In the summer of 1985, I was sharing a house some friends. They had another renter that I formed a friendship with, Kent Eriksen, and we became pals hanging and going places together. While I spent most of my time in the East Bay, From Oakland, CA to Fremont, CA, Kent grew up in Redwood City, CA, which is called the Peninsula. Kent graduated from the Columbia School of Broadcasting and when you hear him speak, you can tell he is a radio DJ...he’s got that kind of voice. We had a lot of fun hanging together as he introduced me to his friends in the radio industry. They were all from the local stations I listened to, the FM arena rock and hard rock stations. And Kent would go to the local jam nights with me, and enjoy the local talent that played there, and watch me go crazy as well.
When we first met, he was putting together a book called The Baby Band Book. The names went from crazy to cool with all kinds of words and combinations. He got all of us to contribute a few names to finalize the book. On the front cover was local rocker, Eddie Money. The first picture on the inside was a truly great guitar player, Jimmy Lyons, from the Eddie Money Band. The next picture in the book was the lead guitarist from the band Stagecoach, taken a Keystone Berkeley, me. Other pictures of local talent were in the book as well, my good friend Leroy Silva, Dave and Dan Moreno, Penny Piper, and others. Recently Kent and I reconnected and he told me the book sold on ebay for $100.00.
His handle on the radio stations was The Kent. We had similar tastes in music and from what I remember Jeff Beck was probably his favorite at the time. Later on he turned me onto Jeff Beck’s Guitar Workshop album. Wow!! He has also shared a few of the stories that happened to him behind the scenes. So let’s have some fun. Here are the incidents in Kent’s own words:
“It was the summer of 1985......I think--strolled into KSJO.....small talk chat with the receptionist, a few people of the staff.....began setting up camp in my 'cubicle of music madness'. Hoisted my headphones on...began setting up the mixer board---and low and behold>>ShaZamm Zap...Electricity...Zap. I had gotten an electric shock from one of the control knobs, which sent me falling backwards and off my chair......thus, causing me to get a whiplash.
Sometime in 1984...........I did a favor for a dj friend of mine---he needed someone to take his place, so he could go to a party. I had just worked 8 hrs earlier......but, the money was good--so I said no problem. About 3 a.m........my friend-Larry......left his party, and was heading back to the station--he turned on the radio station--and heard me snoring in the background while the song "Nobody does it Better" by Carly Simon....play again, and again......and again. Larry arrived.....and woke me up!”
Interesting stuff...
When we were living together I found out it was easy to sneak up on Kent and scare him. So I took full advantage of it. I’d sneak up on him at his window on the first floor and yell or patiently sneak up on him in the gravel driveway (I could do it too) and yell and touch him at the same time. He was a great victim. My favorite time was late one night we went a jam night. He came home with the other room mates after I did. We had a laundry room at the back of the house that was an add on. This house was over 110 years old and this room was more of an afterthought attachment. I waited forever as Kent took his time smoking a cigarette and I guess looking at the stars. Well he finally came in and as he entered the room which was unlit, I grabbed him by the knee and roared at him. His reaction was priceless. I laughed so hard as he told me we needed to take his head out of the ceiling and pay for a new pair of underwear.
At the end of our stay, they were preparing to tear the house down. Power was cut, so they ran power from a neighbor’s apartment. The kids from the family we were living with had a band called Atomic Serenade. They later added new members and formed a band called Fungo Mungo and released one really good album...if you like Primus and good bands of that caliber. Well...they had a destroy the house party. Kent and I were outside working on my truck. Beer kegs were thrown through windows and through slam dancing the house became a victim with walls and plumbing being destroyed. First of all, we didn’t buy them the beer and they were all under age. We took a break and went to 7-11 for some coffee. As we were entering back onto the property, the police were converging on the party. They told us to stop and we didn’t. Kent and I made it to the old tank house behind the property and climbed up the ladder to the second floor, pulling the ladder up behind us. There were some cabinets that were big for us to hide in. So we climbed inside and covered up the openings with plywood to conceal us. The cops shined their flashlights up there a number of times. We hid up there for about 2 hours. Mike Johnson, Atomic Serenade and later Fungo Mungo’s guitar player, recently reminded me of this comic event. That was all we would have needed...to be busted at a party of drinking minors for contributing to something we didn’t do. We go a chance to see the damage the following day. Man those kids were a great wrecking crew.
It is too bad that the house was torn down. The history that those walls held was priceless. Recently Kent sent me one of the door knobs from that old house. Pretty cool.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Past Touching the Present
Due to some new meetings that have happened, I need to retrace some tracks down memory lane. Here is an excerpt from my blog Euphoria - The First Band:
“Curtis Soward was our manager and like another brother to me. I spent a lot of time at his house as well. The way I met Curtis’ parents was they came home after being out of town and into the middle of a party Curtis had going at his/their house and yes we were still allowed to party, music and all (at 20 I had gone through GOD’s one step program and didn’t drink or do drugs). His parents were some really great people. Most of the gigs we played were for the Skyline High crowd. Curtis was Mr. Popularity and once the party was on, he would pull out his 3 phone books, call everybody and their brother. The houses were always so packed, we had to rope off an area for the band to move and put on a show. After the band broke up, Curtis put on some shows with local talent like the Tommy Dee Band and Rubicon. Because of his way with people he met many famous people and had books with pictures of these rock stars and all. I know, because when he died (which hit me like two tons of bricks), his parents gave me those books. It’s hard to lose a brother….”
