Very nice, people are moving on. I have my great grandfather's pump organ and I played it to back up a Tarahumara tune on one of our CDs. My wife, Jeanie McLerie, died last Saturday. She started street singing in Paris in 1963, played in the folk scene in the UK in the mid sixties with her husband at the time, Sandy Darlington. We had been married and playing for 46 years, mostly traditional stuff from New Mexico, old Cowboy, Cajun, Old Time and lots of other stuff. Your article touched me so I put this out there. Thanks, Ken Keppeler
I'm so sorry for the loss of your wife Jeanie, Ken. Sounds like she lived an extraordinary life! Thank you for writing, and hope you'll pump up that organ again.
I just read your story of the visit to Shropshire. Our agents live in Shrewsbury and we’ve been in Ludlow, Bishop’s Castle and all around that area playing more trad music. Jeanie and her husband at the time, Sandy Darlington, played for several years in the mid sixties all over the UK. They new lots of folks then from different genres. They we very good friends of the Watersons, who we have visited many times, as well as Bert Jansch, Pete Townsend and most of the folk scene at the time. We have also played some trad gigs over in Norfolk. Our friends Katie and John Howson got us some gigs over in that area as well. Jeanie also lived in France and, until Covid, we were over there every year. I can picture in my mind that area you wrote about. So thank you for that. We also have lots of friends over in the Fens,in Whittlesey, not far from you, and I think we played in King’s Lynn one time. Anyway, the country appears before my eyes a the moment, Thank you, Ken Keppeler
I got all choked up with that one Amy! Things can definitely have some kind of soul, especially well loved instruments. And relate of course - my American storage is about to land in my Australian front yard in a few days and I'm traumatised just thinking about dealing with it... wishing smooth days ahead with the big move.
That was beautiful. So once was that Hammond. The spirits of the animate and sometimes inanimate can still be with us in so many ways. Thanks for the memories and reminders to. Let's all give ourselves huge hugs as balm and to commemorate our dear pals. 🥰
Ah, Scott. This is a hard one. Now, I have certainly lost people over the past few years, including both my parents. But,while very sad, in every case they were ready to go. My Dad told me a few weeks before his passing, "I've had a great life, I'm ready to go!" With a cheery smile on his face. Scott wasn't ready to leave. He had plans! Imagine starting a stand-up comedy schtick at age 64. He crashed on my couch May 25th, after my bands show the night before. I told him "hey, our couch is your couch, but we are going camping on Sunday, so we won't be able to do breakfast" I did make him coffee. So there we sat, in my living room full of both band gear AND camping gear, and somehow he made himself comfortable without tripping over anything. He was munching on a pastry he got somewhere, I was gulping down my coffee thinking about loading the car. And then he somehow got me to sit down,and we ended up having an in depth conversation about hot dog restaurants. I told him, despite living right across the river from the place, I'd never been to Gus's Hot Dogs. So, I told him next time you are in town, let's go!
And now I wish I had delayed the camping trip and gone and got a hot dog with him. I guess the lesson here is GO GET THAT HOT DOG while you still can.
So sorry Jo - though knowing Scott there was plenty of enjoyment simply discussing Gus's hot dogs. But I think you're right, just like Zevon's Enjoy Every Sandwich, I'm adding Go Get that Hot Dog to my list of things to remember. Take care!
Another post so evocative and emotional that I feel compelled to comment...
...As we get older, we lose more friends and family. And just because experiencing more frequent deaths is a fact of a longer life doesn't make it alright. As you say, it hurts. The ones that hurt most are the ones that go suddenly, without you knowing they're going to go, and you never get a chance to see them again, they're just gone. Somewhere in my first year of columns, I've written about this myself. It really hurts. Keef managed to make a joke about it on TV last year but it came from his apparent infallibility and the desertion he feels when another of his friends departs this mortal coil. I only knew Scott of the names you mention, and had not corresponded for years. But every friend's departure is sad, even as I find I become that bit more accustomed to the feeling.
