When the bastard was young…
He used to pack on over to our lady of Lourdes on a Friday night…
Maybe sneak a couple beers out of someone's fridge or just go up to efroni's and buy underage…
And go see the battle of the bands.
The bastard played there a time or three but, that's a different story.
I wanna talk about jim.
Jim sang for a band called Norman bates and the showerheads and they headlined one night along with the
six and violence and ultra violet confusion…
I don't remember much of that show from the showerheads but, they were loud, they rocked, and their big songs were a tore up version of if I could save time in a bottle and their closer, "Marlboro man" which I think involved cigarettes being thrown out into the audience which was rather provocative for a show in a church basement.
I also saw them open for the ramones in the church gym.
Flash forward: I'm at one of no redeeming's backyard bbqs and I hadn't been back to the scene for a bit and jim was there and we were reintroduced.
Jim pointed a skinny finger at me and said, "you used to deliver papers to me", and I did.
"89-22 220th street", I replied. We laughed and hada few beers.
I met his wife…
I drank with a satanist later that evening…
I smoked a lot of cigarettes…
The nice lady may have driven home that night…
Might have been better that way.
No redeeming would have a BBQ pretty much once or twice a summer and we'd chat in passing and he has always great to talk to.
You see, jim never left the thorough borough…
He was part of the scene here…
An elder statesman…
An idol…
An artist…
A frontman…
And when I last saw him, he was a giver
Flash forwarder: the last time I saw jim, I went to a benefit at the trash bar, one year ago tomorrow. His old bass player, J garrino had past away and a scholarship was set up in his honor.
Jim was the first guy I saw at the show.
He gave me a big hug…
thanked me for coming down…
Then promptly ushered me to hit the stage to catch the last two songs for no redeeming's set.
That night the showerheads, who had organized the event, only played two or three songs because of the full bill but, jim filled in for another past member of the six and violence for their set…
And at the time, it reminded me how much the six is a little less without paulie singing for them but, to have jim in was apprapo. J was their bass player too and it was a good send off.
Now: I sit in a basement in the old homestead banging this out and i realize that all of the old things in my life are going away and they won't be coming back and until old age takes these moments from me, I get to keep them.
I was on a camping trip last fall to k-love's bachelor party and Jim's guitarist was in tow. After a bottle of scotch, he declared the rock and roll lifestyle, a young mans game.
Perhaps he's right. Perhaps it is a young mans game and dying gets to be an old man's game.
You see, last night jim had lost his bout with lung cancer.
And a guy who touched many lives with his music and his art is gone and we're a little less for it.
But we're also a little more for knowing him.
He will be missed.
—the bastard
