SPRING NEWS 2020

Ain’t Got No Cigarettes – Memories of Music Legend Roger Miller ebook is now available on Apple Books! It took a long, long time to get there but it’s there now for all to enjoy. It was put up by special request to be released in time for Roger Miller Music Celebration in March 2020 but unfortunately the concert was cancelled due to COVID 19. This ebook should also be available everywhere ebooks are sold.

Style finished writing a children’s book called "Don’t You Dare Poke The Bear". He provided no details, albeit, we didn’t ask for any. 

There’s been much speculation as to what happened to Lyle since there have been no website updates for a few years. Well, we can point the blame at the legal battle that he was in with Walmart. He specifically asked us not to post anything about this because apparently all publicity is good publicity and he doesn’t want to promote that company in any way. However, this situation has had a huge impact on his life and career so we thought we’d throw this in at the end of this News Update if anyone wants to hear some of the horror he’s gone through so they can learn from his experience. 

Despite Walmart’s employee assaulting him in 2011 on their property and causing permanent damage to his lower back and sacrum by driving a train of shopping carts directly into him while he was in an isle, he had to "give
up" the legal battle in order to save his house and years of his life that it would take to continue. "They played dirty from the start. Right after I was assaulted by their employee, I was told to expect I was under surveillance by Walmart’s people. I did absolutely nothing wrong, yet I’ve been looking over my back for over five years. To go through years more of this BS was ridiculous. Never mind the chronic pain, wondering if I’m being watched, especially when I’m with my kids is an awful way to go about your day. The entire experience was beyond an invasion of privacy and not at all conducive to healing." 

He continued after a long awkward break, "It should have been over years ago and they even agreed to judicially assisted dispute resolution, however, after they got all my proof, I believe they knew they would have no choice but to pay up when it got in front of a judge. So these ____ ____ (unintelligible) strategically changed their mind and demanded this now go to trial because they likely knew it would cost me and my family everything and there would be no way we could afford to continue. It would cost us nearly 75k to continue for this to go to the trial that they demanded, and if they got off on a technicality, I would also have to pay another 100k or more for their legal fees." 

Style told us "off the record" (which we think is a music reference?) during a phone interview (that had poor cell reception quality) that "They hire the ____ _____ (unintelligible) lawyers on the planet. These _____ _____ (unintelligible) had hundreds of documents of my personal files so they knew my financial status and they used this to their advantage. For every page they had, they started to demand what seemed like five more. Despite them having ten years of my medical history and me never having a lower back injury, they demanded all medical records since I was born. And, I believe they were trying to make me commit career suicide by demanding time consuming letters and documents from production companies and people I worked with that would do nothing but cost me future work with them. They also implied they would cause legal problems for the people in my life that helped me medically with my pain because they treated me outside their medical offices and didn’t charge me, which they implied, was a violation to their respective professional associations. So continuing would not only make us have to take out a second mortgage on our house, it would likely cause legal problems for people who were kind by trying to help me get better. I would hang my head in profound shame if I did what they did, it’s unbelievable how a major corporation could do something so wrong when they were clearly at fault and admitted so, which I have on tape. The only saving grace is the employee drove those carts into me instead of my three year old son who was with me that evening, because that impact would have likely killed him. ____ _____ (unintelligible) are _____ (unintelligible) corporate bullies that would rather spend money on their lawyers fighting against their innocent victims than using that money to do the right thing. Just because a person may not be super successful in their career doesn’t give Walmart the right to take it away from that person. I have their representatives on tape saying they would reimburse me for all my expenses, they lied. They also admitted they were liable as they had the assault on video, but then, it all of a sudden didn’t exist once it came to presenting it to my lawyer. And me recording the very same conversation that they were recording was apparently illegal of me, because I didn’t say that, I, too, was recording the conversation. This according to their _____ _____ (unintelligible) made their admitting guilt and them saying they would look after expenses inadmissible. Remember Jennifer, I know you’re new here, this is all off the record." [In an effort to be off the record, it should be mentioned that not once did Style ever actually say the word "Walmart" in these interviews, instead of "wal", a variety of four letter words were used.] 

