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Old Town Records
Ah, Old Town Records! Along with a limited handful of other labels, it brings back the fondest memories of the music I listened to and loved in my youth. The Solitaires, the Royaltones, the Co-eds, Robert & Johnny ... this was the sound of my younger days. This was the sound of New York City Rock 'n' Roll of the 50s.
Hy Weiss, a Romanian by birth, came to this country with his family in the mid-1920s. They settled in the Bronx (not too far away from where famed R&B writer Marv Goldberg would live in the 40s and 50s). As a youngster, there was little hint of his future involvement with our music. He was a member of the football team at DeWitt Clinton High School, and World War 2 found him in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he rose to the rank of staff sergeant. Back in New York after the war, he began working for a furrier.
It was Hy's brother, Sam, who really got him started in the music business. Leon René, owner of Los Angeles' Exclusive Records, was looking for a distributor to work the Harlem area. Hy got the job and was soon (in the late 40s) handling records by the likes of Charles Brown (leading Johnny Moore's Three Blazers) and Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers. The Weiss brothers' first label, a small R&B indie called Parody, was advertised in a 1949 Billboard. Its only known artist was Danny "Run Joe" Taylor (Parody 1002/1003: "Butter Beans And Rice"/"Come Back Connie" - July 1949).
Soon Hy and Sam branched out, adding Modern Records' catalog to their stock. Thus, by 1950, he was also distributing records by Jimmy Witherspoon, Roy Hawkins, Joe Lutcher, Jimmy McCracklin, Lil Greenwood, and Pee Wee Crayton. Branching out even more, in 1951, he joined with Apollo Records owner Ike Berman in the BHS Distribution company (I'll make a guess that it stood for "Bess, Hy and Sam"; Bess was, of course, Ike Berman's wife, soon to take over the running of Apollo).
Hy continued to hang around with the biggies. Aside from BHS, he joined Cosnat Distributing, owned by Jubilee Records' Jerry Blaine.
In mid-1953, Hy decided to start his own label. The inspiration for the name and its attendant block printing on a yellow label came from the Old Town Paper Company in Brooklyn. Hy was associated with them in some capacity, and, to save on start-up costs, he simply used their letterhead as his own!!!
The first act that Hy Weiss recorded for Old Town was the 5 Crowns (whom he stole away from Jubilee). Wilbur "Yonkie" Paul, Dock Green, James "Papa" Clark, Claudie "Nicky" Clark, and John "Sonny Boy" Clark had previously recorded for Eddie Heller's Rainbow label, but they got into some sort of a fight with him and ended up going to Jerry Blaine to audition. Hy met them while they were waiting and somehow got them into a studio first. A small July 1953 blurb in the trades mentioned the new company and the 5 Crowns' recordings. In August 1953, their "You Could Be My Love"/"Good Luck Darlin'" was released as Old Town 790. Hy was on his way! (However, while he was encouraged by how well the record did in New York, he didn't quit his day job with Cosnat.)
The first offices that Old Town occupied were at 165 East 125th Street in Harlem (you could reach them at Plaza 7-3171). He would move at least three more times over the years.
After only three more releases in the 790 series (including one more by the 5 Crowns and one by bandleader Cherokee Conyers), there were changes made. While the label remained yellow, the block printing gave way to the more familiar "Olde English" script. Additionally, the 790 series was discontinued, and the 1000 series begun.
It was at this point that Hy met up with his first hit-making act, the Solitaires (Herman Curtis, Pat Gaston, Bobby Baylor, Monte Owens, Bobby Williams, and Buzzy Willis). Buzzy worked as unofficial program librarian for WLIB DJ Hal Jackson, and it was through Jackson that the Solitaires met Weiss. At the time, Hy would hold auditions around midnight in the "office" that he kept for that purpose: the cloakroom (under a staircase!) of the Tri-Boro Theater (125th Street and Lexington Avenue).
In February 1954, the first Solitaires record (the magnificent "Blue Valentine") was issued, on the newly-redesigned label. It would take three months for the next Old Town release, Ursula Reed's "Ursula's Blues." 1954 would see three more Solitaires records ("Please Remember My Heart," "Chances I've Taken," and "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance"), as well as the first outing by the Valentines ("Tonight Kathleen"), before they switched over to their hit-making days at Rama.
1955 saw only a few artists appearing on Old Town: there were three records by the Solitaires ("My Dear," "The Wedding," which marked another change in the label: block print with ropes, and "Magic Rose"), one by the Clefftones ("The Masquerade Is Over"), one by Billy Bland ("Chicken In The Basket"), and Ruth McFadden & the Supremes' "Darling Listen To The Words Of This Song."
Around June 1955, the first of the Old Town subsidiaries was formed: Paradise Records. The first acts signed were the Harptones (after the dissolution of Bruce Records) and Hal Paige. Paradise 101 (the Harptones' "Life Is But A Dream") got an excellent review and began to take off almost instantly. Hal Paige's "My Angel Child" didn't.
In fact, 1955 was such a good year for Hy that in September he resigned from Cosnat Distributors in order to devote his full time to making records. Also that month, he and Sam moved Old Town to bigger quarters at 701 Seventh Avenue (now you had to dial CO 5-8810).
1956 started out with one of my all-time favorite Old Town releases: "Crazy Love" by Eddie "Puddin'" Carson and the Royaltones (Rennie Davis, Thomas Davis, Richard Williams, and James Ifill). There were three more Solitaires issues: "The Honeymoon" (the first song I remember hearing by them), "The Angels Sang," and "Nothing Like A Little Love." The Royaltones returned with "Hey Norman" and "Two In Love" (backing Ruth McFadden), the Supremes were represented with "Tonight," and Billy Bland gave us "Chicken Hop." Two more of my all-time favorites came from Old Town that year: Gwen Edwards & Co-eds (I always thought Alan Freed was saying "Glen Edwards") with "Love You Baby All The Time" and Robert [Carr] & Johnny [Mitchell]'s "I Believe In You." These were all solid New York hits.
Other 1956 releases were by Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee ("Climbing On Top Of The Hill"), Robert & Johnny ("Million Dollar Bills," which saw yet another label change: the ropes gave way to lines), Ruth McFadden & Harptones' ("School Boy"), Bob Gaddy ("Operator"), and the Co-eds ("I'm In Love"). The Paradise subsidiary wasn't doing much in 1956. The only release that I could find was a re-issue of the Packards' "Ding Dong" in August. (Old Town had purchased four Packards masters from Pla-Bac Records, including the unbelievably off-key "Ladise" and "My Doctor Of Love. Amazingly, two of the Packards, Bill Fredericks and Milton Turner, would end up in the Drifters in the late 60s.)
In November, Old Town launched its short-lived pop series (the 300s) with the Rogues' "World Of Love." There would only be around a half-dozen releases on this black label series (other artists were Oscar Brand and Lou Dee), which, strangely, wasn't announced until February of 1957, three months after its first disc.
1957 started off with the monster New York hit by the Solitaires, "Walkin' Along." In spite of this, there was only a single other record by the group issued in that year: "Thrill Of Love." Actually, 1957 wasn't otherwise a big year for Old Town at all, with releases like Billy Bland's "If I Could Be Your Man," Robert & Johnny's "Don't Do It," Bob Gaddy's "Paper Lady," the Keytones' "Seven Wonders Of The World" (which desperately needed more lyrics), the Fi-Tones' "My Faith," Robert & Johnny's "Broken Hearted Man," and Preston Brown's "Walk On."
Also in 1957, the Weiss brothers began Superior Record Sales Company, which distributed (aside from Old Town, of course) Argo, End and Cindy. They'd eventually also handle Vee-Jay, Gone, Ace, Vin, Combo, Lamp, Coed, Tip-Top, and Bullseye. Sam Weiss was the president of Superior, which was located at 767 Tenth Avenue.
While Paradise Records seemed to be dying, phoenix-like it spewed forth a subsidiary, Whiz Records. Around March 1957, Whiz issued Gene Mumford & Serenaders' "When You're Smiling," a tune that never took off, which probably prompted Mumford to join Billy Ward's Dominoes (note that, in spite of other liner notes, the Serenaders had no connection to Mumford's prior group, the Larks on Lloyds). When the Dominoes, with Mumford in the lead, had a tremendous hit with "Stardust" on the Liberty label, Old Town sued Mumford (in January 1958) for breach of contract. The only other known release on Whiz is by Randy King (#1501: "Since You Came Back To Me"/"Blue And Lonesome".)
1958 started out with another smash hit: Robert & Johnny's "We Belong Together." There were three more R&J releases that year: "Marry Me" (which marked yet another label design change: this time to blue, with kind of a castle design, and the return of the Old English script), "Eternity With You," and "Give Me The Key To Your Heart." There were also three new Solitaires entries: "No More Sorrows," "Big Mary's House," and "Embraceable You." The Tremaines gave us "Jingle Jingle" (a master purchased from Val Records, which was re-released later on with the group's name changed to the Packards). The Tremaines sound better than the 1956 Packards and they weren't the same group at all. Strangely, an Old Town ad, which hyped Robert & Johnny's "We Belong Together" as "A Hit Nationally," the Solitaires' "Walkin' And Talkin'" as "A Solid Smash in N.Y. and Phila. And Spreading," and Bob Gaddy's "Woe Woe Is Me" as "Will Be #1 in New Orleans And All Over The South," had this low-key admission about the Tremaines: "Don't Know If A Hit Yet."
Note that during this period, some of the releases had a "star and arrows" design on the label, right under the "Old Town" name. This was seen on both 45s and 78s. I'm not sure what it indicates and it wasn't consistently applied. For example, Robert And Johnny's "We Belong Together" was issued both with and without this design.
There were minor releases that year by Bob Gaddy ("Woe, Woe Is Me," "You Are The One," and "What Would I Do"), the Inspirators ("Starlight Tonight"), Riff Ruffin "All The Way"), Arthur Prysock ("I Love You So" and "I Just Want To Make Love To You"), the Rogues ("Dream"), Vinny Lee ("Mule Train"), and Sonny Moore ("My True Love And I"). But the real winner of 1958 was "So Fine," from a newly-signed group, the Fiestas (who are supposedly Tommy Bullock, Eddie Morris, Sam Ingalls and Preston Lane, although their photo shows five members). The oddball one was #1057 (Bob Gaddy's "You Are The One"). It was pressed on a blue label, with silver print and no lines. The 78 version is crudely done, so that the print just barely fits on the label.
While many of the songs on Old Town have become classics, it's hard to imagine that most of the "hits" that I remember were limited to the New York area. (Since I somehow knew that the Flamingos came from Chicago and the Cadets were from Los Angeles, I just naturally assumed that if I was listening to their music, they were listening to mine.) Evidence of this limitation is found in an early 1958 transaction, wherein Hy and Sam sold the master of Billy Bland's "Chicken Hop" to the Tip Top label of Richmond, Virginia (not to be confused with Sid Arky and Leo Rogers' Tip Top label of New York) so that the tunes could get wider distribution.