As for your Hammond, I am sorry we never became friends. (The Hammond and I, not Amy and I!) I'm sure we would have got on well. We had a Hammond B3 and Leslie in our own Catskills house. It had been bequeathed by my father-in-law on the understanding that I'd use it, being a keyboard player, but I didn't get the chance until we moved upstate by which point lack of use had caused it to seize up. We found a guy in Poughkeepsie well versed in the incredibly complicated, mathematically brilliant wiring and electronics of the patented Hammond organ (yes, I have wanted to write a book about it), which is essentially a proto-synthesizer, but it took him so many journeys back and forth he eventually asked if he could removed the motor and take it back to work on from home, it would be less expensive.
Even so, it cost us a 4-figure sum, but at one point when he was struggling with it, he called THE expert on Hammond repair and I heard him say down the phone line "Yes, but the body is in perfect condition. Once I get this thing up and running it will be beautiful." And he was right. The Hammond (and Leslie) subsequently saw action at many a Catskills 45s home concert and on a few recordings as well. Before it did so, we had a housewarming party finally, and I invited our Hammond repair man to come and not just see it, but play it if he would like. He showed up in a Harlequin suit and played for hours, delighting in the success of his repair work and that he had an audience, even if it was an audience that was essentially treating him as the hotel organist, there to be occasionally applauded and otherwise ignored. (Although now I think about it, we can't have ignored him - he was in a harlequin suit after all!) Does that story dovetail with yours? Maybe, maybe not. Except to say that they are beautiful instruments, unique in the pantheon of keyboards, and they all seem to have a story.
Of course, when I got divorced, my wife kept the Hammond and Leslie. I hope they still get some use and some love now and then.
As for our repair man, he was old back then, I suspect he may no longer be with us.
Wow Tony, I remember thinking "should we find a Hammond guy?" From what I gather, Poughkeepsie is a treasure trove of these oddball niche repair people (I found a wonderful shoe repair man there who even dealt with Arche shoes/boots very particular sole configuration, sadly he passed away just before the pandemic) I love the Harlequin suit image!
I love this organ's story. There was a yard organ in my neighborhood thst always made me smile when I walked by it. But new owners came in and got rid of it. Pffft!
I'm trying to think kindly of the new owners Linda, they missed the glory years and want to write their own story. I'm glad we have loads of photos and memories of the organ (the little clip I made just a fraction, I always wanted to make a proper time lapse film of its decay)
Jeremy Tepper had good blood lines. I consulted his dad a few decades ago, when Jeremy was a pre-schooler. NYTimes: Jeremy Evan Tepper was born on Nov. 18, 1963, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to Elly (Zeitlin) Tepper, an artist and educator, and Noel Tepper, a lawyer. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/22/arts/music/jeremy-tepper-dead.html
"We’re all just these great, graceful and then decaying structures."
Yes, he had a cool dad, I remember meeting him at a gig or party and thinking it made sense (never met Jeremy's mother). I'm sad for them, losing a son in his prime.
So hard Chuck. And last night I read about Laurie Lindeen passing away suddenly, it all feels unfair and random and that apparently is life. Take care and keep rocking, lots of love to you and Stephanie.
Thank you Peter! I'll always have that old Bottle Caps song in my head "Everything must go, this is the final clearance - there'll be no reapparance" Great memories of playing gigs with you.
RIP Jeremy - what a great fellow. hadn't seen him in 20 years, but, now the possibility is gone, and very sad. he, of course, lives on on vinyl. as he would have loved.
Thank you John! Of course packing up was a time to revisit our books and it was nice to revisit your Keep It To Yourself-inspired story and box it up to bring back here to the UK. Best of luck in your new home!
With all due respect, your position is illogical. Simply b/c someone was said to have died of Covid doesn't mean that the shots are not (also) killing people. The shots ARE killing people, incl. many dying suddenly. And causing heart damage and cancers. Excess death rates have been significantly elevated in all highly vaxxed nations.