It has been explained to me recently that Curtis’ parents were not out of town…they had gone to the movies and Curtis threw the party.
Recently, I had attended a meeting for my wife’s internet business in LA. They had an incredible speaker by the name of Stephen Pierce doing the meeting. We drove down Saturday morning, went to the meeting, and came straight home…what a day. When the meeting ended, we were outside talking with people and the town Oakland came up. A pretty young lady turned toward me and asked me about Oakland, saying I looked familiar and she was sure she knew me. I said that I used to play music in Oakland. She asked me if I knew her father? I asked her what was his name, to which she replied Curtis Soward. I grabbed her and we both started crying. She had prayed and written down a goal that she wanted to meet a friend of her father’s the week before. As a comment on the prayer, my wife put it properly, when you ask of GOD, you get the best, and we were best friends…or more like brothers. Her best friend and mom were part of Stephen Pierce’s entourage from St. Louis, MO (if you have ever been there in the summer, St. Louis is not in the state of Missouri, it is in the state of Misery). She had shared this goal with them so there were four of us crying.
This is the perfect example of a divine appointment. Brandee’s grandparents had this beautiful house in Oakland, CA, with a creek running through the front yard and lots of trees and vegetation. If you wandered a block or so from their house, you had left the oasis and entered back into the concrete jungle. I hadn’t been over for awhile and they moved from the house. I had lost track of them and had tried to find them without success.
A great deal of old memories have flooded in since our meeting. I have shared some things with both Brandee and Crystal about their father. Going places with Curtis was an adventure. You couldn’t afford to be shy. Curtis could walk into a room full of strangers and walk out with all of their numbers and a warm relationship with everyone of them. He never bragged on himself, but he was confident in what he knew he could do. He was a good listener, a compassionate and good friend. His people skills were so good and he was so natural at it, if he had gone into politics, he is the only person I know that had a chance at the Presidency. His widow, Lynn, told me two things, one which I kind of remember. He had figured out how to gain the services of Lear Jets without owning them and was putting together a service company, that rented out Lear Jets and Limos. He was talking about me being one of the limo drivers. The other that was far more important to me was that Curtis had dedicated his life to Christ. The wonderful thing about this is that I know that when it’s time for me to “go home”, my close friend and brother, Curtis will be there as well….
Brandee, who is Curtis’ oldest daughter, is the mother of Nikos, a 2 year old that is working on speaking 3 languages and loves drums and guitar. I get the feeling he will become a student of mine. Brandee is the successful business woman of an advertising agency. She is successful because Curtis passed on his giftings and some great traits. You can sense and see the powerful presence that I remember in her father. I have no doubt that Brandee will be a force in the advertising world, or anywhere she chooses to be.
Brandee was in LA to open up a new office and was supposed to be on a plane for home, not at the meeting I was at. She opted to stay and take a later flight home. My wife and I almost didn’t go due to a sick animal. It all happened because GOD wanted it to.
We got together with her grandparents, Curtis’ parents, eight days later on a Sunday for dinner and time together. It was so good to see Keith and Vi, who were like another set of parents to me. Keith was probably one of the most creative wild life painters I had ever seen. I remember watching him pull out feathers from birds he had hunted to make the colors. His mother, Vi, is a very smart woman and when we got together for that great meal, I remembered one of the staples around the Soward household, Italian Mayo. Things were added to the mayo to give it more twang. We had a great time together.
Crystal is Curtis’ younger daughter and like her father has a big heart. Like me, she and her husband, Eric are Christians, real Christians. Brandee told me that Crystal is a Christian singer and yes, as they would say, girl got voice. I am looking forward to working with her on that voice and recording her voice. I am already working on a song, she’d be perfect for. We met her husband, Eric, who unfortunately was unable to be at the grandparent’s house that Sunday. I liked Eric right away. You could feel the same spirit in him that is in Crystal. They are wonderful young people. The two best words I can find to describe Eric and Crystal are genuine and compassionate.
I feel that if Curtis could look down on his daughters and their families, he’d be proud of them. I know I am as well as being blessed by having them back in my life as well. And it was so good to reconnect with their step-mother, Lynn as well. She has two sons with Curtis that she has told me will need to have me share with them as to who their father was as well. All I can say is when GOD blesses, He blesses…and these are people I need back in my life as well.
“Curtis Soward was our manager and like another brother to me. I spent a lot of time at his house as well. The way I met Curtis’ parents was they came home after being out of town and into the middle of a party Curtis had going at his/their house and yes we were still allowed to party, music and all (at 20 I had gone through GOD’s one step program and didn’t drink or do drugs). His parents were some really great people. Most of the gigs we played were for the Skyline High crowd. Curtis was Mr. Popularity and once the party was on, he would pull out his 3 phone books, call everybody and their brother. The houses were always so packed, we had to rope off an area for the band to move and put on a show. After the band broke up, Curtis put on some shows with local talent like the Tommy Dee Band and Rubicon. Because of his way with people he met many famous people and had books with pictures of these rock stars and all. I know, because when he died (which hit me like two tons of bricks), his parents gave me those books. It’s hard to lose a brother….”
It has been explained to me recently that Curtis’ parents were not out of town…they had gone to the movies and Curtis threw the party.
