One of the enjoyable quirks of the Outer Cape is Provincetown’s own radio station, WOMR (“Outermost Radio”). The station is everything you might expect from a place as full of artists, writers, musicians, eccentrics, oddballs, and misfits as the far end of Cape Cod is, and the playlist is eclectic, and seldom boring.
A particular treat is the show “AOR”, which airs every Friday evening from 9 until midnight. The host, “G. Orcalimbo Jones”, is a connoisseur and collector of lesser-known recordings from the long and ramified history of rock music, and each week’s program is a little guided tour of some of the curiosities in his collection. His show also features a call-in segment in which listeners vie to identify the week’s Mystery Guitarist.
I realize most of you are not within radio range of Provincetown on any given Friday, but take heart: you can listen to a live stream of the show here. Nine to midnight, Eastern time.
9 Comments
Have you asked the host of this radio show about your group that you were trying to track down back a while ago?
Jeanie
Baxter’s Glass Eye? I think they would be too obscure even for him.
That is a little too obscure for me, but I’ll pose the question on Friday.
Maybe one of my handful of listeners has heard of them (and the
associated brain cells are still connected).
G
Hi G.,
I’ll be astonished. The band was from Philly, I think, and probably broke up 35 years ago.
My brother was the lead guitarist for “Baxter’s Glass Eye”, and yes, they were from the Philly area(Willow Grove), and played there from about ’66-71.
-David
Hi David,
Well! Once again we see the extraordinary power of the Internet in action.
I saw the band only once, in or near Wyncote, PA, sometime in the very early 70’s, and thought they were great. Have any of them gone on to professional careers in music?
And what was the story behind that name?
The story behind the name,was in reference to a character supposedly from Mark Twain. Flora Ann Baxter wore a glass eye that was too small for her head. When she got excited, or laughed, the glass eye would roll around out of position, creating a memorable sight for all. Baxter’s Glass Eye eventually shortened the billing name to just Baxters and broke up August 1971 after being together for 4 years. Band members were John Heinle – keyboards, vocals; Tommy Walker – drums, Andy Kuntz – bass, Jim Cunningham – guitar with Michael Kosmin as band manager.
John Heinle continued with some local Philadelphia bands for awhile, though as of 1998 he had a day job like the rest.
Jim Cunningham
Hi Jim,
Well, there we are. Thanks for putting all this to rest.
One last question: how did you guys stumble across this post? I know G. mentioned it on his radio show; are you now up in Cape Cod?
When I was in High School in the early 70’s I played in Ise’s Band from the Devon/Berwyn area. We shared a couple of venues with Baxter’s Glass Eye. They were good musicians and did a very clever take on the 1812 Overture and a couple other pieces of that ilk. I wish the guys well.