Halloween Radio Special - 50s-70s Rock and Roll, Garage, and Novelty Songs

This Sunday at midnight on KUCR 88.3 FM is the Hippie Love Turbo Halloween Special! Be sure to listen over the air on KUCR 88.3FM or through KUCR.org. If you'd like, you can also listen to KUCR through Radio Garden or Tune-In.

Just like last year's Halloween Special, I kept the talking to a minimum so we can all just enjoy the creepy tunes, however, that's not to say I didn't speak just a little. 

The first song on this episode is Gary Paxton's Spooky Movies and I mentioned that country guitar shredder, Roy Clark, performed his own version of Spooky Movies in 1963. Fans of Stranger Things might recognize Paxton's version from the first episode of the second season of Stranger Things. 

Later in the episode there's a rare song by The Daringers called The Morgus Creep and, Although the band was around for a few years, The Daringers only recorded one single which happened to be with a television horror host, Morgus the Magnificent. The band remained fairly unknown throughout the years until another blogger and radio host named Hunter King spoke with The Daringers' drummer. A couple years after the single's release Morgus starred in a somewhat obscure full length movie named The Wacky World of Dr Morgus.

And finally, towards the halfway point of the show I spoke about the Winchester Mystery House which is located in San Jose, California. The house is known for its unusual architecture which includes a door to nowhere, staircases that lead to dead ends, and various other peculiarities. The myth goes that the house was built to confuse ghosts and spirits that haunted the estate's owner, Sarah Winchester. Mrs.Winchester's husband, William Winchester, was the man behind some of the most popular rifles ever produced and Sarah was supposedly convinced that the spirits of those that were killed by Winchester's rifles would haunt her if she didn't expand and renovate her mansion. Much of the house's history has been embellished over the years so sometimes it's hard to separate the facts from the fiction. Regardless, many have claimed that they've seen apparitions at the mansion and such stories, along with various works of fiction, have added to the home's mystique.

Thanks for tuning in this week! You can check out this episode's playlist below:

 

The Bells Of Rhymny - The Wicked Old Witch 

 And below are the songs used as backing tracks during the speaking bits:

The Skeltons - Terror
Henry Mancini - Experiment in Terror
Pat and the Wildcats - The Giggler
The Ventures - Fear

Partying and Experimenting with Crisco - Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Bok Choy"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM I mentioned an experiment that my elementary school teacher performed with us in 2nd grade that involved Crisco and ice water. During the experiment the class took turns placing our hands in some ice water to see how long we could handle it. After the students agreed that it uncomfortably cold (duh) our teacher brought out a bag full of Crisco, with another bag acting as a glove, and we tried the experiment again. This time around the Crisco, which served as an analog to blubber, made the ice more bearable. Eventually, our teacher turned the experiment into a competition to see who could hold their hand in the water longer, a Crisco gloved student or someone that was bare handed. Of course, the teacher chose a headstrong show-off as the bare handed participant and he held his hand in the water until it turned blue. Even as a kid I realized that it was a bad idea on my teacher's part but ultimately, I recognize the power of the experiment because I still remember it to this day. In fact, the experiment must have been a hit for many people as I see the lesson is still suggested, in various forms, to this day and more than likely, it was performed well before my time too.

Recently, the experiment was brought back from the dusty shelves of my mind when I listened to George Washington and The Cherrybombs song Crisco Party. What's a Crisco party? It's a sort of slippery dance party where everyone coats their bodies in what's essentially shortening made from vegetable oil. 

Well, all you need is a lot of Crisco and some girls and boys.
Well, when you get to that party throw your hands up for joy.
I like Crisco Party. He likes Crisco party. Everybody grease up now.

If I put my tin foil hat on for a second, it almost seems like the song was a sort of sly advertisement for the brand. In fact, Crisco was famous for its aggressive ad campaigns which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in between 1911-1915 and included cookbooks which were given away for free and listed Crisco as an essential ingredient. Even before that, Crisco was known for encouraging people to trust the brand and not worry about which ingredients were included in the product. Hmmmm. Suspicious. Then again, sometimes you just write about what you like, even if it can be construed as free advertising. 

