Friday, February 10, 2012

A Curious Confluence

Nils Lofgren is a pretty cool guy. I kind of figured it before -- I mean, anybody who can claim legitimate membership in both Crazy Horse and the E Street Band has to be fairly impressive. But hearing him interviewed on GTB-heralded WXPN Thursday afternoon, I learned he's a solid, very humble dude who still speaks of the awe that it was and still is to play guitar onstage with Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and many other acclaimed rock and rollers.

But Nils is quite accomplished in his own right. His DC area band Grin and his solo work have garnered some critical kudos, and he's a respected guitarist in the business. If Rob's not a fan, he should be, what with Nils about an inch shorter than he is. All in all, Nils Lofgren isn't just an Italian-Swedish rock guitarist from DC with a cool name -- he's a fairly Gheorghey fellow.

All of that said, here's a pair of completely awesome Did You Know facts about Nils Lofgren. He grew up in Garrett Park, MD, not far from the District. In 1978, with the sad sack Washington Bullets surging in the standings en route to their only NBA title ever, Nils penned and recorded "Bullets Fever," a musical tribute to the team. It's fantastic.

I have uploaded the mp3 because I don't think it's available for purchase anywhere, but if someone can point me to a place where it is, I'll gladly delete this song. (And buy a copy immediately.) You can also go to Wizznutz's jukebox that features more than one version of the song, and go read more about Nils and the song here at Mohut.



The second piece of trivia is even closer to home for many on the GTB roster. Also back in the 1970's, Nils also wrote and recorded the jingle for Jhoon Rhee's TaeKwonDo studios -- a locally famous song and commercial featuring "Nobody Bothers Me" as the catchy chorus/slogan. Jhoon Rhee is known as the Father of American TaeKwonDo, but more pertinently, he is also known as the father of Chun Rhee. Chun is the little boy winking at you in Nils' TV ad below, and he's also one of our fraternity brothers. Like Nils, he's a humble guy, even as he knows he can floor you with the one-inch punch and put his foot through your face in half a second. He's running the Jhoon Rhee TKD studios these days, so sign up today so that nobody bothers you.




22 comments:

Danimal said...

i remember the commercials, with fondness. jhoon rhee was even famous in winchester.

i saw this clip at early this a.m. and said, "this guy's going to be famous by next monday."
it's a little long, but arguably worth the investment. if you can't watch the whole thing, watch the last minute. he just might be from winchester.

http://tinyurl.com/6sprbwb

Dave said...

i will invite the entire g:tb gang the next tiem my buddy plays at the bbq place. best bbq i've ever had north of the mason dixon line.

does anyone remember nils lofgren beating howard stern in a 1 on 1 basketball game? did i hallucinate this event, or did it really happen sometime back in the early '90's?

rob said...

i'm trying not to buy in to the jeremy lin overhype, but he's making it hard

Mark said...

Just remember, Rob. Every PG lights up the Lakers. Derek Fisher is 92 and Steve Blake has aged in dog years over the past 2-3 years. That said, he is making a very compelling case for believing in him (at least somewhat) these past four games.

Shlara said...

I've been at a work retreat and am just now catching up with GTB. Teej, I can't believe you botched the Wizards GM question...we've discussed this. We need Sam Presti but he won't leave OKC so we'll take one of his proteges, and extend the RC Buford lineage in DC. I also thunk Larry Brown could make a tour stop as a GM/coach here.

Or I like Rob's idea of giving me the job. Will need to hire a salary cap specialist though---which one of you is good with numbers?

Mark said...

Shlara...TJ was drunk when you went over things with him. And he's drunk now.

Marls said...

Partying with Nils in Landover MD circa 1978 would have rocked.

If not for Jeremy Lin, I might have Les Boullez fever now.

I met Chun several times. Super nice guy and the NOVA ladies loved him. Always found it amusing that if he wanted to he could hook up with any girl from the DC area based on that ad alone. Early lesson in the power of pseudo celebrity.

Dave said...

lofgren did play howard stern. here's his musical performance after he defeated him.

http://youtu.be/x6FffAS5UZc

Clarence said...

Rob just alerted me to the fact that Hightower is on TV again. Rugby Sevens in Vegas, NBC now.

rob said...

hightower just called someone a 'big unit'. nice.

Dave said...

i am not mentally equipped to deal with feminism over on SoD.

Dave said...

i thought hightower had a pretty deep voice but he sounds kind of nerdy and high pitched on tv.

Dave said...

and i mention this only because i know he doesn't read g:tb.

rob said...

what in the heck is happening in williamsburg?

zman said...

Probably something colonial and old timey.

T.J. said...

RIP Whitney Houston

Clarence said...

Looks like there's a new Most Popular Whitney...

rob said...

a. whitney brown?

rob said...

and seriously, jeremy lin, stop it already.

Dave said...

i sang a lot of public whitney houston tonight-- i'm not sure if i'll ever get away with that again . . .

Clarence said...

Dave, Whitney Houston caused me a lot of anguish in the 80's. Never sing her again.

Clarence said...

Hi, Gheorghies!!