(Almost) TBTs HIS-TORY OF THE WEEK: GIFTS A thought about gifts. Been mulling over the idea that often we dont know what we’ve received until long after it has been given. Like change. I don’t mean, Thats twenty-three, and a five makes ten. Thanks for shopping at Wallyworld... We’re talking: when someone opens a door, and you walk through, suddenly things…expand. A gift that changes Everything. It’s just one perspective, and take it with only the grains of salt you wish: when a door opened, and everything really changed for Max Creek, its fan-base, its self-confidence, maybe even its longevity – Everything – was in summer of 1980. Context-wise, by the end of the ‘70’s, Max Creek was still decidedly part-time, and despite some Massachusetts roots, decidedly a Connecticut band. F’rinstance: in 1978, there were only about 72 shows, mainly long-time bookings like Mad Murphy’s and the Inn Place, great places certainly, but otherwise, we played outside the Nutmeg State a total of, hmmm…twice. By 1979, Creek started working with two booking agencies. Fun is. Their wiley marketing skills managed to up the out-of-state ante some. Some? Hip clubs, like the “Fore ‘n Aft” in White Plains? On a scale of one to ten…let’s just say I went to that $%^ing hole when I was in high school. I didn’t think much of it then. Oh, we could almost hear the Wolfman crooning: “Yeaaaah…ya hit the big-time, bay-beee!” Not. Something had to change. As 1980 reared its ugly head, Reagan was on the VHF horizon with “Just Say No”; our answer was, “Just Change the Channel,” and roll another one while Mt. Saint Helen collapses in slow motion on the next channel. In Creek’s small world, there were a few more new shows, but our stomping ground – and fan-base – was still Connecticut. Then. That summer, the owner of a club in Rochester, N.Y., one John Ross (AKA Burdock), got wind of Max Creek. Burdock was a bit of a Deadhead (oh?), and wanted these up-starts up-state. Not surprisingly, he was able to track the band back to Connecticut, and booked us for a three-nighter at his club, the Mason Jar, that August 7th, 8th, 9th. It is hard to fathom that was 34 years ago: this Thursday, Friday, Saturday... Anyway. Gigs in upstate New York! A road trip! Woo Hoo! Roger and I prepped Big Orange for the 350-mile voyage: an oil change, a good once-over by our favorite mechanic, and multiple prayers to the Deity of Internal Combustion. So confident were we in Big Os operational prospects, we decided to head up the day before the shows... Some vivid memories of the trip: - Bob, Roger, and I riding in a truck meant for two passengers (we wedged a DOT-approved metal kitchen chair between the up-right seats). - Traveling a whopping 50 miles-per-hour for eight hours. - That Interstate 90 does not vary more than two degrees left or right as it crosses all of upstate New York. - Waves of 100 degree plus road heat with no air-conditioning (I kept the side door slid open for a breeze). - An occasional odd noise from the engine compartment that was promptly dealt with…by Roger turning up the radio. In the end, Big O performed admirably, if sluggishly, and we arrived at the Mason Jar about 9:00 pm to check things out for the next day. We didn’t know what to expect, but for a Wednesday, this place was happening. We told the fellow at the door who we were, and up walks John Ross, all smiles, and apparently very excited to have us there; for the moment, we were very excited to be anywhere that wasn’t moving 50 mph. He led us inside - the first thing we noticed was that the Mason Jar served their draft beer in..? Mason Jars. Go figure. They made shots called “Alabama Getaways”. Good name… However, the other thing we noticed right off was that they were treating us like family – maybe even Royal Family. I remember Bob looking over, smiling as if to say: This might be very cool. The place was fairly large as clubs go. On the right side of the room was a huge four-sided bar; a raised section by the front door overlooked the bar with the obligatory row of games (in those days, four or five pinball machines as well as high-tech, state-of-the-art video: Pac-Man and Asteroids…my arm is twitching now). On the other side of the room was a large, similarly raised section of tables that faced the stage, and wrapped around two sides of the dance floor that sat in the middle of the whole deal. The stage itself was an odd trapezoidal affair, but decent-sized (and we had certainly seen worse). Off stage-left, a madhouse hallway ran out back: dressing rooms, bathrooms, keg refrigerators, and the load-in door. So, all in all, a good sized venue – Roch-cha-cha Fire Code probably said 400-500 people; at least these were the numbers the doormen seemed to start with... For Creek’s show the next night, it was obvious that Burdock had done his homework: a goodly size crowd came to check out these Max Creek guys. Hmf – they liked it. Burdock certainly seemed to like it – alot; so much so that he booked the band right then for September and then another weekend in October: Halloween. Fast forward – the Mason Jar did Halloween up right. Utter madness. Burdock was priceless that weekend. His costume was a modified “Skull and Roses” skeleton get-up. John might have been a smidgen toasted, for at mid-show, Creek was lost in one of those cranking jams, and the owner of the Mason Jar was lost in…well, let’s just say he climbed onto the top railing of the raised section and dived onto the dance floor. Didn’t faze him a bit. Yeeps. For the next year or so, John rotated Creek in every couple of months or so for these long weekends. Some folks here remember, others have tapes, some have heard rumors, perhaps others have not... Some of the happenings those Mason Jar weekends we could not make up if we tried – or remember for that matter. We eventually traded in the infamous King James Motel lodgings for the soon-to-be infamous Exit 45 Motel and Dede’s restaurant. And I can still hear Burdock saying, “Are you guys stopping by Mendon after the show?” Now, Mendon was the tiny village where he lived about 1/2 an hour from the Jar, and “stopping by” tended to make for a long night. But if warranted, he would put everyone up at his house – or at “The Cottage,” the shot and beer bar he also owned right across the street (on second thought, it is likely he was the principal tax-payer in Mendon). Burdock ended up being a great friend – and certainly one of the best folks we ever met in the music biz: fair, generous to a fault, and not only knocked himself out promoting the band in upstate N.Y., but also made Max Creek feel like we were entirely worth the effort. I just had to look up the amount of time we worked with John Ross: in retrospect, it seems so much longer; in fact, it was only just over a year – we lost Burdock that next Fall. Beyond words. His death stunned all who had known him. “Drink the Stars Away With Me...” The Mason Jar limped along for maybe another year after John’s death – but without him, that spirit that made the Jar so special was gone. As it happened though, it was those first efforts by Burdock that made Rochester a regular stop for Max Creek. With that – and a lot of road equity on our part – eventually, the band ended up playing a string of clubs and colleges upstate (many, many more stories there). And much more. Just thinking of all the friends we made in those early Mason Jar days – many were with us for years (including my wife of the past 28…). And over time, we would regularly run into more Roch-cha-cha folks; from Boston to New York City to Colorado, I can’t think how many times we heard: “Oh yeah, I saw you guys at the Mason Jar years ago!” The long and the short of it all? It took some time, but just look at the calendar: by the mid-80’s, the band was playing from Portland to Buffalo to New York and back again. Everything had changed. Yes, we worked our asses off, but I’m certain none of it – and much that has happened since – would have been possible without the gift of John Ross. Again, it’s just one perspective. And of course, there is much more that could be said, but for now: Many thanks John, Happy Anniversary.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 01:12:15 +0000
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