By May 1958, Old Town had moved again, this time to 1697 Broadway; their phone number was no longer given in the ads. In July, Hy announced the signing of the Evans Brothers and Jimmy Milner (last baritone of the "original" Drifters when they were fired by manager George Treadwell at the Apollo Theater in May) for his York label. Milner's "You Be The Judge" was released as York #101. Another subsidiary label created in 1958 was Win, which had a release called "Nursery Rhymes" by a white group called the Gems. (Win was a distribution company run by Sam Weiss, along with a third brother, George; They created this label to go with it.)
In September 1958, Old Town leased the Solitaires' "Walkin' Along" to Chess Records, which released it on its Argo subsidiary to compete with the current version by the Diamonds on Mercury. The Solitaires' version was almost two years old by this time.
1959 not only didn't start off with a smash hit, but there were no smashes that year at all. Billy Bland released "Grandma Gave A Party." The Fiestas gave us "Our Anniversary" and "Good News." Robert & Johnny had "Dream Girl" and "Wear This Ring." The Solitaires' sole release was "Light A Candle In The Chapel." Bob Gaddy's "Till The Day I Die," Arthur Prysock's "I Worry About You," and Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry's "I Need A Woman" rounded out the year. Old Town also picked up the 4 Pharaohs' (the Columbus Pharaohs) recordings of "Give Me Your Love" and "China Girl," which were released on the almost unused Paradise label. Another Paradise release was "I Won't Tell The World" by the Blenders, a group featuring Herman Dunham (originally of the Vocaleers, and, as "Herman Curtis," a charter member of the Solitaires). An additional allied label (although I'm not sure how it fit in) was Munich, which released the solid New York sound of the Bonnevilles doing "Lorraine" and "Zu Zu" in 1959.
1960 was a different kind of year: it not only started off with a smash, it would end up with one too. The first, released in March, was Billy Bland's "Let The Little Girl Dance" (a re-working of a tune that had originally been done by Carl Spencer and the Videos). The second, "There's A Moon Out Tonight," by the Capris, was actually the third go-round for this record. Originally issued in 1958 on Planet, it went nowhere. It was picked up by Lost-Nite in November 1960, and released a month later on Old Town. When it stopped climbing the charts, it had peaked at #3. This was the highest ranking an Old Town record would ever achieve.
Other releases in 1960 were by Billy Bland, Bob Gaddy, Robert & Johnny (including a re-release of "We Belong Together"), the Fiestas, Arthur Prysock, the Fairfield Four (a little gospel), Vinny Lee, Gene Kennedy, and Davey Jones. There were also two discs by the Vocaleers, a group that had had its origins on Red Robin Records, back in the early 50s. Now they did "Love And Devotion"/"This Is The Night" for Old Town itself, and "I Need Your Love So Bad"/"Have You Ever Loved Someone" for the still somewhat-alive Paradise label.
In spite of the great year they had in 1960, the only national Old Town hit in 1961 was Larry Finnegan's "Dear One" (which rose to #11). Other valiant efforts were recorded by the Capris, the Fiestas, Billy Bland, Lori Rogers, Arthur Prysock, Robert & Johnny, Gene Kennedy, and Ron Rich. This also marked the first year without a release by the Solitaires.
In 1961, Hy set up Barry Records, named after his young son. In the next few years, it would release around 40 records, including acts like Hector Rivera, the Earls, Nick and the Nacks, and Thelma Jones.
The only hit of 1962 was the Earls "Remember Then," which only got as high as #24 nationally. Other output that year was by Arthur Prysock, Tommy Andre (who seems to have been Tommy Bullock, lead of the Fiestas), Robert & Johnny, the Crab Creek County School Band, Bob Gaddy, Larry Finnegan, Gene Kennedy, the Fiestas, Billy Bland, and Coley Arnez.
There were no national hits in 1963 at all, in spite of several records by the Earls, the Fiestas, Billy Bland, Arthur Prysock, Erlene & Her Girlfriends, Tom Austin & Healeys, and Freddie Houston. In fact, although Old Town lasted until sometime in 1966, they would only have one more national hit: Arthur Prysock's "It's Too Late, Baby, Too Late" reached #56 in 1965. Note that in late 1964, Old Town's label changed once again: it became black, with an outlined New York City skyline, and the words "Old Town" in a large rising moon. (The label was resurrected in 1973, mostly with Arthur Prysock recordings, and lasted another five years.)
Old Town was good at gauging the taste of New York listeners (although not consistently). What Old Town wasn't good at was record keeping. So many tape boxes are mislabeled, that it's a good bet that much of Old Town's history will never be unraveled. For example: the Supremes supposedly made "Zip Boom" and "The Last Roundup." But Waldo Champen of the Supremes says that they didn't (and both feature bass leads, unlike any of the other Supremes sides). One master tape of "The Last Roundup" exists with the group's name given as the "Hallmarks." Another version of the song seems to have been by the Clefftones, whose box is marked "Whirlpools." Actually, the Supremes got into more trouble (and this one was my fault): back in the 70s, when I wrote about the Solitaires, I let one of them talk me into believing that it was that group (under the name "Supremes") who backed up Ruth McFadden on "Darling Listen To The Words Of This Song"; in truth, it was the Supremes themselves who backed her. There was a song called "Listen, Listen Baby" that was found on a tape box belonging to the Solitaires, but it isn't them at all (when released on a compilation, this 1954 group was called the "Unknowns," and, unless some group member hears the song, they'll probably stay that way).
A group called the Chimes recorded two songs in 1958 ("My Broken Heart" and "Mexico"); they both ended up being credited to the Fiestas, since both groups recorded on the same day (and probably shared the same tape). Then there's the Symbols. They did four songs in the spring of 1958. Did Hy Weiss know that they were actually the Beltones (Andrew Pope, Clayton "Dickie" Williams, George "Buster" Cotman, Wilbur "Buzzy" Brown, and Robert Brown) who were still under contract to Hull? He did when Hull found out about it and started yelling "breach of contract."
When all is said and done, compared to many small independent labels, Old Town wasn't particularly successful. In the course of about 13 years, they only placed six songs in the Top Forty of the national pop charts: Robert & Johnny's "We Belong Together," the Fiesta's "So Fine," Billy Bland's "Let The Little Girl Dance," the Capris' "There's A Moon Out Tonight," the Earls' "Remember When," and Larry Finnegan's "Dear One." But, of course, this doesn't tell the whole story. There was more. A whole lot more. Old Town gave us (and, unfortunately, when I say "us," I mostly mean "the New York City area") the 5 Crowns, the Solitaires, the Valentines, the Clefftones, Robert & Johnny, Ruth McFadden, the Supremes, Arthur Prysock, the Co-eds, the Royaltones, the Keytones, the Harptones, the Vocaleers, the Fiestas, the Tremaines, Billy Bland, the Capris, the Earls, and so many more. It's not about making money (of course, Hy would disagree with that), it's about pleasing your audience. And Hy, if you're listening, this part of your audience was very pleased indeed!
Hy Weiss, who produced some of my favorite music, passed away on March 20, 2007; he was 83. Sam followed on March 19, 2008.
790 - 5 Crowns - Good Luck, Darling - 8/53
790 - 5 Crowns - You Could Be My Love - 8/53
791 - probably not issued
792 - 5 Crowns - Lullaby Of The Bells - 1/54
792 - 5 Crowns - Later, Later, Baby - 1/54
793 - Cherokee & Band - Low Down Man (voc - Cherokee Conyers) - 54
793 - Cherokee & Band - My Heart Belongs To You (voc - Gloria Smith) - 54
300 - Rogues - World Of Love - 56
300 - Rogues - If You Love Me - 11/56
304 - Rogues - It's True - 4/57
304 - Rogues - Puppy Love - 57
305 - Dee, Lou - King Of The Hill - 57
305 - Dee, Lou - Ain't Got No Case - 57
1000 - Solitaires - Wonder Why - 1/54
1000 - Solitaires - Blue Valentine - 1/54
1001 - Reed, Ursula - You're Laughing Cause I'm Crying (with Solitaires) - 2/54
1001 - Reed, Ursula - Ursula's Blues - 2/54
1002 - probably not issued
1006/1007 - Solitaires - Please Remember My Heart - 6/54
1006/1007 - Solitaires - South Of The Border - 6/54
1006 - Solitaires - Please Remember My Heart - 6/54
1006 - Solitaires - South Of The Border - 6/54
1008 - Solitaires - Chances I've Taken - 11/54
1008 - Solitaires - Lonely - 11/54
1009 - Valentines - Tonight Kathleen - 54
1009 - Valentines - Summer Love - 54
1010 - Solitaires - I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance - 12/54
1010 - Solitaires - Girl Of Mine - 12/54
1011 - Clefftones - My Dearest Darling - 3/55
1011 - Clefftones - (I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over - 3/55
1012 - Solitaires - My Dear - 4/55
1012 - Solitaires - What Did She Say - 4/55
1014 - Solitaires - The Wedding - 8/55
1014 - Solitaires - Don't Fall In Love - 8/55
1015 - Solitaires - Magic Rose - 11/55
1015 - Solitaires - Later For You, Baby - 11/55
1016 - Bland, Billy - Chicken In The Basket - 55
1016 - Bland, Billy - The Fat Man - 55
