1980
Reviewed by VegaNova
Show Segments
Great Balls of Fire
Yankee Doodle Dandy / Dixie / Grand Old Flag
Romance Without Finance is a Nuisance
Java Juice / Everybody Eats When They Come to My House
Oh Susannah / Razzmatazz
The Joint is Jumpin'
Get Loose / Goofus
I'm a Ding-Dong Daddy (From Dumas)
A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But a Bird
Bessie
Sad Sap Sucker / Don't Let it Bother You
Tiptoe Through the Tulips / Tea for Two / Rock Around the Clock
Be Kind to Your Web Footed Friends / Three Little Fishes
Barney Google
This is the only known showtape for Artie Antlers and was recorded sometime during the first half of 1980. Artie was desiged to be a replacement / changeout for Dolli Dimples, in order to give her a "break" and to introduce returning Pizza Time Theatre visitors to something different. Since he was replacing Dolli in the "Piano Bar Lounge", his showtape is quite similar to hers in both song types and design (the only instrumentation being a piano). There were some differences, notibly Artie's energentic boogie-woogie style and little touches like his scatting during songs. The songs and banter are also much more family-friendly, void of much of the saucy innuendos included in Dolli's first tape.
A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But a Bird - Helen Henny is mentioned in this song, including a slightly racy mention about her "thighs". The version of Helen that Artie is referring to is the short-lived "Cabaret" Helen. Although Dolli and Artie were the first two Cabaret acts, the space they occupied was originally known as the Piano Bar Lounge.
Java Juice / Everybody Eats When They Come to My House - There's a reference to Nolan in this song (eat 'till you're swollen, Nolan), which is possibly a nod to PTT's founder Nolan Bushnell.
Get Loose / Goofus - Artie mentions that his shiny jacket was given to him by his agent, telling him that if he's going to be a star, he'd better start shining like one.
Yankee Doodle Dandy / Dixie / Grand Old Flag - This is the same medley of songs that was included on Dolli Dimples' original showtape.
Moose References - Sprinkled throughout this tape are several 'moose' themes. Artie uses phrases such as "get loose with the moose", "mooseical", "through moosin' around", etc.
Voice Actor - The voice of Artie Antlers was Jim Cunningham, a musician who's band was known as the "The High Time Octet" and released a vinyl LP in the 1970s.
Recording History - Jim Cunningham was flown from Denton, TX to San Fransisco to do the recording for this showtape. Jim remembers that the entire recording took place over the course of four days, and the guy playing the piano on the tracks was someone who had done work with the Pointer Sisters.
-3.5 out of 5 Tokens-
I actually really like this showtape. Artie gives something a little different and fresh to the Pizza Time Players lineup, especially with his trademark scatting which is completely unique to his character. If there's one disappointment to be had with this showtape is that it's very short, containing only 14 unique tracks, most of which are done and over with in less than two minutes. I suppose that is fitting with the purpose of what the cabaret shows were supposed to be, but considering the later acts (Beagles, King, etc) used actual artist's recordings that lasted several minutes, it makes me wish the Artie's tracks were either a little longer or larger in quantity.
Great Balls of Fire
Yankee Doodle Dandy / Dixie / Grand Old Flag
Romance Without Finance is a Nuisance
Java Juice / Everybody Eats When They Come to My House
Oh Susannah / Razzmatazz
The Joint is Jumpin'
Get Loose / Goofus
I'm a Ding-Dong Daddy (From Dumas)
A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But a Bird
Bessie
Sad Sap Sucker / Don't Let it Bother You
Tiptoe Through the Tulips / Tea for Two / Rock Around the Clock
Be Kind to Your Web Footed Friends / Three Little Fishes
Barney Google
This is the only known showtape for Artie Antlers and was recorded sometime during the first half of 1980. Artie was desiged to be a replacement / changeout for Dolli Dimples, in order to give her a "break" and to introduce returning Pizza Time Theatre visitors to something different. Since he was replacing Dolli in the "Piano Bar Lounge", his showtape is quite similar to hers in both song types and design (the only instrumentation being a piano). There were some differences, notibly Artie's energentic boogie-woogie style and little touches like his scatting during songs. The songs and banter are also much more family-friendly, void of much of the saucy innuendos included in Dolli's first tape.
A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But a Bird - Helen Henny is mentioned in this song, including a slightly racy mention about her "thighs". The version of Helen that Artie is referring to is the short-lived "Cabaret" Helen. Although Dolli and Artie were the first two Cabaret acts, the space they occupied was originally known as the Piano Bar Lounge.
Java Juice / Everybody Eats When They Come to My House - There's a reference to Nolan in this song (eat 'till you're swollen, Nolan), which is possibly a nod to PTT's founder Nolan Bushnell.
Get Loose / Goofus - Artie mentions that his shiny jacket was given to him by his agent, telling him that if he's going to be a star, he'd better start shining like one.
Yankee Doodle Dandy / Dixie / Grand Old Flag - This is the same medley of songs that was included on Dolli Dimples' original showtape.
Moose References - Sprinkled throughout this tape are several 'moose' themes. Artie uses phrases such as "get loose with the moose", "mooseical", "through moosin' around", etc.
Voice Actor - The voice of Artie Antlers was Jim Cunningham, a musician who's band was known as the "The High Time Octet" and released a vinyl LP in the 1970s.
Recording History - Jim Cunningham was flown from Denton, TX to San Fransisco to do the recording for this showtape. Jim remembers that the entire recording took place over the course of four days, and the guy playing the piano on the tracks was someone who had done work with the Pointer Sisters.
-3.5 out of 5 Tokens-
I actually really like this showtape. Artie gives something a little different and fresh to the Pizza Time Players lineup, especially with his trademark scatting which is completely unique to his character. If there's one disappointment to be had with this showtape is that it's very short, containing only 14 unique tracks, most of which are done and over with in less than two minutes. I suppose that is fitting with the purpose of what the cabaret shows were supposed to be, but considering the later acts (Beagles, King, etc) used actual artist's recordings that lasted several minutes, it makes me wish the Artie's tracks were either a little longer or larger in quantity.