So, it's over. The band, although still great friends, is no longer a functional music unit. A huge thanks to everyone who came out and helped us put this thing to bed the right way. It was a very emotional experience to see so many people who have been so good to us being so good to us one more time.
Anyway, I think the experience of talking about the last show will have to wait a few days. It was so emotionally draining that I don't think I even have a handle on how I feel about it yet. And so for the next few days I will use this space as a tribute to my boys, to give anyone who's interested a window into what makes them so special to me.
Gordon
What can I say about Gordon? He is by far the number one reason we achieved any success as a group. He started the whole thing, wrote some incredible songs and never wavered from his vision. Even when I thought he was wrong, he would amaze me with his persistence and tireless pursuit of perfection. Without him, we would never have graduated from the likes of the Skybar (that's right, the band is over and I'm talking trash - that place BLOWS). He was this band's singer, manager, accountant, booking agent, songwriter, promoter and a million other things. He organized our tours, got us a lawyer, made us a corporation and wrote a song that made us financially solvent. Damn.
More than anything though, Gordon was an unfailing optimist and rarely, if ever, got discouraged. In terms of the band, this optimism was instrumental in coaxing Jordan and I out of our writing shells and especially in making Pete and I feel like we could contribute as singers. Gordon, like anyone, can feel threatened by other people trying to assert control, but he always made me feel like it was okay to step up and use my own voice. That might not sound like much, but he didn't have to do it. He didn't have to share any creative control over FXA, but he did, and that is a great part of what made this band so important to me.
I've learned from him, admired him and been thankful for him. Raise your glasses for Gordon Wright....
let us also not forget that the man clearly knows how to rock a high quality pair of tight pants. to gordon! and perhaps more specifically, to gordon's sweet ass!
Gordon has been my friend, mentor, and consort since literally before Scamper even performed its first show. We'd go to lunch together over at the Miracle of Science cafe in Cambridge near MIT, and I'd literally bring a pen and paper to jot down things I'd learn while talking to him. We share that same obsessive organizational trait that gravitated us towards what we do... and it was always nice to have someone around I could talk to about how crazy I was.
