The Kite - continued

Sometime during the summer of '69 I ran into another lead player (also named Pete) in Escondido whose (working) band was looking for an additional guitarist. So I was doing double duty for a while - playing with both bands. And as the year progressed I slowly drifted away from "The Kite" - my tenure with them was about 6 months...

During that time we didn't play many gigs - just some parties and a "battle of the bands" at Palomar Junior College. That was a trip... All the other bands were fairly well established and had about 10 times as much money tied up in equipment ... And they were a lot older (our moms still had to drive us around). So we took last place - but it was still fun - you don't get many opportunities to play in front of an audience that size.

All-in-all playing with The Kite was a really good time... Bass player Bill and I hung out even when we weren't playing. He was quite the nerd - totally into math and science. Those were my worst subjects back then (ironic since I ended up as an engineer)...

Some random memories:
I recall that one of Bill's chores was brushing his mom's poodle's teeth. That dog was ridiculous - Bill had to keep an eye on it when it was outside so the neighbor's cat wouldn't tear it to shreds...
His mom banned us from practicing at his house after she heard us doing Steppenwolf's "The Pusher" (written by Hoyt Axton - brilliant song) . Yeah - she found the lyrics somewhat objectionable (if you're unfamiliar look it up - or check it out on YouTube)... She was a bit overbearing - but she did make the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever tasted - "indescribably delicious" - so there ya go :-)

OK - I usually filter out the really random stuff. Yeah - my memory reminds me of YouTube - a massive collection of short clips - sometimes interesting or amusing - but mostly irrelevant. For example:
Bill's dad had a Chrysler Imperial (totally irrelevant) and one day when we were passing through the garage I noticed that there was a case of motor oil on the workbench... Now - I was familiar with the concept of "adding a quart" - I'd seen it done at service stations :-) But I had no idea that you could buy an entire case of motor oil - and no inkling why anybody would want to. So I asked Bill about it and he told me that his dad did his own oil changes. And I was thinking "Seriously??? You can do that???"... (It wasn't until a year later that I applied my OCD to working on cars.) Yeah - that 41 year old "memory clip" is a prime example of the junk my brain is full of... But I digress :-)

The last time I talked to Bill was about 15 years ago - his Dad gave me the number of the shelter in San Diego where he was staying. He had gone to college on an ROTC scholarship and spent 4 years as a Marine officer - but in his mid-30s he went paranoid delusional... Total bummer - he was quite bright and gifted... I've heard he's back in Escondido now living on SSI - I hope he's doing OK...

I recently tracked down drummer Gary on Facebook... He never stopped drumming. He goes by Gary Reed Johnson now and produced a Reggae album - "Music for a Better Planet" - in '99. There's been some rough times - especially recently - but he's been "keeping the faith" all these years - playing every gig that comes along - has almost 2000 Facebook friends :-)

I have to say I do miss it sometimes... Being on stage - watching people dance - the hours it takes to wind down afterward - ears ringing - head throbbing - adrenalin pumping - total sensory overload... It's a magnificent feeling. Way better than any "engineering achievement"... Of course - the latter does tend to pay better :-)

I certainly have no regrets about the way things turned out - I can't think of anyone I'd consider trading places with. But I'm still a bit mystified as to how I got to where I am now from where I was then: A laid back (often wasted) musician - with an aversion to responsibility - who sucked at science and math - who had no intention of ever going to college - or doing anything other than playing rock and blues... I guess it's like they say: "Sh*t happens :-)