Napalm TeeVee: Cheap Trick on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, 1977

Presenting vintage video voltage from the pride of Rockford, Illinois. Plus a plea for the continued survival of The ‘Stack

Cheap Trick, 1977: “So, Bun? You say looking like a slumming accountant sitting in on drums after three martinis is totally rock ‘n’ roll?!” (photographer unknown)

Howdy, ‘Stackateers! How’s your week going, so far? Are you having as much trouble as I am dating everything “2024”?

First and foremost, a massive thanks to all and sundry for the positive response to the first installment of my novel-in-progress, Every Father Kills His Son. Judging by the ton of positive comments and the numbers on my Substack dashboard, it’s a hit! Much obliged. I think I will also move to self-publish it, once it’s finished. Let me know if y’all think this is the best idea. You are, after all, my patrons here. 

I’m gonna let you in on something: My major New Year’s Resolution is to post here daily. That’s right — a fresh edition of The Tim “Napalm” Stegall Substack in your mailbox or up at the site, five days per week! Which means some days, we won’t feature the writing which I know is the main attraction here. 

I mean, what if I want to show you this groovy Cheap Trick clip I just found on YouTube? Would that be problematic for ya?

Cheap Trick's been a sonic syringe stuck in my vein since day one. While the Ramones were busy sniffin’ those Carbona (not glue) shots and The Clash were violently offended by Thatcher's dandruff or something, I was daydreaming about owning enough silly guitars to blind Leo Fender and bouncing around in sweaters so loud they could be heard in Kansas. Or by Kansas. God, I hate that “Dust In The Wind” band….

I craved a Gibson Les Paul the color of a melted popsicle, a Telecaster strung with barbed wire, a polka-dotted Flying V that screamed like a banshee on tequila. And the sweaters? Forget insane. I'm talkin' acid-trip technicolor cardigans that’d make Liberace jealous.

See, I’ve always had this split personality. Half wants to pogo with safety pins through my nose, the other half craves enough spandex to make Spandex jealous. Cheap Trick was the sonic equivalent of a tailor-made, sequined straightjacket for both halves, letting me be a spastic monkey with a power chord soundtrack. Of course, reality was a pair of hand-me-downs and a busted amp. But hey, dreams are free, and mine were fueled by overdriven Marshalls and enough caffeine to power a rocket to Mars.

“Surrender” was a goddamned epiphany, “I Want You To Want Me” the cure for my summertime blues in 1979. Cheap Trick At Budokan was the Rosetta Stone for those wanting to play rock ‘n’ roll that sounded like early Beatles played through the world’s biggest MXR Distortion+ pedal. I saw two bands in ‘79. The first was Cheap Trick at Corpus Christi’s Memorial Coliseum. The other was The Clash at the Armadillo. Both changed my life forever, in ways that are not unrelated. 

So yeah, Cheap Trick's my lifeblood, as much as The Clash or the New York Dolls. And if you can't handle a snot-nosed punk rocker with a transistor radio spitting out Rick Nielsen's guitar solos like sonic hydrogen handgrenades? Well, maybe you need to turn down the volume on life itself.

Presenting the Trick filmed Nov. 10, 1977 in Los Angeles, for Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. If you don’t remember this televisual rival to The Midnight Special, it was a live rock show hosted by the guy who rode herd over the Brill Building songwriters, attempted to make performing monkeys outta The Monkees, then moved onto The Archies because they wouldn’t talk back like those pesky Monkees. Possessing all the charisma of a wet sock, Kirshner always presented all these musical acts of the day with all the enthusiasm of the freshly embalmed.

This particular evening, Kirshner could not dim the blazing energy of the pride of Rockford, Illinois. This is vintage pre-Budokan Cheap Trick, raw as a Sheboygan bowling alley brawl and loud enough to wake the dead in Graceland Cemetery. They were freshly out of the studio, cutting In Color with Tom Werman, preceded by a series of dates at the Whisky A Go Go recently compiled for the stupendous 2020 Out To Get You! (Live 1977) Record Store Day release.  

