Here Come the Republicans

This week the first session of the 112th Congress got under way.  As expected, John Boehner was elected Speaker of the House, and Nancy Pelosi as the Minority Leader.  First on the order of business was the reading of the Constitution.  Some view this as a nod to the Tea Party; others dismiss it as grandstanding, and still others (Democrats mainly) seem to be upset that it was read in the first place, and using the word "fetish" to describe those who approve of this reading.

Next on the order of business will be a repeal of Obamacare.  On this one there's also criticism from the Democrats, as well as some pundits who grandstand on how this is a wasted vote.  We even have Barney Frank grousing about the process, about not being allowed to offer amendments.....to a repeal measure, no less.

On these two events, I'm going to come to the defense of the Republicans, or more specifically, to the defense of the "House" Republicans.  First I'll look at the reading of the Constitution.

I'll grant that I don't know exactly what was on the minds of the leadership when they made this decision.  I could second-guess them as grandstanding or trying to curry favor with the Tea Party.  The perception of grandstanding, is of course, depending on your frame of reference as as you watch the reading, but the reality is that the House Republican leadership is going to have to keep the Tea Party as part of their base.  The Tea Party has demonstrated that they are a force to be reckoned with, and I'm going to tell you right now that if such an accommodation isn't made then the Tea Party will either try to hijack the Democratic Party or they're going to dedicate themselves to making the Republicans the next "third" party.  Reading the Constitution doesn't take up a whole lot of time in the grand scheme of things, and personally I would rather have all Congressmen tested on the Constitution before they're allowed to take the oath of office.

And for those who are throwing around the word "fetish":  what's your problem?  Right before the election, your party had that comedian, whats-his-name Colbert testifying in committee and asking that his colonoscopy be entered into the Congressional record.  So who's got the "fetish" here?  I'd rather have a reading of the Constitution on the House floor rather than some clown testifying before another bunch of clowns.  If you're upset about some "fetish" with the Constitution, then I'm going to respectfully suggest that you re-evaluate your priorities.

Next, the repeal of Obamacare.

First of all, we all know that the Senate will not act on the repeal.  So why do it?

Here's one reason:  many of the newly elected ran on campaign promises that they would fight Obamacare and vote to repeal it.  So now they have a chance to vote on it early on, and thus quickly uphold a campaign promise.

How often do you see a politician keep a campaign promise?  Aren't most of us ready to march on Capitol Hill with pitchforks because we feel that those bums up there on the Hill are out of touch with us?

Here's another reason:  if they don't vote on the repeal, then when the next campaign gets under way, their challengers are going to say, "hey, they promised you to repeal Obamacare, and they didn't so much as even vote on it!"  Of course the challenger isn't going to vote to repeal it either, but you won't be thinking about that  once it's pointed out that your guy didn't vote on it.  I don't see the House Republican leadership as having much of a choice, politically, in this matter.  They talked the talk.  Now they have to walk the walk.  Vote on it, send it over to the Senate, and if the Senate doesn't act, then the Republicans can make that an issue next year.

And as for Barney Frank upset about not being allowed to offer amendments......hello?  You're voting to repeal something!  You're going to amend a law that you're getting rid of?  Cheese Louise!  Write up your amendment and introduce it as separate legislation, or attach it to something else.  Do you really need an engineer from Tucson to give you instructions on how to do your job?

To be honest, I'm not really sure that Republicans in charge of Congress is really a good thing in and of itself.  I certainly am wary about giving them control of the Senate, when you consider that the elitists like John McCain and Lindsey Graham will be running the committees, while the Rand Pauls and Jim Demints are assigned to taking out the trash and changing the light bulbs.

But I'll have to say this:  week one of the new House session made a positive impression on me.  Let's hope that Boehner and his help are serious about reining in the deficit and and taking the time to actually read the legislation that they're going to vote on.

I would also hope that they keep one thing in mind.

The Republicans weren't given charge of the House of Representatives because they were the better party.

They were given charge of the House because they weren't Democrats.

If they go back to their previous ways, of drunken spending and working with the Democrats to give illegal aliens the right to a welfare check and the ballot box, then we'll have to rise up and vote them out of commission.

* * * * * * *

I normally wouldn't add anything to a commentary, but I've got some odds and ends to pass along, mainly because I'm behind on my emails and having a few folks ask me if I'm all right.

Work-wise, I'm between assignments, as that my project had its funding cut off before we broke for Christmas.  I'm between jobs right now, but will be offered a part time assignment within the company by a program manager that I used to work for back in 2001.  I've got a lead on another part time assignment, which I'll pursue as well.

And, in six weeks or so, maybe eight, I'm going to be offered work helping out with some research, determining applications for some rather specialized components that I never heard of before until two days ago.  That sounds exciting as all get-out, and very promising.  The supervisor definitely wants me to work for him, but won't have funding for a while yet.  So, I'll be doing some odd jobs here and there until those higher up the food chain decide it's time to proceed.

