Radar


Tim O’Reilly, my buddy from the 1976 season at Dirty Jack’s theater, came to Denver on business last week and we were able to hook up for dinner and a long visit. It was the first time we’d seen each other since ’76, so we had a lot to talk about. Good thing, too, because we spent most of the time driving rather aimlessly around Denver, since my place is rather spare with no place for guests to sit. We talked and talked for hours as we wandered lost on the streets of the city.

Tim and I were members of the band at Dirty Jack’s in 1976, an eclectic (if not oddball) set of musicians that gelled magically to produce a kick-ass high-energy score for the show Paint Your Wagon. It was some of the best music I ever made.

Tim is still at it, composing, playing, and recording great music. He is embarking on a venture with his son – a student at the Berklee College of Music – to market their creations. I think that is wonderful in so many ways.

An odd thing… Tim and I did not talk much about Dirty Jack’s; mostly talking about our lives since. It fascinates me: the arc of our lives. There is a quality in all of us that drew us together 30 years ago at a funky theater in Jackson Hole. That quality still spins out in all our lives. What a long strange trip it’s been.

Thanks for hooking up with me in Denver, Tim. It was one helluva good time.

UPDATE: Tim has a website dedicated to his musical collaboration with his son. He is a brave lad, develping the site himself in native HTML (which he is just learning) so it is a work in progress. Go take a look and listen to the music. You will be impressed: Songwraith

Popular posts from this blog

Tom DeWester

I once wrote in this blog about how intimidated I was by the slick and professional show at our competitor theater, the Pink Garter, back in 1976. I just didn’t see how our raucous and bawdy production of Paint Your Wagon could compare with their impressive and colorful Molly Brown. What I was really talking about – what I was really intimidated by – was Tom DeWester. Tom was the best actor I had ever seen, by several orders of magnitude. He was absolutely magnetic on the stage, with great looks, deft timing, a commanding voice, and a master craftsman’s instincts. He was absolutely sensational, and the show was so perfect and impressive I wondered if anyone would come see us a few blocks away. Tom has stayed busy on the stage, and I am not the only person he has wowed with his talent. I took a few minutes to Google Tom and found nothing but raves: (In no particular order) Tom DeWester is Count Dracula and he out Bela Lugosies Bela Lugosi, except nobody trembles in fear when DeWester&
Read more

Googling Dirty Jacks

Image
In the Summer of 1988... We ate al fresco in the town that evening at Sweetwaters and went to the 8 PM show at Dirty Jacks Wild West Theatre . It is a fun filled evening of hilarious wild west comedy. It is also very family friendly. At the time we happily attended their performance, they had been performing there for 17 years. Much laughter was heard throughout the comedy skit and we smiled for days thinking about the actors crazy antics on stage. You Grew Up in Jackson If... -If you know the difference between "Jackson" and "Jackson Hole", and laugh at people who don't! -If you know what "KSGT" stands for -If you ever ate at a restaurant called "Topper's" -If you remember what and where Kelly's Alley was, and ditto for Second Station -If you ever took a ski lesson from Pepi and learned the difference between carving and butchering your turns -If you went to the Cutter Races -If you ever hot-walked the polo ponies (that was a Girl Sc
Read more

Any Which Way You Can

Image
I was clicking through the cable channels the other day and saw this: Dirty Jack’s Theater on the Big Screen! Do you remember the movie Any Which Way You Can ? Part of it was filmed in Jackson Hole in the fall of 1980. I like the picture above because I watched this scene being filmed. Prudy and I stood on the lawn across from Dirty Jack's. Eastwood was running past us in the shot. There are lots of cool views of Jackson in the movie. You gotta watch around the action in the film to catch it. The movie is hokey but really funny; a lot like the shows at Dirty Jack’s Theater. I also like this shot of the old Teton Motel, now long gone. This was the place Jon Stainbrook housed many of the actors and musicians who worked in the 1979 show. I lived there all summer; swam in the pool; annoyed the other guests with my loud car stereo playing Poco and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I remember knowing friends who hired on as extras for the movie, but as I scan the crowd scenes I don’t yet see any f
Read more