Dear Friends,
Last night I watched a movie I hadn't seen in years. One On One was written by Robby Benson and his dad, Jerry Segal. It came out in 1977 and I used to watch it on ONTV when I was a young'un. It didn't hold up the way I kind of hoped it would. I used to like Robby Benson a lot as a kid, but he was pretty terrible as an actor.
He kind of dropped off the radar in the mid-80s and I had to look him up on the google. It seems he became a behind the scenes kind of guy and even has a gold record for having a song on the Breakfast Club soundtrack. Who knew?
*****
Sunday night was epic and so good for the soul. We rocked, if I say so myself, and it felt really good. There was a great crowd at Chopper John's, mostly due to the football game, but a good amount of people came out for the music, too. It was interesting to look out and see all the people in the back who were there for the game looking a little befuddled at what was happening.
I really enjoyed the set by Fuck All You People. They bring the noise in a way that pushes the right buttons for me. They got people ready to go and it was fun to get on stage after such a rad performance by them. I hope to get to rock with them again.
I was nervous and full of energy when we started but as soon as we got going, I settled into it like putting on an old, comfy pair of shoes. We hadn't played together for about four years, but you wouldn't have known it. There were a couple of times where the rust was a little thick, but we got past it.
The main thing was that we had fun and people seemed to really like it. The best part of the evening for me was getting to see a bunch of friends having fun. It was a bit like a time machine in several ways, but it is also what's happening now, too. The songs are old, but they are still, sadly, pretty timely in a lot of ways.
A lot of what I was writing about in those days, lyrically, was the bullshit I saw going on in the world. The same bullshit is still happening and even worse. It's really strange to think that songs I wrote in the 90s are just as pertinent today as they were then and even more so. One of our songs, "Casa Bravo" has the following lyrics:
Tax the rich by granting opportunity
Feed the poor with a mouthful of lies
I can't be part of your majority
When real morality is what you despise
(chorus)
Show Your Colors
This is America
Land of opportunity
Home of the Brave
When the government controls the class war
by supporting those with more than they need
Your tax dollars pay for mediocrity
under the weight of so much greed
chorus
I live in America so why should I complain
I'm told I have the right to but I do it in vain
And I'll question authority until the day I cannot
If it's blood they want, it's blood they've got
Don't look away when opposition faces you
look those bastards right in the eye
Your opinion counts if you believe it's true
don't follow others just so you get by
chorus
(outro)
This is America (x4)
I sent those lyrics to the folks at Gilman Street in 1999. They got us a gig there, which was way cool. At least until the little gal running sound accused us of stealing a microphone, but that's another story. Maybe one I've already told. We didn't any microphones, but we did have fun that night in Berkeley.
Either way, though, I can sing those words today with just as much venom as I did back when I wrote them in 1995 or so. It makes me wonder what I would come up with if we were to write new songs. We'll just have to see what comes to pass.
It was awesome to share a gig with Jay and Laura and the Scorpion Vs. Tarantula crew again, too. They sounded awesome. Admittedly, I was outside for it as I was overheated and my ears were blown out, but damn, they brought it from what I heard and the smiling faces of everyone at the end said it all. As good as they are at playing punk rock and roll, they are even better people.
Can't wait to do it again with them and Eatcrow on the 11th.
See y'all tomorrow.
Action shot from the evening in question. So many good pics from the show. I'll post some more, I'm sure.
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