Driving with binoculars...
The Summer of 1994 was a crazy, fun time in my life.
Work hard, play hard... It was a time filled with parties, concerts, and stories, stories that still make me smile and sometimes also think, “I can’t believe I did that...”. For instance [keeping it Rated PG here...], there was one morning when I was clearly feeling the aftereffects of an all-nighter. As I was driving from one job site to the other, my wild-mannered boss at the time noticed my predicament. Out of nowhere, he leaned over and shoved a pair of binoculars in my face, hounding me until I held them up to my eyes. [Talk about perspective; life definitely comes at you fast when you’re driving while looking through binoculars.] He couldn’t stop laughing after I slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid hitting a car that was over a block away. “That’ll f’n wake you up”, he remarked, while also now laughing so hard that he seemingly could no longer catch his breath. [Looking back, the more I think about it, why did my boss have a pair of high power binoculars in the truck?]
I also rekindled my relationship with the sport I loved; training (i.e., lots of running) and competing in a summer league, all in preparation for tryouts with our city’s professional indoor soccer team. On the music front, in addition to weekly guitar lessons, I attended a half-a-dozen concerts, a handful of smaller gigs, and witnessed (albeit via MTV) Woodstock ‘94, which showcased several of the same bands that I saw live and in-person throughout that memorable summer. [I hope to write a future post (or two) dedicated to those awesome shows and others.]
While today’s technology has brought numerous benefits and improvements to our daily lives, certain aspects of our former existence arguably offered us a greater opportunity to connect with others on a more human-level. For example, purchasing concert tickets was a more visceral experience in 1994. Back then, there was no internet (at least where I was). [In fact, according to a Pew Research Center poll from the following year (June 1995), only 14% of Americans reported using the web at that time.] Sure, one could take a chance and try to purchase tickets by phone. However, more times than not, one would experience the dreaded busy signal, as circuits and lines quickly became overloaded. Most importantly, buying tickets in-person allowed one to meet people from all walks of life. It also seemed as if the best tickets, especially the tickets within the first 10 rows, were only available through local ticket outlets or venue box offices. Regardless of the chosen method, buying tickets in 1994 required planning and dedication.
I almost always chose to purchase tickets in-person. They generally went on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays. Ticket outlets, especially those located in grocery stores, sometimes utilized a lottery system in a worthy, yet futile attempt to reduce the number of people waiting in line and in front of the store. Despite all measures taken, fans, myself included, would begin filing in at around 7:00 a.m. A dozen people, became two dozen. Two dozen, quickly became four dozen. And, four dozen, often became a gross; a hundred or more people, all united for one cause, one mission. Occasionally, small arguments and skirmishes would develop as folks jockeyed for position. However, more times than not, people would simply tell stories of past concerts and good times had by all, share band lore and trivia, or debate over which album or song was the all-time best; all of which fueled excitement for the upcoming shows. For a budding musician and musicologist like me, I wouldn’t have traded this experience for anything, except for maybe back stage passes...
Whether it is music or even fashion, what was old, eventually becomes new again.
In retrospect, my three-hour-tours in those ticket lines, along with experiencing the live performances of some legendary Classic Rock bands, and even working on construction sites with fellas 12-to-15 years older than me, helped me rediscover some really great music and riffs from days gone by, especially that of the muscle car-driven mid-‘70s.
Rev on the Red Line
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Candidly, the grunge and alternative music scene of the early-to-mid ‘90s had a nostalgic, yet introspective feel that was often infused with a garage-band vibe, which all together, harkened back to the record store shelves of my first decade; shelves that often held an awesome, yet eclectic mix of Singer-songwriters, guitar-driven, hard-charging early-Metal and Rock, Funk, Disco, and eventually, Punk. There was definitely a connection.
My journey to musical rediscovery was also spurred along by spending time at some great vintage record stores, stores that became my museums. Each album cover, photograph, tapestry, or tour t-shirt came with a story; they were tangible pieces of history. There was something truly mystical about learning to play a few of Jimmy Page’s riffs and songs of Led Zeppelin while seated next to my black and white wall tapestry that showcased some of the band’s iconic imagery. And, while I reconnected with the stories and songs of yesteryear, the song that most defined my Summer of 1994 was “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden.
However, I also can’t help but think about one of my all-time favorite movies from these two interconnected decades; 1993’s “Dazed and Confused”. [“Alright, alright, alright. How you doing? You heard about the party being busted right? Not to worry, there’s a new fiesta in the making as we speak. Who put the keg all the way out here in the woods? Did ya ever look at a dollar bill, man? There’s some spooky s@#% goin’ on there. And it’s green too... Hey, you guys know what that song is about? It’s about the aliens. We’re the aliens, man, we’re the savages. We’re the savages, man... I’d like to quit thinking of the present, like right now, as some minor, insignificant preamble to somethin’ else... Man, it’s the same B.S. they tried to pull in my day. If it ain’t that piece of paper, there’s some other choice they’re gonna try and make for you. Let me tell you this: The older you do get, the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’, man, L-I-V-I-N.”]
The more things change, the more they stay the same…
Picture-in-Picture…
“Dazed and Confused Wooderson Polaroid Photo” T-Shirt available at Amazon.com
To be continued…
Tony’s Takeaways
Every day, it seems like there is a new invention or scientific breakthrough; like we are driving (in the fast lane) while looking through binoculars. Late last year, one of our nation’s laboratories produced a nuclear fusion reaction that resulted in a net energy gain. This unexpected breakthrough was purported to be a life-altering, society-changing event (in a good way...). In reality, the way we interact, conduct business, essentially live, is now mostly digitized and ultimately, commoditized; contemporary music and the current music industry included. And, while technology and its related processes usually serve us well, especially with regards to time-sensitive operational items or high-volume transactions, human interaction, including conversation, empathy, and ultimately, understanding, should remain paramount in each of our lives. Like a ballad, each of our lives tells a story, many of which share a common thread. Conversation, empathy, and understanding are how we realize these connections, our connections.
“Smoke on the Water”
All united for one cause, one mission…
All together now…
A world record performance!
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