Pulling Out All the Stops: Organ Stop Pizza

Giddiness is probably the least attractive posture a fully-grown man could take.  When faced with the world's-largest Wurlitzer theater organ, however, there really is no other posture to assume.  Southern California is a veritable hotbed of wacky tacky - thriving in spite of a culture of looking "cool" at all costs;  never having been cool, I am blissfully free of the burden of maintaing a "cool" reputation.  That, combined with the fact that we were in Arizona, left me free to be a giddy as a schoolgirl over the thundering sound of the world's largest Wurlitzer theater organ (insert world's largest organ joke).

Capital G-i-double d-y!

The only place to get this excited over the world's largest Wurlitzer theater organ is at its home, Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, AZ.  Organ Stop Pizza began its life in Phoenix in 1972.  The brainchild of  William P. Brown, who was intent on combining his love of pizza with his love of theater organ, Organ Stop Pizza quickly outgrew its first two locations.  Proving that wacky tacky can be found in any era, OSP broke ground and opened the doors to its current location in 1995.  The facade of its permanent residence is nothing to write home about.  In fact, it is decidedly un-wacky tacky, but once inside the Mesa eatery/organ spectacular, the building itself is reduced to inconsequential background noise.

This is it!  The glowing void in the middle of the picture is the place where the organ console and organist are hydraulically lifted from the ground to perform everything from cinematic masterpieces to polkas to national anthems.  I had to pause a moment when I recognized one of the tunes as "Oh, Canada," the Canadian national
anthem.  I quickly remembered that much of Arizona's seasonal populace is made up of Canadian "snowbirds."

The afternoon's feature organist
OSP has multiple organists on a rotating schedule;
I kind of wanted to stay and hear them all.

I tried to upload my videos so I could share them with you, but apparently, YouTube has incredibly sensitive filters and muted all of my videos, citing copyright infringement.  Really?!?!?!  How does everyone else on YouTube upload EVERY SINGLE SONG in the entire world with no problem?  I am really bad at computers, so after a few tries, I gave up in frustration.  Let me tell you, the descent from overwhelming giddiness to bitter frustration is not nearly as long a fall as one might imagine.  Nevertheless, there exist some videos of the OSP organ in action (although how they managed to get by the YouTube censor bureau, I will never know).

"Chattanooga Choo Choo"

Maybe "Chattanooga Choo Choo" is in the public domain???

The sound quality isn't spectacular but you can definitely

 get a sense of the organ's instrumental capabilities.

Petty, internet-related frustrations aside, I can't quite fully explain the level of elation one is capable of achieving when two of the world's most perfect offerings come together - organ music and pizza (plus a fully-loaded salad bar)!  It is wacky tacky nirvana.  Much credit is due the sensational musicians that lend their talents to the Organ Stop Pizza.  But how can we overlook the real star of the show here - the organ!

Look at that beautiful console!
Designed and built in the 1920's for the world-famous
Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, OSP's organ
is a total show-stopper before the first stop is even pulled out! 

Compartments loaded with thousands of pipes and clear,
 hinged dampers are controlled entirely by the organist.

Castanets, horns, tambourine, and the wacky tackiest of all instruments - the accordion!

A player piano, bongos, a conga drum, and just about
everything else for which one could wish.

A fanfare is imminent when a fan of horns is always poised at the ready.

"Stars and Stripes Forever"

Take that "Oh, Canada"....only joking, Canadians...

Oh yeah, did I mention that the organ console rotates

during the performance - IT ROTATES!!!

As is evidenced by the above video, dramatic points or particularly-
patriotic moments in a song change the room from relative darkness
 to a glittering spectacle of electric light.
Could an organ concert get any more incredible?  Well, maybe it can...

Once every set, the organist played a rousing, little ditty entitled "The Alleycat."

"The Alleycat" - Bent Fabric

Imagine this being played by the world's largest Wurlitzer theater organ.

Then imagine the thrill of the curtain rising to
reveal a chorus line of feline marionettes!!!

Organ Stop Pizza is more than theater in its most rarefied form; it is an interactive experience.  At the base of the organ platform, there are cards on which the audience members can fill in requests for tunes and notate special occasions that they are celebrating at the restaurant.  While the organist did not play our request (how awesome would it have been to hear The Munsters theme song played on the world's largest Wurlitzer organ), he did honor Mary's request to wish me a happy birthday.

"Happy Birthday Mr. Tiny"

Can you see how crestfallen he is when he realizes 

he's wishing the fat guy in the front row a happy birthday? 