Watch Nielsen bouncing around like Huntz Hall on meth in front of his old ripped-grill-cloth Sound City speakers, his guitar screaming like a factory whistle stuck on overdrive! Dig Bun E. Carlos chain smoking an entire tobacco plantation behind those Ludwigs, Tom Petersson pounding the 8-string bass Hamer gave him as a consolation prize before they grew enough guts to build the 12-string bass he asked for, and Robin Zander being Robin Zander – such a perfect rock ‘n’ roll frontman, he almost seems like a parody of one. Or a cartoon version of one, at least, when Nielsen and Carlos are the actual animated cartoon musicians in the band. Although that’s to their credit, as well. Except no one in Cheap Trick are cartoons, they're real-life rock 'n' roll superheroes, drawn with sweat, adrenaline, and enough powerchords to make the Hamer workshop explode.

And that’s enough blabbing from me – presenting Cheap Trick live on Don Kirshner’s Reanimation Station in 1977! See you after the break.

 

Join the Napalm Nation Revolution: Fueling Minds, One Subscription at a Time!

Upgrade Today – Because Our Souls Need More Than Lattes and Mystery Meat!

Now onto other matters: Six daring individuals just joined the ranks of paying subscribers this past week, choosing to elevate their experience from free to fantastic! Thank you! Your upgrade is the rent I pay to avoid living in a cardboard box under a bridge. You're not just a subscriber, you're a co-conspirator in my creative shenanigans. Think of each upgrade as a vote of confidence in my questionable sanity. 

Yet, in the battlefield of subscriptions, we've lost seven brave souls, including two paying subscribers. The majority of these departures were from our free readership, a puzzling trend, with one soul engaging passionately with recent posts before deciding to unsubscribe shortly afterward.

Are you feeling the subtle echoes of a PBS pledge drive? Does the prospect of Napalm Nation support for our cultural crusade irk you? Or perhaps the impending paywall for some content has ruffled some feathers?

For one moment,  please let me be frank (although I find it hard to be anyone other than “Tim”): That daily latte and mystery meat sandwich habit costs more than a monthly subscription to this 'Stack. As I stated from the get-go, I’m not a “content provider.” I'm a flesh-and-blood writer, grappling for survival in this digital wilderness. For a mere five bucks a month, you can immerse yourself in the nuclear fallout of The Tim “Napalm” Stegall Substack – unfiltered truth bombs, righteous rants, and enough dark humor to make your therapist blush. It's the intellectual equivalent of a shot of adrenaline straight to the eyeballs.

Still hesitating at the newsstand of free content? Picture this:

• Imagine a world where you're not stuck in the comment section purgatory, but slinging verbal Molotovs alongside the elite Napalm Nation.

• Picture yourself basking in the golden glow of exclusive content, like interviews with the punk elite, such as Glen Matlock (beginning later this week) or Keith Morris! Or that serialization of Every Father Kills His Son! Or the forthcoming revival of my old Punk Boss Radio podcast, RADIO NAPALM!

• Visualize the smug satisfaction of knowing you're supporting the renegade voice that My Former Employers could not silence.

But wait, there's more! THIS MONTH ONLY, I'm throwing gasoline on the fire with a 20% discount on ALL subscriptions and upgrades for LIFE! That's right, lock in your premium access at a price that'll make your inner cheapskate weep tears of joy.

So, what are you waiting for? Ditch the latte, skip the McFlurry, and invest in your brain! Every reader, free or paid, is a cherished part of the Napalm Nation, and I am grateful to you all. You citizens of the Napalm Nation have souls – beautiful, intelligent, loving, angry souls. Those souls need feeding. No better brainfood than The ‘Stack. Click that button — we’re fighting for our continuing existence, and your paid support is our rallying cry!

P.S. Spread the word like wildfire – let the Napalm Nation blaze brighter than a thousand suns. Join us!

#TimStegall #TimNapalmStegall #TimNapalmStegallSubstack #PunkJournalism #NapalmTeeVee #CheapTrick #RockfordLegends #DonKirshnersRockConcert1977 #NapalmNation #SubscriptionRevolution #CreativeShenanigans #ExclusiveContent #SupportIndependentWriters #SubstackRevolution #EveryFatherKillsHisSon #RadioNapalm #20PercentOff #IntellectualAdrenaline #JoinTheRevolution #FuelYourMind #PunkRock #Punk #Subscribe #FourDollarsMonthly #FortyDollarsAnnually #UpgradeYourFreeSubscription #BestWayToSupport