Logo: Nicholas J. Haus / Jonathan Roberts©2009

The 11th Annual G lobal O n R eflection G iant G athering Oct. 23 – Nov. 1, 2009 Norwalk, Connecticut, USA “GORGG’s Eleven” Testimonials [ View Photos ]

FROM: Irina Lebedeva
DATE: 10/25/2009 8:56:45 AM

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to tell you that we are having a wonderful time and
it's the sweetest company I could ever imagine.

And we are eagerly waiting for those who are still coming!

Much love and xx to everyone,
Irina


FROM: Paul van de Hart
DATE: 10/31/2009 7:23:48 AM

Love and Thanks to all my fellow GORGGERS as i make my way home.
A splendid time was had to say the least.

Paul van de Hart.


FROM: Jesus Tapia
DATE: 10/31/2009 12:39:49 PM

Thanks to all in the organization that made GORGG 11 possible and
such a success.

I had a great time even by watching and listening from home, along 
with a good number of other fellow OReos not able to attend in person. 
Thanks Ed for your efforts to bring us the CAMs and live sound.

Thanks IZZ for a killer set, thanks Jerry for a very nice speech, 
thanks to all the wonderful musicians that performed the big Jam (too 
many to list them all) and thanks to the BITB for their renewed 
friendship, I hope to get a few reviews in the next several days, 
Mikko, Marc??? Who is going to be first?

Thanks again,
Best Regards, 
Jesus Tapia


FROM: Andy Kubicki
DATE: 10/31/2009 12:55:55 PM

Well said, Jesus!

Thanks to the chat room, web cams and live feed, it was as if we had a
separate GORGG room connected in spirit to everyone else attending. 
Thanks also to the Two Swedes who composed and recorded a terrific song 
to share about GORGG. And thanks to my fellow chat room chatters for an 
enjoyable time. GORGG 11 was a historic event with the appearance of 
Derek. Congrats to the GORGG Team there!

Andy


FROM: Dan Lawrie
DATE: 10/31/2009 4:45:36 PM

Dan & Hak write:
> For all of us NOT attending GORGG... ;)

Excellent tune!  Thanks for that.  Also, let me add thanks to Ed for the
GORGGcams last night.  Despite a few glitches, they really made it less
painful to not be in attendance.  And thanks to everyone who showed up in 
the chatroom to keep it interactive.  Where are you guys the rest of the 
year??

Nice job by Jon, Jerry and everyone else in the planning, orchestration 
and cat-herding.  Looks like it worked marvelously!

The musical portion of the show was stellar.  What a bunch of great 
players we have!

Dan L


FROM: Jonathan Roberts
DATE: 11/1/2009 12:35:51 PM

Have returned home from GORGG.

I now have to find something else to occupy my every waking thought.

It was a marvelous time, and I'm happy to have been able to organize 
this thing for the lot of youse.

I of course had a lot of assistance, without which the three remaining 
brain cells I have would be considerably reduced.

Many of those folks know who they are ... the rest are out wandering the 
streets ...

- Jon


FROM: Dan Lawrie
DATE: 11/1/2009 12:41:41 PM

Well, it finally happened.  Derek showed up, albeit briefly.  We'd all 
like to know how it went, what was said, etc. etc.  Pipe up GORGGers!  
The pics I've seen posted show him smiling, so he must've enjoyed it.

Dan L


FROM: Bob Brinton
DATE: 11/1/2009 1:56:57 PM

I came back to find my Genesis box set (1970-75) and lots of unopened  
emails. Many thanks to Jon and Jerry and the others who made this  
particular episode of GORGG happen the way it did. I'm a bit  
overwhelmed. It occurred to me last night that back in the 70s when  
the band was touring and I was seeing them live, I knew less Giant  
fans than I do now. If we'd had the internet in those days, more of us  
could have gotten connected a lot sooner. I'm very thankful for this  
list, and all of you on it. Oh, and thanks to Eddie Stremler, who left  
his "By Default" cd on my lap as I slept away in my chair. A good  
section of the twilight zone.

Malcolm and Kerry and Gary and their sweet wives were all  
delightful and accessible to questions or discussion. The jam was  
extraordinary and lots of fun. There are lots of good musicians among  
us and I'm sure the boys in the band help bring out the best in them.  
The one thing I had trouble with is that I'm totally unused to keeping  
those kinds of hours. I was up at about 2:30 Friday morning, worked a  
short day and then headed to Norwalk. I usually get up at that time on  
workdays and go to bed about 9:00-9:30. So staying up almost 24 hours  
(and I went upstairs 'early') was abnormal for me. Both nights I  
drifted off a lot. Sorry. If I can make Scotland (and I hope to), I'll  
try to work on being better conditioned for it. It was great to meet  
so many that I've only known through emails. I just missed Derek, but  
that's okay. I'm just glad he came, whether I met him or not.

Bob


FROM: David Eric
DATE: 11/1/2009 2:25:57 PM

My first one since 1999 - boy has this ramped up!!!  What an exciting  
2 days!!

Staying up 'til 3 AM Friday night, listening to Three Friends, IZZ,  
the jams, talking to people I've never met in person, some who I've  
not met in years...... The Minnear's, the Mortimore's, everyone else.
The Catera's, the McCarthy's, Rich Hilton, and Jon Roberts for all  
the work they did. Great friends having a blast together.

My girlfriend Barbara and I were talking on the way home, and she  
said "Now I know why you continue to talk to these people." I'll be 
posting pictures later tonight, once I transfer them from my  
camera.

Oh, and special thanks to Judy Green who brought back my missing  
camera late last night to my room.

- David Eric


FROM: Skip Rizzo
DATE: 11/1/2009 3:05:12 PM

Hey Gang!

Just back from Gorgg, staying at my Mom's in Hartford....

I can't begin to tell ya what an awesome time I had hangin out with 
everyone!! It was just great to spend time catchin up with folks I 
haven't seen in awhile and also the process of getting to know another 
crop of New Friends!  Whoever would have thought back in 1999 that 
this level of comradeship would grow the way it has!!!

Actually quite sad that it is all over now for another year...but 
count on me and perhaps Mrs. Skull for turning up for MacGorgg in 
Scotland next year!!!

Anyway, only have a small flock of neurons firing in unison right 
now, so will sign off now until the whole brain system comes back online!

Love ya all!

Skip


FROM: David Kowalski
DATE: 11/1/2009 5:50:44 PM

Jon,
     I already said this to you in person but want to repeat it here
in public:  A huge thank you to you and Jerry for all your insanely
intense work on putting this event together for us.  Having heard
about just a handful of the headaches the two of you had to deal with,
I can only say that there's a special place in heaven (or Nirvana or
the eternal stardust of memory or whatever you choose to call it) for
folks with dedication like yours!

- David K


FROM: Jonathan Roberts
DATE: 11/1/2009 6:12:43 PM

Is that dedication, or a decided inability to quit while behind? 

Seriously, as I told many, every time I thought the whole thing was 
getting out of hand, I just reminded myself that I was organizing a 
party for 100 of my closest friends ... and this made it all okay.

And I'm serious about the "friends" part -- this batch are the best 
folks on earth.

- Jon


FROM: Gary Citro
DATE: 11/1/2009 6:16:28 PM

I also missed Derek. I arrived about an hour after he had left.

My GORGG experience lasted 14 hours, as I arrived on Friday night at 
about 5PM and drove home at 4 AM as I needed to be home for trick or 
treating with the kiddies (part of the deal.)
 
It took me a long time to get over GORGG 1999.  This experience will be 
no exception. I got to meet my heroes, hell, on a limited level I even 
played with them.  More importantly I got to connect with them and relate 
how truly important they have been in my life's path from the many times 
I saw GG on Long Island right up to the present.  And of course I got 
to reconnect with friends from the list and meet new ones.

I thank Jerry and Jon and Rich and all those who haven't been thanked, and 
to those who hauled and set up the equipment and rehearsed. IZZ was new to 
me and phenomenal, and the talent around here is overwhelming.

Jeez, I could easily live out the rest of my natural life only experiencing 
product from the people in that room, and I'd be all the better for it.
 
Gary Citro


FROM: David Kowalski
DATE: 11/1/2009 6:18:13 PM

Subject: gg: A virgin no more!

Now that I've got your attention!  :-)

Lonna and I are safely home from our first GORGG and although I was
only able to make it for the weekend and Lonna just for Saturday
evening and the goodbye's on Sunday morning, it was time, money and
effort very well spent.  The weekend was loaded with so many wonderful
moments that I don't know where to begin:  It was so VERY nice to
finally put warm, friendly faces with so many people I've known online
for all these years.  There was all that wonderful playing from so
many quarters (I knew from the various GORGG fund-raising CD's that we
had a high degree of musicianship on this list but I was still left
blown away by the level of virtuosity so many of our friends exhibited
in Friday night's jam).  I'll reiterate what Bob B has already said:
what an absolute delight were Kerry & Lesley, Gary & Judy, and Malc &
Lynn.  I've certainly heard enough about them that I expected them to
be pleasant but I was totally unprepared for just how warm and
welcoming each and every one of them was.  Within moments of being
introduced to each of them, I felt like we'd known each other for
years.  My head's still spinning from it all but I'm sure I'll be
posting more specifics about this over the next several days.

Meanwhile, I'm very fortunate in being able to wind down with a
Post-GORGG micro-GORGG as I run out shortly to consume massive amounts
of sushi with my dear friends Alan & Amy Benjamin and new friend
Tatsurou!  I'm guessing Derek won't show up at for this one but we'll
try to have fun anyway!  :-)

- David K

P.S.  I haven't been counting lately but I'd lost track of just how
many Dave's & David's we have on this list.  There were 7 of us (or
was it 8?) at GORGG alone...enough to merit a special all-Dave group
photo! Let's see if we can break that number at MacGORGG next year.


FROM: Fred Rosenkamp
DATE: 11/1/2009 7:25 PM

Hi all,

Just a short note from NYC - where we'll be until Tuesday - to let you
know Lily and I had a great GORGG. It was wonderful to meet all those new 
and familiar faces. I'm sorry that we weren't able to say goodbye to all 
of you on Saturday morning. We hope to see you guys again at MacGORGG or 
at another occasion in the near future.

A big thank you to Jon, Jerry and Rich for the enormous amount of work done. 
Thanks to IZZ for a great show. Thanks to all fellow musicians for the 
fantastic jam.

