"Dad, That Wasn't a Celebration, That Was a Tribute" - by Colin Gawel

Last year, my son Owen suddenly announced he wasn't going to play flag football anymore. I was mildly surprised, as he had always enjoyed it  but could understand that with most of his friends now playing tackle ball at middle school, it probably wasn't very cool anymore. And yeah, compared to the other sports he plays like basketball and baseball, flag football is a pretty loose ship. Everybody on the team plays the same amount and everybody has to get mostly equal touches. They don't even practice during the week. So for a kid like Owen who is "in it to win it" as they say, I could understand his decision.

So I was surprised this year when he suddenly announced, "I think I want to play flag football again."After all,  we do live in Columbus, Ohio, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes so I guess he figured after a year off, SOME football is better than no football. We signed him up past the deadline and lucky for us they had room to add him to a team.

Last Sunday, he caught a ball in the flat, made a couple of moves and took it to the house. Once in the end zone, he assumed a position like he was a baseball pitcher, did a full wind-up, dropped the ball and followed through with his arm motion. He gave a big strike sign like an umpire and then dropped to one knee and pointed both hands to the sky.

I thought, "That's a pretty good one." Most kids in flag football do some kind of dance or celebration after they score, so I've seen the dab, superman & others many times. And it isn't like the kids are showing off. Like I said, flag football is all about fun. In fact, Owen's coach this year has a rule that celebrations are mandatory if your score. 

So later that night, watching WWE Clash of Champions at home he said, "Dad, what did you think of my tribute today." "What do you mean?" I asked. "You know, after my touchdown?" Owen replied.

"Oh, your celebration. Yeah, that was a pretty clever one."

He muted the sound on the TV: "Dad, that wasn't a celebration, that was a tribute." I paused. "I guess I don't understand." He explained, "I told myself that if I scored a touchdown today I was going to do something to honor Jose Fernandez." For those who don't follow MLB, Jose Fernandez was an all-star pitcher for the Miami Marlins who was tragically killed in a boating accident the night before. He was only 24, full of talent and loved by fans and teammates.

"So that wasn't a celebration. That was a tribute because I'm sad Jose Fernandez died and I was thinking about him. We are both pitchers you know."

How stupid I am? I didn't even recognize what he was doing with the fake pitch and the point to heaven. "Owen, that's about the nicest thing I've ever heard. I'm sure Jose appreciated it."

We went back to watching wrestling. 

Colin Gawel owns Colin's Coffee and plays in the band Watershed. You can read about him in the book Hitless Wonder or see the band in Detroit Saturday October 8th. He is currently reading the latest book by Chuck Klosterman. 

 

 

 

Why Veep and Hamilton Matter More Now than Ever - by Amber Huston

Politics of the Present, the Past, and the Performing Arts: 
Getting Confused about 2016

If you are an American, you are probably tired of hearing about politics right now. I am an American and constantly surrounded by it, so it’s something on my mind, and so something I’m going to talk about. So read at your own risk.

I suppose I am bringing this upon myself, though. I’ve immersed myself in politics - besides just trying to keep up with the current election drama, I’ve also been into politics historical and fictional. I have been listening almost constantly for the past four months to the cast recording of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, a show about none other than our very own first treasury secretary of the United States, Alexander Hamilton. On top of that, I’ve been religiously listening to the podcast Pod4Ham, in which groups of people break down each individual track from the cast recording. Yes, spending like 30 minutes discussing a 2-minute song.  I’ve also been binge watching the HBO series Veep, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It’s basically about modern U.S. politics, but in an alternate universe.

When I was walking the other day, listening to Pod4Ham, mulling over it all in my brain, I had a strange experience. It was subconscious, so I don’t remember what it was about specifically, but basically I started thinking about the historical American politics that happened at the time of Hamilton in terms of current U.S. politics. After I realized this, I also realized that while I watch the TV show Veep I’m doing the same thing. Basically I am getting confused. Which is an easy thing to get while thinking about US politics this year.

