Had a fun afternoon spinning 45s for Charles Phoenix’s Holiday Jubilee book signing at the amazing Valley Relics Museum’s 11th Annual Car Show and Toy Drive. Thanks, Charles and Tommy!
A visit to Rainbo Records
What a thrilling and emotional experience it was taking a tour of the soon-to-be closed, historic Rainbo Records. Started in 1939 by Jack Brown, Rainbo Records grew from a small business making cardboard recording blanks for home use to a world-known manufacturer of CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records.
Rainbo Records made the Wheaties “Record-On-A-Box”, the Disneyland Talking Map, and the discs used in Chatty Cathy Talking Dolls.
Among the artists Rainbo has made product for include Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Monkees, Milton Berle, Redd Foxx, The Ventures, Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, and on and on. I am so happy I got the chance to visit this L.A./ San Fernando Valley music industry landmark. Thanks so much to Steve Sheldon, Rainbo Records president, who gave such a wonderful tour. You can read about the history at their website.
Photos: Rainbo Records exterior on a rainy morning; Steve Sheldon, Rainbo Records president, displaying a Rainbo-made Elvis gold flexi 78 rpm; inside the facility; displays of the many unusual records that they made; the amazing floor in the lobby.
94th Aero Squadron Gig
It was a fun and beautiful evening for slinging sides of shellac at a client appreciation mixer at the amazing and historic 94th Aero Squadron at the Van Nuys Airport.
If you haven't been, you really must check it out. It's a WW I themed restaurant designed to look like a French chalet, complete with a biplane in the parking lot and a bombed out bunker patio. With a killer view of the runway at the Van Nuys Airport, you can watch private jets and antique aircraft take off and land while enjoying a happy-hour cocktail or meal.
It was a pleasure to bring my rare 1930s-1950s 78s to this great space. The set included sides from Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Wingy Manone, Billie Holiday, Django Reinhardt, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Jordan.
