the lost denton years (numero uno)

going back
back back back
back to bad years
the denton years
why do i avoid this place like the plague now?
turn down any and every offer to play there
well you see
i want to forget it ever existed
i've banished it
like a blight on my memory
the place may not be so bad after all
but it represents misery to me
my empty wasted years
the lost years

first observer i ever picked up was in denton
edie brickell and the new bohemians
they were on the cover
i remember reading about them blowing
part of their big record advance
on motorbikes
it didn't seem like i would like their music
by the looks of them
i was right
still don't
hippie jam band tripe
and denton was full of that stuff
denton denton denton
oh how i hate thee
your one-way streets
empty at night
all the little commuters gone and left you
for the weekend
no place to go
driving in a square
round and round and round
dreaming of escape
up elm
down maple
through the campus
past the burger king
back around again
no fun at all
no music i liked
at least when i was there
only the funky
like billygoat
or the grungy
and nowhere good to play either
rick's place
frat central
was the only room with a decent p.a.
but they treated us like spacemen there
and we never got paid anything
the red rooster
was a barn we played
with pop poppins
in their high socks
up to their knees
and frocks
they were good
and quirky
two weirdo brothers
like us
dr. smith's
a converted pizza hut
run by this bizarre nigerian transplant
with a heavy heavy accent
he was a real character
that dr. smith
fast talking and underpaying
i first saw mexican chicken there
looking like spinal tap
hard rocking tongue in cheek
derek welch (now known as ricki derek)
was the frontman
swinging his long black wig
side to side
his between song banter was hilarious
he still has the touch to this day
with his cabaret performances
(he later went on to direct the world renowned
"the world is full of people who want to hurt you" video)
i noticed their lead guitarist
was pretty good
tall skinny kid
sporting a vest
with no shirt
i introduced myself after the show
asked him if he was in a "real" band
"nope" he said
i went home and told my brother about him
we were looking to sack swenson
who'd moved up from el paso to play guitar in MF
he was so timid
and couldn't write parts
we invited tommy to come over to our apartment one afternoon
to jam on some of ours songs
i remember peering out of the stained yellow mini-blinds
waiting for him to roll up
how were we going to tell poor james he was out?
it was going to break his heart
another notch in our bad karma belt
contributing to the ongoing curse of the moon festival
that would follow the band around
even until after it was dead and gone