1017 - McFadden, Ruth & Supremes - Darling, Listen To The Words Of This Song - 12/55
1017 - McFadden, Ruth & Supremes - Since My Baby's Been Gone - 12/55
1018 - Royaltones - Crazy Love - 2/56
1018 - Royaltones - Never Let Me Go - 2/56
1019 - Solitaires - The Honeymoon - 2/56
1019 - Solitaires - Fine Little Girl - 2/56
1020 - McFadden, Ruth & Royaltones - Two In Love - 3/56
1020 - McFadden, Ruth & Royaltones - You For Me - 3/56
1021 - Robert & Johnny - I Believe In You - 4/56
1021 - Robert & Johnny - Train To Paradise - 4/56
1022 - Bland, Billy - Oh, You For Me - 56
1022 - Bland, Billy - Chicken Hop - 56
1023 - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Uncle Bud - 56
1023 - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Climbing On Top Of The Hill - 56
1024 - Supremes - Tonight - 6/56
1024 - Supremes - She Don't Want Me Now More - 6/56
1024* - Supremes - Tonight - 56
1024* - Supremes - My Babe [second release of "She Don't Want Me No More"]- 56
1026 - Solitaires - You've Sinned - 7/56
1026 - Solitaires - You're Back With Me - 7/56 [re-released as "The Angels Sang"]
1027 - Co-Eds - Love You, Baby, All The Time - 56
1027 - Co-Eds - I Beg Your Forgiveness - 56
1028 - Royaltones - Latin Love - 8/56
1028 - Royaltones - Hey Norman - 8/56
1029 - Robert & Johnny - You're Mine - 10/56
1029 - Robert & Johnny - Million Dollar Bills - 10/56
1030 - McFadden, Ruth - School Boy {W.the Harptones} - 9/56
1030 - McFadden, Ruth - United We Stand - 9/56
1031 - Gaddy, Bob - I Love My Baby - 56
1031 - Gaddy, Bob - Operator - 56
1032 - Solitaires - Give Me One More Chance - 10/56
1032 - Solitaires - Nothing Like A Little Love - 10/56
1033 - Co-Eds - I Love An Angel {W. Gwen Edwards} - 56
1033 - Co-Eds - I'm In Love {W. Gwen Edwards} - 56
1034 - Solitaires - Walking Along - 1/57
1034 - Solitaires - Please Kiss This Letter - 1/57
1035 - Moore, Wild Bill - The Wild One - 57
1035 - Moore, Wild Bill - Big Bubble - 57
1036 - Bland, Billy - If I Could Be Your Man - 57
1036 - Bland, Billy - I Had A Dream - 57
1038 - Robert & Johnny - Don't Do It - 2/57
1038 - Robert & Johnny - Baby, Come Home - 2/57
1039 - Gaddy, Bob - Paper Lady - 57
1039 - Gaddy, Bob - Out Of My Name - 57
1041 - Keytones - Wonder Of The World - 57
1041 - Keytones - A Fool In Love - 57
1041* - Keytones - Seven Wonders Of The World - 57
1041* - Keytones - A Fool In Love - 57
1042 - Fi-Tones - My Heart - 8/57
1042 - Fi-Tones - My Faith - 8/57
1043 - Robert & Johnny - Broken Hearted Man - 11/57
1043 - Robert & Johnny - Indian Marriage - 11/57
1044 - Solitaires - I Really Love You So (also on 1139 as Honey Babe) - 11/57
1044 - Solitaires - Thrill Of Love - 11/57
1046 - Brown, Preston - Walk Off [instrumental] - 58
1046 - Brown, Preston - Walk On [instrumental] - 58
1047 - Robert & Johnny - We Belong Together - 12/57
1047 - Robert & Johnny - Walking In The Rain - 12/57
1049 - Solitaires - Walkin' And Talkin' - 3/58
1049 - Solitaires - No More Sorrows - 3/58
1050 - Gaddy, Bob - Woe, Woe Is Me - 58
1050 - Gaddy, Bob - Rip And Run - 58
1051 - Tremaines - Jingle Jangle - 58
1051 - Tremaines - Moon Shining Bright - 58
1051* - Packards - Jingle Jangle - 58
1051* - Packards - Moon Shining Bright - 58
1052 - Robert & Johnny - Marry Me - 5/58
1052 - Robert & Johnny - I Know - 5/58
1052* - Robert & Johnny - Marry Me - 5/58
1052* - Robert & Johnny - I Believe In You [second version] - 5/58
1053 - Inspirators - Starlight Tonight - 6/58
1053 - Inspirators - Oh, What A Feeling - 6/58
1054 - Ruffin, Riff - All The Way - 58
1054 - Ruffin, Riff - I Can't Get A Thrill Without You - 58
1055 - Prysock, Arthur - I Love You So - 58
1055 - Prysock, Arthur - The Greatest Gift - 58
1056 - Rogues - Dream - 58
1056 - Rogues - I've Been Dreaming - 58
1057 - Gaddy, Bob - You Are The One - 58
1057 - Gaddy, Bob - Take My Advice - 58
1058 - Robert & Johnny - I'm Truly, Truly Yours - 8/58
1058 - Robert & Johnny - Eternity With You - 8/58
1059 - Solitaires - Please Remember My Heart [re-sung version] - 8/58
1059 - Solitaires - Big Mary's House - 8/58
1060 - Prysock, Arthur - I Just Want To Make Love To You - 58
1060 - Prysock, Arthur - Keep A Light In The Window For Me - 58
1061 - Lee, Vinny - Mule Train Rock [instrumental] - 58
1061 - Lee, Vinny - Rumbarino [instrumental] - 58
1062 - Fiestas - So Fine - 11/58
1062 - Fiestas - Last Night I Dreamed - 11/58
1063 - Moore, Sonny - My True Love And I {& Grp} - 59
1063 - Moore, Sonny - Prisoner To You - 58
1064 - Gaddy, Bob - What Would I Do - 59
1065 - Robert & Johnny - Give Me The Key To Your Heart - 12/58
1065 - Robert & Johnny - Truly In Love - 12/58
1066 - Solitaires - Embraceable You - 12/58
1066 - Solitaires - Round Goes My Heart - 12/58
1067 - Bland, Billy - Grandmaw Gave A Party - 59
1067 - Bland, Billy - Whats That {Sic} - 59
1068 - Robert & Johnny - Dream Girl - 4/59
1068 - Robert & Johnny - Oh, My Love - 4/59
1069 - Fiestas - I'm Your Slave - 5/59
1069 - Fiestas - Our Anniversary - 5/59
1070 - Gaddy, Bob - Till The Day I Die {& Grp} - 59
1070 - Gaddy, Bob - I'll Go My Way - 59
1071 - Solitaires - Helpless - 5/59
1071 - Solitaires - Light A Candle In The Chapel - 5/59
1072 - Robert & Johnny - Wear This Ring - 8/59
1072 - Robert & Johnny - Bad Dan - 8/59
1073 - Prysock, Arthur - I Worry About You - 59
1073 - Prysock, Arthur - My Faith - 59
1074 - Fiestas - That Was Me - 9/59
1074 - Fiestas - Good News - 9/59
1075 - Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry - I Need A Woman - 59
1075 - Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry - She Loves So Easy - 59
1076 - Bland, Billy - Let The Little Girl Dance - 60
1076 - Bland, Billy - Sweet Thing - 60
1077 - Gaddy, Bob - Early One Morning - 60
1077 - Gaddy, Bob - What Wrong Did I Do - 60
1078 - Robert & Johnny - Hear My Heartbeat - 2/60
1078 - Robert & Johnny - Try Me Pretty Baby - 2/60
1079 - Prysock, Arthur - If Ever I Should Fall In Love - 60
1079 - Prysock, Arthur - The Very Thought Of You - 60
1080 - Fiestas - Dollar Bill - 6/60
1080 - Fiestas - It Don't Make Sense - 6/60
1081 - Fairfield Four - Memories (Of My Mother) - 60
1081 - Fairfield Four - Don't Let Nobody - 60
1082 - Bland, Billy - Pardon Me - 60
1082 - Bland, Billy - Born To Be Loved - 60
1083 - Lee, Vinny - Rhumabrino [instrumental] - 60
1083 - Lee, Vinny - Whipper Snapper [instrumental] - 60
1084 - Kennedy, Gene - It's Too Late - 60
1084 - Kennedy, Gene - Am I The Boy - 60
1085 - Gaddy, Bob - Could I - 60
1085 - Gaddy, Bob - Don't Tell Her - 60
1086 - Robert & Johnny - We Belong Together - spring 60
1086 - Robert & Johnny - In The Rain - spring 60
1087 - Prysock, Arthur - Do You Believe - 60
1087 - Prysock, Arthur - This Is My Love - 60
1088 - Bland, Billy - Make Believe Lover - 60
1088 - Bland, Billy - Harmony - 60
1089 - Vocaleers - Love And Devotion - 9/60
1089 - Vocaleers - This Is The Night - 9/60
1090 - Fiestas - So Nice - 10/60
1090 - Fiestas - You Could Be My Girlfriend - 10/60
1091 - Robert & Johnny - Baby Girl Of Mine - 7/60
1091 - Robert & Johnny - I Got You - 7/60
1092 - Prysock, Arthur - Good Rockin' Tonight - 60
1092 - Prysock, Arthur - My Everything - 60
1093 - Bland, Billy - Keep Talkin' That Sweet Talk - 60
1093 - Bland, Billy - Everything That Shines Isn't Gold - 60
1094 - Capris - There's A Moon Out Tonight - 60
1094 - Capris - Indian Girl - 60
1095 - Jones, Davey - Come On And Get It - 61
1095 - Jones, Davey - I've Got A New Love - 61
1096 - Solitaires - Lonesome Lover - 11/60
1096 - Solitaires - Pretty Thing - 11/60
1097 - Kennedy, Gene - Wandering Wanderer - 61
1097 - Kennedy, Gene - If I Should Die Before I Love - 61
1098 - Bland, Billy - Steady Kind - 61
1098 - Bland, Billy - I Cross My Heart - 61
1099 - Capris - Where I Fell In Love - 61
1099 - Capris - Some People Think - 61
1100 - Robert & Johnny - Please Me, Please - 12/60
1101 - Prysock, Arthur - This Time - 61
1101 - Prysock, Arthur - I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone - 61
1102 - Rogers, Lori - Please Don't Tell Him - 61
1102 - Rogers, Lori - Someday You're Gonna Be Sorry - 61
1103 - Capris - Why Do I Cry - 61
1103 - Capris - Tears In My Eyes - 61
1104 - Fiestas - Look At That Girl - 6/61
1104 - Fiestas - Mister Dillon, Mister Dillon - 6/61
1105 - Bland, Billy - My Heart's On Fire - 61
1105 - Bland, Billy - Can't Stop Her From Dancing - 61
1106 - Prysock, Arthur - Speak To Me - 61
1106 - Prysock, Arthur - One More Time {& Grp} - 61
1107 - Capris - Girl In My Dreams - 61
1107 - Capris - My Island In The Sun - 61
1108 - Robert & Johnny - Togetherness - 8/61
1109 - Bland, Billy - Do The Bug With Me - 61
1109 - Bland, Billy - Uncle Bud - 61
1110 - Kennedy, Gene - Rockin' Pneumonia - 61
1110 - Kennedy, Gene - Deepest Part Of The Ocean - 61
1111 - Fiestas - She's Mine - 10/61
1111 - Fiestas - The Hobo's Prayer - 10/61
1112 - Rich, Ron - The Sun, Sand And The Sea - 61
1112 - Rich, Ron - When You Need A Helping Hand - 61
1113 - Finnegan, Larry - Dear One - 61
1113 - Finnegan, Larry - Candy Lips - 61
1114 - Bland, Billy - All I Wanna Do Is Cry - 62
1114 - Bland, Billy - Busy Little Boy - 62
1115 - Prysock, Arthur - April In Paris - 62
1115 - Prysock, Arthur - When I Fall In Love - 62
1116 - Andre, Tommy - I Wonder Why - 62
1116 - Andre, Tommy - I'm Wondering - 62
1117 - Robert & Johnny - Broken Hearted Man - 4/62
1118 - Crab Creek County School Band - Chivaree - 62
1118 - Crab Creek County School Band - Tell Your Story Walkin' - 62
1119 - Gaddy, Bob - Forgive Me - 62