Recently, I had attended a meeting for my wife’s internet business in LA. They had an incredible speaker by the name of Stephen Pierce doing the meeting. We drove down Saturday morning, went to the meeting, and came straight home…what a day. When the meeting ended, we were outside talking with people and the town Oakland came up. A pretty young lady turned toward me and asked me about Oakland, saying I looked familiar and she was sure she knew me. I said that I used to play music in Oakland. She asked me if I knew her father? I asked her what was his name, to which she replied Curtis Soward. I grabbed her and we both started crying. She had prayed and written down a goal that she wanted to meet a friend of her father’s the week before. As a comment on the prayer, my wife put it properly, when you ask of GOD, you get the best, and we were best friends…or more like brothers. Her best friend and mom were part of Stephen Pierce’s entourage from St. Louis, MO (if you have ever been there in the summer, St. Louis is not in the state of Missouri, it is in the state of Misery). She had shared this goal with them so there were four of us crying.
This is the perfect example of a divine appointment. Brandee’s grandparents had this beautiful house in Oakland, CA, with a creek running through the front yard and lots of trees and vegetation. If you wandered a block or so from their house, you had left the oasis and entered back into the concrete jungle. I hadn’t been over for awhile and they moved from the house. I had lost track of them and had tried to find them without success.
A great deal of old memories have flooded in since our meeting. I have shared some things with both Brandee and Crystal about their father. Going places with Curtis was an adventure. You couldn’t afford to be shy. Curtis could walk into a room full of strangers and walk out with all of their numbers and a warm relationship with everyone of them. He never bragged on himself, but he was confident in what he knew he could do. He was a good listener, a compassionate and good friend. His people skills were so good and he was so natural at it, if he had gone into politics, he is the only person I know that had a chance at the Presidency. His widow, Lynn, told me two things, one which I kind of remember. He had figured out how to gain the services of Lear Jets without owning them and was putting together a service company, that rented out Lear Jets and Limos. He was talking about me being one of the limo drivers. The other that was far more important to me was that Curtis had dedicated his life to Christ. The wonderful thing about this is that I know that when it’s time for me to “go home”, my close friend and brother, Curtis will be there as well….
Brandee, who is Curtis’ oldest daughter, is the mother of Nikos, a 2 year old that is working on speaking 3 languages and loves drums and guitar. I get the feeling he will become a student of mine. Brandee is the successful business woman of an advertising agency. She is successful because Curtis passed on his giftings and some great traits. You can sense and see the powerful presence that I remember in her father. I have no doubt that Brandee will be a force in the advertising world, or anywhere she chooses to be.
Brandee was in LA to open up a new office and was supposed to be on a plane for home, not at the meeting I was at. She opted to stay and take a later flight home. My wife and I almost didn’t go due to a sick animal. It all happened because GOD wanted it to.
We got together with her grandparents, Curtis’ parents, eight days later on a Sunday for dinner and time together. It was so good to see Keith and Vi, who were like another set of parents to me. Keith was probably one of the most creative wild life painters I had ever seen. I remember watching him pull out feathers from birds he had hunted to make the colors. His mother, Vi, is a very smart woman and when we got together for that great meal, I remembered one of the staples around the Soward household, Italian Mayo. Things were added to the mayo to give it more twang. We had a great time together.
Crystal is Curtis’ younger daughter and like her father has a big heart. Like me, she and her husband, Eric are Christians, real Christians. Brandee told me that Crystal is a Christian singer and yes, as they would say, girl got voice. I am looking forward to working with her on that voice and recording her voice. I am already working on a song, she’d be perfect for. We met her husband, Eric, who unfortunately was unable to be at the grandparent’s house that Sunday. I liked Eric right away. You could feel the same spirit in him that is in Crystal. They are wonderful young people. The two best words I can find to describe Eric and Crystal are genuine and compassionate.
I feel that if Curtis could look down on his daughters and their families, he’d be proud of them. I know I am as well as being blessed by having them back in my life as well. And it was so good to reconnect with their step-mother, Lynn as well. She has two sons with Curtis that she has told me will need to have me share with them as to who their father was as well. All I can say is when GOD blesses, He blesses…and these are people I need back in my life as well.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Some Music Trivia-Part 1 Foreigner
I remember when Foreigner first arrived on the scene in the mid 70’s. Their first album Foreigner is still my favorite album…every song was a winner as far as I was concerned. Starrider was the first song I heard from the album. And then I heard Feels Like the First Time. The band I was in at the time added Feels like the First Time to our play list. We had the vocals and players to pull it off. Three of the members of this talented band I was familiar with. The other members though not known to me at the time were great as well.
Ian McDonald played in my favorite line-up of King Crimson. This was the first generation of King Crimson players. They were Robert Fripp (a very innovative guitarist), Michael Giles (one of my favorite drummers/percussionists), Gregg Lake (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), Ian McDonald (keyboards and wind instruments), and Peter Sinfield (lyrics). Ian’s keyboard work was powerful. The swells and emotions he played on a mellotron in songs like Epitaph and The Court of the Crimson King were absolutely incredible. His flute work in I talk to the Wind, haunting and beautiful. 21st Century Schizoid Man had so many great parts, April Wine redid the song. The melodic part of Mood Child is sweet. All aspects of this album from the instrumental parts to the melodies and the beautiful quality of Greg Lake’s voice, to the incredible lyric writing makes this album my favorite of all time. It was released in 1969 with an incredible cover done by Barry Godber. I would call the music progressive with a classical flavor.
