For Frankie

The Funions played one of their best shows ever Sunday at the Frank Calkins benefit.

Let's face it - a benefit is a social event, and most people come to hang out, visit with friends, sneak a peak at the auction items and drink a soda. The band is usually just background noise, and we are used to that.

But something happened upstairs inside the Starlight Casino (which was smoke-free, thank you very much). People started listening. There was a presentation for Frank right before we played our last song, "Stay Strong," which we wrote for Frank, and the place was jumping.

It is an awesome feeling, playing music when people get it. All the credit goes to Frank.

What a great weekend! The comedy show Friday, the walk/run and golf event Saturday, and Sunday. All good. All GREAT. All because of Frank.

Now comes the hard part. We watch our friend suffer the ravishes of ALS and all we can do is pray a little harder. Truth is, Frank is in a fight for his life, and only his attitude will see him through.

Stay Strong, Frank. Stay Strong.

Laughter

Frank Calkins got a dose of medicine no doctor can give, and the drug had only one side affect — laughter.

Last night at Backwaters, Paul Gilmartin had an overflow crowd howling as he mused about life, love, not love, more not love and life. In general.

I often tell people my job is interesting because "you can't make it up." That's what makes Paul's job as a comedian relevant, too. He can skewer and poke fun but the fact is, he's talking about life as we know it. And if you can't laugh at how absurd we are, then get your pulse checked.

Last Saturday somebody said God is in Gil Feld's fan club. Same holds true for Frank. After a dismal rainy week, Friday broke clear, cool and sunny. They have great weather today for the walk/run and golf tournament in Camp Point.

God is smiling down at you, Frank.

Mayor John Spring gave Frank the key to the city last night and proclaimed Sunday as Frank Calkins Day in Quincy. Frank can't stand on his own anymore, but we stood for him four different times in standing ovations.

Frank is good a putting smiles on people's faces. This weekend is our turn to return the favor, as Jon Barnard put it last night.

We'll see you tomorrow at the Casino!

www.forfrankie.org
www.paulgilmartin.com
www.askarepublican.com

Paul Gilmartin

Paul Gilmartin is performing Friday night at Backwaters to support the Frank Calkins benefit weekend. You've seen Paul on Dinner & A Movie on TBS, and he is wickedly funny. Tickets are just $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

We play Sunday at the Casino Starlight at about 3 p.m. for Frank's benefit. Should be a great weekend!

Walking Into Sanity

It's been an unbelievably long couple of days.

This afternoon I restored some sanity by walking through Woodland Cemetery. This might be the most gorgeous spot in Quincy, were it not for the aluminum sided business marring the Gardner Expressway when you look across the bluff and toward the river.

The rolling terrain is how Quincy used to be before we flattened and planned everything out .... gotta have that social order, you know. The place is also a veritable outdoor museum, with a Civil War memorial, John Wood (founder of Quincy) grave and the resting places for many prominent Quincy citizens.

I like to sit on the Roy Brocksmith bench and think about life. My old friend Jo Ann Bier is buried near the west end in a beautiful spot, as well.

The old graves, the vaults, the dirt roads winding back, the view .... it's a beautiful place.

Now She Rests

Cousin Esther Hart passed away peacefully Monday night in Toronto after a grueling battle with cancer.

Peace and blessings to all the family, and safe travels.

www.friendsofesther.com

Third Ward Race

Today is one of many reasons for loving Q-Town ... cool, breezy, sunny .... the perfect spring day.

I will probably wreck it somewhat by watching the Cardinals tonight, but I will keep my perfect streak of 15 years without watching an entire MLB game.

Interesting story in today's Whig about the Third Ward race between Paul Havermale and John Douglas. I don't live in the ward and have no party allegiances, but it's the only city race on the April ballot so there is a lot of interest.

I think Paul has done an excellent job as alderman. In today's story he came off as bright and interested in doing the best job he can. He didn't let losing his first bid for alderman discourage him from running again and he perservered, proof good things will happen if you stick to it.

John Douglas is another good guy who has the right ideas for running. I run into John a lot doing the crime and courts thing and he is always helpful and good for a quote, and he has a self-depreciating style that always makes me laugh.

This is not an endorsement for either candidate. I'm just glad both parties have good candidates.

The best thing about today's story is that neither candidate threw any mud and they stuck to the issues, refreshing to see.

Good luck to both guys!

Rocky Mountain High

I'm heading West for a week off in the Rocky Mountains, but I'll check in on occassion to make sure it's all good in Q-Town.

