My Association Experience, Part 1

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Added: Sun. May 03, 2009 9:11pm
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The following was taken from my Facebook profile, with a little editing:

Saturday, February 21, 2009, will be a date which I will never forget. After 40 years, I finally had a chance to see The Association in concert in Mt. Dora, FL (their first ever show there). Not only did I attend the concert, but I also had the chance to meet the guys after the show, including Larry Ramos, Russ Giguere and Jim Yester, all whom were part of the group's success during the 1960s. What a night!!! That being said, here are my 25 random things regarding my experience as a fan:

1) The term "lifelong fan" is not a figure of speech.
2) "The Association's Greatest Hits", released in 1968, was one of the first rock 8-tracks my parents owned. It was played frequently, both in the car and at home, mostly at my request.
3) The "Greatest Hits" album remains Warner Bros. Records' biggest selling album to date.
4) My parents owned the album "Insight Out" on LP (contains the hits "Never My Love" and "Windy"), as well as the self-titled album "The Association" in 1969 (their first album as a seven-piece band), despite the fact they were seldom played.
5) "Everything That Touches You" remains my all-time favorite.
6) "Never My Love" was my first 45 RPM single.
7) "Never My Love" is the second most played song on radio to date.
8) "Requiem For The Masses", the flipside of the "Never My Love" single, was performed by my high school's choir at a concert the year after I graduated. My sister was in the choir at the time, and when she brought home a program of the concert, I was amazed to see that.
9) The guys had said that they loved Mt. Dora, and we told them that we would like them to return. I am confident that will happen, and when it does, not to sound like a State Farm commercial: I AM SO THERE!!!
10) The meet-and-greet was at a local place called the Frosty Mug, which was two blocks from the theater. I walked over there with Del Ramos (bass player and Larry's brother) and Jordan Cole (keyboard player; his late dad, Brian, was the band's original bass player). Jordan had Del and I laughing all the way there. Best two-block walk I ever took.
11) I had my picture taken separately with Larry and Jim. I tried getting one with Russ, but my digital camera decided to have an attitude at the wrong moment. I knew I should have gone to Walgreen's and get a disposable one........DOH!!! Pictures forthcoming.
12) While talking with current drummer Bruce Pictor, I told him of how the show made a lifetime dream come true for me. He said, "That's great, James, I'm going to carry that with me, that means a lot." I think I may have made his night. How cool is that?
13) I took my "Greatest Hits" CD with me, and it was autographed by Russ, Jim and Jordan on the cover booklet. Jim also signed the CD.
14) That same CD has the song lyrics included on the cover booklet. Russ signed it where the lyrics are to the opening track, "The Time It Is Today", which he wrote. That was the first Association song I learned on guitar.
15) Russ kept us laughing during the show. He stated that he had recently turned 65, and he says, "At 65, you make a lot of new friends and you enjoy reruns". Classic!!!
16) Aside from a couple in the front row that brought their two kids, I was wondering if I was the "baby" in the audience. Looking around the theater, I may very well have been.
17) While we were waiting outside for the doors to open, a buddy of mine from Illinois called me on my cell. My ringtone is "Eight Miles High" by The Byrds, and when it went off, I said "Wrong group", which got a few laughs from the other people.
18) I met about eight new people at the show, including a couple who saw the band the previous weekend..............in Michigan!!!! Now, that's devotion.
19) There were two people that took pictures at Frosty Mug. My picture with Jim was taken by this girl named Terri...........HOO-AAHH!!!
20) I wish I could laugh now at any potential naysayers when I was a kid. I had always said that I hope to someday meet these guys, and for anyone who'd have told me, "That will never happen", well guess what? Never happened to make a surprise appearance Saturday night. (Memo to the devil: Mix in a parka!!!!)
21) Given its funeralistic feel, "Requiem For The Masses" could have made a fitting tribute back in 1967. On April 21st that year, a tornado hit our family's hometown of Belvidere, IL, which killed 24 people (see my prior blog). Most of them were school students. In an e-mail reply two years ago, Larry acknowledged to me that he remembered hearing about the tornadoes that hit throughout the midwest that fateful day. BTW, that was the year he joined the group.
22) Before joining the band, Larry was a member of the folk group The New Christy Minstrels, whose members included Barry McGuire ("Eve Of Destruction") and Gene Clark of The Byrds. At the show, the group did a folk-rock version of the Christys' biggest hit, "Green Green". Pretty cool.
23) Russ told us that former Association member Terry Kirkman is now a substance abuse counselor. I asked him if he keeps in touch with the other former original members, and he said that he does. 
24) Original drummer Ted Bluechel and I have the same birthday (December 2nd).
25) I had only found out about the group appearing in Mt. Dora two weeks before the show.

I apologize for this being a bit long, but to anyone who reads this who is younger than I am, I do not expect you to fully understand or comprehend the significance of attending this show, and meeting the guys afterwards. It's great if you do, but I understand if you don't. This was, as I said, a lifetime dream come true, and to have it happen after some 40 years of being a fan means far more than this blog can indicate. In high school, while everyone else was listening to music of the day, I chose to go back to my roots with these guys, among others. And last night, I found myself doing the exact same thing. And there isn't a damn thing wrong with that. I will always, pardon the pun, "Cherish" the memories of a wonderful evening, meeting a few of my childhood musical influences. And to think, it all started with an 8-track tape that influenced me to play guitar and be in a band. Thanks, Mom and Dad.