On a side note, Peter Sinfield is probably my main inspiration for lyric writing. He wrote with such depth and power, creating word pictures that you could close your eyes to see the images he wrote about. Both the music and the lyrics are what empower a song, with the lyrics defining that power….whether good or evil. Mine are about GOD and that is good.
Mick Jones, another Englishmen, came from the band, Spooky Tooth. Probably the most notable member of Spooky Tooth was Gary Wright (Dream Weaver). Mick’s guitar playing was always very tasteful. My favorite Spooky Tooth album was The Mirror. Two of the songs off that album that I enjoyed were, The Mirror and I’m Alive, both of which I am thinking of Christianizing in rewrites.
On another side note: Spooky Tooth was a band I had followed since the Spooky Two album (yes I am that old and did say album). Luther Grosvenor aka Ariel Bender (killer guitarist for a British Band called Widowmaker), was the guitarist on that album, and was a really great player…check out his solo on a song called Evil Woman. I caught them on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert one night in the very early 70’s doing a killer hard slow rock version (not a ballad) of the Beatles’ song I Am The Walrus. I was so thunderstruck, the first band I played in, Euphoria, did it that way.
Finally there was an American, Lou Gramm. He looked familiar and sounded familiar…and then it came to me. I searched my album collection and low and behold, I found him. In 1974, there was a band called Black Sheep. The singer was the same person…a little different name, but the same person. His whole name is Louis “Lou” Grammatico. They did a song that got national airplay that was a “cover” song. The song was Woman, originally done by Free (Paul Rogers). While I mean no disrespect to the great singer Paul Rogers was and is still to this day (My wife and I have seen him twice and both shows were great), Lou’s voice was incredible on the song. They slowed the groove down and Lou just wowed me with his vocals. But I am sure all of us Foreigner fans know how good Lou Gramm is. He did two solo albums and on a few songs had a guitarist I would love to learn from….Dann Huff from Giant. What really excites me is Lou Gramm will be coming out with a new record/CD soon. The great thing is Lou is a Christian and the new record will be Christian Rock. I can’t wait.
To those of you that don’t know how good Christian Rock is, ask me for some bands and I’ll be glad to direct you to them. Christian Rock is the best kept secret in the world…but some of the world/secular musicians are finding out there is more than just this world.
Ian McDonald played in my favorite line-up of King Crimson. This was the first generation of King Crimson players. They were Robert Fripp (a very innovative guitarist), Michael Giles (one of my favorite drummers/percussionists), Gregg Lake (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), Ian McDonald (keyboards and wind instruments), and Peter Sinfield (lyrics). Ian’s keyboard work was powerful. The swells and emotions he played on a mellotron in songs like Epitaph and The Court of the Crimson King were absolutely incredible. His flute work in I talk to the Wind, haunting and beautiful. 21st Century Schizoid Man had so many great parts, April Wine redid the song. The melodic part of Mood Child is sweet. All aspects of this album from the instrumental parts to the melodies and the beautiful quality of Greg Lake’s voice, to the incredible lyric writing makes this album my favorite of all time. It was released in 1969 with an incredible cover done by Barry Godber. I would call the music progressive with a classical flavor.
On a side note, Peter Sinfield is probably my main inspiration for lyric writing. He wrote with such depth and power, creating word pictures that you could close your eyes to see the images he wrote about. Both the music and the lyrics are what empower a song, with the lyrics defining that power….whether good or evil. Mine are about GOD and that is good.
Mick Jones, another Englishmen, came from the band, Spooky Tooth. Probably the most notable member of Spooky Tooth was Gary Wright (Dream Weaver). Mick’s guitar playing was always very tasteful. My favorite Spooky Tooth album was The Mirror. Two of the songs off that album that I enjoyed were, The Mirror and I’m Alive, both of which I am thinking of Christianizing in rewrites.
On another side note: Spooky Tooth was a band I had followed since the Spooky Two album (yes I am that old and did say album). Luther Grosvenor aka Ariel Bender (killer guitarist for a British Band called Widowmaker), was the guitarist on that album, and was a really great player…check out his solo on a song called Evil Woman. I caught them on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert one night in the very early 70’s doing a killer hard slow rock version (not a ballad) of the Beatles’ song I Am The Walrus. I was so thunderstruck, the first band I played in, Euphoria, did it that way.
Finally there was an American, Lou Gramm. He looked familiar and sounded familiar…and then it came to me. I searched my album collection and low and behold, I found him. In 1974, there was a band called Black Sheep. The singer was the same person…a little different name, but the same person. His whole name is Louis “Lou” Grammatico. They did a song that got national airplay that was a “cover” song. The song was Woman, originally done by Free (Paul Rogers). While I mean no disrespect to the great singer Paul Rogers was and is still to this day (My wife and I have seen him twice and both shows were great), Lou’s voice was incredible on the song. They slowed the groove down and Lou just wowed me with his vocals. But I am sure all of us Foreigner fans know how good Lou Gramm is. He did two solo albums and on a few songs had a guitarist I would love to learn from….Dann Huff from Giant. What really excites me is Lou Gramm will be coming out with a new record/CD soon. The great thing is Lou is a Christian and the new record will be Christian Rock. I can’t wait.
