One thought on “Me and the boys”

  1. Yup, me too. That they weren’t at the top of the charts a LOT (they never came within spitting distance) is proof positive that life just ain’t fair. (That having been said, I took a good few people to their first Q gig, and more than a few were terrified by Terry Adams’ calculated lunacy. And they just weren’t a classically “good-looking” band, though I crushed on Joey, pictured above. Just a sweet guy…) They were a musician’s band…Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt and Keith Richards were both big fans, among MANY others.

    Miscellaneous high points:
    1) Seeing them at a bar north of Malibu ca. late 80’s for a *perfect* show, with one of their not-infrequent covers of Thelonious Monk. (“Crepescule With Nellie”, if memory serves.)

    2) Shopping LP bargain bins at an LA record store on Melrose (LA) and looking up to see the Q’s Tommy Ardolino (one of the best drummers *ever*, RIP) next to me with a fat batch of discs–he was a major collector, especially music of the goofy variety.

    3) After the breakup of an ill-advised relationship with someone in St. Louis (and me still in LA), calling the bar in St. Louis that they were playing that night and that I *knew* this person would be at, somehow getting Joey on the phone and (admittedly somewhat drunkenly) asking if he’d dedicate a song (“This Love Is True” from “Wild Weekend”) from me…which, bless him, he did. (The relationship stuttered along for a while before completely crashing and burning, which turned out for the best.)

    ***

    If you don’t have any NRBQ, hunt down at least three albums: “All Hopped Up”, “NRBQ At Yankee Stadium” (NOT a live album, just an album with a picture of the band sitting in the bleachers at an otherwise empty Yankee Stadium), and “Grooves In Orbit”. If you love great pop music, you won’t regret it.

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