Dear Friends,
It is so nice not to have to worry about a title for the blog anymore.
*****
Yesterday we had this odd ten minutes or so on our walk. T, Q, and I were leaving Washington Park, and a pretty decent sized guy was walking toward us. He made a point of coming up to us as we hit 21st Avenue and asked what time it was. He then doubled back and followed us.
It was uncomfortable and it was kind of clear that he was not in any semblance of what would be considered a “right mind.” One thing that I noticed was that the dogs, Bailey and Nola, did not seem bothered by this so I relaxed a little bit, but the heebie jeebies were still there.
We got to 19th Avenue and there was another guy at the light waiting to cross the street and I think he was even freaked out by this dude a little bit before the strange follower guy peeled off across Maryland and wasn’t seen again. It bummed me out a lot.
For one thing, Q was with us, and I know it was making Tom uncomfortable, and it was making me uncomfortable, too. I let Bailey set the pace for a bit wondering if we could just out distance the guy and put a little more comfortable space between us. It didn’t work.
After he bailed, we talked about it and it was clear we were all on the same page. Then, after I said goodbye to the guys and Bailey and I headed home, it occurred to me that maybe this guy was scared, too. He might have been in a difficult situation, and it may have felt better for him to be walking kind of near us. Maybe somebody had fucked with him? I’ll probably never know, but sometimes it is necessary to consider that someone who is acting strangely around you might just need some help.
*****
The rest of the day was kind of a bummer. I have been battling a little bit of a cold sense late last week and it took me out by the late afternoon. I just didn’t have any energy at all.
Hopefully today will be better. Hillbilly practice tonight.
*****
My great infatuation with Ed Hall, the band, not the accountant who lived three blocks over when I lived in Ahwatukee, lasted for much of the 1990s. I would go to see them every time they would play Phoenix and would even talk to them a bit, too. Great dudes, or so they seemed in our brief conversations.
What I loved (and still love) about the band back then was the way they approached a show or an album. Ed Hall just threw down. They were out there to have fun, rock, and play their songs the way they thought their songs should be played. I respected (and still respect) the hell out of that.
Most people just didn’t really get Ed Hall back in those days. I’m glad I got to see them a handful of times and have all their records. One record of theirs that I love is Love Poke Here from 1990.
It’s maybe the best example of what the band sounded like live, in my opinion, even though it is not a live record. I don’t know the specifics of how they recorded it or where they recorded it, but when I listen to that record, I am transported back to seeing them live.
Maybe a bunch of the songs on Love Poke Here were staples of their live set. I can’t exactly remember. I think they played a few of them most of the time I saw them, but after almost 30 years, my brains a bit foggy. It certainly seems like I remember them playing songs like “Blue Poland” and “Sam Jackson” and “Pay for Me” live.
I happen to love the song “Millionaire’s House” off this record. There is something about the lyrics that I just get a little giddy about whenever I hear it. The chorus is so good:
“We drained the toilets the millionaire’s left behind/we spilled liquor and left the wine.”
It’s got this off-kilter bass line, too, that I love. Ed Hall really had a penchant for these guitar and bass lines that weaved around each other. Gary Chester (guitar) and Larry Strub (bass) had an amazing connection. “Millionaire’s House” is a great example of this connection. It’s weird and noisy, yet catchy.
‘Hearty Tom Foolery” kind of reminds me of Victims Family in a lot of ways. It’s jaunty like a Victims Family song where the bass is super funky, kind of like Larry Boothroyd’s style, with a touch of Mike Watt in there, too. Bouncy, jaunty, and a lot of “No fucks given” attitude. I don’t understand how people could hear this song and not just fall in love.
“Cartalk” is kind of like this bee that is flying around in your ear. Super fun, though, and it’s one of the reasons that I really loved these guys. They just went for it and let their freak flags fly. They were such a “Texas” band but were also doing their own kind of Texas weirdness.
Another killer bass/guitar interplay in “Buddha.” They definitely played this in their live sets. Fantastic riffage. “Turkeey” is another one with great riffs (and it’s an instrumental). “Buddha,” though, is bad ass and I love the bass line’s repetition.
Love Poke Here ends with a great, noisy jam in “Wilbert.” I’m so glad I have held on to this record for the last thirty years or so. It’s truly wonderful in a way that most won’t understand, but that’s another reason to love it.
Hell, I even kind of moved away from Ed Hall after they broke up. It was just too painful to think of not getting to see them play live again that I stopped listening to them all together, but I had to find my way back. So much goodness for the earholes.
*****
See you tomorrow.
That's just not right, AI. You're drunk again or maybe just a weirdo.
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