Images from whatevernot and Temple Garden Ballroom

 

                                                                                                                                                           Changing topics from Crisco now, I had mentioned in the show that there isn't a ton of info on one of the bands I played named The White Nights besides that they come from Regina, Saskatchewan and that they recorded a couple singles on Gaiety Records. While doing some research I found out that early on the band had a gimmick where they wore all white and even had their hair bleached white as well. Gimmicks weren't uncommon in rock music back then but they feel so quaint compared to some of the stuff we see today. Anywho, I talked about how the existing pictures of the band were neat so I've included them above. Enjoy.

Thanks for reading the blog and be sure to listen over the air on KUCR 88.3FM on Saturdays at 9pm or through KUCR.org! If you'd like, you can also listen to KUCR through Radio Garden or Tune-In.

You can listen to this episode's playlist below:

 

The Mods - I Give You An Inch (And You Take A Mile)
Los Texao - Swlabr

Pulled From The Crowd, Scot Halpin Drums With The Who - Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Pawpaw"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM you heard Daybreakers play their song Psychedelic Siren and I spoke a little bit about their hometown Muscatine, Iowa. Located in Eastern Central Iowa, the city was formerly known for its busy river port on the mighty Mississippi River. Although the port isn't as busy today, there are still plenty of things to check out in Muscatine. One such attraction is the Muscatine Art Center, which is located in the former Musser Mansion and serves as both a local history museum and a place for artistic expression. One of the highlights of the museum is The Mississippi River Collection which contains various artworks related to the history of the Mississippi River. The museum also appears to have a rotating collection of more modern works pertaining to the environmental and social issues of the area.

Scot and The Who

 

However, when it comes to musical exports, Muscatine is known as the hometown of Scot Halpin, a man that was famously pulled from the audience during a performance by The Who after drummer Keith Moon passed out on stage. The circumstances leading to the situation almost sound like an unlikely work of fiction. Our hero in this story, Scot, was visiting a friend in California when he heard that The Who's first concert in the US was going to be at the nearby Cow Palace in Daly City. Because Scot's buddy only had one ticket to the concert the pair had to show up early and find someone willing to scalp a ticket. After the pair procured a ticket, they made their way to the front of the stage where they eventually noticed a distraught and disorderly Keith Moon losing consciousness multiple times. Scot's pal pushed Scot to the side stage where he was spotted by promoter Bill Graham.

"Graham looked straight at me and said, ’Can you play?’ Next thing I knew Bill Graham took me backstage and turned me over to the drum roadie who sort of prepped me as to the drum setup."

Serendipity at its finest!

You can read more about the incident, along with Scot's recollections, on the Drum Magazine website and there happens to be a video of the event as well. The craziest part of the whole story is that Halpin considered himself more of a stringed instrument guy than a drummer yet he was able to perform on stage in front of a large crowd with zero preparation. Wild stuff.

 

You can listen to this episode's playlist below:

 

Pseudos - Back Door Man Bites The Dust
Akiko Nakamura and The Jaguars - Rainbow-Colored Lake
The Derby-Hatville - Scorched Sand

Fred Flintstone, The Beau Brummels, and Jimmy O'Neill! - The Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Leek"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM I didn't have much to talk about because most of the bands I played on this episode were fairly obscure. When you start to dive into the history of a lot of these bands, especially if you've pulled the tracks from various compilations, you begin to see patterns. Sometimes they only released one single or the "band" was actually just a bunch of studio musicians, for some reason the musicians worked under a pseudonym or maybe their name was so generic they got lost among all the other generically named bands, or they were simply a regional group that self-released and didn't get any national recognition. Regardless, a lot of these artists either don't really care anymore about a small band from their teens, they have no real presence on the internet, or frankly, they've died. Such is life. 

However, that's not to say everything I played on this episode was obscure. For example, you heard a song by The Critters and they had a few top hits during the late '60s including their most famous song Mr. Dieingly Sad. Later on, we ended the episode with The Jarmels' hit A Little Bit of Soap which was so popular that several cover versions also charted well. Garnet Mimms' version peaked at #95 on the Billboard charts, Paul Davis reached #52, and Nigel Olsson broke the top ten at #9. Of course, the version which most appeals to me the most is Daniel Johnston's Lo-Fi take on his album Respect. 

But if we're talking about popularity, you can't get much more popular than The Flintstones were in 1965. On episode 16 of season 6, Shinrock-A-Go-Go, you might recognize a tune by The Beau Brummels... (or should I say The Beau Brummelstones) Laugh Laugh. An animated version of the band plays the song several times on a parody version of the musical variety show Shindig! named Shinrock. 