Well, the joke's on you OSP, it wasn't really my birthday!!!

Citing the "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all" rule, I can't say anything about Organ Stop Pizza's pizza.  Well, I guess I could...but I won't.  It really wouldn't matter what they served there - Organ Stop Hot Dogs, Organ Stop Sushi, Organ Stop Hamster - a rose by any other name would certainly sound as sweet.  We've been to the Spreckel's Organ in San Diego, CA.  We've heard the Avalon Theater's beautiful Page Organ accompany some of the finest films of the silent era.  Now we've been to Organ Stop pizza's mighty Wurlitzer.  The hunt is on for the world's best organs...just don't be surprised if you wake up tomorrow in a bathtub full of ice!

We loved it so much that we couldn't leave without a souvenir.
Organ Stop Pizza rigorously maintains the organ and often
 has to swap out spent pipes; we got a "D."

I truly can't recommend a visit to Organ Stop Pizza enough.  If you have even an ounce of wacky tacky spirit in the recesses of your doubtful mind and cold, cold heart, you will definitely get a thrill out of the mighty Wurlitzer and those crazy, dancing cats!

Organ Stop Pizza

1149 E Southern Ave

Mesa, AZ

(480)813-5700

www.organstoppizza.com

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

wacky tacky Icons: Ethel Smith

Ethel Smith

(November 22, 1910 - May, 10 1996)

It becomes increasingly evident in my old age that there is little to be gained by denying the joy that is inherent in many of the things that I love - uncool though they may be.  We have all gone through phases when our devotion to a particular type of food or music or genre of film seems like it would be unending.  Then, the very something for which we were sure our love would ever be fervent is replaced in relatively short order by something newer/better/more interesting.  One of the few passions that has survived the tumult of my many manias is organ music.  I'll listen to recorded organ music but I've also been known to travel far and wide for anything from sacred to secular, classical to jazz - as long as it's played on the organ.

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion at Balboa Park in San Diego
 offers free weekly organ concerts, usually in a classical style.

Mary and world-renowned theater organist, Bob Salisbury, at the
console of the Avalon Theater's Page Organ on Catalina Island. 

The roots of this interest are firmly planted in the front room of my great-grandmother's home where an electric organ took pride of place.  The bilevel keyboards, the flips and switches, the hum of the console as it whirred to life - what was there not to love?  Being an abject failure at any musical instrument more complex than the kazoo (which still manages to trip me up on occasion), I knew there had to be someone who could make the best use of all the knobs, keys, and pedals.  As a child, my heart was filled and my mind was blown when I first got a glimpse of Ethel Smith.  Smith's appearance alongside Donald Duck and Jose Carioca in Walt Disney's Melody Time proved that the organ was for far more than playing hymns at church!

"Blame it on the Samba" - Ethel Smith & The Dinning Sisters

from Melody Time

There is something about those 1940's shoes skittering effortlessly over the pedals that just sends me.  Yes, you may quickly file that under "Things I never needed to know about Mr. Tiny." 

"Tico Tico" - Ethel Smith

In spite of her acclaimed tours of South America (including a residency at The Copacabana in Rio de Janiero), her famous Latin numbers, and the exotic lilt of her name, Ethel Smith was not quite the saucy senorita depicted in Melody Time.  Born in Pennsylvania, her skill as an organist landed her work in nightclubs, on the radio, and eventually in Hollywood movies.  

Bathing Beauty (1944)
(Source)

Easy to Wed (1946)
(Source)

Melody Time (1948)
(Source)

Smith, "Empress of the Hammond (the Hammond B-3 Organ)" earned her status as, what I like to call, a "novelty star."  A novelty star (see Edgar Bergen, The Nicholas Brothers, et al) isn't a movie star in the traditional sense.  A novelty star also wouldn't fall into the category of character actor (see Eugene Pallette, Mary Wickes, Allen Jenkins).  An anomaly of 30's and 40's filmmaking, the novelty star was a performer (usually untrained in acting) brought to Hollywood for a unique talent that could be wedged, however awkwardly, into the plot of a movie for a dash of non sequitur flavor.  The novelty star, as a device of filmmaking, might be odd and totally disruptive to a film's narrative but that is precisely why we love novelty stars, particularly Ms. Ethel Smith. 

"Para Pan Pin" - Ethel Smith

"By the Waters of Minnetonka" - Ethel Smith

"Lero Lero Bem Ti Vi Atrevido" - Ethel Smith

Briefly married to actor Ralph Bellamy, Smith seemed to find more success in music than in love.  She parlayed her movie mojo into a career as a recording artist and publisher of music arranged for the electric organ.  

