There's a film coming to the University of Cincinnati's Mainstreet Cinema on Friday, November 30th, with an important thesis which is that rock and roll was a contributing factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Communist party. Cincinnati native Doug Yeager, one of the producers of the film, "Free to Rock," will be at the screening. Doors open at noon, film begins at 1pm, Friday afternoon, November 30th, with a question and answer session with Doug Yeager immediately following.
During this one-hour special, Saturday evening, November 24th at 11pm on WVXU/WMUB, you'll hear a phone conversation recorded in WVXU's studio on November 1st with Brian O'Donnell and Doug Yeager. Doug begins by sharing his memories of booking local acts in clubs in Europe, and then being one of the owners of the Reflections rock club at Vine & Calhoun in Clifton which opened in 1970. They talk about some of the musicians who played there like Boz Scaggs, Seatrain, the Allman Brothers, YES, Long John Baldry, Edgar Winter & White Trash, Velvet Underground, Chuck Berry, Cheech & Chong, Martin Mull, Bonnie Raitt, Genesis, and Little Feat. He said that The James Gang was the very first booking with opening act guitarist Sandy Nassan. There are also stories about Popeye Maupin, how Pure Prairie League was signed to RCA, and trying to book Elton John.
Then, Doug goes into detail about how the film, Free to Rock, was started and the long process to get music rights and interviews with folks like President Jimmy Carter, the Beach Boys, Billy Joel, and many, many others who appear in the film which airs on PBS stations through 2019.
