01/29/04’s illustrious band:

Black Velvet

Brought to you by Sister-san and Chef Jeff. Sister-san supplies the following trip down Memory Lane, inspired by Chef Jeff.

“Remember ‘air bands’? In the early '80s, how else could teenaged boys emulate their favorite rock and punk stars? They didn't have the money for fancy electric guitars and expensive amplifiers, so they made their own equipment -- basements and garages were filled with cardboard guitars and cymbals with the details drawn on in Magic Marker, white paper-covered boxes stacked up as speakers and amps, empty upside-down buckets strapped together for drums, and of course the requisite paper banner tacked up to announce the name of the rocking-est band ever! In an air band, everyone could be a star -- the music was always as great as it sounded in your head. Every concert was amazing! Like the title of the favorite tune in their repertoire, every member could pretend, for that endless summer, that he was a "Jukebox Hero."

Over the past several years, Jeff has spent many fine evenings recounting the glory days of the air band to his friends who weren't there to live it. His stories of the legendary Black Velvet get bigger and better as the years pass (as any good story should), but his parents will be glad to verify that the band did earn a feature article and photo in the local paper. These guys were one mere leap away from stardom! Rockin' the free world! The memories are untouchable, too, because of course there are no scratchy recordings to rewind and make us wince.

One of Jeff's favorite Christmas presents this year was a framed photo of Black Velvet that his mom had resurrected. He can now prove to his friends that the stories were all true. He will always be a rock star!”

Sister-san included a copy of the photo. It won’t show up on the Blogspot home site, but hopefully I can e-mail it to you all. Rock on!

Today around the world: January 29 is Martyrs’ Memorial Day in Nepal, which contains eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including Mt. Everest.

E-mail the Media Sensation: BandNameoftheDay@hotmail.com

Visit the BND archives at http://jugglernaut.blogspot.com.