To those of you that don’t know how good Christian Rock is, ask me for some bands and I’ll be glad to direct you to them. Christian Rock is the best kept secret in the world…but some of the world/secular musicians are finding out there is more than just this world.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Humbling Gig
As I said in an earlier blog entry, Euphoria Gigs, that I never put on airs of who I “thought” I was. As Euphoria started out, we played a lot of gigs. At one of the earlier gigs, we were the second bill band. I don’t remember the other bands…sorry.
I liked being out in the crowd, because I never really saw myself as a “different” person, or “special” because I played guitar and wrote songs. If I was “special” then so was everyone else, because we are all “good” or “special” at something. However when I played, my philosophy was to give people more than their money’s worth, so that way they will come back for more…that’s probably why my knees are in such bad shape, with surgery on one of them.
As I was standing there, another young man came up and stood beside me. We said the usual greeting to each other (“What’s happening, dude”) and then he asked me what bands were playing. I named the other two and told him I was in the 2nd band. He asked me if we were any good. I basically told him that I could play like a ringing-a-bell and be a monster player, but if he didn’t like my style, it wouldn’t make a difference. So I suggested that after we were done with our performance that night that he come and tell me what his thoughts were, and that if there was anything I needed to change, I would listen to him. He said cool, and walked off to be with the friends he came with.
I got dressed in some wild clothes and went on stage. We did a great set, and the people in the crowd let us know we smoked the house down. Euphoria had some talented musicians that I was proud to say I played with. As I got off the stage, I saw the smiling face of that young man I had talked to earlier. He ranted and raved about what a great player I was and I could feel the pedestal he was trying to put me on, sliding underneath my feet. I backed off that pedestal, so I could see him eye to eye once again.
I thanked him for his wonderful comments and then asked him what he did for a living. He told me he was a carpenter working on some track homes in the city of San Leandro, CA. I looked him in the eye and told him, so you get to build things that you get to look at and see the fruits of your labor, to which he nodded yes. My response was gee, I wish I could do that. I watched his smile broaden all the more, when I shared my appreciation of him, just as he had done for me. I didn’t want to be worshipped for something that was as easy for me to do, as framing is to a carpenter, or rebuilding a motor is to a mechanic. I didn’t tell him though that my day job at the time was as a carpenter building custom homes, because my goal was to get him to appreciate who he was.
A paraphrase from Khalil Gibran’s famous book The Prophet sums up my philosophy concerning humility, which is what this is all about. This was in a section of the book called work, where someone asked about working to which Khalil replied: We have a tendency to praise the bakery for all the wonderful pastries he makes, but forget about the farmer who plants the field. We praise the maker of the clothes who puts a rainbow of color in the cloth, but forget the one who makes the common sandals for our feet. But I say unto you, the sweetness of the breeze whispers no more softly to the giant oaks than to the lesser blades of grass.
I see high-mindedness as one of the single most destructive forces in human relationships. To think one is better than others ruins opportunities to meet some really great people who could fulfill empty places in one’s life. As a Christian, I see it as one of the more destructive forces in the church. JESUS didn’t say to sanctify and set your self apart from others, but to sanctify (set apart) to be His body and Church to others. After all He told the religious order of that time, when they shared their disgust of whom He was spending His time with, that He came for the sick and not the well.
Goal number one for me is to share with everyone regardless of station, age, or anything else is that we were all created by a master creator, GOD. We are born into a greatness that GOD created us for. However Christ put it in perspective, if you want to lead, you need to serve. I’d love see everyone grow into that greatness…
I liked being out in the crowd, because I never really saw myself as a “different” person, or “special” because I played guitar and wrote songs. If I was “special” then so was everyone else, because we are all “good” or “special” at something. However when I played, my philosophy was to give people more than their money’s worth, so that way they will come back for more…that’s probably why my knees are in such bad shape, with surgery on one of them.
As I was standing there, another young man came up and stood beside me. We said the usual greeting to each other (“What’s happening, dude”) and then he asked me what bands were playing. I named the other two and told him I was in the 2nd band. He asked me if we were any good. I basically told him that I could play like a ringing-a-bell and be a monster player, but if he didn’t like my style, it wouldn’t make a difference. So I suggested that after we were done with our performance that night that he come and tell me what his thoughts were, and that if there was anything I needed to change, I would listen to him. He said cool, and walked off to be with the friends he came with.
I got dressed in some wild clothes and went on stage. We did a great set, and the people in the crowd let us know we smoked the house down. Euphoria had some talented musicians that I was proud to say I played with. As I got off the stage, I saw the smiling face of that young man I had talked to earlier. He ranted and raved about what a great player I was and I could feel the pedestal he was trying to put me on, sliding underneath my feet. I backed off that pedestal, so I could see him eye to eye once again.
I thanked him for his wonderful comments and then asked him what he did for a living. He told me he was a carpenter working on some track homes in the city of San Leandro, CA. I looked him in the eye and told him, so you get to build things that you get to look at and see the fruits of your labor, to which he nodded yes. My response was gee, I wish I could do that. I watched his smile broaden all the more, when I shared my appreciation of him, just as he had done for me. I didn’t want to be worshipped for something that was as easy for me to do, as framing is to a carpenter, or rebuilding a motor is to a mechanic. I didn’t tell him though that my day job at the time was as a carpenter building custom homes, because my goal was to get him to appreciate who he was.