The episode's main story line revolves around Fred Flintstone inadvertently creating several popular dance crazes including the "Flintstone Flop". However, what's most interesting about the episode is the lighthearted parodies of rock and roll tropes and the popular teen culture of the time with Shinrock's host, Jimmy O'Neillstone, who was voiced by the actual host of Shindig!, Jimmy O'Neill (clever?). The episode is worth checking out if you are a fan of music variety shows from that time period and as of writing this you can find the episode streaming for free on Tubi. Just watch out for Jimmy O'Neillstone's bizarre face which is too realistic for the Flintstones' aesthetic.

Yikes.

 

This episode's playlist can be found below:

 

Psycho - You Need Me
Crucibles - You Know I Do
Motion - The Thief
The Critters - No One But You

Bo diddley Flies Beyond The Black Rainbow - Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Tomato"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM you heard Bo Diddley play his song Aztec and I spoke a little about Diddley's love for strange guitars. When Diddley first started playing guitar he didn't have the funds to buy a real guitar so, as the famous story goes, Diddley made his first electric guitar by scrounging together parts including a pickup designed from an old Victrola record player's electronics. As time went on, Bo's early guitar building continued to inspire the designs of his many custom guitars with the most popular designs being produced by Gretsch. 

Bo Diddley live and on the covers of Have Guitar, Will Travel and Bo Diddley Is A... Lover

 

Some of Diddley's stranger guitars included built in effects, equalizers, synths, and featured wild shapes that, if we are being honest, looked like chopped up coffee tables. All that being said, Diddley was a great showman and his guitars reflected his innovative personality.

Later in the show you heard this week's far out movie recommendation; the 2010 psychological horror film Beyond the Black Rainbow! The film follows Dr. Barry Nyle, the lead researcher of an experimental new age facility which melds science and spirituality, and his mysterious captive test subject Elena. As the film progresses you are given short glimpses into the history of the facility and the roles Dr. Nyle and Elena play in the motivations behind its creation. Beyond the Black Rainbow is a fairly slow burn that bombards your senses with deep saturated colors and an ever-present droning soundtrack, however, the film lacks the usual hand-holding exposition dumps found in other science fiction horror films which leads the viewer to constantly question what will happen next. 

Red and Moody

 

Firstly, what I like about the movie is the sensory overload and claustrophobic closeups which are contrasted with the sprawling facility. The most obvious visual comparisons are to 2001: A Space Odyssey and THX-1138 but there are also scenes that remind me of the experimental horror film Begotten and during the later sections in the film, 80s slasher films such as the original Friday the 13th. Because the film had a fairly lean budget for its high cinematic aspirations, there are times that the abundance of tight shots and highly saturated lighting choices feel as though they aren't simply aesthetic choices but also practical ones. As you may know, the use of closeups and darkness can help conceal the lack of big budget set pieces. I wouldn't necessarily say that it negatively affects the film but I know there are probably people out there that would be turned off by such things.

Secondly, the soundtrack and ambient soundscapes in the film are relentless. There's hardly ever a moment of silence throughout the entire movie which is reminiscent of films like Eraserhead, or once again, Begotten, except with there's more synthesizer droning à la 80s John Carpenter. Some may find the soundtrack distracting but I really dug the way it built tension and if you are willing to watch this movie at a fairly decent volume, I feel that the soundtrack becomes an integral part of the setting. In fact, I'd even go so far to say that at times the soundtrack made me feel as though I should've been watching this film on VHS through an old CRT. 

However, and to me it's a big however, Beyond the Black Rainbow drops the ball at its conclusion. With a movie that's such a slow burn you need some sort of payoff at the end and instead the film subverts this expectation with a fairly abrupt and underwhelming ending. I could say that it was a fairly brave move but it comes off as hasty and rushed. I've seen other internet dweebs (besides myself) complain that the slasher-esque sequences felt out of place but my ultimate gripe would be that the film's ending doesn't follow the same pace as the rest of the film. I am completely okay with unexpected endings, in fact I usually find them refreshing, but I feel that the movie needed to give more attention towards what became of the telekinetically powered Elena. I'd rather not spoil the film for you so sorry if that's all a little vague.

 

 

If you like trippy movies like Altered States or heady 80s low budget horror then you'll probably find the movie worth your time, especially if you have a passing interest or appreciation of the dark side of New Age aesthetics. 