I think it’s happening because there are a scary amount of parallels between our current political climate, the political climate of two centuries ago, and fictionalized political climates people make up for the purpose of humor. 

That’s what is really getting me. Veep, a show that - when you get down to it - is really just trying to make you laugh, seems realistic. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has said in multiple interviews I’ve listened to [I’m not obsessed with her, I swear!] that if she had proposed some of the events that have happened during this election cycle as a storyline to the show creators, they would have said it is too ridiculous and unrealistic. And yet, here we are. She’s also said that folks in Washington claim it’s the most accurate portrayal of the world inside U.S. politics they’ve ever seen in mainstream media. This should be concerning to anyone who watches the show. 

All of the drama in the show has also given me a little bit of sympathy for our leaders. Although the storylines are completely fictional, you can see how these situations could manifest in some form in the real world, how politicians are constantly scrutinized and how they somehow have to please everyone to keep themselves afloat. 

I love Veep because it satirizes our entire political system. The folks working on the show make a point to not assign her to a specific political party, just put her out there as a politician.  [I figure she is definitely a Democrat, but that’s a think piece for another day.]  As much as I appreciate satirizing the opposite end of the political spectrum of me, I find it wonderful that this show can connect with people on both sides of the aisle. Those on the left think it’s about those on the right, and those on the right think it’s about those on the left. It proves that all politicians are universally slimy. What a pleasant sentiment. 

Are we hopeless? How did we possibly get to this point where our current politics are literally stranger than fiction? That’s where Hamilton comes in to ground us. While we are currently a mess, this is nothing new. Don’t worry, America is not going to hell, we’ve always been like this, we’ve always been on the brink. We had an especially rough start. *Spoiler alert,* but Hamilton is killed in a duel with the Aaron Burr, the Vice President of the United States. That really happened folks, the VP killed a man. And didn’t even get in trouble for it. They threatened each other, they blackmailed, they back-stabbed. It’s just the nature of politics, the nature of humans, really.

With that said, I don’t mean that this isn’t a scary time, because it is. I’m just hoping that since we’ve made it this far, we’ll find a way to unite [enough] and get out of the messy situation we’re in now.  

All the while, I would recommend to anyone who hasn’t delved into Hamilton or Veep to do so, especially now, while they are more relevant than ever. Hamilton is probably the most brilliant piece of art I have listened to in my life, and Veep is just downright hilarious. And maybe some of the current American politics will start making sense to you too.

Amber Huston is a graduate student studying geology at Kent State University, having completed her undergrad at Thee Ohio State University. When not outdoors playing with rocks, she is hosting her show on Black Squirrel Radio [listen here: http://blacksquirrelradio.com/ ] or wasting time on the internet [follow on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/TheeAmberH uston]. She loves to travel but is restricted by the fact that - as a student - her net worth is a negative number.  

What Teams Should I Root Against this Weekend? Baver Answers.

Colin: Was the Buckeye's dismantling of the Sooners just one great game or are we starting to see the results of Urban's unprecedented recruiting success?

Baver: The team is now made up of almost entirely Urban’s recruits ….so yeah, that’s huge. I don’t think this is a one-game thing….Urban’s got it rolling like we’ve never seen here before and this year’s team is only going to get better.

Colin: Both of our lines were thought to be slightly suspect entering Norman but came away looking dominant. What gives?

Baver: It looks like Urban brought in the right man in Greg Studrawa to coach the O-line. And you haven’t had much of a drop-off so far with Jamarco Jones replacing 1st round draft pick Taylor Decker. On the D-line, even without Joey, you have 4 very good DE’s in Lewis, Hubbard, Holmes and now Joey’s little brother Nick. Then, you’ve got Robert Landers starting to make a name for himself at DT. Things could certainly be worse in the Buckeye trenches.