Thanks to Gary, Judy, Kerry, Lesley, Malcolm and Lynn for being there and 
being such good friends. Thanks to Derek and family for showing up. Thanks 
to Dan and Hak for their special GORGG song. Thanks to those who brought 
warm clothing to keep Lily warm in the wee hours of the NYC Marathon. And
thanks to all GORGGers for being such a lovely bunch.

See you all next year!

Much love,
Fred & Lily

PS Lily ran a new PR in NY: 4:15! I am very proud just in case you didn't 
know this already...)


FROM: Andre Bazinet
DATE: 11/1/2009 8:01:43 PM

Hello,

I just arrived from Norwalk and I want to thank everybody who put  
energy and shared their talent to make this event an unforgettable  
experience.

I felt more than enough warmth to help me get through winter!

THANK YOU!!!

Andre


FROM: Pierre MonAmi Bordeleau
DATE: 11/1/2009 8:55:44 PM

Hi All!

We're back at home safe & sound and very GGrateful to Jon & Jerry+Eileen 
(MarcM & Marc+Anne) for a splendid event; and always GGrateful to the BitB 
and their ladies for their onGGoing generosity; to all the members of IZZ 
and, finally, to all of you GGreat GorGGers - new & old - for your friendship 
so freely & truly given: this was another GGreat GORGG!

Now, it's time to start our MacGORGG preparation$!

P&D xoxo

p.s.: LeGorgg Quebec 2015 - the 10th anniversary, eh?  ;o)


FROM: David Vella
DATE: 11/1/2009 10:50:44 PM

Hail,
 
More details later, but a quick round of thanks:
 
To Jon and Jerry (and anyone else I may be inadvertently omitting here) for 
GORGGanizing everything (and bringing the hotel crew up to speed on what was 
expected of them!)
 
To Marc Catera (and Anne & Eileen McCarthy) for running the raffle/auction 
and other contributions
 
To TBiTB & spouses for being so warm and welcoming. For being friends!
 
To Derek for showing up!
 
To Izz for a killer opening set.
 
To Alan Benjamin for equipment
 
To all our talented list members for a superb jam (Paul, Jamie, Alan, 
Pierre & Do, Barney, Adam, Jeff, Fred, Denis,  ...the list goes on forever!).
 
To Andre and Barney for not posting to YouTube any pictures/movies of me 
sleeping on the train in to NYC!
 
To Ed Hurst and his girlfriend (sorry - forgot her name at the moment as I'm 
so tired from the drive back) for sharing their cab with me.
 
To Chris Buckley, Jack Skelly, Hudman and his friend Eddie S. for foregoing 
the Heartland Brewery in order to traipse around Chinatown on my CD & Chinese
food hunt.
 
To Mark Guilbert for using me as a guinea pig for his current project.
 
To Bob Brinton, Diana, Russ Miller & Jack Skelly for trading shows with me.
 
To Kerry, Gary, & Dr. Skull for their memories of the Halloween 1974 GG show 
at the Sanderson Theater in Springfield, MA and their role in helping Jack 
Skelly & I nail down the exact date of the show.
 
To Malcolm for bringing over a few 3F T-shirts to sell!
 
To Dave Sr. for delivering The BOAR.
 
To Diana for the Calendar.
 
To everyone else I'm forgetting at the moment -- a BIG THANKS for making a 
memorable GORGG.
 
A couple of highlights:
 
* meeting a bunch of new people face to face for the first time, including 
Mammienun, Uncle Norm, Kiirja, Irina, Hudman, Eddie Stremler, Alan & Amy 
Benjamin, Adam Levin, Bernie Veith & family, Dave Cherkus, David Eric & 
Barbara, Debbie Byrd, Gary Citro, Kelly Mullen & family, Mark & Henry Ptak, 
Tatsurou, and probably others I'm forgetting....
 
* when Russ Miller arrived Friday afternoon, he was completely unaware 
that Derek was present and of the conversations leading up to that.  So 
even before Russ had checked in, I dragged him into the ballroom, and, 
when I uttered the words "Russ, I'd like to introduce you to a friend 
of mine. This is Derek Shulman -- perhaps you've heard of him?" I was 
rewarded with the most astonished look on his face - priceless!!
 
When that happens in your first 3 minutes attending GORGG, you know it is 
going to be a fantastic weekend.  Did someone say this event has 'ramped up' 
over the last 10 years? Well, yeah.....
 
More later,
David Vella
 

FROM: Kelly Mullen
DATE: 11/1/2009 11:28:29 PM

Thank you, thank you Jon.  And Jerry and the Eileen and whoever else made 
it happen.  What a wonderful time.

Jon - "youse".  Isn't that Pennsylvanian?

Kelly


FROM: Ed Hurst
DATE: 11/2/2009 4:19:27 AM

Hail friends.

After sadly being among the first to leave on Saturday evening, Vicky and
I made it back to Tel Aviv last night, too exhausted and overwhelmed to 
type.  I could go on for hours reGORGGitating about all the wonderful 
moments of this year's superb GORGG.  I'm already back into the swamp of 
work now (as much as I enjoy my job, sometimes it just plain sucks to be 
back in the real world), and getting frequently interrupted from this 
post-GORGG email dump.

So, for now, I'll just say that we are safely back "home".  It was a 
blast seeing all of you and hearing that sensational music on Friday. 
I was generally happy with being able to provide a "virtual GORGG" to 
some of you non-attendees.  My webcam software froze up a couple of 
times, and I also had the usual poor webcam mic audio quality to deal 
with.  And, as expected, I got the lack of cooperation from the hotel 
regarding allowing the video streaming.  I think the quality of the 
video streaming would have suffered anyway, with the number of viewers 
who tried to connect (the peak audio listener count was 19!), and since 
Jose was taking up some of our bandwidth (very happy that he could "be" 
with us on Skype though!).

I didn't record any of the jam this time, so I hope someone else posts 
the complete set list.  As we left for the airport, we had our first 
GORGG-jam flashback: on the radio they were playing Hocus Pocus - I 
yodeled along, of course.

Many thanks to Jon, Jerry/Eileen, David Eric, Marc/Anne, TBitB,
and 100Friends for a wonderful time. See you again next year!

Cheers,
 - Ed (back on Middle Eastern Standard time)


FROM: Robert Holzner
DATE: 11/2/2009 10:25:46 AM

Thank you Ed,

For those of us who couldn't attend we made the most of what we could 
with what we had. It allowed us to have a feel of what was going on. 
This was my first view of GORGG and I so wish I could have been there 
this year, but your webcam and audio stream allowed us to be there 
virtually and in spirit. With the use of IRC and DalNet a handful of us 
had conversations and comments going that added to the thrill of not 
being there but still being there virtually.

Thank you for the hard work and blessings to you and yours.

Chi-Bob-Drum


FROM: Ant Bowles
DATE: 11/2/2009 10:27:16 AM

Hi all,

Thanks to all the GORGGanisers for another great global event in Norwalk.
We arrived home this morning, lighter of pocket, tired but happy of heart.

We caught the train and bus to JFK with Mikko and then bumped into 
Jan-Arjen at the airport and had a bite to eat with him. Friday night 
was a spectacular musical achievement, with so many multi-instrumentalists 
arriving on stage to play. The only downside was some musicians didn't get 
a chance or only played for a few bars.

The hotel owner was a music fan and took a liking to us, buying us 
drinks etc. We had the mayor of Norwalk make a speech before festivities 
and a great opening from Izz.

Onward to Scotland.

Ant


FROM: Malcolm Mortimore
DATE: 11/2/2009 11:58:32 AM

Magnificent, well done Lily!

Lynn and I are still at the Norwalk, the last two GORGG'ers..........  
we will be away at 2.00pm ish tomorrow (Monday ) now to-day

Please let me try to describe how things have changed since GORGG left  
the Hotel.....

The bar is dark, all the function rooms are dark, and  as we came in from 
the good Spanish restaurant at around 10 p.m. last night the only sign of 
life was the owner's daughter pushing a broom in a corner of the reception 
area.

Very different from GORGG

We both want to thank Jon, Marc M, Jerry, Marc C, and Rich and everyone  
else who made GORGG such a blast this year.

Malc and Lynn


FROM: Mikko Alapuro
DATE: 11/2/2009 12:30:33 PM

Just came back home about 45 minutes ago. Right now I'm too tired and 
jet lagged to go into any detail, so I'll just say the most important 
thing on my mind: It was - once again - absolutely wonderful to hang out 
with all my good friends, both old and new. These things just keep 
getting better and better every year, and as always, it felt like it 
ended much too soon. A Giant thanks to everyone involved in putting this 
GORGG together - Jon, Jerry, Marc Margolies and anyone else who did some 
of the behind-the-scenes work. Luckily, I have tomorrow off from work to 
recover, so with any luck, I'll get some of my photos sorted out and 
will be ready to post them.

So for now, I'll just say thanks and wish everyone a good evening... or 
morning... or whatever it is...

Mikko


FROM: Ant Bowles
DATE: 11/2/2009 12:41:18 PM

How about this one. Andre suggested we get Pugwash on Skype so I
called him and began talking him through installing it but it became
too complicated to do - no webcam, a mic that needed plugging into a
mixer etc. So as I was talking, I noticed Derek had not yet left the
hotel. I asked JPW if he'd like to speak with Derek. I don't think
John believed he'd actually turned up, but I handed the phone to Derek
and asked if he would like to speak to Pugwash. They had a bit of a
chat and when I took the phone back John said he was gobsmacked.

Derek's son Noah, was filming his dad in conversation with John and at
other times in the hotel. I wonder what he'll do with the footage? I
got talking to Noah about cameras earlier. He has the Shulman look
about him, not too unlike Phil IMO.

Ant


FROM: David Cherkus
DATE: 11/2/2009 1:13:04 PM

I'll add a bit to the wondrous story because I happened to be standing 
there when it happened and was rude enough not to excuse myself because 
I was so fascinated.

I'm a newbie here and know bits and pieces of the history so I can't speak 
to commercial motivations, but I can say that Kerry himself went to 
Derek's apartment in NYC and invited Derek to come to the GORGG, and 
Derek accepted.

And indeed the first thing John said to Derek was that he could not believe 
Derek was at a GORGG!  Derek said he himself could not believe it either.  
He said that the GORGGers knew their music better than he did! Well of
course!...