Your premise also incorrectly assumes that the shots would have saved them. Many more vaxxed, than unjabbed people have died "of Covid" since the shots began. Gov't experts and TV ads told you the shots would "stop infection and spread." But this was plainly a lie. Every jabbed person I know got sick. Uninjected me and my wife were fine. We are both in excellent health b/c we take care of ourselves and take no meds.
The people you know who were "lost to Covid" were very likely old and sick to begin with and/or were killed by iatrogenic hospital protocols: ventilation, Remdesivir, propofol and dehydration.
You can subscribe to whatever theory you want to. But when people you know just keel over, you might reconsider what I've mentioned and begin questioning the shots' worth and q'ing gov'ts that locked down schools, made people die alone, stole memory-creating experiences from non-old people who were never at risk. You might even eventually conclude that you might have fallen for a Pharma-funded Scam and massive profit-taking scheme.
But more likely, you'll cling to the lies that your political tribe shared for the past 4.5 years..
Belief in Med/Pharma is the dominant American religion. Many blindly follow its tenets, to their graves.
But you do you. Take that shot with no long-term safety record to protect against a virus that simply does not threaten healthy, non-old people.
Very nice, people are moving on. I have my great grandfather's pump organ and I played it to back up a Tarahumara tune on one of our CDs. My wife, Jeanie McLerie, died last Saturday. She started street singing in Paris in 1963, played in the folk scene in the UK in the mid sixties with her husband at the time, Sandy Darlington. We had been married and playing for 46 years, mostly traditional stuff from New Mexico, old Cowboy, Cajun, Old Time and lots of other stuff. Your article touched me so I put this out there. Thanks, Ken Keppeler
I'm so sorry for the loss of your wife Jeanie, Ken. Sounds like she lived an extraordinary life! Thank you for writing, and hope you'll pump up that organ again.
I just read your story of the visit to Shropshire. Our agents live in Shrewsbury and we’ve been in Ludlow, Bishop’s Castle and all around that area playing more trad music. Jeanie and her husband at the time, Sandy Darlington, played for several years in the mid sixties all over the UK. They new lots of folks then from different genres. They we very good friends of the Watersons, who we have visited many times, as well as Bert Jansch, Pete Townsend and most of the folk scene at the time. We have also played some trad gigs over in Norfolk. Our friends Katie and John Howson got us some gigs over in that area as well. Jeanie also lived in France and, until Covid, we were over there every year. I can picture in my mind that area you wrote about. So thank you for that. We also have lots of friends over in the Fens,in Whittlesey, not far from you, and I think we played in King’s Lynn one time. Anyway, the country appears before my eyes a the moment, Thank you, Ken Keppeler
I got all choked up with that one Amy! Things can definitely have some kind of soul, especially well loved instruments. And relate of course - my American storage is about to land in my Australian front yard in a few days and I'm traumatised just thinking about dealing with it... wishing smooth days ahead with the big move.
Oh my gosh Lo, I know that feeling! Hope it all goes well and enjoy being reunited with your stuff.
That was beautiful. So once was that Hammond. The spirits of the animate and sometimes inanimate can still be with us in so many ways. Thanks for the memories and reminders to. Let's all give ourselves huge hugs as balm and to commemorate our dear pals. 🥰
Thanks Amy, yes take care!
This is beautiful, Amy—all of it. I am grateful for such a moment of poignant beauty in the midst of all of the chaos (yours, mine, all of this ❤️).
Thank you Monica!