Colin: As athletic as our secondary is, young players are typically prone to giving up big yards in broken coverages at some point. Does Greg Schiano deserve the credit for avoiding this?  What are still areas of concern?

Baver: I thought it would be tough to upgrade DC’s after Ash left…that was until Schiano came aboard. It’s a combination of Schiano and having three studs in Conley, Lattimore and Hooker. Conley has plenty of experience, and the three new starters got legit PT last year…so they’re not quite as young as you may think they are. Area for concern? Not really an area, but personnel wise, Damon Webb is struggling at free safety, and is going to have a tough time holding off Erick Smith from taking his starting job.

Colin: Ignoring Iowa, the Big Ten knocked off Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Oregon on the same weekend. How good is this conference?

Baver: As much as everyone hates Harbaugh, Michigan is going to be a top-10 team for the rest of the 5-year time frame he stays in Ann Arbor. Mark Dantonio is as underrated as they come. The conference has definitely taken a turn for the better and I am actually starting to warm up to Mike Riley at Nebraska, who I originally thought was a bad hire. So far this year, I’d say it’s the 2nd best conference in the land behind the SEC.

Colin: OK - Let's assume the Buckeyes get tripped up at least once during the season, who should we be rooting against to better our odds of making the playoff? Let's start with Sparty vs Badgers this weekend.

Baver: You gotta root for the Big Ten West school (Wisconsin) in the Sparty-Badger game to give Ohio State a better chance at winning the East. I think you root for Clemson to beat Louisville a week from Saturday, as I don’t think anyone else can beat the Cards. The Noles could rebound and beat Clemson in late October, in Tallahassee. Root against Bama as always and root against both Washington and Stanford the rest of the way. The Big 12 won’t have a playoff team this year. 

Colin: Best guess of four teams that make the playoff after 3 games?

Baver: Alabama, Ohio State, Louisville and Washington. I watched almost the entire L’Ville – FSU game, and the Cards are for real. And the preseason hype was warranted with Washington. Clemson, Stanford and LSU would be my next 3 picks.

Colin: What games and lines will you be watching this weekend, if any, with the Buckeyes off?

Baver: I like UCLA at home catching a field goal against Stanford…I see UCLA winning that one outright. I think you have to take Florida getting 6 ½ against the Vols; Florida has of course had their number and I see a low scoring game there. Finally, I like LSU laying 3 ½ at Auburn….LSU has a far superior team if they can just pull things together.

 

Three Songs in My Life with Nada Surf: Part One "Always Love" - by Colin Gawel

Nada Surf is playing the A & R Bar in Columbus, Ohio tonight.  I'm going to see them for the first time.  They are one of my favorite bands. - Colin G. 9/22/16

Three Songs in My Life with Nada Surf: Part One - "Always Love" 

"Have you heard the new Nada Surf song? It might be the best song I've ever heard." That's a pretty strong statement. And coming from my Watershed bandmate - future Hitless Wonder author Joe Oestreich - it carried twice the weight. Unlike myself, Joe is not prone to hyperbole. "Alright then. I'll be the judge of this, fire up the tune, Biggie." I responded.

So as the van rolled East on a beautiful stretch of I-64 towards a gig in Charlottesville, I heard "Always Love" by Nada Surf for the first time. It started perfect and only got better. Damn, Joe might be right. This is one of my favorite songs ever. Right now. After one listen. "Biggie, spin them shits again." It was even better on the second listen. I remember thinking, "Did he just sing, 'It helps to write things down, even when you then cross it out'"?  That's a great line.

Of course, the context of when a listener receives a song always plays huge into its reception. That's why seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers while drunk in some club is kinda fun, but hearing the same band on the radio while stuck in traffic makes you want to wretch.  At that point, I was in great spirits. Everything was sounding good to my ears. Watershed was finally a truly great band touring behind a truly great record in The Fifth of July. We had had our moments in the past: but the then-current line-up of myself, Joe, Dave Masica and Mark "Pooch" Borror - along with the road crew of Biggie and newly hired roadie/older brother Ricki C. - was really gelling. You didn't have to like us or maybe we weren't your taste, but at that moment we were truly a great rock n roll band at the height of its powers. We never used a setlist and could do a smoking 40-minute opening set in an arena or a three-set marathon in a bar in Marquette, Michigan. It was all the same to us. Something about playing a thousand shows, I guess.

