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Alan

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About Me

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Alan Levy is one of the few people that I know that would definitely beat me in a music trivia contest.

Steve McKewin, Regional Marketing Director of Rhino/Warner Music Group Special Projects and Director of Football Pool Camaraderie, who's daughter dances on my feet. I saw his wife first.

Alan Levy could save your life someday. Maybe hundreds of lives. Thousands even. In fact, had circumstance been right, Alan Levy might have prevented 9/11. How? Well, though he's loathe to brag about it, I happen to know that in a pinch, Alan can safely fly a large airliner. "What?!?!" you say?
Allow me to explain: I know this because at a previous airline, in addition to flying, I also instructed other pilots in the simulators , and my favorite job related perk was having friends and family out, and letting them try their hand at flying a Boeing. So one evening a few years back, Alan and our mutual friend, Murry from the Old 97's , joined me for a night of... well... simulation. And we're not talking Microsoft Flight Simulator on a laptop; no this was a real B-727 cockpit , and full-motion, full-audio, full-visual simulation. Two minutes at the controls and you forget you're on the ground.
I gave Alan and Murry a five minute short course in Pilot 101 before we got started, and just turned them loose. They flew by hand, the old fashioned - and dare I say manly - way, while I offered only a tip here and there. For three hours they took off, they flew, they landed. They flew in rain and storms, and they lost engines. IIRC, there was even a barrel-roll performed at one point.
Murry's a train guy, so he can be forgiven for having crashed. OK, so he generally crash-landed on the airport well enough that there might have even been quite a few survivors, but Alan... Why, Alan was able to repeatedly get the thing down on the ground safely. It was very impressive.
The moral: If you are ever on a flight with Alan, and Murry Hammond, and the flight attendant comes on the P.A., choking back sobs and frantically asking if anyone onboard knows how to fly, do not let the otherwise talented Murry go in the cockpit. You will probably die. Instead save yourself and let Alan Levy take the wheel. If there are hijackers involved, don't be a baby: Get some volunteers , overpower them, and then let Alan take the wheel. Lives are at stake here, people. Let Alan fly!
Plus, Alan once let me slide for over two years on a $20 bet I lost with him. Now that's a good friend. And a great guy.

Frank Early - Administrator of www.old97s.com and pilot extraordinaire! One of the few people who's allegiance to all things College Station I can overlook. Hook 'em!

I have made my share of "Alan is old" jokes in the past. My joke line usually consists of him growing up with sticks for toys or the fact that he may have voted for FDR. The truth is, Alan will never be old. It isn't because he tries to live vicariously through the nation of idiots (the one I belong to) that are lucky enough to call him a friend. The graying hair and the glasses used for trivia give no real indication what this lovely man is truly about. Alan is still enough of a jack ass to laugh at inside jokes ranging from Ali G to Mayor McCheese, but he is more of a friend than a buddy. Alan is all heart and that is what keeps him young. He wears his heart on his sleeve and sheds tears over the loss of friends, families and familiar hangouts. If you want to know what he thinks, just ask him. Every time I have the opportunity to hang out with Alan I am amazed by his knowledge (of all things), generosity, friendliness, drinking, advice, thoughtfulness and his inability to get over the Ry Cooder question on Trivia.

Blake Reedy - Schoolteacher to the challenged, former marketing maven for the Frisco Roughriders and the body and spirit of Douchey, the alcohol-sweating Roughriders mascot, and all 'round good soul.

Alan is spider friendly and always has open doors. Plus, he's the only person who can actually improve a coke float or rootbeer float...by making it alcoholic! Alan The Unconditional always has your back!

Suzanne Russell - Current student of Photoshop, former barista and seller of canned music, sharer of at least one perfect moment and a delight to have in one's life.