1119 - Gaddy, Bob - Gonna Be At The Station - 62
1120 - Finnegan, Larry - It's Walkin', Talkin' Time - 62
1120 - Finnegan, Larry - Pretty Susie Sunshine - 62
1121 - Kennedy, Gene - Don't Tear My Playhouse Down - 62
1121 - Kennedy, Gene - I Wish I Knew - 62
1122 - Fiestas - Broken Heart - 5/62
1122 - Fiestas - The Railroad Song - 5/62
1123 - Finnegan, Larry - Knock On Wood - 62
1123 - Finnegan, Larry - Oh, Lonesome Me - 62
1124 - Bland, Billy - Mama Stole The Chicken - 62
1124 - Bland, Billy - I Spent My Life Loving You - 62
1125 - Prysock, Arthur - Pianissimo - 62
1125 - Prysock, Arthur - Where Can I Go - 62
1126 - Kennedy, Gene - No Letter Today - 62
1126 - Kennedy, Gene - The One For Me - 62
1127 - Fiestas - Look At That Girl - 10/62
1127 - Fiestas - I Feel Good All Over - 10/62
1128 - Bland, Billy - How Many Hearts {& Grp} - 62
1128 - Bland, Billy - Darling, Won't You Think Of Me - 62
1129 - Arnez, Coley - Fever [instrumental] - 62
1129 - Arnez, Coley - Money [instrumental] - 62
1130 - Earls - Remember Then - 62
1130 - Earls - Let's Waddle - 62
1131 - Kennedy, Gene - Little Miss Lonely - 63
1131 - Kennedy, Gene - Lonesome Town USA - 63
1132 - Prysock, Arthur - Come And See This Old Fool - 63
1132 - Prysock, Arthur - Our Love Will Last - 63
1133 - Earls - Never - 63
1133 - Earls - I Keep A-Tellin' You - 63
1134 - Fiestas - The Gypsy Said - 2/63
1134 - Fiestas - Mama Put The Law Down - 2/63
1135 - McKay, Beverly - Baby, You're So Right - 63
1135 - McKay, Beverly - You Better Believe Me - 63
1136 - Finnegan, Larry - A Kiss And A Dozen Roses - 63
1136 - Finnegan, Larry - Pick Up The Pieces - 63
1137 - Chanticleers - Necklace Of Roses - 63
1137 - Chanticleers - Green Satin - 63
1138 - Prysock, Arthur - My Special Prayer - 63
1138 - Prysock, Arthur - You Can't Come In - 63
1139 - Solitaires - Honey Babe - 3/63 (same song as I Really Love You on 1044)
1139 - Solitaires - The Time Is Here - 3/63
1140 - Fiestas - The Party's Over - 4/63
1140 - Fiestas - Try It One More Time - 4/63
1141 - Earls - Eyes - 63
1141 - Earls - Look My Way - 63
1142 - Wilshire Trio - Lover's Island - 63
1142 - Wilshire Trio - That Magic Feeling - 63
1143 - Bland, Billy - Doing The Mule - 63
1143 - Bland, Billy - Farmer In The Dell - 63
1144 - Prysock, Arthur - Crawdad - 63
1144 - Prysock, Arthur - There Will Never Be Another You - 63
1145 - Earls - Cry, Cry, Cry - 63
1145 - Earls - Kissin' - 63
1146 - Prysock, Arthur - My Wish - 63
1146 - Prysock, Arthur - Stella By Starlight - 63
1147 - Austin, Tom & Healeys - Summer's Over - 63
1147 - Austin, Tom & Healeys - Maybe You'll Be There - 63
1148 - Fiestas - Rock A By Baby - 8/63
1148 - Fiestas - Foolish Dreamer - 8/63
1149 - Earls - I Believe - 63
1149 - Earls - Don't Forget - 63
1150 - Erlene & Her Girlfriends - A Guy Is A Guy - 63
1150 - Erlene & Her Girlfriends - My Dada Say - 63
1151 - Bland, Billy - A Little Touch Of Your Love - 63
1151 - Bland, Billy - Little Boy Blue - 63
1152 - Erlene & Her Girlfriends - Because Of You - 63
1152 - Erlene & Her Girlfriends - Casanova - 63
1153 - Houston, Freddie - Chills And Fever - 63
1153 - Houston, Freddie - I Gotta Move - 63
1154 - Volumes - Why - 64
1154 - Volumes - Monkey Hop - 64
1155 - Prysock, Arthur - Ebb Tide - 64
1155 - Prysock, Arthur - Are You Ready For A Laugh - 64
1156 - Houston, Freddie - Only The Lonely One - 64
1156 - Houston, Freddie - If I Had Known - 64
1157 - Jefferies, Prince - So Good - 64
1157 - Jefferies, Prince - The Ape - 64
1158 - Stevens, Kenny - Echo In My Heart {& Grp} - 64
1158 - Stevens, Kenny - It Was Love At First Sight - 64
1159 - McKay, Beverly - Say It With A Feeling - 64
1159 - McKay, Beverly - Conscience - 64
1160 - Sparkels - Try Love (One More Time) - 64
1160 - Sparkels - That Boy Of Mine - 64
1161 - Height, Donald - Crazy Little Girl - 64
1161 - Height, Donald - I'll Never Forget You - 64
1163 - Prysock, Arthur - Close Your Eyes - 64
1163 - Prysock, Arthur - My Everlasting Love - 64
1164 - Height, Donald - Pretty Girl - 64
1164 - Height, Donald - You Can't Trust Your Best Friend - 64
1165 - Butch, Peggy & Little John - It Must Be Love - 64
1165 - Butch, Peggy & Little John - Tomorrow Night - 64
1166 - Fiestas - Rock-A-By-Baby - 5/64
1166 - Fiestas - All That's Good - 5/64
1167 - Gordon, Roscoe - Just A Little At A Time - 64
1167 - Gordon, Roscoe - Gotta Keep Rollin' - 64
1168 - Gypsies - Blue Bird (Mr. Jay) - 64
1168 - Gypsies - Hey There, Hey There - 64
1169 - Earls - Ask Anybody - 64
1169 - Earls - Oh, What A Time - 64
1170 - Prysock, Arthur - Fly Me To The Moon - 64
1170 - Prysock, Arthur - Without The One You Love - 64
1171 - Crowns - Possibility - 64
1171 - Crowns - Watch Out [instrumental] - 64
1172 - Height, Donald - Climbing The Pole - 64
1172 - Height, Donald - Baby, Set Me Free - 64
1173 - Johnson, Ella - Like You Do (Buddy Johnson Ork.) - 64
1173 - Johnson, Ella - Keep On Loving You (Buddy Johnson Ork.) - 64
1174 - Prysock, Arthur - Full Moon And Empty Arms - 64
1174 - Prysock, Arthur - You Always Hurt The One You Love - 64
1175 - Rosco & Barbara - It Ain't Right - 65
1175 - Rosco & Barbara - Could This Be Love - 65
1176 - Height, Donald - Tribute To Sam, A - 65
1177 - Prysock, Arthur - Teardrops In The Rain - 65
1177 - Prysock, Arthur - I'm Crossing Over - 65
1178 - Fiestas - Anna - 3/65
1178 - Fiestas - Think Smart - 3/65
1179 - Riffs - Tell Tale Friends - 65
1179 - Riffs - Why Are The Nights So Cold - 65
1180 - Gypsies - Diamonds Rubies Gold And Fame - 65
1180 - Gypsies - Jerk It - 65
1181 - Meshel, Billy - The Tiger And The 71st Street Sharks - 65
1181 - Meshel, Billy - My Little Angel - 65
1182 - Earls - Remember Me, Baby - 65
1182 - Earls - Amor - 65
1183 - Prysock, Arthur - Who Can I Turn To - 65
1183 - Prysock, Arthur - It's Too Late, Baby Too Late - 65
1183* - Prysock, Arthur - My Silent Prayer - 65
1183* - Prysock, Arthur - It's Too Late, Baby Too Late - 65
1184 - Gypsies - It's A Woman's World - 65
1184 - Gypsies - They're Having A Party - 65
1185 - Prysock, Arthur - Open Up Your Heart - 65
1185 - Prysock, Arthur - Only A Fool Breaks His Own Heart - 65
1186 - Young, Lester - I Got The Right - 65
1186 - Young, Lester - I Love My Baby - 65
1187 - Fiestas (Feat Tommy Andre) - Love Is Strange - 10/65
1187 - Fiestas (Feat Tommy Andre) - Love Is Good To Me - 10/65
1188 - Prysock, Arthur - Again - 65
1188 - Prysock, Arthur - I Got The Blues So Bad - 65
1189 - Fiestas - Ain't She Sweet - 11/65
1189 - Fiestas - I Gotta Have Your Lovin' - 11/65
1190 - Anderson, Kriss - The Sloopy - 65
1190 - Anderson, Kriss - He's My Boyfriend - 66
1191 - Prysock, Arthur - House By The Side Of The Road - 66
1191 - Prysock, Arthur - My Funny Valentine - 66
1192 - Cassero, Al - Make Believe - 66
1192 - Cassero, Al - Pretty Girl, You're Lying - 66
1193 - Gypsies - Oh I Wonder Why - 66
1193 - Gypsies - Diamonds, Rubies, Gold And Fame - 66
1194 - Bobby & Betty Lou - Sugar - 66
1194 - Bobby & Betty Lou - Soul Stirrer - 66
1195 - Johnson, Jesse - Left Out - 66
1195 - Johnson, Jesse - A Hundred Pounds Of Clay - 66
1196 - Prysock, Arthur - Because - 66
1196 - Prysock, Arthur - Let It Be Me - 66
2001 - Flambeaus - Darling, I'm With You - 69
2001 - Flambeaus - Nobody Knows - 69
2002 - New Jersey Turnpike - Like A Boomerang - 69
2002 - New Jersey Turnpike - Here Comes The Fuzz - 69
2003 - Long, Bobby & Dealers - I Gotta Have Love Too - 69
2003 - Long, Bobby & Dealers - Heartbreak Avenue - 69
2004 - Reid, Irene - Dirty Old Man - 69
2004 - Reid, Irene - Just Loving You - 69
2006 - Thomas, Charlie - Good, Good Lovin' - 69
2006 - Thomas, Charlie - You Don't Live Twice - 69
2007 - Thomas, Charlie - Let It All Fall On My Shoulder - 70
100 - Prysock, Arthur - In The Rain - 73
100 - Prysock, Arthur - Thank Heaven For You - 73
101 - Scott, Peggy - Things Have More Meaning Now - 73
101 - Scott, Peggy - Making Love To My Mind - 73
102 - Williams, Dickie - I'll Be Standing By - 73
102 - Williams, Dickie - Born To Sing - 73
103 - Prysock, Arthur - Colour My World - 74
103 - Prysock, Arthur - Good Morning News - 74
105 - Lords Of Percussion - The Kung Fu - 74
105 - Lords Of Percussion - Geisha Girl - 74
106 - Prysock, Arthur - Hurt So Bad - 74
106 - Prysock, Arthur - Love Makes It Right - 74
107 - Malcolm's Locks - Get Up, Stand Up - 75
107 - Malcolm's Locks - Motherless Child - 75
108 - Prysock, Arthur - I Want 'Cha, Baby - 75
108 - Prysock, Arthur - One Broken Heart - 75
1000 - Prysock, Arthur - When Love Is New - 76
1000 - Prysock, Arthur - All I Need Is You - 76
1001 - Prysock, Arthur - I Want 'Cha, Baby - 77
1001 - Prysock, Arthur - One Broken Heart - 77
1002 - Prysock, Arthur - You Can Do It Part 1 - 77
1003 - Prysock, Arthur - Since I Fell For You - 78
1003 - Prysock, Arthur - Between Hello And Goodbye - 78
100-81 - Harptones - Life Is But A Dream - 81
100-81 - Earls - Life Is But A Dream - 81
1981/2 - Hill, Beverly - Keep Movin' - 81
1981/2 - Hill, Beverly - Keep Movin' [instrumental] - 81
1983 - Prysock, Arthur - Goldmine - 81
1983 - Prysock, Arthur - My Song Of Love - 81
1984 - Conway & Temple - Love Lights (You Can Lay Your Head On My Shoulder) - 82
1984 - Conway & Temple - Love Lights [instrumental] - 82
1985 - Charmaigne - On Top - 82
1985 - Charmaigne - Whoosh What A Rush - 82
Here's a guide to the various Old Town record labels, put together by Mike Bauer, with some assist from Victor Pearlin. Old Town doesn't seem to have religiously adhered to the various label changes, however, and many exceptions exist.
