Breckenridge, Believing and Battle of the Bands II results

You all know that I really try to make the rounds and visit everybody who stops by my place, don’t ya? Well, I do, but last week after my ‘Battle of the Bands II’ post I got whacked with the flu, and that has set me back (you really wouldn’t want me bringing those germs on over to your house).

Anyway…yesterday in my game of catch-up I stopped in a Robin’s place YOUR DAILY DOSE and she was talking about an upcoming vacation. It got me to thinking that although I haven’t had a proper vacation in awhile, I have spent most of my life on a permanent vacation. Let me explain.

Over the years, I’ve been crazy fortunate enough to live in some of the best resorts areas on the globe. Now living somewhere and making a living there isn’t exactly the same as ‘taking a vacation’, but I do believe that you have to maximize every opportunity and never take your circumstances or surroundings for granted. Often, I get asked– where’s home? Or where was your favorite place? That would have to be Breckenridge, Colorado.

I lived in Breckenridge before it was a world renown ski area; before skiing was a ‘rich man’s’ sport and before all of the streets were paved. In those days it was a town filled with old hippies (I say old, not to designate age, but because their time was a little long past). In those days most of us still believed we could make a difference, a big difference in the world. In those days most of the town and surrounding area was owned my one man. He was kinda Breckenridge’s Old Mr. Potter like in Bedford Falls (‘It’s a Wonderful Life’). This guy owned the local radio station and even managed to obtain the call letters that corresponded with his wife’s initials. That was KLGT 102.1 on your FM dial.

Breckenridge was pretty laid back in those days and so was its radio channel. The DJ’s were people you knew from the local bars, and the chit chat when folks called in was always interesting, Apparently the FCC wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention. One year on Christmas Eve they did a promo where you could call in and they would make a call for you to anywhere in the nation, and you could wish you friends or family a Merry Christmas on their dime (YES, boys and girls this was before everybody had a little ole cell phone and nationwide service), of course, your call was broadcast for everyone in the local listening area to hear. BUT what I remember most about that time and KLGT was that when they signed off at night (YEP, you read that right, the station actually shut down somewhere in the wee hours of the morning for a few hours – none of this 24 hours stuff in those days) the late night DJ always did his sign-off with one particular song.

I hope you guessed what that particular song was. It was Don Henley reminiscing and reminding himself what a lonely life it was bein’ a ‘Desperado’. Yessiree, that’s what inspired ‘Battle of the Bands II’ for me. I bet you already guessed my choice. Karen Carpenter does in fact have a beautiful voice and IMO far out distanced Linda’s version of this song, it always felt to me like she was signing about someone else; perhaps a long lost love who was too much of a Desperado to stay at her side. When Don sings it, it’s like each and every one of us is singing it to ourselves as a warning, epitaph, or creed. Perhaps that’s what made it so popular; it’s a song that sings to everybody, if only just a little bit.

So for me it Don and The Eagles, and by the votes you guys agreed with me by a little more than two to one. 

‘Catch ya on the flip side’, for ‘Battle of the Bands III’. That ‘BATTLE’ will be posted a little early (August 30^th instead of September 1) due to the holiday weekend.

I almost forgot -- Get yerself on over to STEPHEN'S PLACE to check out the winner there, but whatever you do, do not ask him about beer or we might never know who won his BOTB II (I'm looking at you Bryan!).