsely, they will try to make things look better).
Look for a book review early next week (I took a break from reading over the holidays) and more of my usual posts.