Other than bank robberies, cat hoarders and the usual cast of suspects, nothing new to report. Also been working on a story about the Daniel Ramsey murder trial looming next month, make sure to check out The Whig April 1.

More Willow feedback

Getting some great comments and feedback on the Willow Creek post. But the last comment bothered me.

The person wrote: "Now don't get me wrong -- I enjoy Rock & Roll, but don't ever recall hearing a rock song that is profoundly beautiful and touches the soul."

WHAT?

Have you ever listened to Roxy Music's Avalon? The second side (dating myself here) of the Police's Synchronicity? How about U2's Joshua Tree? "One Tree Hill" still makes me cry. Eric Johnson's "40 Mile Town" makes mere mortals crumble. "I Am Waiting" by Yes. "To Be a Man" by Boston, beautifully sung by the late Brad Delp and haunting knowing he just recently took his life. "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits used to make an old college girlfriend cry, and she hated rock and roll. "Sad Lisa" by Cat Stephens brings me back to my days listening to my mom's old records in the living room.

I'm shooting myself in the foot by listing just a few of hundreds of rock and roll songs that "touch the soul."

Why do you think I listen to music? To have something in the background while writing a story? Yes. To be moved by melody and lyrics? YES YES YES! I was walking the other day listening to my iPod Shuffle when "Don't Give Up" by Peter Gabriel from Secret World Live came on and all of a sudden I was at the other end of South Park and I had no idea how I got there.

Are we "dumbing down" by offering a service appealing to youth and contemporary audiences? With that attitude, there simply won't be a church in another five or 10 years, at least not at 12th and Maine. Organ music and 300-year old hymns just won't do it anymore. It's not wrong and if it moves you, it's where you should be.

Music should inspire and connect, whatever form you choose.

Listen. If I watch the show "Ozzie & Harriet" today, I'd be bored out of my mind, and it's a personal choice.

And seeking something more isn't wrong.

Playing For Republicans

Jack, Alan and I played for an Adams County Republican gathering tonight at the Senior Center. Alan sings and plays trombone, Jack wails on his sax and I stay out of the way on guitar. We play our elavator muzak and sometimes I have to laugh, but people seem to like it and it's perfect background noise at a gathering.

For us, it's just a gig. If the Dems call us, we'll play for them, too.

It was nice to see Bob and Anne Mays get honored, they are really good people.

The bank robbery in Payson has the people up there in a stir. Don't know much about it yet, but we'll dig up more info in the morning for tomorrow's paper.

Willow Creek

I went to Chicago on the train this weekend to hang out with the Reynolds family. I miss them a lot since they moved from Quincy and we had an awesome weekend. Saturday we went downtown and then to Lincoln Park to join in the St. Patrick's Day festivities. It didn't take long for us to realize we were about 20 years too old, so it was an early night but a fun experience.

They live in Inverness, near Palatine, and Willow Creek Community Church is just down the road (in Chicago, just down the road means anything less than 10 miles). So we piled in the van this morning and went to the king of the mega-churches, because I've heard so much about it. Young Mike Reynolds says, "It's like going to a rock concert!"

He was right, in more ways than one.

This place is huge, a series of space ship buildings connected on a massive lake-fronted property. This is the church built on being non-traditional, built on bringing people in who would otherwise not go to church, and they've struck a chord with many of the late baby boomers and now Gen Xers — DON'T make it like a church. This is not your father's church. And that's the whole idea.

You know it's a huge place when they have guys wearing orange vests directing traffic in the parking lot.

You don't walk into Willow Creek as much as you stream in with a lot of other people. There is this sort of expectation hanging in the air — something I've almost never felt when going to church. There is a coffee shop area, a bookstore, a huge commons area to just hang out, a "front porch" area to meet people, computer kiosks with Internet access. "It's like a mall," Tom Reynolds said. "God's mall."

There are signs pointing to the different sections of the worship area, just like a major sports venue. We took one of two escalators to the second of three levels and looked at the "bulletin," which isn't a bulletin at all but a "playlist" of the week's activities and an explanation of the message. This place is huge and it's hard to guess how many people it holds — 6,000, more maybe? It sort of looks like a giant movie theater morphed into the bridge from Star Trek. The stage has about 30 televisions placed on strange angles, and there are two giant movie screens on either side of the stage.

Nope. Not Rev. Dirk's old churches. Not even close.