On another front, State Farm has issued me one more check, as that the first one didn't cover the lodging and rental car in Lake Havasu City.  I split repairs and expenses between two credit cards and one bill has already been paid in full.  Now if the other issuer will only go ahead and send me their bill, I'll have that one paid off in one fell swoop as well.

And on another, I've caught up on a lot of reading.  I'm now working on Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford, an Asimov Estate-authorized "Foundation" novel.  I am one third of the way thru it and it hasn't exactly been an easy read.  I think some of the backfill descriptions are superfluous, and I don't yet understand the relevance of the Joan of Arc and Voltaire "sims" to the Foundation story, but now I'm into a section where some political intrigue of the Galactic Empire and Emperor Cleon I is being explored.  This story may yet pick up, though most customer reviews of this book that I've seen online are negative.

That's all for now.

And.....(you saw this coming!).............don't forget to pet a dog or a cat!

Some Catching Up

I learned yesterday that my insurance is going to pay a significant chunk of the repair costs of my "wreck" some two weeks ago.  They're also going to pick up my lodging and the costs of the rental car.  The ball joints themselves are considered "maintenance" items and they're not covered, and I really have no quarrel of any with that.

To be honest, I didn't think they'd cover any of the repair at all.  I went in to office of my State Farm agent to get reimbursement for the towing.  I didn't know that they'd cover some of the damages under the "collision" coverage.  The word "collision", to me, suggests two vehicles colliding and causing damage to each other.  My collision, so to speak, was with US 95.  Anyway, the check is on the way, and kudos to State Farm for coming through.

As for the aborted trip, well there's been a lot of bad weather in this part of the country as well.  California got hit with a series of winter storms during the week that I would have left, and I would have arrived yesterday, with the inclement weather affecting Arizona.  We had steady cold rain for a good part of yesterday and the mountains to the north have a good dusting of snow (the mountains to the east are under cloud cover but I'm sure there's snow there too).  It's in the upper 30s outside as I write this, unusually cold for Tucson but not unprecedented.

In the meantime, we have one more night of madness left to contend with, then it's all over.  We can get back to normal.  I'm staying in tonight, and will probably listen to the police scanner as I find out where the drunks and crazies are.  I'm not going to blow $40 so that I can go out and drink in a bar tonight.  If I want to, I can knock off some Guinness here at home, or maybe some wine.  But that's it.

I guess I could have the TV on tonight.  The Sci-Fi Channel is running a marathon of commercials all day long today, interrupting it every now and then for three minute excerpts of The Twilight Zone.  The History Channel has a marathon program of "Pawn Stars" or "American Pickers" or something like that.....they just won't do history programming anymore, and that's a shame, because back when they did they were giving me a reason to sign up for a satellite package.

I don't have much in the way of reflections as this year ends.  It had some great moments and it had some disappointments.

As for what I want to do next year, I haven't bothered to figure that out.

Meantime, here's a picture of my "collision":

No Christmas in San Jose this year

Early Sunday morning I started my road trip to San Jose.  I left my driveway at 1:30 AM, or maybe it was 2:00 AM.  I popped awake, full of adrenaline, and was eager to get going on my annual Christmas road trip.  Initially my biggest concern was traffic delays at the Hassayampa River bridge on I-10 as that the Arizona Department of Transportation was warning that 90 minute backups were expected at peak travel times.  So, it was either start then, or take the long way 'round using US60 thru Wickenburg.

Anyway, I crossed that bridge in the early morning hours, and continued on.  Inclement weather in Southern California was in the forecast, and the L.A. radio station I was listening to was warning that the Southland would be getting their worst pounding in ten years.  I had already made the decision to turn north at Quartzsite, cross at Parker, and then catch I-40 at Needles and to do what I could to make Barstow or Buttonwillow or some such something town with a reasonable motor lodge.

I stopped off in Quartzsite for a quick breakfast of two hot dogs (OK, so I like hot dogs better than "normal" breakfast.....so what?) and for gasoline.  I noticed something not quite feeling right with the right front wheel, as if it was mushy or something.  I got out, thinking I might have had a flat, but it looked normal, so I was back on the road.  It acted normally then, so I thought nothing of it for the next half hour or so.

I crossed at Parker, and some ten miles later I was at the junction of highways CA62 and US95.  The steering wheel seemed to shimmy somewhat upon leaving the State of California Agricultural Inspection Station which is at that junction, but then it behaved itself.  I remember thinking, did it always act this way? 

One mile after that it happened.

