My Forever Friends

At the end of this month I will be heading to North Carolina for a college reunion. It’ll be an epic occasion … something I’ve dreamed of for ages. Allow me to share the people who shaped my young adult life.

My college years formed a friendship bubble filled with young adult adventures in the Washington DC area. It was a time when the Vietnamese refugees from the war started their new life in America. The World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) were hiring immigrants from all over the world. One of those immigrants was my Tita Dolly who invited me to live with her. I consider her my US mom to whom I will be forever grateful.

It was the bell-bottomed disco era of John Travolta. Home computers were about to explode. Gerald Ford just conceded his throne to Jimmy Carter. International students clumped together with fellow strangers. Affirmative action began to fill the universities with African Americans. I partied with Filipinos, Singaporeans, Vietnamese, Egyptians, Israelites, Iranians, Mexicans, White and Black Americans. Many were children of ambassadors and politicians. Central among the rainbow of ethnicities were my closest friends who formed a troubadour band called Kalesa (which means a Filipino horse and buggy).

My Tita Dolly’s house was ground zero for all our activities. In fact, that was where Kalesa was born. Almost every weekend we’d find an excuse to hold a party at that house in Arlington VA. I had always dreamed that one day I would own that house. My heart was crushed when she sold it recently.

I had just arrived stateside and was terribly homesick and needed friends. My cousins, who also lived with me at that house, invited their friends over so I could meet them.

“You should meet Rodney, he plays the guitar like you. He even composes. And you should meet Bernie. He’s got an amazing voice like David Gates of the Bread. Manny also plays the guitar like Paul Simon.”

Saturday night, people poured in and partied. But in the basement, Rodney, Manny, Bernie and I were jamming with our nylon guitars. Something magical happened. We actually sounded good. The 4 of us would become the magnet of the group and many others latched on for the ride.

Weeks and months went by and we practiced after school and we added more songs to our repertoire. There was no formal plan to turn the group into a band, it just happened. Tito Julio had a birthday party where we had our first formal performance. It was an amazing night of affirmation to know we could really entertain a crowd. Later we sang Christmas carols to raise money for poor Catholic churches. We sang for weddings and birthday parties. We were the main event for a concert fund raiser and even an opening act for a Battle of the Bands at the George Washington University. The band never really made serious money. Money was never the intention. We just enjoyed each other’s company.

We were wholesome kids with devilish testosterones. We talked about girls a lot. I can’t say we were womanizers but we did have some fans. Sure we smoked and drank beer but we never got into drugs. Rodney was studying for law school. Manny was preparing for med school. Bernie, Bob and Santi became engineers. JB became the head of computer technology for the military. I was studying Advertising Art hoping to join an Ad firm on Madison Avenue. My claim to international fame was designing the millennial logo for the GRAMMY awards.

I vividly remember a night at the La Pattiserie (a favorite French restaurant in Georgetown). Half drunk but in serious conversation and conscious of the temporary friendship bubble we were in, we knew that bubble was about to pop because of our different career paths. We were growing up and starting our rainbow of life. Raising our beer cans, we gave a toast to be friends forever. These guys were closer than my blood brothers and I was willing to give up my life to save any of them.

Through the happy and sad pages of the calendar and despite separation by states and by countries, we remained in touch. To the credit of our spouses, they understood our golden bond and have always been supportive of our rare and brief reunions.

Today, standing at the end of that rainbow I remember Rodney, Bob, Annie and Loree who have gone ahead of us. What’s left of Kalesa will be camped at Dr. Manny’s North Carolina mansion this October. We plan to record some songs. Why? Does it matter why? We just know we need to do it while we still can.

I’m sure you have your own eternal friends. What a blessing, huh? I’m sure your stories are even more interesting than mine. I’d love to hear them. When our earthly adventures are over, I truly believe we will have eternity to exchange our experiences. How cool is that? Heaven isn’t a silly place where we flutter our wings and strum our harps. It’s so much more and wonderful beyond imagination. When you get there, be sure to look me up. We’ll have so much fun.

I praise God who has been especially kind to me to provide my eternal friends. Let me end with Rodney’s composition about friendship which he sang when he first met me:

I’M LIKE YOU
Have you ever felt like telling stories
Someone told before?
Have you ever built sandcastles
That washed out on the shore?
Have you ever felt like singing songs
People sing no more?
I’m like you. I’m like you.

Have you ever felt like trying
Someone told you not to try?
Have you ever felt like cussing
But could only blow a sigh?
Have you ever felt the answer
Was too high in the sky?
I’m like you. I’m like you.

CHORUS
I need a place to plant my feet,
A place to stand, a place to be!
I have to go, to see, to know!
I have to be set free!

Have you ever seen the mountain
And wished that you were there?
Have you ever tried to reach someone
Who simply wasn’t there?
Have you ever feared
That if you loved,
The one you loved won’t care?
I’m like you. I’m like you.

Have you ever felt that sorrow
Was a way to make you strong
To come back here tomorrow
Just to sing a sadder song?
Have you ever felt you were all alone?
Well, now you know you’re wrong,
For I’m like you. I’m like you.

TGIF people!

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” — Kahil Gibran

“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.” — William Butler Yeats

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” — Hebrews 10: 24-25

“Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” — 1 Samuel 20:42

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Ed of Studio City, CA

Parting Shots

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Berong of Mandaluyong, Philippines

Thanks to Brian of Philadelphia

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Drew of Anaheim, CA

Thanks to Benny of Detroit

I found these:

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with this.