Style continued, "I sold off ten grand of music gear to pay for doctors letters and medical treatment and it got me nowhere. Walmart dragged each step of this out for ____ (unintelligible) years to the point that we could not cover the expenses of legal representation for a trial that would take years to hit the courts. All this because I took my son for rubber boots to Walmart. I hope people learn from my mistake and make better informed decisions on where they shop. If you end up in the same boat I did, you may learn, like I did, that it appears that Canadian lawyers are afraid of Walmart so they will demand $375 an hour plus taxes like mine did when it came to going to trial. My lawyers were _____ _______ (unintelligible) and weren’t even able to get the money back that they, themselves, advised me to spend on the case. The Canadian judicial system is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, set up to help the perpetrator and all the lawyers, not the victim who gets victimized over and over by the process." 

We had some staff leave due to financial reasons over the last few years and we would like to thank them for all their great work. We also welcome Jennifer Wesmax to the Electric Recordings team who is currently interning. 

Style continues to be in ongoing medical treatment stating that "after hundreds of related medical appointments to the Walmart assault, I’m seeing some improvement by osteopathic therapy which gives me hope for the future." 

Style is in pre-pre-production for his next album "Behind Of His Time". "I almost lost everything because of the Walmart fiasco so I am not recording the album yet. I have written a bunch of new songs for it but need an angel to descend from heaven to help get back in the studio." Release date is TBA. "Hopefully it’ll be in my lifetime" he added. 

To end on a happy note, Style went to the Smithsonian to get up close to the roots of his raising and what helped make him the man he is today.

Thanks for your interest in the life and times of Mr. E Style, we hope good things come your way right now and always! 

Since the last update, a new Roy Orbison album has been released called "One Of The Lonely Ones", a lost album featuring six songs written/co- written by Lyle’s late friend/mentor. "I miss Bill Dees every day, he had a huge impact on my life. He must have sung me a few hundred songs over the years but I never heard him mention these tracks to me, so naturally I was blown away to see a lost album released. Even more so, the song ‘Little Girl (In The Big City)’, I believe, is the first song out of the sixty plus that Roy Orbison recorded that was all credited to Bill. It’s a great album, I hope there are more in the vaults! Roy Orbison’s estate is doing an awesome job keeping his memory alive. I really hope more estates like Roger Miller, Lee Hazlewood and Merle Haggard’s have similar surprises for the fans coming soon." 

Style has recently come to terms with the death of his hero, the great Merle Haggard. "Mr. Haggard and I seemed to hit it off when I first met him, he even gave me his cell phone number, invited me to his home studio and told me to keep in touch. I called him up once and felt sort of bad, like I was bothering him. Then I called one more time and realized he was just being nice about the keeping in touch. Since that day I’ve always let the celebrity phone calls be incoming. Often, I ask my wife if she changed our phone number. I love Merle Haggard though, I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to spend time with him on multiple occasions, to interview him, see many of his phenomenal concerts and got to know his management and crew a little. We also lost his exceptionally cool sax player, Don Markham who was in The Strangers. It’s sad not being able to plan another trip around catching a Merle Haggard concert." 

Lyle E Style’s photo of Alice Cooper that premiered on this site in 2010 (which was soon after stolen) is still in the top spots in search engines worldwide for "Alice Cooper Hat". 

He took some more pics of Alice recently so he said he’d allow us to put a few up.  Enjoy!

Style was spotted at the Grand Canyon with his boychildren. While in Arizona, Style also met up with Robert Shields at his home. "Mr. Shields is an unreal talent. He was Entertainer Of The Year in Las Vegas for two years in a row back in the day. I wish he were still out there performing because the world is really missing out. He still has it! He really blows me away with his art, talent, stories and point of view. He has an amazing perspective on the entertainment business. I’d encourage anyone to get to know the works of Robert Shields." 

Be sure to follow Lyle E Style on Twitter: @mrestyle so you can read great things like:
"I admire people who have careers that go nowhere fast versus mine that has gone nowhere so slowly." 

"Often I wonder if my life would have been different if I waited a second before I took my first breath."
"As we approach #mosquitoseason I worry yet again that I may unknowingly kill the most talented #mosquito who ever lived."
"I refuse to Facebook because I see it suck the life out of people."
"I haven't experienced the sensation of #boredom for decades but I've had the sensation of ‘what the hell am I doing with my life’ many times." 