The band hand, and I mean this is a real rock and roll band, had a couple of guitar players, bass player, a drummer behind a massive Plexiglas encased kit, a keyboard player and a singer. One of the guitarists/singers also plays sax. They opened with a rock instrumental and I kept thinking how strange it was, until I realize it's not that different from the organ music you hear to start church. Same principle, anyway.

There was a greeting and then a video "Behind The Music" look at the band, their influences, and why they play music. It all tied into the message of "How To Save A Life" and was interspersed by the band playing some of their favorite songs.

Have you ever been to church and heard the band break out into The Police or Bon Jovi? Neither have I. Until this morning.

Teaching pastor Nancy Beach's message was highlighted by a drama, the band playing The Fray's "How To Save A Life" and a Nickelback video. That's right. A FREAKING NICKELBACK VIDEO. All loosely tied into the message of bringing church to the unchurched. Suddenly it was 70 minutes later and we were wrapping it up with the band playing "Lifesong." Unfortunately it was the only the song the congregation (again, old and outdated term) sang, but I was told they usually do more songs.

The critics say the mega-churches don't teach the doctrine, that's it's too easy to be too anonymous, that they don't differentiate between the church and the outside world.

Maybe so. But here's the question I kept asking myself — when was the last time I really got something out of church, or really looked forward to it for the right reasons? And if I have a chance to go to Willow Creek again, why would I jump at the chance and be genuinely excited?

This will make some people who read this blog mad, but it has to be said — churches that don't change, that don't update themselves, that stubbornly refuse to accept we are living in 2007, not 1967, are doomed to failure. I should know. I go to one. And it's on the fast track to extinction. And ... it will be very hard for me to go back there after experiencing something like Willow Creek.

Funions 2007

So we have a new guitar player, Howard Schroeder, who plays with Dr. Brei in Crossroads. Howard is an excellent player and better yet a great guy to hang out with.

Jon Barnard is playing slide and acoustic guitar.

Jack Inghram is on board playing sax and keyboards.

These additions make us sound a little different, but at practice last night we just had a blast.

To play in bars and in front of new fans, you gotta have songs people know. We will still be playing "Just Pretending" songs and new original material (wait until the upcoming benefits, we have some new stuff with a lot of potential). So last night at practice we learned a bunch of songs. I won't give any away, but "every girl's crazy bout a sharp dressed man ...."

Here's the schedule so far for the coming months. Some of these shows are still in the planning stages, so check back here or email me at dirkhartband@insightbb.com to make sure we are playing.

Funions World Parking Lot Tour 2007
Friday, April, 6, 8-9:15 p.m., North Side Boat Club with Recoil, Slink Rand Band
Saturday, April 21, 5:30-7 p.m., America’s Best Value Inn, Gil Feld Benefit
Sunday, April 29, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Casino Starlight, Frank Calkins Benefit
Saturday, May 19, 6-7 p.m., Washington Theater, Make The Music Happen Festival
Saturday, July 14, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Downtown Quincy (with Slick Woody)
Saturday, July 28, TBA, Susan White Benefit, Downtown Quincy
Saturday, Oct. 13, 8-midnight, Barney’s Tavern, QND 10-year reunion

Farewell Brad Delp

Brad Delp died yesterday. The 55-year-old singer for Boston was alone at home when he passed away.

You need two things for a great rock and roll song. One, of course, is the song itself. Two, you need a voice. This is why The Funions are happily mired in small town rock and roll mire. If we ever get a singer ....

Boston is often criticized for its arena rock album oriented songs. But the first album is one of the best ever made and still sounds great more than 30 years later. Tom Scholz revolutionized guitar rock and maybe he is right to be so methodical about putting out his music.

Brad Delp made the songs sing. To Be A Man from Third Stage is haunting and Holly Ann sends chills up your spine. On the last album, Corporate America, Fran Cosmo and Kimberley Dahme did more singing, and Delp didn't have quite the range when they toured the next year. Dr. Brei and I saw them in Springfield and the band was in fine form. Delp looked like he was having a blast as always. He even joked about not being able to hit the high notes and wisely let the younger singers do much of the higher end vocals.

From what I read he was also one of the nicest guys in rock and roll (www.bandboston.com, www.boston.org). He did a lot of charity work and was tinkering with various projects.

Scholz apparently is always making Boston music. I wonder what's out there with Delp on vocals, but knowing Scholz, it might never get out. And this may spell the end for Boston, which wouldn't be the same without Delp — Foreigner and Journey are good examples.

Farewell, Brad Delp. I loved your voice and your music. My iPod is full of Boston songs, and I'll keep listening.