I'm zipping up US95 at seventy miles per hour, when there was this jolt, like I had hit a pothole.  The right front of the truck dipped down somewhat and it wasn't steering any more.  I went along this nice long 200 foot skid thinking I had had a blowout, and that I was in the process of losing my rim.  It wasn't good.

Well, it wasn't a blowout.  I got out and saw that the tire had separated and had buckled underneath the truck.  By doing so, it protected the truck from undercarriage and body damage, but it was still not good.  I mean, I'm looking at my destroyed front suspension and brake fluid leaking along the roadway, and noticing this nice gash in US95 that's going to be there for a long time until someone comes along to repave it.....and it was recently repaved too!

For a few minutes I stopped to process my latest problem.  I wasn't quite sure what to do.  I had my cellphone on me, which these days is a necessity, and I called 911.  The dispatcher arranged for a tow truck, and within ten minutes an officer of the California Highway Patrol was on the scene to render assistance.

The CHP officer was a cool guy.  He set up cones to divert traffic away from my truck, as that I was only halfway off the roadway and his attempts at pushing me off didn't work.  We conversed about a number of things.  He told me about some pursuits that he had been on, with one of them having ended right where we were.  There was another one that started in Arizona on I-40 that the CHP had to take over when the big rig being pursued crossed over at Topock.  The Arizona Department of Public Safety had spiked the tires, but the big rig continued on that put a gash in eastbound I-40 that lasted for several miles.

Anyway, my truck ended up being towed to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, which is where I am at as I am writing this.  The guys at the Toyota dealership already have been able to fix my truck, and I get it back tomorrow after they've had a chance to road-test it themselves.  I have spent the past three days here in LHC, known for being where the old London Bridge is now at, and tomorrow I get to go home.

There won't be a Christmas in San Jose this year.  It will take me two days to get there from here, and by the time I'm there it will almost be time to drive back.  Plus, northern California right now is being slammed by some bad winter storms, my mother has a severe cold that she doesn't want to give to me, Chip has the flu which he doesn't want to give to me, my sister and niece are in Lake Tahoe with my brother-in-law, and my inclination tomorrow is to return to Tucson where I can sleep in my own bed.

These are no doubt circumstances that are somewhat more adverse than what I'm normally used to dealing with, but I find myself in good spirits.  I am grateful to the Good Lord for commanding His guardian angels to watch over me throughout my wheel coming off, because had this happened on the interstate surrounded by traffic......well.......I might not have lived to have posted this entry.

I'm going to call this one of the best Christmases I've ever had........ because I'm still here.  There hasn't been one like this since 1978, when I survived an armed robbery that was, if I'm not mistaken, 32 years ago as of tomorrow. 

What more can I say?

Stay safe, everyone.

Odds and Ends, 11/27/10.

Our hunting trip was cut short the very next day.  When we woke up the next morning, we discovered that Todd had a flat tire on his Explorer, so we went out in my truck.  We returned to N-O Canyon but this time there weren't any wildlife sightings.  We went back to where we were staying, Todd changed the tire, and we called it a year.

We do know that we want to hunt that same unit again, and I'm sure that will be choice #1 on next year's tag application.

* * * * * * *

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I was up and Todd and Annette's.  We had a really good time.  It's too bad that this holiday only comes around once a year.

Annette did a fantastic job on the turkey and the rest of the meal (with some help on the stuffing from daughter Amber).  Me, all I could do was bring a bottle of wine and a pumpkin pie bought from the catering company who services our cafeteria.  Both pie and wine were good too.

We also watched some football.  I'm not much of a football watcher, but the Saints/Cowboys game was holding our attention.  By all rights the Saints should have wiped up the field with the Cowboys, but that's not how it happened.

Both teams made their fair share of mistakes.  I could tell that the winner was going to be the team that did not make the last mistake.  It went down to the wire, but the Saints pulled it thru.  They nearly beat themselves.

I'll say this for the Cowboys:  they put up a good fight.

* * * * * * *

With Thanksgiving behinds us, the retailers are already reminding us that it's time for us to go out and buy gifts for everyone else.  Turkey Day itself was chock full of ads reminding us to get our wives/girlfriends diamond jewelry and a brand new luxury car in the driveway.

Right.  Like we've all got that kind of money.

I guess in a way we do; we can run up charge cards and debt like crazy, creating money out of thin air, and worry about the consequences later.

After all, it's what the government's been doing for years.

* * * * * * *

I have continued with the science fiction reading.  I'm on the third book of the "Caliban" trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen.  It's a series of novels set in the Asimov universe, with the story outlines themselves having been blessed by ole Isaac himself before he left us.

I'll admit there was a bit of trepidation on my part as to whether or not I should read these.  When I was in Portland, I picked up the first of the trilogy (I already had the other two) and I started reading it there.  I was engrossed in it; I had the first one finished in two days.

