As for the others, here’s what’s become of them:
Jen lives in Chicago and is still involved with stagecraft.
Kevin is an artist of oil paints. He and his wife live in Maryland.
Terese became a nurse. She married Ian and they have two kids.
Eric raised his sons after his divorce. He is remarried, with a daughter, living in Ohio.
Gaylord is rocking out somewhere in Southeast Michigan.
Laura married, raised two daughters and produced a documentary about ocean life.
Elizabeth is married, with children, in Pennsylvania.
Heidi lives in Minnesota and owns a restaurant. She is married and has a young son.
Matt owns a recording studio in Tennessee. He is married, with children.
Katy became an attorney. She is married and has two boys.
Jef lives in Oregon. He and his husband have three adopted boys.
Deanne married, lives near Detroit and co-owns a pop-up supper club.
Jimmy Doom is a character actor, splitting his time between Detroit and New Orleans.
Michèle has remarried, has one son and lives in Ohio. She works in Human Resources.
Charlie is married and is an attorney representing the City of Detroit.
Dan, like his brother, became an attorney. He married and resides in Michigan.
Quinn and April have two children and continue to live in the Detroit area.
Maxwell lives in Chicago and runs a catering company.
Sandy and her husband have two children, and live in Michigan.
Tony is in insurance, found religion and married a woman named Jennifer.
Nancy and her husband have a son and daughter and live in the Detroit area.
Dave is married, lives in Tennessee and still writes and performs music.
Patrick is still playing drums and taking photographs and lives in New York.
Lynda lives in Maine. She is married and performs in several musical acts.
Today, I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I kept coming back, summer after summer, after the first visit with Michèle. In late 2005, I quit my automotive job and bought a house here. I self-published my novel Flower of Fire in 2010 and am working on a new story about Detroit, family and organized crime.
I’m still single but I have good people in my life. I have two dogs and a cat and when I walk outside at night to let them roam around the backyard, I see every star in the sky. I live in a magical place -- but every once in a while I’m possessed with a blinding nostalgia for my hometown. I haven’t been back in nearly a decade.
I’m in the midst of a minor mid-life crisis, though, like everything else in my life it isn’t typical (although I did have a red sportscar at one point). I am not sitting here, wishing that I had done more with my life. I really fulfilled my dreams and ambitions, for the most part. I went out into the world, had the wildest experiences, gained wisdom, shared that knowledge with others and found the home I had dreamt of having. I only wish I had someone to enjoy the rest of the journey with.
Still, I am blessed to have had the most amazing life. I’m deeply thankful for every person who has shared it.
Curtain Call…
Oh -- another piece of news! Summer 2011, twenty-five years after I first moved into the No Bev House, the Damned announced a reunion tour. The tour commemorated the release of Damned Damned Damned -- their first album, thirty-five years before. Friends posted online the announcement of a date in Chicago, Tuesday October 25th.
I flew to Chicago on the Saturday before the show and stayed with my friend Joan, in Oak Lawn. I hadn’t seen Joanie since I left Chicago to return to Detroit, but we kept in touch during the subsequent years. She is married and has two children, a son and a daughter. She picked me up at the airport and we enjoyed our visit together.
On Tuesday, the day of the concert, I took the train downtown to meet Jennifer for lunch. Jen had moved to Chicago as did her sister Wendy.
Jennifer and I met at a restaurant along the waterfront, near Union Station. She hasn’t changed much. She is petite and freckled with dark, smiling eyes. We had a wonderful time, reminiscing about the past and catching up on the present. One of the first things she said at lunch was “Your roommates were assholes” to which I responded, “Well, your roommate was an idiot!” Unfortunately, she was not able to attend the concert, having a work obligation. But we chatted away, took photos and walked uptown until she had to catch a ride home.
Joan picked me up at Daley Center and we drove north up Clark Street. Past the Punkin Donuts and my old apartment. Past Wrigley Field. The concert was at the Metro, and we found a restaurant to enjoy a quick dinner. I changed into club clothes and we walked the half block to the bar. We called Eric, our photographer friend, to join us.
There were a few acquaintances from Detroit, mostly distant friends and fellow fans, at the show. I had hoped to see perhaps Sandy, Dave, Ian and Terese, maybe Eric but they were unable to make the trip. Maxwell was there, and a few others I recognized. It was a great concert – a great night. They played every song from Damned Damned Damned, took an intermission, played each song from The Black Album (including “Curtain Call”) and then took requests. I’m glad I finally got to see The Damned, after all this time.
…Afterword
The titles of each chapter are songs by bands I loved, including the Gravity bands.
I dedicate this memoir to my beloved friends who passed -- including Scott and Flip. I would also like to acknowledge the late, great Alex Soria. I referenced his band, The Nils, several times here. The music these men helped create inspires me still. I also dedicate this book to all the kids my old Gravity cohorts have brought into the world. You will never know how fucking cool your parents were. (I’m sure they’ll never tell you!)
I encourage the reader to explore the many musicians written about in this memoir. Some are alive, well and kicking ass in a dark club somewhere in the U.S.A.
For further reading material on the Detroit Punk Scene, please check out the following books: Why Be Something That You’re Not: Detroit Hardcore 1979-1985 by Tony Rettman and Touch & Go: The Complete Hardcore Punk ‘Zine ’79-‘83 by Tescoe Vee and Dave Stimson.
The Damned, Naked Raygun and Soul Asylum continue to release and perform music. Soul Asylum bassist Kurt Mueller died of prostate cancer a few years ago, but the band soldiers on.
It’s challenging to find the music of our Gravity bands, but if you search diligently some nuggets can be discovered. There are CDs and records available for purchase through online sources. There are a few videos at www.YouTube.com including The Colors ‘“Last Days of Rome.” You can find videos and MP3s of The Mangos, Inside Out, Angry Red Planet, The Trash Brats, The Skraps, The Junk Monkees, ALD, Gangster Fun, The Gories, The Come Ons and other Detroit-alternative bands.
I’ve seen thousands of musical performances during my life, including some of the most renowned acts of the past half century. The Gravity Bands -- The Colors, Just Born, Inside Out, The Generals, The Mangos – have been some of the most influential artists of my life. I remember fondly these bands, along with Angry Red Planet, Gangster Fun and the other musicians I shared the years with documented in this memoir. May the next generation of audiophiles discover the cult of mid-Eighties awesome Detroit Punk Rock and drag it into the light again.
To my Detroit musician friends: I never had more fun than when I was at a show, at St. Andrews Hall or Paychecks or the Blind Pig, with my girls -- my love muffins -- dancing and singing along. Listening to you. Thank you.
Author’s Acknowledgements…
I began writing this memoir in January 2011 and completed writing in August 2013.
I’d like to begin by thanking my parents, David Edward Gallagher and Shari Rene Sorah. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for allowing me the freedom to live this life fully. Thank you especially for my birthrights of humor, sensitivity and storytelling.
Thank you to my sisters, Debra Thurmond
and Laura Gallagher Quinn. I was blessed to share my childhood with you and I thank you for being my first girlfriends.
Thank you to all of my extended family: stepparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, a new great nephew and my grandpa Jack Gallagher.
To my many acquaintances across the globe (Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, the Pacific Northwest, Georgia): love ya miss ya think of you often!
Biggest thank-you’s go to J. Brown, D. Sylvester for clarification / verification. Acknowledgements to K. Quinn for use of the cover photo and much appreciation to Crystal Hohenthaner for helping this book come to fruition.
Lisa Ann Gallagher
Rapid City, South Dakota
August 11, 2013
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