Dear Friends,
Yesterday started off well and ended poorly. I turned into a dickhead at the end of the night because I misinterpreted something and for that I will punish myself wholeheartedly, roundly, and with complete disdain. I sucked.
At times, I can convince myself of things that are no good for anyone. I go dark. I start assuming things and telling myself the worst possible things. I don’t know why.
The day was a fine one until about 11:30PM. Then it turned to shit. Perhaps I have no business being out at that hour anymore. Maybe I’m too old. Too dumb.
The best parts of yesterday, though, were pretty great.
My students enjoyed a fun Field Day. They got me soaked. They laughed and we had a good day. I got to call Cocaine Baby’s dad and tell him good news, for once, and when I did, the whole class gave Cocaine Baby a sincere round of applause. It was a beautiful moment and maybe one that can turn the kid’s life around. Truly.
We had a nice dinner with friends we don’t see very often. My wrap had strawberries in it and I had sweet potato fries on the side. I love sweet potato fries.
Afterwards, we went to the Yucca to support our friend, Amy, and I got to hang out with Eric. That was great, too. Things were going really well and then I went dark. Then things turned to shit.
I don’t want to get into the particulars, but I was clearly seeing one thing and reality was another. It’s embarrassing and I feel a great amount of shame. I can’t even blame beer on my behavior. I didn’t want a beer, either. The alcoholic, though, that lives inside of my brain says, “Maybe if you had a beer or two, your darkness would never have come out.”
It lies. Stupid alcoholic in my brain. Stop talking.
Today will be a better day.
I hope.
*****
In 2016, I got the opportunity to interview Roger Hodgson of Supertramp. I sat in my car in the parking lot of the non-profit organization I was working for at the time and spoke to him about a show he did that year at Celebrity Theater. It wasn’t Casa as I had not returned there yet, and I don’t remember why I did the interview in my car. Maybe I didn’t want anyone to know I was doing interviews on company time.
Like a lot of people my age, I like Supertramp’s classic songs a lot. I feel like I grew up with “The Logical Song” and “Goodbye Stranger.” I’m also quite fond of “Take the Long Way Home,” too, and “Breakfast In America” has been one of my favorites forever. I’ve been enjoying these songs for forty-five years at this point.
Now, the number 45 has been tainted by some dipshit, smug prick who lied his way into a presidency, but luckily, next year, it will be 46 years. I digress, but forty-five years is a long time.
Years ago, prior to talking with Hodgson, who is a wonderful guy, I picked up a vinyl copy of Breakfast In America for a few bucks. I’m pretty sure my dad had it in his collection when I was growing up, but maybe he didn’t. It just seems so familiar.
One of the reasons I wanted to interview Hodgson was to talk about what it was like to be in one of the biggest bands in the world for a while. It’s true. At the time Breakfast In America came out, there was probably only a small handful of rock and roll band bigger than Supertramp, but for a moment in time, Supertramp was as popular as anyone.
For one thing, the four songs I mentioned earlier off Breakfast In America are all supremely well-crafted songs. “Take the Long Way Home” is pretty much perfect. You may hate it and what it stands for, but if you really listen to how it is crafted, you still have to tip your hat to those dudes.
Hodgson wrote that one, as well as “The Logical Song” and ‘Breakfast in America” while his bandmate, Rick Davies, wrote “Goodbye Stranger.” Both guys are just dripping with songwriting chops. Even the solo stuff Hodgson played when we saw him live was excellent.
I say “We” because I took Liam with me. He was fond of “The Logical Song” and when I told him I was interviewing the guy who wrote it, he got really excited and asked if he could go to the show with me. I told Hodgson this while we were on the phone, and we ended up talking for a good amount of time about being a dad.
This conversation led to Hodgson setting Liam and I up for the after-show meet and greet. We took our place in what was a long line after the show, and he sent his assistant out to find us and took us to the front of the line. Who does this?
He talked with Liam and I long enough to make his assistant come around and remind him there were about fifty more people to see. He took a picture with us and as we were saying goodbye, Liam gave him one of his tech decks. Those are the tiny skateboards you can buy at Target and such.
Hodgson was super touched by this and had Liam autograph it for him. He said he had a place in his home for things like this and was going to put it there on the windowsill. I believe that he did, too.
It was intriguing to hear about how being in such a successful band had impacted Hodgson’s life. He seemed genuinely pleased with the line of questioning I had prepared, and the discussion quickly became a conversation between two music lovers. The best of my interviews are like this and I leave them feeling, in a way, like I’ve made a new friend.
Spending some quality time with the guy, both on the phone and in-person, only strengthened my love for his work with Supertramp. I like the Rick Davies’ songs, too, but I’m a Roger Hodgson fan until the end. The guy’s music just speaks to me.
There was a time when I would have called Supertramp a guilty pleasure, but not anymore. I’m out and proud as a Supertramp fan. I’ve bought multiple copies of Breakfast In America, too, because I keep finding copies that are in better condition and they go for cheap.
Outside of the songs I mentioned, I really like “Child of Vision” a lot. It’s the last track on the record and is a bit proggy like their earlier stuff. I don’t skip any of the tracks on Breakfast In America. There just isn’t a reason to do so.
I hope I get a chance to talk to Roger Hodgson again. It would also be nice to see him perform again, too. Class act all the way and a heck of a songwriter. From what he told me eight years ago, he still loves to make music.
Cheers to that.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Not quite, but still fun
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