Powers House

This week, we’re going to speak with the Prince of Promotion, the King of Commotion, our BFF – Best Frank Forever – Mr. Frank Powers will be joining us to catch up on the progress of the Comic Book Mobile. And he’s going to tell us about what he describes as his best work ever for a 100-year-old icon here in Tucson.

Today is January 9th, my name is Tom Heath and you’re listening to “Life Along the Streetcar”.

Each and every Sunday our focus is on Social, Cultural and Economic impacts in Tucson’s Urban Core and we shed light on hidden gems everyone should know about. From A Mountain to the U of A and all stops in between. You get the inside track- right here on 99.1 FM, streaming on DowntownRadio.org– we’re also available on your iPhone or Android using our very own Downtown Radio app.

Reach us by email contact@lifealongthestreetcar.org — interact with us on Facebook @Life Along the Streetcar and follow us on Twitter @StreetcarLife—

Our intro music is by Ryanhood and we exit with music from Dan Wilson, “What A Year For A New Year.”

Transcript

Tom Heath
Good morning. It’s a beautiful Sunday in the Old Pueblo, and you’re listening to Katy DT Tucson. Thank you for spending a part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson Community sponsored rock and roll radio station.

Tom Heath
This week, we’re going to speak with the Prince of Promotion, the King of Commotion, our BFF – Best Frank Forever – Mr. Frank Powers will be joining us to catch up on the progress of the Comic Book Mobile. And he’s going to tell us about what he describes as his best work ever for a 100-year-old icon here in Tucson.

Tom Heath
today is January 9th my name is Tom Heath, and you are listening to Life along the streetcar. Each and every Sunday. Our focus is on social, cultural and economic impacts in Tucson’s Urban core. And we shed light on hidden gems. Everyone should know about from a mound to you, Arizona and all stops in between. You get the inside track right here on 1 FM streaming on Downtown Radio dot org, also available on your iPhone or Android. If you head over to your app store, get the Downtown Radio Tucson app on your phone. And then, if you want to get us here on the show, our email address is contact at Life along the streetcar dot-org. You can hear our podcast anywhere you find podcasts you can even find shows on Life along the streetcar dot org, or by asking your smart speaker to play our podcast.

Tom Heath
As we roll into the new year. We’ve got lots of events happening in the downtown area. And the downtown Tucson partnership is looking to expand those opportunities to audiences that might not normally come downtown. The downtown Tucson partnership through their social justice committee, has made available funds in a very new grant program. It’s called building a downtown Tucson for everyone. And the goal here is to provide opportunities for the community to bring in lectures, programs and events that can be presented in downtown Tucson and that programs that will demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and reach communities traditionally not served in the downtown area. The Partnerships motto is that it’s a downtown for all. And this is their effort to put some funding behind opportunities to bring organizations into the area. If you’d like to learn more, you can head over to the website downtown, Tucson Partnerships website its downtown Tucson, dot-org, and they’ll be some links on there for getting more information on applying for these Grant fund. They believe they have about ten thousand dollars for the year. So gives you an opportunity to bring a special program into the downtown area.

Tom Heath
And speaking of special programs, we’ve got one today, because our guest is Frank Powers. She’s been on the show a couple of times ton of energy. You heard him on the radio. He’s, he’s got a show on Friday nights. He’s also out and about he’s hosting events all over Tucson. And if you’ve met Frank, or if you seen Frank, you know what I’m talking about, his energy is through the roof, and we had a chance to sit down with him in his own house, surrounded by all of his Collectibles, and find out what was been going on with the comic bookmobile and some new work that he had done recently for the El Charro Cafe, which she is very proud of. This is Frank Powers.

Tom Heath
So do you consider yourself a cartoon historian? Is that, is that your self-created title?

Frank Powers
I don’t know if it’s that I’ve definitely been going after, like a lot of things when it comes to like cartoons, Comics, things of that nature, you know, because you just trying to be, you know what I mean? I don’t know what you’re trying to be, but like I’m trying to have fun and like obsess over things I’m trying to obsess over. So it’s kind of fun, too, to chase the thing that you love as you career, which was what Comics is.

