#ftrea

"My homage to Donald Cooper, the scariest candy-man on Grace Street, was published in Soundzine's December 1983 issue." by F. T. Rea 

Classic 1980's line up for this show at Hard Times in 1982 (where Elephant Thai is now at Harrison & Cary). 

Art by F. T. Rea. Check out his work and blogs here.

FiftyPlus, October 2002 By F.T. Rea

"Twenty-two years ago, when it was generally accepted that large-scale outdoor rock ‘n’ roll events couldn’t be staged in Richmond, Chuck Wrenn put three fully-amplified bands, including the impeccably authentic Memphis Rockabilly Band, on a flatbed trailer in the cobblestone alley behind his back yard. It was the fourth edition of High on the Hog, Church Hill’s live music and pork-worshiping festival.

The 1980 event featured a serendipitous, career-defining moment for Wrenn. It began raining. Rather than lose momentum by shutting off the electricity and waiting out the downpour, host/emcee Wrenn broke out rolls of heavy-gauge transparent plastic. Soon, with the help of many happy hands, he had improvised a canopy to protect the stage and cover part of the yard. In effect, he wrapped the whole shebang. Yes, the show went on. With electric guitars wailing in defiance of the chilly rainstorm, the sense of common purpose felt by one and all was remarkable. And, Richmond’s best-known bartender and most indomitable impresario was emerging as the arbiter of what was valid to a generation of Richmond’s musicians and nightlife aficionados.      To this day, when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll, Chuck Wrenn remains Richmond’s kahuna."

Read the rest of the article here on F. T. Rea's blog here.

An article written by F. T. Rea in his blog Biograph Times.

"On August 26, 1982, Color Radio began beaming its signal to what its creators hoped would be an eager listening audience in Richmond and Henrico County. Those listeners needed to have a TV hookup via Continental Cablevision. That was the day Color Radio became the soundtrack behind Continental's color bars test pattern at Channel 36 ... so watching the television screen was optional. "