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Joe Dulanie is a road-trip kind of guy. The dude has been all over, and is willing to go anywhere, just for the experience.
I, meanwhile, have been trying to find some time to paint — I’m up to 4 or 5 at a shot now. Just about all of them are rock-and-roll-related. So I figured: Why not?
After all, I’ve been a music freak since I was a kid. I got a job at 13 just so I could feed my habit.
Sure, I had singles — what kid our age didn’t? But there was nothing like buying an album. You brought it home, read all the liner notes, admired the artwork — and, of course, listened to the music.
Today, I still hang with musicians. I admire their work and capture what images I can on canvass. I’m also very responsible, to my family and my job.
But actually going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
We left around 9 o’clock on a Friday night. We had eight hours ahead of us, but Joe was going to be the driver and I was thrilled to play deejay.
We headed out on Route 80 and were in Pennsylvania before we knew it. What I didn’t realize was how BIG Pennsylvania really is. A few annual trips to Philly doesn’t exactly qualify me as a geographical expert.
It was dark. Rainy. Foggy. So we eventually packed it in and stopped for the night. But we were up early and on the road again.
Your R&R reporters: Lynn & Joe
Turned out to be a blessing. What seemed like treacherous going at night was a glorious ride in the daylight — so many mountains and greenery, all against the backdrop of our favorite music.
We reached Cleveland about 2 in the afternoon. After a long nap at the hotel, we made dinner reservations and went gallivanting.
My first thought as we drove around were: “Where is everyone?”
It’s a relatively small city, not much bigger than Newark. Within walking distance of one another is the Browns football stadium, the Indians baseball stadium, the Cavaliers basketball arena, and the R&R Hall!
We read through some magazines to find something to do after dinner at Johnny Q’s, but it seemed everything shut down between 5 and 5:30. There was a jazz festival in town, but good luck trying to find the venues. We called the number on a billboard. They were less than helpful.
When you grow up just outside the greatest city in the world, the center of the universe, you’re a little thrown when you can’t find any action after 8 o’clock.
There was an advantage, though: Early to bed, early to ROCK AND ROLL!
I’d always wanted to go, but it was just one of those things. Joe had been there before, so he was the perfect guide.
My very first impression was that it’s a beautiful building — and my second was that it wasn‘t crowded at all!
Then I got my first disappointment of the day: “NO PICTURES BEYOND THIS POINT!”
UGH! I am a FAN.. I wanted to take pics of EVERYTHING. So the big camera I brought along just for this visit got checked with our jackets. (I did keep a little camera stashed away — ssssshhhhh).
As we took the first turn into the tour, there was the familiar awning of CBGB’s, straight from the Bowery. I felt a surge of memories, great memories, and a touch of sadness that it‘s gone. No one again will ever have that experience.
The first exhibit was of famous guitars — Eddie “Summertime Blues” Cochran’s, Muddy Waters‘s, Duane Allman‘s. Then, coming around the case, I swear I heard angels sing as I came face-to-fret with the favored ax of none other than Mr. Jeff Beck.
Of course, that was just for starters. A great warmup act, if you will. The building is a pyramid shoe. Six levels. Each more interesting than the one before.
“Rocking All Over The World” (which takes its name from a John Fogerty song) was cool. Music from Detroit, Memphis, Liverpool, San Francisco, Seattle. You don‘t need me to tell you what bands came from those places.
Then came the “Legends of Rock,” followed by an awesome interactive exhibit: “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.” There are these jukebox-looking computers, and you can press buttons for different artists and their songs to discover who inspired them. If you‘re like me, you could spend the entire day there.
There was more to see, though: “Rave On,” which covered the early years, and “Hang On Sloopy” — music from Ohio(!).
What a joy it was to find an exhibit dedicated to Les Paul and his amazing guitars. There were videos of New Jersey’s greatest guitarist, who only died recently, and his wife, Mary Ford. I got a little teary looking at some of his guitars, recalling how he just kept on playing — beautifully, too — until he couldn’t play anymore.
To me, he will always be around.
For pure fun, there’s an exhibit devoted to the evolution of audio tech — from the old transistor radios to the iPod. Another favorite of mine was a room filled with television screens, entitled — what else? — “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Turns out, it’s all about the history of MTV.
At this point, you’re only just making it to the third floor, which houses theaters that continuously show clips from Hall of Fame inductions. We skipped that one. Can find most of those on YouTube, anyway.
On the 4th floor is “The Wall.” As in: Pink Floyd. Large characters form the huge white wall, with some quotes from Roger Waters. Very intense. I needed to sit down to take it all in.
Jerseyans will love the upper levels — which include a Bruce Springsten exhibit. I walked around with a little attitude in my step, a sense of pride. Jersey!!!
We also visited the “Alan Freed Show” studio. The man credited with coining the term “rock and roll” is honored by a radio show, broadcast from the Hall, that goes out over Sirius radio.
None of these little notes does the Hall justice, of course. There are the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band uniforms, exhibits featuring Prince, Jimi, Janis — and, of course, Elvis. So much to see. You literally could spend days.
And if you don’t mind the drive, it’s a pretty cheap trip.
We got a deal at the Doubletree on Lake Erie that included breakfast, tickets to the Hall, parking and a shuttle that would have taken us back and forth — if the museum wasn‘t only a block away!
I’ve never been much of the road-trip chick. But after this, who knows? Maybe I’ll be goin’ to Graceland.
If I do, you guys will the first to know.
Visit The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website for hours and upcoming events.
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