OLD TOWN 700 SERIES
790-793 Yellow label, green print, logo has double thin lines
Number 791 was never released.
OLD TOWN 300 SERIES (POP)
300 Black with an outer thick line and an inner thin line
304 Black with a single thin line
Numbers 301, 302, 303, were never released.
OLD TOWN 1000 SERIES
1000-1012 Yellow label, Old English logo, brown print, single thin lines
1013-1027 Yellow label, engraved print logo with ropes; 701 7th Ave. address
1028-1041 Yellow label, engraved print logo with double lines (outer thick and inner thin); 701 7th Ave. address
1042-1048 Yellow label, engraved print logo, single thin line; 701 7th Ave. address
1049-1051 Yellow label, engraved print logo, single thin line; NO address
1052-1171 Blue label with black print, picture of a medieval town on top (some 1052 still had the yellow label)
1172-1196 Black label with a yellow moon
1044 is just like 1028-1041 (thick/thin lines) (701 7th Ave. address).
1047 and 1052 also released with yellow label, engraved print logo, single thin line, and NO address. There's also a star,
with arrows on either side, below the Old Town name.
1047 also released with blue label, engraved print logo, single thin line, and NO address
1047 also released with yellow label, block print, single thin line and NO address.
1047 also released with exactly the same layout as 1052-1171, except the label is yellow with black print.
1054 and 1055 are exactly the same layout as 1052-1171, except the label is yellow with black print.
1057, 1103, and 1105 are unlike any other Old Town label. The're dark blue with silver print, no lines, "Old Town" in a
pseudo Old English logo with no address. 1103 and 1105 have the picture of the medieval town at the top.
There's also a black and white promo of 1057, which is the same as the stock copy, except it does not have the picture of the medieval town.
1183 and 1184 also released with the style of 1172-1196, except that label is reddish-brown, with silver print.
Numbers 1002, 1004, 1005, 1013, 1025, 1037, 1040, 1045 and 1048 were never released.
However, in 1976, the 1000 series was re-started as an Arthur Prysock series.
1006/1006 and 1006/1007 have the same songs, same labels, but different numbers.
1017 and 1027 have two different labels with the same cuts.
1024 has the same label, but two different flips.
1026 has two different labels, but the same cut with a different title.
1041 has the same label, but two different titles.
1043 has the same label, same flip, same title, but with two different versions.
1052 has two different flips and two different labels.
OLD TOWN 100 SERIES (1970s)
Stock is black and red; white block print; silhouette of New York City skyline and stars; "Old Town" in green letters within a yellow
moon on top. Promo is either plain white with black block print, or plain white with black script print for the logo and black
block print for everything else; or light blue, with black script print for the logo and black block print for everything else.
78 RPM LABELS
I thought I'd throw this in, just for completion. I can find evidence of five different kinds of 78 labels:
The 700 series had light green labels, with dark green print, "Old Town" is in italics.
The 1000 series started with yellow labels having dark red print. "Old Town" is in Old English characters.
This changed to a yellow label with black print. "Old Town" is in engraved characters. The label is surrounded by either a single or a double line within its circumference (1015 has a single line; 1018 has a double line; 1026 is back to a single line).
When the 45s changed to the light blue label with the medieval town picture (with #1052), so did the 78s. At this point, the 45 and 78 labels seem to be identical in layout.
Unlike all other known 78s, 1057 is dark blue, with silver print. "Old Town" is in Old English characters. Most of the rest of the label is in thick block print that threatens to run off the label. It's quite crude.


text:
< Back To The Science
Membrane Biophysics
Led by Dr. Richard Pastor, the lab is combining experiments on simplified membranes with the fundamental principles and simulation techniques of physics to understand and model cell membranes on the atomic level.
Richard Pastor, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator
Senior Investigator Research Interests
Dr. Pastor applies information collected from computer simulations and statistical mechanics to biophysics, with an emphasis on cell membranes. Cell membranes are not only the physical barriers that partition cells into units with discrete subcompartments, they are also dynamic, heterogeneous structures comprising multiple types of fats, proteins, and sugars which allow the cell to communicate with its environment. Dr. Pastor is combining experiments on simplified membranes with the fundamental principles and simulation techniques of physics to understand and model cell membranes on the atomic level. Such simulations hold extraordinary promise: in applied areas such as drug design, they could provide a detailed picture of drug binding and transport through the membrane; on a fundamental level, they could answer questions concerning cell fusion and signal transduction, and they are a valuable complement to experimental manipulations.
As a starting point, Dr. Pastor has focused on describing the characteristics of simplified membranes: bilayers and monolayers containing lipids such as dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC). Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations carried out in his laboratory have successfully reproduced experimental data including NMR relaxation times and deuterium order parameters, X-ray structure factors, lateral diffusion constants, and elastic constants of assorted bilayers. These results have then been used to refine and develop models for the structure and dynamics of membranes.
Developing the simulation methodology itself is central to Dr. Pastor's interests. His group has contributed to the development of the simulation program CHARMM (Chemistry at HARvard Molecular Mechanics) since the 1980s.
He has recently focused on developing molecular mechanics force fields suitable for atomic level simulations of simple and complex bilayers. To this end, he and his colleagues have carried out a combination of high level quantum mechanical calculations and MD simulations on model compounds, compared the results with experimental observations, and then applied the resulting techniques to lipids and related compounds. The latest version of the CHARMM lipid force field C36—published by Dr. Pastor and his colleagues in 2010—represents a comprehensive tool for the study of heterogeneous cell membranes.
As Dr. Pastor continues to refine computational models for simple lipids, he is also aiming to introduce new levels of complexity to the simulation with the addition of new lipids, membrane components, and phases. Meanwhile, he has also turned his attention to how lipids interact with peptides in membranes. For example, many antimicrobial peptides lie on the surface of membranes until they reach a sufficiently high concentration to aggregate and form pores that completely disrupt cell function. In contrast, viral peptides can cause fusion events that safeguard the integrity of the cell membrane but allow viral entry and replication. Dr. Pastor and his colleagues are simulating the interaction of single peptides with lipid bilayers to discover precisely how they position themselves and where they put stress on the membrane.
With the overall goal of simulating a cell membrane in all its biological complexity, Dr. Pastor is in a relatively rare research situation of creating foundational tools to take advantage of computing power that will most likely exist ten to twenty years in the future. In 1993, he and his colleagues published MD simulations of a simple lipid bilayer in Science—considered a breakthrough in biophysical computing—that required 6 months on an NIH supercomputer. Bringing such an unwieldy component to any practical application would have been unfeasible. Today the same simulation would require less than an hour. In addition to providing insights into relatively simple membrane systems and molecules, Dr. Pastor's goal is to lay the proper foundations for a truly comprehensive model of the membrane as computational power rises to meet its challenges.
Learn more about the lab's research projects here.
CHARMM
CHARMM Tutorial
ProBiS Server
Open MM
CPPTRAJ
Characterization of Specific Ion Effects on PI(4,5)P 2 Clustering: Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Graph-Theoretic Analysis.
Authors: Han K, Gericke A, Pastor RW.
J Phys Chem B. 2020 Feb 20;124(7):1183-1196
Permeability of membranes in the liquid ordered and liquid disordered phases.
Authors: Ghysels A, Kramer A, Venable RM, Teague WE jr, Lyman E, Gawrisch K, Pastor RW
Nat Commun 2019 Dec 09;10(1):5616
The molecular structure of the liquid-ordered phase of lipid bilayers.
Authors: Sodt AJ, Sandar ML, Gawrisch K, Pastor RW, Lyman E
J Am Chem Soc. 2014 Jan 15;136(2):725-32
Update of the CHARMM all-atom additive force field for lipids: validation on six lipid types.
Authors: Klauda JB, Venable RM, Freites JA, O'Connor JW, Tobias DJ, Mondragon-Ramirez C, Vorobyov I, MacKerell, Pastor RW
J Phys Chem B 2010 Jun 17;114(23):7830-43
Molecular dynamics simulations of a lipid bilayer and of hexadecane: an investigation of membrane fluidity.
Authors: Venable RM, Zhang Y, Hardy BJ, Pastor RW
Science 1993 Oct 08;262(5131):223-6
Richard Pastor earned an M.S. in chemistry from Syracuse University in 1977 and a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard University in 1984. He joined the NIH in 1984 as a staff fellow in the Laboratory of Chemical Physics at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, before spending more than a decade with the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration. In 2006 he rejoined NIH and has been with the Membrane Biophysics Section since. In 1996 he received an Excellence in Science by a Group award from the FDA, and the Center Director's Public Health Achievement Award from the CBER in 1997. Dr. Pastor has authored or coauthored more than 150 papers or book chapters, and won the 2021 Avanti Award from the Biophysical Society. He is a reviewer for numerous journals, including the Biophysical Journal, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Journal of Chemical Physics, Journal of Computational Chemistry, and Biochemistry.
View Dr. Pastor's CV here.
Contact the lab
12 South Dr
Richard Venable, M.S.
Staff Scientist
venabler@nhlbi.nih.gov
Amy Rice, Ph.D.
Yalun Yu
Anthony Pane
Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Zack Jarin, Ph.D.
zack.jarin@nih.gov

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A "passive" approach to building design uses architectural and building enclosure elements aligned with local, micro-climate considerations to meet thermal comfort requirements. This can significantly reduce the need for "active" mechanical and electrical equipment that would typically provide heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. Ideally, a truly passive building would eliminate the need for active equipment all together. This presentation will discuss common passive design features and their potential for reducing annual energy consumption, including case studies from building projects where passive strategies have been employed.