They both seemed to be quite warmed by the memories of back in the days 
that they briefly shared.

And Derek inquired quite kindly as to John's state of health and that of 
his family.

So I say a hearty "well done" to Ant for making it happen.

It seemed to me the folks in attendance were careful to give Derek 
space and not overwhelm him with the GORGG madness.

Hopefully with time he and/or his brothers will be GORGG regulars.

TTFN,
Dave #3


FROM: Alan Benjamin
DATE: 11/2/2009 1:28:10 PM

Dear Friends,

Having dropped Tatsurou off at Newark this morning (after unexpectedly
dashing out of the house to take Amy to work on the way there, as her 
car wouldn't start), followed by a nearly consecutive pair of conference 
calls, I am now just starting to have an opportunity to think about how 
to begin the process of attempting to adequately express my joy and 
appreciation for a most incredible week! The fact that it would probably 
take at least a few hours to compile, and much more text than anyone would 
care to even think about reading, in order to even superficially cover 
everything I'd like to say, I think I'd better just start by extending 
an enormous thank-you to everyone who was part of this magical event - and 
especially to those who helped to organize and produce the whole thing.

Best wishes,
Alan


FROM: Uncle Norm Nied
DATE: 11/2/2009 3:14:41 PM

WOW, these three simple letters express my feelings of GORGG.  This event 
is something I will treasure forever.  It was so good to finally meet so 
many people that I have only known through the Internet for years.  And for 
those festival attendees (NEARfest, FMPM, BAJA) it is always great seeing 
you again.

It truly is one huge loving Family and I am grateful to be part of it.

IZZ, love this band!!!  The Friday night jam blew me away. Sooooooooooooo 
many talented musicians.  I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Gary, Kerry & Malcolm, Youse Da Best!!!

Thanks to the organizers, Jon, Jerry & Eileen, Marc & Anne, Marc M., and 
Rich.  I now recognize just how much work it is to put this on and you all 
did an OUTSTANDING job.

My only regret is that I didn't listen to my Buddies Dave Sr., Jerry, and 
Marc years ago about attending.  But that is now hindsight and I look 
forward to the future.

Peace My Friends,

Uncle Norm

PS  Hey Lynn, Little Johnny was asked to use the word 'fascinate' in a 
sentence.  Wink, wink!!!


FROM: Jamie Krutz
DATE: 11/2/2009 3:21:41 PM

I'm back in Colorado after a great NYORGG. Huge thanks to Jon, Marc, 
Jerry, Rich, and the gang for putting it all together, and thanks to the 
staff at the hotel. A special thanks to everyone who provided equipment, 
including the fine folks from IZZ who put on a great show. And extra 
thanks to Alan for getting the mix dialed in.

It was a real pleasure to meet Kerry and Lesley, to spend time with 
Gary, Judy, Malcolm and Lynn once again, and to meet Derek when he 
dropped by.

What a rare privilege to perform with Kerry, Paul, and Jeff, to jam with 
so many talented GORGGers, and to hear such a great night of music! Big 
thanks to Paul for his excellent arrangements and fine performances.

I enjoyed seeing so many people who had been at the Denver GORGG and 
meeting new friends. What a great group. It was a weekend of 101 friends 
and very little sleep. Thanks everyone!

Cheers,
- Jamie

PS. Congrats to Lily!


FROM: Mike Harper
DATE: 11/2/2009 4:10:40 PM

Hey all,

I'm still recovering from a delirious three days at GORGG and haven't 
come down from the adrenaline rush that kept me going with little sleep 
over the past 96 hours.  I woke up Friday morning and realized I had to 
make it to the festivities of the Big Night, knowing I could count on 
Mikko to let me crash with him for a couple nights.  After a 12-hour drive 
from Detroit through Ohio and the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside, I 
arrived at Norwalk Inn Friday evening just in time to hear the mayor say 
something about something, followed by Jerry's nice words of appreciation 
for everyone who brought this year's GORGG together.  

I made some hasty greetings all around as IZZ took up their instruments 
for a very cool set, then joined the attending members of the GORGG family 
for a fantastic night that ended way too early.  The music gets tighter 
every year, and the incredible talent on this list delivered another great 
GORGG jam that made the day's driving entirely worthwhile.  It was good to 
meet so many people at their first GORGG, and judging from the looks on 
your faces that night, I expect to see you all again.

I also got to talk to some people I hadn't got to know as well at previous 
GORGGs, and made time to chat a bit more with some of my favorites before 
Saturday ended.  I was up way too late listening to stories and laughing 
to the end, but thank Congress for the extra hour of sleep Saturday night.  
I left early Sunday morning and got home late last night, and got my best 
sleep in weeks.

Thanks so much to Jon, Jerry, and Marc for all their hard work making 
another special GORGG happen, to Marc and Ed for their usual much-appreciated 
roles, to Dave Lederman for his prompting, to Mikko for his hospitality, 
and to Dave Sr. for his customary generosity.  It was great seeing you all 
again, and I hope to make it to Scotland for MacGORGG with Donna, who was 
understanding and encouraging of my self-indulgent decision to come to GORGG 
at the last moment.

And congratulations to Lily for her great finish in the NYC marathon.  I
always said I wanted to know a marathon runner.

Cheers,
Mike


FROM: Jan-Arjen Voskuilen
DATE: 11/2/2009 7:20:40 PM

Home Again,

One of the many reasons I wanted to attend this year's GORGG was 
obviously IZZ. It was very nice talking to them, too, and they played a 
very strong set, they are stunning. Besides old stuff they played two 
new songs from their upcoming cd "The Darkened Room". I can't wait for 
that one.

The Jam was played so tight this year. Excellent!!!

As Ant already wrote, the Bowles' and I killed some time together at the 
airport. It was a pleasant surprise running into them while I least 
expected it.

After a very fast flight (5.5 hours!!) I arrived in Amsterdam ahead of 
schedule. And this despite the fact we had to taxi for almost an hour at 
JFK. At a pace Lily could easily have matched, even after she'd 
finished her marathon. Congratulations on your PR. Goed gedaan Lily!!!...

Thanks Jon, Jerry, Marc M., Marc C., and other contributors for 
Gorgganizing. Please forget the headaches and try to realise it all 
worked out very very well, despite all the hardships. There was nothing 
to be wished for, really.

Thanks Rich Hilton for having us at your place and the small basement 
session.

Thanks Eileen for the small but nice present for Yvonne. She says it's 
so sweet of you thinking of her.

Thanks everyone for my first bite of the Big Apple. I want to taste a 
few more !!!

Cheers,
Jan-Arjen (I have to go to bed now, I'm exhausted).


FROM: Eddie Stremler
DATE: 11/2/2009 7:43:55 PM

All,

This was the most beautiful week I ever had!!! I never laughed so much in my 
life!!!

And being new to the GORGG, I feel blessed that I made so many wonderful
friends!!!

Love Ya All, And Thanks to Everyone!!!! 

Eddie


FROM: Jack Skelly
DATE: 11/2/2009 9:40:41 PM

My fourth GORGG winds down but, man, the memories from this one won't go  
quietly!  I had a great time and I can't thank everyone enough.  Especially 
Jon, Jerry, and Marc for organizing. It can never be overstated what a 
difficult task that is. I want you guys to know that, even with all the 
headaches and hassles you must have gone through, you pulled off a 
wonderful week.  Much appreciated!
 
And I want Judy Green to know I'm never telling her when my birthday is  
again....  :-)
 
Jack


FROM: Steve Hudson
DATE: 11/2/2009 10:45:10 PM

Ok as promised my Diatribe.... Initially I was a little worried about 
attending GORGG because I realized that a lot of friendships had been 
made and nurtured over the years. I wondered if there was room to fit me 
in. When I arrived with my friend Eddie Stremler, whom not many on the 
list knew, we were greeted with open arms by those who were there. Eddie 
had met Uncle Norm and Gary Green at the midwest Prog festival this summer 
so he wasn't a complete newbie. 

Nonetheless the first night for us was a whirlwind of greeting O-R friends 
and finally putting a face with the name. What I was not prepared for was 
how the BITB instantly bonded with everyone new and there were at least 13 
of us. It was amazing and frankly very emotional. Again I wasn't prepared 
for that feeling and it remained a constant theme throughout the 4-1/2 days. 

On Thursday morning a large contingent of us walked to the train to go to 
NYC and take the Circle Line Boat tour. At the Train Station I had 
conversations with Dave and Pat, Lesley Minnear, and it was like we had 
known each other for years. On the train ride I sat with Andre Bazinet 
and we talked about Genesis and The Musical Box for the better part of 
40 minutes. It was great. At the Pier I met Alan Benjamin whom Eddie knew 
from Jersey (Eddie is originally from Jersey) which was very cool. The 
3-Hour Tour was great but a bit chilly at times and of course I wasn't 
dressed for it. 

After the Boat ride several of us decided to go CD shopping (Jack Skelly, 
Dave Vella, Chris Buckley, Eddie Stremler, and me). The larger group went 
to the Bar where the first GORGG was consummated. (The name escapes me 
for the moment.) Our adventure trying to get to this CD shop was wild. We 
got lost several times. Eventually we found it on the outskirts of Chinatown 
and spent 2 hours or so shopping. As usual The Vella guy did most of the 
buying (I did snag 2 Jazz CD's). We ate at a restaurant in Chinatown 
suggested by one of the locals. The food was very good. At the time what 
I didn't realize was that bonding between our little group was happening 
right under my nose. This was a theme that repeated itself throughout the 
week with everyone.

Friday was the big day so we didn't do much except Drink and Bond...(LOL) . 
However, the big deal of the afternoon was the arrival of Derek. I must 
confess that I didn't expect it to happen as I have been reading the email 
for the past 10 years. However he came and what impressed me the most was 
that our little group didn't descend on him like a pack of wolves. We just 
stood around conversing and waiting for our chance to say hello. It went 
very smooth, I thought, and Derek thanked us for keeping the GG flame alive!! 

At 6:30 PM we did the Group picture which was pretty amusing because we had 
to do it several times due to camera issues. It is tough to keep 100 people 
all in one little space for very long, but we managed. At 7:00 or so we sat 
down to the Meal and the food was quite good I thought. Jerry McCarthy made a 
wonderful Speech and then it was time for IZZ to play. I had seen them once 
before so I knew what to expect and they didn't disappoint. 

