PO... How Many Years Has it Been Man ?!?
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Wow… I don't even know where to begin for this one. A best friend & brother of the highest order is my "*Tallpo*":http://mog.com/Tallpo. We've been friends since meeting through a mutual friend our sophomore year in college. They dated for a while & when things went south for them - he & I still kept in fairly close contact, visiting each other while the ex fell further & further off our radar.
Pretty soon we were attending shows together, making mixes, smoking, drinking & winning nearly every game of beer pong we ever joined. As our Philly native would say, "Yeah, it's that easy !" ;)
Po is 6'8". He's a very big boy - as tall as he is - that's the size of his heart - only multiply by about a thousand or so. He's what all his friends call "our rock" & is the responsible, steady & kind soul I am proud to call my brother (if not by blood - certainly by music) !!!
I am the auntie to both his boys & I even introduced him to his wife - AT A CONCERT no less ;) Train & Matchbox Twenty… good show - even better outcome.
So for Mike (Po) there are countless musical memories… I will do these in shifts as they all deserve their moment in the sun, & I don't want to hear August whining about the lengthy arse posts of mine ;)
This isn't the first of my memories - but it is one my favorites. Po used to have the coolest ride - it was the (GIGANTICALLY) BIG GREEN MACHINE, Caprice Classic, with the plates 3PO (he was the third boy in his family & I guess it's fair to say he digs Star Wars). This car had many incarnations, at one point it sported a tie-dyed ceiling… later in it's life there was the distinct stentch of berryflavored-poo in the air ;) We lived for rides in that car - with the bench seating in front, it was the most comfortable ride in all of Scranton, if not the entire state of PA.
(Side note on the berryflavored-poo smell… It was winter in Scranton - Po went to Kings College & a pastime of ours was to do circles in the snow of the empty parking lots late at night… getting into the car before such an escapade, I was warned just one step beyond, about a large pile of doggie poo right in front of the passenger door… let me tell you - heated dog poo on car carpeting is one of the worst smells - the winner would be cat urine, but thankfully - there were never any cats in Po's car. The berryflavor came into play as PO tried EVERYTHING to get that stench out - nothing worked, so he went with an attempt at masking it - every time he set foot in the Caprice, he sprayed… it helped finally - the way the final stab put Caesar out of his misery… still we loved that ride).
Back to the music memory though… Po & his ex loved listening to Soul Coughing - I took some gentle nudging to get on the train, but once I did - I devoured them. My theme song since college has been Super Bon(d)-Bon(d) & I positively adore the wackiness of Mike Doughty.
But the song that Po dreamed up a video for is the song in this post. Screenwriter's Blues. I remember driving around with him playing it for me one early morning in Scranton & telling me exactly how he would make a video for the song about livin & dying in LA. It was pure brilliance & I added to the ideas that had come to him & together we made the most AMAZING VIDEO for a song ever. Every time I hear the song or a lyric from the song pops into my head - so do visions of the BIG GREEN MACHINE, Po back in the days of no facial hair, but plenty more on top, our video playing for Doughty who waits til the end & then says he's getting the band back together because it's that frickin good & the quote, "We are all in some way or another going to Reseda someday, to DIE"… & the keys... oh when those keys come into play, it blares from my brain stereo & I can't get it to go any lower than 11.
Sure I miss those days… Some of the best times I've had I've shared with my man Po & his band of miscreants… some of the best shows - he's been right by my side - either at the back of the venue, or seated the entire show - cuz he's considerate of the shorter folks who might actually want to see the band. I remember seeing 4 towns worth of fireworks in my neighborhood from atop one of the hills behind my development & watching his face as he talked with Kristen for the first time at the Matchbox show… knowing my one foray into matchmaking was working rather brilliantly.
Now, we see each other a lot less - he's married with two beautiful young boys & I live the life of a single girl - you know - ON MOG ;) But when we do get together - it's treasured time & we do it up old school, laughing all the while & taking his Expedition for a few circles in the snow of the Southern Jersey parking lots that are empty late at night… OK ok - we go to bed early - but the thought is always there… & as I presently listen to DMB playing So Damn Lucky, "…with my foot on the gas, I started sliding" I can't help but think how lucky we were to have met all those years ago.
Thanks Po… for all the times before & all the times to come - you are my brother & I love you man. No, I mean, I LOVE YOU MAN !!! ;P
Comments (17)
Dag Po... that video is nearly spot on - time to think up a new cool vid for a song we share...