Susan Hayes, P.Eng. is a mechanical engineer with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. She is experienced in the design of low-energy mechanical systems and energy modeling in a variety of software tools. Susan's project accomplishments include: leader of the LEED energy modeling team for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Athlete's Village; mechanical consultant for Vancouver's first LEED Gold office building and presenter at a number of seminars and events. Prior to joining RDH in early 2012, Susan worked as a designer for a mechanical engineering firm and as sustainability project manager at an integrated design firm.


text:
On Demand Content
Machias Savings Bank
flyte new media
Fast Forward Maine Podcast
Grow Your Business with Scratchpad Accelerator! – Jason Harkins
http://traffic.libsyn.com/fastforwardmaine/ep_8_Jason-Harkins.mp3
Looking to grow your Maine-based business? Are you scalable and looking for investment? Ready for your seed round?
If so, then Scratchpad Accelerator may be for you!
In this episode, we talk to Jason Harkins about Scratchpad Accelerator's role in helping Maine business scale up, and quickly!
Rich: Our guest today is the co-managing director of Scratchpad Accelerator, a seed accelerator running multiple programs each year for scalable investment-oriented companies. He is an associate professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Maine, and also co-owner of CoVort, Bangor's coworking space. He is on the advisory board of a number of scalable businesses in Maine and is on the board of UpStart Maine, which is building a community that fuels entrepreneurship in the Bangor region. He loves working with startups, with a focus on developing the business side of new ventures. He's also an active contributor to and consultant for entrepreneurial companies throughout Maine. He has a teaching and research interests related to the intersection of strategy and entrepreneurship. Welcome to the show Jason Harkins.
Jason Harkins: Thanks for having me.
Yury: Jason, the first question, can you tell us more about Scratchpad Accelerator and what your role is there?
Jason Harkins: Absolutely. So Scratchpad Accelerator is a seed accelerator which looks to work with companies, that as Rich just said, are scalable and investment-oriented at the latest stages before they start to scale into their growth. So these are companies that are going to tend to be immediately preceding an investment round, which we would call a seed round, and they have a product, they have some done customer discovery, and they're basically looking to build on the early traction they have as they move forward. As a co-managing director, I'm responsible for pulling together the program, recruiting companies, raising funds and generally supporting our startups and our mentors, and making sure that the companies that participate get as much value as humanly possible out of the time that they're a part of Scratchpad.
Yury: And how old is Scratchpad? How many classes or cohorts, or companies that successfully graduated?
Jason Harkins: Sure, so Scratchpad was started in 2015, actually as a sabbatical project of mine, which was the least stressful sabbatical you could possibly participate in. So we've run two cohorts. We ran one in 2015, we've run one then again in 2016, running into 2018, and are working our way towards running two annual cohorts for the next, for the foreseeable future. We've had eight graduates so far and anticipate seeing another 10 to 12 companies this year participate in Scratchpad.
Rich: So how does a business know that they're ready for you? You talked about the fact that they're just about to ramp-up. I know a lot of companies must feel like they're ready for that first run of investment, but how do they know and then how do you connect with them?
Jason Harkins: Right. So there's a couple of ways that they know. One of the things that we try and do is be very, very active in the statewide ecosystem for entrepreneurship, and so we leverage our partners a lot. We ask MTI who's come to them, an MTI is the Main Technology Institute, who's come to them for funding that they see that might be appropriate. We scour every Top Gun graduate that comes out each year from across the state. So we look at the other programs that are running which we would say are earlier in the funnel in terms of developing companies, but the other thing that we looked to do is partner with institutions and academic entities to say, what's out there where you've worked with people and they understand who their customers are, what their customers' needs are, and they've got a team in place that could execute if they had the right business model and the support of mentors.
Yury: Okay, gotcha. So what types of businesses work well with you?
Jason Harkins: That's a great question. We are focusing this year on two different types of businesses generally speaking. We don't have an industry focus, but what we do, what we have identified as our focus for our fall cohort is companies that are coming out of academic institutions, medical, or R&D institutions, or spinning off of privately held companies to be able to support, provide them the resources that they need as spin out companies, and then in the spring we will run a cohort based on female-founded companies to help ameliorate some of the well-known concerns that exist in terms of supporting and helping female-founded companies access capital.
Rich: That actually, I want to jump ahead, that brings up a question that you had Yury beforehand. Why don't you?
Yury: Well actually, I attended Startup Maine Conference and one of the keynote address was around minorities or underrepresented groups that get funded by these seeds.
Jason Harkins: Right.
Yury: So can you speak about that, what's going on in the state around that topic. Why female? Are there any other categories of people or individuals who you would want to bring into the ecosystem in the state?
Jason Harkins: I would say generally speaking, there are some really great efforts being made to integrate immigrants through the immigrant entrepreneurship work that's happening, particularly down here in Portland quite deeply. So there are efforts to integrate those disadvantaged or underrepresented populations. Unfortunately I was just at a meeting yesterday where they told us that 93.3% of Maine in white, and so that's a reality that we're kind of seeding to. So focused on female founders because female-founded companies receive roughly 3% of all venture capital, which is preposterous frankly, and they are perceived differently and treated differently the whole way through the financing channel, particularly when we're talking about equity based financing. So we've said that that is the biggest population in the State of Maine that has some very specific and idiosyncratic disadvantages that we're going to try and address. Then we will actively work to support anybody who is looking to support those other disadvantaged populations.
Yury: Gotcha, and for our listeners I just wanted to put in perspective. In 2016 there were less than 3% of all VC money went to female-founded companies.
Yury: So that's-
Jason Harkins: And yet the research suggests that female-founded companies actually offer a better ROI.
Yury: Interesting.
Jason Harkins: So when female-founded companies get that investment and they continue to grow and scale, they offer a better ROI than male-founded only companies. The academic in me could posit lots of reasons why that might be the case, but nonetheless, that's the conclusion we have from the data we have to date.
Rich: Getting back to the earlier question, you talked a lot about how you go out and find these companies, but what if we feel like our business is ready to move forward, like we're at the cusp, but maybe we haven't made those connections with the MCED, Top Gun, these other MTI, these other organizations? How do we connect with you or how do we pitch you on helping us to really accelerate our business growth?
Jason Harkins: Right, that's a great question. So if you go to www.scratchpadaccelerator.com right now, we have an apply here button right on the homepage, and as an organization that is deeply rooted in Maine, that has deeply held Maine values as it relates to encouraging participation. We do everything we can to screen every single applicant and have a conversation with them, whether or not they are appropriate for Scratchpad to point them towards the next resource, and we hope to be the next resource for many of them, but there are, every year we get people that apply that are too early or that are struggling with questions that are not appropriate for Scratchpad, and we actively look to find a partner somewhere else in the ecosystem so say, "Well, you're not maybe ready now, why don't you consider Top Gun, or check out the Women's Business Center, or any of a number of other resource support organizations that exist across the state?"
Rich: What are some of the clues that somebody might be, that they're not right for you? What are some of the things that I might struggle with where you're like, "Dude, you got to do some other work before you can come to Scratchpad."
Jason Harkins: Right. That's a great question. So one of the things that we see often is somebody who has developed something, whether it's a product, or a service, or a piece of technology, but they haven't interfaced with their likely customers at all, a process we would call customer discovery. We would say that's great, it may be a really amazing product or service, but you really need to go and interface with these potential customers and do some of that customer discovery. Another thing is we focus on organizations that have teams of people. You don't have to both be co-founders, but you do have to have somebody other than yourself in order to build this business because it's really, really difficult to build these scalable businesses, and there's kind of this myth of the heroic entrepreneur, but the reality is that the data doesn't bear out that that is nearly as prevalent as it could be.
Jason Harkins: Then on the other side, what we see is the we want to see a real ambition to compete on a national or international market in a big market. So we say the minimum scale that we're interested in and that we think we can serve from a scalable perspective is a $100 million market. So if you have aspirations to go out and conquer Maine or New England, that's great and we want to support that, but that doesn't necessarily align with what we are as an organization from a mission perspective. So we would try and find another place to be able to provide those supports.
Rich: Not your sweet spot, that makes a lot of sense.
Jason Harkins: Right, right.
Rich: Yeah, cool.
Yury: A couple of your successful graduates like CourseStorm and Sofia Fima, what made them successful? As an academic and professor at the university, maybe two, five specific categories that helped them achieve their success and become known?
Jason Harkins: Sure, so I'll start by talking about CourseStorm. So as I said earlier, CourseStorm was founded really by a team, Brian and Matt, and they are a very complementary team. So Brian has significant business experience, built a really successful web development company that CourseStorm really spun out of and then Matt is a very, very technical … Very talented technical co-founder, so that was one of the things that was really salient. Another thing for CourseStorm is that they were, they had done a lot of the pre-work, they had assigned on additional customers and they were working on trying to figure out how to move to scale. Then I would say generally for both CourseStorm and Sofia Fima, all of the participants that have really come out of Scratchpad, they're curious and they want to find people who can help them be better. They don't think they know everything, and I've met a lot of entrepreneurs who think they know everything, and that's a real challenge in terms of at least running a program where you're trying to provide them some support. Then they have a really good, they have their ear to the ground in terms of interfacing with their market and constantly trying to improve and make it easier and easier for customers to find and access the value that they create.
Rich: So what does a relationship with you look like? Whether I find you, you find me, we decide that there's some scalability, I'm looking beyond New England. Walk me through what our relationship might be like.
Jason Harkins: Right. So we run what we would call a traditional seed accelerator, which means that it is time defined. So our programs run for 13 weeks. What would happen is you would apply, we would go about, do the interview, select your company, and then we would, this year we're trying something that we think is going to really encourage participation from all parts of the state. We are running our, we're modeling our accelerator after something that village capital, which is an organization that runs accelerators all over the globe does, which is we provide periodic in-person sessions followed by long stretches of remote interfacing. So we have you come together in Bangor, we pay for your lodging, we put you up in the coworking space at a desk, and we sit down and we do a lot of learning, we do a lot of team building. We really try and address a lot of core issues you can-
Rich: And is this multiple companies all at once? Is that what's happening?
Jason Harkins: It's multiple. Yes, absolutely. So we have four to six companies at a time.
Rich: Okay.
Jason Harkins: We feel like we, my business partner Lisa Liberatore and I can't really provide the best experience if we take on too many companies.
Rich: Sure.
Jason Harkins: We need to really understand them well. So they come together as a cohort, we'd work on some of the common challenges that startups face with sessions led by experts from all over the state and the country, and then you go back and you work at your business for five weeks. We do remote check-in calls, we connect you with mentors, we work with you on developing a business roadmap, come back together again in person, go back and work remotely, and then our last gathering, our last week together is really focused on getting you ready to go out and raise capital. So hopefully the nine, 10, 11 weeks that have led up to this last week have helped you to develop your business and move it forward exponentially so that when we're coming together the last week, you're really out there and ready to go lay the groundwork and raise capital.
Rich: And after you've kicked me out of the nest.
Jason Harkins: Yes.
Rich: Is there any more follow-up or are you really focused on this one period in time of a company's growth?
