Re: (TV) The Church

[Jay Pontrelli <jpontrelli44@gmail.com>]

Easy to see why Bangs called him a "complete asshole."




> On Dec 26, 2014, at 3:20 AM, Glenn Cooper <glennwaynecooper@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Steve Kilbey of The Church recently released his autobiography,
> "Something Quite Peculiar". A fun read. There are four or
> five pages on Tom, detailing events when they toured together
> in 1988. Some funny stuff. Anyway, it's too much to type up,
> but this Kilbey poem from his blog captures the essence of what's
> in his book.
> 
> Glenn C.
> 
> 
> TV DINNER
> 
> when i was a kid
> 
> i was scouring all the music rags
> 
> looking for the next big thing
> 
> i read a small article on a band called television
> 
> in a mag called rock scene
> 
> it was written by patti smith
> 
> she wrote about this guy tom verlaines hands
> 
> how he was the kinda guy you’d wanna lose yer virginity to….
> 
> over the next few years there were tantalising references constantly
> 
> all of em saying how this band were incredible
> 
> johnny jewel a single (kinda strange but intriguing)
> 
> and bits and pieces until in 1977 the first album came out
> 
> of course it was called marquee moon
> 
> and verily it was all they said it would be
> 
> an incredible record
> 
> 34 years later today
> 
> i got an email from some guys watching televisions current progress
> 
> co guitarist richard lloyd is out
> 
> and some other guy jimmy rip is in
> 
> theres a whole argument going down on youtube
> 
> richard lloyd weighing in slagging off tv
> 
> funny that people are interested in these ancient clashes
> 
> i met tv in 1988
> 
> he was opening for the church and peter murphy
> 
> he wanted to borrow my acoustic guitar
> 
> it was a black guild ..it got stolen n broke my heart
> 
> as soon as he played one note you could hear it was him
> 
> a totally unique approach dare i say virtuoso
> 
> pk sometimes has this effect like a total understanding
> 
> anyway tv was sposed to go on murphys bus
> 
> but within one second tv had some falling out with murph
> 
> and ended up on our bus for a whole tour
> 
> he started the night with a 30 minute set
> 
> alone with an acoustic he was kinda ordinary
> 
> he was very jokey in a bizarre way on and off stage
> 
> he was a total caffeine and nicotine man too
> 
> he was always wired tho he eschewed all other substances
> 
> television had been a huge influence on us all
> 
> we were all quite surprised n impressed to have tv with us
> 
> he treated me a bit like an annoying kid and i probably deserved it
> 
> i blabbed on to him all day about television ..why i liked them…
> 
> but he was bemused and sent me up a bit
> 
> we played monopoly for real money once on the bus
> 
> and tv bickered over the fuckin’ rules and argued the toss
> 
> eeerrr kil-bee lets see uh this triple double in jail rule
> 
> uh i think this is an uh english rule and uh i aint goin’ to jail..
> 
> how bizarre to be arguing monopoly rules with verlaine
> 
> somewhere in dakota or  wherever as we sped thru the night
> 
> as the tour progressed tv would come out each night and play with us
> 
> we did "You Took" and "Cortez the Killer" with 3 lead guitarists
> 
> 3 of the very best you can get too
> 
> offstage however
> 
> tv was an incredible stingy miser arguing over every last cent literally
> 
> /eerrr uh kil-bee uh you should pay an extra 75 cents for your share of the fries/
> 
> this was one of the complaints on the you tube vids toms meanness
> 
> he was never very complimentary about richard lloyd either
> 
> lloyd didnt have anything to do with it if you listened to tv
> 
> he downplayed the guy right outta existence
> 
> it was unnecessary i thought to be so ungracious….
> 
> one day off in houston we went to this place
> 
> it was 1988 and you could record your vocal over a cassette backing
> 
> i sang my vocal over i left my heart in san francisco ( for DT)
> 
> tv got some old country n western track n giggled n whispered n muttered
> 
> he played it back to us convinced he’d found some new direction
> 
> one night  the phone rang in my room
> 
> /eerr kil-bee eerr uh i’m down here in the bar with some divorcees//
> //
> //and i was ah wondrin’ if uh you could uh take one off my hands …/
> 
> he was very charismatic and quite the ladies man
> 
> every night different women would seek him out backstage
> 
> strangely none seemed too bizarre for his taste
> 
> he had a "little sweetie" in every town
> 
> one morning we checked in some place early on the east coast
> 
> it was winter and snow lay on the ground
> 
> tv suggested a walk
> 
> and we hiked up this hill with a reservoir at the top
> 
> it was 630 in the morning and we interrupted something
> 
> cos suddenly about 10 big black guys were chasing us
> 
> baying for our blood
> 
> tv and i ran downhill into the woods
> 
> tv was like a thoroughbred horse leaping thru the trees
> 
> it was weird to be in such a pickle with a one time idol
> 
> anyway the stuff that happened onstage when he joined us was magic
> 
> he could coax a million sounds from a guitar trains and birds
> 
> and doppler effects and helicopters and guns ..anything..
> 
> but you could never see exactly how he did it …he was a true genius
> 
> we vaguely planned on recording together but his heart wasnt in it
> 
> we bickered over the financial details and that was it
> 
> i dont believe it would have worked out anyway
> 
> tv had some essential suspicious jokey sarcastic ny schtick
> 
> it was hard to get through it
> 
> he insulted lembo who was trying to manage him
> 
> and lembo couldnt see the financial gain
> 
> as opposed to the grief n pain that managing tv would bring
> 
> he was ungrateful in spades and just incredibly penny pinching
> 
> like a scrooge from brooklyn or something
> 
> it was an unnerving mixture
> 
> we drifted apart after the tour i never saw him again
> 
> marty played on on of  his solo records
> 
> and the church did an insipid uninspired version of friction
> 
> funny seeing tv on that show in portugal just filmed lately
> 
> that same old cagey grin that same old tom cat jive
> 
> jesus what a character
> 
> ha ha
> 
> 
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