Some of you are Genesis fans like I am. I grew up listening to them and albums like Duke got a lot of play. One of my favorite songs off of it is actually "Please Don't Ask"... but I love everything else too and Duke's Travels for different reasons... also Cul-De-Sak. But, there's just something heartfelt and real about Please Don't Ask. Plus it has these cool backing vocals. Anyway, the song is about Simon Collins' mother and a bit about Simon in there too.
Now some of you know that I've been working on music with Phil's son Simon for the past 3 years. We're good friends and the musical chemistry is great because basically I am heavily influenced by Tony Banks and he's heavily influenced by his dad so it has a sort of Nuevo-Genesis sound to it sometimes (especially the new stuff which no one has really heard yet... but it's the best sounding stuff we've worked on) plus we both like bands like Sigur Ros, Radiohead and other music that isn't Genesis. It's easy and fun to collaborate.
Anyway, something that happened somewhat recently is I finally got to meet Simon's mom. She's really cool, friendly and all that. But, I was thinking "So, you're the one who that song was written about!" I didn't say it of course but I imagine enough people HAVE in her life. Imagine songs like "In the Air Tonight" -as played as that is - being about YOU! Man, that is so bizarre if you think about it. Simon told me even "Invisible Touch" was about her. "Please Don't Ask" is so personal that Phil actually starts to almost cry when he played it in this Classic Albums video on Face Value because that song almost made it on his first solo record (that BBC series is amazing btw - I have on on The Who Who's Next and Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon that are fantastic as well... I want to get them all).
So, it was one of those things where at first I was thinking about the songs in the back of my head. But then I got over it quick and she was a regular person within minutes. It was just something unusual to think about. Your personal life being immortalized in a song that even Mike Tyson punches someone to in a movie.
STORY 2: RATED R (okay PG13)
Side note here for extra entertainment value... this made me think of something else. LA is LA. Anyone who lives there must have tons of stories like this - really. But, I was invited to go to Billy Idol's manager's party once. Just some girl who wanted to go because she was the hair colorist for his wife who was a 70's Playboy centerfold. I forget her name now but growing up if you could get hold of a 70's Playboy it was like striking gold. Someone's father always had a stash that you could raid. So I knew the Playboy centerfolds' names as well as people knew their baseball cards. (sorry if that offends any women reading this but guys are guys and kids, well... you know, I am not going to defend it).
So, when I arrive at the party and meet this woman I remember shaking her hand thinking how bizarre it was that I have seen her completely naked. I mean EVERYTHING - full on 70's au natural and the whole kit. I think she could tell when a guy knew who she was. I obviously didn't say anything. But, there must have been some vibe that told her "Yep, he's one of those". Hey, but don't pose if you don't want the world to know you have a mole on your ass. That's the moral of that story.
Alright now come on! This is good stuff.
I am not the only one who had an experience like that. Jason Scheff of the band Chicago once told me he met a 70's Playboy centerfold (Karen Velez - this one I remember because if I went to a Chicago concert I'd hold up a sign that said "Valez" just to make Jason laugh and mess up on stage). Anyway, his story is even better and more surreal because it involved golfing with the 6 Million Dollar Man (Lee Majors) and his wife or girlfriend was Karen Valez and that is how Jason met her. Who golfs with the 6 Million Dollar Man in the first place? AND is he good???? Bionics? I don't play golf. My mother golfed with Gene Wilder. I am SURE she didn't make the most of it. If I golfed with him I would have made all sorts of annoying jokes like "I'm sorry sir you get NOTHING. GOOD DAY!" But, golfing with Lee Majors... that's really different. To me it isn't so interesting that someone meets a celebrity per se. But it is the unlikelihood of who it would be. The lead singer of Chicago and an actor from a 70's TV show get along great. That stuff amuses me for some reason... as does Jason's story about meeting Karen Valez and pretty much having the same strange feeling about it that I had in the story above. So... juicy name dropping, weird circumstances, esoterica and some controversial commentary that could get me in trouble... these are the things you expect from me in one of these threads. Forget the sales talk for a second, forget the shameless bumps to the thread... this is the rare entertainment you get! Plus you never know when there's going to be a "name the movie" contest and that could be worth some epointz so... Do I have your attention now? Good. (Name the movie first for 5 epointz).
Anyone wanna see second prize? (hint)
