(Originally posted on the website Continuum…)
Here are a few scenes from my ride home after work.
I like how the rays of the sun appear to be about to “beam up” the car in the middle lane. This was taken on Route 78 near Clinton.
Of course “packing tape should not be used for painful practical jokes!” DUCT TAPE works much better! This was taken while I was getting gas at a Hess station.
Posted at 9:45 PM (EST)
(Originally posted on the website Continuum…)
LAST SATURDAY was my niece’s third birthday. She’s as cute as can be! Really, she’s cute enough to be in ads in Parents magazine or on Pull-ups packages. She is also very smart, very articulate. But none of that should be surprising. She came from the same gene pool as I!
So we had a party on Saturday night. It seems that it’s been a while since we had a good old party in our family. We have all been dealing with various adverse situations. It seems like the stress of it all has been getting the best of us. It was good to cut loose and have ourselves a right proper birthday party. There is nothing like pizza and birthday cake to make people happy.
ON OUR WAY to the party, my son, T, asked to listen to one of my Rush CDs. He loves Geddy Lee’s voice and, like the rest of the human race, is astonished by Neil Peart’s drumming abilities. The particular CD he requested was an old one, “All the World’s a Stage.” It’s one of my all time favorite live albums. It’s Rush in their early “hungry” days. It’s straight forward and kind of raw.
I first discovered Rush when I was about 13 years old. I remember sitting in my bedroom with just a black light on listening to them. I was at that stage of my life where rock music was just opening up to me. Listening to albums and increasing my collection became of utmost importance. “2112” was the first Rush album I bought. Soon thereafter I had all of their previous albums. I remember being so excited when “All the World’s a Stage” came out. Hearing Rush live blew me away. Listening to Neil Peart play live inspired me. Trying to practice along with the record humbled me.
I know this live album like I know the sound of my own heart beating. I had it blasting in the car on Saturday, despite my bad sinus headache. (Such a martyr for rock-n-roll, huh?) In nearly every song, I said to T, “Oooo! Listen! Listen! Friggin’ awesome drums, huh?” Then I’d back the CD up and listen to those parts again. The cool thing was that T was just as into it as I was.
A quick side note related to a Rush song: Last Christmas, when my daughters, H and M, were visiting, part of “2112” came on the radio. We were driving in the car on a back road. At one point I could not resist playing the air drums along with Neil on one particularly cool drum fill. It is not too hard to play air drums while driving if one’s legs are long enough to use a knee to steer with. A certain amount of drumming skill is required, as well as a willingness to crash while in the service of rock-n-roll, if need be. So maybe you should not try this at home.
After successfully pulling off the air drums stunt, M, who was six years old at the time, said rather seriously, “Daddy, when you act like that in public, it embarrasses me!”
I promptly called the radio station to thank the dj for playing the Rush tune and to relate M’s comment. They played a clip of our conversation over the radio!
Back to the story…
THE PARTY was a lot of fun. We had a truckload of pizza. The cake and ice cream hit the spot. My niece had a blast opening gifts. Even the dog got into the act and was decorated with discarded wrapping paper. The older boys played outside, jumping on the trampoline and playing soccer with a huge ball in the dark. I wanted to get in on some of that action. However, my ribs still hurt at times from playing tackle football with T and his friends in September. Now that I’m a little over 25 (**cough**), I don’t bounce back quite as well.
One of the highlights of the night began when my brother, who is also a rock star, picked up a small guitar that belonged to one of the kids. When he started to play around with it, one of the other kids ran into the room with another guitar exactly like the first. So we tuned them up to the best of our ability and commenced a good old ho down. What a riot! We could only pull off a few chords on these little guitars given our limited abilities. We didn’t care! We could have made up an infinite number of lyrics with just three chords. G, C and D in this case.
It only took a few minutes and nearly the whole family was involved in the scene. My niece danced, clapped, played the harmonica, while we all made up lyrics about her birthday. Somehow, in the midst of all the fun, my sister managed to change my niece’s Pull-up while she was dancing and clapping! So we added a verse about that. Soon we had kids playing tambourines and rattles. My sister was even playing a stainless steel milk can. She played it well at that! What a fun, funny, fantastic time!
Another quick side note: The little guitars, with their flesh piercing brass stings, reminded me of one old guitar that we had around when I was a kid, back when I was first listening to rock music. I remember trying to figure out how to play that thing. For the most part it frustrated me and convinced me to stick with the drums. But I did manage to figure out the vastly famous opening guitar line of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” If you like that song you MUST, MUST, MUST listen to the whole album that it was originally on, “Machine Head.” This was another of my very early and well-loved albums, one that influenced my drumming style. I still listen to it often today.
ON SATURDAY NIGHT, we had such a good time that none of us wanted to leave. Birthday parties are cool. It’s fun to recognize one individual and let them know that you appreciate the fact that they are part of your life. Birthdays are always fun when it’s a child’s birthday. Yet, even if they are not as fun and crazy when one gets older, they are still an important opportunity to make someone feel special.