A paraphrase from Khalil Gibran’s famous book The Prophet sums up my philosophy concerning humility, which is what this is all about. This was in a section of the book called work, where someone asked about working to which Khalil replied: We have a tendency to praise the bakery for all the wonderful pastries he makes, but forget about the farmer who plants the field. We praise the maker of the clothes who puts a rainbow of color in the cloth, but forget the one who makes the common sandals for our feet. But I say unto you, the sweetness of the breeze whispers no more softly to the giant oaks than to the lesser blades of grass.
I see high-mindedness as one of the single most destructive forces in human relationships. To think one is better than others ruins opportunities to meet some really great people who could fulfill empty places in one’s life. As a Christian, I see it as one of the more destructive forces in the church. JESUS didn’t say to sanctify and set your self apart from others, but to sanctify (set apart) to be His body and Church to others. After all He told the religious order of that time, when they shared their disgust of whom He was spending His time with, that He came for the sick and not the well.
Goal number one for me is to share with everyone regardless of station, age, or anything else is that we were all created by a master creator, GOD. We are born into a greatness that GOD created us for. However Christ put it in perspective, if you want to lead, you need to serve. I’d love see everyone grow into that greatness…
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Two Daves
For a season, we were the two Daves or the Dave twins. Whenever you saw one of us, the other was nearby. We were like two brothers, close as twins, and consumed by the same passion, it seemed like we shared the same mind with a love for music, guitar, and pretty much everything. I went to many of Dave’s gigs with both the band before and with Yesterday and Today…and sat there watching his hands after helping set up the drums. Whether he was driving the parents car, or later when he bought his dark green ‘52 Chevy Panel truck.
I don’t even remember how the Panel Truck came into the picture, but it was a cool ride. There were issues with the motor and it needed to be worked on. We had some interesting friends back then and when it came to cars, two of them especially came to mind.
One was John Davis. He worked at a gas station doing mechanical work there. At one time, when we went to the second concert Dave and I had ever gone to, he let Dave borrow his baby. John had a ‘66 Chevy Malibu with a blueprinted and balanced 396. With a ¾ cam, that car rumbled with authority. We went to one of the best concert halls at the time, Berkeley Community Theater. The acoustics were great. The opening act was Edgar Winter’s White Trash with Ronnie Montrose on guitar, the Roadwork Tour. The headliner was Yes supporting the Fragile album, near the end of 1971.
The other friend was Duane Parker, who unfortunately later died, I believe of a heart attack. Duane was a tall, skinny, and I mean skinny guy. He was 6’6’’ and I think at 170, I weighed more than he did. He had this long, straight, black hair. He had these fingers that were almost twice as long as mine. But this guy was a brain. He could do anything, fix anything. Not only was he a brain, he was driven. He was our guru on a lot of things, but working on vehicles was where he helped us on the panel truck.
The vehicle had a straight six, 235, with a single barrel carburetor. I remember unbolting the last motor mount bolt as hail was coming through the hood and hitting me in the face. We got the engine in the garage, and with the help of our friends, Duane and John’s answers to our questions, we got the engine back together. We found out the hard way, that the rear main oil seal is not something you want to forget. I don’t remember if we took the engine out and rebuilt the lower half again, or that was when we took off the oil pan and tapped the seal in. When it was done, we took a maiden voyage in that panel.
We pooled our resources together and took off. There were three of us, our friend, Myron, joined the two Daves. We headed out and went up the coast, a scenic, beautiful drive. At one point, on a remote two lane part of the highway, we started clowning around. Myron had climbed out on the hood while we were driving down the road. Myron had that long, Mark Farner kind of, straight hair. Dave and I were standing on the runners, driving on down the road. A car with a family came up behind us, so Dave and I jumped back in the panel truck. Myron scooted back up against the windshield and we continued on. The family passed us and the father almost missed a turn as all eyes and heads were turned back in our direction….crazy.
We traveled on up the coast into Oregon. We slept in the back of the truck that night. We awoke early the following morning and work hungry for food and adventure. So we ate and continued on a small highway, 46, up into the mountains. We ended up at the Oregon Caves…so we took the tour through the caves. They were great and we enjoyed them. There were a number of rooms and caverns to take your breath away…even three long hairs living in a straight, short haired world. I remember they also had a small pond with some of the biggest rainbow trout I had ever seen. I remember thinking what a great meal they would make, especially with this being near winter and there was snow on the ground.
On the way back down, we were on Highway 1 a small, two-lane highway. There was a mountain to our left and a long drop into the ocean on our right. We took a turn, and at a blind spot on the road, there was a small, Ford Courier type truck upside-down in the center of the highway. With no power brakes, it was a miracle Dave stopped in time. We are sitting there counting our blessings, when a big, silver streak passed us by on the left. It was a big rig with a trailer, that was passing us on the left, rather than hit us, because like I said we were stopped on the blind part of a turn. The big rig passed us by in slow motion, climbed over the top of the truck, pushing it toward the people in front of us, before crashing into the side of the mountain. As the upside-down truck slid toward the people around it, a woman screamed with such horror, we thought there was someone still inside. It turned out the vehicle had slid into the woman’s father, who had helped the driver our of the truck. There was a lot of blood, but we were assured the wounds were superficial. He seemed to be okay, bloody but okay.
