From: MBaroneO@aol.com
Subject: Re: Heyday Today and Yesterday
Date: 2/26/2002 7:13:21 AM
To: jlmicek@mindspring.com
seance@lists.no-fi.com


Nice post John!

I became a big Church fan the very minute that I saw The Unguarded Moment 
video
on Mtv at 3 O'clock in the morning waaaaaay back in 1982.  It was sandwiched 
between  Culture Club and Paul Young vids!  I remember getting really excited 
and scribbling the name of the group down in my half asleep state.  The next 
day I went to Cutler's Record Shop in New Haven, Ct and bought the U.S. copy 
of the first album on Capitol Records, the import of The Blurred Crusade and 
4 copies of the import Temperature Drop In Downtown Winterland 10" (because 
they were in the cut out bin at $2.99!!!! each).  I wanted to give a few 
friends a copy so that they could hear this *amazing* new band called The 
Church!  There was no looking back from there!

I was lucky enough to have seen the band several times on The Remote Luxury 
tour
in 84'

But....I didn't really cross the line from being a huge fan to a raving 
lunatic of a FANATIC until the Heyday album/tour.  It was such a special time 
in my life.  I was
21 years old which absolutely floors me now to think of....thought I had the 
world on a string.  Had a beautiful girlfriend at the time (Dana V. who is 
still my pal and still goes to all Church shows with me.  She is flying out 
from San Fran for the east coast dates this year.) We travelled in my red 
Dodge Omni(!!) to 8 shows on that tour.
We both had our paisley shirts and our black suede Beatle boots.  We would 
play
Heyday over and over and over and never get tired of it.  It was like a 
narcotic.  Speaking for myself, everything that I adore about the Church just 
seemed to come together and solidify at that time.  The look, the feeling, 
the history:  the past and the present colliding.
No words describe it better than:  "Warm and gentle, Ornamental"

I have so many bittersweet memories revolving around The Church.  People, 
places,
names and faces.  Some are still around, some have evaporated into the mists 
of time.  So many cities, co many venues.  I guess that I am lucky too in 
that I have conversed many times and have actually hung out with band members 
at different times.  

Dana and I  have continued to follow the group (and all solo tours) from city 
to city since that tour.  I will be 37 years old this year which is 
unbelievable too.

The *best* thing is that I'm gearing up to DO IT AGAIN!

Thanks for letting me babble on here!

MB