We had a new manager in Thomas O'Keefe, working radio & booking shows; and even a little tour support thanks to Columbus restaurant entrepreneur Cameron Mitchell. The last part was HUGE. I had recently married the girl of my dreams and we had a young son at home. In fact, being a part-time stay-at-home Dad really helped my writing with the latest record. Not much to do sitting home with a baby, so I wrote "The Best Is Yet To Come" and "Small Doses" instead of going out to the bars. One day I served Cameron coffee in the morning and then was his server later that night at a different restaurant. He said, "Let me get this straight, you work two jobs, help take care of a baby at home and tour & record with Watershed?" "Yes, sir." "Maybe you could use some financial help?" he asked. I answered, "I would never ask you for that." He responded, "I know you wouldn't, that's why I'm offering." It was the kindest thing anybody outside of Joe's dad had ever done for the band.

When the record was finished and all this momentum started lining up, my wife and I had a serious talk about the band doing some touring. She was all for it. Follow your dreams and all that. I did not sugarcoat what we were about to get into. I had done this before: three times, in fact. They were all resounding failures in the traditional sense (money & security). She had never been through a touring cycle before. So I tried my best to be brutally honest.  I laid it out almost word for word like this:

1) If I agree to this, these people own me for the next 18 months. They can schedule me anywhere, anytime, with rare exceptions. I could miss funerals and weddings. In the past I had missed my grandmother's funeral and my Mom's passing from lung cancer. 

2) I cannot quit halfway through, even if it gets tough. If anything is going to happen it will be towards the end of the 18 months. Many people are now working on my behalf and I owe it to them to give it my best: better not to even try than to quit 15 months in.

3) The odds of success were worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. No matter how good the record, how good the band and management, we were signing on to basically drive around the entire country to find one needle in one certain haystack. Everybody is talking a good game now but this probably isn't going to work. Is that clear?

Still, being the beautiful, supportive person she was, she enthusiastically signed off on the plan. "You should go for it one more time."

So riding in the van at that moment, I somehow had yet another stay of execution of being forced to give up my life's passion and forced to retreat to the real world and a real job. But none of that mattered now. I was back from the dead. Life- support systems suddenly plugged back in by the mighty hands of rock n roll (along with producer Tim Patalan), traveling with my friends to play music and listening to one of the best songs I had ever heard.

Actually, I knew Nada Surf. Almost sorta literally. Their drummer Ira Elliot had been the drum tech for The Smithereens when we were lucky enough to open up a tour for them during our Epic records days. The tour was a blast and Ira was a heck of a nice guy to us bunch of Ohio hayseeds, who had somehow landed a major record deal. Ira was NYC all the way. I remember hanging with him at the Windjammer on Isle of Palms, SC  and while we are all rocking shorts and beachwear, Ira was donning skinny jeans and big black leather boots. Frankie LaRocka would have been proud. When Ira wasn't out working for 'Reen's drummer, Denis Diken, he had his own band. They were called Nada Surf. 

During that tour, The Smithereens got dropped from their label after a show in San Antonio. About two months after that, we got dropped too. Sometime after that, I don't know how long, I turned on MTV and there was a popular video getting lots of spins. The song was actually called "Popular" and the band was....Nada Surf. "Damn, that's Ira's band. Good for him."

Coming Soon: Three Songs in My Life with Nada Surf Part Two - "Blizzard of 77" 

 

Colin Gawel plays in the band Watershed (and in the bands The Lonely Bones and The League Bowlers) and also as a solo act. You can read all about him in the book Hitless Wonder by Joe Oestreich.

