WELCOME TO THE FIRST NY TRI-STATE TRANS-GLOBAL NON-SECTARIAN O-R DIGEST CONFERENCE
These are postings to the O-R Digest with regard to the good time had by all.
Last evening brought on a meeting of 12 O-R digest members at The Heartland
Brewery in New York City. The get-together was orchestrated primarily by Jerry
McCarthy, Rich Hilton, and Alan Benjamin. Those three were there, along with
Tatsurou & Yoko Ueda, Gary Citro, Richard and Karen Worthy, Ginny Landgraf, Ian
McGrath, and David Eric & Stacey Shur. Jerry, Tatsurou, and Gary proudly wore
Gentle Giant related T-shirts, which, as could be expected, brought absolutely
no response nor sign of recognition from the other people in the bar. The
drink of the evening, in deference to the theme of the gathering, was stout.
And much of it was imbibed for the next 5 and a half hours, during spirited
discussion. The major highlight of the evening (in this writer's opinion) was
Ginny Landgraf brandishing a rifle case, and then taking out a Tai musical
instrument called a kaen. She demonstrated the bamboo instrument early in the
evening, and later on, played a solo while a recording of The Who's "Behind
Blue Eyes" blasted out through the bar's sound system. There were many
conversations going on at the same time, but several stand out. Rich Worthy
praised The Wall during the Pink Floyd segment of the conversation. Jerry and
Alan lambasted Explorers Club's Age of Impact and discussed famous musicians
they had each met through the years. David and Rich discussed Alan White's
contribution (or lack of, depending of your point of view) to Relayer by Yes,
and the cost of concert tickets during the early 70's. Tatsurou, Ginny, and
David discussed the existential and theological overtones of Tull's Thick as A
Brick, all while Ian calmly ate his bowl of chili. Stacey and Karen discussed
their husband's various bands and the virtues of patience. Towards the end of
the evening, the threads of conversation all inevitably led towards a
discussion of Giant For a Day and Civillian. Fortunately, no weapons were
permitted in the bar, thus there were no injuries during that last segment of
discussion. Everyone agreed the meeting was a success, and it was a pleasure
to actually meet all these people at one time. Jerry McCarthy gave this writer
permission to write a synopsis of the meeting. Pictures were taken by several
people all of which will be compiled and posted eventually on a separate web
site. All in all, it was the birth of a realization- the rise of a high
expectation. -David Eric.
On Monday, Jan. 10, I met up with Brad Oldham & Michael Clay in Texas.
The heartless bastards actually sent me to a cafe that was closed, but
with my New York cleverness I outsmarted them and found them carousing
in a bar across the street laughing at me! (OK, so only about half of
that actually happened, and I'll let you guess which half didn't.) Once
we found a bar that was actually OPEN, though, I must say we had a fine
time.
As has been my *overwhelming* experience with O-Rers thus far, both guys
couldn't have been nicer and I really enjoyed our Dallas GGetogether.
Even though we'd never met, there was a nice flow of conversation and it
felt as if we'd hung out like this many times before. As Michael
commented to me at one point, "you remind me of guys I listened to GG
with in high school." I chose to take that as a compliment, in the sense
that we seemed like old friends, rather than ponder the possibility that
maybe I just seemed like a case of arrested development to him. Anyway,
Michael was kind enough to provide us with some Hands "software" and
regaled us with first-hand stories about meeting TBitB, and Brad gave me
a lift back to the hotel afterwards rather than make me wait for one of
those phantom Dallas cabs (inside joke), so both guys are very OK in my
book. We "Three Friends" had a great time. This Internet-spawned
phenomenon of reminiscing with total strangers is an exhilarating
experience! Rumor has it that Michael/Brad may be doing this again with
some of the other Handsters in tow, and I wish them well -- have a great
time, guys.
The two-day, 19.5-hour return trip from Dallas to Long Island (by way of
Philadelphia) during a raging ice storm was NOT so exhilarating, so
let's skip that part. I wish I could have.
