Celtic Cross Redux
Back with three of my best friends as if no time has passed
I didn’t know how to reach Brett. I hadn’t talked to him in ten years. I know he doesn’t do social media. He has a Facebook account but is only tagged in school events. I don’t even know if he’s still teaching or not.
My wife Lisa suggested I check the school district’s website to see if there’s a staff directory with contact information. Aha! Success! Brett’s still working. I sent an email to Brett first and heard back right away.
To my and Shawn’s delight, Brett responded positively, so we’d at least be able to meet up, but we still needed a venue if we were going to play. The obvious choice, if he would agree to it, was Dale.
I hadn’t seen Dale since a chance meeting amongst 100,000 of our best friends at Watkins Glen International several years ago. I was leaving the NASCAR race and stopped at a traffic intersection to yield to another car. That car stopped, and I made eye contact with the driver. I recognized the driver as Dale, and we both popped out of our cars to say hello. He and Brett have worked together, both being teachers, so they’re well acquainted with each other, first through me, then as colleagues.
I reached out to Dale, having found his email the same way I found Brett’s, and copied Brett in on the email. Dale agreed to do it. He also offered a venue to play in. The reality was starting to set in.
The band is getting back together!
Dale and Brett have a couple of things in common. They’re outstanding musicians and even better people — World class on both accounts.
Shawn and I will admit that we are not. Oh, I think we’re “good people,” as folks say (“I know him, he’s good people”), but Shawn hasn’t been singing much, and I’ve only been devoting a fraction of time to guitar compared to four or five years ago. Despite the hint of intimidation on our part, we all agreed on a date and time to meet.
Another instance proving we were never really rock stars was that we were prompt and pumped. The scheduled start time was noon. Both Brett and I arrived early, at about 11:50 and 11:51, to set up, followed by Shawn at about 11:58.
Dale had everything prepared, including the co-host, and his dog, Pax. Because of the long lapse in seeing everyone, it was a little after noon that the hugs (Brett, let go of me, will ya!), hellos, handshakes, and repeated “thank you” wrapped up. Then it was time to get to work.
“My story of being on the road 150 days a year.”
Too much time had passed to waste on a song played back in the day. We started with The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated.” It fit our style though we’d never played it. Shawn would say it was the story of his career and travel over the past few years.
Next came an appropriate tune in style and theme, written after they’d begun their lives in the real world. Tom Petty’s classic “Running Down A Dream” showed the three of us original members back in form. Rusty, we were but better with the assistance of Dale, a ringer on drums, at times joined by co-percussionist Pax, his Jack-Chi (part Jack Russell Terrier, part Chihuahua).
After a short three hours, we took a break reminiscent of an episode of “Live From Daryl’s House,” retiring to a dining room that felt like it was made for this specific occasion. Over pizza, beer, and soft drinks, we caught up on all of the non-musical aspects of life, such as family, health, and real careers. The conversation was as if a few months had passed rather than a span of a time long enough for our kids to have kids (though none of us are grandparents.)
Again, not wasting much time, it was back to the basement for a few more selfies, some video recording, and music for a couple more hours. There was a consensus that the music was working as well as hoped, if not a little better. Not bad for four guys that hadn’t been in the same room in over forty years (and one that hadn’t been with the group before).
There was no doubt that spark remained in this band. More significant than that was the love that transcended the music. We unanimously concluded that we must keep this thing going.
What’s In A Name?
I came up with the name Celtic Cross when I was fourteen after looking at crucifix necklaces in a catalog. I thought one looked rock and roll to me, like it had faith and attitude. It was described as a Celtic Cross.
Since getting back together as a reunion, I found that there is another Celtic Cross, our original band name. Though we had the name first, we can’t claim it any longer. Maybe we’ll have to come up with a new one at our next practice in a few weeks.
Keep up on all the news of my old band and all kinds of other stuff I write about by subscribing to Medium. If you do, please use the link below.
Thanks for reading my story.
If you dont want to subscribe right now you can still get an email each time I publish by clicking the little envelope on your right.