Jason Harkins: There is essentially unlimited follow-up, which at times is its own unique challenge running a program. We do kind of kick you out of the nest in terms of the on-site weeks, but I still get emails from the founders that were participating in 2015, or text, or Facebook messages, or however it is that you reach out to me and say, "Hey, I'm struggling with this. Do we have somebody in the mentor network that can help? Can we get on a phone call and try and understand this thing?" We want to be long-term supports, while recognizing that the intense focus is right there during the time you're in the program. But if I can do anything to support a startup that I've worked with, or frankly that I haven't in the State of Maine, I go out of my way to try and do that because I think that you have to give first if we're going to build this scalable startup community in Maine.
Rich: Sounds good.
Yury: Are there any particular programs that you graduate your graduates into? I mean, ultimately we want to see them succeed, and scale, and grow.
Yury: But what if they graduated your program.
Yury: You move them or transition them into somebody's else.
Jason Harkins: Yes, and actually that has happened each time. So as an accelerator, we are compared to some accelerators that exist in the country and around the world, we're quite early, and because we don't have an industry focus per se but are focused on the big gaps that exist in Maine, what we've had is CourseStorm graduated at the end of 2015, and in I think late 2016 went down to LearnLaunch in Boston, which is an EdTech focused accelerator where they could take the lessons that they had learned.
Yury: Niche specific.
Jason Harkins: Very, very focused accelerator just for EdTech companies. They could take the things that they had learned in Scratchpad, apply them, execute. Another one of our 2015 grads, Cobbler Technologies went down to AlphaLab Gear in Pittsburgh, and because he's building a hardware startup, and he needs very, very specific manufacturing supports and other things, and so they've got expertise there. So we are finding that there is kind of this pathway that these accelerators go to, and we hope over time to be able to build more of that capacity in the state, but Maine can't support these organizations alone. I mean, if they do what we hope that they'll do, they're going to definitely need to draw in resources that exist outside the state.
Yury: So as a follow-up to the previous question, so what are the problems that startups face that you help them with?
Jason Harkins: That's a good … It's a very complex question [crosstalk 00:17:07].
Yury: It's like show part two, right?
Jason Harkins: Right. So I would say that there's a few things that we believe that we do particularly well that are not necessarily done in other programs. One is we have a very explicit focus on that investment orientation and equity financing. So there's a lot of really nuanced learnings that entrepreneurs, especially first time entrepreneurs need to wrap their heads around before they go raise capital or they find themselves at risk of potential being taken advantage of. These are every things from learning how to structure term sheets and negotiate deals with investors, to understanding the way that building boards actually works, because many earlier stage organizations are LLCs and they don't have boards, or they have a board and it's me, and I do whatever I want to do. So we spend a lot of time on that kind of equity orientation, and then we spend a lot of time also building systems and roadmaps to be able to get them from the early technical development that they've done into some sort of repeatable business model.
Rich: So all of this sounds fantastic. Who foots the bill for all this?
Jason Harkins: That's a great question. It's basically our partners. So Bangor Savings Bank is our founding corporate partner. We have found repeated success over time with the Maine Technology Institute as a funding entity and are partnering with a number of other for-profit kind of corporate sponsors. Eaton Peabody is our current sponsor and we're talking to a number of others, but we really foot the bill essentially on the backs of people who have that long-term vision and the capacity to support us, because we know that startups can't pay for this. They can never pay, find those resources, and even if they have those resources, we want them deploying them into their business. So we've gone out and we've talked to really forward thinking corporate partners like those that I've mentioned who are actively able to say, "If we put money into this now, that's going to really shift the landscape and that rising tide truly lifts all boats."
Rich: So along those lines, do the companies ever have to pay back any of the work they've done or do they have to say, "We're going to keep this business in Maine, or hire Maine employees." Or is it basically like, we're just hoping that the goodwill of you and these supporters, these sponsors, are enough to keep them in the state?
Jason Harkins: Right. So there is some early evidence, at Scratchpad we're part of the Global Accelerator Network, which is a network of a 115 accelerators across the globe. It's kind of an exclusive network, and they have some evidence that suggests that somewhere between 60 and 70% of companies that participate in an accelerator end up place bound, whether it's a headquarters or in an offshoot in that place because that's where their support network is, but we don't make it a requirement. What we do is we ask the companies to recognize the contribution of the organizations. There's a couple of ways we ask them to do that. We do ask them to sign what is called a founder's pledge, which essentially says, "If I own this company, I pledge a certain percent of my stock at some point in the future when I become fabulously wealthy, will flow back to Scratchpad to make the program evergreen to ultimately hopefully reduce the amount of corporate sponsorship we need." 10 years from now. That's one of the things.
Jason Harkins: Then our corporate partners, particularly Bangor Savings Bank and Eaton Peabody who have been supporters from 2015 until today. Those organizations have found that by building these relationships while they're in the program, it doesn't mean that you end up with the business, but uncompromisingly they build good relationships and it has led to a lot of business relationships.
Yury: And I think it's not just about helping companies, it's about letting the founders feel supported because usually it's they're a second or a third venture that they're trying to launch.
Jason Harkins: Yeah, and one of the things that we have to be very careful when we talk to people like MTI or others who are kind of grant funding us is we say, we obviously want them to go out and be phenomenally successful the first time and raise gobs of money, and hire tons of people, and all of those things, but if they learn a ton in this program and this startup blows up, but they stay in Maine and they start another one, and the second one, or the third one, or the fourth one is really successful, we're all better off for that because they've received that training and that support, and they will stay here and I think that that's important.
Rich: Absolutely.
Yury: So speaking about staying in Maine and helping Maine grow and succeed. So if you could change one thing to improve the business ecosystem in the State of Maine, what would it be?
Jason Harkins: I think that the biggest gap that I perceive for the population of companies that I work for is access to two different tranches of capital, right? So our companies are all investment oriented, and what's happened as the Maine Angels and the Bangor Angels, and Maine Venture Fund, and all of these different entities that fund organizations have gotten bigger, and they've aggregated larger pools of capital, their willingness to participate in those early stage capital investments has diminished, because if I want to put $200,000 into a company and you only want to raise $250,000, that puts basically me at risk.
Jason Harkins: So I think that there is very, very little seed funding in the state. There's a bunch of individuals who you might be able to tap, but there's not a really systematic way of accessing it, and then also once you get north of maybe one and a half to two million dollars and you need to raise between two million and five million dollars, you've practically have to leave the state, because those capital pools exist in Boston, or New York, or Silicon Valley, but they don't exist here. I think if Maine could build some institutional support for investments in those levels, we would see as a state that those returns flow back as these companies are successful. I mean, we've seen in Portland, I mean the exits in the last four years have been absolutely remarkable, and to the degree that we can capture a lot of that wealth both within the company for the founders, but then also for the investors. If there's more investment coming in Maine, that's just more dollars returning to Maine when that success happens.
Rich: All right, this has been very helpful, and I'm sure a lot of people want to check you out. You mentioned the website before, but where can people find you online?
Jason Harkins: So I'm on LinkedIn at Jason Harkins. You can connect with Scratchpad, we have a Twitter and a Facebook page, both Scratchpad Accelerator, and then you can always shoot me an email at jason@scratchpadaccelerator.com.
Rich: Awesome, Jason, thanks so much for stopping by today. It's been great.
Jason Harkins: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Yury: Thank you.
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Crawford Lake Capital appoints new general counsel, chief compliance officer
Lakewood | Aug 3, 2018 at 7:35 am
Crawford Lake Capital Management LLC, a Lakewood-based investment management firm, announced it has appointed Dov Lando to general counsel and chief compliance officer.
In his new role, Lando will be responsible for overseeing all legal, regulatory and compliance issues as well as working with the firm's executive committee on strategic initiatives.
"Dov is the perfect person to lead Crawford Lake's legal and compliance functions as we continue to grow and evolve," said Jeff Schachter, president and chief operating officer. "His experience building and managing teams that have served the needs of respected institutions is extremely complementary to our go-forward vision. We are very pleased to have an individual of Dov's caliber joining our firm."
Lando was previously at MKP Capital Management LLC as its general counsel. Before that, he was general counsel at Arden Asset Management LLC and assistant general counsel at American International Group. He began his career at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.
"It is very exciting to be joining Crawford Lake after seeing the firm's impressive growth over the past few years," Lando said. "I appreciate the confidence that Isaac, Jack and Jeff have placed in me. They have built a tremendous firm with a differentiated investment philosophy and platform, and I am proud to be joining the team."
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Flood Q&A: What Causes Storm Surge?
In the News: "National Flood Insurance Program Extended Until December" and "Our View: Ignoring Flood Risk Won't Make it Go Away"
Real Estate Corner: "7 Pricing Myths to Stop Believing if You Ever Hope to Sell Your House"
Guess who's turning 50 next year? If you guessed the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), you would be correct! Did you know that in the program's year of inception, 1968, a year's tuition at Harvard University was $2,000, a new vehicle cost $2,822, and a new home cost $14,975 (Seek Publishing, n.d)? So for less than $20,000, one could have gone to an Ivy League school for a year, and bought a new house and vehicle. Of course these numbers are approximate, but compared to today's price tags, the world is now a much more expensive place to live.
In the same passage of time, the NFIP has arguably dealt with higher price tags due to an increase in coastal populations and development. Actually, the program performed very well for much of its existence, meaning flood claims were paid solely from collected premiums, until four major hurricanes (Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne) hit Florida in 2004, followed by Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005, making it the costliest year in insurance history. Hurricane Sandy brought flood risk front and center as it brought billions of dollars in insured and uninsured losses to New York City, the nation's financial (including insurance) engine-room, and one of its two media hubs (NAIC, 2017). Now the program is deeply in debt, the future of its continued reauthorization by Congress is uncertain, and costly storms still continue to occur. Many are now talking about its direction more seriously.
Eventually our government will publish numbers for damages caused by Harvey and Irma, and claims paid, but sadly, these figures will not include values for loss of life, businesses, employment, quality of life, retirements plans, etc. For each storm, this is a never-ending increasing number. Whether or not one believes that sea level rise and climate change is occurring, I think we can all agree on the harsh reality that these large storms are life changing for many people in very tangible ways. We may not be able to control the weather, but there are things that we do have control over that should not be ignored, such as responsible development and planning.
As mentioned in previous messages, many conveniently believe that if not mapped in a high risk flood zone, or if living in an area that hasn't seen a flood in 100 years, that one is safe from flooding. By understanding causes of flooding, and the many parameters that can increase a flood's impact, such as continued growth in urban areas, re-thinking this belief is recommended. Urban flooding is caused by the lack of absorption or storage of water in urban areas, largely due to the amount of impervious surface present and insufficient drainage to handle the intensified flow. Urban flooding caused immense damage during Hurricane Harvey due to development in areas which should have remained untouched. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for many to not have a flood insurance policy in place because mandatory purchase is not required. Remember, watershed changes adjacent to a floodplain which may not be reflected in the current flood map, do not change perceived risk, but do change actual risk.
