Sunday, December 03, 2006

Karma Never Dies


Two-Tone Malone

So I get this email from a woman whose name I don't recognize and she's asking about music, says she's a fan of Two-Tone Malone. I assume she's looking for Steve Perry, the former lead singer of Journey -- I get that a lot -- and I send her back a note saying I'm sorry but I'm not the droid she's looking for.

(There is also a Steve Perry who is the lead singer for Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Common as dirt, us Steves.)

Then she writes, "Are you the guy who taught martial arts to Mike Malone in Baton Rouge?"

Wow. What a nostalgia rush! That was back in the kung-fu days, when I thought I knew everything about martial arts -- but actually knew very little.

Yeah, I said, I am.

It was thirty-five years ago. I didn't recognize the name "Two-Tone" -- he was "Little Mike" when I knew him, a tall, skinny, long-haired kid who lived in the semi-commune next door at Fred Fabre's, aka "Filthy Fred, " the city's only qualified Rolls Royce mechanic.

So apparently Little Mike grew up, got into the blues, cut a couple albums, and now lives in Nashville doing gigs. Six-four, two-fifty, and shaved bald. I look at the picture, I can see him, but had I seen the picture by itself without the reference, I'd have missed it.

It's always fascinating when an old karmic thread you haven't thought about in years turns out to still be connected.

Oh, and a Filthy Fred story: Fred owned a couple of classic and antique Rolls Royces, and a 1954 Bentley ( a Rolls without the squared-off grill, essentially.) Beautiful car. On a fine sunny Sunday, he'd fill the Bentley up with a bunch of long-haired hippie-types and they'd drive to somewhere crowded, get out and leave. After a while, when anybody who'd seen them arrive had left, they'd come back and pretend to be admiring the car, as though they'd never seen it before.

A group of long-haired hippies in Baton Rouge looking at such a vehicle were, on the face of it, cause for concern.

Once they had an audience, this is how the street-theater went:

"Wow, what a cool car!"

"Yeah. Look -- the keys are in it!"

Whereupon they'd all pile in and drive away.

It was great fun to stand nearby and listen: "Did you see that? That bunch of hippies just stole that car! Somebody call somebody!"

Ah, those were the good old days ...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I miss you Two Tone Malone!!!
Diane Brown I will never forget you. Lunch after work and Vanderbilt