He is a dad, husband, coffee shop owner, and - oh yeah - is the founder of Pencilstorm, too. 

Tuesdays With Ricki - week three / Mitch & Becky and 920 am

WMNI, 920 am is an oldies radio station in Columbus, Ohio.  And we’re talkin’ OLDIES here, boys & girls, NOT classic-rock.  We’re talkin’ all the way back to the Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Vale era; but then strangely forward all the way through the 1960’s (Beatles, Kinks, Byrds, Gerry & the Pacemakers), the 70’s (James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, anything no louder than Bread and nothing as loud as Bachman-Turner Overdrive); and up through the likes of Josh Groban and Norah Jones.    


Mitch & Becky and 920 am


Mitch & Becky were each other’s first date, first kiss, first boyfriend & girlfriend.  Their first date was to go see Canned Heat and Blood, Sweat & Tears at Vet’s Memorial on the West Side of Columbus, Ohio, in January or February of 1969.  They broke up later that year, right around the end of August, just before Mitch’s senior year of high school and Becky’s junior year.  Mitch was the lead singer of a garage-rock band; Becky was a sweet girl from Grove City, Ohio.

One warm afternoon in spring, 1969, Mitch & Becky were lazily kissing on Becky’s parents’ patio in Grove City when “Love Can Make You Happy” by one-hit wonders Mercy came on WCOL-AM – Columbus’ Top 40 station of the time – and Becky said dreamily, “Oh, I love this song.  Don’t you think this is OUR song?”  The dreamscape kinda got shattered as Mitch replied,  “No, I decidedly DO NOT think this is ‘our song.’  I hate this song.”  Realizing he might have gone a little overboard as tears started to glisten in Becky’s eyes, Mitch said, “Maybe ‘You’ve Made Me So Very Happy’ by Blood, Sweat & Tears could be our song, since we saw them on our first date.”  But the damage was done.  Mitch doesn’t think Becky ever forgot that slight.  It might have been Mitch’s first definitive moment in a life as a Rock & Roll Snob of the First Order.

Today in 2016 they both have wound up listening to 920 am: Mitch because he got tired of trying to stay allegiant to an alternative rock scene that would embrace the likes of Mumford & Sons and Grouplove as its standard-bearers; Becky because she just wants to hear some sweet, sad songs that remind her of when she was a young girl.

One late summer Friday afternoon Mitch hears The Beatles’ “Eight Days A Week” on 920 and thinks, “This constitutes a savage, pounding rocker on this station,” while humming the riff to The Clash’s “Clampdown” to himself.  Two songs later – on the same afternoon – Becky hears “You Were On My Mind” by We 5 while braiding her granddaughter’s hair and she wistfully tells the uncomprehending little girl, “One time a cute, brown-haired boy won me a stuffed animal at Cedar Point, and this song was playing.”  

Mitch & Becky were really very happy at the start.  They went to movies.  They got burgers & fries at Sandy’s by Sullivant & Demorest.  Becky went to see Mitch’s band play at parties & dances.  But Mitch knew from the time he was 16 years old – possibly even before the first time his lips ever met Becky’s – that he never wanted to have any kids.  And Becky had wanted a big family since she was 10.

Mitch went on to work in warehouses and play in rock & roll bands for the next 15 years, then as a solo act for the 25 years after that.  Becky got married right out of high school and had four kids by five years after graduation. 

Mitch has read a ton of books over the years: at home; in motel rooms, dressing rooms & vans on the road; at airports & bus terminals and once in a police holding cell.  He sometimes thinks the most profound literary quote he’s ever encountered is, “Your name and mine inside a heart upon a wall / Still find a way to haunt me, though they’re so small,” from The Left Banke’s “Walk Away Renee.”  He hears that song about once a month on 920 am, and thinks of Becky every time.  First loves are like that.

