Thoughts From The Townedger-April Edition

For a month of being busy at work, I sure had a lot of things going on. Two birthday bashes with Julie, making both of the Artisan Sanctuary Open Mics and scurrying from Stone City To Rumors and getting to play with Al Hendricks a couple times.  And I did find a few decent CDs as well.  Perhaps May will continue the jams n gigs.

When I do these thoughts at the end of the month, I analyze the gigs and jams and go on feel and notion. Whereever the wind blows and what I have lined up for jams or bands.   Dreams Of Arcadia have been using Pat Geasland for percussion while I do my 10 hour days at work,  Boy Scout Hippies another drummer.  There's always promises of getting back together somewhere down the line, but I never felt like I was part of either band outside of playing a beat and following the guitars.  Both bands don't use bass players, both bands have a nice liberal lists of songs, familiar and not so familiar. It's their band, their music and songs,and I get to dictate where to lead them on the beat.  Or playing with legends or getting a photo taken.  I'd love to get the photo taken of Al and DJ but like the photo of me and Julie at Ramsey's last year, I doubt if I will.  My memories aren't worth preserving I suppose, so I have to rely on others to get live shots of myself.  One day, this will end and at least I have some sort of memories for myself that I did managed to get, for better or for worse.  Then again I have always been on the outside looking in.   And that's not going to change anytime soon.

I deal with Alpha males in their bands.   I played with liberal minded Bernie Sanders friends, and I also played in bands with full Trumpers.   As long you're sharing a musical bond, politics won't get in the way.  But with the blowup with Pat McDuffee in January on his fair POTUS, I won't do any gigs with Smokin Guns,  I'll go see them but for paying gigs, not happening.  The Boy Scout Hippies, Ron is Alpha Male, he'll promote himself and his band with ease but I remain a footnote and part of the revolving door of drummers in his band.  But that was my choice, it was a temporary thing and Ron paid well.  He'll tout his own accomplishments and sometimes Dakota but I will  find myself being not mentioned at all.  It's better that way.  I have things to do with The Townedgers and playing the solo jams for a few songs. And for the few gigs that I did, the BSH sounded a lot different than any other time.  The key is to keep up with Ron.  Do that, and you'll last a while.  And I never left a gig without having somebody complimenting me on my drum playing.  Got the people dancing, I did my job.  I have seen and heard the new drummer, he'll do well.

The Woodstock Revisited Concert at Lowe's Park is a big deal.   I'm not playing with BSH at Woodstock Revisited.  We can now bury this once and for all.

Photo Courtesy of Dreams Of Arcadia


Julie has been a part of this life for over two years.  But we have been going in separate directions and going further apart. Its a case of he says she says and everybody goes through this.  If I'm done with DOA participation on percussion, that's the way it's written to be.  Like BSH, you wish them the best of luck and move on to other things.

But I do loved the way she serenade me with Walking After Midnight on that December 2nd.  I wished there was more of that.

I'm all in favor of Public Display of Affection with somebody I'm with.  If she's not into that, then what's the point of even dating?

I was going through the archives of pictures to scan and came across one with Olivia and me celebrating New Years Eve 2000, the last day of 1900s.  I think that was the most happiest time that I had when she came into our part of the world, never going through winters here and after this, would never come back again.  Can't blame her if she's not used to it.  In fact she caught walking pneumonia soon after, and still had it when I visited her one last time in the spring of 2000.  She was the inspiration for Pawnshops For Olivia but I don't think she wanted a musician in her life. Especially if he's a dreamer.

Tony Nickels is no longer part of Urban Pie, he's moved over to Grey's Pub. Where ever that may be. I doubt they'll have a acoustic jam over there.

I won't be taking part in any of the Sirenz summer tour.  Things didn't work out the way it was planned.

Dennis Lancaster was a big part of the 1980s in the bands I played in.   He was the glue that kept Tyrus going at that time.   He's an pilot now.  No way we'll get back to play together ever again.

I am not going to my 40th High School Reunion. I don't feel like paying 35 dollars a person for snacks and seeing classmates that I don't want to see.    There's a couple that perhaps we might get together and do something the night before. I could crash the party the next day but I'm just not interested.  The World Naked Bike Ride I have done for three straight years but I think I have done that enough to be satisfied and say that I did ride naked for the morning and got sunburned for my trouble.    Most of them are like my classmates,  Not enough to revisit and rekindle old memories while riding around Madison in my birthday suit with strangers.

Downtown Davenport is under water, well mostly the area that I frequent.  The folks at Ragged Records had to move their inventory upstairs and about three feet off the floor.  At the moment, they do have water in the place.  I'm also certain that the Source Book Store might have water in their basement too.  I was there a couple weeks ago, trying to get the new Dawn album,only to get to Ragged too late, but Co Op Records in Moline had a copy.  In this photo, I actually parked in front of the building.  This time out, the only way to get there was by boat.  So far this spring Cedar Rapids has been lucky, after the spring thaw things were under water at the Nature Center.  It's still muddy in spots even tho the Cedar River and Indian Creek have gone back into their banks.

If a certain Hall Of Famer Radio personality annoys me when I take time off from work to help the cause and acts like a crab ass, I won't bother him with my presence for future jams.  I deal with enough negativity in this life from my job and band mates and life itself.

Hooray, it's May.  Till the next time.