After catching 40 winks, the next day I attended the Saturday NY
GGetogether which was also, as has been recounted by others, a rousing
success. Most of the particulars have already been posted. But I would
like to say that seeing it actually happen, like clockwork, with PERFECT
attendance (in terms of everybody coming who promised me they were
coming - gold stars for everyone!), has been a most gratifying
experience for me and well worth any time I invested in organizing
things. I'm just very happy that everyone seemed to have such a splendid
time ... 9 O-Rers (+3 partners) in the same building at one time was
quite a rush. And having just met eleven list members in a 6-day span
with a business trip sandwiched in-between, I must truthfully say that
it's all a bit of a blur to me now, but I know I had fun!
Some stray thoughts:
1) The beverage of choice was actually a house-brewed oatmeal stout, not
Guiness. And O-Rers REALLY seem to like dessert. About the only time all
night that conversation died was when the gloppy stuff was served. :)
2) There were actually 4 people there w/GG shirts, not 3, and I think I
liked Gary Citro's the best, since his was about a whale and had nothing
to do with the band - nice touch, Gar! His was also the only one that
would ever stand a snowball's chance of sparking conversation amongst
strangers in a bar.
3) For me, part of setting this thing up was just to show it could be
done, and I hope that it will give confidence to list members in other
locales to plan their own GGetogethers. Trust me, they're a blast.
4) The timing of Bert's announcement last October about his possible
Fall 99 trip to NY came almost to the day of my initial discussions
about a NY GGetogether, and I apologize for any confusion that may have
developed about the two events, but they were NEVER meant to be the same
thing. Now that we've gotten through a locals-only version, though,
perhaps it can be used as a blueprint for a more
internationally-flavored meeting in NYC this autumn. I would love to
attend such an event (and I'd be REALLY thrilled to see somebody else
organize it, but I'd be happy to help out!)
5) Thanks to Stacey & David Eric Shur for constructing a GGetogether
webpage in lightning-fast fashion (did you guys have the film developed
while you were still in the bar?). I know that at least two other
cameras were also flashing that night, one of which was mine, and I hope
to send those images to the Shurs shortly. (Don't be afraid, photographs
BY me are far less frightening than photographs OF me, as anyone who has
visited their page can now attest.)
6) Ginny is far & away the best kaen player I've ever seen live,
especially for free. ;) She kicks kaen ... can ... butt!
7) Rich H. -- thanks for the great tapes, and for having the courage to
offer your credit card to the waitress! I appreciate your help with
things.
8) Gary -- I forgive you for forgetting who the hell I was.
9) And last, but not least: I dunno about the rest of you, but I am
definitely game to do this again some time. Just say the word.
--Jerry (NP: Pat Metheny Group - American Garage)
Friends:
Just wanted to drop a note to say what a fantastic time I had last night at
the NY GGetogether. What a wonderful and diverse group of wierdos we are.
Attendees included: Jerry McCarthy, Alan Benjamin, Gary Citro, David Shur
and Mrs. Shur, Richard Worthy and Mrs. Worthy, Tatsurou and Yoko, Ginny,
Ian McGrath, and me.
In addition to the good beer, fine food, and excellent conversation, Ginny
performed some astounding music on the Kaen, including some Gentle Giant
music.
Best,
Rich
Top 11 Surprises about the NY Ggetogether
11. Ginny Landgraf does actually exist, she was not created by The Ranting
Man, Rick Butler, or Datboy. And all that stuff you read in her posts is true.
10. GG fans cam listen to several hours of Who, Dead, and Blondie
*exclusively* without organizing a coup against a DJ.
9. NY conventions can KICK ASS on Portland conventions, the same way the JETS
can KICK ASS on DENV---uh.....we had a great time.
8. Rich Hilton is still alive after meeting 11 people on this list at once.
7. The whole damn *table* knows which Dave Stewart you're talking about.
6. WOW! I could have had a V-8!
5. Keep your wimpy Stratocaster and stack of Marshalls. The KAEN ROCKS!
4. Basic ideas for the International Convention were actually discussed,
Richard Worthy has some great contacts and potential sites, and Rich Hilton,
who is really a wonderful guy, is willing to help greatly in organizing the
thing. Believe me, Jerry McCarthy and he did did this for last night's meeting
to perfection without a hitch.
3. No one got up and said, "I GOTTA GO! I'M MISSING THE TYSON FIGHT!"
2. To everyone's surprise, Gary Citro is not only erudite and chraming--HE
LOOKS LIKE A MODEL!
1. NY GG CONVENTIONS HAVE A GROOVE!
Gary Citro
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