Great Show

In the immortal words of the late Peter Boyle, while portraying Frank Barone .... "HOLY CRAP!"

What a great time at America's Best Value Inn. Slick Woody was awesome and played more than an hour later than advertised. We had fun, we need to get tighter as a band but that will come with practice. The hotel did booming bar business, both bands got paid and everybody, and I do mean everybody, had a good time.

I won't be able to walk tomorrow.

I promise the rest of the band will learn 8675309. "Junie Junie, who can I turn to?"

Thanks Jamie for bringing your girls. Thanks courthouse crew, you guys rock!

And here's the best part of the night.

I met Rocky Cola and his wife.

I quit. There's nothing else even remotely comparable.

Next Funions Shows: April 7, North Side Boat Club, opening for Recoil and Slink Rand

April 21, America's Best Value Inn, benefit show TBA

Saturday, May 19, Washington Theater!

New Look

We are really looking forward to Saturday's show at America's Best Value Inn with Slick Woody. This is the old Shepherd's Inn and Ramada across from the Oakley-Lindsay Center. It's in the bar upstairs and it's cozy, so get there early.

We play first at 7:30. We have a new look and I'm really eager to see what we sound like.

The Slick Woody guys have been playing music for a long time and they have what very few bands have — awesome harmonies, good playing and good songs.

See you Saturday!

Internet Shopping

I went to Staples yesterday to buy CD jewel case inserts. We're burning our own copies of "Just Pretending" and this is the cheapest way to do it.

But Staples did not have the 50-pack Memorex brand I bought the last time. The very polite sales associate said it was likely because they don't stock the item anymore.

So I bought the Avery 20-pack, but it doesn't work with the Memorex exPressit software I used to design the inserts. I can use the Avery inserts for other things so it's no big deal, but for a number of reasons Avery just isn't as good as the Memorex product.

We need some CDs made because we have some shows coming up and it's a pain. Not sure where else in town I can find them.

So this morning I turned to the Internet again to order the Memorex inserts. This is why retailers are deathly afraid of the Internet — it's super easy, it's cheap (except for the shiping), and while I was at it, I bought 50 slim cases. They'll be by my mailbox within a week, which isn't nearly as good as bringing them home.

At least they'll be here.

New Blogger

I switched to the new Blogger format sometime ago and have had no problems.

Not happy about the way Police tickets are being handled. You have to join an Internet club to have access to the better tickets, and prices are astronomical. Will you pay $225 to see a band? If you can afford it, well, more power to you.

Several other bands touring this summer, including the original Asia lineup and Genesis. Van Halen too, but without Michael Anthony and his great harmony vocals, forget it.

Judge This

Just read in the Kirksville Daily Express online that a Northeast Missouri judge, Richard Steele, is letting a Kirksville man out of serving probation terms while he appeals his recent sodomy conviction.

According to the paper, Jay Schilling would not have to abide by the sentence during the appeals process, though the Kirksville businessman will have to register as a sex offender. Convicted in October 2006 for inappropriately touching a 15-year-old girl during the 2004 NEMO fair, Schilling was sentenced this month to serve four years in jail, but Steele suspended his sentence in favor of a 5-year probation with the conditions he complete a sexual offender treatment program and serve 30 days of shock time in jail. The sentence further states the 30 days in jail did not have to be served concurrently and Schilling could choose which days to serve.

Schilling notified the Court he was appealing his case Jan. 11, and asked the Court 11 days later to exempt him from probation conditions, including registering as a sex offender, until his appeal is decided.

The paper says this move came at the prompting of Steele, who had written to Schilling's attorney Jan. 17 he believed Schilling could avoid probation requirements during the appeals process if he submitted a written request to do so, and Steele stated in the letter he would approve such a request.

WHAT?

The judge writes to the defense lawyer, tells him to submit a written request so his client can avoid probation terms, and then says he'll approve the request BEFORE IT'S FILED?

Maybe that's how they do it over in Missouri.

By the way, this is the same judge who oversaw the Lewis County bench trial for the LaBelle man who shot several people a couple of years ago. Jeremy Goodson's attorney used some hocus pocus psychobabble for his defense to excuse the shootings.

The trial was several months ago. We are still waiting for a verdict from Judge Steele.

Juries don't take months to reach a verdict. Neither should judges.

Keep The Series Going!

Congrats to both Quincy High School and Quincy Notre Dame on a great boys basketball game Saturday.