Style got to spend an afternoon with Mickey Gilley recently. "It’s always great to spend one on one time with a legend. I’d love to follow him around for a week with a tape recorder and listen to his stories. He’s seen some stuff in his day and has an unbelievable career. I’ve been blessed to hear some behind the scenes stories that few get to hear. Some of the stuff he has experienced is unreal and would make a hell of a book if told raw. The thing is, he has the most positive image with his fans that I’ve ever seen, he’s a very grateful and gracious man but the stories I want to capture could make him look somewhat bitter which is the last thing he is. The fact remains that he never got the recognition he deserves yet he’s one of the coolest guys still standing, on tour and he sings better than ever. Maybe someday he’ll agree to a book about the darker side of the music business that he’s seen first hand. And Jennifer, please don’t put that photo of me and Mr. Gilley up, I look like a nut." 

OLD NEWS 2017 

We invite the world to follow the ranting of Lyle E Style on Twitter: @mrestyle 

If you’re looking to get married in Manitoba, consider doing it with Style. He’s been helping people live happily forever after for more than two decades. Besides music, writing and working in film/television, Lyle is a marriage commissioner based in Winnipeg and can accommodate weddings of all sizes (even at short notice). Email mrestyle@shaw.ca for more info. 

Lyle got a chance to meet up with one of his heroes Kris Kristofferson at a rare acoustic performance this past Spring of 2017. "It was an amazing opportunity to meet up with him and I’m very grateful for it. On top of that, I got to see his memorable performance right up front and center, it was unreal." said Style.

Style has bought out all remaining inventory of his book "Ain’t Got No Cigarettes - Memories of Music Legend Roger Miller". There is still some time to get your signed copy on this site. Rumor has it he hasn’t been feeling good lately so your purchase will become an investment when he inevitably kicks the bucket. 

After 25 years working in the film industry, Style has finally made it to the big screen with a speaking role. "Most of the work I’ve done in Film and Television has been as a stand-in, the odd commercial, a blur in the background or a role that ended up on the cutting room floor. It’s nice to have a speaking role in Tempus Tormentum and I’m grateful for it." 

Style has completed his script "Don’t Bend For Coppers: The Life and Deaths of Johnny Kitsalano" and is working on getting it in to the right hands. "I only wish I knew who the right hands were and how to get it into them" said Style explaining that the script is about guy raised in a politically incorrect time who loved three things: music, his girlfriend and miserable old men. "Wouldn’t it be great to end up just like the person you admired most?" he asked me. I told him that I didn’t know and he said something like "hopefully we will all find out someday when this dark comedic drama gets made." 

WINTER NEWS 2020 

Style has a new website! It’s not as nice as the great original design by Billy Smith but it’ll likely be updated more regularly. A huge thank you to Billy Smith of Cyberdog Media for the last 20 years of being a master webmaster and friend! 

As for what’s the new since the last update…

Style was named the “new voice of MTS” which was his most exciting gig to date as the last person to do it was with them for many years doing many TV commercials and radio ads. As his luck would have it, less than a week after getting the gig, MTS was sold to Bell Canada and he’s never heard from them since. He did one ad though which was on TV, web ads and played at movie theaters for a few months. 

It’s been said that if Style isn't humming the Waylon Jennings lyrics "Look at me, you can see I've seen my better days, hoping for better days to come", he can be found in mourning for the loss of friends, heroes and people he interviewed and highly respected in the music industry including Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Fred Foster, Paul English, Reggie Young, Don Williams, Harold Bradley, Tony Joe White, Donnie Fritts, Ralph Murphy, Billy Ray Reynolds, Hazel Smith, DJ Fontana, Don Markham, Norro Wilson, Glen Campbell and more. Some people claim he also often mumbles to himself "country music is dead" with three fingers of scotch in hand. 

Style started writing a 2020 re-release of his book on Roger Miller called “Ain’t Got No Cigarettes – Memories of Music Legend Roger Miller 20/20 - Now Featuring The Profound Failures That Followed!”. It was meant to be funny but it came off more bitter than anything. It had a few stories and interviews that were originally cut from the book, updates on each artist, a few new interviews and after nearly each interview, it would share a story of how things blew up in Lyle’s face since the original book release. The update also included profound things that happened in his personal life that has affected him the last few years (surprisingly, things that have never been shared on this "TMI" website) but in the end, it was ill-received and despite hundreds of hours of work, the idea was laid to rest.

On that note, Style quit Facebook! We overheard him tell a friend confidentially: “Things were being thrown in my face on Facebook by some people that pulled off things so dirty, selfish and lowdown that I can't comprehend, so I needed to delete my account for my mental health."

