That Which We Love

I received an e-mail yesterday from a friend in So Cal, a guitarist I traveled with almost 30 years ago. The subject line read, 'So you married a girl named Beth, eh?'. The content of the message was a file containing the Kiss song 'Beth' that I sang at a show in Del Ran, New Jersey in 1981. Whether or not I had any business singing could be the subject for another's blog. The truth of the matter is, I was doing what I love, playing music.



It all began after hearing "Dizzy" by Tommy Roe. Between chorus and verse there was a 2-bar drum solo that owned me. Then there was "American Pie" by Don McLean. Whoever it was playing those drums was larger than life. I wanted to be that guy. So, I took two butter knives out of Mom's kitchen and began to beat on chairs, magazines; anything that would bounce a "stick".


The lady on the receiving end of my phone calls bartering with her over the drum set in the paper must have been worn down (she later told my Dad she was) because I secured my first kit for $75. I was now legit and at the age of 9 began taking drum lessons at Fullerton Music. For some reason I remember learning jazz and bossa nova techniques, but what I really wanted was to play rock and roll.


Most of my junior high and high school experience came through jamming with my brother (who is still very much at it on guitar) in the garage and through a few bands. At the time, the pinnacle of gigdom was playing on the senior quad during spirit week. I think we lasted 5 minutes until the assistant principal unplugged our shot at glory. It was a brief but great experience!


During that time in life, though, interests and passions are regularly compared to others; what they do, how they appear,what they think of us and what is deemed cool by the masses. The "greener grass" syndrome often prevails. And from that day on the senior quad as the drummer for Arabesque, I gained a nickname from one classmate, drummer boy. He took it as his responsibility to frequently suggest that I was only in the band because of my brother or that I was holding the rest of the band back. He drove me nuts!


After high school, actually the day of my graduation, I caught a plane to Columbus, Ohio to begin a 3-year global jaunt playing music nearly every day which included USO tours overseas, occassional gigs in Vegas and Tahoe and our groups' bread and butter, school assembly shows. I realized that my time spent behind the kit was paying off.


At the conclusion of the tour that summer, I was running to catch my connection in O'Hare airport for a short break at home. In a great mass of people, I began to hear my name called. I waited for its source and up came my friend from high school, drummer boy! I asked what he was doing. He said he was coming back from basic training. He asked me. I told him I was headed home after a tour to Canada with my band. We spoke for a moment then went our separate ways.


That was a long, long time ago, but it taught me to pursue that which I love. Playing music continues to be one of those things at the top of my list. In fact, I have to go load my drums for a wedding reception tonight with the band. . .

Looking Ahead to Past Glory

The drive-in movie brings back many memories for me as a child. My parents would make a large bag of popcorn, load me and my two brothers into the station wagon and head to see the latest cinematic offering. One film in particular that stands out is The Sound of Music. What intrigued me most were the sights of this old European town with its castle sitting high above the village below, the surrounding Alps and the vast von Trapp estate with that cool gazebo in the backyard!

I have had the opportunity to visit Austria on two occassions (there goes that travel thing again); the first time on a senior-year college trip and again as the host of a ski trip to Innsbruck as a travel agent. Each time brought excursions to Salzburg, the home of Mozart's birth and the von Trapp family. Interestingly, the von Trapp estate in the film is actually two large residences; one for the scenes showing the front and another for the scenes in the back. Since the filming of the movie which premiered in 1965, the gazebo had been purchased by American Express and moved to a small park for the benefit of access for American Tourists (I have a picture somewhere. . .). The familiar cobble stone walkways in the "Old Town" of Salzburg returned to my memory in scenes from the current film "Knight and Day". Incidentally, while being the 4th largest city in Austria, Salzburg is known as one of the best preserved cities in Europe. It remains an alluring combination of modern shops and restaurants in the quaint setting of old world charm.

On my first trip to Austria I was given the responsibility of coordinating ski rentals at a local shop in Innsbruck for my travel mates. We were picked up at our hotel by the owner of the shop and taken to his store to be fitted with gear for our next days' alpine adventure. I would like to think that we were taken to a centuries' old tyrolean shop with thick glass windows illuminated by candlelight, but that would truly be a stretch. With skis, boots and poles in tow, the driver took us back to our hotel. Riding "shotgun", I had the opportunity to tell him of my intrigue with his country and the charm of his city; I thought I would love to live there. He quickly said, 'you know, you truly have it better in America. While our country is beautiful, our taxes are too high. It is difficult to live here.' As a college student, I could not fully appreciate what he was saying, though I have never forgotten what he said.

Lately, with the changes taking place in America and the looming increases in taxation, I wonder if over the next few years I, too, if given the opportunity to talk with a visitor from somewhere "across the pond" might respond to a comment about my home in the past tense; that ours is a beautiful nation but is a much too expensive place to live. It would truly be a shame to see our country, this nation of ignenuity, creativity and strength reduced to a place for curious tourists to observe a few icons reflecting greatness of days now past.

So, here goes my foray into the blogosphere. . .

To begin with, I must confess that, as far back as I can remember, I have been a fanatic for travel. It was forever set when as a child of 6 or 7, I flew from the Orange County airport (as I recall, the PSA terminal was a trailer) to see my Grandmother in San Jose. I was leaving my familiar world and entering the realm of the unknown. The entire process was intriguing; checking-in, boarding, the flight, the landing. Since then, I have even come to accept the hassles:turbulence, flight delays and baggage loss.

Wanderlust is not limited to the skies, however. At the age of 5, my family drove to Yellowstone for a 2-week camping adventure. With stops in Jackson Hole where I learned to swim, and travels through Arizona where we saw a movie being shot (McKenna's Gold with Omar Sharif and Julie Newmar), I gained an appreciation for the highway and the fact that, while it takes time, there's no better way to apprise the greatness of the land mass called America than by taking it in through the car's window.

Maybe it's no mistake, then, that my journey always seems to have included opportunities to hit the road. I guess I seek them out. Having been a musician, travel agent, salesman and always-willing vacationer who has embraced the packing of the suitcase, I still look forward to the next trip out of town. The perspective gained through the lens of my experience has contributed to who I am and I hope the wonder that captivated that kid waiting for his ticket in the PSA trailer never leaves this fanatical traveler.