Aren't you glad there was no internet back then?
YES -> A aprice classic -> big boat of a car -> my buddy adam, longest and best childhood friend, had a light blue on, and that sucker was a tank, on one bake ride through a dirt road in the woods, somewhere I will not disclose in Maryland, he was stoned behind the wheel and hit a deer going like what, 6 miles an hour, MAYBE 7, and the deer flipped up onto the hood, stood up on the car and then jumped off -> talk about, "hey man, did that really just happen?" -> "no, man, pass that Sh*t over here!"
great tale, I just lived through everything you just described -> you ever think about writing kids books or something (I'm sure you could write adult books, it just seems like you are so good with kids :))
anyway -> TD out
@lakposhti... darn good thing my friend ;) The imagination we had working for years on the video for this song - almost killed me to see the video this afternoon when getting ready to post... ours was better though :)
@Tyler... that's fantastic... Po & I saw an ACTUAL CHINESE FIREDRILL... at a stop light getting off I676, four Chinese persons all stepped out of their Honda & switched seats, got back in the car & drove off when the light turned green ;) I am with you !!!
Kids books - that's a great idea as well :) Thanks darlin - we shall see on both book fronts :)
dude, that is fantastic, it's so dang...literal! I woulda been leaning out the window taking video, but I guess back then that woulda been a 30 pound camcorder eh?!
Awww! Such a sweet story and post :)
You have sugar and spice running in your veins, don't ya!
@Tyler... if I had the camera - I would have it on film... we couldn't believe our eyes !!!
@AnnaSis - you know I think I do - it RUNS IN THE FAMILY !!!
Did you ever watch a sitcom where the regular characters find themselves in a new setting that is almost the exact same situation as they are normally in, but everything is different? Say...the guys from Cheers end up at another bar, and there's another Norm, Cliff, and Sammy? All the characters look slightly like the ones you know, but they are different too?
I swear, if I ended up in The Denny's in Downingtown, I would have run into this situation, back in the mid 90's. Our respective groups would have met their bizarro equivalents, and maybe sneered a little at their almost reflection (no one ever believes what they actually look like), and then we would have turned back on the way about our own business.
You can keep writing the stories as if their your own, but I know only the names have changed and the people are only slightly different!
Love SC, Doughty & crew are gods! Noice dedication to Po.
@Tyler...You can keep writing the stories as if their your own, but I know only the names have changed and the people are only slightly different!
& you realize our doppelgangers & our actual selves would have become fast friends in the same breath - just as we have here ;) You SLAY me Lil Red Devil Tyler !!!
@August...Can't go wrong with Doughty & crew !!! Glad you dug the dedication... can't wait for Po to read it tonight... he might even break his long silence & comment on the post ;)
So Damn Lucky... not anymore - the loss of Leroi Moore proves we are not as lucky as we once were...
RIP Leroi Moore.
My heart is broken tonight - for his family, for his band & for all the fans who've loved him for so many years.
Broken.
I'm not sure I could put it any better - those were good memories sista! You DO need to start writing your music thoughts and memories on paper. If you don't mind though the title - "How many years has it been man?" could be improved. See, the great Green Machine still exists . . only even bigger! Now it comes equiped with 4 wheel drive, a bigger gas tank, two baby seats, a portable dvd player, a few suckies hiding under the seats somewhere and tiny finger prints just about everywhere. And even though the Tallpo's are located a state away - you could look at the drive to visit as a time to ... reflect on new music you can share with moggers and the po's! And as for the berryflavored-poo smell - I can supply that any time my dear with two children at home! So for the memories of yesteryear - I look at them as "adjusted memories" : )
Watching that Soul Coughing video just vindicates that I still have hope as a video/film director if my teaching career ever dies. : )
good times ....then and now!
Good times good times indeed - and great call - I think you may win longest title in said book....
See, the great Green Machine still exists . . only even bigger! Now it comes equiped with 4 wheel drive, a bigger gas tank, two baby seats, a portable dvd player, a few suckies hiding under the seats somewhere and tiny finger prints just about everywhere.
been reading most of these
but rarely comment
BAD PIMP
excellent stuff girlie
@Keith... thrilled you're diggin them - you're not a bad PIMP - you're a great friend :)
I WISH I COULD GET FOCUSED
agh!
It comes & goes - now I am looking into writing a children's book with one of my oldest & dearest friends - GOOD TIMES !!!
Don't force it & it will come to you - you gots a hella story my friend - would be great to see it down on paper, bound & in stores :)