The Jam that followed was amazing. I really had no idea just how talented 
the list members were. Quite impressive. The first song was 'For Nobody' 
with Rich Hilton on Guitar! (Surprise) and his two sons on Drums and 
Keyboards. Gary and others were up there also and it was great. Since my 
mind is mush right now I will let others post the setlist but the Focus 
song 'Hocus Pocus' with Barney Rubble on Keys and Yodel was one of the 
highlights for me as this is one of my favorite songs. All of the O-R 
contingent that played were awesome, including Fred, Jeff, John Galgano, 
Lindsey, Mammie, Marc C., Pierre and Dominique, Denis, Glen "Barney 
Rubble", Alan, Jamie, Paul, Mark Ptak, and Henry Ptak. Hopefully I didn't 
miss anyone. The music went on until the wee hours of the night with John 
Burns doing a lot of the singing and Diana and Eddie chimed in on guitar 
as well. A lot of us stayed up until 4:30 AM before calling it a night. 
Normally I can't do this but it was GORGG.....

Saturday was the Silent Auction and Raffle. The raffle was pretty hilarious 
for me because Eddie bought 12 tickets and I think he won on 10 of them!!!!! 
At one point I though I was going to get shutout but I did win a CD and a 
Three Friends poster signed by the BITB. Again we stayed up late talking 
about music and everything. The last 10 or so folks included Gary, Dr. 
Skull, Mammie, Mikko, Dave Derek, Jon Roberts, Jerry Mac, Eddie, me, and 
Mike Harper . From about 2:30-4:30, I never laughed so hard in my life. 
It was priceless....... Earlier in the night was the Toast and I was 
definitely not prepared for this. All I can say is I want to avoid being 
the Toastee!! But here I was staying up 'til 4:30 AM two nights in a row. 
Unheard of for the Hudman......

Sunday was incredible because I realized what is meant by Extended Family 
because that is what we are. The hugs and the well wishes and the 'see you 
in Scotland's were just incredible. The thing that will most stand out for 
me was the unconditional acceptance that everyone showed towards me. After 
all they only knew me thru the Internet. But obviously that is what GORGG 
is all about. What it has done to me is make me realize that I don't want 
to miss any more of these. Somehow I will go to Scotland next October. 
Special mention to Dave Lederman (DaveDerek) who has been bugging me for 
the past several years about attending a GORGG. He never let up on me and 
I am thankful to him for that. 

I can't thank everyone enough for making me feel welcomed, especially Gary 
who was truly awesome the whole time. The talks with Lindsey and Dave 
Vella and Jack Skelly and Dave Sr. -- well you get the picture. It is a 
time I will never forget and again thanks for welcoming me to the 
"Family"............

Hudman


FROM: Chris Buckley
DATE: 11/3/2009 8:36:39 AM

Hey Every-One!

Peak experience:
  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Jump to: navigation, search
Peak experience is a term used to describe certain transpersonal and 
ecstatic states, particularly ones tinged with themes of euphoria, 
harmonization and interconnectedness. Participants characterize these 
experiences, and the revelations imparted therein, as possessing an 
ineffably mystical (or overtly religious) quality or essence.

...pretty much sums it up for me!

Chris Buckley


FROM: Mikko Alapuro
DATE: 11/3/2009 10:27:33 AM

Hail,

I'm still feeling a little dizzy from the jet lag and one week of sleep 
deprivation, but after 12 hours of sleep, I think I can give a little 
summary of my GORGG's Eleven experience.

I arrived in Norwalk late on Monday afternoon, so that day was mostly 
spent catching up with those friends who had already arrived. We also 
had what was for me the first GORGG dinner at a pub-style restaurant 
called B.J. Ryan's (right?). We didn't yet have a hospitality room at 
that stage and I was somewhat jet lagged anyway, so I went to bed fairly 
early (by GORGG standards).

On Tuesday, a group of us made what was for me the first visit to 
Norwalk - basically just a little walk to the Stew Leonard's grocery 
store, which for some of us was probably the biggest grocery store we'd 
ever seen. Some people did some shopping, while others like me simply 
enjoyed the singing vegetables and other little kids' entertainment they 
had around. In the afternoon, we went to a bar called the Ginger Man 
that some others had visited before to have a couple of beers and some 
lunch. In the evening, we were basically just hanging out at the hotel 
bar, as we still didn't have a hospitality room. There was a piano in 
the bar, and some impromptu jamming took place, with Barney (and maybe 
others too?) on the piano and Mammie on sax. As has already been 
mentioned, the hotel owner turned out to be a music lover who liked our 
stuff, so not only did he let us play, he even offered some drinks on 
the house. (I should probably mention that this was a very significant 
development, as there had apparently been a bit of trouble with the 
hotel during the weekend concerning alcohol. People were allowed to 
bring their own alcohol into their rooms and consume it there, but not 
take it out to the public areas, where the hotel obviously wanted us to 
buy their drinks - I think someone said this wasn't just the hotel 
wanting more income, but also some kind of state law. Someone had been 
caught in the public areas with a drink they hadn't bought from the bar, 
which made the management angry and they apparently even threatened to 
throw Mammie out of the hotel! With this mind, it was greatly relieving 
to see how their attitude towards us changed during the week.) After the 
bar closed at 1 AM, there was no place to go other than the lobby and no 
more drinks available, so we called it a night unusually early at around 
1:30.

Wednesday was for me, and apparently quite a few others as well, a 
stay-at-the-hotel day, which was ok, as this was the day with most new 
arrivals - I think Barney and I counted almost 30 new faces that day, 
including a few I hadn't met before, such as Steve "Hudman" Hudson, 
Eddie Stremler, Dave Cherkus, and Debi Byrd. On Wednesday, we finally 
got the hospitality room, which allowed us to hang out quite a bit longer.

Drinks at the hospitality room were handled using a system of coupons - 
you would buy coupons ($5 for beer or wine, $1.50 for soft drinks) in 
advance and put one in a box every time you had a drink. Initially, 
there was some concern as to whether this system would work, i.e. 
whether people would actually remember to hand in a coupon every time, 
but as near as I could tell, there were no problems in the end and 
hopefully no discrepancies between the coupons used and the drinks 
consumed. I also noted an interesting shift in the GORGG drinking 
pattern: Up until now, the drink of choice at GORGG, by a long shot, has 
been beer, but this time, wine seemed to be increasingly popular and on 
a couple of nights, the Chardonnay was indeed the first thing we ran out 
of. I wonder if that was merely to do with the pricing (beer and wine 
costing the same), or an indication of an actual change in preferences. 
We shall see in Scotland next year.

Wednesday night also saw the first preview of the musical delights that 
were to come, as some people, mainly Gary and Paul van de Hart, picked 
up their guitars and kept playing for hours. They were still playing 
when I went to bed around 3 AM, and I think Paul later said that he 
barely got any sleep at all that night!

Thursday was, as planned, Manhattan Day, meaning we had to get up a 
little earlier than usual to catch the 9:50 train out of East Norwalk; 
the main activity was going to be a boat tour, followed by a visit to 
the Heartland Brewery where it all began, but everyone was free to make 
up their own programme. I ended up skipping both activities - instead 
Mammie and I went to tour Manhattan (mainly Greenwich Village, Little 
Italy and Chinatown) on foot, stopping for lunch in Little Italy and for 
a drink at the piers. Up until then, it had been rainy or at least 
cloudy the whole week, but luckily Thursday turned out to be the best 
day in terms of weather - it was sunny and warm, which must have been 
particularly pleasant for those on the boat. Instead of going to the 
Heartland, I decided to get back to Norwalk a little earlier to get some 
rest. Back at the hotel, I met for the first time Uncle Norm, who had 
arrived during our absence; Adam also made his first GORGG appearance 
that night. On Thursday, it was finally officially announced (though 
rumors had been trickling in before) that Derek would finally make his 
long-awaited GORGG appearance on Friday afternoon. The rest of the night 
consisted of more drinking and socialising back in the hospitality room; 
this time, I didn't want to stay up quite so late to make sure I'd have 
energy for the Big Night on Friday.

Because of Derek's arrival shortly after noon, I don't think too many 
people went out much further than maybe Stew Leonard's on Friday. Derek 
and his wife and son did indeed show up at around 12:30, by which time 
the banquet room for the Big Night was already at our disposal. As has 
been mentioned, people were quite civil and didn't flock to him the 
minute he stepped into the room - he first spent some time chatting with 
the other BitB, and little by little, other GORGGers were drawn towards 
him. Some chatted with him for a bit, some took photos of themselves 
with him, while others just introduced themselves and shook hands with 
him. I think he stayed for a couple of hours overall, including a lunch 
with his former bandmates in the hotel bar. He was also kind enough to 
agree to an extra group photo outside the hotel (the "official" group 
photo had been scheduled for 6:30) before they left.

The rest of the afternoon was mostly spent in anticipation of the Big 
Night, which started off with the aforementioned group photo (which had 
to be taken twice after it turned out the camera had been out of focus), 
plus the complementary '11-timers' and 'all-Daves' photos. Shortly after 
this, it was time for dinner.

As I was finishing my dinner, just before IZZ was scheduled to start 
playing, I turned around and suddenly saw my friend Mike Harper, who had 
taken himself off the sign-up list and whom I thought I wouldn't see for 
at least another year, standing right there in the banquet room chatting 
with people. I'm glad he made the last-minute decision to come to GORGG 
after all, and I'm sure he feels exactly the same way! In this regard, 
it was a good thing I had chosen to have a room of my own, so Mike 
didn't have to pay the hotel's standard price for a separate room, or 
sleep in his car.

A lot has already been said about the Jam, so I don't know how much more 
I can really add. IZZ, whom I wasn't really familiar with, were great - 
they had some cd's for sale and I intended to buy at least one, but in 
the middle of all the Big Night haze, I eventually forgot. The actual 
Jam had a few recognizable "sections": First, there were a few numbers 
featuring Three Friends, along with some other friends (my memories are 
too hazy to tell who played what on which song, so I'm not even going to 
try that). Paul had prepared arrangements for several GG pieces, which 
he played together with Jamie, with a couple of others joining in for a 
song or two, most notably Kerry, who came to sing 'A Reunion' - another 
song that, to my knowledge, has never been heard live before. At some 
point, we had a moment of recorded music in the form of 'For Somebody', 
which Dan and Hakan had put together especially for that night. Some 
cover material was then played from Pink Floyd ('Shine On You Crazy 
Diamond', 'Money') and The Beatles, as well as Focus' 'Hocus Pocus' 
(which I sadly missed myself - must have been out for cigarette or 
something). At the end, there was some free-form jamming.