I have known Alan now for what seems like 47 years. I am still learning things he's known from birth. But my favorite bit of Alan's is the Christmas CD some of you may not have been in on (though I doubt it, he's generous to a fault). It wasn't so much that he made a CD (and not like you kids today, he actually went to a lot of trouble and thought about the thing) but more that he was giving at a time when everyone is but few are caring about how they do it. What was evident about Alan through those CDs and is still evident about Alan through his personality, charm, and demeanor is that he (unlike almost all the rest) really does give a shit. It's so great to be his friend, and almost anyone can be. Just ask him nice.

Robert Jenkins, Esq. - defender of drug dealers and, increslinglingly enough, dear friend to not only myself, but one Rhett Miller - he of Old 97s fame. This of course is the brickbat of a fact that dear Robert carries with him and will bludgeon you with it without notice. He's a good boy....

Alan Levy saved my life. I, wandering around confused and sad for years looking for the title and artist of a song that had haunted me, had all but given up. At a Festivus celebration in December of 2006, during a conversation on music related topics, I was made aware of Alan’s encyclopedic knowledge of music. I decided to hum and sing the melody of the elusive song. Within 4 notes, the title was stated, quickly followed by the artist and date of release! The next morning I did the search and download. It was as if the heavens had parted as the song played. "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited! Oh, sweet nectar! It was the best Festivus gift I had ever received. I would like to see a statue of Alan Levy erected in Dallas & this should happen soon.

Darin Robinson- Bon Vivant and Man About Town, Mumbles guitarist and menthol smoker. Also very funny!

My Interests

MUSIC!!

Baseball


Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.

As well as Film, Live Theater, Books, Art, Golf, Sleeping, Chili Mac, Pho, Pizza at Louie's...

I'd like to meet:


NO DOUCHEBAGS!

Music:

Nearly everything except Polka and Dixieland Jazz is cool with me, though the Blues is kind of a beating sometimes too. My favorite artist, though, is

Bruce Springsteen

as well as...

The Beatles, and...

Todd Rundgren

And then there's

The Bangles

How's about

Wilco

And of course...

Paul Weller (The Jam, the Style Council and solo)

I can't forget...

The Jayhawks (RIP)

Also: Sorta, The Byrds, Sparrows (RIP), Slobberbone (RIP), The Drams, Fountains of Wayne, Steve Wynn, Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Bros., Midlake, Led Zeppelin, 1st and 2nd British Invasions, Glam, Uncle Tupelo, Old 97's, Dylan, Byrds, The Who, Flaming Lips, Otis Redding, Blue Rodeo, Garage Rock, Rolling Stones, Flaming Groovies, Fred Astaire, The Who, Robert Palmer, Prince, Frank Sinatra, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly & the Family Stone, Otis Redding, The Long Ryders, Wondermints, Neil Young with and without C, S & N and vice versa! Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, Warren Zevon, Nick Drake, Rod Stewart and Faces, Golden Smog, The Replacements, Big Star, Earth, Wind and Fire, Mos Def, Parliament/Funkadelic, Brian Eno, The Band, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Les McCann, Beach Boys, Isley Bros., Patsy Cline, Dwight Yoakam, Stereolab, Ryan Adams, Esquivel, Chicago, Yes, The Clash, Blue Oyster Cult, R.E.M., U2, Iggy Pop, Talking Heads, The High Llamas, The Real Heroes, Grand Funk Railroad, Kool & the Gang, Charles Mingus, The Monkees, Pink Floyd, k. d. lang, Eminem, Snoop, Mel Torme, Pixies, Neko Case. Lindsay Buckingham, Roseanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Nick Cave, Guy Clark, Jefferson Airplane and early Jefferson Starship, The Guess Who, Louis Jordan, Leonard Cohen, Jaco Pastorius, Southside Johnny, Rodney Crowell, XTC, Marshall Crenshaw, Alice Cooper, Jo Jo Gunne, Lone Justice, War, the Pretenders, Kelly Wilis, Humble Pie, Ian Hunter, Joe Ely, The J. Geils Band, Brad Mehldau, Jimi Hendrix, Chris Isaak, The Velvet Underground/Lou Reed, The Four Tops, Tony Joe White, Simply Red, Peter Frampton, Hall & Oates, Foghat, Roxy Music, Simon and/or Garfunkle, Ricky Scaggs, Slobberbone, Ivy, The James Gang, Johnny Rivers, Television, Echo and the Bunnymen, Whiskeytown, Public Enemy, Dave Edmunds, The Spinners, Nick Lowe, Squeeze, T. Rex, The Manhattan Transfer, Van Morrison, George Jones, Carole King, Lloyd Cole, Aretha Franklin, Thin Lizzy, Queen, The Temptations, Doug Sahm, Dusty Springfield, Beulah, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Jesse Malin, Sloan, Billy Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Theivery Corporation, Jamie Cullum, Ben Folds w/wo Five, Cheap Trick, Al Green, Chet Baker, AC/DC, Bill Evans, Jason & the Scorchers, Tom Waits, Tom Petty, Isaac Hayes, Pete Townshend, Graham Parker, Everything But the Girl and a whole bunch more!!

