All Hail Jeff W., Birthday Boy!

It was over twenty years ago but I seem to recall my first Jeff W. experience in Junior High. I borrowed his Rubik's Cube Guidebook; you know, a book that tells you how to 'solve' Rubik's Cube which is kind of counter to the whole idea of the cube, really. We were also in Marching Band together but when you have a class with fifty or sixty other people, it's tough to get to know everyone. And frankly, I was a drummer and the percussionists didn't hang much with the woodwinds, they were the dorks of the (admittedly dorky) band hierarchy.

We got to know each other much better through our tenure in the never legendary band, Rational Actors (but we do have a MySpace page!) and in an infamous visit to Iowa City to visit frequent commenter, Scotty. But see, the problem with the rest of this little Jeff W. bio is that he's an intensely private guy, in fact he instituted the first-name-and-surname-initial-only policy on this blog, so while no one other than maybe his wife has the goods on Jeff more than I do, he'd likely kill me if I dished any of the dirt. And since Jeff is the MacGyver of our group and a licensed Eagle Scout, he could probably kill me in a way that modern forensic science would not be able to pin on him.

If you're feeling generous though buddy, the cluster flies/cigarette story from when we recorded the Raise the Sea album is pretty damn amusing. So, Happy Birthday, pal,  don't forget, I still have those negatives from Bong Recreation Area.

Comments

[Jeff W]

Thanks for the well wishes Ken. I am always amused when after all these years of knowing someone you can still get a new peek at how they remember things about you or view you. There's no way I would have ever remembered about that book. It frequently seems that a lot of stories that I relate to others that were impressionable on me have long since left their memory. I also never thought of myself as intensely private, I'll have to ponder that a bit more, privately.

Also just for the record, sax was the upper tier hierarchy of the woodwinds, which went something like sax, flute, clarinet, oboe. Sort of how I always percieved brass might have gone to go trumpet, baritone, trombone, french horn or how I remembered drums being quads (what were those things called?), snare, bass drum, cymbal holder (which usually wasn't even a drummer, but in fact some other kid that was incapable of playing his selected instrument).

As for the fly story, let's just say that Ken's cabin became the real life Amityville horror of flies when we opened it up in the middle of winter so there was no shortage of flies or fly carcasses. We can also confirm that if you did a blind taste test of two cigarettes, one with fly carcass carefully placed inside it (by Ken) and one without, you would know the one with the fly because you'd be puking your guts out a few minutes later.

[Kent]

Happy Birthday Jeff. I have some kick ass photos of us circa 1978 in Halloween costumes. I think I’m a zombie and you are something that has to do with aluminum foil. Or maybe one of us is a hobo.

Do you still have my awesome couches?

[ken]

Jeff- You are SO rocking the Wafro in that bottom photo!

[Jeff]

All the best on your 36th.

My best Jeff W. memory was when one day Jeff had his Wafro styled and my brother Jay quoted the Bo-rics ad 'Check it out! whoa whoa whoa Bo-rics!' Jeff W responded without missing a beat: "F*** you jay wanna die"

Jay and I also enjoyed eating nasty smelling chocolate Now and Laters and breathing them into Jeff's face. Good times.

[Scotty]

I'm always late to respond but Happy Birthday Jeff. That was a fun weekend when you two came to visit me in Iowa City. (I love that town) I also have great memories of my first semster at UofI and that triangle room on Clark St. Whatever happened to that rat snake?