Mexican Radio

I wish I was in....
Tiajuannna,
Eating bar-be-qued IGUANA.- Wall of Voodoo

I received a call from a drummer named Dennis.  "Hey bud, would you like to come over and jam a bit at my house?"  I asked him what night and he said Thursday.  He gave me the address and I saw how close to my house that he lived and agreed.

"Diesel"  photo courtesy Dennis A. Weise

That night after navigating through the twisty cross streets on my motorcycle and not finding it, I pull over and try to call him, when I hear someone yelling my name.  I am in the parking lot of "Los Antojitos" a great Mexican restaurant and don't think much of it.  Matthew is a fairly common name.  Don't you hate it when you meet someone with your name?  It feels like being in a competition, and let's face it, that other person has no chance of  winning it.  (High humor from the realms of Mattworld)

I look up from my phone and see Dennis aka "Drummerboy" waving from the roof of one of those classic 1930s era St. Andrews houses that are really under-appreciated.  I nod and pull into his driveway.  Aaron, a guitarist from the Cove area pulls up to the curb.  "Is this the place?"  He asks through his open window.  "Yup, it sure is"  Dennis hollers down.  I was glad Aaron showed up.  His playing style is very unique, he usually plays a Fender Telecaster with a slide.

Dennis comes down and greets us and escorts us upstairs.  The clapboard house he lives in has been subdivided into apartments.  I ask him about noise complaints and the tolerance of his neighbors.  "They all work at the restaurant over there, until late." he indicated, pointing at the Mexican place.  Then, the three of us navigate our equipment up a tight stairwell that releases into a loft/attic space that is wide open and laid out as a kitchenette studio with exposed wood and brick.  I contemplate the wonderful sound ambiance that will be possible with much anticipation.

Dennis gives us a tour and then says, "You like lizards, right?"  and points at an aquarium tank in the corner.  "That's Diesel".  He proceeds to feed him some crickets and Diesel eats them like popcorn at the cheap theater.  "He is really cool, but I am more of a metaphorical lizard."  I debate going into the whole Dionysian mythology, but think better of it.  "That guy is my buddy" he tells us.  I have a cat that is not an exotic animal, but I nod in agreement that everyone needs a buddy like that.

We make our way through some Johnny Cash songs and some classic rock standards and start discussing our musical diversity. and influences.  We also spend some time discussing different musicians locally that we have jammed with.  Aaron tells me he is now playing with Blue Mama and Dennis tells me he is playing with Midnight Moon.  Dennis has been playing some obscure tracks through his sound system and asks if I can play  "Cissy Strut" by the Meters.  I shake my head and make a note to start working on this great little funky tune.

After a few jams, Dennis moved away from this great spot, and he and I still cross paths often.  I fill in with Blue Mama and I get to play with Aaron frequently. I really wanted to view the St. Andrews Mardi Gras from that balcony, I suggest that maybe, we can pool our resources and buy the house from the owner.  Dennis only laughed at this suggestion.  He tells me that the owner owns half of St. Andrews.







 When I arrived home, my wife asked "How did it go?"
"The leader of the band is named Diesel." I answered.
"Is that his stage name?" She asked.
"He doesn't really answer to it, I greeted him and was met by the sound of crickets." I replied.

What else could I say?

Stir up that MONKEYDUST!

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