UNDERTOW 2.19

Onward and upward!

DISCLAIMER: Author does not care about typos.

UNUSUALLY ENERGETIC COLUMNIST OF THE WEEK:

That would be me. Not sure why. I’m exhausted from work (3 shifts left!), my feet are killing me, I have $19 in the bank and my grass is too high, but gosh darn it I’m full of energy right now. Could it be the new job on the horizon? Perhaps. Could it be the jolt I’ve gotten from vetting 200-300 80s songs for the new band project? Possible. Is it the very strong cup of coffee I just had at 358PM from my son Owen’s new Keurig? Yeah, that’s it. But still!

OWEN’S NEW KEURIG OF THE WEEK:

Owen’s. His new Keurig. Owen’s new Keurig is the Owen’s new Keurig of the week. And it’s actually not new. My friend and musical partner, Jerry Kolber, stopped by the other day with a bag full of decaf pods because he doesn’t drink that pansy shit and lo and behold, his mother-in-law’s gently used Keurig machine came with it! So I guess I can never say Jerry never gave me something. Actually, yes I can! He gave it to Owen! Not me! I win!

BITTERSWEET GIG OF THE WEEK:

Jerry and I had the distinct honor of being asked to play at PigDog (in the Raging Waters waterpark behind Mariner’s Landing on Morey’s Piers) for the celebration of the life of Jack Morey, whom I briefly eulogized last week. Setting up for the gig precluded me from attending the church service, but according to Cath & Owen, the line to get in stretched around the block. Fitting for a man who touched so many lives in a positive way. I don’t want to linger on it, but Jack and I grew close in the run-up to opening Ghost Ship, which I managed for 5 seasons, and he scratched a fatherly itch I’ve had since losing my own dad at age 8. SO he held a special place in my heart. And it was a priviliege so provide the soundtrack to his wake. In turn, I was able to give a squeeze to his widow, Karen, his sons Zach and Jordan, and nephews Kyle and Will. I told each of them how much I loved Jack, they each told me that Jack loved me. And I wish he was here to tell me himself.

CRYBABY SINGER OF THE WEEK:

We sang a number of songs full of meaning. Songs about love and frienship and family. And I made it through all of them because I’m a trained professional. Until…

Coming off our break, I had an opportunity to speak with Kyle. We had talked earlier in the week while making arrangements for the gig and leaked a lot of emotion out of that balloon. I told him how much you could almost physically feel the love. I told him how honored I was they’d asked Jerry and I to play. And Kyle said, “Well, there’s a reason you’re here, and it’s not just because Jack liked your singing…”

Right after that, I sang 98% of Father & Son by Cat Stevens, and sobbed through 2% of Father & Son by Cat Stevens.

GIGS OF THE WEEK:

Thursday, 8/1: Terry & Jerry, Owen’s Pub 8-1

Friday, 8/2: Terry & Jerry, Jersey Girl 530-930

Sunday, 8/4: Terry & Jerry w/ special guest Stephanie Ball, Rusty Nail 5-9

Hope to see your faces.

HOW TO ANGER JERRY KOLBER IN ONE EASY STEP:

Tell me, within ear shot Jerry, how much I sound like James Taylor.

HOW TO ANGER JERRY KOLBER IN TWO EASY STEPS:

Tell me, within earshot, how much I sound like James Taylor. Then, at work a week or so later because you’re a nurse on one of the units I supply, tell me how much I sound like Labi Siffre so I can text it to Jerry at 7AM.

Semi-related, I was getting Mr. Softee (my old college nickname, heh) with Owen a few nights ago and remarked how this new song I love is only three-and-a-half minutes long, but the music video is over seven minutes, and it occurred to me how much music videos feel like a relic to me. Like, they still make them? Why? In the 80s & 90s I got it. If you wanted to sell albums and CDs you had to make a cool/ sexy/ weird video to get people talking about you. Now… everyone with an iPhone and a guitar has a YouTube channel and… I just don’t get it. Anyone else?

And I’m talking about gems like this…

Fucking art…

And the song I was talking to Owen about? It was this…

SONG OF THE WEEK (I PROMISE THERE’S A GREAT SONG IN THERE):

Mood Ring- DEHD. 3-minute song. 7-minute video.

NERD NEWS OF THE WEEK:

You all know by now that I’m a certified Silver Age (70s-80s) Marvel Comics nerd that has seen every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in a movie theater and that I love the great ones that successfully mined the stories I grew up with and bemoaned that ones that make boring movies using boring characters (that’s a bad sentence, but you know what I mean) with most of the last 10 or so falling into that category. So it is with no small level of excitement that I anticipate the return of Robert Downey, Jr. to the MCU as Dr. Doom, one of the great Marvel villians. How are they going to do it? Don’t know, don’t care. (Strap on your nerd glasses for this next sentence.) I thought they were insanse not to reboot and recast the whole universe during the Infinity Wars when Thanos was standing RIGHT THERE with the Reality Stone which you could use to create a whole new universe with the same beloved characters (Capt. America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor. etc.) with new, exciting actors while also folding in the Fantastic Four and X-Men as we have all been hotly anticipating. (You can take your nerd glasses off now.)

CEREAL THOUGHTS:

While pondering what RDJ’s return to the MCU might mean while strolling through Acme on a shopping trip, I noticed how many different fucking Cheerios there are now and that they also now have their own shared universe. The CCU. Regular plain Cheerios, chocolate Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Honey Nut WITH OATS Cheerios (delicious, btw), Strawberry & Banana Cheerios (also delicious), fruit & yogurt Cheerios, and so on… maybe it’s time for the Cheerios New Flavor Guy to take a vacation.

With those deep thoughts, I bid you adieu behind ye old paywall. Want to read more? Pay up, suckers! ($5/ mo.)