Tone

i met anthony davey in the very early 80s

we were dating sisters - janet and heather armstrong

beautiful young women who helped us both figure out our early 20s

tony was immediately cooler than i was

he dressed cool

spoke cool

and just had that kind of cool swagger about him

but i was a better musician than him

so our relationship began with me teaching him how to play bass

he had some horrible hockey stick of a guitar

but we sat upstairs in janet’s bedroom and jammed

i showed him where to put his fingers

and how to do a walking bass line

he took to it effortlessly

a couple months later

we were on the road together

and this went on for 30 years

we travelled non stop

quebec and ontario

we learned how to play in these crazy clubs

hundreds of them

all through our twenties

we played in bars

bingo halls

strip joints

the hells angels clubhouse

we got hired by prisons and for a while - we were the select band of inmates in ontario and quebec

we always had money

and if we didn’t - tone would find a job

and then get me in

that was the way it was

we were a package deal

the happiest i remember being was in minden ontario

we were playing at the rockcliff hotel

we were 23

6 nights a week with a saturday matinee

we stayed in these run down rooms above the bar

no tv

just a bed and a dresser with one washroom down the hall

it was about 11am

we were just waking up

randy was standing in the hall running a brush through his long black hair

randy was asking tony if his ancestors came from zimbabwe

tone was telling him that his family actually came from scambatty 

it made no sense

it was a ridiculous moment

but it belied a carefree lifestyle and mind set

a bohemian way of life that in that moment

i knew i would never veer from

that day me and tone had a greasy breakfast with a beer

floated on inner tubes down the river that ran through town

ate the best ceasar salad for lunch

drank milk shakes for afternoon tea

and had dinner with one of the locals - he was a comedian and he did bits for us during the dinner

that night we played for a crowd of maybe 30 people 

met some girls and went down to the river where we all made out on benches

this was a wednesday

it was glorious

tone was into thrift shopping decades before it became a thing

he had that kind of vibe that allowed him to wear anything 

and make it look cool

tone myself and adam played a ton of hockey in our 30s

we were on a house league team

but the real fun was at the pick up games at UCC

one game - tone was put on the other team

i was playing defence

i knew his game

he was an excellent hockey player

but i knew his game

and i spent the entire game shutting him down

and it bugged him so much

he got scrappy with me

at the end of one shift

he punched me

i didn’t go down

he was fighting irish at times

i like that

that attitude served him well

he didn't suffer any bullshit from anyone

he was true iron hearted irish

we loved the same music

we liked the same bands

we almost liked the same clothes

tone got caught up in the hair metal thing for a bit

des and i made fun of him for this

we took Lsd together and had some enlightening trips

we were young men 

free and full of adventure

our lives were ours

with no one to answer to

we were independent thinkers

our education came from surviving with only a self provided structure

another one of the happiest times of my life

was with tone in wawa ontario

we’d been on this killer tour

3 - maybe 4 months 

drive all day sunday

arrive and play for 6 nights

you can get a little stir crazy on the road 

so one day

myself tone randy and glenn 

got all the mattresses from our rooms

and set them up like a padded chamber

and commenced with an afternoon of tag team wrestling

turns out our rooms were right about the hotel office

the owner comes upstairs - opens the door - takes stock of the chaos

and calls our agent wanting a rebate on the agreed fee

we’d had enough

we had been gone for so long

we had changed

we packed up and left - forgoing any money that we were owed

the bar owning left screaming in our dust

it was time to go home

when we pulled into toronto - we sang oh canada at the top of our lungs

we had changed

an agent came to see us - gary pring

we were playing original music

we were okay

but not great

he suggested that we put together a stones band

i had just met des

and i knew jim cassels from my early teens

all we needed was another guitar player

tone said that his brother was getting pretty good on guitar

okay - pup was in

and with that the midnite ramblers were formed

and we never stopped working for the rest of the 80s

these were magical defining times

we’d graduated up a level

we no longer had to pay for pop

in fact - bars started giving us free beer

tone pup des jim and me

we were on an adventure

young men playing in a rock n roll band

travelling and carrying on

blazing a trail

there was vulnerability and compassion

we took care of each other

we shared music and ideals

we had opinions

we fought and argued

but most of all we played

and played

me tone des jim and pup

the five of us went through some hidden door together

came out different - bonded

it was glorious

tone really started honing his bass skills 

and he started encouraging me to play harmonica

i’d practice in the car with him

then only to wimp out on stage and opt instead for another guitar solo

but tone was persistent 

and with that i started playing harp onstage

years later - me tone garce and buttles were in a band

and i was beginning to play piano

i’d bring it to the gig - set it up

but wouldn’t play it 

tone would have nothing of it

he pushed

and one night - in jackson’s point ($750 for 4 nights) (seven five oh)

i played piano on stage

i was so pleased - i looked up at tone for approval

but he was so cool

he kept his back to me and took a swig from a beer 

and then - as the next song started - he looked over and nodded at me

i owe a big part of the man i am today to anthony davey

tone got a gig in dubai

it was 1993

where was dubai?

what kind of a gig?

what what what what?

tone got me on the gig as 2nd guitar player and keys

cool

this is how i got to meet brian and troy and randy

so we flew to the other side of the world

and discovered that the gig was on hold

we’d still get paid 

but there was no gig

i can’t explain the absolute surreal vibe that our lives took on

we were living in a really nice hotel

3 meals a day provided

all the free time in the world

those kind of circumstances change a person

tone stayed on with troy

and did a victory lap with another band before coming home

me - i came home with a brand new plan

this experience - it set me up with new maps

i came home dreaming bigger

all because of tone

we went off and got married

and had babies

we fell out of touch for a while

but we were always connected

i was proud when i heard about all of his successes as a runner

run anto

run like the fuckin’ wind

leave the ghosts in your dust

i'll remember us laughing 

i don’t think i’ve ever laughed more with anyone else

we had so many silly sayings and bits

we were happy

anthony davey was my friend 

he lived his days with strength and grace

he remains a strong beautiful man

nothing will ever take that away

craig

november 24, 2015

irish whiskey

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