Holme Boy - 7/24/06

Me, Donna & Marian and no work the next day.  It was Justin’s birthday.  It was partyville.   We had a celebrity sighting of Tim McGraw at the door.  Steverino greeted me on bended knee and kissed my hand.  Justin was honored by his friends with cake (both the food & girl type).  Kip looked tired.  DJ Charlie did a fresh one “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and it was good!   Firemen Glen, Al & John were there.  I hadn’t seen Al or John in about 15 yrs.  Glen said he was there the week before too but I hadn’t seen him.  He also said he feels young @ D’Jais compared to the Columns crowd & he is bored of retirement.  I can’t even imagine.  On break we took our drinks out on the porch.  Harry stopped by & asked after Sharon.  Frank sat down & chatted up.   I asked if the Hummer in the parking lot was his.  I thought not – it wasn’t him but Fireman Glen thought it was.  Frank does drive it but I was right.   When he left the table I noticed the curly light wiring on the porch was clean.   A short time ago I pointed out to Frank that it was grossly dirty.  I never got the chance to ask him if it had been cleaned by someone on staff or by the torrential rains we had.  Back in the bar Stanley’s biggest fans put on tee shirts that read “We know who John Eddie is but who the hell is Stanley K?”  Stanley wore one too.  Later Pete again reminded me he was the only drinking member of Holme.  I corrected him – he & Joel are the only drinking members of Holme.   Pete also questioned my quoting the Bible on this Blog.   I didn’t know I had until Donna & Marian confirmed it.  For those wondering:  I Corinthians 13:4.

Special Note to FJS: I hope you get it - you’re rich in the one thing money can’t buy you.  

Love, M.    

 

Who Says You Can't Go Holme? - 7/17/06

I could not be bought with food.  It took the big guns – Bobby & Puggy plus nudging from my sister & Camille being on vacation down the shore to quickly end my boycotting of Holme.  It was very crowded. It seemed the entire fan base was there.  I wasn’t sure Puggy would really show & when I arrived at D’Jais Marisa told me he had just been there with his daughter & had left.  I have very mixed feelings about Puggy & am very guarded around him but I still felt a little let down.

Kip introduced Bobby by telling the crowd he was an original member of Holme & is now a member of Bon Jovi & would be playing Giants Stadium the next night.  Bobby then said “but it won’t be anything like this”.  Everyone laughed.  Kip said they had learned a new song & had practiced all day.  The band then went into Neil Young’s “Like A Hurricane”.   It’s my favorite song that Bobby does & Holme played it excellently!  I wish they could continue to play it.  Like I said Marisa was there & she had a new fabuuuulous hairdo.  Joe & Sarah Lepis came.  Then Puggy appeared.  We kissed, we chatted, we went to the side of the stage.  I told him he had to do Brass in Pocket.  It had been one of his signature songs when he was in the band (another being Pretty Woman).  He said he couldn’t because he didn’t know the words.  Unthinkable!  I offered to write the words down for him but he was not interested.  I encouraged him to tongue Bobby like he used to in the old days & when he went on stage he tried to but Bobby wasn’t having it.  Puggy sang 2 songs – Brown Eyed Girl & Satisfaction.  Like Puggy we’re from Jersey City so we loved it when he changed the words in B.E.G. from “behind the stadium with you” to “behind Roosevelt Stadium with you”.  I didn’t notice but Sharon said Puggy forgot the words to Satisfaction & that Kip had tried to help him but it was futile.  When he left the stage he came by & told me he was working on a CD of Neil Diamond songs - again Unthinkable! – and to email him.  Later Joe Lepis said to me that Puggy should have done Brass in Pocket.  This night Bobby didn't mingle with masses.  Oh and I almost forgot, Kevin Cavanaugh played with the band.  Chard seemed to be digging Kathy K.  She told him how we saw his twin last week at the Columns & he said “poor guy”.  We went outside for food during a break.  Take note – don’t order the pretzels.  More often than not they’re as hard as rocks.  Kip came through the snack bar & asked for Camille (who was in the ladies room at the time).  He said he wanted to tease her about how she used to like Richard Gere.  I informed him she still does.  Camille returned. She was very tan.  Frank came by touched her arm & said she was burned.  Frank has forever been very anti sun & he started to tell Camille how bad taking the sun is when I reminded him that cigarettes & drinking were also bad for you.  He said he’d quit smoking around Christmas & told us a story of why he quit.  If you know Frank you know that I am being grammatically correct when I say “a” story.  Anyhoo, it had to do with Belmar’s Mayor Pringle explaining addiction to him.  Kip called Frank back into the bar to play & we were all left perplexed by Frank’s story.  None of us really got it.  Needless to say I was extremely happy that Frank quit smoking.

Love, M.

 

Wait - One last thing - Frank & Kip bought D’Jais with Holme money.  My friends and I sometimes went to see Holme 4 nights a week to places as far away as Ship Bottom (Joe Pop’s) and Randolph (Final Exam) and we paid to see them.  After Holme disbanded we went to D’Jais 3-4 times a week.  Lots of their fans did the same thing.   The Holme fan base was their bread & butter back then & had it not been for their fans Frank & Kip could well have ended up on welfare.

Holme Away From Holme - 7/9/06

For once the band began on time.  There were some fresh songs like Pour Some Sugar on Me, Livin' on a Prayer and Me & Julio Down by the School Yard.  Of course they played their regular songs like Runaway & American Girl.  We were told the band would take requests but only if they were written on a napkin.  The breaks were long as they sometimes are.  It was Kathy, Sharon & me.  The crowd was composed of mostly couples.  I swore I saw Chard in the crowd but was later proved wrong.  Glen the Fireman who had a shore house on 14th next to ours in the early 80’s walked in.  He’s 54, single & just retired.  He remembered all of our names & said we had the same hairdos we did in the 80’s.  He’s right.

We were hungry & decided to grab some fries @ D’Jais snack bar.  We were waiting for our food when Patty Conner stopped to chat with us.  She told me she has read my Blog. Kip had shown it to her.  I tried to explain to her that I had always been critical of the band but she assured me that the band respected my opinion.  She told us there were photos of us on Angelo’s PhotoShow.  At that point Kip came by & Patty asked him about Angelo’s photos.  I told Kip I was still mad at him over July 3rd & not to talk to me.  Patty informed us they were going to have a nice buffet the next Monday to make up for the band not playing the 3rd.  A peace offering?  Evidence that all of your emails did rock Kip’s world.  I had emailed Kip almost daily with my tirades over the 3rd and my thoughts on how the band should have handled the situation.  I truly thought the band to be unfair to their fans.  I was told last year that D’Jais makes more money on Holme’s Monday nights than they do on Sundays.  My theory on this is the Sunday crowd is drugging and the Monday crowd is drinking.  What Holme should have done was played at another venue for happy hour let’s say 4 – 7:00.  They could have found a drummer to sit in for Frank for the afternoon leaving him to tend to D’Jais.  Kip could have been back at D’Jais by 7:30.  It would have been a win-win situation.  In addition, the band would have been paid by the other venue putting money in Kip’s pocket. Hey the band could have even continued to play after Kip left.  Another way they could have gone was to charge everyone $10 to get in voiding all VIP cards for the holiday.  Lastly they could have had a guest player to draw a larger crowd (like when Bobby plays with them). The 20 yr olds had Z100 Friday, Saturday & Sunday.  Trust me, they were not going to abandon D’Jais & frequent other clubs in the future if Holme had played that Monday. 

Holmecoming Dance - 6/19/06

This entry is short, uneventful & contains virtually no mention of the band because I did not jot down any notes during the night.  You see, our friend Maureen finally made an appearance at D'Jais.  Like everyone else she used to go see Holme back in the day.  Maureen had a classic punk rock look then & still does to some degree.  She was known for licking eyeballs & writing funny letters to us.  The letters were quirky stories involving people we knew & sometimes had Holme characters in them.  She grew up in Jersey City & is Camille's cousin.  Her Holme claim to fame was kissing Bobby.  I hadn't seen Maureen for a few years.  She & her friend Ilona were already having a drink at Justin's bar when Susan & I walked in.  Justin saw us & asked where I have been.  He said it was about a month since they'd last seen me.  It was actually only 2 weeks but you know how screwed up time is in Holme speak.  Steverino blew us kisses.  Later I told him not to call Joel with job offers anymore and from stage he pretended to erase Joel's number from his cell phone.  Sharon & Kathy - who has the longest ride of all of us - showed up shortly after we did & my brother walked in too.  He was a very funny guy before he made the worst mistake of his life.  He was the resident DJ at the Showboat (later called Pyramids) in Jersey City.  We loved going there because David would always play all of our favorite disco tunes for us.  I had a glimpse of the old David when he said to Maureen - I left my girlfriend home why didn't you?  We had always danced with Maureen when Holme played the Ramones so I asked Kip to play I Wanna Be Sedated & dedicate it to her.  When the band began to play it we immediately headed to the dance floor.  It's funny how girls always do that.  No matter where they are in the bar when the band or DJ begins to play "their song" they instantly stop what they're doing and make their way to the dance floor.   In checking with Sharon, Kathy & Susan none of them could remember anything having to do with band that night.  The only interesting tidbit Susan was able to offer up was it was the 3rd time she brought an umbrella toD'Jais and the 1st time she went home with one.  Love, M  

Holme Invasion - 5/29/06

First things first.  Joel-Joel-Joel-Joel-Joel. He’s all anyone wants to talk about.  I don’t know what the band will tell you but I can tell you he’s working on a life goal.  He has forsaken all others.  That’s what you do.  Remember, love is patient; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things & endures all things.   Let’s all just let Joel be please.  This includes you too Steverino.

Okay, so it’s Memorial Day Monday.  Sharon & I parked on 19th. When we turned onto Ocean we saw a small crowd outside D’Jais’ entrance.  The 1st person we ran into was Steverino.  He told us it was packed inside.  The next person we came upon was D’Jais Pete.  I kissed him hello.  Since it appeared there was a line to get in & it was crowded inside I went over to Frank waved my hand and said “get us right in”.  He in turned & yelled to the person at the door, waived his hand and told them to “get us right in”.  And so the joke was on us when it turned out there was really no line and it was empty inside.  Well empty by 1980’s, 1990’s standards.

It turns out the people in the bar were the 20 yr. olds left over from happy hour.

Holme had advertised a 7:00 start time which as you know in Holme speak meant 8:00.

P. Conner, Kip’s daughter & T. Sementa were there.  I told Sharon I don’t like Frank’s blue drums because you play blue drums in your high school band – not on stage.  I wonder what happened to the beautiful ones he played last summer.  The 20 yr. olds were still there when the band went on.  The 1st song sung was Twist & Shout.  The kids danced to it probably because they knew it from wedding receptions.  Then it was Badfinger. Next the Monkee’s I’m a Believer which the kids know from seeing Brian Kirk.  After that it was Glory Days.  Their parents played Bruce all the time when they were growing up.  At this point there was trouble with a piece of equipment on stage.  I don’t know what the thing was for but it looked like something out of Star Trek and my thought was Holme almost lost contact with their mothership.  Kip then sang Runaway which the caused the kids to look dazed & confused.  Right after this song the dance floor belonged to the older crowd.  The kids that were still around went wild at Holme’s next tune, Bo Bice’s “Sweet Home Alabama”.  A lot of drinks were dropped & the floor was very wet.  We heard Satisfaction, Should I Stay, American Girl.  I met Pels from this blog.  She introduced herself & I was sorry I didn’t say more & didn’t bring my camera.  I left it at home because I didn’t want to become the annoying photographer myself.  During break some kid said the band was no good.  I thought he should only know his mom probably laid one of the guys in the band.  Faux Puggy (FP) played the opening cords to Devo’s Girl U Want.  It sounded good & I got excited.  Unfortunately it was not on the songlist.  Stanley was only playing with our heads.  DJ Charlie did the only song he knows (or is allowed to sing?).  Kip said everyone there was multi-talented.  The moldie oldies continued: Runaround Sue, 867-5309 (FP), Suspious Minds, Mustang Sally, Pretty Woman, Willy Bully.

Break was interesting.  Sharon & I hung out at the snack bar & I loaded up on french fries with mustard.  Sementa turned me onto the mustard.  We met a guy named Mike, a drummer who had been in Bystander and was now under contract to play on Broadway in Jersey Boys.  Harry joined us & we learned that Mike had been in an original band with him before Cats on A Smooth Surface was formed.  Make Note: Harry says D’Jais’ has the best coffee.  We then met Roberta also from this blog.  She was very complimentary to me & too kind.  The Playwright (from Donna Rocco night) seemed to know her and joined us.  He was extremely funny.  He did not seem to know of this blog.  He should only know he asked my friend out once & I have referred to him a couple of times on this blog over the past year.  Everyone dissipated & Sharon & I wandered down to the parking lot.  We saw Chard carrying a small black case & inquired of it.  He said he was going to join the band when they sang The Rolling Stones’ Ruby Tuesday.  I was intrigued.  In 1970 it was one of my favorite songs.  Believe it or not Chard did partake and he played the flute piece!

Later when Sharon & I were leaving to go home we saw Chard sitting by the parking lot cleaning his flute.  We told him how good he was, the song was.  At this time Theresa joined us.  Chard told us he was listening to classical music by Scarlatti  & heard the piece Brian Jones had lifted & used in Ruby Tuesday.   In conversation Theresa mentioned my house around the corner.  Chard seemed surprised I have a house close by.  For the past 3 yrs. he’s seen me around D’Jais almost every weekend May-October.  Did he really think I drove to Belmar Mondays & weekends?  Anyway he said he was going to drop by for a drink.  I told him I had a great veranda to have drinks on & I invited Theresa to come by anytime for one too.

After Sharon & I left I wondered whether Theresa had thought Brian Jones had been a former member of Holme…

I hope you enjoy these few photos of Holme memorabilia.

Love, M.

 

2-Fers MONDAY - JULY 17th

** Holme announcement states Bobby Bendyourearoff is a definite player this Monday.  I understand Puggy was planning on showing up too.**

I have been boycotting Holme over the July 3rd debacle but cannot miss this Holme Coming!   Hope to see you there.

If anyone can confirm Puggy's appearance it would be appreciated.

Holmeburg - 5/15/06

Monday Night, D’Jais, Frank & Kip’s Birthday Celebration.

It was me, Kathy & Sharon.  There was a “birthday” t-shirt giveaway and we all were handed one at the door.  Kathy & I both wore old Frank & Kip Birthday Party t-shirts.  Kathy wore a 1984 D’Jais red one and I wore a Hunka Bunka one.  I brought the birthday cake / candle sunglasses that I wore at my recent birthday party.  I knew Frank would like them and wear them – which he did.

Stanley who we call Faux Puggy wore sneakers.  Somebody – capezios please.  Max Mara is currently selling patent leather Capezios in black or white.  I saw them there with my own eyes.  Our friend Debbie French still has her original green ones.  I still have my Capezio ballet slippers.  One pair in metallic pink and another in metallic blue but then again they were not rock n’ roll Capezios, mine were disco ones.  Kip wore a shiny green button down Kip shirt.  He told us his daughter bought it for him.  She told him it was a rock n’ roll shirt.  Kip said it looked St. Patrick Day-ish.   We all liked it.

Birthday pizza with candles was brought out and served and funny hats were handed out to all.  My brother, his girlfriend Diane & his friend Todd – an old DJ from D’Jais showed up straight from seeing the Go-Go’s @ Starland Ballroom.  Diane is the proprietor of The Quarter Mile Grill in Old Bridge.  Be sure to stop in for something to eat if you’re in the area.  Kathy left 1st.  Sharon & I left shortly thereafter.  The next day I called my mom & happily reported that all 3 of her children were out together and there were no fights to report.   Love, M.