Mid Life Crisis

(Well, the masses have been clamoring for more information about our quiet member and since he has not volunteered anything, I am forced to speculate as I did with Steve.  I con only imagine Khang’s ruminations as he grooves to the bass line . . . Gilbert)

Music is the muse that guides my existence, no, it is more the blazing fire that forges the mettle of my quintessence.  My bass is the conduit that allows me to communicate with those less erudite than I.  My curse is my inability to pare down my reflections into monosyllabic equivilents that can be absorbed by the masses - I find I can mitigate the stress by smiling and nodding - this seems to mollify those that are not of the intelligentsia.

But I digress, you are inquiring about my association with Mid Life Crisis.  You could say I am the forefather of the band.  I hosted the nascent group in my attached automobile edifice for months.  Personnel came and went with John, Don & myself providing what continuity there was.  Ambition was lacking, song selection was obscure at best - we were what you might call “half-ass”.

Then, on a crisp fall evening, Gilbert joined us and we became but orbiting satellites to a brilliant force of nature.  Gone were the anthems of a somnolent drug subculture - we learned songs that would allow us to play at rhythmic jungle rituals.  Finally I would be recompensed for the thousands I had spent on equipment.  Finally I could dazzle on the stage - true, I don’t sing, I believe true brilliance shines best when concentrated.  But do not underestimate my primary contribution to the band - I bring down the average age by a good 5 years.

I’m a trifle pensive in that my opening comments and recalcitrant demeanor might convey the wrong message.  Perhaps Nietzsche can help me:  “Insanity in individuals is rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule”.  In other words, I love to party with all you crazy peeps!

Jan started our first blog more than a year ago and for some reason, our lead guitar player has not provided a bio.  Since I handle his insurance and investments, I know he doesn’t have a criminal past (deviant maybe, but nothing that would raise his rates).  So, here is Steve’s bio as I envision it.  Gilbert

I was never the best looking kid in my class and as for brains, my mother often said “He’s a happy child”.  But I was gifted in the ways of music - my third grade teacher called me an “Idiot Savant”.  Whether it was banging on trash cans or dressing in my mother’s blouse and heels while I strummed a ukelele and belted out “Tip Toe, through the Tulips”, I knew there would always be music in my soul.

Puberty hit me real hard and I came to realize that Star Trek and Comic Book Conventions would never help me meet the babes so I  sold my first issues of Spiderman (Amazing Stories of course) & The Fantastic Four to buy a starter guitar (It had “Made in Hurry” stamped on the back).  I joined up with a neighborhood band, “Paul & the Pimple Poppers”.  Our crowning achievement was a 20 minute version of “Colour My World”. 

I was wildly successful and played in a variety of bands.  I recall one stellar band that Bob (Diedrich, now of Mid Life) and I belonged to.  We worked for a year, got our songs together and finally made it to the top - we played a side stage at the Pima County Fair!  We were warmly received (whenever people could hear us over the apartment-sized speakers of Tower of Power playing on the main stage.  Ah the glory of the applause, ah the future so bright, ah we broke up a couple of weeks later.  I worked my way up the ranks again and was playing in a church band with Khang (Nguyen, also of Mid Life).  Gilbert (Castillo, of Mid Life and a god-like figure in my eyes) started singing with church band and kept asking me to join his band.  He had this strange notion of being “paid” and I resisted for awhile.  But I finally joined up and the rest is history.  I get to play and people don’t laugh, I get to sing and nobody throws anything at me.  Sometimes I remember all the words to the song I’m singing.

I’m an excellent driver.

Steve

The first group I every sang with was the Tucson Boys Chorus…..a long time ago. The Chorus instilled in me a love of music of all kinds, and it put into me a love of performing with others. I was in the chorus for 6 years and had the opportunity to tour with them throughout the United States, Mexico, and Australia. After leaving the chorus, I was about 14 at the time, I sang with school choirs and whatnot.I’d always listened to my trusty transistor radio and loved that new fangled rock and roll music, rhythm and blues, blues and funk. One day, the Beatles came along, The Kinks, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Dave Clark Five, James Brown, Otis Redding, The Yardbirds, that whole British invasion thing mixed in with the explosion of sweet soul music in the states. It wasn’t long til; I was jamin’ with guys in he neighborhood. Everybody had a guitar. Everybody was forming a band. My first band, formed around guys from Rincon High School, was The Nobelmen. We played junior high schools and CYO’s around the city. Eventually we became Just Us, and became a frat band. We must have played every frat and sorority at the UofA. That eventually led to playing not only the frats and sororities but also the Embers and Cedars on Speedway and becoming the Friday night house band at the Poco Loco. We had a good run of five years and broke up after we all hit our second year in college. Pickup bands followed over the years. Jam here jam there. Bands started up and closed down. I was playing some music with Steve Swinehart, who plays lead in Mid Life, and he was also playing with he guys in Mid Life at the same time. One day he asked me to go to one of their practices and there it was; a band that was going to stick around a while. Practice, practice, practice…learn more and more tunes, make ‘em sharp, form the harmonies, get tighter. We started to play out and it started working. And, it’s still working today. We’re a cover band and we make people dance, and that’s what it’s all about.I love playing and singing with these guys. We’re having fun and helping people to have fun themselves. The schedule is a busy one, but that’s what we were looking for when we plugged into the amps.  Rock On!  Bob