14. March 2008 by admin.

Even as it happens, it’s hard to figure out.

And later, after the tears have slowed, clarity emerges.

It can’t be preserved in a vacuum. It was good because it was good. It was great because it was allowed to be, not because it was supposed to be.

Could it be again?

Who knows, but with soft music playing and a fresh absence of the tension of trying so damn hard all the time…

There is understanding.

Of me, of you, of everything that’s true.

These things are tricky, and fear makes it even trickier.

So how ’bout we tell fear to take a hike, a long walk off a short pier, a permanent vacation.

I don’t have any idea how it’s supposed to be, but life is too short (and too long) to be steered by fear.

So simple and so complex.

Just like me, you, and everyone else in the world.

A big step back and a fresh perspective, a relaxing of the rules.

Realization.

Thanks so much.

For Understanding.

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10. March 2008 by admin.

It’s got great tires and 4 wheel drive, but on Saturday it became a time machine.

Yeah, it was snowing like the dickens, but that couldn’t stop me. (I don’t fear snow, snow fears me.) I set off for Toledo around 2pm and was hoping to be there by 7 for sound check.

See, about a month ago I got a knock on my door from a friend I hadn’t seen in what…14 years? He showed up on a Sunday afternoon, and shortly after reminding me who he was, he helped me remember who I am.

I really can’t be blamed for not recognizing him…I thought it was a ressurected Jim Morrison selling memberships to a religious cult…thanks, but no thanks.

“Steve, How are ya?”

Who are you?

“Dude, it’s Hayes!”

Hayes was the kid in school believed in us even more than we believed in ourselves. He rode the school bus, the same one on which Mike and I met…The same school bus that featured a driver that was taller sitting down than she was standing up. (Oh, how we tortured her…It wasn’t mean spirited, simply all in the name of fun.)

And I guess we tortured Hayes a bit as well…again, not mean spirited, simply all in the name of fun.

And so, after catching up a bit, he invited me to see his band play with my old band in Toledo March the 8th. When that day came, all the snow in the world couldn’t have stopped me.

There were times I thought I wasn’t going to make it, put after pulling 3 people out of the snow and waiting an hour for a semi to get a grip, I made it to club Bijou, made a phone call to get inside (a little VIP treatment for old time’s sake) and the time warp began in earnest.

(Wayne and Garth are waving their arms and gyrating their torsos even now…diddly doo, diddly doo, diddly doo)

Mike has cut his hair and has been working out, but other than that…nothing has changed. He’s still the world’s biggest fan of the best band in the land. (You wanted the best, you got the best…KISS!) We hugged long enough for someone to get the wrong idea, but we couldn’t have cared less. It took about a minute and a half to feel like nothing at all has changed.

There were stories about Mike’s mom Sandy, who let us practice all day every day in the little basement where I lost most of my hearing. Sandra Dee, who would empty the trash every time someone went in the bathroom. Sandy, who always knew when to call Domino’s and who knew every song by heart. God bless her, I hope she was able to smile through the pain of her last days. Who else would let us test pyro in the driveway? Gunpowder in a paint can? Yikes!

It wasn’t long before Andy appeared…Six feet plus of the best singer in Rock and Roll. His hair’s a little shorter too, but he’s the same under that too-tiny cowboy hat. (Do I have hat-hair? Seriously, do I?)

Ahh, Shaboogie.

I wish I had the time and talent to tell you some of the stories…but Hayes and Mike tell ‘em better, and you had to be there anyway. Suffice to say that we grew up together and shared the same dream for a long, long time.

Guidance Counselor: “Have you thought about which college you’d like to go to?”

Steve Anderson: “Nope. I’m  a guitar player.”

Guidance Counselor:  “Do you have a backup plan?”

Steve Anderson: “Nope. Don’t need one.”

You see folks, we really believed we could do it. We were barely old enough to drive, yet we were filling clubs that we weren’t even supposed to be in. With a singer or without, we didn’t care, we just wanted to play.

So we did.

Hayes says we wrote around 300 songs…he made a list. I’ve forgotten some, but he can still sing the riffs to just about all of them.

I’m so proud of them. Mike, Andy, Jeff. I made it through the third song before the tears started to fall.

(Tears are falling. My Dad helped me figure it out, and it was the first song Mike and I ever played together. I figured a KISS song would impress him. I was right.)

Watching Mike scowl at his hi-hat and then adjust it in between songs was all it took…

Of course, Andy sounds just like I remember him. Hayes was on bass because nobody knows where Mark is these days. Nashville? Amway headquarters? Who knows…

And Hayes… sorry… Hayez  has his own band now. They’re called Novada and they’re very good. Andy’s in Sponge, and Mike’s semi-retired, just like me.

There’s some talk of a reunion show in May…If they want me there, I’m there.

How could I stay away? Andy was right…you can suppress it, but it’s gonna push out eventually. He reminded me of the song we wrote about it…a prayer, actually.

Lord let me be a music man

Lord, keep a song in my soul

Lord let me be a music man

Lord, everywhere I go

Thanks for the memories, guys.

And everything else.

Steve

(I’m a guitar player.)

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