Started a new Remembering Paul site for people who'd like to contribute to his memorial

On the night of our 30th wedding anniversary I learn of the death of Paul Lagos, a man who had a tremendous influence on me musically since our first meeting in the early 70's. Paul and I were born on the same date, but different years.

Paul played with Kaleidoscope and recorded with Leo Kotke, did a lot of recording in L.A., played in the Johnny Otis Revue and then went on tour with John Mayall, John Klemmer, did a bunch of gigs in Los Angeles with jazz and blues players. We toured together in the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1972.

Yes it was a long time ago, when you got on stage with instruments; drums, guitars and a sound system and made music, sounds you heard in your imagination and then translated through your limbs to skins and guts.

Paul taught me about Miles and Coltrane and Joseph Schillinger, about Joe Henderson and Thelonius Monk. We were kids, Victor Conte and I, and we lived in his basement with his flea-infested Great Dane, "Gretta", and we were privileged to meet the likes of the brilliant saxophonist Richard Aplanaugh and Don 'Sugarcane' Harris - who, with Dewey Terry, wrote "I'm Leaving it All Up to You", one of the most played songs on the radio for years. Paul was a GIANT, I'll miss him.

The last time I saw Paul was on a tour for my own CD in about 1995 in France and Switzerland. Ironically, Paul and I played in Geneva in 1974 with a band called the Curtis Brothers. That gig was the inspiration for my song "Woman In White" which was linked to by a nurses' site but in fact the woman in white wasn't a nurse but a powder. Oh, the irony of the Internetz...

Paul, I didn't get to tell you that I loved you man, and now I can't even find out how to contact the woman you lived with to tell her how much your life and advice meant to me. Maybe someone will read it here.

We shared a short period of music nearly 40 years ago, I feel "we hardly knew ye". Thanks for Trane, Miles, Bird, Monk and yes, the blues I feel tonight in learning of your passing.

Please take a moment to listen to this song. It isn't Paul on drums, he would have played it a lot better, but he was there when this moment took place and we laughed about it many times - because we survived it.

The Woman in White

I had a dreamIn the blue of the nightI was caught in the schemeOf the Woman in WhiteLong agoThrough the mists of the pastShe blackened my soulIt all happened so fastDown Cadillac ValleyI copped me a dimeDid it in the alleyTo save a lotta timeWhen I almost died...As I slid to the groundI heard kind of cryLike a siren soundAnd I rememberMoments of blissThe scent of a smileor the color of her kissBut seeds of sorrowLay buried deep withinAnd I'm never going back Never goin' back thereEver againI woke with a screamIn a stone cold sweatI know that meansThat I'll never forgetThat she got my moneyNearly took my lifeIt's time I stopped runningFrom the Woman In WhiteAnd I rememberMoments of blissThe scent of a smileor the color of her kissBut seeds of sorrowLay buried deep withinNever going back Never goin' back thereEver again

The 70's were turbulent times, sure. But on an individual level, have you ever shot a gun? Although I've never owned one, I shot an automatic weapon a few times in the Air Force. There have been many times where I would have enjoyed shooting something inanimate, but never to wound or  take a life. The story I'm about to tell was documented in a comic book called "Fu**t Up", which I will attempt to dredge up on the Interwebs  Real Soon Now, since I haven't found my copy of it to share.
 
Paul, a highly-talented drummer, tattooed ex-Marine got home after a  long and grueling rehearsal with a bunch of guys who couldn't read  music. He started talking to his wife, who was watching "Let's Make a  Deal". After a few attempts to get her attention, he went into the bedroom and came back out with a hand gun. The wife looked absolutely terrified, Paul fired several rounds in to Monty on the tube, silencing the latter forever, albeit not the former. One wonders what the rest of the conversation was like?