This got us into motion, out of our daze. Dave and I went for flashlights, while Myron got out because of the approaching car. He got in front of them waving his hands, and jumps out of the way, just in time. The car manages to stop, but later on the driver showed what kind of a person he was…he put the “j” in erk. When the CHP arrived, because they weren’t moving on getting the accident cleared, he drove through the glass between the big rig and the upside-down truck, forcing everyone out of his way. I am surprised the CHP didn’t do anything about it….must have been one of their relatives. We cursed him though, saying we hope he woke up to four flats in the morning.
We were able to stop a number of cars in time and talked with the people, sort of like a happening on the highway. We spent most of our time and concern on people traveling southbound, because that’s were the road was dark and the blind spot was. The north bound lane had a clear view for about 1 mile with a light over the accident. Once everything was cleared and we were on our way home, we were just thankful that big rig didn’t hit us and knock us down that mountain into the ocean…that was a long drop.
We rebuilt cars together, hung out together, listened to music together, and there were times we just drove around together. Many times Dave would drive over to my house, pick me up, and we’d go out, sometimes just with nowhere in mind to Berkeley or San Francisco. That old panel truck got 41 miles to the gallon on our Oregon trip, so it was really good on gas…not to mention gas cost somewhere between 25 and 35 cents a gallon. We did many things together back then. It was sort of like two very close brothers from different mothers.
After a while we ended up doing different things. I got into a band and it started to demand my time, just as Yesterday and Today became Y & T. I remember Dave and band were recording at Freeway Studios across from the huge Montgomery Wards, that is no longer there in Oakland, CA. They did a song I would love to see released: Mars Venus.
The engineer was Reid Ashby, another tall genius. Reid would later record the demo for my first band, Euphoria. Reid also ran sound for a number of clubs in the Bay Area. Unfortunately he was shot in the head later and all that talent can’t be expressed let alone done anymore. An example of his brain power, I went to Reid’s house once and he was building from scratch a 200’ snake for his PA.
At one point I wanted to be the other guitarist in Y & T., but they chose Joey Alves from the band Crutch. Joey played a Melody Maker / Double Cut-Away Les Paul Jr. guitar. My guitar is a left handed full size version of Joey’s guitar, a TV Special. As a matter of fact, the first time my wife saw Y & T, Dave was playing my Les Paul because it has a great neck, and yes I still have it. I played with the strings upside-down at the time, so a right hander could play it. While Joey played the junior of my guitar, that wasn’t the really weird fact…the scary thing was that Joey and I have the exact same birthday, day-03, month-08, and year-53. Too eerie.
On a side note, Dave and I have seen each other through the recent years, I got a chance to meet his wife at a few gigs. From what I see, Dave’s wife, is a lot like his mom, a classy lady, and you can see how much she supports Dave, she gets up there and shares the stage with him. My wife does the same with me. We will be doing music ministry, once my hand heals and we find the right players to minister with. Amen!!!!
I don’t even remember how the Panel Truck came into the picture, but it was a cool ride. There were issues with the motor and it needed to be worked on. We had some interesting friends back then and when it came to cars, two of them especially came to mind.
One was John Davis. He worked at a gas station doing mechanical work there. At one time, when we went to the second concert Dave and I had ever gone to, he let Dave borrow his baby. John had a ‘66 Chevy Malibu with a blueprinted and balanced 396. With a ¾ cam, that car rumbled with authority. We went to one of the best concert halls at the time, Berkeley Community Theater. The acoustics were great. The opening act was Edgar Winter’s White Trash with Ronnie Montrose on guitar, the Roadwork Tour. The headliner was Yes supporting the Fragile album, near the end of 1971.
The other friend was Duane Parker, who unfortunately later died, I believe of a heart attack. Duane was a tall, skinny, and I mean skinny guy. He was 6’6’’ and I think at 170, I weighed more than he did. He had this long, straight, black hair. He had these fingers that were almost twice as long as mine. But this guy was a brain. He could do anything, fix anything. Not only was he a brain, he was driven. He was our guru on a lot of things, but working on vehicles was where he helped us on the panel truck.
The vehicle had a straight six, 235, with a single barrel carburetor. I remember unbolting the last motor mount bolt as hail was coming through the hood and hitting me in the face. We got the engine in the garage, and with the help of our friends, Duane and John’s answers to our questions, we got the engine back together. We found out the hard way, that the rear main oil seal is not something you want to forget. I don’t remember if we took the engine out and rebuilt the lower half again, or that was when we took off the oil pan and tapped the seal in. When it was done, we took a maiden voyage in that panel.
We pooled our resources together and took off. There were three of us, our friend, Myron, joined the two Daves. We headed out and went up the coast, a scenic, beautiful drive. At one point, on a remote two lane part of the highway, we started clowning around. Myron had climbed out on the hood while we were driving down the road. Myron had that long, Mark Farner kind of, straight hair. Dave and I were standing on the runners, driving on down the road. A car with a family came up behind us, so Dave and I jumped back in the panel truck. Myron scooted back up against the windshield and we continued on. The family passed us and the father almost missed a turn as all eyes and heads were turned back in our direction….crazy.
