Now then Bob,

I am playing, though not enough. Been rehearsing a band, Dick's
House of Beauty, that focused first on obscure, group-vocal- oriented
R&B, some of which draws from the same well as Skip's more rootsy
songs. Let me tell you, it's a bitch managing four-part harmony,
especially with guys, including me, who aren't exactly Otis Redding.

Recently, we decided to branch out into a kind of
Parliament/Funkadel ic two-bands-in- one thing, adding a set of
relatively obscure 60s rock into the mix. We do get out, but only
barely, owing largely (well, more like entirely) to my inability to
muster the time and effort to record the band and put together
collateral promo material. No relief in sight on that issue. BTW,
having seen "The Aristocrats, " I'm making that my new band name. If
you've seen the film or know the old Vaudeville joke, you'll
understand why.

I love your idea of putting together shows with as many of the old C-
Ville hands as possible. The opener that the Allstars (which, by the
way, is our preferred designation over Charlottesville Blues
Allstars, a name we officially retired in '76 or '77) did for Capt.
Tunes at Starr Hill on New Year's Eve eve was really fun and
satisfying and, Dave Sherman's post notwithstanding (Hey, do I go
around posting nasty listerv messages about burnt-out hippies? Oops,
I just did.), had some musical merit. C-Ville and DC are pretty
reliable venues to draw enough old farts to make it all worthwhile.
And while it may be over-ambitious to drag in the national figures,
like Feat guys, you could put together a pretty strong bill using
just the home crew. Might be particularly fun to do a then-and-now
bill with, say, the Allstars and my new band, some among Skip/Capt.
Tunes/the Casuals and the Gladstones, etc.

One last thing: I can't overstate my appreciation to Deke, Andy and
the others involved in this project. All you rich yokels--er, I mean
Wahoos--should be sending them checks. AMF!

Richard Green