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Gary Citro, Sun 17 Jan 1999 09:11:41 -0500:
Top 11 Surprises about the NY Ggetogether
11. Ginny Landgraf does actually exist, she was not created by The Ranting Man, Rick Butler, or Datboy. And all that stuff you read in her posts is true.
10. GG fans can listen to several hours of Who, Dead, and Blondie *exclusively* without organizing a coup against a DJ.
9. NY conventions can KICK ASS on Portland conventions, the same way the JETS can KICK ASS on DENV---uh.....we had a great time.
8. Rich Hilton is still alive after meeting 11 people on this list at once.
7. The whole damn *table* knows which Dave Stewart you're talking about.
6. WOW! I could have had a V-8!
5. Keep your wimpy Stratocaster and stack of Marshalls. The KAEN ROCKS!
4. Basic ideas for the International Convention were actually discussed, Richard Worthy has some great contacts and potential sites, and Rich Hilton, who is really a wonderful guy, is willing to help greatly in organizing the thing. Believe me, Jerry McCarthy and he did this for last night's meeting to perfection without a hitch.
3. No one got up and said, "I GOTTA GO! I'M MISSING THE TYSON FIGHT!"
2. To everyone's surprise, Gary Citro is not only erudite and charming--HE LOOKS LIKE A MODEL!
1. NY GG CONVENTIONS HAVE A GROOVE!
Gary Citro
Rich Hilton, Sun 17 Jan 1999 09:26:48 -0500:
Friends:
Just wanted to drop a note to say what a fantastic time I had last night at the NY GGetogether. What a wonderful and diverse group of wierdos we are.
Attendees included: Jerry McCarthy, Alan Benjamin, Gary Citro, David Shur and Mrs. Shur, Richard Worthy and Mrs. Worthy, Tatsurou and Yoko, Ginny, Ian McGrath, and me.
In addition to the good beer, fine food, and excellent conversation, Ginny performed some astounding music on the Kaen, including some Gentle Giant music.
Best,
Rich
David Eric Shur, Sun 17 Jan 1999 09:49:03 -0500:
Last evening brought on a meeting of 12 O-R digest members at The Heartland Brewery in New York City. The get-together was orchestrated primarily by Jerry McCarthy, Rich Hilton, and Alan Benjamin. Those three were there, along with Tatsurou & Yoko Ueda, Gary Citro, Richard and Kariné Worthy, Ginny Landgraf, Ian McGrath, and David Eric & Stacey Shur.
Jerry, Tatsurou, and Gary proudly wore Gentle Giant related T-shirts, which, as could be expected, brought absolutely no response nor sign of recognition from the other people in the bar. The drink of the evening, in deference to the theme of the gathering, was stout. And much of it was imbibed for the next 5 and a half hours, during spirited discussion. The major highlight of the evening (in this writer's opinion) was Ginny Landgraf brandishing a rifle case, and then taking out a Thai musical instrument called a kaen. She demonstrated the bamboo instrument early in the evening, and later on, played a solo while a recording of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" blasted out through the bar's sound system.
There were many conversations going on at the same time, but several stand out. Rich Worthy praised The Wall during the Pink Floyd segment of the conversation. Jerry and Alan lambasted Explorers Club's Age of Impact and discussed famous musicians they had each met through the years. David and Rich discussed Alan White's contribution (or lack of, depending of your point of view) to Relayer by Yes, and the cost of concert tickets during the early 70's. Tatsurou, Ginny, and David discussed the existential and theological overtones of Tull's Thick as A Brick, all while Ian calmly ate his bowl of chili. Stacey and Kariné discussed their husband's various bands and the virtues of patience. Towards the end of the evening, the threads of conversation all inevitably led towards a discussion of Giant For a Day and Civillian. Fortunately, no weapons were permitted in the bar, thus there were no injuries during that last segment of discussion. Everyone agreed the meeting was a success, and it was a pleasure to actually meet all these people at one time.
Jerry McCarthy gave this writer permission to write a synopsis of the meeting. Pictures were taken by several people all of which will be compiled and posted eventually on a separate web site. All in all, it was the birth of a realization- the rise of a high expectation. -David Eric.
