The Rocking Horses Reunion
As I stood around Aidan, watching him as he fiddled around, like a kid in a candy store, with vintage keyboards inside the second-hand music store on Kensington Market, it dawned on me that this was the first time I’d seen him do this in 30 years; and I had an inkling that this would be the closest thing to a Rocking Horses reunion as ever would be…
In my last blog I talked about my “15 minutes of fame”, as I stood on stage with Marillion during the Beat The Band contest in Holland.
But
itwasatrickpie reminded me a few weeks ago about my other “15 minutes”…or more like “5 minutes” of fame by referring to Frankie Valli’s Grease either as a status update or a link to a lastfm “like”; and that sent my mind spiralling back to that day 30 years ago when I stood in front of 1500 school boys in the huge gymnasium of De La Salle College in Malta belting out a rousing rendition of Grease.
It probably would have been more of an embarrassment than anything else, something I would have easily forgotten, or regretted, but for that chance meeting with someone who made it into something special; something we can still talk about almost exactly 30 years later.
I can’t remember why I picked that song or how it all began. My school was having some kind of talent contest. They huge gymnasium had just recently been completed, and for the first time, the school was able to assemble all 1500 kids into one hall. I think they finally had excuses for doing stuff like this. I, at the ripe age of 12, decided I was going to sing Grease.
Grease, the movie and soundtrack, was all the rage, then. And since I didn’t have an Olivia Newton John, and couldn’t sing my favourite song, Summer Nights, it would have to be Grease.
I have a vague memory of how this turned into the Rocking Horses.
There was this kid named Aidan who rode the same school bus as I did. Bus No.13. He was in a year higher than me. I knew him mostly cause he was good friends with a friend of mine, Pau,l and we used to sit close together on the bus. He had a reputation, even at 12, of being a musical genius. One of those kids who would perform his own compositions at school recitals.
I was either on the bus, or in the school library, I can’t remember, writing out the lyrics to Grease on a piece of paper, or maybe I already had them and was memorizing, them, I don’t know, when Aidan dropped by and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was going to enter the School Concert and perform Grease. Aidan asked me if I wanted musical accompaniment. He offered to play the piano for me.
I agreed.
We did really well too. I can still remember standing at the stage. I was a bit disappointed because rumour had it that we would be allowed to wear our street clothes, but that was nixed by the powers that be and we had to wear our school uniforms, pyjama striped blazer and tie, grey pants. Still, it was amazing. At the end of the performance, I can still hear the sound of 1500 kids applauding as one, echoing through the stone walls of the huge gymnasium. I felt like I was flying. I remember Aidan turning over from the piano looking at me and smiling.
At least that’s how I remember it. Mileage may vary.
I think we did so well for two reasons.
From the moment Aidan asked to play the piano for me, The Rocking Horses was born. [Our band name was his idea]. We did this almost professionally. I remember going to his house after school and rehearsing it with him. Still only 12 or 13, Aidan already had good arrangement sense. He improvised on the harmonies, and advised me to use a “whisper” effect by adding an extra consonant, singing..”Gr-Grease is the word…” well, you have to hear that I suppose, but it worked. He, rightfully, wanted us to change a lyric from “wrapped in confusion” to “makes me confused” which would have been easier to sing. I remember though holding fast against that. I was more interested in authenticity. Had the Rocking Horses continued, this would have been the first of our musical differences. A conflict of Waters/Gilmour proportions that would still be argued over in forums to this day.
We, The Rocking Horses, started to work on other songs. I remember us “arranging” (see I talk like a pro) some song with scary Christian overtones. Something about “together we can build a bridge of love” or something. I vaguely remember us working on a lyric. A song about a girl named Jackie (for sure a dedication to the school’s French teacher, Miss Jackie, the subject of every Maltese boy’s first wet dream).
We even were asked to pay a visit to Brother Mario’s office.
Normally, that wasn’t a good thing. Brother Mario was the prefect of Discipline. You only saw him, when you did something really bad. You would come out of his office with a very sore butt. (Read what you want into that).
But this was different. Brother Mario wanted us to represent the school in an international song contest in Italy. He thought we stood a good chance of qualifying from the Maltese qualifiers.
But it would be short lived. I was emigrating shortly and wasn’t able to particpate. Soon, I moved to Canada, I hit puberty, my voice broke and my career was over.
I stilled stayed in touch with Aidan though. He went to university in Italy. Became a doctor but gave it up for music. He is now a professional musician living in Italy playing with many different artists of all genres. [www.zamm.it]
Lately he’s been added to the current touring lineup of Italian proggers Goblin as well as playing with Italian pop icon Antonello Venditti.
In fact this weekend he’s in Niagara Falls doing two performances with Venditti, so on Friday he was able to come into Toronto where I was able to show him around various touristy sites. We met up with another friend of his, Maurizio Guarini, one of Goblin’s original keyboard players, (now living in Canada) and together went to the Kensington Market area of Toronto where we found this second-hand music shop.
In the back, we found these old vintage keyboards..old Hammond Organs, Wurlitzers, Fender Rhodes, a Farfisa perhaps, and Aidan was in heaven. “This is what Rick Wright did the Sheep opening bit on” he said and started to play. I was envious at how easy it was for him. On another keyboard he played some Supertramp and something from Tony Banks on another.
For a moment, it seemed 30 years hadn’t flown by, and I was standing behind him at his piano at his parents’ house rehearsing Grease.
