The Greatest Cleveland Concert Stories! – David Spero, Janet Macoska, Deanna Adams, John Gorman, and Carlo Wolff

Authors Night + Book Fair

 
 
 
 
 

Doors open at 5:00pm, with the storytelling beginning promptly at 7:00pm

• Weekly series combining great food with great stories about Cleveland’s past
• FREE ADMISSION – NO COVER CHARGE
• Prix Fixe 3-course dinner option just $25
• This week’s menu
  • Cheese & Crudité Plate
  • Roast Chicken with Rice Pilaf & Vegetables
  • Devil’s Food Cake

Story topic this week…

The Greatest Cleveland Concert Stories! Author’s Night
We’re bringing together some of the icons of Cleveland’s rock scene to tell stories of the greatest concerts in Cleveland’s history! Jules & Fran Belkin, David Spero, Janet Macoska, and Deanna Adams join us to share some of the amazing stories they’ve been part of over their many years working producing, presenting, reporting, photographing, and writing books about these concerts.
 

 
Stay after the event for a book market! Our storytellers will be selling and signing books – a great gift for the music lover in your family as the holidays approach!

David Spero Bio

David Spero was destined to be part of Rock and roll’s history!

Starting at age 13, he worked on his father Herman’s Upbeat TV show holding cue cards and later serving as ‘Talent Coordinator’ and then Associate Producer. Upbeat was seen in over 100 cities between 1964 and 1971. He has since produced four Upbeat Live shows on Cleveland television garnering 3 Emmy nominations. A radio career started in 1968 (at the age of 17) at WXEN-FM in Cleveland. Stints at WNCR, WMMS, M105 and WNCX helped establish him as a top disc jockey in, the then new and emerging, field of FM radio. He was inducted into the Ohio Radio and TV Hall of Fame in 2004.

Hanging around with recording stars evolved into a career in artist management. David Spero Management was formed in 1973 steering the career of local icon Michael Stanley and producer Bill Szymczyk (Eagles, Who, Bob Seger etc) as well as Father Guido Sarducci from Saturday Night Live.

David took a thirteen year break from Rock and Roll when he accepted a job as Managing Director/Midwest for Columbia/Tri Star Pictures. He coordinated the regional releases of such pictures as Ghostbusters, The Natural, Tootsie, and Gandhi during his tenure.

But Rock and Roll came calling again in 1990 when Eagle Joe Walsh asked Spero to manage his career. He added other artists such as Harry Nilsson, Vanilla Ice, Eric Carmen and Ian Hunter. Spero produced ‘The Joe Walsh/Glenn Frey Tour’ which was the precursor to ‘The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over Tour’.

The rigors of touring took their toll and in 2000, Spero ‘retired’ and accepted the position of Vice President of Programming and Education at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In this position, Spero produced the successful MTV show Live At The Rock Hall which aired for two seasons and featured the first TV appearances of such artists as Linkin Park, John Meyer, Godsmack, Avril Lavigne and Alicia Keyes.

But again, antsy for that Rock and Roll lifestyle, David Spero Management was back in business in 2003 representing the careers of Billy Bob Thornton, Hall of Famers Dickey Betts and Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Survivor, Nelson, Don Felder, JD Souther and The Funk Brothers. After adding Richie Furay as a client, Spero helped put together the Buffalo Springfield reunion tour. A young, up and coming band The Empty Pockets fill out the current roster along with Albert Hammond, G.E. Smith, Patty Smyth and Scandal, Jesse Colin Young, Petula Clark, Ted Neeley and Bad Company.

David, 68, is a former (and original) member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Board of Directors. David was inducted into the Ohio Radio Hall of Fame in 2010. He lives in South Euclid Ohio with his wife, Ellen, of 42 years. They have a son Adam who is a graduate of John Carroll University.
 

Janet Macoska Bio

Janet Macoska grew up with a love for rock and roll and photography. As early as age 12, she combined both, photographing rock duo Sonny and Cher at Cleveland radio station WKYC. That photo became her first published photo in a 1967 issue of Teen Screen Magazine.

