Christmas "live" 1986

[PaulKTF]

Radio Showbiz just played a show tape I didn't even know existed (it wasn't listed on the Showtape review page)- "Christmas Live 1986". Not only a Christmas show; but a "live" one!

I only caught the tail end of it but it sounded great. Can't wait to hear the whole thing the next time it comes up in the rotation. I thought the "New Years" show was the only "live" show without breaks so this was a pleasent surprise.

There's a line in the show during the Deck The Halls improvisation- "We stuck it out through stormy weather / We will always stay together". I wonder if anyone at Corperate really picked up on the meaning of that? Probably not.

[VegaNova]

I had to check to see if I forgot this tape on the review... it's listed under "special shows" but there's no review yet.

This was done by CEI and sent out to ShowBiz stores - it was never approved by SPP and wasn't meant to be heard by anyone but the employees. It was sent to the stores as a free gift to remind them of the 'true' Rock-afire since most of what was being played was recorded and programmed by ShowBiz. It also included a Christmas card telling them the tape belonged to them and was not paid for by ShowBiz and was meant to be listened to afterhours when the store was closed. Captslappy has a copy of this card, so he can probably give exact details.

Neat little show. They also call out a lot of the store managers by name which was kinda cool.

[PaulKTF]

That's wonderful! I had no idea about that. Very, very cool of them to do as a "gift" to the employees. Glad you guys had a copy of it to share with us.

[captslappy]

Yes, this is the "Gift to the Manager" tape. It was not for the customers to hear. I own a copy of it. During this time corporate was using their own "fake" voice actors and CEI had no input on the RAE at all. They sent this to all the stores free of charge to take a shot at corporate and the way things were going. It was sort of an attempt to win sympathy from the stores and managers I think. It came gift wrapped with a Christmas card signed by Aaron.

[PaulKTF]

That must've been a breathe of fresh air- I assume the managers didn't like the Corperate show tapes any more than we do- particularly after having to hear it over and over.

Considering how rocky the relationship was at that point; the gesture really went above and beyond the call of duty. A shame the customers never got to hear it. On the other hand; the following year's Christmas tape that they did get really knocked it out of the park.

[circuspizzafan]

Oh thats right it did come with a card lol looks like I lost mine :(

I like that on the label they put "gift to store".

[DerrickTheHedgehog]

A nice gift for the staff. Well they did say all of the staff would watch the new show just soon as it got to the store.

[Charon the Sabercat]

That's... incredibly heartwarming. Not just a sweet gesture on Aaron's part, but on the part of the programmers and the voices of the RAE and the other members of the band that weren't voices on the showtape. "Hey, guys, we're sorry about all the trouble. Here's a little something from us, just for you. It'll probably get us in trouble, but you deserve it for everything you have to put up with." I mean, come on. That's awesome.

[looneybird78]

Yall should see the show live... Its pretty neatly done.