Still Bucka after all these years

On 5/3/13 2:09 AM, Jim Christopulos wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Just found the Dekalborama website while doing a web search for Rick
> Calderon
. Just heard earlier that he passed on. Very, very sad news as
> he was a true friend.
>
> Anyway, I was with Neoteric for… three years maybe? Definitely two at
> least. Probably from ’88 – ’90, or thereabouts. Great times! The
> performances I was part of were The Bacchae, The Frogs, The Ring, The
> Pumkin Patch (or something… took place in various rooms of the music
> building), Toujour Perdrix (sp?) which took place at The Space (as we
> called it). There were maybe a few other performances, but they escape
> me at the moment. The Space was over on… I want to say 14th street
> but could be wrong. It was an old church that was converted to an arts
> space for a time, at least that’s how I remember it. Really cool setup,
> spent a lot of time there while it was up and running.
>
> Those were really fun times. Joe P was a great mentor (!), and the
> people I hung out with from the Neoteric the most during those years
> were Mary Zerkel, Harry Castle, Andy Shankman, Mark Nagy, and a few
> others. It’s easy to miss those times.
>
> These days I’m still playing with the blues band that formed around that
> time, Howard & The White Boys. Since I’ve gotten married and had a son
> (whose now five yrs old) I’ve scaled back and it’s a part time thing
> these days. It was full time for many years, and I had the priviledge of
> touring all over Europe and the U.S. several times with the band, as
> well as appearing with people like Buddy Guy (who was on our third CD),
> Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, BB King, etc.
>
> I also co-wrote a book (available only in Europe) on the British
> avant-rock group Van der Graaf Generator. In a burst of creative fury,
> it’s titled “Van der Graaf Generator – The Book.” They were a late 60’s
> – 70’s British “prog” band (but one of the few ‘good’ ones… punks
> actually *liked* them) who reformed in ’05. The reformation couldn’t
> have been more fortuitous as that’s the year the book came out (right
> smack dab in the middle of their European reunion tour, which I flew
> over for several times).
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jim ‘Bucka’ Christopulos
> www.howardandthewhiteboys.net

This entry was posted in Diaspora, Howard and the White Boys, Neoteric Ensemble, Northern Illinois University, Performances and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Still Bucka after all these years

  1. Pingback: A passing | dekalborama

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