Birth of a Theme Park

Guthrie, once again, eats at Alice's Restaurant

Folk singer Arlo Guthrie visited Hard Rock Park today to celebrate the (coming) opening of the park's only sit-down restaurant, named after his hit song "Alice's Restaurant."

Guthrie ate, signed autographs and posed for pictures, knife and fork up, just like the famous pose on the 1967 album cover - though with a shirt on.

Guthrie helped develop the menu and insisted that the restaurant, which opens June 2, offer a fabulous Thanksgiving meal - fitting, since the 18 1/2-minute long song starts off describing events that happened after a Thanksgiving dinner in New England.

All Music, All The Time

No matter where you go in Hard Rock Park, music will be all around.

The park's soundtrack is made up of - so far - close to 1,000 songs, and that's enough music so the park can continuously play in all of its themed sections without repeating for at least five to six hours, said Jon Binkowski, the park's chief creative officer.

The songs will be from different genres depending on where you are in the park.

In British Invasion, for example, the park plays mostly music from British bands at the height of their surge in popularity in the United States, Binkowski said. But there's also music mixed in there from other bands that are associated with that movement, though they may not necessarily be British, such as Incense and Peppermints by Los Angeles band Strawberry Alarm Clock. (Link to a YouTube video clip.)

The park pays fees to BMI, ASCAP and SECAC for the right to play the music to a large audience, he said.