Summer Celebration
This column is mostly for people who live in West Michigan, it’s about “Summer Celebration,” the now-defunct yearly eleven-day music festival that took place this time every year. I wrote the reviews for the Muskegon Chronicle.
If you think writing music reviews is easy you’d be very wrong because, well, it’s tough to come up with something fresh eleven nights in a row when every concert was, basically, the same. On top of that my deadline for the reviews was 11:00 pm so that the review would appear in the paper the next day, the concerts usually ended about 10:30 so I’d have to SPRINT to the Chronicle newsroom and type like a crack monkey while my editor read over my shoulder and made corrections.
Did I mention I don’t know how to type? A thousand columns and two books, two fingers at a time.
Anyway, here are some memories of particular bands.
Biggest jerks: This one is actually a tie between Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Alan Parsons Project. Backstage some of the members of Skynyrd were a little, um, aloof. I felt like saying “You do realize that you guys are just a cover band since, ya know, most of the real guys bit it in a swamp.”
Alan Parsons was dinkly because their tour bus was parked inside of the gate. The rules were the grounds crew had to stick around until everyone was outside of the gate. The band was asked if they could move the bus, like, ten feet and they said “no” and continued to party until 4:00 am while a bunch of people who wanted to go home had to sit around and wait.
Largest Humans: That honor would go to Montgomery Gentry, those guys were gigantic and when coupled with cowboy boots, cowboy hats, and leather duster coats they were intimidating to say the least. I made a good impression when I first met them. I knocked on their trailer door and one of the giants answered and I said, “Are you Montgomery Gentry?” to which he replied
“I’m Montgomery,” thus making it very obvious that I didn’t know Montgomery and Gentry were two different guys. I wasn’t real big on research back then.
Most Look Alike to a Movie Star: That would be Eddie Money. When I met him he was kind of fat and was wearing a white baggy shirt and a skinny black tie and looked exactly like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre guy.
Most Look Alike To a Kabuki Dancer: I met Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon and he had on pure white makeup, like Mrs. Doubtfire when she stuck her face in the cake. I talked to him for a bit but I couldn’t quit staring at his pancake face, I kept waiting for him to excuse himself to go wash it off. He never did, he went onstage like that.
Best Tour Busses: That would be Nickelback, running away. They had four identical busses that must have cost a half mil apiece. Those dudes were set up. One thing I remember about the buses is they were parked maybe six inches apart so there was no way anyone could sneak into any bus but the first one and that was heavily guarded.
Biggest Surprise: Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish: That guy swore like a sailor.
Second Biggest Surprise: I was in Steppenwolf's trailer and I had no idea the lead singer was legally blind. When he was on stage he’d count the steps he took away from the microphone and then reverse count to get back.
Most Embarrassing Moment not Involving a Band: A lady came up to me and asked for an autograph, with her was her son who was obviously developmentally challenged. As I was talking to the woman the kid was sort of making sounds that had a sentence like a cadence but unrecognizable words. I didn’t know what to do so I just sort of ignored the kid. After about the fifth time he blurted out (very loudly) whatever it was he was blurting out his mother looked down at him and yelled: “He doesn’t want to tell you his name!” As God is my witness I had no idea that’s what that kid was saying.
Printed by permission of the author. Email him at Lorenzatlarge@aol.com.
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With Fresh Eyes
Pride Defined - Pride Remembered
June 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the uprising at New York’s Stonewall Inn, site of the most notable event sparking the modern-day gay rights movement. It was at Stonewall in 1969 when years of pent-up frustration from constant police raids and arrests at gay bars and clubs and restrictive laws banning “homosexual gatherings and displays” spilled out into the streets in three nights of unrest. On the front lines of the demonstrations stood the marginalized of society – transgender individuals, drag queens, street people - who had been the most impacted by the police brutality and draconian laws. They were led by transgender and gay rights activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Lee Rivera. As a result of the Stonewall uprising, the laws were relaxed, the police backed off. The first gay pride parade was held the following June, spearheaded by Marsha and Sylvia. Pride Month was born; it is celebrated every June.
Pride is learning to navigate through life without shame, without apology, without hiding. Pride is unequivocal self-respect. Pride is telling one’s story and speaking the truth. It took me years to find myself, as a gay man. During my coming of age years in the ‘60’s, the disparaging and stereotypical references about gay men overheard in the school locker room, on television, and at church on Sundays kept me in the closet for years. I convinced myself that I would work through this “phase.” But those same-sex feelings kept re-surfacing. It was not until my college years that I began to find, slowly, the resources and support and affirmation needed to believe in and trust my true self.
Pride is honoring those who paved the way. We recognize the activism of Frank Kameny, Harvey Milk, and Larry Kramer. We are inspired by the words of Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, and Tony Kushner. If the preceding names aren’t in your vocabulary, discover them. And, set aside time to view the Netflix documentary “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson” for an illuminating view into the Stonewall era and a transgender’s life.
Pride is recognizing the progress made on gay rights. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality as a mental health problem from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Other mental health organizations followed. “Reparative Therapy,” the fraudulent and abusive intervention to turn gays straight, has been rebuked by today’s mental health professionals and is now outlawed in 18 states and numerous municipalities. The ban on openly gay and lesbians serving in the military was lifted in 2011, and the U.S. Supreme Court, in 2015, legalized same-sex marriage across the land. In 2016, the Stonewall Inn was designated a national monument, the first dedicated to LGBTQ rights.
Pride is also acknowledging that the work is not yet complete. When a Tennessee pastor, formerly a Sheriff’s Detective, calls for the execution of gays, citing biblical scripture, there is work to be done. When same-sex couples have to look over their shoulders while holding hands in public, in fear of reprisal, there is work to be done. And, when transgender individuals continue to be targeted at alarming rates, resulting in brutal assaults and murders, many of which go unsolved, there is work to be done.
Marsha P. Johnson was often asked about her gender – was she a boy or a girl? She pointed to her middle initial, which she said stood for “Pay it no mind.” She was unapologetic in who she was – a transgender activist, drag queen, and Stonewall icon with a flamboyant and welcoming nature. She came from a childhood in which she was told that being gay or transgender was “lower than a dog.” In 1992, at age 46, Marsha’s body was recovered from the Hudson River. Her death was suspicious, but law enforcement did little to investigate, quickly ruling it a suicide. She is celebrated for her willingness to be herself, despite the risks. As she once said, “I may be crazy, but that doesn’t make me wrong.”
Contact Rich at richmskgn@gmail.com