Tatsurou Ueda, Sun 17 Jan 1999 18:16:47 -0500:
Hi, all!
I had such a good time last evening at Heartland Brewery in NYC. The first tri-state GGet-together was an absoltute success! I'm particularly delighted to find out that those OR'ers (9 plus spouses) are just as nice and fun people in actuality as they are on the list.
Thanks,
Tatsurou
Ginny Landgraf, Sun 17 Jan 1999 21:22:16 -0500:
I wanted to thank Jerry and Rich again for organizing the GGetogether, Alan for giving me a ride home, and everybody for the stimulating conversation. I was amused that people were amazed that my first GG song was "Memories of Old Days." But I didn't feel "underage" until people started talking about their live concert experiences towards the end of the evening. Then I just couldn't compete. My first rock concert wasn't until 1981 (Kinks/Red Rider). ...
to everybody who was there: thanks for receiving my world premiere kaen versions of "Wreck" and "Talybont" so graciously. (Some of you may not have heard "Talybont"; I was sitting down at the table when the subject came up, and my version wasn't premeditated & not complete either). I hadn't thought I was ready to play any GG when I first started, but after a few hours I got more brazen . . . was it Gary who said that he couldn't imagine such a thing happening 10 years ago? Why is that? Is it because of the Internet and the increased ease of getting disparate people with a similar specific interest together, or is it because of increased cross- cultural communication? Boiled in Lead used a (miniature) kaen on their album Orb, which I believe came out in 1989 ...
Ginny
Alan Benjamin, Sun 17 Jan 1999 19:33:28 -0800 (PST):
Greetings,
Just a quick note to express my joy and appreciation in relation to last night's GG gathering in NYC. The evening was tremendously fun, significantly exceeding my very high expectations. Thanks to everyone who came, and especially to Jerry and Rich H. for setting everything up. I can't wait until the next one!
Take care,
Alan
Jerry McCarthy, Wed 20 Jan 1999 17:17:54 -0500:
Hi All--
Sorry to have been silent thus far about the recent GGetogether(s) but I've been too busy lately meeting (seems like) most of the list members in the eastern 2/3 of North America and taking 20-hour cross-country plane rides (don't ask) to write.
At some point soon I'll bore you all, as is my custom, with my ever-growing complete Troubography, but for now I'll comment on the last pair of escapades. Much has already been posted about them so I'll just put in my additional cents.
On Monday, Jan. 10, I met up with Brad Oldham & Michael Clay in Texas. The heartless bastards actually sent me to a cafe that was closed, but with my New York cleverness I outsmarted them and found them carousing in a bar across the street laughing at me! (OK, so only about half of that actually happened, and I'll let you guess which half didn't.) Once we found a bar that was actually OPEN, though, I must say we had a fine time.
As has been my *overwhelming* experience with O-Rers thus far, both guys couldn't have been nicer and I really enjoyed our Dallas GGetogether. Even though we'd never met, there was a nice flow of conversation and it felt as if we'd hung out like this many times before. As Michael commented to me at one point, "you remind me of guys I listened to GG with in high school." I chose to take that as a compliment, in the sense that we seemed like old friends, rather than ponder the possibility that maybe I just seemed like a case of arrested development to him. Anyway, Michael was kind enough to provide us with some Hands "software" and regaled us with first-hand stories about meeting TBitB, and Brad gave me a lift back to the hotel afterwards rather than make me wait for one of those phantom Dallas cabs (inside joke), so both guys are very OK in my book. We "Three Friends" had a great time. This Internet-spawned phenomenon of reminiscing with total strangers is an exhilarating experience! Rumor has it that Michael/Brad may be doing this again with some of the other Handsters in tow, and I wish them well -- have a great time, guys.
The two-day, 19.5-hour return trip from Dallas to Long Island (by way of Philadelphia) during a raging ice storm was NOT so exhilarating, so let's skip that part. I wish I could have.