It's too bad that not everyone had a good chance to play - Eddie 
Stremler was on stage for only maybe half a song and Kelly got no 
further than plugging his guitar in - but we were lucky that the hotel 
was flexible enough to allow us to play for as long as we did. 
Originally, they had wanted us to go acoustic around midnight, but I 
think it was around one or two when the electric gear was finally packed 
up (that being said, we weren't able to start right on schedule, because 
the dinner was an hour late). After that, some people picked up acoustic 
guitars, gathered in a circle and continued the jam there. I called it a 
night at around 3:00, but I believe the activities in the banquet room 
continued for quite a while after that.

Not surprisingly, most people didn't feel like doing anything too 
demanding on Saturday, especially since we would have the raffles and 
auction at 4 PM. Nevertheless, a group of about ten of us decided to go 
for a walk in town, with the original purpose of getting to the seaside. 
In true GORGG fashion, the guy with the map (Jan-Arjen), who would have 
actually known which way to go, was walking at the _back_ of the group, 
with someone else leading the way based on the position of the sun and 
the flight patterns of birds. As you probably guessed, we never got to 
the beach - instead, we stopped at a bar for a drink and some of the 
slowest service I've ever seen. It took the guy half an hour to get us 
our drinks and another half hour to _ask_ if we'd like to eat something; 
since we had to be back at the hotel by four o'clock, the idea of food 
was quickly abandoned. Given the speed of his service, I almost wondered 
if the waiter was a GORGGer! ;)

At the auction, the item that fetched the highest price was the reel 
tape of some of the Playing The Fool material, which Toby had kindly 
re-donated to GORGG. The winner of the auction was Malcolm, so you know 
that tape ended up in good hands! Gary had also made another GG clock, 
but unfortunately, the previously used model is no longer available: The 
new one only plays the same custom sound every hour. Sadly, this was 
also reflected in the bidding, which remained considerably lower than in 
previous years. Eventually, it was Pat Astley who ended up making the 
winning bid.

At the raffles, the "McCarthy" of this year was Eddie Stremler, who 
walked away from his first GORGG with a pretty impressive haul; Irina 
got quite a few items as well. I ended up with a couple of cd's - 'The 
Inner Realities of Evolution' by Don Preston's Akashic Ensemble and 
Steve Hackett's 'Special Meanings'[ed., 'Spectral Mornings'] (actually
given to me by Lynn Mortimore - thanks Lynn!). After the raffles, it 
was time to pass the Banner on to next year's GORGGanizer, John Burns.

The only traditional activity left later on Saturday night was the 
infamous GORGG toast, and I assure you that the name of pretty much 
everyone who wasn't there was included (some more than once!). Around 
or after midnight, the group left in the hospitality room began to shrink, 
as some people had to leave early the following day. At the end of the 
last night of GORGG's Eleven, there were - appropriately enough - eleven 
people left; I think it was around 3:30 (after the time adjustment) that 
the group finally dispersed.

On Sunday morning, it was time to say goodbye to those who were still 
around - always a sad moment. But at least it seemed like everyone who 
thought they could make it was fired up for a GORGG in Scotland next 
year, so hopefully, I'll see most of you there. Ant, Julia, Elliott, and 
I left for New York on the 1:30 PM train; after that, I believe the only 
one left at the hotel (besides Malcolm and Lynn, who weren't leaving 
until Monday and had gone out) was Irina, who was taking a shuttle 
directly to LaGuardia in the evening.

So, what more is there to say? Overall, another great GORGG in the grand 
tradition of GORGGs. Thank you once more for all those involved in 
putting this thing together, and for all other attendees for being there 
and making the event so wonderful. I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to 
talk to everyone (David Eric, Chris Green, Gary Citro, to name just a 
couple), but that's the way it always is with GORGG - so many people, so 
little time. Next year or the year after that, hopefully.

I think that pretty much sums up my GORGG experience for this year. It 
was great to see and hang out with everyone, and I hope to see as many 
of you as possible in Scotland!

Mikko


FROM: Mark Ptak
DATE: 11/3/2009 10:50:00 AM

Hey all - 

Just wanted to pass along my thanks for a WONDERFUL time on Friday. This 
was really special to Henry [Ptak] and I since we haven't been able to 
make any other GORGGs since the first one in NYC. I have no idea what the 
final head count was there in CT, but I'm so glad so many of you made it. 
I've never seen so many truly gentle souls gathered in one place at one 
time. Henry and I couldn't stop talking about it all the way home. 

A hearty thanks to Richard, Jerry, Jonathan, Marc C., IZZ, and all those 
who helped make it as enjoyable an evening as it was in so many different 
ways. And so many talented people on hand!! Truly remarkable! Well, what 
can you expect? The music that brought us together can only bring forth 
such talented people. It was a joy to sit back, watch and listen to great 
renditions of GG tunes as well as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Focus, etc. 
performed by so many different people. Also, earlier in the day, Adam L. 
played thru something that I found out was his original! material and that, 
too, was impressive. Nice job, Adam! 

Some of your faces I remembered, and some of you had to practically smack 
me upside the head to even remind me that we had already met in NYC ten 
years ago, so for that I apologize. I guess I lost a few more brain cells 
along the way than I thought, lol. I'm grateful for all of the time I 
spent talking with those of you I could, and regret not having had more 
than a "Hey, nice to meet you," with others, but please know that I 
extend my heart to you all. And I look forward to other GORGGs, if 
possible, to have the chance to increase my circle of GORGG friends. 

It was a pleasure also to meet and speak with Lesley, Judy, and Lynn for 
the first time, not to mention spending time with a certain keyboard 
player trying to get his equipment talking to mine. It was pretty 
bizarre and surreal watching Kerry playing GG tunes on my Triton Extreme, 
lol. And he's such a kind and warm soul...they all are. Wow, I could go 
on, but it might fill a book. 

Jerry, bless your heart...you strongly advised me to try to make it to 
more than just the Friday activities. And now I really wish I had tried 
harder to get my schedule to bend. (Damn this day job!) I'll know better 
to try to reserve a few more vacation days for next time. :-) 

Thanks again to everyone for making it so special...now THAT's the way 
to celebrate a 10th Anniversary!

Bless you all...
Mark Ptak


FROM: Paul van de Hart
DATE: 11/03/09 11:38:28 AM

Subject: Post-Coital Gorgg Cigarette

i shall be delay'd in posting details, as i am endeavoring to share 
with Judy, the vacation she so generously postponed on my behalf.

A few thanks are urgent.

To Mister Roberts for providing such a beautiful day in the neighbourhood, 
and to our locals who assisted him. 

To Jamie Krutz, who came to the rescue, so that our modest set of proggerous 
delights could be realised. And to the magnificent, impromptu assistance of 
Kerry and Jeff Smith.

i also had the joy of the companionship of my two olde friends (making three) 
from the New York area, one of whom, i had not seen in twenty years. thanks 
to all for making Dan and Ken feel so welcome. In fact, tho' Ken has not 
previously been much of a "progger" he has already expressed an interest 
in going to Nearfest, and possibly joining our little list. So as the lads 
in the chatroom said when i told them this story: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Moments too pregnant and numerous to mention. Thanks to Gary and Fred for 
our acoustic jams on the midnight oil. And to the band wives, Judy, Lesley, 
and Lynn--- without whom, well, you know the rest...

more to come,
paul.


FROM: Jerry McCarthy
DATE: 11/03/09 1:00:01 PM

Hi GGanGG --

No time yet to really post about the past week... still recovering, 
processing, and getting back to my "other" job for a while!

But I did want to post the text of the speech I made at the Banquet on 
Friday night, before I introduced IZZ, because several people have asked 
me for it. Thanks to all who made kind comments to me afterwards about it.  
You're too kind.  ;-)


****

GORGG's ELEVEN:  Welcome & Toast
by Jerry McCarthy

"On behalf of Jon & the 2009 Committee, I'd like to welcome everyone to
'GORGG's Eleven.'  On this, the tenth anniversary of GORGG, I think a 
short history lesson is appropriate.

In 1994, some of us were lucky enough to find our way to the On-Reflection 
Internet mailing list, dedicated to the music of Gentle Giant. After several 
years of forming online cyber-friendships, it was only natural that some 
would want to meet in person.  In January 1999, a dozen of us held a 
tri-state get-together in New York City to test the waters. We had a 
fantastic time and it went so well that we KNEW that we had to do it 
again -- and SOON!  The New England contingent followed suit in April '99, 
with similar results.

In the first of many cases of what we now call 'GORGG Serendipity,' our 
friend, Bert, in Norway won a contest and decided to visit New York around 
this same time, and he persuaded many European & U.K. listmembers to join 
him.  We combined our efforts and the first GORGG was planned for October
'99. That was a magical weekend and life-altering for many of us, as it 
became quickly apparent that this needed to become an annual event. About 
the only thing that could have made things better that first year would 
have been the improbable dream of having members of Gentle Giant with us 
at our little party.

The intrepid John P. Weathers rectified that for us the next year in 
London when he bravely joined us on the Friday night.  Having survived 
his first night, Kerry nervously joined him on Saturday.  Gary became 
an instant part of the GORGG Fabric the next year in Toronto in 2001.  
Wonderful events continued in 2002 and 2003 in Amsterdam and Portland, 
each one raising the bar higher and somehow getting better and better 
each year.  Malcolm's baptism by fire occurred in 2004 in Wales, and he's 
been a mainstay ever since. [And now, after today's unexpected events, I 
need to add a thank you here to Derek for his visit this afternoon.]

The fun rolled into Quebec in 2005 and it seemed like it literally could 
simply never end.  But perhaps the true test of GORGG's mettle came the 
following year in Portugal when we lost our dear friend, Jorg, suddenly.  
Up until then, we had all laughed & laughed together for years, but now 
we had to learn to cry together, too, and at this point there was no 
denying that this annual assemblage was very much a true FAMILY in every 
sense of the word. But we weathered that storm.

