SKIPPY SPEAKS!
OK, I've been putting this off because I was afraid I wouldn't be able
to remember anything. And guess what? I can't.
SO, I'm just going to start typing and maybe I WILL start to remember
things. By the way, this is going to undo and waste thousands of dollars
of psychotherapy.
I was working with "Colour" before I joined Tacoma. I joined the band when Wayne announced he was leaving, because they asked me too - that simple. The irony is that I left one of the most mediocre bands in S.D. to join one of the best sounding bands in town, and in the process went from playing 1 to 3 times EVERY weekend (for very good money, too) to playing once a month - if we were lucky. And, of course, the more we worked on original tunes the less we played. With regard to Colour, Jim Harris and Rick Davidson were excellent musicians and improved [that] band immeasurably. I still have the pleasure of playing with Jim regularly.
I'm sure you have already mentioned the numerous gigs at PLEASURE/BUMP
CITY where we crammed two drum kits, a set of vibes, a B-3 and Leslie
for John, a Leslie for Doug, etc. on that tiny and VERY HIGH stage
(we were always really buff dudes). And, of course, there was the night
that Frank Zappa came in looking for Mr. Clean.
And then, the day we ran into Frank again at Arby's on Sunset and Wayne
had the nerve to ask if we could watch is rehearsal. His reply: "NO, It's
top secret." Imagine my sense of irony when years later, after I'd moved
to L.A. and had become the president of our local Little League (and I
still throw like a girl) when Frank himself, dutiful father that he was,
bought a sponsor banner for his daughter's team. Proudly displayed in the
outfield was a bright orange and black Barking Pumpkin Records banner.
I can't believe that I don't know what happened to the banner.
Speaking of baseball, do you remember the time that Paul (the white
Hendrix) Martin brought his friend Gary Puckett to play softball
with us, down at Brown Stadium?
I left Tacoma because I was a moody insecure young [idiot]. I thought you guys were terrible [as] friends.
The irony, once again, is that we've turned out to be the best and most enduring of friends. Honestly, for me the times [with the band] were the best of times and they were the worst of times. I learned a ton and I grew a great deal in my brief stay - which, by the way, is the worst part of it. I remember taking advantage of having two drummers in the band by getting falling-down drunk every time we played at Ledbetter's! I also remember having a ton of fun and being very proud to be in the band making the [kind of] music that we were. Of course, I remember the time when I tagged along to a fraternity gig at SD State and at the end of the gig, your/our impact on the pop music world was summed up most succinctly (I don't know what that word means, but I see it in a lot of record reviews) when a scraggly dog wandered over
to the PA column and almost as if on cue, lifted his leg on the speaker,
right as the last song ended (the old prototype Yamaha columns)...
Just one somber note in passing:
I am reminded that we played a gig at Santana High School, and I would imagine that The Generations probably played there and at Granite Hills High, too. You guys played every where.
NOTE: This text was edited from a couple of e-mails from Jack to Wayne. Now! See the original text...!
The Tweed Sneakers: Fred (front), Jack ("Skippy"), and Jon
Jack's current employ as a leprechaun...
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