Give credit to the two coaches, Sean Taylor and Scott Douglas, who go about things the right way. To the very few misguided in both Blue Devil Nation and Raider Country, you have NO idea how fortunate we are to have these guys in town. None. So keep beating your heads against the wall and knock yourselves into oblivion.

The administration deserves credit too, from Superintendent Tom Leahy to ADs Bill Connell and Max Miller. Ten years ago, this game just doesn't happen. The QND switch from Class A to AA was the catalyst, and it would be good to get a long-term deal struck so the teams can continue the series past next year.

For those of you unaware of the basketball-crazed town Quincy is, there were an estimated 4,000 people inside Blue Devil Gym Saturday for the first meeting between QHS and QND in many years. QHS won by a point in a great game. I thought CGEM did a good job broadcasting, and it made people like me who didn't want to deal with the big crowd appreciate watching it at home.

Good Lord. I've been living in Quincy too long when I think 4,000 people is too many .....

I was afraid of media overkill, but you give the people want they want. Another Q-town blogger estimated 90 percent of the town was talking about the game. He was wrong. It was at least 99 percent.

Loved Don O'Brien's column Sunday about the game. He is right — having the girls play in the opener would have been a good idea. On the other hand, it's kind of nice for the girls to have their own spotlight game, coming up at the end of the month at The Pit, and it will be interesting to see how many people it draws.

So, Quincy .... good for us!

Camping In The (Galesburg) Lane

I went to Galesburg last night to watch the Quincy High School girls basketball team play. I had a really nice talk with freshman Amy Wentura, who was called up from the freshman team to play in the JV game because of some injuries. Amy did a great job and has a bright future as a Blue Devil.

Amy reminded me I coached her on a YMCA basketball team six years ago, when she was in third grade. "I didn't score a point the whole year," she said. "You told me to get under the basket and camp out in the lane, so I went under the basket, sat down and crossed my legs. That's what I thought you meant — camping in the lane!"

Galesburg does a nice job supporting girls basketball. It helps to have one of the best programs in the state, of course. The fans filled the gym and actually cheered after the awesome pep band cranked out pre-game songs. They actually have an announcer DURING the game, and two Galesburg radio stations broadcast every girls basketball game.

The best part was before the opening tip, when they selected a student to raise the flag during the national anthem. They recognized the student for her grades and athletic accomplishments in track and cross country, and she got a huge ovation from the crowd. She pulled the flag up on a rope as the pep band played a spirited rendition of the Star Spangled Banner — NOT a taped, grindingly slow and overwrought anthem.

At this point I could say something about how it was a much more appropriate pre-game ceremony than using an occult symbol with horns and a pitchfork, but I love living in Quincy so I'll just shut my mouth now.

Restaurant Blues

On Saturday mornings, provided the time and inclination, the five-block walk to the Hardees and 12th and Jefferson can be a wonderful thing. Nothing cures the draft beer blues like a couple of artery-hardening breakfast sandwiches.

The service is always slow but bearable. Unfortunately this morning, it was slow and not bearable.

I am hesitant to be critical of those in the restaurant trade. I worked in several restaurants and know what hard and low-paying jobs they are. This morning at Hardees they were swamped at the drive-in and inside, and I waited 25 minutes for my two sandwiches to go, which cost me all of $2 (bless my Dutch heart).

It's awkward when an order gets screwed up. Do you go to the counter and ask about it? The problem was obviously on the line, where somebody was sssslllllooooowwwwllllyyy putting together orders. The servers out front gave me pained looks and I felt genuinely bad for them.

Six or seven people who came in after me got their orders, including a customer who ordered and got her food in about four minutes, so I finally just gave up and walked out. A person at the drive through also gave up and left while I was waiting. Maybe I should have been more of a jerk about it, but they can have the $2.

It's hard to get mad at management. Good help is hard to find, and the employees were at least trying.

Is this too whiny? Is this too big of a deal? Maybe. We're all human. Well, most of us, anyway. Perhaps just walking out made it worse. They didn't get a chance to correct the error or mixup.

I can't afford to eat out that much, but there are good places to eat in Quincy. The Steak N Shake on Broadway is a favorite. Tiramisu at Third and Hampshire has awesome food and great service. Lately we've been getting takeout from the pasta place at Eighth and State, and I love the 14th and Harrison Hy Vee chinese food.

As a matter of fact, the next time I get those Saturday morning blues, I might just walk to 14th and Harrison, because they apparently have good breakfasts, too.

But for this morning, I think I'll make myself an omelette .....