For some reason an old friend came to mind recently as I was driving on the freeway. I fancied spending a few minutes chasing the thought back to it’s origin but I know better by now. The futility follows the confoundedness which segued the senseless mental rolodex scan.
I recall meeting Terry one day after a church service. He wore a suit and so did I when the rest of the congregation came in varying degrees of casual attire. Not sure why he did but mine was upbringing related I would later find when my father did the same on a Sunday three or so years ago when I had morphed into the casual scene.
There is a good chance I commented to Terry about his drumming on that particular Sunday as we walked away from the morning service, thereby breaking the ice. He then told me in a kid gloves sort of way that he once drummed for a 60’s rock band called the Turtles. Oh,”White Whale Records, Flo & Eddie…- that Turtles ?” He was taken aback as I knew a little too much about rock history for one such an age.
We later would discuss aspects of music and rock history on Sundays for the few minutes that followed each service. I would later find that he had experienced difficult times after a stint on the television show Dr. Quinn Medicine Man. I think he played a regular background person and may have spoken a few lines here and there. He also mentioned he had a part dubbed onto the tailing end of a submarine movie U 571 in which he played a German U Boat commander yelling something like Mach schnell, mach schnell.
I should mention at some point that he died one day in church. As his friend said as we were at his memorial, Terry died the ultimate Rock and Roll death. He played drums as the church band sang a song, then sat down in the pews of the place he loved so much, had communion and fell over and died. One tends to think that maybe a quick response would have helped but in his case, the woman sitting behind him was a nurse and the minister a retired firefighter.
Folks from the previously mentioned show loved him as family and so did the church people and I would later find there was a Starbucks on Ventura crowd that shared the same sentiments. Nice to have people argue over who loved you more in life.
The Starbucks connection was funny because he was so non Starbucks at least as I knew him. It turned out he worked at a UPS Store next to the coffee shop and popped in to offer words of wisdom about the topic of the day. I asked a regular what was his drink and he laughed commenting that Terry would bring his own 7-11 coffee to the table.
Terry was in some other bands among them The Crossfires, The Everpresent Fullness. He told me they recorded for UK Phillips and armed with that tidbit I showed up a few weeks later with a NM copy of a 45 that he actually had writers credit on. An eBay purchase. He was beyond words proud and surprised and I was repaid when I saw him walk it around and showed everyone he came in contact with after a service. One person he didn’t see that day when he had the record was Michael McFadden.
About a year before Terry died, my family and I were at an Easter get together at the McFadden’s when, as usual the music/eBay topic came up. Mike mentioned that he had a few 45’s left over from the day that if I thought I could sell he welcomed me to look them over. I pulled a few of interest and when I saw a copy of the Everpresent Fullness I mentioned that this was Terry’s band. Mike said that was not for sale. I reiterated that it was Terry Hand’s band-the drummer from church . By this time Mike was welled up with tears when his wife called out his name questioning the reaction. Mike played on occasion in the same church band and his wife Katie was, and is, one of the band leaders.
Mike told the story of an earlier time when in the Phoenix scene where he grew up he was in a band called The Mile Ends (both Freakbeat bands I would later discover). He was also in the band Superfine Dandelion which preceded The ME. He described they absolutely worshiped the Everpresent Fullness who had some records out at the time and when EF came out to Arizona they befriended one another and left with the promise that if they ever made it out to LA they could crash at their place. The Mile Ends eventually did get out west and as promised were afforded hospitality by the Fullness. Don’t forget this is 1966 or so. Now some 35 years later these guys find they were pew mates and didn’t know it until that very moment. I was blown away and told Mike he’d better get on the phone at that moment because I was about to ruin a great reunion if he didn’t. No one loves a coincidence more than I do.
Interesting Note: I just Googled "Terry Hand" and pulled this up from a Cowsills guestbook:
Name: TERRY HAND
Email: gospeldrummer8@hotmail.com
Location: SHERMAN OAKS CA USA
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 at 10:52:21
Comments:
HI! I REMEMBER PLAYING THE "WHISKY" IN THE 1960'S OPPISITE THE COWSILLS. MY GROUP THEN WAS "THE EVERPRESENT FULLNESS. RING A BELL? ANYWAY, I'M INTERESTED IN THE EL REY GIG. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. GOD BLESS... TERRY HAND [DRUMMER]
0 comments:
Post a Comment