I've been listening to:

These folks have been rockin' my world the past week:

These are some of my favorite records of all time. Click on each for more information.

Movies:


Once Upon a Time in America
Leon - The Professional, Some Like It Hot, Apocalypse Now Redux, Lord of the Rings, Love and Death, Kelly's Heroes, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Casablanca, Thin Man series, Waiting for Guffman, Spinal Tap, Best in Show, Dr. Strangelove, Star Wars (first 3), Krzysztof Kieslowski, Diner, The Right Stuff, Philadelphia Story, High Society, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Kingpin, Field of Dreams, The Natural, Rhubarb, Napoleon Dynamite, any Coen Brothers, Stranger Than Paradise, Office Space, Mystery Train, Chicago, Aria, Down By Law, Bertolucci's 1900, The Last Emperor, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, Godfathers I & II, The Freshman, High Fidelity, Almost Famous, The Last Waltz, La Femme Nikita, Blade Runner, Something the Lord Made, 61, Happy Gilmore, The Doll Maker, Jackie Browne, Pulp Fiction, Superfly, Taxi Driver, Wings of Desire, Quadrophenia, The Mambo Kings, The Big Bus, any Akira Kurasawa, Goodfellas, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, La Belle et La Bete, Monty Python's Life of Bryan and Holy Grail, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Shakes the Clown, Dogma, Breaking Away, Brother From Another Planet, Splash, Battleship Potemkin, Cool Hand Luke, The Scarlet Pimpernel (original 1934 version), Strange Brew, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, To Kill a Mockingbird, One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest, The Longest Day, The Great Escape, All About Eve, The Big Sleep, Betty Blue...

Television:


24
Heroes
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (RIP), Flight of the Conchords, American Dreams (RIP), Prison Break, My Name is Earl, The O.C., The Daily Show, Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Rome, Futurama, Boston Legal, House, Lost, NUM3ERS, Subterranean, Seinfeld, Conan, The Office, Da Ali G Show, Six Feet Under, Carnivale, Deadwood, The Sopranos, Austin City Limits, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Ken Burns' Baseball, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Blackadder, The Ben Stiller Show, SCTV, Star Trek in every incarnation, WKRP in Cincinnati, M.A.S.H., South Park, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Rick Bayless' Mexico - One Plate at a Time, Freaks and Geeks, Green Acres, Hogan's Heroes, The Partridge Family, Shindig, American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Late Night with David Letterman, Sanford and Son, In Living Color, Laugh-In, Fawlty Towers, Dark Shadows, Where the Action Is, My So-Called Life, Johnny Quest, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Looney Tunes, Top Cat, Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast, General Hospital, One Life to Live, Jeopardy, Where the Action Is

And As For Radio...


especially THE HARDLINE !

Books:

CHRISTOPHER MOORE

Click on the dustjackets to read an excerpt from the books at Amazon.

Heroes:

Mrs. Ethel Levy (deceased) and all single mothers who decide to take on the responsibility of raising their child(ren) on their own and mold those children into adults with the same good hearts, minds and sense of compassion and love.