Becky saw one of Mitch’s later bands at the Westgate Park Bean Dinner in 1978.  She was there with her husband & kids when they heard a racket from the music stage over by the duck pond.  “This is that punk rock crap everybody’s talking about now,” Becky’s husband growled as they got closer, “let’s get out of here.”  “No, I wanna watch a minute,” Becky said.  Mitch looked great, Becky thought.  He was still skinny, his hair was long but cut kinda cool and he was wearing a tie around his neck over a sleeveless black t-shirt.  Becky had put on 30 or 40 pounds when she had the kids, hadn’t been able to shed the weight and couldn’t remember the last time she had bought a new dress.  Or the last time she felt cool.

Mitch didn’t sing lead anymore, now he played guitar and sang back-up’s, and – in fact – the girl who was singing in the band didn’t look much older than Becky had been when she & Mitch were a couple.  The songs they played were all really noisy & fast and Becky didn’t think she had ever heard any of them before on the radio.  Just then Becky overheard the guy in front of her in the crowd say “Mitch writes all these songs.”  The guy had hair down to his shoulders & a scraggly beard and as he passed a joint to his buddy next to him, he concluded with, “Mitch has always been an elitist asshole, now he thinks he’s Joe Strummer or somebody.”

Becky didn’t know who Joe Strummer was and didn’t think she’d ever known anybody who made up their own songs before.  She wondered idly for a moment if any of the songs were about her, but the tunes were so angry & aggressive she wasn’t sure she wanted them to be.  Her littlest girl had her hands over her ears, yelling, “Mommy, TOO LOUD, TOO LOUD.”  Becky’s husband said, “Let’s go, Rebecca, they’re scaring the kids.”  Becky turned, took little Lee Ann’s hand in hers and “Love Can Make You Happy” was playing in her head as they walked back to the picnic tables in the evening dusk.  She turned to wave goodbye to Mitch, but he couldn’t have seen her, in the crowd, through the stage lights. – Ricki C. / September, 2016

I consider myself something of a devotee of bad late-1960's rock & roll exploitation films and even I can't claim to have ever caught the movie - Fireball Jungle - this clip is lifted from.   Judging by the fact that the producers allowed the film to grind to a halt for the entire 3:20 run-time of one-hit wonders Mercy, however, I have to ask the question: "Which member of the band had an uncle who was an under-assistant West Coast promo man?"  (It looks like a pretty great movie, though, doesn't it?)  (ps. For a HILARIOUS, almost Lester Bangs-esque review of Fireball Jungle, check out "LSD For Lunch" in the User Reviews section at this IMDB link)  (pps. After repeated viewings, I believe this may be the GREATEST rock video EVER PRODUCED.)

The Top Ten All-Time Best Songs on the Ricki C. Planet: 1) "Won't Get Fooled Again" (The Who)   2) "Brown Sugar" (The Rolling Stones)   3) "Walk Away Renee" (The Left Banke)   4) "Candy's Room" / "Incident on 57th Street" (tie, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band))   5) "Then He Kissed Me" (The Crystals)   6) "Isadora's Dancers" (Elliott Murphy)   7) "Roadrunner" (The Modern Lovers)   8) "All The Way From Memphis" / "Once Bitten Twice Shy" (tie, Mott The Hoople / Ian Hunter)   9) "New York, New York" / "Looking For A Kiss" (tie, The Dictators / The New York Dolls)   10) "Dimming of the Day" (Richard & Linda Thompson)

Okay, so it's fairly painfully obvious that the cats & kitten from We 5 have got "1960's Folk Club Refugees" written all over 'em, and Pencilstorm readers have probably figured out by this juncture that Ricki C. was likely NOT enamored of the Folk Club Kidz back in the day.  Entirely correct, but goddamn I have always loved this kind of folk-rock tune, and I had a HUGE crush on We 5 lead singer Beverly Bivens when this song was fresh & new in 1965, and so was most of the world around me.