Last Saturday, my friend Jeff “Stretch” Riedle returned to the stage to finish an incomplete show that occurred three months earlier when he experienced a cardiac arrest, and his life could have easily ended that night.
Luckily, his death was not meant to happen. With the heroic efforts of a dear friend Wendy Lang, who was able to perform CPR, an efficient ER team and some excellent heart surgeons, Jeff survived.
On February 17, 2018, Stretch and his New Shockwaves returned to the stage at the East Cliff Brewery, Santa Cruz, California to finish that incomplete show.
The first song of that show was “Red Triangle,” and I’ve got some video of that particular performance I’d like to share with all of you.
As most of the loyal followers of this website probably know, Jeff “Stretch” Riedle was the man whose efforts jumpstarted the LOUIE LOUIE revival during the 1980s. He was the KFJC disc jockey that created the LOUIE LOUIE radio shows that led to the “Maximum: LOUIE LOUIE” marathon event of 1983 that was literally reported all over the world. Over 800 unique versions of the song were played at this 63 hour event, and it led to the initial video production that became the starting point for the documentary project that this website is based on.
While Stretch is recovering quickly, and has received some wonderful financial support from generous donors via GoFundMe, there are still some unpaid bills that need to be dealt with. If any generous souls are able to provide additional donations to his GoFundMe campaign, that would be a wonderful thing.
To recycle a wonderful quote by Rockin’ Robin Roberts…
“Let’s give it to ’em, RIGHT NOW!”
VISIT
Jeff “Stretch” Riedle Medical Fund on GoFundMe
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Reference Links:
Fundraiser for Stretch Riedle (aka “give the drummer some”) – LOUIEs of the Week
KFJC Maximum LOUIE memories – LOUIE of the Month
Anniversary of KFJC Marathon – LOUIE of the Week
More on the KFJC marathon + 50th Anniversary
THANK YOU EP AND ALL WHO ASSISTED ME TO GET TO THIS DAY!
Stretch