The Kid Who Lived a Dream
I have many observations about what I witnessed at CMIII this past weekend and stories
to tell which I will be splitting up into various different posts but let me begin the
first by sort of giving you some back ground to better effect the meaning behind the
climax to this story about a dream of mine which had actually come true. First of all my
significant interest in the Cowsills did not come as the result of being an original
"Hairhead" as you call it, who clipped out all the pictures from the magazines
back in the 60's and knew all the various details and inside scoop about the Cowsills
personal lives. I didn't even know there was a Richard Cowsill until I actually read this
forum.
When I was in junior high back in 1968 I had a band called The Galaxy and I really dug
rock n roll. I watched Shin Dig and Hullabaloo faithfully along with Action and of course
The Ed Sullivan Show. I read 16 and Tiger Beat magazine because my idles were in there but
first and foremost my idles were The Beatles. They were the template for all the other
rock stars that I idolized as a kid back in the 60's. I knew all four of the Beatles names
but in the other groups I only new the names of key members like Rodger McGuin and Gene
Clark of The Byrds and Keith Alison and Mark Lyndsey of Paul Revere and The Raiders and of
course all four of The Monkees but with a significant interest in Michael Nesmith and
Peter Tork.
There were only 3 Cowsills who I could actually name and they were Bill, Bob, and John.
Bill and Bob were rock idles to me but John was more an odd curiosity based on the fact
that we were the same age by only 2 months and it just seemed too weird for me to be a fan
of what I considered to simply be another kid like me but John was definitely an object of
motivation even if it were because I was simply jealous of him. But Bill and Bob
represented the classic 60's rock star image that us boys who played guitars emulated, you
know, with the tight pants Beatle boots, suit coats and comb over bangs. I use to think
that Bob looked kind of like George Harrison in those magazines with those thick eyebrows
and piercing eyes peering out from under those jet-black bangs.
Now can you imagine how that must have felt for me to be standing across the stage from
him as the second guitarist in HIS band and doubling HIS vocals on Beatles songs? Bob
would say "Eddie, I'll Be Back in A miner, take the high harmony and double me on the
lead vocal" Man I knew exactly what he wanted me to do because I'm a musician and a
Beatles fan and Bob seemed to have much confidence in that fact but I kept catching myself
gazing across the stage at him and forgetting to sing the next line. It was like I kept
visualizing Bob with that Beatle haircut singing on the Ed Sullivan Show with Bill. Then I
would turn around and see John, that other kid that so perplexed me as a kid myself for
actually being a rock star when we were both only in junior high.
I mean I was actually standing there along side Bob Cowsill, Paul on the far end of the
stage, John in the back and the 4 of us were nailing the vocals on "Poor Baby"
and "We Can Fly" like we'd been doing this forever but folks, it was truly
spontaneous. Kind of magical really. Paul, who is the funniest guy I have ever met was
laughing at me after the show, he say's "dude, how did you know what harmony parts to
do on those songs?" I told him that I was as shocked as he was, I just went for the
ones that felt most natural and as luck would have it they were the parts Bob, John and
Paul were not doing.
Friends, the weirdest thing about it is that when Bob e-mailed his song list to me a
few weeks earlier these two songs were not on the list so I never rehearsed them.
"Poor Baby" and "We Can Fly" turned out to probably be the best
performances we did the whole evening, who knows how this stuff happens man sometimes it's
just magic that's all. Then there was Robby Scharf who is the most melodic bass guitarist
I have ever played along side. You almost have to be a musician to know what this means
but listen to some of the patterns and fills he does on Global it speaks for itself, he
was like that all night man. This guy is a real pro and Nancy and I were lucky enough to
have dinner with him the following night at the Cables Hairhead dinner and boy did I pick
his brain for knowledge.
I was so glad that Nancy came along to share this experience with me but ya know as a
woman of course she was able to appreciate all of the things that us guys don't pick up on
and then share it back with me. Girls, when we were sitting along side Bob out side at St.
Bernadines on that beautiful Sunday afternoon, the three of us were watching the kids on
stage performing these wonderful dance numbers Nancy turned to me and said "Bob is
such a nice man" she then whispered to me "pictures do not do him justice, he is
so handsome and fit" She told me that Bob was one of those rare guys that look so
good in there 50's. I guess she'll be clipping his pictures out of magazines and hangin
them on our walls now. You think it's too late to turn her into a teeny bopper?
She told me that John has really got that boyish thing about him BIG time, that is so
rare and cute in an adult male, so I guess she is starting to figure out all this stuff
you girls have known for the past 30 years. Oh well that's all for now but believe me I
have so much more to tell, so stay tuned.
Later on, Eddie
John ... The Good Heart
Most of you don't know this but over that past few weeks while preparing for my
inclusion as one of the side musicians in the Cowsills CMIII band I have been fortunate to
get to know John on more of a personal level both as a fellow musician and a friend. I
hope he doesn't mind me telling you this story because I wouldn't want to embarrass him or
make him feel like I was betraying a confidence but folks, he really loves his fans.
He told me so himself, he used the word sweet, "They are so sweet" he told
me. You see we were sort of debating a little artistic decision he had made about one of
the songs we were gonna do and after the show, being the good guy he is he, in order to
make me better understand the importance of his decision in doing it HIS way, John put it
more on my level so that I would better understand. He said, "Eddie, you know how we
are about the Beatles right?" and I said "Of course" he then tells me,
"Well, we're kind of like their Beatles, you understand?" I put my hand on his
shoulder and squeezed him and said "John, you are a such a good guy"
Now let me explain to you how this little exchange had come about. You see before the
show Bob, Robby and I were off by ourselves talking about the technicals and details of
the program. John wasn't there yet and Bob says "John wants to do Path of Love in the
original key" which is E flat. I said to Bob "Man Bob we really should do it in
A, John could sing that song full on in the key of A" and Bob said "Yeah, tell
me about it dude but John is head strong on doing it in the original key and I'm tellin ya
man he ain't gonna change his mind"
I was very pleased that we were gonna do the song at all even though it wasn't on the
list Bob had sent me because I really love this song and personally had always thought
John should re-record it in the more adult vocally friendly key of A. So this is a subject
I have actually contemplated much before I had imagined ever actually playing with him. So
for me it was kind of like, WOW! This is my chance to talk this guy into doing Path of
Love in the key of A.
So a couple hours later we are into our second set doing the actual "Cowsills
Concert" and John says "Lets do Path of Love man" so I go back to the drums
and say "John buddy you really should sing this in the key of A, for your OWN sake
man, you would have such an easier time of it in A" You see I knew that at our age
how difficult it would be for him to hit those notes consistently that he would be trying
to hit in the much higher key of E flat. This is when John touched my heart with his
unselfishness.
He said "That's just it man, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for
them" and he pointed his drumstick at the table with all the nomad Hairheads who had
trekked in from all over the country. He says in a very stern voice "I'm gonna sing
Path of Love for MY fans in the original key because that's the way they know it and
that's the way I sang it on that old record they bought, this is for them man" What
really surprised me was how effortlessly he sang all of those notes. I mean many of you
were there, he sang it excellently and I felt dumb for trying to talk him into changing
the key after hearing him pull it off so well but John just really appreciates his fans.
He feels that he is truly a lucky man to have such good and loyal fans. I know from his
insistence on doing "Path of Love" in the original key for them. So John, you
are so cool and alright, what the heck, maybe even just a little cooler then me... MAYBE!
:-)
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