Ah, Scott. This is a hard one. Now, I have certainly lost people over the past few years, including both my parents. But,while very sad, in every case they were ready to go. My Dad told me a few weeks before his passing, "I've had a great life, I'm ready to go!" With a cheery smile on his face. Scott wasn't ready to leave. He had plans! Imagine starting a stand-up comedy schtick at age 64. He crashed on my couch May 25th, after my bands show the night before. I told him "hey, our couch is your couch, but we are going camping on Sunday, so we won't be able to do breakfast" I did make him coffee. So there we sat, in my living room full of both band gear AND camping gear, and somehow he made himself comfortable without tripping over anything. He was munching on a pastry he got somewhere, I was gulping down my coffee thinking about loading the car. And then he somehow got me to sit down,and we ended up having an in depth conversation about hot dog restaurants. I told him, despite living right across the river from the place, I'd never been to Gus's Hot Dogs. So, I told him next time you are in town, let's go!
And now I wish I had delayed the camping trip and gone and got a hot dog with him. I guess the lesson here is GO GET THAT HOT DOG while you still can.
So sorry Jo - though knowing Scott there was plenty of enjoyment simply discussing Gus's hot dogs. But I think you're right, just like Zevon's Enjoy Every Sandwich, I'm adding Go Get that Hot Dog to my list of things to remember. Take care!
Another post so evocative and emotional that I feel compelled to comment...
...As we get older, we lose more friends and family. And just because experiencing more frequent deaths is a fact of a longer life doesn't make it alright. As you say, it hurts. The ones that hurt most are the ones that go suddenly, without you knowing they're going to go, and you never get a chance to see them again, they're just gone. Somewhere in my first year of columns, I've written about this myself. It really hurts. Keef managed to make a joke about it on TV last year but it came from his apparent infallibility and the desertion he feels when another of his friends departs this mortal coil. I only knew Scott of the names you mention, and had not corresponded for years. But every friend's departure is sad, even as I find I become that bit more accustomed to the feeling.
As for your Hammond, I am sorry we never became friends. (The Hammond and I, not Amy and I!) I'm sure we would have got on well. We had a Hammond B3 and Leslie in our own Catskills house. It had been bequeathed by my father-in-law on the understanding that I'd use it, being a keyboard player, but I didn't get the chance until we moved upstate by which point lack of use had caused it to seize up. We found a guy in Poughkeepsie well versed in the incredibly complicated, mathematically brilliant wiring and electronics of the patented Hammond organ (yes, I have wanted to write a book about it), which is essentially a proto-synthesizer, but it took him so many journeys back and forth he eventually asked if he could removed the motor and take it back to work on from home, it would be less expensive.
Even so, it cost us a 4-figure sum, but at one point when he was struggling with it, he called THE expert on Hammond repair and I heard him say down the phone line "Yes, but the body is in perfect condition. Once I get this thing up and running it will be beautiful." And he was right. The Hammond (and Leslie) subsequently saw action at many a Catskills 45s home concert and on a few recordings as well. Before it did so, we had a housewarming party finally, and I invited our Hammond repair man to come and not just see it, but play it if he would like. He showed up in a Harlequin suit and played for hours, delighting in the success of his repair work and that he had an audience, even if it was an audience that was essentially treating him as the hotel organist, there to be occasionally applauded and otherwise ignored. (Although now I think about it, we can't have ignored him - he was in a harlequin suit after all!) Does that story dovetail with yours? Maybe, maybe not. Except to say that they are beautiful instruments, unique in the pantheon of keyboards, and they all seem to have a story.
Of course, when I got divorced, my wife kept the Hammond and Leslie. I hope they still get some use and some love now and then.
As for our repair man, he was old back then, I suspect he may no longer be with us.
Peace.
Wow Tony, I remember thinking "should we find a Hammond guy?" From what I gather, Poughkeepsie is a treasure trove of these oddball niche repair people (I found a wonderful shoe repair man there who even dealt with Arche shoes/boots very particular sole configuration, sadly he passed away just before the pandemic) I love the Harlequin suit image!
I'm a Vox Continental.
Ha ha Don! I'm a Farfisa!
I love this organ's story. There was a yard organ in my neighborhood thst always made me smile when I walked by it. But new owners came in and got rid of it. Pffft!