My 15 minutes.
In my last blog I talked about my “15 minutes of fame”, as I stood on stage with Marillion during the Beat The Band contest in Holland.
But
itwasatrickpie reminded me a few weeks ago about my other “15 minutes”…or more like “5 minutes” of fame by referring to Frankie Valli’s Grease either as a status update or a link to a lastfm “like”; and that sent my mind spiralling back to that day 30 years ago when I stood in front of 1500 school boys in the huge gymnasium of De La Salle College in Malta belting out a rousing rendition of Grease.
It probably would have been more of an embarrassment than anything else, something I would have easily forgotten, or regretted, but for that chance meeting with someone who made it into something special; something we can still talk about almost exactly 30 years later.
I can’t remember why I picked that song or how it all began. My school was having some kind of talent contest. They huge gymnasium had just recently been completed, and for the first time, the school was able to assemble all 1500 kids into one hall. I think they finally had excuses for doing stuff like this. I, at the ripe age of 12, decided I was going to sing Grease.
Grease, the movie and soundtrack, was all the rage, then. And since I didn’t have an Olivia Newton John, and couldn’t sing my favourite song, Summer Nights, it would have to be Grease.
I have a vague memory of how this turned into the Rocking Horses.
There was this kid named Aidan who rode the same school bus as I did. Bus No.13. He was in a year higher than me. I knew him mostly cause he was good friends with a friend of mine, Pau,l and we used to sit close together on the bus. He had a reputation, even at 12, of being a musical genius. One of those kids who would perform his own compositions at school recitals.
I was either on the bus, or in the school library, I can’t remember, writing out the lyrics to Grease on a piece of paper, or maybe I already had them and was memorizing, them, I don’t know, when Aidan dropped by and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was going to enter the School Concert and perform Grease. Aidan asked me if I wanted musical accompaniment. He offered to play the piano for me.
I agreed.
We did really well too. I can still remember standing at the stage. I was a bit disappointed because rumour had it that we would be allowed to wear our street clothes, but that was nixed by the powers that be and we had to wear our school uniforms, pyjama striped blazer and tie, grey pants. Still, it was amazing. At the end of the performance, I can still hear the sound of 1500 kids applauding as one, echoing through the stone walls of the huge gymnasium. I felt like I was flying. I remember Aidan turning over from the piano looking at me and smiling.
At least that’s how I remember it. Mileage may vary.
I think we did so well for two reasons.
- Most of the other kids were singing boring show tunes and Frere Jacques type of stuff. We were actually doing a contemporary pop song.
- In additon to being sung with talented musical accompaniment, we were well rehearsed.
- (Ok…one more possibility…my mike was off, and everyone only heard Aidan sing.)
From the moment Aidan asked to play the piano for me, The Rocking Horses was born. [Our band name was his idea]. We did this almost professionally. I remember going to his house after school and rehearsing it with him. Still only 12 or 13, Aidan already had good arrangement sense. He improvised on the harmonies, and advised me to use a “whisper” effect by adding an extra consonant, singing..”Gr-Grease is the word…” well, you have to hear that I suppose, but it worked. He, rightfully, wanted us to change a lyric from “wrapped in confusion” to “makes me confused” which would have been easier to sing. I remember though holding fast against that. I was more interested in authenticity. Had the Rocking Horses continued, this would have been the first of our musical differences. A conflict of Waters/Gilmour proportions that would still be argued over in forums to this day.
We, The Rocking Horses, started to work on other songs. I remember us “arranging” (see I talk like a pro) some song with scary Christian overtones. Something about “together we can build a bridge of love” or something. I vaguely remember us working on a lyric. A song about a girl named Jackie (for sure a dedication to the school’s French teacher, Miss Jackie, the subject of every Maltese boy’s first wet dream).
We even were asked to pay a visit to Brother Mario’s office.
Normally, that wasn’t a good thing. Brother Mario was the prefect of Discipline. You only saw him, when you did something really bad. You would come out of his office with a very sore butt. (Read what you want into that).
But this was different. Brother Mario wanted us to represent the school in an international song contest in Italy. He thought we stood a good chance of qualifying from the Maltese qualifiers.
But it would be short lived. I was emigrating shortly and wasn’t able to particpate. Soon, I moved to Canada, I hit puberty, my voice broke and my career was over.
I stilled stayed in touch with Aidan though. He went to university in Italy. Became a doctor but gave it up for music. He is now a professional musician living in Italy playing with many different artists of all genres. [www.zamm.it]
Lately he’s been added to the current touring lineup of Italian proggers Goblin as well as playing with Italian pop icon Antonello Venditti.
In fact this weekend he’s in Niagara Falls doing two performances with Venditti, so on Friday he was able to come into Toronto where I was able to show him around various touristy sites. We met up with another friend of his, Maurizio Guarini, one of Goblin’s original keyboard players, (now living in Canada) and together went to the Kensington Market area of Toronto where we found this second-hand music shop.
In the back, we found these old vintage keyboards..old Hammond Organs, Wurlitzers, Fender Rhodes, a Farfisa perhaps, and Aidan was in heaven. “This is what Rick Wright did the Sheep opening bit on” he said and started to play. I was envious at how easy it was for him. On another keyboard he played some Supertramp and something from Tony Banks on another.
For a moment, it seemed 30 years hadn’t flown by, and I was standing behind him at his piano at his parents’ house rehearsing Grease.
My 15 minutes.