I visited Miami's South Beach just prior to Hurricane Irma, and was amazed how quickly catch basins along curb lines were coughing water back up into the streets. In a matter of 15 minutes of rain, the drainage infrastructure was at capacity—the water had no place to go! Adding to the increased occurrence of urban flooding is overdevelopment, poor development choices, weak or non-existent regulation, and population increases. Preparedness and mitigation through education must take front and center.
On a lighter note, Harvey and Irma Schluter of Spokane, Washington celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary this past March. But unfortunately, they have watched their names flicker across the television screen with reports of death, destruction and evacuation. "Really sad," Mrs. Schluter said of the news reports (Bromwich, 2017). Hopefully, unified recovery efforts, positive community engagement, and stronger mitigation strategies will become the more lasting memories from these tragic events.
The Climate Change Institute (CCI) is the hub of climate change research at the University of Maine. It is a trusted resource for scientific information and accessible tools related to the climate sciences used throughout the State of Maine and around the world.
Check out Maine's Climate Future Report (updated in 2015) to learn about the past, present, and future impacts of climate change in Maine, as well as the many activities being performed to address it.
The New England Water Science Center website provides information on the region's rivers and streams, groundwater, water quality, and biology. Data collection and interpretive studies address: ecosystem status and change; climate variability and change; national hazard risk and assessment; environmental risk to human health; water use and availability; and transportation activities in relation to water resources.
This online resource provides helpful information on what to do before, during, and after a flood, as well as state flood information, forecasts and observations, flood hazard maps, education and outreach materials, and more!
Strong hurricane winds blow along the ocean surface and cause water to pile up as it approaches the shoreline. Low pressure at the storm's center causes water to bulge upward. The surge effect from wind is much higher than that caused by low pressure.
Storm intensity, forward speed, size, central pressure, shape, and angle of approach to the coast all determine how strong the surge will be. The shape of bays and estuaries and slope of the ocean bottom also play a large role.
Coastal areas adjacent to a steeply sloping ocean bottom will experience less surge than areas adjacent to shallow slopes, given the same storm.
Waves move on top of the surge and cause even more damage by acting as battering rams to flooded structures. Water weighs about 1700 pounds per cubic yard, so it can easily demolish buildings. Surge undermines roads and foundations when it erodes material out from underneath them. It can also send salt water into the fresh water drinking supply.
National Flood Insurance Program Extended Until December 8.
"The NFIP extension is part of a Congressional continuing resolution (H.R. 601) raising the debt limit and funding the U.S. government until Dec. 8. It also authorizes a total of $15.25 billion in emergency funding for disaster relief and rebuilding that includes $7.8 billion for victims of Hurricane Harvey".
This photo is was taken in 2010 at the Portland Pier in Portland, Maine. The flooding was a result of high tide.
"Mainers have had the luxury of watching as hurricanes Harvey and Irma have devastated the Southeast, but we can't afford to let our distance from the destruction lull us into complacency. As sea levels and precipitation rise, making severe weather more likely, so has the risk of a major flood here."
"Too many home sellers fall prey to myths about home pricing that seem to make sense at first, but don't jibe with the reality of real estate markets today. To make sure you haven't bought into any of this malarkey—since the buyers you're trying to woo sure haven't—here are some common pricing myths you'll want to rinse from your brain so you kick off your home-selling venture with realistic expectations. It's time to get real, folks!"


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Samsung has acquired Perch and the current beta will be shut down
Phandroid.com	Feb 3rd, 2017
Last year we showcased how you can use Perch set up on one of your old devices to instantly create a home monitoring solution. It was a nifty way to be able to see what's going on at home without shelling out big bucks for some of the expensive cloud-linked cameras like DropCam.
It seems as though Samsung thought this idea was nifty too, as they've bought out the company and the current Perch beta app that is available in the Google Play Store will be taken down. In a new post on the Perch blog today, the company announced the transition.
We're excited to announce that Perch is now a part of Samsung Electronics. Our team will be working with Samsung groups around the world to develop next-generation IoT products.
We're thrilled to have this opportunity. Sadly, in starting this new chapter, we will no longer be able to support the Perch home monitoring service in its current form. We will be removing the beta from the Google Play store, and after February 17, 2017 we will end support for the Perch application.
As we move forward, we wanted to thank you for helping to make Perch a great product. We wouldn't have been able to build it without you!
For your security and privacy, all recorded data will be deleted when Perch service ends on February 17.
It's unfortunate to see the startup shutting down so quickly, but perhaps Samsung plans on incorporating the technology into its suite of products? Who knows. Either way, we're sad to lose a product that had a great set of uses for anyone with an extra Android phone laying around the house.
local_offer Perch Samsung
Samsung offering incredible deal for Galaxy Tab S7 or S7+
New report claims Samsung Galaxy S22 could be
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Anker is best known for its smartphone chargers and portable power banks, but its 256Wh Portal Solar Generator, the Anker 521 Power House, packs in a lot more power. While it's usually listed for $260, the price on Amazon has been slashed to $199, offering a 23% discount!The Anker 521 Power House sports a total …
more_vertVerizon launches its new 5G Home Internet plans
closeVerizon launches its new 5G Home Internet plans starting at $50 per month
The day has finally arrived, as Verizon has launched its 5G C-Band network. Not only will this improve the 5G connectivity of your favorite smartphone, but it also opens the door to more home internet solutions. Verizon is introducing its 5G Home Internet plans, giving you access to speeds averaging around 300 Mbps.This new plan …
more_vertInfinix INBOOK X2 launches January 22 for $399
closeInfinix INBOOK X2 comes later this month with a starting price of $399
If you're in the market for a new laptop, but don't want to break the bank, then you might be interested in the Infinix INBOOK X2 that the company just debuted. The INBOOK X2 features a 14-inch IPS (1920 x 1080p) display, capable of reaching up to 300 nits of brightness and sporting ultra-thin bezels …


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CCA Louisiana Builds Two New Reefs Over the Holidays
Partnership with Chevron and LDWF leads to new "fish havens" South of Grand Isle
Coastal Conservation Association's REEF Louisiana Program completed construction last week on two new artificial reefs south of Grand Isle, at Grand Isle Block 47 and West Delta Block 35. Both projects were built on sites where oil and gas platforms have been recently removed.
Along with conservation partners Chevron, CCA's Building Conservation Trust, Romeo Papa Boats and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, CCA deployed 45 "fish houses" in each location. In addition, another 60 large recycled concrete columns (donated by Beton Concrete Solutions) were deployed in each location. The site at West Delta 35 is in roughly 65 feet of water. The new Grand Isle 47 site is in roughly 100 feet of water. Each reef was designed to optimize water and bottom conditions, and to create "fish havens" over multiple acres. The "fish houses" (provided by E & L Construction Group), are 6ft x 6ft and were placed in a large grid arrangement centered on the old locations of the removed structures. Each individual structure will create bottom relief and should establish its own feeding halo, providing excellent habitat for a wide variety of marine species.
CCA Louisiana VP of Habitat John Walther was on hand for the construction, and explained how these projects came about.
"A few years ago, CCA's REEF Louisiana Program identified more than 900 sites across the Louisiana coast where oil and gas structures have been removed, or are scheduled to be removed," said Walther. "West Delta 35 and Grand Isle 47 were chosen from that list by CCA chapter members as priority sites, so we began the process of permitting and planning for reef construction with Wildlife and Fisheries. Thankfully, partners like Chevron and Romeo Papa Boats stepped up to help, and here we are today with two more completed reefs."
Walther says he expects each site to hold fish in the near future.
"Our research shows that these structures often begin supporting marine life within days of deployment," he said. "I would not be at all surprised to find species like red snapper, mangrove snapper, cobia and grouper on these structures later this spring."
These two projects make a total of 10 successful reef partnerships between Chevron and CCA since 2017. Leah Brown, Chevron's Gulf of Mexico Public Affairs Manager, explained how important projects like these are.
"With the addition of these two initiatives, Chevron and CCA will have worked together on a total of ten reef projects since 2017," said Brown. "Like our previous collaborations, these two reefs will help conserve the coast and support the fish and wildlife that call it home. Chevron's contributions are part of our commitment to Louisiana's coast and coastal communities. We're proud of our long-standing partnership with CCA and thank them for their efforts."
CCA Louisiana Executive Director David Cresson expressed his appreciation to Chevron, and to all who made the projects possible.
"This simply could not happen without partners like Chevron, Romeo Papa and the team at Wildlife and Fisheries," said Cresson. "In Louisiana, we are losing critical fisheries habitat in a variety of ways, including the loss of reef habitat through platform removal. Having completed a number of these projects now, we have proven time and time again that industry, government and CCA can work together to address some of these problems."
CCA's REEF Louisiana Program has now completed 11 projects on the sites of removed oil and gas platforms. The first was the "Pickets Reef" complex in Ship Shoal Block 26, built in 2014. In 2019, similar projects were completed in South Marsh Island Block 233 (The Ted Beaullieu, Sr. Reef Complex) and in Vermilion Blocks 119 & 124 (The Rawls Reef Complex). In 2021, CCA completed the "Green Monster Reef" in Plaquemines Parish, the Bay Marchand Block 3 Reef, the South Timbalier Block 51 Reef and the "Jack Cart Reef" in Vermilion Block 69. Earlier In 2022, CCA completed reefs in W. Cameron Block 45 and Eugene Island Block 51. CCA also built large inshore reefs in Calcasieu Lake and Four Bayous Pass in 2022. Overall, CCA has now completed 34 inshore and nearshore artificial reef projects since 2003, representing more than $20 million in habitat creation.
Funding for the West Delta 35 and Grand Isle 47 project comes from CCA Louisiana, Chevron, CCA's Building Conservation Trust and LDWF's Artificial Reef Trust Fund, as well as individual gifts from CCA REEF Louisiana Club members. In-kind donations were provided by Romeo Papa Boats, E & L Construction and Beton Concrete Solutions.
CCA's REEF Louisiana Program is working on plans for additional reefs, including projects at South Timbalier Block 165, South Timbalier Block 77, Ship Shoal Block 26, Grand Isle Block 63, South Marsh Island Block 235, and many others. All of these projects are part of the REEF Louisiana Program, in which CCA and our partners rebuild fisheries habitat on the sites of removed platforms. For more information about REEF Louisiana or to become a REEF Club Member, please contact David at 225-952-9200.
For GPS locations of all CCA reefs, visit here.


MPSA says "Several incidents involving make-shift barbecue pits have occurred recently onboard ships causing a fire or explosion at the site, resulting in the officers and crew receiving second and third degree burns. The officers and crew have had to be evacuated from the vessel and received extensive treatment ashore".
Investigations have shown that the persons preparing the barbecue had used a paint thinner to light up the charcoal or sustain the fire on the barbecue pit.
"Shipowners and masters are reminded that the conduct of barbecue parties, where permitted by company's Safety Management System, SMS, should be given due consideration on the risks of fire and explosion when lighting such fires. The risks should be adequately addressed within the SMS and at no time should inappropriate fuel be used," says MPSA.