After catching 40 winks, the next day I attended the Saturday NY GGetogether which was also, as has been recounted by others, a rousing success. Most of the particulars have already been posted. But I would like to say that seeing it actually happen, like clockwork, with PERFECT attendance (in terms of everybody coming who promised me they were coming - gold stars for everyone!), has been a most gratifying experience for me and well worth any time I invested in organizing things. I'm just very happy that everyone seemed to have such a splendid time ... 9 O-Rers (+3 partners) in the same building at one time was quite a rush. And having just met eleven list members in a 6-day span with a business trip sandwiched in-between, I must truthfully say that it's all a bit of a blur to me now, but I know I had fun!
Some stray thoughts:
1) The beverage of choice was actually a house-brewed oatmeal stout, not Guinness. And O-Rers REALLY seem to like dessert. About the only time all night that conversation died was when the gloppy stuff was served. :-)
2) There were actually 4 people there w/GG shirts, not 3, and I think I liked Gary Citro's the best, since his was about a whale and had nothing to do with the band - nice touch, Gar! His was also the only one that would ever stand a snowball's chance of sparking conversation amongst strangers in a bar.
3) For me, part of setting this thing up was just to show it could be done, and I hope that it will give confidence to list members in other locales to plan their own GGetogethers. Trust me, they're a blast.
4) The timing of Bert's announcement last October about his possible Fall 99 trip to NY came almost to the day of my initial discussions about a NY GGetogether, and I apologize for any confusion that may have developed about the two events, but they were NEVER meant to be the same thing. Now that we've gotten through a locals-only version, though, perhaps it can be used as a blueprint for a more internationally-flavored meeting in NYC this autumn. I would love to attend such an event (and I'd be REALLY thrilled to see somebody else organize it, but I'd be happy to help out!)
5) Thanks to Stacey & David Eric Shur for constructing a GGetogether webpage in lightning-fast fashion (did you guys have the film developed while you were still in the bar?). I know that at least two other cameras were also flashing that night, one of which was mine, and I hope to send those images to the Shurs shortly. (Don't be afraid, photographs BY me are far less frightening than photographs OF me, as anyone who has visited their page can now attest.)
6) Ginny is far & away the best kaen player I've ever seen live, especially for free. ;-) She kicks kaen ... can ... butt!
7) Rich H. -- thanks for the great tapes, and for having the courage to offer your credit card to the waitress! I appreciate your help with things.
8) Gary -- I forgive you for forgetting who the hell I was.
9) And last, but not least: I dunno about the rest of you, but I am definitely game to do this again some time. Just say the word.
--Jerry (NP: Pat Metheny Group - American Garage)
José Carlos Fialho, Wed, 20 Jan 1999 23:29:37 +0100:
Ola, Gigantes
Glad you all had a GGood time in NYC. Well, at least I enjoyed the photo page (thanks Stacey & David Eric) and the reports...
Jerry wrote:
> 4) The timing of Bert's announcement last October about his possible
> Fall 99 trip to NY came almost to the day of my initial discussions
> about a NY GGetogether, and I apologize for any confusion that may have
> developed about the two events, but they were NEVER meant to be the same
> thing. Now that we've gotten through a locals-only version, though,
> perhaps it can be used as a blueprint for a more
> internationally-flavored meeting in NYC this autumn. I would love to
> attend such an event (and I'd be REALLY thrilled to see somebody else
> organize it, but I'd be happy to help out!)
A blueprint, indeed! But we Europeans will need other kind of help, like hotel suggestions, etc. We'll come to it, I'm sure. V-Bert was recovering from a flu (I think), and we better wait for his word... Anyway, I don't think we must look for another member to organize things in NYC... You did a fine job, Jerry! My vote is for you! :oD
Seriously, I think there's still two possible dates: Spring or autumn 99. Again, V-Bert has the word about this (hope you're getting better, friend). An International GGetogether should be something! I had the experience of meeting some guys from Spock's Beard list last November in Paris (for a SB gig, of course!) and it was terrific! You know, this net-thing put me in contact in a year with more people that share my interests than in the past ten years. Oh yeah... and my rusty English is improving... very slowly, though, I'm afraid. Be well.
José Carlos