That's it for this episode! You can catch the next episode by tuning your radio into KUCR 88.3FM on Sundays at midnight or through KUCR.org! If you'd like you can also listen to KUCR through Radio Garden or Tune-In. As always, you also listen to this episode's playlist below:

 

Checking Out Some Washington Bands on The Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Celery"

Hey there buddy, did you happen to catch this week's episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM? Well, here's a bit of a summary of some of the things I talked about.

Sometimes these patterns form when you are putting a show together and you don't even realize it and this week, I ended up played a few bands from Washington. First you heard The Dimensions song Knock You Flat and I said that the band was from South Seattle. While researching the band I came upon a website that briefly mentioned that the band often played at a roller rink named the Lake Hills Roller Rink. As it turns out, the Lake Hills Roller Rink was somewhat of a cultural hub in the Bellevue's Crossroads area and maintained an active music scene well into the 80s where the musical focus shifted from garage rock, to psychedelic, and eventually heavy metal. The scene was started by KJR-AM (sadly a sports talk station now) DJ Pat O'Day who spoke a bit about the roller rink in 2018.

The next Washington band you heard was The Bandits, who came from Mercer Island, Washington, which is a short distance southwest from Bellevue. Mercer Island is known for being a more affluent region of the Seattle metropolitan area and, as is the case with most "well off" neighborhoods, it's a bit harder to find anything interesting culturally beyond real estate, shopping centers, or country clubs. However, for fans of public art, the island has a bunch of outdoor sculptures such as: the punny named Handsome Bollards at Luther Burbank Park which are aluminum hands that act as bollards, an oversized bronze rabbit which has a child leaned against it while reading a book named Between Two Worlds, and Kenton’s Dragon, a giant steel and concrete playground equipment dragon that replaced a similarly shaped sculpture that was also designed by Kenton Pies in 1965. 

Wrapping up the Washington bands, you also heard I'm Walkin' Babe by the Bellingham band The Unusuals. Bellingham has had a diverse music scene throughout the years but, without a doubt, the most famous band to come from Bellingham is Death Cab for Cutie which you may recognize from a cover of their song I Will Follow You into the Dark that you heard at your local coffee shop's open mic. If Death Cab isn't quite your musical style of choice and you dig bands like Pavement, Sebadoh, or Built To Spill you should check out a short-lived band from Bellingham named Crayon and more specifically their only full-length album Brick Factory. However, if you'd like to stick with a garage rock sound then I suggest listening to Mono Men's 1994 album Sin & Tonic. It's definitely more a product of the 90s than the bands you usually hear on the show but I feel like those types of bands also have their time and place. You can hear Mono Men briefly talk about hazardous bubbles which floated through Bellingham in the definitive documentary about grunge music, HYPE! (1996).

Thanks for reading the blog and be sure to listen to the show on KUCR 88.3FM on Sundays at midnight or through KUCR.org! If you'd like you can also listen to KUCR through Radio Garden or Tune-In.

Enjoy this episode's playlist below:

 

Adam's Recital - There's No Place For Lonely People
The Mysteries - Please Agree
Apollos - That's The Breaks
Research 1-6-12 - I Don't Walk There No More
Trespassers - Come With Me
The Spirits - So Sad
The Composers - I Had A Dream Last Night

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Star Fruit"

On this week's episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM I gave some tiny little glimpses into the history of some of the bands you heard, however, there are plenty of people that have written more concise articles that I'd like to share. 

Firstly, I played a song by The Collectors titled Make It Easy which has been on a bunch of compilations over the years and for good reason, it's a banger! Someone by the name of Haydn Jones has created a website with all the info you'd like to know about the group and I wish more band websites were like this. Everything is laid out where you'd expect it and there is a ton of flyers, press releases, and general information of the band's evolution over the years.

Next, you heard Finch play their song Let It Be and I mentioned that I couldn't find much information besides that the band was from Milwaukee, WI. The band appears to have been named after the two brothers in the group Tom and Scott Finch and, as of a few months ago, Scott is still making music in some capacity. Most information on the band comes through Scott's website and a brief mention on his All Music biography. Of course, for people of my generation, you might remember another band named Finch. But let's not dwell on that too much...

