Thoughts Of The Townedger-June Edition

40 summers ago, it was the last time I would ever see my first love Jeanette.  It was a long distance puppy love, started in 1975 on a trip to Michigan and she came down with her folks a year later.  She chased me around the yard and I thought that was so cool.  To the point that we were walking hand in hand up to the tent located in the front of her uncle's house when all of a sudden a massive rain cloud came out of nowhere and damn near drowned us.  God said no to that and he was right.   A year later I wanted to take her up to the Dairy Queen for a ice cream cone and a malt but her dad said no.  They were here for a week, then went home.  I'd never see her again.  It's pointless to bring up what happened afterwards, it doesn't matter anyway.  But I wished I could have those feelings toward somebody like I did Jeanette.  I think when you get your heart broken, you become more guarded and each failed love, the walls get built higher and higher.   I didn't pick the right one back then, we were too young and too stupid to be reminded it was puppy love that wouldn't last.   We thought we knew it all...and was proven wrong as time went by.

35 Summers ago, was Paraphernalia going to my dad's basement and laying down a couple tracks, Come Together and Rock Me Baby.  Those would be the first songs that I recorded with Mike Swearingen, who took time out from his band to help me, Russ and Doug Bonesteel sound better.  And it would be the sign of bigger and better things to come.

1 summer ago, I came out of retirement to play in weekly jams in this town.  Started at Wrigleyville in Marion and then migrated over to Rumor's Bar And Grill for the Popcorn Jam on Sundays.  There have been highs, and there has been lows and I mentioned them in previous blogs and really don't need to bring them up.  The reason why things don't work out is that they were not meant to be, like relationships.   And I wasn't about to retire from my job to play for a 250 dollar split of the bar gig, especially if the leader of that band wasn't capable enough to know the songs at hand.  But he's welcome to come on down to Rumors to do a song or two...for fun that is.

Terry McDowell has done an outstanding job of keeping the Jams going since Tim Duffy moved to Georgia.  I wasn't there last week, but I heard that it was a metal type of jam and the Rumor's owner didn't like it very much.  I also missed out playing on Herm's drumset.  I guess Herm is looking for a new band since he had a falling out with the guys in Kick It.   I like Herm but he tends to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to playing songs for fun, especially The Beatles.  I look at jams as doing a different take or spin on songs, and I don't play by the record, I'm not that disciplined, I grew up playing like Keith Moon more than Ringo Starr.  Dan from Kick It can be as hard headed at times too but I got along with him fine.  Knowing their song selection I don't think I'd be a good fit for them.  But they'll find somebody that's  more their style.  Rocky Smith comes to mind.

I decided to do something different last week and that was taking part of the World Naked Bike Ride day, and it was held up in Madison last Saturday.  This naked bike ride is a protest against fossil fuels and to love your body.  In this day and age, people are caught up trying to look like model, and if you are a bit chubby, social media tends to ridicule you.  Which is bullshit.  There's a woman at work I used to mini crush on, and she was a bigger sized person but now she has lost so much weight (over 200 pounds) that she looks like skin and bones and not a healthy sort of way.  But that's her life, but a good gust of wind might blow her away too.  But the WNBR people came in all sizes and shapes and age group.   There was a few guys in their 60s and 70s trotting out on their bikes in full nudity.  I think there was about 300 people that did take part and I was one of them.  I have not seen very many recent pictures of the Madison Rides this year but give it time, I'm sure they'll surface more in the future.  It was a unique and fun bike ride but I think one time is enough.  I'm surprised I actually went through doing this.

I had reservations about doing this, but when we got to the destination point, everybody whipped them off, just like that.  I figured why not and join the crowd.  In the 3 and half hour get together, which included a two hour ride through downtown Madison and the Capital, I'd say it was no different than riding a bike fully clothed, except there was plenty of hooting and hollering and picture taking.  I'm sure as time marches on, we'll see more pictures and videos of  WNBR Madison 2016.  Once the two hour bike ride was over, I didn't stick around very long.  It was fun, it was different but I doubt I'll do that again.  I'm still trying to recover from thigh and leg cramps a week later.

Uncle Ike's in Asbury/Dubuque is a cool place to check out used drums and it's closer than Music Go Round in Davenport.  I damn near went home with a Ludwig Vista Lite drum set.  I would love to find a Zickos set but I don't think I ever will.  Should have kept mine from the beginning.

For special appearances, I'll be hanging around the next two shows from Julie And The Mad Dogs and the Popcorn Jam, but as of the moment no projects coming up until August when I might do a album that revisits some of my better known stuff.

Julie Jules Gordon is a wonderful musician and she loves everybody equally.  She has gone out of her way to make me feel at home at jam sessions and at her shows, be it the Acoustakitties or The Mad Dogs.  I think she along with Terry McDowell and Tommy Bruner has kept my interest in playing music going, there are times I have really been fighting the insecurities that plagued me with stage fright from time to time.  It's a shame that I never got to know Kyle Oyloe sooner.  It's not fair in life when somebody like Kyle leaves this world earlier than he should, the man was loved and still is loved.  That said, I do think Dakota McWhortor has done a fine job in taking over.  He's young but he's very capable of playing lead guitar in the place of Kyle.   I have become friends with Mike Serbousek, who's might be the loudest drummer I ever known.  I think his style fits the band quite well.  I think he's inching closer to the CR music scene, he has moved from Monticello to Anamosa over the weekend!  Still, Julie And The Mad Dogs has a chemistry that was kinda like Paraphernalia Tyrus-we didn't exactly play it by record but we made it up with pure intensity. Mike does that element of playing with rude tenacity.  I am glad that Mike has decided to keep himself in this band, while working around his other band West 66.  If there was a conflict of sorts, I would have volunteer myself to play drums.  Bands do come and go but I refuse to believe that their time was over.  And I think in the great beyond Kyle might agree with me.   BTW Kyle if you're reading this, say hello to Lemmy for me please.

And I'm working getting a picture with Julie in action with her band since I never seem to get away from her picture taking too.;-) 

The 2nd and 4th pictures are from Julie, The vintage Mike photo comes courtesy of Rod Smith Enterprises and Archives, in association with Paraphernalia Incorporated.

(below: At the Sanity Room-Independence)