HW: Roswell - Nightline

[Keith A Henderson]

Damon asks...

> P.S.:  Did *anyone* happen to catch (preferably tape!) tonight's (Tuesday
> July 16) Nightline on the U.S. obsession with U.F.O.s, aliens, etc.?  I
> was at a concert and forgot to set the timer.

Yes, I saw it, kind of by accident.  Had no idea it was going to be on, but I
just happened to pass by it while surfing.  It was a reasonably interesting
program....but it kind of tried to cover too many issues in a short program
(half hour, which really means 23 minutes of actual air time).  And of course,
they have to justify Koppel's salary by having him interview people live, even
if it's entirely unnecessary.

They had a tape segment before the interview, which focussed on the ID4 movie
and the Roswell connection, and poll results about what people believe when it
comes to ETI and UFO's.  They showed the crash site and had a few brief
comments from the guy who owns the property on how some of the people appear to
be on some sort of religious pilgrimage while there.  They also showed a *very*
brief comment from a guy named Stan Crosby, who was identified as 'Roswell
Festival Organizer' or something like that, on the screen.  I wrote down the
name in case Mr. Star_rats wanted to try and get in touch with him, as opposed
to working with the middleman/agent in NYC.  Funny, they didn't mention the
festival itself (other than this caption), but only that it's been 'almost 50
years' since this event.

The second tape segment was about the search for ETI using radio telescopes,
and some of the bizarre things that have been recorded over the years that have
some credibility.  A DoD instrument recorded a series of lights flashing across
the sky a few years ago, that have been shown not to be either an aircraft
(didn't block out the stars between the lights) or a group of meteorite
fragments (too slow).  The interivews were mostly about the reasons why people
believe that UFO's are real, or at least that life *must* exist elsewhere,
mainly talking about the 'religious' aspects.
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And then Jon said...

>Who _wouldn't_ want to play at a Roswell fest?
>Roswell, the (marketable) phenomenom is as mainstream as anything could
>get!
>
>It's funny, but people seem to think UFO's, aliens and the X-Files etc.
>are a bit culty and weird, a bit _out there_ man! But it's a totally
>ordinary preoccupation. This is absolutely everyday common currency. Ask
>anyone in the street what Roswell is, betcha at least say 35% of people
>know what was supposed to have happened. In my shop, I deal with people
>every day of the week who think they're *very interesting and unusual
>people* with their interesting takes on _paranormal activity_. "Oh by
>the way, I collect X-Files memorabelia, do you have any?" No why don't
>you try Woolworth's??

Well, yeah, the phenomenon is certainly marketable to a wide audience (tens of
millions, certainly), but for this event, we're talking about those people who
are going to go a *looong* way out of their way to get there.  Roswell is near
to absolutely nuthin'.  It's a 1400 mile trip for me, and there are more
population centers in the US *further* away than that, compared to those
closer.  Going from the closest major (> 1mil) cities (Dallas, Phoenix, San
Antonio?) would still be like going all the way across Britain (say from
Wisbech to Bideford) and back.  And Mr. Tawn wrote that up as if it were an
odyssey.

So I really don't see it as obvious that promoters would definitely want the
*most* popular artists in the country there, simply because that should mean
the biggest turnout.  Because what's so unusual about those bands touring
anyway??  If they're that popular, they'll be coming to your city soon anyway.
So why would people go all the way to Roswell to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers,
say?? esp. if they'd be showing up in your city next month....

It makes sense then to make this a special event of a coherent theme, to make
it a can't miss for those into *all* of the festivities....ie., the S/F & UFO
community, and hence the music so related!  This is what the agent should
understand.  (Now if the aliens crashed in downtown Pasadena, you'd have a
completely different situation.)

Finally, I gathered from the Nightline broadcast that this occurred on or about
July 6-7, 1947, which means the festival would be this date(s) next year.  Now
this gives me another idea....you know, June 20-21 is a mere 16 days before
this event.  Why not have an opening 'festival' show for the solstice somewhere
in the eastern half of NA, and then Roswell as the closing festival.  And then,
you could fill in the middle with the obligatory tour dates (NY, Cleve,
Chicago, Toronto, etc.) *and* put in a Dallas and K.C. at least, as they'd be
heading for the desert SW anyway???  And cap it all of with LA/San Diego/SFran
shows before heading back, perhaps.

Where would you have the solstice celebration though??  I know there's a
'Carhenge' out in Kansas or something, but that's kind of silly.  What American
locale has that sort of significance??  Key West is near the Tropic of Cancer -
maybe HW could do a show with Jimmy Buffett there.... :)

No seriously, we should remind DS that these events are only a couple weeks
apart.  And maybe he could arrange to get 'hold of some old Spinal Tap stage
props for such an occasion.   :)

Keith H.  (FAA)