We traveled on up the coast into Oregon. We slept in the back of the truck that night. We awoke early the following morning and work hungry for food and adventure. So we ate and continued on a small highway, 46, up into the mountains. We ended up at the Oregon Caves…so we took the tour through the caves. They were great and we enjoyed them. There were a number of rooms and caverns to take your breath away…even three long hairs living in a straight, short haired world. I remember they also had a small pond with some of the biggest rainbow trout I had ever seen. I remember thinking what a great meal they would make, especially with this being near winter and there was snow on the ground.
On the way back down, we were on Highway 1 a small, two-lane highway. There was a mountain to our left and a long drop into the ocean on our right. We took a turn, and at a blind spot on the road, there was a small, Ford Courier type truck upside-down in the center of the highway. With no power brakes, it was a miracle Dave stopped in time. We are sitting there counting our blessings, when a big, silver streak passed us by on the left. It was a big rig with a trailer, that was passing us on the left, rather than hit us, because like I said we were stopped on the blind part of a turn. The big rig passed us by in slow motion, climbed over the top of the truck, pushing it toward the people in front of us, before crashing into the side of the mountain. As the upside-down truck slid toward the people around it, a woman screamed with such horror, we thought there was someone still inside. It turned out the vehicle had slid into the woman’s father, who had helped the driver our of the truck. There was a lot of blood, but we were assured the wounds were superficial. He seemed to be okay, bloody but okay.
This got us into motion, out of our daze. Dave and I went for flashlights, while Myron got out because of the approaching car. He got in front of them waving his hands, and jumps out of the way, just in time. The car manages to stop, but later on the driver showed what kind of a person he was…he put the “j” in erk. When the CHP arrived, because they weren’t moving on getting the accident cleared, he drove through the glass between the big rig and the upside-down truck, forcing everyone out of his way. I am surprised the CHP didn’t do anything about it….must have been one of their relatives. We cursed him though, saying we hope he woke up to four flats in the morning.
We were able to stop a number of cars in time and talked with the people, sort of like a happening on the highway. We spent most of our time and concern on people traveling southbound, because that’s were the road was dark and the blind spot was. The north bound lane had a clear view for about 1 mile with a light over the accident. Once everything was cleared and we were on our way home, we were just thankful that big rig didn’t hit us and knock us down that mountain into the ocean…that was a long drop.
We rebuilt cars together, hung out together, listened to music together, and there were times we just drove around together. Many times Dave would drive over to my house, pick me up, and we’d go out, sometimes just with nowhere in mind to Berkeley or San Francisco. That old panel truck got 41 miles to the gallon on our Oregon trip, so it was really good on gas…not to mention gas cost somewhere between 25 and 35 cents a gallon. We did many things together back then. It was sort of like two very close brothers from different mothers.
After a while we ended up doing different things. I got into a band and it started to demand my time, just as Yesterday and Today became Y & T. I remember Dave and band were recording at Freeway Studios across from the huge Montgomery Wards, that is no longer there in Oakland, CA. They did a song I would love to see released: Mars Venus.
The engineer was Reid Ashby, another tall genius. Reid would later record the demo for my first band, Euphoria. Reid also ran sound for a number of clubs in the Bay Area. Unfortunately he was shot in the head later and all that talent can’t be expressed let alone done anymore. An example of his brain power, I went to Reid’s house once and he was building from scratch a 200’ snake for his PA.
At one point I wanted to be the other guitarist in Y & T., but they chose Joey Alves from the band Crutch. Joey played a Melody Maker / Double Cut-Away Les Paul Jr. guitar. My guitar is a left handed full size version of Joey’s guitar, a TV Special. As a matter of fact, the first time my wife saw Y & T, Dave was playing my Les Paul because it has a great neck, and yes I still have it. I played with the strings upside-down at the time, so a right hander could play it. While Joey played the junior of my guitar, that wasn’t the really weird fact…the scary thing was that Joey and I have the exact same birthday, day-03, month-08, and year-53. Too eerie.
On a side note, Dave and I have seen each other through the recent years, I got a chance to meet his wife at a few gigs. From what I see, Dave’s wife, is a lot like his mom, a classy lady, and you can see how much she supports Dave, she gets up there and shares the stage with him. My wife does the same with me. We will be doing music ministry, once my hand heals and we find the right players to minister with. Amen!!!!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
MAD FACTS
Back in 1970 there was a monumental song performed by Carlos Santana and his band, Santana. It was on the killer album Abraxas. The song was called Black Magic Woman and here is the kicker most people think Carlos Santana wrote the song…so who really wrote it? One of Carlos’ favorite guitarists. This man influenced a number of British players as well as Americans; I appreciated him as well. His name? Peter Green, and if you look on Abraxas for the song’s author, you will see P. Green. I know because I’ve had to prove it to people. Any guitar player that I know personally and some great ones that I don’t like Carlos Santana and Vivian Campbell have been influenced by this great British Blues/Rock player. Peter Green was the original guitarist for the original Fleetwood Mac (yes there was two generations of Fleetwood Mac before Stevie Nicks…I preferred the original band with Peter Green; the second generation had Bob Welsh on guitar and was okay). You can find the Fleetwood Mac version of Black Magic Woman on a re-release called The Best of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. Other great songs are Albatross, Rattlesnake Shake and Oh Well. Three great Fleetwood Mac albums with Peter Green are Then Play On and Kiln House, and English Rose (1969 this was the original album with Black Magic Woman, very bluesy). I have a double album that was a re-release in the 70’s called Black Magic Woman. So now you know where Black Magic Woman came from………………..
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