SUBSCRIBE

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‘MOZ LIVE’

The lineup is a veritable who’s who in the Southern California blues community. “The musicians,” Fast says. “Include Steve Wilcox and Dana Duplan on guitar; Don Skelton and Troy Sandow on bass; drummers Al Schneider and Marcus Bashore and Jonny Viau on saxophone.” And of course, Chris Fast on harp and vocals.

Although the band is widely known for their live shows, when we spoke about the project, I was curious if releasing something ‘live’ made the recording more…or less stressful? “What was especially nice,” Chris told me. “Was that we paid no attention to the fact that we were ‘recording’, we played with our total focus on the performances and connecting with the audience. In that way, the songs on ‘Moz Live’ are a completely honest representation of, and a clear snapshot of what the Chris Fast Band was doing at this particular point in time…complete with the mistakes and audience chatter that you hear at a gig. The music is allowed to breathe, and I find it refreshing! You don’t get that when you do a studio album.”

And of course it’s a Chicago style blues “…real Chicago Blues.” Chris says. “The songs are all covers with the exception of “Seven Steps to Heaven.”

A couple of Little Walter Jacobs tracks stand out… “Chicago blues has always been a love of mine. We’re playing a lot of Little Walter material just because it’s challenging. When I was younger, everybody was playing Little Walter stuff and it doesn’t seem to be that way now. People my age started playing music in the ‘60s when the blues invasion rolled through. When I was in high school we heard the Stones playing some blues and then we started investigating and found out about the guys that originated the music. There was a huge wave of people that were blues enthusiasts at that time.”

Social media has changed some of that… “It’s all over YouTube.” Chris agrees. “Back in the day when I was starting, I had to borrow records. Rod (Piazza) gave me my first Little Walter record and said, ‘Hey, Listen to this!’ And I listened to it and it was weird to me, because it was a whole different style of playing. Of course, Rod was totally off into it and then I started learning it.”

Growing up near and getting to know Rod Piazza was a very fortunate happenstance in your musical direction, was it not? “Yeah, I was lucky he lived in town and talk about a great model to have, you know, as an aspiring harmonica player. Rod has always welcomed guest players; if he thinks you’re halfway decent he doesn’t have a problem getting you up there. In fact, he welcomes it because for one thing, he can take a break. And then when you’re done he can say, ‘Okay, I’ll show you how it’s really done.’” (laughing) “It’s a good little foil for him. Rod, of course has played with everybody. He played with the real guys. We’re just trying to get a good sound and all that stuff, but he was really there with all the guys that were out in L.A.”

Where did your love of blues originate? “My father gave me a harmonica when I was a young boy. I was a little kid and I’d walk around playing this silly harmonica so I was always oriented toward the harmonica. In Junior High school I think the folk music thing was going pretty good and some of my friends decided to put together a little band and I was going to play the harmonica, we had a couple of folk guitars and we played at a talent assembly and that’s where it kind of started.

I got into some rock bands early on, but we’d play some blues tunes as well and it just sort of evolved from there. I remember we had some jam sessions in the summertime and Rod Piazza was involved in those and there was a core group of musicians that would meet every week and I would go down there and play. I started hearing what he was doing and we developed a friendship and as I got older I was playing in blues bands around town. I used to play in a band with Bob Newham and Willie Brinlee and the guys that went on to back Bill Clarke and growing up in Riverside we were always playing Chicago blues. Later, because I knew all the harmonica songs, Rod needed a guitar player and I could play some guitar, I never considered myself a very good guitar player…and I proved it every night.” Chris laughs. “I could play okay, just enough to back him. I learned a lot, night after night sitting there behind Rod. He would pick me up at my house and take me into L.A. where he was playing in these black clubs. It was a great education for me.”

Who were some of the people you saw and played with in those early days? “We backed up Big Joe Turner and Pee Wee Crayton was playing with us at one time. We opened shows for John Lee Hooker and later on I was able to work with Percy Mayfield and Big Mama Thornton.”

Talk a little about Percy Mayfield? “He was just a real sweet guy. Talk about a songwriter, he was the best. Nobody wrote a song like Percy Mayfield. I don’t think anybody was better. Nobody!”

What is it about harp players? Not to frighten you, but most seem to have a very short life span? (laughing) “Little Walter was crazy.” Chris laughs. “Rod told me Walter would seek out the worst people he could find, and that’s who he would hang with. You’ve probably known people like that. They just can’t resist and that’s the people they seek, the lowest common denominator and that’s what they enjoy. I don’t know, there’s a physical quality to the playing, it takes strength to play the harp, it takes a little energy, I think.”

Outside of the Chicago sound, or blues in general what other music appeals to you? “I listen to a lot of jazz. If I’m listening to music, I’ll be listening to jazz. I appreciate that, I imagine if I was a better musician or more educated in music, maybe I would be a jazz musician perhaps, I don’t know. I like the sax players like Coltrane and all those guys.”

I’ve heard people make the comparison with Walter’s amplified harp and saxophone lines. “Right, to get the instrument to sound bigger, to sound like a saxophone, Walter was playing…of course swing music was big at that time in the early ‘50s, Louis Jordan was having a lot of hits as an alto player and people would learn his lines and play it in their music. It really had more of a swing to it.”

Now that the new album is out, what’s next for the Chris Fast band? “Since they recorded every night that we played (at the Mozambique), there’s a lot more material in the can. Can you say, ‘Son of Moz Live’?”

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