Happy Fathers Day

My Dad was born in Yugoslavia and came to this country from a refugee camp with the rest of his family in 1952 and settled in Gary Indiana.

He learned the language, went to school, worked multiple jobs to help support the family. Served in the US Army where he met my Mom while stationed in Germany then she came to this country as well.

It is without question that my hustle is inspired by him. Once discharged from the Army he ended up at US Steel in Gary and then they started our family. He opened up a TV Repair Shop and ran that when he was not working in the mill. From a provider standpoint he busted his ass when he got here "fresh off the boat"

Sent my Sisters and I to Catholic School and was always working on something. I would sit in his TV shop amazed at the stuff he was working on sometimes still in his clothes from the mill. Until him and my Mom split, we never did without. Also, his unmentioned generosity with regards to his siblings and such is immeasurable.

So when you see my posts of always working Indiana Grand/Peppers and rarely getting any sleep you now know where I get it from. You get up and get out and provide leaving little room for excuse not to.

Lots of times I get asked from my family, friends & co-workers "Man, I don't see how you do it" my answer is simple "My Dad did it"

Happy Fathers Day, Anthony Bodo

So about last night

To the Righteous Oaks Ballroom..

I've played venues all over the place, worked for NFL, NCAA & Big Ten Events, been on the radio just to name a few things I've done professionally. Google "iamalexb" if u need a credibility check

Tonight was the most unprofessional group of people I've worked with in my life. I wouldn't return even if I was paid double and trust me, I ain't cheap!

And they said..

Alex was present for two hours of the entire event… His substitute DJ arrived two hours late, the speakers were crackly and disruptive during the speeches, and the other DJ didn't play any music for the guests while setting up his reception lights until reminded...Probably 15 or 20 minutes after the guests were back in the ballroom. Alex may not be cheap, but just because you played some big places doesn't mean you know how to hire a DJ to replace you or have any idea how many of the policies of our facility were broken and pushed and questioned repeatedly before the level of rudeness to staff was such that we shut the bar down until the bride and groom could get things under control. The bar has been open from 530 until 9 o'clock at that point… It was shut down an hour before it was scheduled to close. The couple elected not to reopen. It was completely up to them at all times. We do not run our facility like a bar or nightclub… And the vast majority of our clientele appreciate that our conservative approach maintains a decorum and quality to the experience of our families on a special day. By all means if you want a free-for-all, the Oaks is not for you. If you want to have a beautiful celebration where your liability is protected and the quality of your event is insured, then you'll see this review for what it is. We certainly missed our house DJ tonight…

And I said..

 I don't think anyone wanted a "free for all" so maybe you should just turn it back into a Church since you want to run it that way. To have someone tell me they wanted to "talk to me" because I made the entire audience laugh is ridiculous.

As I was trying to finish the garter toss and this lunatic owner is yelling at my partner in front of everyone is more like a "free for all" than anything you allege.

I'm sorry you missed your "house Dj" tonight. Hopefully he had a nice night off building up his iTunes library to gouge the next client that may not want to venture past Wilkinson Indiana to have a better time.

Purple Rain And..

I hate when media says "the purple rain singer" when they talk about Prince and his passing. I know that is the most identifiable album in his career but wait, there is more..

When he released his first album he didn't have musicians brought in from the record label, he didn't have any crazy financing. In fact he played all 27 instruments himself to get the record done. He plays 27 INSTRUMENTS people!

Since he hit the scene is 1978, it went something like this..
Studio albums 39
Live albums 4
Compilation albums 6
Video albums 17
Music videos 136
EPs 13
Singles 104
Remix albums 1

So now some possible drug use may overshadow the accomplishments and genius that he was and still will be for a long while. There are plenty of today’s musicians that use drugs for various reasons but everyone seems to ignore that. As long as we have music to listen to or a concert to attend, we ignore it until something fatal happens then people jump on the bandwagon of “drug addict” and all the other negative name calling that goes with the stigma

Anyone that knows anything about Prince would know he was always making music non-stop, touring and his “pop up concerts” that happen and turn into almost all night party. So with those demands put on by himself and his hungry fans wanting more, is it that unrealistic if he was “medicating” to continue at the pace that he was? It’s not like he dropped off the planet and was playing video games and shooting up like when Alice in Chains lead singer was found.

If the overdose story was true think about leading up to it. He was scheduled to play Atlanta and had to cancel because he was sick. He rescheduled to make everyone happy, played his ass off and obviously may have overdone it on painkillers after the show. He wasn’t just flying around getting high, he was in true pain to keep up. If you have ever been to a Prince concert (I’ve been to 6), you will know what a product he delivers

I am not condoning or cursing the situation but, he is not the only person famous or non that might have been in the situation to medicate to keep going. I chose to remember the genius that was Prince and not judge whatever may have aided him along the way..

Been a LONG while

Man it has been ages since I have had a few free minutes. Standby