In a blur of years and amazing events, Denver and Germany in 2007 and 
2008 brought us to the point -- tonight -- where we are now celebrating 
GORGG's tenth anniversary, which still boggles my mind, but here we are!  
By my quick count, we have now had GORGGers attend from 14 different 
countries over the years... a magnificent achievement.

A group of us visited the Heartland Brewery yesterday, where it all began, 
in a nod to tradition and our history, and now I'd like to make the toast 
that I didn't get to make there.  Please join me in raising a glass. This 
will be a 4-part toast (after all, it couldn't be a Gentle Giant gathering 
without a multi-part toast, could it?!):

A TOAST:

To all the brave souls who were there in New York City ten years ago 
   this month...

AND to all who've visited or contributed to GORGG since then...

AND to the efforts of all past GORGGanizers who made it all happen 
   somehow...

AND to our dear GGiants and their wonderful spouses and families...

we have ALL been many-times-blessed.  

Long Live Gentle Giant!

Long Live On-Reflection!!

and Long Live GORGG!!!

Cheers."

****


Thanks to all who attended in Norwalk and made it yet another great event 
in our history.

--JMc  xo


FROM: Diana Green
DATE: 11/03/09 3:30:00 PM

This is as heartfelt and worthy a sermon as any delivered by Rev. 
Freehand - not to take anything away from the Rev.!

still,
Diana


FROM: Irina Lebedeva
DATE: 11/3/2009 7:44:32 PM


> You have now been fully assimilated into the GORGG collective.
> Your report is due. Please report in to the collective now, or the
> auto memory wipe will be activated.

Ha! Actually, I have a brilliant...what's the name of that thing again...
keep forgetting the word...that thing? ah, that's it - memory!

If seriously though, during GORGG I've written enough for a small
novel in my diary (yes, Scott, it'd make a nice book). Even though some
of those stories fall into a blissful category of 'things I'll never 
dare to share with anyone else', there are quite a few funny tales to 
tell and I'll certainly share those once I'll be able to think straight 
again. I'm intending to post my pics too, honestly.

One interesting thought occurred to me during my flight back. (Night 
flights often stimulate thinking, you know). As I was looking at the 
black tapestry of the City below, all embroidered with gold threads and 
pearls of lights, I was thinking what a strange feeling it is when one 
of your dreams actually becomes reality. Some of our dreams and hopes are 
such delicate and frail things that we are afraid to even say them out 
loud. But oh, what one feels when one of those subtle unspoken things 
comes alive!

Thank you all for bringing magic to life,

Love,
Irina


FROM: Bernie Veith
DATE: 11/3/2009 7:44:32 PM

So now, I inform all that we are back in Germany with a very fast 
Flight (6 hours) to Geneva and other 10 hours to home. The "Real world" 
has catch us again, like all of you, and we had very nice days in Norwalk, 
many thanks to all of you. Ok I think it's all said but:

For me, there was two great surprises: I felt from the first days 
Gorggers went in Norwalk Inn 'til the last minutes in the hotel like 
a family, even when so many new Friends I never saw before arrived. It 
was like a family feeling, like in my early Days, when I was 8 Years (I 
am a member from a big Family with over 100 Persons, my grand Parents 
and later my uncles and aunts does a great work.....) and a little bit 
of this great family feeling knows now my Son, and that's great, but 
for him was the whole event, especially the Sessions in the big Night, 
much too short.

Surprise number two was the great big night with world class music, 
even with less Rehearsals, for me it was a wonder that it could be 
so happened. One of the highlights for me: Wendy with her voices, she 
did 'Memories...',  so much better as Derek in my memories, (a perfect 
voice in a perfect song) and Kerry with 'A Reunion' my Top favorite 
GG Song before 'Aspirations' and 'Free hand'(album). I think 'A Reunion' 
should be our 'GORGG-Hymne'. 

So I hope I can see the most of you in McGORGG, GlasGORGG, GORGGNESS, 
or however it will be named. Again, many thanks to all I have known 
and new Friends I saw first.

Bernie

Excuse me all, but this is needed: Specials thanks to the Families 
Minnear, Green, and Mortimore for the lovely and friendly stay over 
one week, It will be one of my greatest experience in my life (sniff..)


FROM: Lindsey Spratt
DATE: 11/3/2009 9:44:51 PM

The Norwalk GORGG was a wonderful gathering. My thanks to the  
organizers. Well done. (There ought to be a GORGGanizers page on the  
gorgg.org site to honor all of the brave souls who have made these  
gatherings possible.)

The family was unable to come with me this year (Kim, Hillary, and  
Blaise say 'hi'), so I drove alone from Washington, DC, to Norwalk  
(stopping in Baltimore to work half a day) and arrived Wednesday  
evening. The talking went on for hours.

The Circle Line tour on Thursday was perfect. The weather was a little  
cool and I had forgotten to pack a coat, so I bought a souvenir  
sweatshirt. The sun was shining with a light breeze, the tour guide  
was pleasant, the sights interesting (I hadn't seen the Statue of  
Liberty and Ellis Island in 30 years: I got a little choked up), and  
our group was great company. After the tour I wanted to see the  
Corning Gallery of Steuben crystal. I have been an admirer of Steuben  
crystal most of my life and have been to the gallery a couple of times  
many years ago. This seemed like a great opportunity. So Kiirja, Dave  
Cherkus, and I set out to walk from the Circle Line pier to the  
gallery. Unfortunately, while the web page I pulled up gave the  
correct address it gave the wrong directions. After we got to where  
the map said the gallery was and found no gallery I checked some more  
web pages and discovered that we were still 20 blocks away. And we  
only had 30 minutes to get there before it closed. So once again I  
gave up on seeing the gallery and Kiirja, Dave, and I walked a few  
blocks to join the GORGG crowd at the Heartland for a very pleasant  
meal and an early evening back to the Norwalk Inn.

Friday afternoon was the remarkable Advent of Derek. I had bet Gary  
five bucks Derek wouldn't show, so I had mixed feelings about Derek's  
actually appearing (I'll pay up the next time I see you, Gary,  
honest). Not very mixed feelings really -- it was wonderful that Derek  
has made the connection with tBitB and GORGG and like everyone else I  
hope more good things follow from it.

The IZZ set was great. I had never heard them before and I now own all  
of their CDs. The jam was well played, as described by other folks.

I had hoped to play a jazz tune with Malc and Jeff, but the opportunity 
never really arose (also, jazz keyboard or guitar players are hard to 
find at GORGG). After the Inn finally made people shut down the electronics 
and people started breaking down the main equipment, I started to put my 
horn away. As I was doing so, Malc came over to me with a cymbal and a 
drumstick and said "Let's do some busking". So I played 'Stolen Moments' 
(an Oliver Nelson tune) on my trombone very quietly with Malc backing me 
up on the cymbal. We were on one side of the banquet hall and only a 
few people nearby seemed to notice. I don't think there were even any 
photos. It was our own stolen moment of jazz at the end of the main jam.

Saturday was a time of long comfortable chats, leading up to the raffle 
and auction. The auction was a hoot -- I think this was the first time 
any of the Giants actually bid on anything. Malcolm was set on getting 
the Playing The Fool tape ($300? well, it's a good cause). An old 
hard-bound copy of the Well-Tempered Clavier (books 1 and 2) went to 
Kerry for $10; there seemed to be something odd about the way the 
bidding was handled, though.

After the raffle/auction, many of us walked to BJ Ryan's for supper and  
more talking, then walked back to the Inn in a light rain.

On Sunday I said my goodbyes and drove back to DC. It was a long drive  
since I was very sleepy (even though I went to sleep early -- about 2:00  
am). I had to stop every 45 minutes or so to wake up.

It was a great five days, and I'm looking forward to next year.

Lindsey


FROM: Adam Levin
DATE: 11/4/2009 12:42:49 PM

GGreetings to all,

I've been enjoying the posts re: others' experiences at GORGGeleven while 
taking some time to process my own, and echo much of what's been posted!

First, I join the chorus of gratitude to Jon, Jerry, Alan, and many others 
for pulling it all together in various ways; to Gary, Kerry, Malcolm and 
their families - and, yes, even Derek - for your graciousness and giving 
us much to celebrate, and to Pug for being with us in spirit, as always.

This was my first GORGG, and it was a pleasure to meet, hang or converse 
with so many of you face-to-face in real time, for the first time, after 
several years on O-R.  Breaking that virtual reality (or filling in its 
gaps) felt, at times, like being Alice in Wonderland.  And the warmth, 
kindness, humor, trivia (significa to us!), insights, and talent shared 
were thoroughly enjoyable, even moving.

For me, the weekend was a whirlwind within a whirlwind, arriving late 
Thursday night on the heels of a demanding work week and leaving Norwalk 
on Saturday morning, with several commitments in different locations 
squeezed into the same weekend, leaving little time to rest or "re-fuel".  
But it all somehow fell into place, with exhilarating results.  (On the 
non-GORGG front, it included winning 1st prize in a Halloween costume 
contest just hours after leaving GORGG, and an earlier public presentation 
I gave on, ironically, "the dangers of online social networking".  Funny, 
it's been good to me so far!)  ;>)

As for the Jam, I agree with what's been said about there being a full 
contingent of talented and prepared musicians present and not enough time 
allotted (or planning) to accommodate many of them.  In fact, I was so 
swept up by the sheer pleasure of hearing and watching others perform 
that I nearly forgot I'd planned to be one of them!  And, of course, the 
rare opportunity to watch our amazing "Three Friends" perform that night 
would've been worth the entire trip.  Considering that it was something 
I thought we'd never live to see again, and the profound impact that 
Kerry and tBitB had on me during my formative years, that performance 
practically brought tears to my eyes.  (Well, if Dan Barrett can cry to 
their DVD's menu music, I guess I can cry at GORGG!)  ;>)  

On a personal note, it was also gratifying to hear my friend/ collaborator 
Wendy sing with Gary & company, and watch her acclimate as a "newbie" to 
the GORGG community despite being a confessed "non-progger" (albeit one 
who's performed prog works.)  Indeed, during the banquet, she was surprised 
to find herself seated next to a former co-worker who'd accompanied her 
husband there.  I also had the pleasure of hearing her improvisational, 
hilariously spot-on parodies of GG songs en route to Norwalk! Man, you 
shoulda been there...  ;>)

(Now, if she'd only managed to acquire that white jumpsuit she'd planned to 
wear while singing Derek's part on 'Memories of Old Days', which she 
nearly purchased online before regaining her senses.)

