I’m back intact from my week-long trip up in the Pacific Northwest. I really had a fantastic time up there this time. The LOUIE FEST was a lot of fun, and I’m very grateful to have so many good friends that made it such an enjoyable time.
One of the last things I decided to do in the Pacific Northwest, after visiting Music Millennium, one of the great record stores in Portland, was check out the location for Mark Lindsay‘s new Rock and Roll Cafe.
I took a few photographs outside the building, and saw that people were scurrying around inside, working frantically to add all the final touches before the official opening – this Monday, August 27th.
I asked if I might be able to take a closer look, and I was invited to come inside the building. As luck would have, I ran into Deb Lindsay, Mark’s wife, who took me on a personal tour of the facility, showing me all sorts of really cool things.
There’s going to be a lot of really fun memorabilia displayed at this place – guitars, gold records, posters, letters from fans, and a lot of photographs from his days with Paul Revere & the Raiders. With a custom-built radio station in the front window of this cafe, Mark will be able to do his show live for CBS Radio’s K-HITS.
There’s a lot of things I really like about this new restaurant. It’s close to a movie theater, and it feels like a music museum without the admission charge. My favorite part of this place is the bar, which has a ceiling plastered with cover art from Pacific Northwest albums. You can stare straight up at the ceiling and see images of Nirvana, the Sonics, Mudhoney, Heart, Pearl Jam, and a whole bunch of other musicians that did very well for themselves. It’s a really nice effect. (By the way, be sure to say “hi” to the smiling Laura, who’s in the center of this photo, as I told her she would be on this webpage.)
LOUIE LOUIE will certainly be acknowledged at this cafe. There’s a glass display dedicated to fellow Portland musicians The Kingsmen, who had the national hit using the same recording studio, within a week or two of the recording of LOUIE LOUIE by Paul Revere & the Raiders. If there was any actual rivalry between the two bands, I certainly didn’t see any evidence of such a relationship at this little display.
If I didn’t have to race back home to prepare for a Burning Man adventure, I’d stick around Portland for this big opening on Monday, August 27th. Future events include some Oregon Hall of Fame ceremonies and probably some film premieres. Who knows… maybe we’ll bring THE MEANING OF LOUIE premiere party to this fine venue?
For more details on this new restaurant, be sure to check out MarkLindsay.com and Mark’s MySpace page.
If you visit, be sure to tell ’em LOUIE sent cha!
Does Mark have any kids?
not that i’ve ever heard. usually the question put to mark is, do you and deb have kids, and his response is usually that they have furry kids–meaning their 1cats of which he has posted photos.