Yikes! Black clouds loomed on the horizon as Capn and Sparky headed
towards Carl and Veta Gardner's house. They were on the Florida turnpike nearing
Okeechobee county. They were only 30 minutes from Carl's house in southern Florida.
They were running a little late, hoping that the storm wasn't going to
delay them any further. Before they knew it, rain poured from the sky. Zaps of
lightening were streaking down to the ground around them. Booms of thunder, pouring
rain, a nasty Florida summer storm. Sparky and Capn were amazed at the sight
of the lightening and how powerful it was. You never know when or where lightening
is going to strike. The skies can be calm and quiet, then all of the sudden
- BOOM! Electricity hits out of the blue. Sort of like life. You never know
what can happen. Capn and Sparky never thought they would be going to meet, let
alone INTERVIEW, Carl Gardner, the leader and founder of the The Coasters.
Meeting Carl
The storm passed just as quickly as it had come. Just in time
for them to approach the Gardner's. They couldn't miss the house, there was a
huge, white, cadillac parked in front with the license plate 'Yakety Yak'. 
Veta answered the door and welcomed them in. Veta was
Originally from Jamaica and had a strong Jamaican accent that was very endearing.
right away, Capn and Sparky liked Veta, she was friendly, helpful, and seemed excited
about the MULTIMEDIA
project. Carl came out of one of the back rooms to say hello. It
was hard not to be intimidated by him. Not only because he is one of rock 'n'
roll's greatest legends, but because he was so tall. He was tall, handsome, and
ONE COOL CAT.The Interview
Capn set up for the video shoot. He started
shooting Carl describing the large display of autographed pictures on his wall.
The pictures were too cool, there were some of Elizabeth Taylor, Billy Joel,
Leiber and Stoller, Dick Clark, Maxi Priest, the original Coasters, the recent
Coasters, and many others. Capn decided to shoot the interview infront of Carl'
s display of gold records and his rock 'n' roll hall of fame award that sat on
top of a big white piano. Carl towered over the piano. Carl began to tell them
about his childhood and the 
racial discrimination he experienced
. He also told them about the problems he was faced with when he was a young
black entertainer. They were amazing stories and can be found in Carl's book
"Coasting with the Coasters". Carl Entertains
They listened to some tracks from the CD,
"ONE COOL CAT"
including "Somebody changed the lock on my door". He
sang... while Capn captured it all on video.
After a few songs, Veta suggested Carl take a break.
His throat was getting dry.
(Carl had had a malignant tumor removed from his
throat a few years back, and miraculously he survived.
Carl refuses to give up his singing. In fact, he sang the
song "Caledonia" on the piano with his niece and grand niece
dancing around him.
The Laptop
Capn and Sparky also delivered a
laptop to the Gardner's so that Carl and Veta could access the Rombox
(and become involved with the evolving music industry on the
internet.)
Email and a webbrowser were setup for Carl and Veta so that they could communicate
with the Rombox and check on inquiries about Carl's book,
and the CD.
Carl and Veta were both amazed with the internet and today's technology.
Carl believes that it is possible that aliens put the internet here,
since it is so complex. To start downloading a 6.1M video clip...
clickola.
To download a 1M discussion...
click here.
A New Frontier
As they waved good-bye to the Gardner's,
Capn and Sparky smiled out of excitement. What a great experience
it had been to meet the Carl Gardner.
"Isn't it cool that one of the greatest legends of rock 'n' roll is
involved with the Rombox?", Capn said to Sparky. Sparky agreed.
It was cool. Carl Gardner, leader of the first band to be inducted
into the rock 'n' roll hall of fame, the person who helped start a
new era of music thirty-some years ago, is now involved with starting
an entirely new frontier in the music industry.