Style is still feeling the aftereffects of him being physically assaulted by an employee while shopping at Walmart. “I’m still in physical therapy and despite seeing some improvements, the physical pain, the profound financial impact and psychological warfare that they and their lawyers used is something I deal with daily.” We’ve gone through the details in the last news update however the aftermath is something family, friends and acquaintances now feel as well. “My wife and kids and relatives are all upset at me because I went through the house and threw out every single item in the house that was bought at Walmart, be it a gift or something we bought many years ago. I’m not popular at birthday parties because my kid’s gifts go directly in the trash if there is a gift receipt from Walmart or any hint that it was bought there. I also throw out any food that people bring into our home that was bought at Walmart. They have all been warned that anything bought from that company is not welcome in my home.” When asked if he donates the toys and food that were bought there, Style answered “Everything that comes out of that evil store is cursed as far as I’m concerned, and I would never want anyone to have something cursed, no matter their life situation. The garbage can is too good for anything from Walmart, it should all be flushed down the toilet where it belongs. I’d rather starve than give a penny of support to that immoral outfit.”

It’s rumored that due to the above issues, not the COVID Pandemic,

he cancelled his 200 city “Lyle E Style 'Farewell World'

Tour 2020”. 

Style is still working on getting his “Don’t Bend For Coppers” Script in the right hands. He left us this voicemail to comment for the News: “My script features people and stories from an un-woke, politically incorrect time. Much of it was taken verbatim by grumpy old men I’d love to hang around. Despite it being factual, it seems all the production companies I’ve been in touch with are not into taking risks on things that aren’t adapted to today’s politically correct society. If anyone knows of how to get this in the right hands, I’d be eternally grateful as I don’t know what the fu”… (Voicemail cut off at this point). 

Style was seen playing guitar on the Grand Ole Opry with his teenage crush Alicia Witt on the Hallmark Movie "Our Christmas Love Song".  

Style has been doing his best to be a good parent and to learn from the mistakes his parents made raising him. "My parents would encourage me to live each day as if it were my last, and so I did. Unbeknownst to them, every morning I would look in the mirror and tell myself ‘I am going to die later today’ and I found myself persistently worrying about it. I was constantly adjusting my will and after decades of living each day as though it were my last, I realized it was actually making me quite depressed, very quick to startle and anxious. So, I decided to tell my kids to expect good things to come their way every day and to enjoy life as they choose." 

2023

There's a new Sheb Wooley biography written by Suzanne Gould which features some stories from Lyle "East L..A" about his time spent with the great Sheb Wooley.  

Style has lost popularity even among those in his house thanks to his parenting skills. From mid-March, his two boychildren (7 & 11) were home-schooled, (predominantly by their mother after both boys wanted to drop out of school with their Dad as their teacher). As the school year was coming to an end, Style went to his kid's school's websites and took the letter head and then created his own report cards for his kids. On Father's Day, they "arrived in the mail" and the kids opened them up to find out that their schools "called home" and their Dad was the one who provided feedback on everything from chores to life lessons. Father's Day quickly turned to tears and profound anger. Style told us "I stand behind what I did, I believe it was the parents' responsibility to do report cards for this term and I believe my comments, despite being blunt and borderline vulgar, were accurate."

It has been documented that as Style experiences what's left of his life in his 40s that he's been worrying about the fact that he had a mid-life crisis in his mid-twenties. We wish him luck with that.

Style has been in isolation for the COVID Pandemic since mid-March (arguably years longer). In a phone interview he said: “I could be locked up in my house for five years and I wouldn’t run out of things to do or be bored for a moment. In fact, if I had things my way, I’d self-isolate for a few more years after the pandemic just to be on the safe side.”

The same day COVID was announced as Pandemic, Style wrote a song called “COVID Blues #19” (a hat’s off to Jimmie Rodgers and Merle Haggard). Style did a rare video for Twitter but it was his most ill-received song since “Cut & Paste”, he was being messaged about it being too soon, insensitive and him having an awful sense of humor. Style clarified the line is "Got them COVID Blues", not "God Damn COVID Blues". People also misunderstood "Cut & Paste", there was no F-words in that track, the line was "If I could".

