I was always pretty good at sports, but I preferred to do something more creative than chase a ball. I was always bored with baseball 'cause I always ended up playing outfield in little league. (which means SOMETIMES a ball may eventually roll out to you.) I played soccer on Kwajalein, but now that I was older, I wanted to play something that IMPRESSED THE CHICKS. So what's that? (In the mind of a 16 year old) That's football of course.

Framingham South had the worst football team. I didn't care, I was gonna get me a cheerleader. I had never played football in my entire life. I started as a Sophomore, and I didn't know what the hell to do. Because I had a natural athletic ability, they could use me as "the guy who ran the play in", but I often screwed that up. (The cheerleaders couldn't tell the difference between me and a starter, right? I was running onto the field all the time!)

Next year, none of the seniors would dream of taking the abuse of a Framingham South football player. They had to use mostly Juniors on the varsity team. Now I'm STARTING on the varsity team. (I was one of the bigger kids at 185 pounds.) I wanted to be and "End". (One of the guys who catches the football and scores touchdowns, the cheerleaders would be REALLY impressed!) I was put in as a "Tackle". I was one of the mass of bodies who jumped on each other when the ball was snapped. The Tackle position normally goes to the BIGGEST guys. We were also in a league with the BIGGEST schools. You figure out what happened to me. Around this time I start to notice that the cheerleaders were NEVER around when we practiced, and since I played BOTH ways (offense and defense) on the field, I never saw them during a game.

Over the summer I discover weight-lifting. Damn it! I'm gonna get those guys! (See the newspaper article for more info.) I grow into a completely lean 200 pounds. (Those cheerleaders will be IMPRESSED now!) Now we're a half-descent team because almost everyone was a starter from last year. I manage to catch pneumonia in the middle of the season. If it wasn't for this, I probably could've gotten into college on a football scholarship, and ended up a completely different person. (Much more of a muscle-head.) Our last game of the season was verses Natick highschool with DOUG FLUTIE as their quarterback. I managed to tackle him once. (JUST after he threw the ball, I figured, "screw it, I'm going for it!") We won the game, knocked them out of first place and made-up for any ills we might've accumulated during our mediocre season. And guess what? I NEVER EVEN MET A CHEERLEADER IN HIGHSCHOOL!

Take a look at an article from:
The Middlesex News - October 27, 1979
South Strongman/Bikernicks: comin' On

I blew about 2 years of my life looking out through some glass doors watching the seasons change as a theater usher. This was a job which required almost no effort, you could watch movies occasionally and eat and drink all the popcorn and Coke you could push into your mouth. I was also able to hack the video games in the lobby to give up free games. What MORE could anyone want from life?

My usher career ended when I got aspirations to move up the corporate movie house ladder. I managed to get promoted to assistant manager in a theater in Boston. This ended after an entire one day. (I couldn't eat popcorn, drink Coke and watch movies on the job anymore. Screw this.)

Musicians always looked like they were having fun playing. I got the bright idea around this time that playing in a band would be cool. (and just think of the GIRLS that would be attracted to you!) I used to play trumpet in elementary school so I had the basic concept of musical structure. I learned bass guitar because I thought my hands would be too big to form chords on a guitar. (I've since then proved this theory wrong.) Usually guitar players get demoted to bass player because WHO THE HELL WANTS TO PLAY QUARTER NOTES THE WHOLE NIGHT?! I didn't know this, and I figured all the GIRLS wouldn't notice the difference either.

I eventually got drafted into a group of individuals from the Norwood area. They immediately jumped on me because who the hell else would be inclined to JUST PLAY BASS the whole night. Originally we were known as "Partners in Crime", later the name was changed to "Fingle Bunt". Still later, it was changed to "Smoking Cow". (Alcohol had a major influence in the changes.) I quickly learned that alcohol has ALOT to do with the musical scene. (at least in my band.) The motto we went with was: "The more you drink, the better we sound."

After a few gigs I started to notice that not alot of women would pay attention to the bass player, undaunted, I continued on. We eventually got a couple of gigs in a few major clubs in Boston. Unfortunately they were on weeknights to a couple of people sweeping up. Later we ended up playing on a sandbar in the middle of Schituate harbor to passing boatists. People on the mainland complained about the noise. Actually, MOST of the people we played to complained about the noise.

By this time I had acquired a girlfriend so impressing the chicks wasn't that high a priority. (Even though DRINKING always remained a priority with the band.) We still occasionally get together and jam, but whenever the WIVES of the members say it's O.K.

Take a look at an article from:
The Daily Transcript - April 23, 1987
Banding together with charts as goal