Dear Friends,
Today is our anniversary. Rhondi and I celebrate 18 years of being married today. For the fourth year in a row, though, we celebrate from afar. It sucks, but we did have a really nice anniversary date two weeks ago in Maine. I love her just the same, even if she’s not here with me to give a little kiss to today.
It’s strange to think of our marriage as being an adult.
We have nurtured it for the last decade or so, after I neglected it for a couple of years, and grown into a pretty good couple if I say so myself. I think we were always a good couple, but I wasn’t a very good husband for a while there. I love that she taught me what love could really be. I hope I have lived up to and deserve her teaching.
Happy anniversary, babe. I look forward to our marriage being middle aged someday.
*****
On a sad note, I got a call yesterday from my friend, Shad, telling me that Shelton Valentine had died. It wasn’t a huge shock, in a way, because I knew instinctually from some of his more recent online stuff that he was struggling with something, but it still hurts. Shelton was my friend for over 35 years.
Now I sit here and try to remember the last time I got to see him. It’s blurry. I don’t think I can exactly put my finger on it to be honest.
I do remember getting to know him back in 1988 and 89. We went to Phoenix College together and I thought Shelton was a terribly interesting guy. We had a lot of things in common, but he also had this very distinct hippie side to him that seemed kind of like he was a bit of a fish out of water. He was very peaceful in a lot of ways but I knew (and saw) that there was also an aggro side, too.
In those days, he wore these funny overalls with a peace sign patch sewn on the front. He had these crazy, clear blue eyes that just sort of shined all the time. It was like he was in love with his life. He made me want to be more in love with my own life when I was hanging out with him.
Shelton was the type of guy who had your back no matter what. You can’t really say that about everybody, but if he was your friend or even if he wasn’t but thought you were being wronged somehow, he was going to stick up for you, calm things down, or throw down if there was no other way out. He was just that type of guy.
We had a lot of good times together over the years.
At one point, we tried starting a band because both of us wanted to be in a band. We were both lead singers at the time, but we were going to do a dual vocal attack like Fugazi and jammed with my buddies, Chris and Steve, and Shelton introduced me to Cean, too, who jammed with us. It was short lived, but we had some fun.
I enjoyed watching Shelton perform in numerous bands over the years. Hunky Dory and Dirty Hairy come to mind first, but I think there were a few more in there. Was he in Boneyard, too? I don’t remember. He was just a guy who needed a stage.
He was also a collector of many things. Most importantly, though, he collected friends and if you knew him, you loved him. I honestly don’t think I ever heard anyone say anything too bad about Shelton. The only possible exception was maybe that he was a little over the top about his band, Dirty Hairy, but even then, his enthusiasm won us all over.
I will miss him.
*****
Skateboarding with Markus turned me on to so many bands. I owe such a huge debt of gratitude to Markus for my musical taste and the breadth of that taste. We have shared a lot of music over the years, and I still love picking his brain about what he likes.
In 1986, he turned me on to the Toy Dolls and more specifically, their excellent record, Idle Gossip. I fell in love instantly with energy on this record that came out that very same year. It was new to me and new to the world. I went and bought it on vinyl as soon as I could.
To this day, I cannot understand about half of the words that Olga sings. The guy is a ripper on guitar and his vocals are great, but his accent is so thick that I know I’ve been singing along with my sloppy, Americanized lyrics for almost forty years.
Hell, for the first month of listening to this record with Markus, I thought the song “Idle Gossip,” the title fucking track, was called “I Ride Horses.” He got a good laugh out of that one. I remember the conversation well. It was at his parent’s house near what was then known as Squaw Peak.
I was so embarrassed.
Again, though, it was the energy of the record. Some of the songs are just about as fast as they can be, yet they still have a charm and pop sensibility that makes them completely infectious. It was a tremendous regret of mine that I never got to see the Toy Dolls live.
“The Lambrusco Kid” is a favorite of mine, as is “Harry Cross (Tribute to Edna).” I like’em all, actually. I don’t think there is a single week moment on this record and I have been listening to it with some regularity since it came out. I don’t think I’ve ever gone more than 9 or 10 months without giving it a spin. I have my OG vinyl, a CD and I have it favorited on the streamer. The only thing I’m missing is a cassette.
The song titles themselves are pretty freaking great, too. “You Won’t Be Merry On A North Sea Ferry” just rips and it is a funny title. So is “Geordie’s Gone To Jail” and “Silly Billy.” Both of them rip, too. Fuck…again…the whole record is just glorious.
As a huge Jaws fan, I think my love for Idle Gossip was cemented with the beginning of the previously mentioned “Lambrusco Kid.”
“I’m tired and I want to go to bed/I had a little drink about an hour ago and It’s gone right to my head.”
Classic.
“If You’re In a Pop Group You’ll End Up Paying a Fortune Practicing at Peter Practice’s Practice Place” is one of those songs that I love but I absolutely have no idea what the lyrics actually are. I don’t care, though. I will go on with my ignorance. I will love it just the same.
“PC Stoker” starts off with a penny whistle kind of sound before it just kicks the doors right down. I do know that “Stoker” is a lyric. I understand that much. Teddy Edmundson’s drums are so damn good across the board, too, but especially on “PC Stoker.”
Enjoy it if you’ve never listened and go back for a visit if it has been a while. It will put a smile on your face. I promise.
*****
See you tomorrow.
AI even knows. Look at the upper left corner.
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