What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been....
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I first met BJ during the spring of 1975, when I started following some of the bands that he was working with. I soon got use to seeing his green step van at gigs and around town. In June I graduated from High School, a year early, having completed all of my requirements in 11th grade, and I was spending the summer enjoying my new found freedom, hanging out in Hatboro, Willow Grove, New Hope, Philadelphia, and "down the shore".
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At the end of the summer, when all of my friends went back to school, I landed a full time job and bought my first car - a 1968 Ford Mustang convertible. One evening, while hanging out in Hatboro, BJ pulled up in front of me in his green step-van, with the driver's side door slid wide open. I yelled out to him, "Hey, don't I know you?" He replied, "Yeah! You want to go for a ride? Jump in." I did! And the rest is herstory.....
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We officially started dating on September 19, 1975, By then, BJ had put together a sound company, TinEar Sound and Stage, and was doing sound for several regional bands. I was working full-time to pay off my car, and on weekends I was gigging with BJ.
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I was constantly blown away with the quality of the music that some of the bands were producing. Ozymandias was a 6-piece progressive rock band that played primarily original music, and who were way ahead of their time. And it was fascinating to watch the Goodman Brothers grow from a 2-piece, to a 3-piece, then a 4-piece, and finally completing their sound as a 5-piece powerhouse progressive Blues band.
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We were all part of a "Cultural Commune" in Bucks County
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As Americans all over the USA were preparing for the spectacular Bicentennial celebration during the Summer of '76, BJ and I were embarking on a new life together - moving in with each other, in a cute little apartment in Perkasie, PA.
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At the same time, BJ's TinEar Sound & Stage, in conjunction with Canetic Productions, received the contract to supply the sound reinforcement for the WSAN Showcase 1470 Summer Concert Series at the Roxy Theatre in Northampton, PA, which led to a crazy, wild, rock & rollin' Bicentennial Summer! I had finally turned 18, and was having my own American revolution!!
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It was during the Summer of '76 that I started volunteering as Copy Editor for Folly Magazine, a whole-arts "well-being above-down New Age media" publication which was distributed for FREE throughout the Lehigh Valley - Bethlehem - Easton - Bucks County area during the mid 1970s.
As a member of the Alternative Press Syndicate, Zodiac News Service, and the Liberation News Service, Folly Magazine promoted the arts and entertainment in our community and beyond, accepting content from the general public, including art, poetry, stories, music reviews, photography, etc.
By the autumn of '76, BJ and the Goodman Brothers, now a 5-piece band, were preparing for a West Coast tour in 1977. I was working with Canetic Productions and GoFar Talent, preparing marketing materials, working on Folly Magazine, and taking care of "Follenia fiscal" matters.
In April of 1977, the band and production crew, including BJ, left on a 3-month tour in San Francisco and Marin County, with the hopes of securing a record contract. Five months later they returned, with good prospects.
In April of 1977, the band and production crew, including BJ, left on a 3-month tour in San Francisco and Marin County, with the hopes of securing a record contract. Five months later they returned, with good prospects.
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Three weeks after BJ returned from the West Coast tour, we were married on October 1, 1977, and shortly after moved to Hilltown, PA.
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Unfortunately, by the end of the year, disco and karaoke were killing the live music scene for Blues bands, and cocaine was running rampant, so we made the decision to leave the music industry and get on with our lives.
On October 1, 1978, on our first anniversary, we high-tailed it out of town, and moved 100 miles away, to Berwick, PA.
In August 1979, we bought a house on 3 acres, in Buckhorn, where we still live today.
All in all, it was a wild and crazy first five years together, with 45 more to come.....
All in all, it was a wild and crazy first five years together, with 45 more to come.....