Finally, we'll just quickly go over some of the other bands I played. You heard The Next Exit's single Break Away but the band also played under several different names including: Pretty, Kansas City, and The Fabulous Four. Once again, Garage Hangover has a great write-up on the band(s) but, unlike most other websites, the comment section is also worth checking out. 

After that you heard English band The Birds, not to be confused with the American band known as The Byrds. What's most notable about the band is that it featured the early work of Ronnie Wood, who later went on to work with The Creation and a lesser-known band The Rolling Stones. If you listen to the show often you've definitely heard The Creation on the episodes named Potato, Mango, Eggplant, Nectarine, and Zucchini. 

That's about it for this post but be sure to check back for more weekly content and don't forget to tune in Sundays at midnight on KUCR 88.3FM in Riverside!

Listen to this episode's playlist below:

 

The Shanes - Let Me Show You Who I Am
Chrysalis - What Will Become Of The Morning
The Mourning Reign - Signed D.C.

Trippin' Out With Another State of Mind - Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Cranberry"

Did you tune into this week's episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM or did this week's episode tune into you? On this episode you heard a lot more psych stuff than usual but it felt like a nice change of pace, ya know? 

At the beginning of the show, you heard Vacuum Cleaner by Tintern Abbey, a band which has appeared on a bunch of compilations over the years despite having released only one single. Because of the single's rarity, original copies have been known to fetch prices up to a grand. If that doesn't quite fit in your budget, you can always check out the recently released compilation Beeside which features the band's complete recordings, including demos and unreleased masters. The compilation was put out by Cherry Red Record's Grapefruit imprint and you can tell there was a lot of love put into the release which comes on two discs and features a biographical insert. You can also see some photos from the band and their releases on a blog named Sir Henry at Horringer Court.

Later in the show you heard Talking To You, a song from another short-lived band, The Savage Resurrection. The band's only full length album has had a few re-releases over the years but not all copies are equal. If you want to hear some bonus rehearsal tracks you'll have to check out Mod Lang's release, though in my opinion, the bonus tracks aren't worth spending any extra dough if you can find another cheaper option. As of right now, you can listen to both Beeside and Mod Lang's version of The Savage Resurrection on Spotify.

On the last episode, I wrote about Lynn, Massachusetts and during my research I found out that Mike Ness was born there. Reading about Mike Ness reminded me of how some years back, I had seen an old worn out VHS copy of Another State of Mind, a documentary about the 1982 tour Social Distortion (Mike Ness' band) and Youth Brigade had throughout the US and Canada. The film was obviously a low budget affair, with poor audio and limited lighting, however, for the most part its production setbacks actually add to the ambience of the film. The movie's look and feel reflects the same principals the bands were trying to achieve; make something meaningful with what you have for the type of people that can appreciate it. 

Youth Brigade practices their song Fight To Unite

 

Throughout the film, Youth Brigade's Shawn Stern serves as a sort of anchor for the tour's DIY ethics and, although you can tell he knows the tour is likely to fail, you can't help but appreciate his ability to help organize two bands, setup shows in a pre-internet age, and deal with the logistics of a crappy bus while trying his best to keep everyone fed. Even when the tour is falling apart Stern displays a sort of punk wisdom as seen towards the middle of the film after the bands have played another show where the promoters refused to pay the bands what they were owed. The bands are obviously frustrated and are beginning to question whether or not they should continue with the tour and the interviewer asks Stern if the bands can find some sort of unity. Stern soberly replies with:

"What about unity? If you're hungry, nobody's unified. Yo know? Ha. If you got nothing to eat there's nothing to be unified about. You- you can't be fed on unity"

Dealing with another bus breakdown

 

There are a few moments of filler in the film, such as a bizarre instructional scene about dancing in mosh pits, some kids practicing stage dives at a local pool, and a quick aside at a punk themed Christian church but I wouldn't say they detract from the film overall. In fact, I'd say part of what makes the film really shine is how it presents the goofiness of punk scenes and how its participants can both be antagonistic towards society while also searching for communities of their own. The movie doesn't shy away from showing the silliness of dying your hair or putting on makeup or being a chucklehead with your friends on a bus. These people were young and had a lot of heart but through their interviews you can see they struggled to find their voices and at times had difficulty expressing why they felt punk music was the appropriate outlet for their angst. A reoccurring theme throughout each interview is that the kids were looking for something that was fun, somethings to do, and a way to release their aggression. You know, fairly basic teenage stuff. 

