Sorcerer

A while back I received two cassette tapes from an old friend and band-mate of mine. He’d found them in his attic a while back and thought I might get a kick out of them. The tapes are from 1980 when I was fourteen and had been playing guitar for a year or so. As you can see in the picture, the band was called Sorcerer and consisted of me on bass, Barry on guitar, Alan, who had the tapes, on keyboards and Don on drums. We played all our own music and the two tapes are of us playing live, once at a spring rock festival we put on in the schools multi-purpose room called “Up-chuck” and the other at a coffee shop downtown.

Though it’s hard to listen to both tapes from start to finish, so far the highlights have been my truly awful bass solo, Don’s drum solo, the sound of the poor mans Farfesia keyboard Alan played and the titles of all the songs. Love Bites, Vanishing Breed, Going away for a while, Rockin’ The Neighbors, Don’t Worry About The Morning among others. Like anytime you find a way to look back at your life, whether through video or tape or even photos, it can be both hilariously funny and thoroughly depressing, often at the same time.

The tapes have been sitting in my studio for the last four months, waiting for me to digitize them and put them onto a CD. I’m not sure why it’s taking me so long to get it done. Every time I go in there and see those tapes, I quickly think of something else I could be doing. Anything else is just fine, so long as I don’t have to listen to the tapes squirming in my seat with that feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Right now though, I’m under a bit of a self-imposed time crunch. Both Alan and Barry are having their twentieth high school reunion at the end of August and I told them I would get them a copy on CD so they could both have a laugh and I guess, so I wouldn’t be the only one with that feeling in the pit of my stomach.

As I said last week, Ike goes into the hospital on Friday for surgery and after that I don’t really know how difficult it’s going to be getting into the studio for any length of time. That leaves this week to get it done. Lately it’s been feeling like Poe’s telltale heart beating under the floorboards with that sense of urgency and dread.

When I listen to it I remember the black cape I wore at the beginning of the show, the fog machine we rented that didn’t work very well, making tickets on the schools mimeograph machine and cutting them out with one of those long-knifed paper cutters. I remember we had a concession stand where we raised funds for the school band by having a bake sale and how I met a girl names Katia who came to the show and became my first (and only) German girlfriend. I remember failing English and fighting with my teachers and the principal over stupid shit that even today, still doesn’t mater. I remember a lot of faces but not many names.

I’ve still got a few days left so I’m sure it’ll happen, but not without me waiting till the last minute to get it all done.

Ike As A TV Drama

Well I’m back from my self-imposed vacation. Just needed to time to recharge my batteries and get away from updating the page for a bit. Also it’s been too freakin hectic at work to get any writing done, so I thought I’d just step away.

Minnie and Otto few in for Sweeties birthday party first week of July. We strung clothesline all about the yard and had people make birthday-wish-flags to hang from them. I think she was definitely surprised. They stayed for the week, or at least Minnie did, Otto had to go back to his job manning the sprinklers at the Buffer Park Golf Course in Indy. Yeah, it’s hotter than hell out there, as he will tell you every chance he gets if you let him.

Our youngest boy, Ike, has to go back into the hospital here beginning of August. Seems they need to lengthen one of his tendons before his hip gets pulled out of his socket or becomes deformed or something like that. I guess he’ll be in a cast for about a month after that and then it’s right back into the hospital for another surgery dealing with his un-descended testicles.

There’ll be plenty of time to give hospital updates in the weeks to come, so stay tuned if that’s your ball of wax. Me, I could do without the drama for a little bit, but they’re not asking me. So Sweetie and I get to sit front row center for the new dark comedy titled “Ike’s Raw Deal” and get to write the review.

“Though a powerful drama, it should only appeal to a small segment of the world wide web readership. The story line seems unusually cruel as, once again, Ike gets on the wrong end of the surgeons scalpel as he is forced to suffer still more after-affects of his unusual and unique illness. Though at times the parents come off as shrill and far less humorous than they think themselves to be, there does seem to be a genuine love and concern over their little ones well being. Once again Ike steals the show, as his winning smile and affable character more than makes up for the wooden and at times, overbearing, dialogue and excruciating slow pace. If you’ve seen any of the previous installments you wont find anything new here, but if you’re a sucker for an innocent kid with a heart of gold there’s not a better place to be the first week of August. (3 1/2 Stars)”

Speaking of front row center, Sweetie and I sat exactly there at Po-Dunk Musical Theatres rendition of “Tapestry: a Celebration of Carol Kings Music” on Saturday night. It was a gift from my sister and brother-in-law to Sweetie for her birthday, they had loved it and thought we just had to go. Yes it was every bit as bad as it sounds. Every bit… Fortunately we had had a few margaritas before the show and they provided just enough numbing effect to stave off any major seizures. I will say this…at least they weren’t prancing about the stage in cat costumes and makeup as I’ve seen in the past. How low I have fallen when looking for a silver lining in the dark cloud/small town musical theater, I always wind up saying, “At least it wasn’t Cats!”