Sunday, March 17, 2024

Wendy Kieffer & Rob York: Uncle Milt's Pipe Organ Pizza Co.

 



Pink Panther on premises! No date, but probably 1980 (the year Fame hit theaters). From the Vancouver Washington Columbian, 8/3/1979:

They don't build organs like they used to, but with Milton Kieffer around, they don't have to.

Kieffer, the "Uncle Milt" of Uncle Milt's Pipe Organ Pizza Co. opening at Fourth Plain and Grand boulevards this weekend, has dusted the cobwebs off a monstrous organ formerly housed at the Orpheum Theater in Seattle. With a console purchased from a theater in Atlantic City, N.J., pipes from the Coliseum theater in Seattle and an air blower from the Paramount in Portland, Kieffer's organ trumpets out a decibel level loud enough to please all but the most ardent Ted Nugent fans.

"This was built so that one person could be a whole damn orchestra," Kieffer, 50, said. He's saved other organs from dusty anonymity before, but said he's never tackled anything on this order.

Vancouver's newest nightspot, Uncle Milt's will be open until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights and 11 p.m. weekdays. The restaurant will serve wine and beer with the pasta.

A staff of three organists will keep the organ active around the clock. They are David Lee, who began playing at Portland's Organ Grinder at the wise old age of 15 (he's 20 now), Wendy Kieffer, Milton's 24-year-old daughter who entertained two years at Uncle's Pizza in Anchorage and Robbie York, 24, a music student at Marylhurst College.

The organists will be at the controls of a score of musical instruments on the organ console, plus a "toy counter" to reproduce sound effects for silent film accompaniment (a screen will be installed later).


(Thanks to Rich "The Radio Is Broken" Lindsay for the loan!)


Star Wars / 2001 Space Odyssey Medley
Serenade in Blue
Muppet Theme
Birth of the Blues
Behind Closed Doors
Ease On Down The Road
Just to Myself
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Rainbow Connection
Fame Medley
Pink Panther Theme
Ain't Misbehavin'

Album audio & artwork

DISCLAIMER: To the best of my knowledge, this work is out of print and not available for purchase in any format. If you are the artist and are planning a reissue, please let me know and I’ll remove it from the blog. Also please get in touch if you’ve lost your art &/or sound masters and would like to talk with me about my restoration work.

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