Category: Music

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When I Was Young….

Typhoid Mary @ The Cotati Cabaret – 1991

Back in 2019, the former bass player of my old band (Typhoid Mary) sent me a video of one of our performances from 1991. He had asked me if I could try to clean up the audio (I couldn’t do it very well). But what a walk down memory lane he provided.

There is a lot I don’t remember about that night. But there are things, mainly emotions, that I remember very clearly. In summary:

  • This was a transition point in my life. I believe this is the 1st performance I ever did free of any mind/mood altering substances as I “cleaned up” earlier that year. Prior to that, I had 6 years of performance experience in various states of inebriation. So who you are seeing on the right of the screen with all the dark hair and the Flying V is a confused person who hasn’t figured out that he’s wearing the proverbial “old clothes” that are beginning to not fit the person any more. I didn’t know it at the time but this was the beginning of the end of my wanting to play in a Rock band. Up to this point, I was chasing the “Rock and Roll Fantasy” of sex, drugs, and Rock and Roll. The thing is, it was a fantasy, and a painful one at that. I was pretending to be something that I wasn’t. As much as I wanted to be a cross between Jimmy Page and Keith Richards, I wasn’t. Once I started getting some clarity, I started getting honest and realized that my creative side needed to align with my insides, which were starting to change. This is the beginning of the “spiritual awakening” referred to in my bio.
  • As for the song, I can’t remember how it came about. I know this is the 1st time we played it live.
  • From right to left, the members were me on guitar, Corey Irving on vocals, Forrest Maestretti on drums, Andy Rowser on bass, and Dave Broyals on guitar.
  • A side note: A few months after this show, on December 7th, 1991, we were preparing for a big gig in San Francisco when Corey, the handsome guy in the middle, decided to skip band practice. This INFURIATED me! Forrest and I went searching for him. We found him drunk at a local club (which pissed me off even more). BUT, I did meet a beautiful woman that night, the future Mrs. Imberg. 30+ years later, I’m still happily married to that beautiful women I met that night. So, in a strange way, I have Typhoid Mary and, specifically, Corey Irving to thank for me meeting the love of my life.

Funny how life works….

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Steve Von Till

Steve Von Till @Rumba Cafe in Columbus, OH 6-July 2022

I got to see Steve Von Till, best known as the guitarist and vocalist for Neurosis, do a performance of his solo music in a very intimate setting. It was wonderful! He was accompanied by some fantastic musicians including the celloist Helen Money who also opened the show. I summarize the vibe with the words “ethereal”, “organic”, “haunting” and “beautiful”. The music demanded a reverence and emotional engagement from the audience.

I’m very grateful to have been there, especially as I have missed two opportunities to see Neurosis, the last miss was due to my fathers failing health in 2019. I was determined not to miss this opportunity to see Mr. Von Till display his more contemplative side and he did not disappoint.

If you are unfamiliar with Steve Von Till or Neurosis, please check out https://www.neurotrecordings.com/, the record company he co-operates. There, you can learn all about Neurosis, Steve Von Till, Scott Kelly (the other guitarist/vocalist from Neurosis), and a variety of cool artist.

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Leo Kottke

I saw Leo Kottke perform at the Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati this past Thursday. It was an excellent show. Some 50+ years into his career, he continues to perform at an inspiring level with ample doses of humor and self deprecation. This guy is a treasure. His music should be savored and enjoyed.

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Klaus Schulze

Today, Klaus Schulze passed away. Yet another pivotal musician has transitioned to the next stage.

Mr. Schulze was a pioneer in electronic music, playing briefly in Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before becoming a very prolific solo artist who released a wealth of instrumental synthesizer music. His masterpiece, “Timewind”, was a touchstone for so many musicians and remains my favorite of his works. I also love the more recent collaborations he did with Lisa Gerrard.

Klaus Schulze joins a growing list of musicians who have passed that were key elements to the soundtrack of my life, reminding me of the brevity of life. I am very grateful for the musical legacy and inspiration.

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Current listening and what’s going on in the studio

Been looping and creating thick walls of lushness to vamp over….not sure where this is going but it feels good.

I’ve been listening to lots of the following. I share this because….why not….

  • The Beatles: Primarily “Revolver”, “Rubber Soul”, “Abbey Road”, and “Let It Be”. This is a direct result of watching the “Get Back” documentary on Disney+ this past November/December. I’m good for going down a Beatles “rabbit hole” every few years but that documentary kept me in the hole for several months. I love the Beatles and have since I was a kid. They are and will always be the apex of Rock and Roll creativity. The minute someone says that The Beatles are overrated, I tune out…no way! Led Zeppelin will always be my favorite band but The Beatles were generational game changers.
  • George Harrison – “All Things Must Pass”: See above. This is my favorite post-Beatles solo album by any of the former Fab Four.
  • Brandi Carlile – “By The Way, I Forgive You”: My stepbrother has been a huge fan of hers for sometime so I gave her a listen and…WOW!. What a voice….what great songs…I love her!
  • Majid Bekkas – “African Gnaoua Blues”: A Moroccan multi-instrumentalist who melds North African music with American blues brilliantly.
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Recent Reading: “Running with the Devil”

I just completed reading “Running with the Devil” by Noel Monk. He was the business manager of Van Halen from 1978 though 1984 when Van Halen were, arguably, the biggest and most successful Rock band on the planet.

The book is a pretty easy read and offers a glimpse into the world of big time Rock and Roll in the 70’s and 80’s, an era of major money, ego, debauchery, and musical genius…an era that is long gone.

Full disclosure: I was a HUGE Van Halen fan. I was of the prime age when VH came about. Listening to their 1st album as a 12 year old kid was truly life-changing. Eddie Van Halen (may he be at peace) was a major musical influence on me. Through my high school years, it truly felt like VH were the kings of the world and the rest of us just paid rent. They were that big.

The book is an account of the rise and fall of the bands original line-up from the perspective of the manager. It recounts some very salacious moments in the bands history. It is a “Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll” tale that would have been the stuff of fantasy in my younger days.

Taking into account that it is one person’s perspective on a shared history and all the potential emotion that likely skews the telling of such a story, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it, if for nothing else than a historical lesson of a music business world that is long gone. However, my younger self’s misguided fantasies aside, I found myself being very uncomfortable and saddened by the book which, in a weird way, was an emotional response I was grateful to experience. When I was a budding wanna-be Rock star, I romanticized the idea of drugs and sex. That was, after all, the big pay off for being a Rock and Roller, right?!?!…However, having long learned that a lifestyle of promiscuous sex and drugs can lead to catastrophic ends, I was left feeling very sad about this story of the band I idolized in my younger days. This is in sharp contrast to how I would have viewed the story if I had read it some 30 plus years ago. Back then, it would have inspired and aroused me. Today, as a much older and wiser person, I was saddened…and I’m grateful for this.