Tom Heath
Well, you’re everyone’s BFF, your best, Frank forever with Frank Powers, he’s the creator of many things. We’ve talked to you on the show about pissed off Pando. And but let’s catch up a little bit on your comic book mobile that that was a huge Endeavor, getting a lot of momentum and then covid head. And apparently, they didn’t want your boss to show up at people’s houses, right? They, they curtailed that a little bit, but I understand it’s starting to come back?

Frank Powers
Starting to come back, and that’s what’s good. Even schools, those schools will still be last. The thing about the whole pandemic was the first things canceled before. It was like everything’s going to cancelled is was kids events, or the addition of like kids activities at public events. So I had a bunch of gigs. It cancelled. And then within a couple weeks, everybody lost their jobs, you know. So now it’s going to be the same thing in Reverse as we start to get integrated back, I’m still going to be one of the last things reintroduced to certain things, because it’s a lot of let’s share crayons. And, you know, you got to do all that stuff, luckily, crimes of cheap. So I bought enough crayons for everyone. So that’s how I’m getting back in business. But Colonel its cost money. So I need to get back out there in the world. And luckily, you can do this stuff, and I’m a mostly outside based business. So it’s fun because the cam Buckle Beale, I bought a 1969 VW bus and painted the little bit orange and drive around to schools and public events. And and makeup, like, kind of a drawing area I put on shows, teach kids how to draw teach kids how to believe in themselves and use creativity to kind of find their identity and work on that as a skill, because it’s fun to get skills, whether you’re, you know, drawing it all day, making music making art is the way to go.

Tom Heath
And I don’t want to say that we found you. However, after we did our initial interview with you, you ended up on like the news. You were in the newspaper. So at I don’t say, you know, again, I’m not saying we found you, but you were found a lot You got you got a lot of notoriety. People were getting this idea that they were understanding that that you can have this impact on kids through ART.

Frank Powers
Well, that also prints a promotion king of commotion, your Master of Ceremonies and the ambassador of entertainment for all things that are fun and to, to Tucson from the School of Hard Knocks, Tom not knock, who’s there? Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo whoo. I’m excited to be here to Tom. That’s why everyone notices, because I’m out there doing my best and being loud about it, and I’m pretty easy to spot. You say, I usually wear a cape, but like that is the thing know. I was getting a lot of attention I do appreciate because you we definitely interacted back that in very early on, I became friends pretty pretty quick and did stuff after that, because you’re all about the local community, and you love Tucson the same way I love Tucson like to Tucson is like this whole thing where I really do care about this place and get in the business. Going to help kids is a lot of it’s because you see the psychological effect that modern technology and what’s going on the effects had on kids. Kids are more zombie like that’s me even quote. And like the superintendent of schools here in Tucson who I met with, I’ve done a lot of psychology Research into this. Not that I’m some, you know, smartypants, but like, I just want to back all of this stuff up with some facts that that things have been harder for kids to connect. And kids eyes are down the same way their parents eyes are down. We’re all staring at those tablets and screens. And that is a lot of why they have a tough time interacting with other people’s faces.

Tom Heath
Yeah, we did interview with head of school for, and he was talking specifically about that age group. And I know that’s a lot of that sort of that Target area of you as well. That age group went through a very challenging time above and beyond what we went through, because they’re in an emotional development stage at that point, and they didn’t have the opportunity interact.

Frank Powers
Yeah, hugely. And now more than ever, right? So now everyone has this weird, big gap from the home school. Probably. You know, the thing that’s going on even now, you still going to have people that are absent things, because kids get sick, and it’s hard. So them a little extra dose of creativity was always the goal. That’s the bookmobile. That’s what I like to do. I like to instill that in kids help them believe in themselves, believe in who they are. I do you know, and that’s all. And that’s the thing that’s all very high. And we all like to talk about that, right? It’s I really care about kids emotional states, how they’re growing up, anti-bullying, all that you can look that up. I was on the news like you were talking about on kold. Just look at the bookmobile anti-bullying, and you’ll find me talking about all that stuff. But also I just have really fun and do birthday parties like let’s not forget that that’s a part of it. I wear a funny outfit teaching kids how to draw we all play dress-up. It’s like a Comic Con at your house.