Finally, among many treats, it was a privilege to peruse "hard copies" of 
various GG paraphernalia, courtesy of Gary, Lesley, and others. (But where 
were GORGG's own CDs and other fundraising merchandise?)

I've been enjoying the photos posted thus far!  Thanks to all who have 
done so. I'll be uploading some of Wendy's and mine shortly ...

Again, thanks to all for such an inspirational, fun, and unique experience, 
and here's to many more!

Best,

Adam L
(F-T New Yorker)


FROM: David Cherkus
DATE: 11/4/2009 1:15:34 PM

Thanks for making the efforts and exposing yourself to the disappointments.

And of course thanks for all your work on G11.

You managed to pull off a great trip to NYC, a Derek appearance, a wonderful 
Izz show, countless jam sessions, and many great friendships made and/or 
renewed.

And no one got arrested! :-)

Hope you recover by G21! ;-)

Dave #3


FROM: Alan Benjamin
DATE: 11/5/2009 11:23:46 AM

Greetings dear friends,
 
It's hard to believe that our Circle Line cruise took place a week ago
today. Have been overrun with a whole host of memories, thoughts, and
emotions from last week's festivities-and, in all honesty, it's really 
quite overwhelming. In any case, there is more to share than I can 
probably conjure up (especially in one shot), so I figured I'd go ahead 
and start by expressing my most sincere appreciation to everyone who came 
for making this GORGG such an incredible and deeply touching experience. 
Who says that you can't choose your family?

Additionally, I explicitly wanted to thank all the folks that helped to
organize the entire event - and, from a personal standpoint, everyone who 
worked directly with me in one form or other in this regard. This includes: 
Jerry (guidance), Jon (equipment and transportation coordination), Rich 
(hotel hunting), David Kowalski and Lonna Buinis (transporting all our 
gear back home in their overstuffed RAV4), Mark and Henry (equipment 
coordination), John Galgano (equipment coordination), Tatsurou (equipment 
transport and storage) and Amy (overall support and recommending we stay 
over Saturday night as well). A huge thank-you to everyone who helped 
haul and/or pack the equipment too! I know that things would never have 
worked so well without everyone's help.

I also want to extend my deepest gratitude to Gary for his willingness to 
have a go at 'Memories of Old Days' - and also to everyone else who joined 
in to make it happen so beautifully: Adam, Glen (Barney), Mark, Paul, 
Pierre, and Wendy! (And Denis for the nice, subtle percussion as well.) ...

Lastly, while I'm in this frame of mind, I'd also like to thank Dan & Hak 
for their wonderful 'For Somebody' tune - and everyone who has been so kind 
in starting to share/post photos already.

You guys/girls (everyone here) are all the best!
 
Cheers,
Alan

P.S. Apologies to those who I also meant to single out here but forgot!


FROM: Jeff Smith
DATE: 11/5/2009 4:11:37 PM

My GORGG experience started Tuesday night around 7pm when I received an 
email from Frontier Airlines stating that my flight from Colorado Springs 
to Denver had been cancelled and that I had been reassigned to a later 
flight.  I spent the next 5 hours stressing out about how I was going to 
get on the 10:43am flight out of Denver which was not cancelled and for 
which I had a boarding pass but was apparently bumped from. With a 
winter storm coming on, I figured my only option was to get on that 
flight and thankfully, it worked out in the end that I was able to do 
just that.   With only 3 hours of sleep, I got my butt to the airport 
at 5am and after being told I couldn't get on the flight by the first 
6 people I spoke to (includes 4 I spoke with on the phone the night 
before), the seventh must have had pity on me because I was given a seat.  
As it turned out, the later flight that Frontier intended to put me on 
ended up being cancelled due to the winter storm.

Jamie Krutz, who was also on the same flight from Denver to LaGuardia, and 
I, arrived at the hotel Wednesday night just as people were coming back 
from dinner.  Despite being extremely tired, I managed to hang in there 
past 1am.  I've attended 6 of the last 7 GORGGs so I've come to know many 
of the people that regularly attend. It's a comforting sight to see old 
friends and renew acquaintances. Meeting new friends is always fun too 
as they will be old friends at the next GORGG.

This was the first GORGG I attended without a camera but the boat trip 
on Thursday convinced me I should buy a disposable film camera so I could 
at least take some pictures on the cruise around Manhattan Island.  This 
was my first trip to New York and I really enjoyed the day in the city.  
I hope to get back there in the future and spend more time checking out 
the rest of the city and the jazz clubs. Times Square at night is really 
something to see.  And Grand Central Station is, well, Grand Central 
Station!

There were lots of highlights on Friday starting with Derek's appearance.  
Thank you Ant for taking my photo with Kerry and Derek.  I didn't say 
much to Derek as I didn't want to ask a question that he had already 
answered to someone else.  In retrospect, I would have liked to ask him 
to convince his brother Ray to make an appearance in Scotland.  After 
talking to Kerry about that it doesn't seem likely but I plan to be there 
next year just in case.  Hopefully, we'll get to see JPW again too. 
 
With all the activity going on Friday, we never had a formal rehearsal 
for the jam and this was the first GORGG that I've attended where there 
was no rehearsal. Despite that, the jam went well. 'For Nobody' kicked 
butt and the Beatles set was great. Paul and Jamie played a wonderful 
set too. I had a blast playing Panurge and BitB with Gary, Kerry, and 
Malc and the Cobham tunes with Pierre and others. During the jam there 
was a brief respite to play  Dan & Hak's 'For Somebody'.  I'm always 
amazed at Dan's ability to create something that sounds like it could 
have been composed by Shulman, Shulman & Minnear (or Shulman, Shulman, 
Shulman & Minnear). The lyrics and music in the latter part of the song 
that counts down the GORGGs was very cool.

I almost forgot to mention IZZ.  They blew the doors down!  I've never 
seen them live and have only heard their 'I Move' cd. Great playing by 
the whole band, especially John Galgano who played some very inventive 
bass parts.
   
Saturday is usually a day to unwind and I did that by walking into town 
(South Norwalk or 'SoNo') and checking out the local brew pub and stopping 
by a smoke shop for a cigar.  I got back to the hotel just in time for 
the auction and actually won something I bid on this year!  I'm now the 
proud owner of Gary's Fender Telecaster pickguard. If any of you have a 
picture of Gary playing his Telecaster when he had the humbucking pickup 
installed in the neck position, let me know as I'd like to frame this 
with the photograph.    

My hat's off to Jon, Jerry, Marc M., and anyone else that had a hand 
in this year's event.  I think you all had a few more obstacles to 
overcome than most of us past GORGGanizers and everything turned out great.

Jeff Smith


FROM: Dave Matlock
DATE: 11/6/2009 2:28:21 PM

Gorgg was great again. Terrific to be with friends and to meet new
friends. It's great pinballing around the hospitality suite or the lobby
or around town and having chats and telling stories with all of you;
wish there had been more opportunity to spend more time with those of
you I didn't bounce into often enough. You all bring out the bests in
me. 

I concur with all that other Gorggers have posted so far and extend
our thanks to Jon and Jerry and Marc M and Rich H and Catera and
everyone else who pitched in for doing everything they did. Lana and I
spent three days in NYC after and stumbled across many cool things.
Gorgg pictures to come, eventually.
 
We'd be happy to have you decide to come to a Gorgg in Vancouver sometime, 
but folks, first, plan to get to Scotland if you can.
 
dave & lana


FROM: Kelly Mullen
DATE: 11/7/2009 10:45:32 AM

Hi Folks.  Just sending a note along from my Brother-in-Law Eddie.  I 
think he's hooked.

**

FROM: Eddie Pyke 
DATE: 11/2/2009 9:30 PM

Hello all, 

just like to thank everyone for a wonderful weekend in Norwalk. It's not 
too often where you can go and be with world class musicians and yet feel 
and be accepted as part of the group. 

My thanks to Kelly Mullen for introducing me to a very unique group of 
people who take pride in their ability in making great music as well as 
being equally happy having fun with their friends. This weekend was truly 
very special and I'm already working on the wife for GORGG 12. Hope 
everyone got home safe.

Eddie


FROM: Marc Catera
DATE: 11/7/2009 11:06:34 AM

Hey Gorggers,

Thanks: Jon, Jerry, Marc, Rich, David Eric, DaveDerek, Ed, Alan, John, 
Brems and all of IZZ, Mark and Henry, and anyone else who provided gear.

I was getting ready to thank Gary/Kerry/Malc/Judy/Lesley/Lynn, but you 
know, at this point that's kind of like thanking Uncle Norm for coming 
or Jose for tuning in via Skype. ;^)

Special thanks do go to Lesley for expanding the Giant count by one. Five 
down, 2 to go. It was good of him to come, and I am glad that Derek got 
even this oh so peripheral touch of Gorgg. I hope it makes a difference 
in the future and, if possible, in the past.

The ability to be surrounded by such open, warm, caring, accepting, 
loving, dynamic, intelligent, challenging, frustrating people, many of 
whom also happen to be fantastic musicians, even for only one week a 
year, is a precious thing that I have long since stopped underestimating 
the importance of, in my life.

I think the long emotional afterglow Gorgg posts that I have sent in the 
past have moved beyond me now, and that torch is better carried by some 
of the Gorgg newbies and other posters that I have already read.  In a 
way the post-Gorgg reviews have become like O-R itself: it's all been 
said before, it's all still true, and it's fun to read, but as a group 
we've covered much of that ground before, and so many times, it may be 
better left to the freshness and energy of our more recent additions.  
You tell them, Eddie!

I love how the Gorgg "rehearsal" has devolved into many people standing 
around and talking about the tune they will play. I know that parts were 
worked out in duos and trios but you guys came to play, the work had been 
done in the woodshed. Do you know how hard we worked in Portland to pull 
off what happened then? Kind of helps that you have an instant band in 
Three Friends, plug in competent players and mix, in the truest GG fashion. 
The jam has become everything it was meant to be: less sweat (at least 
in the days beforehand), maximum fun, and of excellent quality. 

As for me, I seem to be at a crossroads and Gorgg appears to have 
amplified that somewhat. I am not getting any younger or healthier, 
nor am I getting any more proficient at any of the instruments that 
I have either played or dabbled with over the years. If Malc, Gary, 
and Kerry can get together after 37(?) years and just nail GG music, 
then I can certainly lose about 40 pounds and take better care of 
myself, as to better enjoy Gorgg and not nod off every 5 minutes due 
to fat guy-induced sleep apnea. By Gorgg next year I will be 190 lbs., 
watch me.

