Is it too late for this post to become a Jeopardy question?
Channeling the late Alex, who was very smart, even in death, but never a Smart Alec.
So here we go again with prominent passings, and they do have a thing in common, plus what is reported by local fans. Charley Watts who drummed the Rolling Stones and Dusty Hill as a stalwart with ZZ Top are no longer wih us — aside from their enduring music and trademark surnames, think voltage and then a country field in a bad year, for any little ‘ol rock ‘n roll band. And playing in a honky tonk, as in Honky Tonk Woman, could be the theme for a song by either band.
Karaoke hounds take heart, as both many-decades-long members of the two bands, almost their entire music lives, have been with the same outfit in a time where so many come and go in the lineups. And they’re encouraging their bandmates to keep the tunes rolling forward as stones — and not gather moss — and not stop playing under the same beloved names. One of the groups even has continued a world tour with a player of a different name filling in the gap, and mostly well received by fans from many nations. And ZZ Top rubber-stamped those wishes, saying they had a “directive” from Hill himself, revealed in in-concert banter during their first show without Dusty on bass. More than just Dust In The Wind.
— For an anti-Sturgis segue to death on the highway, via what it brings or does not, see Notes From The Beat–
Two local people can frame some of the draw of the bands — in a choice that might be odd bedfellows. My former boss is about the same age as Watts and had to sneak off upstairs to watch certain PG-13 things of a video nature, long before streaming was a big thing. He and his wife are, as reported before on these pages, very conservative but he needed his Stones fix and made sure he made the trip into The Cities to take in their concerts whenever they were in town — sometimes along with one of his sons, who had gone on to become music majors in college and were far more likely to be seen at karaoke outings at places like what is now Pier 500, (more on that later in this post), and doing selections that at that time were more limited, we might have to settle for whatever classic rock you could find on the playlist. On the theme of family, my brother heard me do Miss You and said “it sounded just like on the radio.” And the pointy haired boss, actually with a major crew cut, adds that even if you don’t agree with their over the-top, rock ‘n roll lifestyle, you can learn something from their lyrics.
And as far as ZZ Top, a biker chick friend of mind who has all the trappings of a metalhead, said instead her fave to see has to be ZZ Top and its southern rock, as their stage shows are/were so tight in composition. So after all, she will be able to see them in concert again. Minus one member.
But the shows, in a way, must go on …
Some things also forge onward, like the benefits for a pair of stalwarts on the scene who are battling cancer.
Shalice and Michelle are household names in enough of a way to merit one word names. I have known the former since the opening of what was then Guv’s Place in Houlton, and all this while, she has been fighting the good fight, and always more concerned with the needs of her friends then herself, which is why her hugs were always so unusually tight. And the latter as a co-owner of the Hudson Bowling Center, has been prominent for even much longer. Her benefit at Big Guys BBQ Roadhouse continues on this weekend. I even saw a sign about the fundraiser in River Falls
Other local people, too many for any sense of comfort, have been briefly eulogized online.
This isn’t Jack Black at Ronnie James Dio’s funeral, a two-hour remembrance, as recalled by a 40-something woman and passing-though-Hudson as a Dick’s Bar patron. Her brother was at the affair, as so many people speak of their story of Dio, the ultimate people person and a total empath, with a price as I will delve into later. You will continue to see the tales presented on these pages.
And then there was one of the original one-hit-wonders who passed on, Tom T. Hall, in a timing that was smack dab in the middle of Derby Days in Bayport and their ducklings that float on the small stream. “I love little baby ducks … pickup trucks … and you.”
Another recent event, which saw winds escalating in a straightline, storm did not bring any deaths, but as I heard it told by a man in yes, Bayport, it took the roof off Pier 500 and moved it closer to Dick’s Bar. So I checked it out. Not quite that serious, but workers aplenty were up there, rehabbing what was left up there. The wind gust apparently then headed northward, doing much the same type of damage to the Hudson Public Library, and forcing a lingering closure for all but curbside. You can’t read about it there, so read about it here.
Lastly, in a post a month or two ago, I noted the similarity in looks of the recently deceased actress Tawny Kitaen, and a neighbor friend named Darcy — so much so that I inadvertently called the LA woman the NH woman, as far as where residing, in a parting shot. That means there’s got to be a real resemblance.
Breaking news that the (usually early in the month) Oktoberfest at The Sidetrack in Roberts will not be held this year, but head west to Hudson for a show and fundraiser that will indeed go on, and will continue its battle, against stark odds.
This is about much more than blank stares, the flyer says to underscore a point, while perhaps being a bit glib. So I don’t feel quite as bad about being a little silly concerning the frequent reminders — and I think most would concede there is an irony here — to attend local fundraisers for Alzheimer’s awareness. Now are you sure you put them on your calendar? Or need a prompting to go? Or post an ad to promote it (that might be me right now). But hit Ziggy’s nightclub for all of tonight (Thursday) for a night of Tim Sigler and country music (most prominently) and promotion of understanding about the disorder, as they say music is the universal language.
The previous night, a handful of people were busy coming in and out and bringing in guitars and other instruments, as a solo act was playing in the next room over, so you know this event is large in scale.
Late last year, a man I saw while out for a walk was pulling up a sign advertising a different although related event, a distance run to benefit Alzheimer’s. It had been held the previous weekend and the man’s grandma, who has the disorder, had won a major prize. Only now had he recalled the need to remove the sign from his yard, but perhaps this was an intentional remembrance on his part. Good for them.