Frank Powers
I treat a kid like a star and do birthday party show up my 69 VW bus. We take photos like a big photo, get it’s fun. That’s some of it invite me to schools and public events, because we talked about all that high end High thinking highfalutin stuff I like to talk about, but I will never be able to publish any of that, or follow through with any of those things it out, just backing up the business by making real personal appearances, because then you really get to actually connect with kids and see them eye to eye. And when you tell them that they’re good at something, right? And then I go ahead. And has anyone ever told you that they look down at their shoes? And I go now, look at me. Look up, look up, look up right? You trying to be a flashbulb memory. You’re trying to be that difference, that person, they met that wacky guy, that one day rip, where were we when I met that guy? And he told me that I should always believe in myself and gave me that poster for free that says that that I’m one of one that I’m unique. Where were we? Where was that? I remember it because I will remember it forever, because we all have a story like that. And it’s often when a stranger showed up at our school or visited, like in that, you know, in that vein, and and it was a break in the day, a break in the routine that’s some of the psychology I like found when I was talking to talking to people about it.

Tom Heath
Well, you remember that you remember the disruption?

Frank Powers
Yes. And and that’s what I’m trying to be an again, it creates what is a flashbulb memory a day that you don’t remember forever. We all took the school bus. How many school bus trips do you remember? You remember the day you got a flat tire at school bus? Remember the day there was a fight on the school bus. Remember that day of disruption? And that’s why I’m trying to be. I’m very disruptive. I was the class clown. It’s true very later on in life. But first very shy. So that’s why I try to use this ability to help kids not be shy, because even a bunch of adults need to teach that lesson as well.

Tom Heath
And you also, you know, you practice what you preach you, you’re out, you’ve got your own comic strip with, you know, the pissed off Panda. And then just I saw, you know, all the work that you’ve done was very surprised. When I saw on social media, you posted something and said, this is my best work ever. And it was a menu?

Frank Powers
It’s a menu. Don’t children’s menu? Yes, because the thing I often forget and I’m out there doing these things dressed like a maniac telling you invite me over I birthday, poor what? And then sometimes adults go. Um, excuse me why you do this? And then I go, right? This might look psychotic know I drew all of this because everything that is there, all the children’s books and the posters and the inspirational metal, all of it is stuff that I drew, because I am a cartoonist, and I love Comics sequential large pinkies out, right? So I love comics and comic books. So again, as you see the way the world is going like everybody loves Comics more and more. And Comics doesn’t just mean superheroes. Comics means Comics, you know, sequential art mix comic strips, art in a story with words and balloons, things like that. So I got the opportunity to make a children’s menu that tells the history the story of the origin of the chimichanga L Chara’s famous origin story. They want it in comic form. And what started as a simple idea, right? Simple idea. Well, if I’m putting it on one Pete at one sheet of paper, that’s like four pages. So it’s a four page comic. It’s a good story that I wrote as well, based on all the research that I did it ton of research. I interviewed family members. I did a bunch of research from other interviews and various magazines. This is not the first time this is stories been published has been going on for years and years.

Frank Powers
Obviously, since the chimichanga was invented back in the 40s, right? Fantastic. So I’m really proud of it, because adapted for Comics means also like I wrote it, I drew it, and you forget how much you love the thing you love. And I haven’t drawn like a full comic like four pages in a row and all this stuff in a long time. And some of the goal was like when you say like how I said, it’s the best thing I’ve ever drawn, right? Because I really pushed my limits of my ability, and I was just trying my hardest to like, get that right. Let’s get this perspective as perfect. Let’s get I wanted the food to look like anime food. Anybody watches anime knows what I mean. And if you don’t watch spirit away, it’s fantastic. But food in anime that looks Exquisite, it’s always just so gorgeous looking in, like really photo photogenic like-for-like perfect, right? So he’s going for that.

Frank Powers
I’m really proud of the food that I drew, because I’m a cartoonist. I draw a really fun cartoony Looney Tunes, style cartoons, right? But I can also really draw a real life. So draw on the food really, realistically. And the backgrounds really realistically. But the characters are nice and fun cartoons that, you know, it’s nice. They definitely have a world they live in, and I definitely crafted like a three-dimensional world that I’m proud of using the like the, the actual photos of their restaurant and their old home and all that sort of stuff stuff. A lot of research went into it a lot of time. So because I really cared about it.