Similar to another film which I've covered before, Style Wars, Another State of Mind doesn't appear judgmental, nor does it try to present the participants as hard-asses that are bringing down the system through loud and fast rock and roll, riots, and spray paint. For the most part I avoid documentaries or biographical works that focus on punk subcultures because they tend to glorify punk's destructive nature or they build up musicians as if they were mythical, overdose resilient, sexual monsters when in reality, the vast majority of people in the scenes were low to lower middle class suburban kids that were trying to find somewhere to fit in. 

I guess it's kind of funny giving a punk documentary recommendation during a psychedelic episode but that's just the way it goes sometimes! Catch you guys next week!

Make sure your head is right and peep this episode's playlist below:

 

The Cinders - If You Ever

Superman Vs Lynn, Massachusetts!!! - Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Rhubarb"

During this week's episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM I played Richie's Renegades' song Don't Cry and, while there is little known about the band, we do know they come from Lynn, Massachusetts. Lynn has several sites to check out if you are ever in the area including: The Grand Army of the Republic Hall and Museum which has an overwhelming 1243 photographs of GAR members, as well as various Civil War artifacts, and also the Lynn Auditorium in which acts such as Peter, Paul, and Mary, Little Anthony & The Imperials, and Raphael have performed. 

K-Mart Parking lot scene from Joy (2015) and the location on Google Street View

 

Probably due to its proximity to Boston, Lynn has been used as a backdrop for a ton of films including: Joy (2015), Black Mass (2015), Surrogates (2009), and That's My Boy (2012). There's a classic look to the city which lends itself to period pieces while also having a contemporary Anytown, USA vibe.

Capitol Diner on Google Street View and a classy urination scene from That's My Boy (2012) 

Later on, during the show I waxed poetic about the 1940's Fleischer Superman cartoons and how Paramount provided the Fleischer's with an extremely large budget and ad campaign which was completely unheard of at the time. 

A great example of animators struggling to animate something unrealistic in a realistic setting

 

Fleischer's animators had struggled with animating realistic scenes in the past and Superman would prove exceptionally difficult due to the fact that they had to depict unrealistic scenes, such as robots capturing Lois Lane, in ways that looked natural. Despite these difficulties, the animators were able to create an animation which was so well received that it was nominated for an Academy Award in Best Short Subjects: Cartoons. 

 

There was a heavy reliance on rotoscoping throughout the series along with cinematic framing and composition which separated Superman from the Fleischer's other more traditional works. Due to their larger than average budget the team was able to plan out scenes more effectively and employ techniques such as airbrushing and double exposure which contributed to the series' unique look and feel. 

 

Although the series contributed to the downfall of Fleischer Studios it stands as a highlight of early animation's trajectory towards mainstream acceptance and success. Luckily the shorts are in the public domain so you can enjoy them freely without worrying about them being arbitrarily locked away in a hidden "vault" or subjected to bland recoloring. If you are interested in reading more about Fleischer Studios and their work on Superman, check out their chapter in Leonard Maltin's Of Mice and Magic, which features a ton of info on various animation studios from the silent era and beyond.

You can listen to this week's playlist below:
 

Richie's Renegades - Don't Cry
H.M. Subjects - Don't Bring Me Down
The Psychotics - If You Don't Believe Me, Don't
The Electras - This Weeks' Children

Recreating The Little Caesars Spaghetti Bucket

 

Back in 1992 Little Caesars was falling slightly behind the other major pizza chain titans Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza. According to Nation's Restaurant News' 1992 reports, Pizza Hut reigned supreme with a 27.8% share of the market, trailed by Domino's 14.8%, and Little Caesars' 13.5%. At the time, Caesars was targeting customers by creating larger budget friendly pizzas and side dish options forcing the other chains to compete by releasing their own oversized pizzas and by ramping up delivery speeds. During this greasy wild west like time, Little Caesars differentiated themselves by adding an unusual option to their menu: spaghetti in a bucket. The buckets came in three differently sized options including the largest one which was named "Big! Big! Bucket," a name that was reminiscent of their extra-large "Big! Big! Pizza." The spaghetti sauce was packaged separately and according to the Little Caesars' spokeswoman at the time, Sue Sherbow, the sauce was different from the sauce that was used for their pizza. 

