The Townedger Final Thoughts On Bruce Stanley and Popcorn Jam 9-11

Funny how the skies are so perfectly blue this time of year.

Today I paid my final respects to Bruce Stanley, who died last Thursday at age 57, at the Hall Of Memories at Cedar Memorial.  There was so many people there, including a couple of classmates that didn't talk to me, or knew I was there, one of them unfriended me a while ago.   I think wearing sunglasses may have kept my I.D. secret, but I do admit I didn't go out of my way to say hi to either of them.

Bruce's casket was there but it was closed and probably better for that way.  I saw of the more metallic rockers out there crying.  Tim Hotz, my record and CD collecting buddy from many years ago, who I would stumbled upon going to Half Priced Books was pallbearer, he was quite shaken by Bruce's passing.  I thought I would humor him for a bit by telling the new Descendants album rocks. We hugged each other, something I thought would never happen.  And for the first time in many years I got to say hi to Jerry Scott, the original Relics Records owner as well as Carol Becker.  She's always been very emotional and we also said hi and hugged each other too.

I guess there was more to Bruce than what I knew about.  He was a St Louis Cardinals fan but he never mentioned it much around me, since I rooted for the Chicago Cubs.  I looked at him as one of my top five friends but I was never asked to be pallbearer, Tim was one, Troy Mitchell was another and even Barb Myers was one.  Barb was a lot closer to Bruce than I was, perhaps some day I'll have to quiz her on about Bruce and of his life and times.  I would have loved to get to know the man better, but I never did find out where he lived at, nor ever been there.  I only knew him from my times at the pawnshop, at Relics, at 16th Avenue Music.  And sometimes going to a concert at Gabe's or CSPS.

The celebration of life was like any funeral you go to.  There were hymms, there were prayers and there was some laughs.  Billy Heller did an acoustic version of Amazing Grace and then they did a version of Hallelujah, the Leonard Cohen song that John Cale's version became the better known, never mind Jeff Buckley's version. Thankfully the organ hymns were absent.  But still there were plenty of tears, plenty of sadness but for myself, I kept it deep inside, basically I did my crying the Friday Night of the previous week.  After all death is not the end but a new beginning.  And somewhere Bruce is now pain free and jamming with the boys in the great beyond.

I heard he could do it all,  Like me, he started out playing 45s and then taking up the drums and then guitar, only difference was that he caught on playing drums and guitar a lot sooner than I ever did. He had the right guitar riff for the right song, or the right drum fill.  Even in the days of 16th Avenue Music little did I know that Bruce kicked ass as drummer and while I was messing around the DW set hooked up in the studio at 16th Avenue Music, that he was playing double and triple time drum rolls and not missing a beat.  He could go places where I can dream about.  Being his friend Bruce did go out of his way to chat with me awhile and I loved him like a brother, still I always looked at myself as the outsider looking in, even with the major musician friends that he knew and jammed around town.  I got to the party too late.

Before the funeral started, I stood at Bruce's casket and place my hand on it to say goodbye one last time.  It wasn't what I wanted to witness, I wanted to visit him at the pawnshop last week but got caught up in errands and other assorted things.  Later on, before I said goodbye to Jerry, he mentioned that his band might be looking for a drummer for a jam or two, and I did give my number.  Jerry son's play alongside him in the newer version of The Merles, the band that Bruce used to play in before Bruce departed.  I'm not certain that I'll be a part of Jerry's band, I inquired about playing for them 2 decades ago but they had Bill Neff playing drums and he was once part of the Bent Scepters and nothing came of it or fell on deaf ears.  It is a step up from The Wiley Kats and it is a cool thought that maybe we could play in the near future.

But for the moment while I sat thinking about this scenario, the funeral wagon left for Fairfield and Bruce's final resting place and I'll have to look him up in the future.  But Bruce will always be a part of me, especially when I play the acoustic guitar or the Les Paul Gibson that he sold me years ago. His memory will stay alive when I create new music from them.

Goodbye Bruce.  Wished I knew you better than I did but I'll always cherish the memories of the times we shared together at the pawnshop or music stores.

Love
The Townedger

(Photo Credit: Barb Myers.  L+R  Terry McDowell, Jeremy Jacobs, Craig Erickson, Tommy Bruner, Rob Haskill, Dan Johnson)

Popcorn Jam 9-11-16 Lineup

Steve Bray-Vocals
Craig Erickson-Guitar
Tommy Bruner-Guitar
Dan Johnson-Bass
R.Smith-Drums

Songs of the Beatles;  Ticket To Ride and  Revolution Blues. 


I don't think I was on stage but for about 5 minutes, tackling a couple of Beatles songs.  Jeremy Jacobs is Barb Myers' son and he tore up some excellent leads with Craig Erickson on Red House Blues, Voodoo Chile and All Along The Watchtower, with OTT  drummer Trevor pounding on the   drums.  That might be a good name for Trevor.  Trevor OTT as in Over The Top.  Blame it on the youth.  Rob and Craig have played together and Rob plays it super cool and not over the top.   I was paired with my good friend Steve Bray on the two Beatles numbers, I always enjoy sharing the stage with him, which we did earlier in the year.    With 8 drummers showing up, the chances to do songs didn't extend past two songs which everybody got.  Herm got paired with Belinda on Fever and really it wasn't the same as the way we did it a couple weeks ago. Herm has a much different style than mine, more straight forwarded although the finger pops at the beginning with an interesting choice.  But since working with Belinda on that song a couple times there's more of an inner groove interplay between me and D.J and Tommy.  Certainly Herm is a professional enough to adapt to the song, perhaps the next time it might go better. A good effort but wasn't much chemistry this time out.   Barb Myers closed the jam with Mercedes Benz, to which she dedicated to Bruce.  She did a great job.