Since 1974, Janet Macoska has been capturing rock’s greatest on film….and now in pixels (digital). Among the publications who have used her photos are Rolling Stone, People, Vogue, American Photo, Creem, 16, Teen Beat, MOJO, NY Times and London Times. VH1, Bravo, A&E and the BBC regularly use Macoska’s vast archive in their “rockumentaries.” Her work is in the permanent collection of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Smithsonian Museum of American History, The National Portrait Gallery in London and in Hard Rock Cafe restaurants, hotels and casinos all around the planet. David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, DEVO, Heart, Hall and Oates, AC/DC and The Kinks are just some of the artists who have used her photos on their cds.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum presented an exhibition of her photography in 2003 entitled, It’s ALWAYS Rock and Roll.

Her first compendium of her rock and roll photographs was published in 2015, titled ALL ACCESS CLEVELAND – The Rock and Roll Photography of Janet Macoska (co-authored with Peter Chakerian; published by Cleveland Landmarks Press).
 

Deanna Adams Bio

Deanna R. Adams is a multi-published author, speaker, and instructor. Her first nonfiction book, Rock ’n’ Roll and the Cleveland Connection, was named a finalist for the Ohioana Award for nonfiction, and the ARSC Award (Association for Recorded Sound Collections) for excellence in research.

Other rock history books include Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Roots, and Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Venues. Her rock fiction includes the series, Peggy Sue Got Pregnant, Scoundrels & Dreamers, and The Truth about Justyce. Deanna also contributed an article on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for the book The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia.
 

John Gorman Bio

John Gorman began his broadcasting career operating a pirate radio station from the attic of his family’s South Boston home in 1962. In 1973 he moved to Cleveland to join WMMS, a small, free-form FM station which he would help turn into one of the most popular and influential rock stations in the country. Following his 13 years at WMMS and WHK, Gorman started WNCX/Cleveland. He formed a national consultancy for radio stations and program syndicators before joining WMJI/Cleveland and taking them to the top in ratings and revenue. He became Vice President of Programming for their parent company, OmniAmerica’s radio chain.

In 2007, Gorman’s book, The Buzzard, a memoir of his years with WMMS was released, which became a regional number one bestselling book. In 2014, Gorman formed WOW Media, with the intent of broadcasting radio on the internet. The following year, Gorman debuted his first station, oWOW, an adult contemporary rock station (billed as “Timeless Rock” for the 45-plus demographic), which had a six-year run but ceased broadcasting due to advertising losses during the pandemic.
 

Carlo Wolff Bio

Carlo Wolff writes about popular culture, music, books, hospitality and travel. A contributor to the jazz magazine, DownBeat, he is the lead author of Invisible Soul, author of Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories, lead author of Mike Belkin: Socks, Sports, Rock and Art, and co-writer of Designing Victory and The Encyclopedia of Record Producers. Wolff also reports and edits for newspapers and magazines. A native of Dallas, Wolff grew up in Columbus, Ohio and attended schools in the Boston area. He moved to Cleveland in 1986. Wolff lives in Cleveland with his wife Karen Sandstrom and Daisy the Dog.
 

The goal of the Cleveland Stories Dinner Party is to bring to life some of the fun, interesting stories about Cleveland’s past – from sports, to rock ‘n roll, to Millionaire’s Row, — the series will focus on tidbits from Cleveland’s past that will really thrill the audience. The Music Box is presenting this series in partnership with the Western Reserve Historical Society’s new Cleveland History Center. We think the Cleveland History Center is one of the most important museums in Cleveland. An unknown gem that Clevelanders should know more about, and support. It is the only museum in Cleveland dedicated to preserving and documenting the history of Cleveland. The Cleveland History Center includes two mansions, the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum, Chisholm Halle Costume Wing, Research Library, Kidzibits Hands-On Gallery, rotating exhibitions, and the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel.
 

See all Cleveland Stories dates here.