Perhaps this is one aspect of our party that made the night a little more significant. You see, I found out about a special request that another online journaler, Becky, made for her 50th birthday. Her desire was to have people email pictures that they took on that very day to make her day even more special. After people email their pictures to Becky, she will post them on her website. So we made a colorful “Happy Birthday, Becky!” sign and had my niece pose for a picture. When I got home that night, I emailed the photo to Becky, who happens to be in North Carolina.
SO there you have it, folks! Plan your parties and call in advance to book our family for a romping good time. We’ll come on over with our guitars, harmonicas, milk cans and good spirits. Whether you want “2112,” or “Smoke on the Water,” or “This Land is Your Land,” we will rock your socks off! Right on! Let’s rock-n-roll!
CORRESPONDING PICTURE GALLERY:
(Originally posted on the website Continuum…)
Remember these? Razzles?
This has always been one of the most frustrating candies or gums or whatever it really is. As a candy it doesn’t taste that great. When you first chew it, it feels like it’s just falling apart into little chunks in your mouth. Then it suddenly morphs into gum. However, the flavor only lasts about three seconds and its size shrinks away to almost nothing. Plus, it must have some super synthetic craving enducers designed to drive your taste buds nuts. You can’t stop popping these things into your mouth just to replenish the flavor, which only leaves you desperate for another in no time. It’s a vicious downward spiral. Before you know it you’re strung out on the whole bag and crawling your way back to the 7-Eleven with a big tasteless wad in your mouth, pathetically trying to say, “More Razzles please!” But the dark eyed cashier, whose English vocabulary consists of only six words, hears you say, “My ass leaks cheese,” and stupidly points you to the Slurpee machine.
See what I mean by frustrating?
Posted at 12:10 PM (EST)
(Originally posted on the website Continuum…)
I could not think of a better way of spending Halloween than going to a Bouncing Souls show. What better place to see them than The Stone Pony in Asbury Park? The Stone Pony was made famous over the years by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and of Bon Jovi, to name just two New Jersey bands. The Souls are a well known punk band from Jersey with a worldwide following of loyal fans. The Stone Pony plus The Bouncing Souls plus Halloween equals… a damn good time!
First, a little background, then the story.
MY SON and some of his friends love The Bouncing Souls. The first time that I took him to see them was September 12. They played at Irving Plaza in Manhattan along with The Arsons, Strike Anywhere and The Pietasters. Unfortunately, I had a migraine that day. By the time we got to New York, I was operating on my last two brain cells, and one of those was shorted out. So, I didn’t enjoy the time. Honestly, the first two bands sounded like consecutive train wrecks. The third band had the most annoying singer. But I did enjoy The Souls. It was either that my migraine medicine was working by the time they came on stage or the sound of hundreds of people yelling “F*** YOU!” when the singer said “East Coast” that jump started my flickering brain cells. Yeah, they have a song called “East Coast F*** You!” Honestly, I love it!
When we found out that The Bouncing Souls were playing on Halloween at the Stone Pony, we were excited. Since seeing them in New York, I had borrowed CDs from my son and a dvd from one of his friends. The more I listened, the more I watched, the more I appreciated this band. There were some last minute fanagling and juggling of responsibilities. Nonetheless, tickets were ordered, arrangements were made, and our attendance at the concert was assured.
SINCE I drive a little two-door Toyota, and there were five kids and myself going to the concert, we used a van that belonged to one of the kids’ parents. It was a big conversion van with plenty of seats, a cd player, a tv and all the comforts of life. It was a mobile studio apartment. It was huge and green, like a rolling mountain, much larger than my tiny red Toyota. In fact, we could have loaded the Toyota in and still had room for everyone!
Our first stop on the trip to Asbury Park was at the McDonalds in our own town. Five excited teenagers and one crazy dad is a recipe for chaos in any fast food establishment. From blowing straw papers at the girls behind the counter, to me speaking as if I had brain damage (and my son playing right along with it), we caused a little commotion. People! We were on our way to a punk rock concert! How else were we supposed to act? That’s why, when the proper little family in the powder blue mini van blocked our way through the parking lot, one of the kids jumped out of the van and motioned for them to move out of the way. What else were we to do when the man rolled down his window and proceeded to yell at the kid than to give them the middle finger with all sincerity and earnestness? For crying out loud, this is New Jersey! Just to emphasize our sincerity, I drove around the building again, pulled up along side the cute little mini van in the drive up line, and we all gave them the finger one more time. “East Coast F*** You, buddy!” How funny it was when the wife jumped out of the van with her middle finger raised in the air. F*** you, sister! Get back in your van!
Ahhh! New Jersey! Ahhh! Punk rock!
AFTER some time, we finally made it to the Garden State Parkway. We in the front listened to various punk CDs on the way. Those in the back amused themselves with video games. All was smooth sailing until…
We ran out of gas at a toll plaza on the Parkway! It wasn’t my fault! I’m used to driving a Toyota! They go forever on a tank of gas!
“What are we gonna do now? I knew it was a bad idea to give the finger to a family in a mini van!”
