Thoughts From The Townedger-September Edition

It's been a very busy month of record hunting and jams.  I got to play at strip bar basement then off to Whittier the next night. Still can't rid of my coughing issues but I have come to find that Flornaise has helped a lot more with the mucus issues than cold meds.  Still I'm certain I will get nailed with this crap twice more before the year is out.

Art Willard was my best friend Steve's brother and he was a very helpful guy.  Worked for many years at Menards, Pancreatic cancer finally took him.  He was 57.

My ex-girlfriend  Nicole turned 42 on Thursday.  Next to Clarice, she was the 2nd longest GF that I had in my life.  We remain good friends and still talk.  She was known as the Brat, a affectionately nickname that she didn't care much for.  Her birthday present was that I decided to retire that nick name and set her free from that name.  Nicole was the closest person I thought about marrying.  When she moved down here, it was a real learning experience.  It was a relationship with high and lows.  I do think she found a better guy after she moved back home.   In 2000, we met at the Mingles get together, nine years later returned to St Louis and fell in love together, and in on the night of the Super Moon 2012 it was over.  The biggest regret, she never saw me play live.

20 years ago, I was seeing Olivia and went up to Portland to visit her in a six month fling.  She came out here in before the new Millennium and us and Russ and Deb celebrated New Years' in Galena.  Fun times.  She still looks mighty fine last time I have seen her.  That's because she is not with me anymore.

I haven't done much with Julie since both of us have been sick,  I did play percussion for her and Ryan earlier this month but we have not had much contact together.  I rather not get blamed for getting her sick and vice versa.  I'm not 100 percent over the Vertigo issue that happened in February and the way it sounds it will happen again in the future.  Being sick, I have no thrill of playing guitar and singing of late.  I've been playing drums most of the time, but maybe once I get to feeling better I may start hanging more at Stone City than Rumors.   I have a great rapport with Terry McDowell and been on good graces with him and the Rumors jams.  In the case of Julie, I can't call her anything else but a good friend, not girlfriend.  I encourage her to carve out her own sound and music and go with that.  She blends in well with Ryan Paul, with me, it's a bit more complicated.  She hates being surprised when I show up unannounced.  To me, it doesn't make a boyfriend/girlfriend pairing.  Which is the way it goes.  I'm not looking for anybody new and any rumors connecting me with anybody else in down is just that. Rumors without merit.  I love Julie in my own way as she does with me, but when we're together it's for a finite time. I tend to wear out my welcome within a matter of minutes.  That was made known Friday Night at CRL.

Kimberly Trevellion is a blues shouter and has the voice that can cut through anything.  She talked about looking a new band and new chances to make it around the area.  I love helping her out on drums.  Told her to be careful about hanging around Bob Dorr during the Parlor City Blues Jam or joining any band of his.  I do think she's perfect for blues singing.  More so than rock.

Another month gone by and nothing new to report about any Townedger recordings.  Too much going on in this life, and too lazy to embrace streaming for the next recording.  I'm sure Terry Bainbridge will be knocking at the door to get something in the can before the year is out.

John Hernandez was kind enough to invite me to be one of the Eastern Iowa Musicians from The Past To Present, tho my history is focused around the jams and half assed attempts to start bands when I came back on the scene in 2015.  I am interested to connect the past bands to the present.  But the bands I was in, in the 1980s were so insignificant.  Hardly anybody knew about the Stone Garden Band being revived in 1985, but for three weeks Rick Novak and Virgil Hanson tried and then had a big falling out, killing that band, and Virgil and Mike Swearingen formed a country band soon afterwards.  Mike Swearingen was my inner connection to the CR bands of the 1980s but outside of Paraphernalia-Tyrus, I was a unknown that didn't associate with the musicians back then, I was too shy and not able to come out of my shell if I didn't know people.

On a whole, the past 4 years, I have more going on in that time, than I ever did 35 year prior.  And the interaction with fellow musicians and being good enough to hang with them has helped me greatly.  I'm not the crash and bash drummer of Mike Serbousek, or the hard hitting Pat Geisland or Wildcat Spratt himself.  Randy from Rare Earth has been very instrumental of getting me to relax more on stage. He sez I have done quite well in the past couple weeks of playing, He had to slow me down twice in the past three weeks of Rumors jams, so maybe I'm learning how to play in a relaxed mode.  I'm still gung ho when Russ Swearingen comes around and a couple others.

Kevin Wymer has done his best to try to get me into Full Circle and I think I have a good ally with and John Hernandez, but it seems Vic tends to be a bit going through drummers quite a bit.  I don't have the time to do a full time band, I cannot give up my night time job just to starve myself for a 100 dollar gig every other week.  Kevin is a HOF guitar player and I'm honored to jam with him if and when the time allows.  Notes From The Underground, I enjoy my time with them as guest drummer.  The question remains where were these dudes at when Tyrus was being put on ice?  Then again, I wasn't exactly looking for a new band either.  I had this idea of world domination as a solo artist or with Route 66/Townedgers LOL.

For technique and fun, Kraig Spratt is fun to watch.  On his 65th birthday he might have done the coolest version of Wonderful Tonight as he improvised and added a F bomb and other naughty lyrics.  It's hard to say who's the best drummer in town, and even have a list of 10 best drummers doesn't do the scene justice.  Hardest working remains Terry McDowell and he manages to share time to chat with.   I put up a list of fave musicians but I'm always going to forget one or two.

The hardest thing to drum has to be playing a slower tempo.  I have to come down from that speed punk trap and learn how to slow it down.  Nobody plays Bad Motor Scooter faster than me, for Mississippi Queen Rick Clay had to count out how fast he wanted it, which was twice slower than I play.  Rushing the tempo may have something to do with me trying to take over the band and get the folks dancing.  Only this year with Randy Burgendorf reminders of keeping it slow has it finally dawned on me to do a slower beat.  Gibby as well.

If and when Russ and Dewayne get back to playing, I have to go with a list of people that I enjoy jamming with.  I haven't jammed onstage with Russ in four years and Dewayne three.

Finally, my list of fave musicians.  I know I'm missing a few but these folks hold special meaning to me.

Favorite Female Vocalists:  Julie Gordon, Belinda James, Kimberly Trevellion, Amanda Marshall, Karie Skogman, Cathy Hart, Lorie Parker, Donna Jo Elsner, Dawn Sedcelek, Lisa Fox

Fave Guitar Players:  Craig Erickson, Daddy O Murrian,  Tommy Bruner, Kris Briles, Brook Hoover, Tony Nickels, Kevin Wymer, Dakota McWhorter, Phil Koening, Greg Mein, Rich Toomsen

Fave Keyboards:  Tommy Giblin, Tom Listenburger, Brenda Mein, Ryan Paul, Jeff Taylor,

Fave Male Singers:  Kevin BF Burt, Dave Pedersen, Joe Hutchcroft, Ryan Phelan< Ernest Bynum

Fave Bass Players:  Randy Burgendorf, Dan Johnson, Tim Canfield, John Hernandez, Jess Toomsen, Mark Awad, Ken Webb, Dave Bonham, Bill from Notes From The Underground.

Fave Harmonica Players:  Tom Berdo, Nick Lnenicka, Bob Gleason, Frederick Jones

And these folks are in the CR area.

Till next month.  It's humid as hell at the moment but come friday we will be wearing a coat.  Welcome to fall.

All around players: Maki Dervo,  Billy Bourbon, Jeff Craft, Bryce Janey, David Lam, Carl Meiners.

Fave guys to hang around;  Steve Black Wolf, Ground Chuck, Nelson, Al Hendricks.