IN 1995 or so I almost joined a band called Wild Monkey Sex. Or something like that. I went up to Johns Hopkins University and met a bunch of other players at a random gazebo on the campus there somewhere and immediately didn’t like anyone there except for Joylene. I do NOT remember the circumstances in which I met her. I don’t remember who convinced me to go and check out the band. I don’t remember ANYTHING that brought this event to come to pass nor why I didn’t like anyone. I THINK I brought my acoustic bass, Mackay, and I think I jammed with people and that it was a good time but… that name… Wild Monkey Sex?
It was a no-go.
I ALSO don’t particularly remember how me and Joylene stayed in touch, but eventually she married Chris Ehrich and together they became first The Chris and Joylene show and then The Honest Mistakes. Over the course of their musical progression our friendship grew too. I don’t know that we were CLOSE or FREQUENT, but they were THERE when I needed them, and if anything, their slight removal from most of my friend-base was perhaps what made them so important for some really dark times in my Life: when Heather and I broke up and I didn’t know if we could go on musically – or later when it felt like continuing musically with my ex would doom me to not being able to be in romantic relationships till I was done with music… or even later when my father died… their company and their couch and their support was invaluable.
They moved to Erie and we didn’t lose touch, but we certainly saw less of one another. They had kids. We didn’t. We were separated by 400 miles…
… and then COVID. More-specifically, the VOM.
I did NOT grasp what was important about my Virtual Open Mic at first, but Chris really helped me understand that this wasn’t just about keeping an open mic running, it was about creating a connection for isolated people. And it was definitely through the VOM that we all reconnected.
Well, here we are. We haven’t seen one another in years. Joylene hasn’t performed since she had a stroke shortly before COVID (I might be misremembering : this was it further back? was it more recent? My memory is a morass of tragedy and joy, my brain-legends weak on detail).
I’m also not entirely remembering how tonight came about. I have had Chris’ birthday on my calendar for years, and when I saw it lined up with a Wednesday night I think I off-handedly mentioned it… and they off-handedly mentioned they were thinking about visiting Baltimore for the week… and Joylene was on camera and I said “so, you wanna?” and she shocked everyone by saying “sure!” Beautiful things come with the asking.
They came back to Baltimore for Chris’ 50th birthday and joined us for a very, very, very special Live from the Lair and a beautiful night.
