Between 1959 and 1960, the Quarrymen, named after the Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool played in seedy bars where the screaming and fighting was louder than the band. They went through several transitional names while honing their act—including Johnny and the Moondogs, Long John and the Silver Beetles, and the Silver Beatles... I think you know where this story goes?
Hey I played in bands, it happens. You're gonna play to some yawning crowds until you have your groove. I remember a sad Sunday night in San Jose at a dive bar near the railroad tracks where there were more people on our stage than in our audience. We were "Nobody's". But another band I was in packed homes, then bars, then large rock clubs, and we even enjoyed the stage at a couple packed stadiums. (I put my arm around Dick Clark and asked him to get us on the radio -- he responded with a statement that made me shiver... "You gotta get a hit".)
40 years later... still trying.
But me and the Moondogs were not president of the United States of America. A man that is broadcast on TV and Networks 24 hours a day. A man who's every word is transcripted and conveyed to every country on Earth.
Trump was in ear-shot of billions of people when he announced his "Great American State Fair.". It took place from June 25 to July 10, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and was organized by a Trump-backed nonprofit named "Freedom 250" to celebrate the United States' semiquincentennial (250th) birthday.
The majority of musical acts, mostly one-hit wonders from the 90s, backed out when they realized the event presented to them as a celebration of our country was shaping up to be nothing more than another self-adoring Trump rally.
Trump's pinnacle event turned out to be a major flop. The event drew sparse crowds and early closures and people probably couldn't hear Trump's elongated "me me I I" speech due to snickering in the audience.
Trump of course blamed the failure due to "sweltering heat and severe weather". To which I respond:
"Hey, Donny... people were bathing in mud and cow patties at Woodstock! Van Halen sold out the Los Angeles Colosseum. Rod Stewart's free New Year's Eve performance on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 31, 1994, drew an estimated crowd of 4.2 million people."
Mr "Great-Again" you know what all those event have in common? People wanted to experience acts that didn't have to say "they're great".
Trump is a flabbergasting muck salesman.
There were literally more people on sidewalks in our home towns watching kids with sparklers than at his completely horribly awful ego-fest Trump State Fair.
November mid-terms are coming.
Trump-Epstein truths are coming.
This turnout is a peek into Trump's future.