I'm trying to think kindly of the new owners Linda, they missed the glory years and want to write their own story. I'm glad we have loads of photos and memories of the organ (the little clip I made just a fraction, I always wanted to make a proper time lapse film of its decay)
Gorgeous, Amy—just gorgeous. Thank you.
Thank you JC!
Jeremy Tepper had good blood lines. I consulted his dad a few decades ago, when Jeremy was a pre-schooler. NYTimes: Jeremy Evan Tepper was born on Nov. 18, 1963, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to Elly (Zeitlin) Tepper, an artist and educator, and Noel Tepper, a lawyer. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/22/arts/music/jeremy-tepper-dead.html
"We’re all just these great, graceful and then decaying structures."
Yes, he had a cool dad, I remember meeting him at a gig or party and thinking it made sense (never met Jeremy's mother). I'm sad for them, losing a son in his prime.
Yes, I agree. It is hard.
So hard Chuck. And last night I read about Laurie Lindeen passing away suddenly, it all feels unfair and random and that apparently is life. Take care and keep rocking, lots of love to you and Stephanie.
o are we ever. brilliant piece. thank you.
Thank you Peter! I'll always have that old Bottle Caps song in my head "Everything must go, this is the final clearance - there'll be no reapparance" Great memories of playing gigs with you.
RIP Jeremy - what a great fellow. hadn't seen him in 20 years, but, now the possibility is gone, and very sad. he, of course, lives on on vinyl. as he would have loved.
too much sex??? didn't know there could be. xxxcm
The vinyl lives on Clarke, and his great family. He will be so missed!
It’s my birthday week, so your lovely, spot-on musings on mortality are hitting especially hard. Thanks, as always, Amy 💛
Happy birthday Jo and thank you.
Lovely piece, Amy. My partner and I just moved home, also, less than a mile away and THAT was trouble enough! More power to you!
Thank you John! Of course packing up was a time to revisit our books and it was nice to revisit your Keep It To Yourself-inspired story and box it up to bring back here to the UK. Best of luck in your new home!
The "vaxxes" are killing people.
I lost friends and my stepmother to Covid way before there was a vaccine, I don't subscribe to this theory.
With all due respect, your position is illogical. Simply b/c someone was said to have died of Covid doesn't mean that the shots are not (also) killing people. The shots ARE killing people, incl. many dying suddenly. And causing heart damage and cancers. Excess death rates have been significantly elevated in all highly vaxxed nations.
Your premise also incorrectly assumes that the shots would have saved them. Many more vaxxed, than unjabbed people have died "of Covid" since the shots began. Gov't experts and TV ads told you the shots would "stop infection and spread." But this was plainly a lie. Every jabbed person I know got sick. Uninjected me and my wife were fine. We are both in excellent health b/c we take care of ourselves and take no meds.
The people you know who were "lost to Covid" were very likely old and sick to begin with and/or were killed by iatrogenic hospital protocols: ventilation, Remdesivir, propofol and dehydration.
You can subscribe to whatever theory you want to. But when people you know just keel over, you might reconsider what I've mentioned and begin questioning the shots' worth and q'ing gov'ts that locked down schools, made people die alone, stole memory-creating experiences from non-old people who were never at risk. You might even eventually conclude that you might have fallen for a Pharma-funded Scam and massive profit-taking scheme.
But more likely, you'll cling to the lies that your political tribe shared for the past 4.5 years..
Belief in Med/Pharma is the dominant American religion. Many blindly follow its tenets, to their graves.
But you do you. Take that shot with no long-term safety record to protect against a virus that simply does not threaten healthy, non-old people.
I think it's your smugness that offends me the most. I will do me, thank you.
You calling someone else smug is kinda funny and very un-self-aware.
But yes, you do you. And I'll do me. I read a lot of science and I'm unbound by the NPR-esque propaganda/tribalism that you fell for.
Anyone who willingly took the shots was some combination of ignorant and gullible.