And you know what? I'm a sax player, dammit. Why am I so afraid of 
that?  Maybe all of Mammie's nut busting did it, perhaps it was 
Malcolm's perplexment followed by his encouraging words. Maybe it was 
a comment from John or Tom Galgano. I think there is something cathartic 
about getting up and playing a few lines to accepting listeners at 
Gorgg, and it's time to stopping running from this thing and face it 
head on. Either I suck and the best I can be is not good enough for 
me, or perhaps I can surprise myself and make that enemy of mine 
somehow sing again. Either way, not touching the thing for a year 
at a time has stopped being an acceptable excuse. 

One small Gorgg tale, for fun.  I picked up Mammie in Utica Friday 
afternoon and we headed down to NJ to be in close proximity of 
LaGuardia to pick up Irina at her 9:30 AM Sat. arrival.  (After all 
of this, I STILL think that Irina doesn't really exist, she is either 
Julian Belanger or DatBoy, or Jerry McC baiting us). So we get to the 
Airport and I park at the curb and send Mammie in to get her.  Funny 
thing is, Irina is expecting me and has no idea it won't be me, nor 
does she even know what Mammie looks like and also Mammie has no idea 
what she looks like, either. Let's face it - would you leave the 
airport with Mammie promising 'Marc is at the curb'?  It's kind of 
like getting into a car with a stranger that promises to take you to 
where your hurt/sick parents are. This will go well, right?  We joke 
later about sending Mammie with a sign that reads: "Wanted, young 
eastern European women for fun, drinks, and Gorgg."  

Also on the way over to the airport, Mammie and I joke about how 
uncomfortable it might be for Irina to get into the car with the 
two of us, and if it were two guys other than us, how bad a mistake 
that might be.  We go on to joke that when she gets in the car we 
should start talking to each other about where the "gun" and 
"bullets" and "handcuffs" are, whether he had them or me.  Ha Ha, 
would that be fun - sure, a thousand laughs.

Anyway, in short order Mammie and Irina emerge from the airport, a 
classic case of looking for someone who is looking for someone, and 
thus finding each other.  We get Irina's stuff safely secured and 
off we go, heading for the airport exit.  Of course Mammie says 
about a minute after we leave the curb, "Hey Marc, where's the gun?", 
I'm a bit surprised but not so much so to quickly respond "it's back 
there with you, right?  "Do you have the bullets, the handcuffs?"  

I can't believe it - it's not right, it's not kind, and it's certainly 
not funny! Why would we do this to this poor nervous girl?  Thankfully 
it doesn't last long and she hopefully didn't have enough time to 
actually get scared by it (Did you, BTW?). It was funny because later 
Irina said she should have hired some random guy in the airport to 
pretend it was her and play the joke on us, that she really is some 
middle-aged guy pulling all of our chains. Way to go Irina, she gets it.

To everyone I had not met in person before this year:  Hey, welcome to 
Gorgg, your life will be different from now on.  Don't underestimate 
this, and please don't ever take it for granted. Oh, and do something 
to help out next year. ;^)  Your probationary free ride period is over.

To everyone who has done something, anything at all to further the cause 
of Gorgg this year, in Norwalk, or ever in the years leading us here:  
Thank you again and again and apologies for not giving you a name check.  
You know what you did, we know what you did, and thank you again for 
doing it, the deed did not go unnoticed even though the public 
ackowledgement is lacking.

To anyone who mentioned me in their thanks in previous posts, I've said 
it before, I'll say it again:  I am a selfish b@st@rd, you all should 
know this by now.  Anything I do in regards to Gorgg is always for my 
own personal benefit and enjoyment. If you somehow get some incidental 
side benefit out of it, great, but please, always be cynical of my 
actions. The only exception is when one of the BitB ask me to do 
something. That I do out of pure fanboy suck-up reasons. I'm heading
to Birmingham to do Lesley's windows this weekend. ;^)  

Seriously, thank you for noticing, and to said Boys and Girls in/of 
the Band, I, like many of your friends here, would do anything possible 
to help you all in any way that we can. You can always depend on us to 
be here, that you can take for granted if you wish.

Wow, what happened to my short post?

JPW and Carol, we missed you. Please make sure to fix this next year.

Transparently,
Marc


FROM: Lesley Minnear
DATE: 11/11/2009 12:52:02 PM

We are enjoying the Gorgg photos. We enjoyed Gorgg too!  It is always 
good to renew friendships and meet new folk.  I'm especially looking 
forward to Marc cleaning our windows. I can't wait 'til he's here for 
McGorgg.  (The greasy imprint of a misguided pigeon that flew into the 
patio windows is quite artistic).  A big thank you to all the 
organizers - you did good!

Smiling,
Lesley


FROM: Irina Lebedeva
DATE: 11/11/2009 9:17:26 PM

As the radio warned, the storm which might turn into a hurricane
covered Hampton and I'm stuck at home for a few days - that's
when uninvited but sweet memories of Norwalk days invade my mind.

One of the best memories is our walks. Oh those delightful walks
during GORGG - standing for more than an hour deciding where
to go (then at least one person would go 'ah, I thought you were
just hanging out outside!'), patiently waiting for someone who was
in fact peacefully standing right next to you, unaware that the
whole group was waiting just for him and then getting hopelessly
lost within the first five minutes - the charm of such experience is
irresistible:-)

(Lesley and I experienced the privilege of being lead by innocently
and melodically whistling Kerry through a certain picturesque alley
sweetly decorated with barbwire, pieces of broken cars and
something that looked undoubtedly like a prison wall. A couple
of morbidly scratching stray dogs nicely completed the picture
of desolation and destruction. :-)  Curiously enough, it turned out
he knew where he was going perfectly well and it was indeed the
shortest route!)

Or getting into the back seat of the car when you know that by all
laws of physics there's no space for all of you and yet, despite those
natural laws, you magically squeeze in, and enjoy the ride surrounded
by a very close (literally) and intimate (literally?) circle of 
friends. I loved it. I must admit, I loved it.

When we were at the beach near the Norwalk Aquarium, we saw a whole 
family of wild swans. While we were quickly trying to capture the magic 
sight (the distance was big-ish for taking pictures, but I think Glen 
succeeded), they obviously realized that they found thankful spectators 
and started flapping their wings dramatically, graciously bending their 
necks and doing other tricks that melt the hearts of silly humans and 
make us write rubbish like sonnets and love poetry.

This was when Gary found a piece of fishing line attached to the dock, 
which immediately lead to the invention of a unique stringed instrument 
previously unknown to humanity. Different notes were produced by 
pulling it harder or lighter - the sound was a bit... erm... wooden, but 
hey, it was Gary Green himself playing it! (I wonder if there's a name 
for this brave invention?)... we even managed to do a quick round 
of 'guess the tune' on it. Pulling it and letting it go, Gary produced 
something that was undoubtedly GG! And even though the melody had 
lots of... let's say *blue* notes... John Burns was able to identify 
it - it was the Wreck in its most primeval form!

Irina


FROM: Marc Guilbert
DATE: 11/11/2009 10:44:42 PM

Hi GGang:

Finally got to getting my GORGG 11 pix in decent shape for posting here.

What can I say?  Another GGreat GGathering was had.  One personal highlight 
was Thursday night's deconstruction of Giant tunes by Gary and Paul, 
especially the modification of the refrain of "Free Hand" to 

"Who would believe me now, 
that the beers are free, 
beers are free... 
beers are free!"

MG-bert


FROM: Jose Carlos Fialho
DATE: 12/15/2009 11:24:05 PM

Hey, folks
 
I was due to write this a while ago, but, in an uncharacteristic (or 
perhaps not) manner, I was only capable of reading most of the O-R 
and Gorgg list posts about GorggEleven... well... today.

When I realized that Ana and myself couldn't make it to this year's 
gathering, I was truly devastated. Gorgg, since I first attended in 2000, 
rapidly became the most important moment of the year for me. It's the 
real magic in my life, it's a real thing that STILL goes beyond my wildest 
dreams. It was, since the first years, like having found my long-lost real 
family, like having finally discovered my home in this world. It was Gorgg 
that gave me the will and the strength to play at least half-seriously 
again, it was Gorgg that saved me from the dark path my life was going 
into back in 2000. Believe me, I was in a self-destruction route that 
would most probably end quickly in a very disgusting, meaningless and, 
of course, fatal way back then. You guys saved my life, and gave a 
meaning to it again. I finally felt I belonged to something without 
the slightest trace of doubt or reservation. Enough of this, you got 
my point.

So there I was in Lisbon, in the middle of traffic, feeling miserable 
on that special Friday, when my cell phone suddenly ringed. I couldn't 
believe it. It was Ant, giving me instructions so I could (thanks to 
Andre's laptop) a few minutes later, at home, connect myself live with 
the Gorgg banquet hall! Another miracle, in true Gorgg style. There I 
stayed, with Ana until she fell asleep, hooked for I guess almost 12 hours, 
until Andre's laptop battery passed out. Guys, you even played the most 
beautiful version of Plain Truth (well, sorry for the slight 
exaggeration...) at my request. What the f*ck are you, guys? Real angels?

But despite all this incredible and wonderful turn of events, I still 
couldn't put myself into reading the posts about Gorgg. I didn't want 
details about what I missed. Silly me. I should know that nothing coming 
from you guys could harm me or hurt me in any way. So, please extend 
your already infinite generosity a little bit further and forgive me 
for one more idiosyncratic wrong move without rhyme or reason.

Ok, in conclusion: Thank you all, my dear friends. You are truly the 
greatest bunch of people I ever met, and you cannot imagine how proud 
I am for being your friend. We'll make it to Scotland, even if I'll 
have to walk all the way there with Ana on my shoulders. I would say 
'bless you, if you weren't already blessed.

Sorry for the unusual long one. I love you. Yes, even you, Jerry! A lot!

Take care,
 
Jose Carlos
 
Ps  - and as far as tattoos go, I have my giant head tattooed on my soul. 
Ps2 - can my Skype presence be counted as a half-Gorgg in the Gorgg 
      count for next year? ;-)
Ps3 - Andre, thanks a zillion times for the group photo!
Ps4 - as usual, forgive my clumsy English.