Dear Friends,
Happy day, people. Happy Father’s Day and happy birthday to my granny, Amy G. She turns 98.
It’s crazy to think about living for 98 years. I will turn 98, should I make it that far in 2067. If I do make it to then, I hope I am as sharp as Granny still is and interested in the world around me. Maybe she just likes to talk about current events with me, I don’t know, but even if I just talk about what’s happening with Mia or Skylar and whatever grandchildren come along in the meantime, I will be fine with that.
It's been really wonderful getting to have a good amount of time with her this 98th year of her life. We’ve talked about all kinds of stuff, and she’s shared a lot of wisdom with me. I’ve asked her some tough questions, too, and she hasn’t shied away from them. I’ve learned a lot.
We will celebrate with her as they are having a party for her at the assisted living facility where she lives. I’m so glad they take good care of her, and she is happy there. She lived on her own for much of the last 17 years of her life and left home after marrying my grandfather over 75 years or more ago. That’s crazy to think about, too.
Here’s to Granny on her big day. I love you.
*****
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads. I know a lot of good ones and I’m proud to be a part of a really loving community of dads in my life. Yesterday I got to have lunch with my dad, and we had a good time. Michael, Tracey, Tom, and Quentin joined Liam and I at Miracle Mile. The pastrami was fucking heavenly.
It was really special for me to share my dad a bit with two of the best friends I have in the world. Michael has lost two fathers, his adopted and biological dad, and Tom doesn’t have a relationship with his dad anymore, so it meant a lot to me to have them to be able to get to say “Happy Father’s Day” to Dad.
Maybe that sounds strange, but I appreciate how much they both appreciate getting to hang out with my dad, as do I. My heart goes out to all the people out there today who are missing their dad. I feel very lucky to have my dad in my life. Most of my closest friends do not have their dad in their lives anymore and that is very sad.
Enough of that sad stuff, here’s to my dad having a great day today. I love you, dad.
*****
I have a theory about dad jokes. When it gets close to Father’s Day, I think it becomes easier for dads to make ‘dad jokes.’ It’s like the force gets turned up or something. I’ve been making corny jokes all week.
*****
After the party, it’s back to working on tile. There is a very good chance I will finish it off today. It is starting to seem like a never-ending job. Truly. Maybe someday I won’t have to tile something.
Even if I do manage to finish it, I still have to grout and seal it and all the other fun stuff. Yay!
*****
I bought my copy of Valley of the Yakes by JFA at Zia in 1985 for $2.99.
The song “Preppy” had been on my radar for a few years, but it wasn’t until I was 15 that I got clued in enough to start buying records and going to shows. My whole world changed, and to this day, the decisions I made in 1985 keep impacting my life. Valley of the Yakes was a huge part of that.
“Kick You” was the perfect choice for the first song. Even though it is a full-on revenge song about getting a chance to kick someone when they are down, it blasts into your consciousness with a confidence and power that made me proud to be a budding young punk from Phoenix.
JFA has always been something of a point of pride for me, even before I had any connection on a personal level to members of the band. They were ours, as I have written many times, and that was enough for me. It helps a lot that Valley of the Yakes is a great record. I once dubbed it the second most influential Arizona punk rock record, but I may have been wrong on that.
I’ve wanted to write this entry for a long time and was planning on it a few weeks ago, but when Michael “Bam Bam” Sversvold died, I just couldn’t bring myself to write it. I don’t think I ever really focused on the drums on Valley of the Yakes previously. As I listen now, though, I hear his youthful brilliance.
When the record came out, I think Bam must’ve been getting very close to his 18th birthday. There is a moment on “Walk Don’t Run” where the drums are just completely in control of the flow of the song, and you can almost let the other parts of the song just kind of melt away.
It’s kind of the same on “Baja.” I don’t know that I had ever really given Bam the credit he was due for bringing the JFA surf songs to life as much as he did. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall in the studio on the day when Bam did all these songs. If I remember correctly, this recording was a brisk one and the band laid these tracks down in just a matter of hours.
Kudos, my friend, I fucking miss you.
The Father Figures did a cover of “Skateboard/We Know You Suck” a number of years ago and it was great fun. I love hearing Michael Cornelius doing backing vocals on the “We Know You Suck” track. This whole record still gets me going.
For a long time in 1985, I thought “Too Late” was “TWA.”
Brian Brannon has a very unique vocal style and I’ve stolen from it many times. I know there are lyrics to the songs because I’ve read them and sang some of them, but sometimes it is just a barrage of Brian’s voice. He helped me understand that the way you delivered the lyrics was just as important, sometimes, as what the lyrics are…and if you forget the words sometimes, you can just go Bobaba style and blend them together.
My favorite song on Valley of the Yakes has always been “Guess What?” I love the whole feel of that one, especially Michael’s bass line opening. I don’t know how many times I’ve played that during a soundcheck. We also recorded it as a bonus track on one of the last two NSK records and put it on one of the AZPUNK compilations.
I also really dig Michael’s bass line on “I-10.” It fucking rules. He’s just flexing on this one and showing why he was the best bass player in town at the time. He’s probably still the best bass player in town. I’ve shared this before, but one of the main reasons I wanted to play bass was this record.
If I had been more inclined towards guitar, I could easily say the same thing about Don Redondo’s (aka Don Pendelton) riffs. The guitar on Valley of the Yakes sounds great and Don is one of my all-time favorite punk rock guitarists. Even if JFA hadn’t been from Phoenix, I have no doubt that I would have still gravitated to them.
What a treat for punks around the country to have been able to see JFA live over those early years in the 80s. I know I loved seeing them play and still do. See you in August at the show.
*****
See you tomorrow.
AI sucks at drawing skateboarding pictures.
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