Tom Heath
We are in the middle of our interview with Frank powers, and we’re going to get back to the second half of that in just a moment. But first, I do want to remind you that you’re listening to Life along the streetcar and Downtown Radio 991 FM and available for streaming on Downtown Radio dot org.

Tom Heath
Alright, we are back in. We’re going to finish up with mr. Frank Powers just before the break. He was talking about his involvement with the El Charro Cafe and creating a menu for the depicted, the history of the chimichanga. And it is surprising to me. He said it was some of his best work. He did show it to me, and I was actually blown away with how in-depth he went on this. So we’re going to pick up the second half of the interview where he’s telling us more about why this was so important, M and and why it turned out so great.

Frank Powers
It’s the last thing I drew traditionally, where I drew it with a pencil. And I ink it with a brush, because I just got like new iPad like now, everything is I’m just going digital, it’s just faster. It’s just faster. I finally just dive in into just drawing digitally, because it’s it feels the same. And I want to do that because this is the origin of the chimichanga. I wanted there to be a physical representation of it that I can frame. And and perhaps it’s hanging out Charlotte some point because they have a pretty good, pretty good Museum of their history, like hanging up all around.

Tom Heath
And I, I don’t want to. If you’re not familiar with the story that, uh, hunger, or of Monica Flynn and the history of the El Charro restaurant, we don’t have the time to get into it today. We did a story on a few weeks ago, but but that woman’s courage in 1922 to start El Charro, the story of the chimichanga, how it came to be in, you know. And now with the current, you know, with Carlo De Flores and that family now, where they’ve taken it, it’s really a more complex story. And in your, your sequential art captures that, you know, it tells it tells a story besides just you know what, I think most people would just slow fall off as, as you know, picture of a chimichanga and a deep fryer.

Frank Powers
Hey, yeah. So I know that’s kind of that’s kind of the idea to. So I really gay, I really cared about it. You know, I really cared about their story, their family heritage, the all-female ownership throughout the decades, some of the trials and tribulations that Monica did go through. We want a bed in that, because the kids menu, you know. So because some of that was in there, there were some heavy stuff. But again, it’s really it’s fun and light-hearted. It’s a good time. And I really just I loved the characters that I really created for. You know, I mean, you never know what this family again, they’re very successful. They’ve got a restaurant on submarine. This might wind up on Netflix within a couple of months. So we’ll see what happens. All right, see, will get on the Roku Channel. This channel is everywhere.

Tom Heath
Well, that, like the the characters are there. The stories are there. You’ve been out and about aquiline you talking about the the, what is the prince of promotion thing of commotion? That’s writing and commotion. So UI, there’s a been events happening. Things are popping. We’re, yeah, we’re seeing you in or out on Halloween. You’re out on New Year’s. I understand you’re the person that drop the taco, but no one really got mad at you.

Frank Powers
That’s right. Five second rule. So don’t worry, I called it all right. Everyone is fine. But yeah, I got to do that. So again, I have I believe I posted my ninth year, or it could be my eighth year. Don’t in my ninth year, have Hotel Congress is Halloween. So that’s fantastic, that one of the best things I’ve ever done. All right. And then I got to do New Year’s again. So I think I’ve got to do that at least five times. Maybe six. This might be my sixth time in Tucson’s Times. Square countdown. I love it. A hotel Congress like, again, I get to be the guy that’s countdown for New Year’s. How did that happen to Tucson? I love you the most right,

Tom Heath
but because you’re the prince of promotion and the king of commotion, you put it

Frank Powers
out there, and he m a positive mental attitude again, I’m a ray of sunshine. That’s what I try to do. And on a rainy night, it just makes a rainbow appear. That’s we like to have happen.

Tom Heath
Well, somewhat of a self-serving reason. I wanted to ask you about some of your events, because you’re hosting one on the 16th. We’re airing this on the 9th so on the 16th is a Sunday at Hotel Congress, and they’ve got a an event going on. Tell us about that.