Style was excited with the recent release of Bob Dylan’s new 17 minute song “Murder Most Foul”. Style lectured us: “As a young man I was told Bob Dylan was the voice of a generation and was the wisest of them all. I believed and still believe what I was told although if I think about it, I’ve never found there to be any comfort or wisdom in anything he’s ever said or done. He doesn’t even talk to his audience or show any appreciation whatsoever for people that pay to come see them. His new song ‘Murder Most Foul’ is about an event that happened before I was even born and is unrelatable to even a life-long Dylan fanatic like me. I love references to Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton in songs but I know very few people who even know who they were. The best part about the song is that it has the most anticipated bridge in any song ever written and Bob Dylan delivers that bridge to his fans the way he does best. It’s a hypnotic track, in fact, I’m concerned for anyone’s safety if they are driving and listening to that song.” 

Style along with the majority of people was sad to hear of Kenny Rogers’ passing. Style was overheard saying “I admire Kenny Rogers career and respect that he had a legitimate ‘goodbye tour’ because he meant it. It really bothers me when people go out on tour like Garth Brooks and promote the idea that they are on their last tour and then a year later, they are headlining in Vegas or on another tour acting as though they didn’t just announce their retirement a year or two earlier. My favorite show I saw of Kenny Rogers was in Brandon, Manitoba. He was in a real foul mood. Women were coming up to the stage with flowers, gifts and signs and he would walk to the other end of the stage and waved them to go away or just said “no!” As soon as someone would come toward the stage, he’d shoo them away and not accept anything they put on the stage. I was also fascinated because he also told the crowd they were ‘brutal’ as I recall and when people started singing, he told them to please not sing along with him because they were awful [set list from that show below]. I still remained a fan though after that concert and I was honored to be part of a concert package show where Kenny Rogers was the main attraction, in fact, I was the only person out that whole package show I never heard of.”

We asked Style if we should tell people to “stay safe” on his behalf in closing to this news update and we were reprimanded “If people need to be told to ‘stay safe’ by me in the midst of a pandemic, there’s something wrong with them. Who in the hell am I to tell people to ‘stay safe’? Just tell them to ‘take care’ otherwise I look like an a--hole.”   

So on behalf of Lyle, take care!

2022

Style recently performed a Live From The Lounge acoustic performance on Russell Hill's Country Music Show on Express FM in Portsmouth, UK. You can listen to it by clicking HERE. 

Style took his nine year old boychild to see Alice Cooper in concert in Winnipeg. He told us "I first saw Alice Cooper 35 years ago and got in major trouble for it as I was enrolled in a Minor Seminary in Roblin at the time. I lied and snuck out to Winnipeg to catch the show, I was nearly expelled when I got back. Luckily a friend's parent stuck up for me and saved me from getting the boot however I was told by the priest that ran the school that I would definitely go to hell for it. He confiscated my tour program after he went through all the photos telling me Alice was the devil. I saw Alice over a dozen times over the years but this last one was my favourite one because I took my 9 year old with me and we had front row seats. Alice even gave him his cane! What an introduction to live music: seeing the greatest showman on the planet, front row seats and getting a stage used prop from the Master."

When we asked if his son was a fan, he said "Yes, he knew all the songs, he loves Alice." We asked what the favourite song is of his 9 year old son and Style said "The first haf of I'm Eighteen".

Summer 2020

Despite rumors, Style is still alive. It's his career that is questionable. 

Style has been getting slack for the name of his "Farewell World Tour 2020" (that was cancelled prior to COVID) being blamed for bringing a bad energy to 2020. Had he not cancelled the world tour just days before Canada shut down, he would have been eligible for all sorts of compensation for the lost tour by the Government and various organizations. He confirmed he got "SFA" for the cancelled tour but he did not clarify what "SFA" means. We did hear a rumor that he donated hundreds of hats, shirts, sweatshirts, tour jackets and pillow cases to a homeless shelter but later found out that when they saw they all said "Farewell World", they apparently dumped it all in the trash bin. 

The one thing he has been not getting slack for has been his amazing observation regarding video conferencing which has become so popular because of COVID. He suggests that if companies like Zoom, Skype or Teams could go back in time, they would likely name their companies "COVID" as in "co-vid" because it so aptly captures the essence of what their service does. He suggested that Zoom and COVID should swap names because people who hear about a "Zoom Pandemic" are more likely to take it seriously. 

Despite playing music daily, writing music and working on a new screenplay called "Birthmas" (all projects not by special request), Style has been focused on if his guardian angel (who he assumed abandoned him long, long ago) has been giving him a clear message daily on his computer but he never noticed it until now (as per the photo below).