After a few tries, the van started again. At the toll booth, I was told that there was an exit about a half mile down the road. As it turned out, it was the exit we needed to take for Asbury Park. I was told there was a gas station there.
We made the exit. But we saw no gas station. A little way down the road, the van stopped again. There was no gas station in sight an to make matters worse, all the kids had to pee due to the super size sodas they drank.
After a few tries, the van started again. (So it’s not such bad karma to flick off a mini van family after all!) A little further down the road we saw the ever glorious Texaco star! An oasis! It was up a hill and the traffic light at the intersection turned red as we approached. Yet, we made it into the entrance of the gas station just as the van conked out again. At that point the doors of the van burst open and five boys with bursting bladders burst through the doors in a desperate search for a bathroom. Miraculously, I was able to start the van one more time and pull up to the pumps.
The attendant, obviously bewildered by five screaming boys holding their crotches so as not to piss themselves, said to me, “What happened? What’s wrong?”
I replied, “What do you mean? Gimme ten regular, please.”
With the gas tank full and all bladders empty, we soon made it to Asbury Park. The club was easy to find. Parking was readily available. We waited in line for some time. Then we were in.
THE FIRST band to play was Let it Burn. They were good. They played their hearts out. The bass player was decked out like Frankenstein. Very cool. The guitarist was a decent punk rock version of Eddie Munster. Also very cool. A very good opening act. And oh… they had the cutest girl (Sharon Stein) in the world playing lead guitar. There’s nothing like falling in love while the opening band is playing!
NEXT UP was Tsunami Bomb. Their Scooby Doo costumes were pretty cool. Musically they were good. Their female singer just needed a little more confidence. She’s got a great voice, smooth and strong. All in all they were a great act.
THE THIRD band to perform was Strike Anywhere. Now, you have to love a band whose singer comes on stage dressed as Alice Cooper, eye make-up and all. Awesome! As a diehard Alice Cooper fan, I instantly loved these guys! My admiration was not for nothing either. They sounded great! They sounded much better than they did at Irving Plaza in September. (Though the Stone Pony is small, they do a great job with the sound system there. Much better than Irving Plaza.) They played their guts out and the crowd loved them.
THEN CAME the Bouncing Souls. Just as they did at the Irving Plaza show, the crowd increased their excitement as they waited for the Souls to take the stage. To hear all those kids singing the band’s lyrics “Here we go, here we go, here we go,” before the band even came out was pretty cool. The kids in Jersey love the souls. It is obvious that the Souls return that love. Even though it’s a punk show, there is a certain affection and identification that is communicated from the band to their fans. That is very cool. The Bouncing Souls are not a group of unreachable, untouchable superstars. As the singer expressed from the stage that night, they are just a bunch of guys that get up on stage and “act like a bunch of retards.”
There is so much energy and excitement when the Souls play. The moshing in the crowd was wild! A few times, I got crushed up against the end of the bar where I was sitting. If I wasn’t old enough to be everyone’s father and didn’t weigh almost 220 pounds, I would have jumped right in there and moshed with the best of them. However, the words “law suit” prevented me from doing so.
As their latest album is titled, “Anchors Aweigh,” the band came on stage dressed as pirates. They looked fantastic! To complete the Halloween motif, there were plenty of pumpkins and plastic skulls on stage. Being that it was a punk concert, these ended up either smashed on stage or thrown out into the audience. What better definition of a good time than loud music and pieces of pumpkin flying through the air?
AN INTERESTING tradition that the Bouncing Souls have is to print their logo on the back of used work jackets, leaving the original name tags on the jackets. My son has one. Before we went to the show, he assured me that it would not be a “weird dad” thing if I got a jacket for myself. Disappointingly, they were not selling any jackets that night. However, I found one on eBay this week. I watched the auction for a few days. During the last hour, two eBay newbies were bidding like crazy on the jacket. I waited until there were only 45 seconds left and placed my bid. I won. See, I may be too old to jump in a mosh pit, but when it comes to winning something on eBay, I’ll kick your ass! And the name on my newly acquired jacket? “Donte.” How cool is that? East Coast F*** You! I got a Bouncing Souls jacket and you can call me Donte!
AFTER the show we hung around for a while. We all bought T-shirts and I got another Souls sticker for my car. A real treat for the boys was meeting Johnny X after we hung around long enough. The Souls do a song about Johnny (“Johnny says he’s bound by only 6 strings to this world/ Johnny always keeps them one turn out of tune”). He appeared on stage to perform the song with them that night. When we saw him outside, he agreed to a picture with the boys. They were delighted. I was happy to be part of their excitement.
We left Asbury Park, all wound up. What a great show! The ride home was uneventful (other than paying way, way too much for burgers at a rest stop on the Parkway). I remembered to stop for gas before we ran out this time. ! We finally made it home at 3:30 in the morning. I slept until 3 in the afternoon. My ears were still ringing on Monday morning. But I was inspired. Long live punk rock! Long live the Stone Pony! Long live the Bouncing Souls! Long live the middle finger! Long live the opportunities to be involved in the lives of our kids!