Frank Powers
Rats, John Dillinger. See why believe that his gang was famously captured here back in the day after setting the roof Ablaze. So that happened and quite a bit of History here at Congress. And I have now kind of inherited that event. So this will be my second time hosting that like officially, and my fourth time being involved. But yeah, I got to take over like all the MC stuff and a lot of Hosting duties. I’m not going to write a lot of jokes for it, but I’m going to work on a few gangster jokes, because it’s fun to have some old-timey jokes, because Dillinger days is really fun. Old-time cars are there, right? We celebrate the capture of John Dillinger, and everything happened. Hotel Congress like 100-something years ago, something like that as around. Then I forget, but it’s really fun event. It’s a good, fun family events. Good outdoor event, whether usually always with us, because it’s just nice and January in Arizona, you know,

Tom Heath
that I don’t, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, I might be breaking news to you at this point, because there are places where they allow vendors to set up and exhibitors and such. And for the first time in our history, Life along the streetcar is going live. Oh, we’re going to be at Dillinger days with a table talking about the show or podcast, and some upcoming projects were working on. So that’s what that’s the entire reason I wanted you on the show was talk about intelligent a.

Frank Powers
So I self-serving Tom. So I could talk about my booth. I don’t hate it because damn it, I respect it. That’s how you got to do it. That’s how you gotta hustle around this town. That’s how I do it every day. Yes, for I hope that’s a real quick cuz Fridays from seven. And I don’t forget, it’s laughter, H Italian Powers here on this very ring.

Tom Heath
You were just taking me to the next spot, which is, you know, you are also a DJ in the station. So, so, one more time setting one more time.

Frank Powers
Friday Nights from 7 to 9 now. So get a little bit of that drive. As you go on out for Friday night, they go so TGIF you’ll thank God it’s Frank taking you out, right? That’s laughter hours with Talia and Powers. Because my good friend, I’m your best friend forever. Will my best fiend forever, miss Natalia Lopez. She always joins in and has a good time and keeps me in line.

Tom Heath
What’s your genre? You play a little slow.

Frank Powers
Jazz know. We play a lot of fun nonsense. And sir Al Yankovic. I nodded to him on the show. That’s he’s around every week. It’s like dr. Demento, but in Tucson and I’ll tell you know, show in this life, or the afterlife plays more Ghostbusters remixes than we do. We’ve played one every week every week, Tom, for almost five years. There’s a new Ghostbusters remix that we play. There are that many of them Ray Parker, jr. Loves me.

Tom Heath
All right. Well, I kind of feel like we’re covering so much different territory here, but it all sort of centers around you. And this artistic Vision. You’ve got, you know, the comic book movie of the actual work that you’re doing. The promotion’s the comedy, the radio show. I mean, heck, you’re not only on a community station. Downtown radio, your mainstream, right? You’re doing like

Frank Powers
Tucson’s rock station Rock 1021 kfm, a you doing that in the mornings.

Tom Heath
That’s a pretty powerful time slot there.

Frank Powers
That’s my. So that’s my dream job happen. And it’s even dream your than I thought, because now I’m side kicking it on there with be vegan presents, which is fun. So every morning, if you not listen to dance and radio, or you drive a little far out, you don’t have any sort of way to listen to it on the internet, because we’ve got an app for that sort of thing out. If you’d like, you can rock out on Tucson’s rock station beef vegan presents, and I get to, you know, it’s beef show. And I get to be the guy that plays a slide whistle every once in a while, he’s the one with all the bells and whistles, the sliders, the buttons. He’s going to do all the work, and I just show up, drink a cup of coffee and laugh at jokes in the morning. So hang out every morning. It’s really fun. It’s my dream come true morning radio, ridiculous.

Tom Heath
Well, I started this asking if you would consider yourself a cartoon historian. And the reason I asked that we were a little off your conversation, but we’re sitting in your your studio at your home, and I am staring at a wall with 1000 plus what I would call toys.

