Tonight we played the Scorgies Reunion, along with New Math and The Press Tones. And it was a blast. All three of us played our asses off. The Press Tones played first and just absolutely rocked the house. Jeff Laben of the Cliches got up and did Riverview Restaurant with them and it was just like being at Scorgies again. The Press Tones were in great form – tight, exciting and showcasing their songwriting prowess.
New Math was up next. They opened with We Walk Among You (at least that’s the way I remember it), and I was dumbstruck. The band sounded great musically, but when the vocals started I really had to look twice to see if it was Kevin Patrick singing. I mean, I knew it wasn’t, but the fellow that was up there REALLY channeled Kevin’s vocal sound, style, delivery and tenor. Scary, almost. But before New Math, The Targets, with Sue Metro, did a couple of songs. Lots of fun. I’ll confess that they were a time before I became part of the Scorgies scene, but is it ever too late to become a fan?
We (Personal Effects) hit the stage pretty close to 10. First of all, it felt just as relaxed and natural as it always did when we played. I don’t know what it is about this band, but I’ve never felt nervous playing with them – just excited and joyous. And tonight, that seemed to come through. We played one of the best sets we’ve ever played and it didn’t matter that it was 20 years later.
The one really cool thing is that, for me, it brought closure to a time that sort of never came to a proper end, but lets it remain timeless. Tonight, it was great to have the last gig we never had. Great to run into long-not-seen old friends. Great to still be able to rip it up and pull off a great set. Tonight it was clear – we are just a rock and roll band who really loves playing music together. Sure, we may play again as Personal Effects. But if we don’t, we just closed the perfect door.
Thanks to the entire community for the opportunity to do this – with special kudos to Tom Kohn, The Press Tones, New Math, the other members of Personal Effects (past and present), Duane Sherwood, Stan Merrill and everyone who came together to pull this off tonight.
– Bob
PS: I just wanna give a special thanks to Ken Frank who is the bass player in Personal Effects (and Margaret Explosion). He REALLY brings great bottom to both bands and we could not have done it without Ken.
Photos by Nicholas Gerber
One of my best friends from the late 1970’s-1980’s was Bob Martin; we were Beatles collectors and then it happened. The Hi-Tech’s changed their name to PERSONAL EFFECTS. I thought I was in. I asked Bob what the deal was with Peggy. he said “forget it, MAN! Our drummer is her man!” OH, LOL!
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