More friends in other places... always adding more...

I have been a huge fan of Emo Philips since the 70s and this year (2007) he celebrates 30 years in comedy.  Wow!  Until 1997 I just had to admire Emo's work from his recordings and TV appearances.  But in 1997 he did a show at Penguin's Comedy Club in Cedar Rapids.  It also happened to be my wife Lori's birthday, so I got some tickets (numbered 1,2,3,& 4) and we got to see Emo up close.  After the show he invited us into his dressing room, where I presented him with a sheet music version of his theme song "I Like To Shop In Downtown Downer's Grove" that I put together.  We've been corresponding off and on ever since.

Many people aren't aware that Emo produced the first version of the smash hit "Meet The Parents".  Emo's version is done on a budget with unknown actors, and I swear it is 100 times better than the Hollywood version, no offense to Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller.  Emo sent us a copy of it on videotape a couple of years before it came out in theaters.  The tone of that film is so Emo... it's like a piece of his mind recorded on tape.  Emo has a cameo role in the movie as a video store clerk.  In the picture at the left, he's just recommended a film to the unsuspecting finacee, telling him that it's his "favorite movie".  A few seconds later, they're leaving the store and you can hear Emo telling another customer that Ishtar is his "favorite movie".  Hilarious!

We're going to see Emo for my birthday this October (thanks to my wife Lori who always comes up with the best birthday presents).  He's invited us backstage so it will be good to catch up some.  We haven't seen him since 2006.   

UPDATE:  The performance in Peoria we saw was excellent!  Emo never disappoints.  The trip was worth it, and we're looking forward to our next visit.  I think we may go to Madison this fall. 

Also... we made new friends at the Jukebox Comedy Club.  They have a GREAT staff, and it's really a nice place to see live comedy.  PLUS we made friends with the 3rd biggest Emo fan, who drove down from Chicago to see him.  HI, Gypsy!!!

This is my granddaughter Katie in 2008.  She likes to play violin and clarinet and sometimes can be seen with a guitar.  Her most favorite thing to do, though, is sing and act in musical theater. 

Katie is an accomplished singer and has taken a shine to Broadway musicals.  She recently took top honors at a talent contest singing a song from South Pacific.

She has recorded in my studio and I hope to have her back to record soon.  She recorded "The Shoop Shoop Song" and we're working on "One Girl Revolution", which is a really fun cover.

She has a nice MySpace page which reflects her creativity and her generation.  I "get" most of it, but I wish sometimes that some of those keystrokes used for texting were being used to play a piano or guitar.

Here's my longtime buddy Dr. Dave Stadum with his bear rug.  It wasn't always a rug, though... Dave was hunting with his wife Elaine and they shot it near International Falls, Minnesota.  He said it weighed 350 pounds.  Later that evening after the picture was taken,  Dave and I ate some of it, sauteed with onions and green peppers.  It was delicious, in my opinion.  You may recognize Dave from some of the other band pictures in this section... Dave played in several bands with me including Hudson Bay Fur Company and The Durangos.

John Curran (left) and I did a duo for a while in the early 70s.  He's an excellent singer, he likes to do standards by Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, that kind of stuff.  He does it all well.

John and I ran into each other again in Minneapolis in the late 70s.  My singer in Pony Express (Barbie Burke) developed a vocal problem that required her to have minor surgery and then take a break for a few weeks.  John stepped right in and did a fantastic job filling in for Barbie.  We weren't doing any Sinatra but he picked up a pile of country pop standards and we went with it.  He's still in Minnesota, I believe, around St. Cloud.  I sure enjoyed working with John, his voice is terrific, and his senses of pitch, phrasing, and style are remarkable.   

This is my late friend Jerry Stafford, who used to come out to see Pony Express whenever he was in town.  Jerry was a truck driver and he played the harmonica.  Not a blues harp style, but the old-tyme style where you tongue the instrument a lot to create melody lines with rhythmic self-accompianments.  Jerry was a great guy and a good friend.  Here he is at one of Pony Express' many talent contests.  We used to do those every Wednesday night to promote business... the club owners loved it and they got free advertising on WDGY.  (It used to be a country station before it turned into talk radio.) 

He passed away in 1990.  This is some food for thought... I moved to Texas in 1986 and hadn't seen Jerry for several years.  One night he called, out of the blue, to have a chat and let me know that his death was immanant.  In retrospect, I think that was a lovely statement about our friendship and I think it's a great idea if you have the option.  The conversation never turned morbid, it was like having a memorial service for someone with them participating.   

Here are friends and former bandmate Joe and Lori Sibinski.  We used to refer to Joe by one of two nicknames, either "Seabiscuit" or "The Fifth Beatle".  Joe is a great drummer/vocalist and worked with me in Pony Express for a while.  Later, he was a founding member of Clutch Cargo, so we had the opportunity to play together again before our paths diverged.  Joe found this magicians/novelty shop somewhere in the Twin Cities and he used to show up to the gig with Groucho glasses, whoopie whistles, the arrow through the head, and hats with moose antlers on them.  That kind of stuff.  There were frequently times when things needed a bit of lightening up and Joe was really good at that besides being an extremely solid drummer.  Joe had a day gig as a machinist... I don't know how he did that AND worked full time in the band. 

UPDATE:  Joe and Lori have decided to part ways.  I've spoken with him about it, all I can say is, remember, a good sense of humor will carry you through.

Euphonic Studio music lessons, piano tuning, and digital recording services

Mount Vernon, Iowa

For information about music lessons and digital recording at Euphonic Studio, call Bill at 319.895.8002 or 319.329.4527