Tom Heath
Yeah, it’s always pretty much,

Tom Heath
but they’re collectibles. Yeah. And I have just learned recently that this wall has a has its own Instagram account

Frank Powers
now, basically. So again, you try to have some fun with your hobbies, right? And I got all this stuff, these kids today, they have it solo because you know what they can do. They go to the store every Wednesday, and they buy comic books, and they go home. They read their comic books, and they go make a YouTube video about comic books than that YouTube video gets a bunch of things and subscribers and stuff that then monetizes, and then they fuel their comic book collection by reading comic books. What a brilliant system. Now, I have all this stuff and did all that, but we didn’t have the internet back then. So I’ve got to play catch-up. So now I have all this stuff, and I decided that a good way to enjoy it would be to take photos of it and them on Instagram. I’m still a little hung up on the name. I’ve changed it once. I might change it again. So we’ll see what happens. How do they find you? Right now? Right now? It is at Know Thy shelf as like, you know how that sounds like a toy shelf before it was called toy shelf life. But that felt like it had an expiration date because of shelf life, right? That doesn’t work. I might just change it to, to, to toys, right? Isn’t that fun? To toots me? And I might make an art one that’s 22 Doodles, like I think someone might just brand everything as like to tune it up, because you got to chew on horn. That’s what I like to do. I like to Tucson’s one old time to to.

Tom Heath
Or bff or best friend forever. He is a cartoon historian, although he claims not to be. Some say he is a smartypants host of Show’s host of events. Check out his Instagram page, check him out, especially at Dillinger days as you swing, by and say, hello to to me, at the Life along the streetcar Booth. Straight up Frank, I appreciate your time.

Frank Powers
your time. Thank you. Thanks, Tom. It’s always fun hanging out with you. Tom, he,

Tom Heath
that is Frank Powers. He is Downtown Radio. He’s on Downtown Radio Friday nights with Talia, talking about all kinds of crazy things in our community and playing some wacky music can catch him on mainstream radio Monday through Friday at events on Fridays and Saturdays. And the comic book will be held on Saturdays, Sundays and whatever. So he is a man about our community, busy busy. So, so appreciative that he took some time kind of cool to be inside of his house, the powers house to get a look at his fantastic collection of Collectibles. My name is Tommy thin. You’re listening to Life along the streetcar on downtown radio 981 FM and available for streaming and downtown’s radio.org

Tom Heath
Get your swag on. I hope you enjoyed our episode number 185 with mr. Frank Powers, talking about all kinds of cool things in our community, kind of challenging to stay on one topic, because there’s so many things that he is involved with when I look around and think I’m a busy guy. And then I see what he’s doing. Like, oh, my gosh, I’ve got a pretty relaxed lifestyle compared to mr. Frank Powers. But that’s it’s a good show. Next week we got another one we’re going to have Todd Hanley from Congress on not coincidentally, that Dillinger days will be happening next Saturday, and we will actually have a table over at Hotel Congress for the event. The first ever, really appearance of Life along the streetcar, thought it given our theme song is Dillinger day is from Ryan hood. And we’re all about Community. We thought we’d be out there and talking about the show. I have a few giveaway, so stop by our booth and see us.

Tom Heath
But Todd is on the show not to talk about Dillinger days. But to talk about their new electrical vehicle program EV program, they’ve got worked out with the city and county for charging stations that are going to be that area. And this is part of their ongoing commitment to a sustainable type of environment for for the restaurant and their their hotel. That’ll be taught Hanley. He’ll be on next Sunday at the same time 11 am, of course, if you want us to chat about anything in particular cover any topics just reach out to us where a contact at Life along the streetcar dot org and social media, Facebook Instagram, which is usually the best way. If you tag us on there, we really like that, because it gives us a chance to connect with the people you want us to explore. And let’s see here, what else? You know, it’s Sunday, right?

Tom Heath
We don’t talk about it a lineup enough. But I want to thank mr nature in the morning, and then DJ Bank, the musical bum for leading into the show. And then after us, we’ve got Ted pizzelle skis words and work every Sunday. He brings in writers and individuals from the labor movement and talk about things that are happening. So stay tuned for more great stuff here on down a town radio. And we’re going to leave with music today that I think mr. Frank Powers would appreciate. This is a a remake from this is a Spike Jones remastered theme song to the TV show Powers house. And it’s a little bit unique. And just like mr. Frank Powers, it’s light and entertaining. My name is Tom Heath. Hope you have a great week and tune in next Monday for more Life along the streetcar.