Some low-res ads featuring spaghetti buckets

As of late there's been some hoopla over Little Caesar's sauce due to a series of viral videos "exposing" how it's made in the store. Back in 1993, customers were also sensitive towards the industrialized way food is made which is why it was important for Little Caesars to let customers know that they weren't just dumping old pizza sauce into their spaghetti. Realistically, customers should understand that fast-food and similar casual dining restaurants keep costs down by lowering waste, simplifying their menu, and streamlining preparation time. If you analyze any fast-food menu, you'll see that a lot of items share the same ingredients with only slight tweaks to make each item unique. In fact, I remember some years ago there was a Wendy's training video that went viral and most commenters focused on how the meat in Wendy's chili was made from burger patties that fell apart while cooking. The lines in particular that caught people's attention were:

"Never serve a burger that's looking ratty but if something goes wrong and your burger’s not right, there’s no need to get uptight. If the dry burg is broken or incomplete, that baby turns into chili meat."

Then again, maybe referring to ground beef as "ratty" or a "baby" had something to do with the repulsion.

Mmmm. Ratty baby chili.

 

Anyhow, when I sought to recreate the long-discontinued spaghetti (although I'm sure there is at least one franchised location holding out) I decided that I was going to ignore the fact that the sauce was "different" from the sauce used on the pizza. Of course, that's me assuming that the sauce used on the pizza is the same as the "Crazy Sauce" which you use as a dip for "Crazy Bread." 

Crazy Sauce

 

For my little experiment I ordered a "Crazy Combo" (one sauce and one order of "Crazy bread") with an additional six orders of "Crazy Sauce." Perhaps I could have ordered the sauce alone but with my endless social awkwardness I decided it made more sense to order the sauce with the bread because, who doesn't use a whole container of marinara sauce per bread stick? 

Always choose generic

 

As for the noodles I used Private Selection Italian Bucatini which is just a generic pasta from my local grocery store. The noodles plump up quite a bit during the cooking process which made them extremely filling. Was it accurate to the noodles used in Little Caesars's buckets? Doubtful, but in the end none of this really makes sense.

The sauce ponders its destiny

I boiled the noodles as you'd normal cook them, however, I decided not to add salt to the water because I assumed that the sauce would be salty enough on its own, which ultimately ended up being true. The noodles were left boiling for about ten minutes and were removed while they were still slightly al dente. I'm not sure how the noodles were made at Little Caesars but I'm assuming they were made in batches that were then placed inside a sort of electric chafing dish, much like you'd find at a buffet.

Don't judge me

 

Finally, I strained the noodles and added the sauce which, for me at least, wasn't quite enough. I have no reference for how much sauce would have been provided in a typical spaghetti bucket but, if for whatever reason you chose to recreate this dish, a 16 oz package of pasta might need more than 6-7 "Crazy" sauce containers. I'm not sure if the Little Caesars spaghetti buckets contained meat or not but it's possible that some sort of "meatballs" could've also rounded out the taste. 

Overall, the taste wasn't bad at all. It was a little sweeter than the average can or jar of marinara sauce that you'd get at a grocery store but I wouldn't say that it was vastly different. If I had used another container or two of "Crazy Sauce" I may have enjoyed it more but then again, I doubt Little Caesars would've provided the gallon of spaghetti sauce which I normally prefer. I do have to say, I think the quality of the noodles helped out more than anything. I liked the pasta's larger size, which although most likely not accurate to the original spaghetti bucket, helped make a hearty meal which I believe was the bucket's intended goal. 

Har. Har. Monkey likes da spetti.

 

Ultimately, it was an okay meal. Not great in any sense but it wasn't disgusting either which I assume was the average response towards the original "Big! Big! Spaghetti Bucket." When you think of budget pizza places, your mind can only go so far with the side dishes, and perhaps since spaghetti is more of a main dish and the cooking process involves boiling water, customers were immediately turned off. There are many ways to mess up spaghetti and it's not hard to imagine your order coming with under or overcooked noodles served with lukewarm pizza sauce in packaging that's akin to a mop bucket. 

I don't really suggest trying this out on your own but there are recipes out there that claim to come close to the taste of "Crazy Sauce" if you don't feel comfortable ordering a ton of sauce during your next trip to Little Caesars. If you do try it out let me know what you think and I'd also love to hear from people that tried the spaghetti buckets from Little Caesars when they were still available. Stay saucy!