Ethel gettin' groovy
(Source)

We love Ethel Smith because she was an ambassador of both the Good Neighbor Policy and of electric organ music.  She paved the way for many amazing female organists including one of our favorites, Perry Blackwell.  She played with amazing flair and an abundance of joy that radiated off of the screen. 

"Toca Tu Samba" - Ethel Smith

So, how'd I do?  It is kind of a minefield writing at such length about organs without including some sort of cheesy double entendre.  Have you become a fan of organ music too?  If not, don't tell me; just watch every video in this post over and over until you've been converted.  Consider us your organ donors.

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Rolling in the Moonlight: 10 Lessons for a Rex-y Body

There is a lot for me to learn about roller skating.  Fortunately, Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale, CA was...

Open!

As if the lure of skating wasn't enough, the mellow hum and multi-color glow of the neon-lit
entry to Moonlight Rollerway got my wacky tacky juices going.

Our friend Anna, of Easy Acres Chicken Sitting, rounded up some of the gang to spend an evening at the rink boning up on the finer points of roller rink protocol - staying upright on skates was the least of my worries.  Here are the ten most valuable lessons of life in the rink.

It's not what it looks like; Denise & Anna weren't sitting long enough
to get the bench warm.  We were there to SKATE!

I had absolutely no idea why there was on oversized, sand-filled, ceramic
frog at the front door.

Lesson #1
It was obvious that I was a novice skater.
The first, and most important, rule of the rink is,
"NO GUM ALLOWED."

Lesson #2

You are at a roller rink - dress accordingly and be ready to participate.

Dress code: Be "Neat & Clean"

"No visiting; everyone must have

 a ticket and must wear skates"

Lesson #3

I look amazing in roller skates.

Actually, I  think the two different laces signify

the increased threat level to more experienced 

skaters of skating anywhere in my general vicinity.

The interior of Moonlight Rollerway taught me Lesson #4.
The slower you roll, the further out you should skate.
The center of the rink is for experienced skaters both in speed and technique.
Interestingly, the same is true when it comes to dancers on a large dance floor.
The center of the rink is even painted with formations should a figure skater choose to practice.

Lesson #5
Tuesday is organ night!
Almost all roller rinks of a certain age were fitted for organ accompaniment - canned music came much later.
By far, the best part of the night was Dominic on the Hammond Organ.
The mirror above his head is for the benefit of skaters; one can watch all the action on the keyboard.

Lesson #6
 Rexing is for lovers.

As is evidenced by this beautifully executed silhouette,
"rexing" is roller dancing.  Apparently, rexing can be
done alone, in pairs, or as a trio. The rexual activity at
Moonlight Rollerway can get pretty intense.

Sexy Rexers.
They were rexing all night long.

Lesson #7
 Roller Disco is not dead.
Don't let the fact that 1979 (the magical year of
Roller Disco-themed classics like "Skatetown, USA"
and "Roller Boogie") was well over 30 years ago fool
you into believing that a "Disco Roller Rink" is a
thing of the past.

"Skatetown, USA" (1979)


"Roller Boogie" (1979)

Lesson #8
A Slush Puppie by the snack bar is the nearest thing to Heaven on Earth.
I haven't had a Slush Puppie since I was 10 years old.
Dang, they're delicious! 

Lesson # 8-A
Ladies love a man with a Slush Puppie!
Side note:  How badly did I want to hang on to
the locker key safety-pinned to my sweater?

Lesson #9
Real roller skaters always carry their pencils in a crocheted pencil cozy.
It occurred to me that carrying a sharpened pencil
whilst skating might prove for some future medical
trauma, but they were selling these in the pro shop,
so I figured it must be safe.

Lesson #10
Skating is over at 10:30.
"Goodnight Couples"

Honestly, roller skating was a huge success.  I hadn't had skates on in many years and it only took a few trips around the rink for all my old moves to return - that is to say, skating forward without falling down.  I'm pretty sure I am ready to shoot the duck!!!  If my "10 Lessons for a Rex-y Body" aren't enough inspiration to strap on the old quads, here's a "Popeye" cartoon that will surely have you heading to the roller rink in no time.

"A Date to Skate" (1938)

Moonlight Rollerway

5110 San Fernando Road

Glendale, CA

(818)241-3630

moonlightrollerway.com

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny