denton (still sucking wind)

why do they still ask me to play denton?
too many painful memories
i'm going back to those days
so i can get it all out of my head
then i can walk away from them right?
and never go back

we had this metal storage shed
on the edge of town
that we used to rehearse in
it was truly charmless
once we got started making our racket
the drums sounded like metallic canons
the cymbals
reflecting off of the tin walls
so you could shave your eardrums with them
no immenities
no air conditioning
vicious in the summertime
we had to play with the doors open
but it was still blistering
dust got on all our amps and guitars
no heat too
froze our asses off in the winter
sometimes we'd just cancel practice
because we couldn't bear to go suffer
the elements
and horrible sound
i remember the girlfriends coming by the shed once
to listen to our new tunes
i don't think they lasted long
rich
our drummer (aka: the sproutman)
was a charming and funny fellow
with a kind narled face
and large round nose
just like ringo
he talked really slow
in an "aw shucks" kind of manner
he always had lots of funny stories
and wry insights into life
and this chuckle
i can't imitate on this keyboard
but it was one of a kind
i always loved rich
he was a great guy
and still is
lives in S.F. and we're still friends
almost 20 years later
too bad rich wasn't much of a drummer
we worked him and worked him and
worked him
made the poor guy practice with headphones
to our favorite records
chained him too a click track for hours and hours
still
he could never 'get it'
he just didn't have it in him
even after buying the big red yamaha drumkit
that faris had sold his car for
rich sounded like a mouse
tap tap tapping on those
powerful looking drums

there aren't many people in my life
left over from those days
ken b. is one of the few
rob rich and ken
shared a house together
it was sort of like animal house
ken was always on the couch
drunk
or stoned
dishes piled high in the sink
months worth of them
totally disgusting
and they never took out the trash
it was everywhere
beer cans
candy wrappers
fast food remains
you name it
it was on their carpet somewhere
i didn't even know ken played a musical
instrument
or did anything at all
other than drink beer
until years later i saw him playing the guitar
with old 57s
i'd met rhett and murray
before they even knew ken
while i was riding around with rich one day
in his sprout truck
i have no idea why i was on his route with him
i must've been really bored
i mean REALLY BORED
i did live in denton after all
we were hitting all rich's exciting dallas stops
whole foods
and tai restuarants
then we stopped by this house
off of lower greenville
very close to where i live now
and there was murray
sitting indian style in the middle of the living room
hair down to his ass
plucking a sitar
sometimes when i see him play with the 67s
i still see that vision of him
and have a good laugh to myself
i don't remember rhett much
other than he was always really nice
and very pretty
i'd run into him at clearview sometimes
and he was always so polite
asking what we'd been up to
really listening
no L.S.S. (lead singer syndrome) for him
rhett was always kind
and always considerate
i had no idea that years later
we'd end up such good friends
go to japan together
play conan
travel all around the u.s.a and canada
and even make records
funny how we met
way back then