A very Special Reunion
From Byron Fogle
Here is a report from former Cellarman Bob Pryor about the
2 reunions the remaining members of Smack and the Cellarman held
over the past 2 years.
You can also click on the link below for Bob's page and hear some
original music as well as a tribute to the Cellarman and Eric
called "From The Cellar Came A Star" (just click on
the music link on the main page on the left hand side)
We hope all the fans of Eric and the Cellarman enjoy this blast
to the past and future.
Visit Bob's website and listen to the cool musical tribute to Eric.
Cellarmen/Smack Reunion # 1 - 2002
Two year ago, we all thought what a great idea it would be to
get all the existing Cellarmen/Smack band members together for
a musical reunion. It was decided that for convenience purpose,
I'd fly to the East Coast and we would hold the reunion at Victor's
home in Connecticut because he had a lot of equipment set up and
a big basement. (Cellar)
The first meeting was real special for me, as I had not seen everyone
in over thirty years! All the free styling kids I knew before
were now parents with children, and in some cases grandparents.
When I first arrived, I stayed with Marty, and the minute I saw
him, it was like 30 years ago, except for our hairstyles. There
have been some changes over the years! For the first reunion,
I really did not know what to expect musically. We had done some
planning, but no one really knew what it would be like the first
time we all picked up the instruments again.
So, we all headed to Victor's house with friends and families
in tow to see what we would sound like. It was eerie, especially
with Paul/Eric not being with us. Soon as we set up, we began
to play. To our shock, it was like we never left! The little things
a band develops over the years, the timing, the subtle musical
changes, all were still there! Aside from a few muscle cramps,
mostly on my end from not playing for real for a while, it was
just like old times!
The first reunion with myself, Victor, Gary, and Marty only lasted
a day, as we really did not know what to expect. We spent time
jamming and performing some of the music we remembered such as
You Keep Me Hanging On, Light My Fire, and a bunch of other Cellarmen/Smack
tunes. After we finished playing, we spent the evening reminiscing
and looking at some old Paul/Eric tapes. It was a surreal experience
to say the least. The next day, we said our good byes promising
to do it again as long as everyone was interested.
Visit Bob's
website and listen to the cool musical tribute to Eric.
Cellarmen/Smack Reunion # 2 - 2003
After the fun we had at the first get together, we have decided
to have a yearly reunion for as long as we could. Also, we decided
to spend more time so we could visit more and catch up on old
times. So in August of this year, we met again, same place. Unfortunately,
Gary was not able to make it so all of us had to take turns singing
songs that Gary normally would have done. We probably did not
do his part justice, but we had a blast trying!
I had spent two days with David and his family before our get
together so we mapped out a whole bunch of songs to do and adjust
the keys to our aging voices! (LOL) We did stuff like Proud Mary,
Midnight Hour, Back in the USSR, Roll Over Beethoven, " Wipeout"and
other "classics". We even had Marty sing " Gimme
Shelter"- he had a ball! We were also treated to the singing
of David's wife and their daughter. The talent sure runs in the
family!
The second visit in essence turned out to be very rewarding. We
had extra time to visit and Victor put out a great spread for
the band member's and their families. While we were disappointed
that Gary could not be with us at this year's reunion, getting
to know each other again after all the time what passed was wonderful.
Visit Bob's website and listen to the cool musical tribute to Eric.