I've since read the second and I'm well into the third, and I'm enjoying them.  I don't think these three books are in print right now, but if you're an Asimov fan you'll want to pick them up.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

* * * * * * *

There are a few undercurrents of a rather personal nature that are right now churning beneath the surface of what has been a relatively calm sea in my life.  I won't say what's on my mind right now or fill you in on what's been going on.  I am blessed to have the counsel of my friend Mark in this matter, and I'll be drawing upon a few others before this latest situation runs its course.

What I am learning is that life can and will present you with situations where it is a bit of a challenge to make up your mind on some things.

Regardless, I am content with my present situation.

Again, if I may steal that line from Randy Bachman, "That's what it is."

You know, I really identified with some of the songs he wrote/played with BTO in 1975, and I'm identifying with that new one that's now with us some 35 years later.

I couldn't have picked a better band to be a fan of back in my high school years.

* * * * * * *

I probably should write the Christmas letter tomorrow, but I'll be honest.  I don't feel like doing that just yet.

I instead want to get my .25-06 out to the rifle range for some target practice.

* * * * * * *

I'm done now.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.

Deer Hunting, Willcox AZ

Todd and I are in Willcox, Arizona this evening.  We drove down yesterday and checked into the Days Inn and this morning we were out looking for deer.  This is our first time hunting in Unit 32, and we like what we see so far, even though we didn't spot any bucks.

We decided to check out the Allen Flats area, and spotted a doe and her yearling fawn crossing at Muleshoe Road.  We watched them for about five minutes, after which they disappeared into some brush.  We continued on, pulling off at N-O Canyon.  First off we spotted a coyote trying to get a drink from a watering hole.  He changed his mind about that when he saw us.  Further up the canyon we spotted two more coyotes, both of which quickly disappeared over a ridge to the north of us.

We drove back to town for lunch, but first conversed with another pair of hunters who gave us some tips on where to locate deer.  While on Muleshoe Road near mile marker 4 we spotted a herd of antelope!  There were 20, maybe 25 animinals in that herd, and they were clearly spooked by us.....though they did stop to look back at us.  We watched them thru binoculars before they ran off.  I didn't know there was an antelope herd near Willcox.  I know there's one near Sonoita but neither of us have any desire to go after antelope, not that it matters, since Game & Fish does not issue very many antelope tags for southern Arizona.

We went back to N-O Canyon for the afternoon posting.  Hunter pressure there was light.  We glassed the southern facing slope extensively but no deer were sighted.  Right at sunset I spotted a coyote.  I'll never forget that sight.  He was silhouetted right against the skyline.  He was a good 600 yards away and I never would have seen him without optics.  He was scoping out the area too.  He disappeared and then re-appeared, though that second sighting might have been a second coyote.  I think there's a good chance that it might have been that same pair we spotted earlier this morning.

Deer season continues thru Thursday, though tomorrow will be our last day out.  Todd needs to get back home tomorrow night, so tomorrow afternoon's attempt will be last until next year.

From a wildlife sighting standpoint, it's been excellent.  I'll admit that I'm glad that we were out there again this afternoon.  Seeing the coyote(s) at sunset was a neat experience.  Yeah, I've seen more here than I can remember, but seeing one out in the wild like that is something you'll never forget.

I'm tired, so I'll sign for now, but not without mentioning two restaurants in Willcox.  One is La Salsa Fiesta Mexican restaurant.  That's right off of I-10, exit 340, Rex Allen Drive.  It was my second time there and last night's meal was one of the best Mexican I've had in some time. 

This evening we went to Big Tex's BBQ near the intersection of Maley & Haskell (Haskell is the old Arizona 86 that served as the main drag in the pre-I-10 days).  I had the Albuquerque Burger and it was a good choice. 

OK, I'll mention a third place.  There's that pie place north of I-10 and its name escapes me as I write this.  Their pies are too good to be legal.  I may stop off there before heading out.

We're having lots of fun, but it would be nice to be bringing home some venison.  Hunter success is about 20%.  It's a difficult state to hunt in, mainly because of terrain.  But we have fun making the attempt.

OK, this time, I'll really sign.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.

Remembering Jim Clench

Jim's passing has generated a lot of discussion on the April Wine webforum, as well as on Randy Bachman's site.  Many of us fans are still in a state of shock over this, and in a funk.  A few more details have emerged.

* * * * * * *

I recently learned that I had a "Stats" tab on this blog, and I learned that my previous posting generated a lot of pageviews from Canada.  One referring site was from a blogger in Montreal who knew Jim Clench.  He had some interesting posts.  Apparently Jim was thinking of getting a band going last year, to cover some of his songs with April Wine and BTO.  They were doing rehearsals in West Island, a section of Montreal.  If I'm recalling what I read correctly, they had about 12 or 15 songs that they were going to do if their plans on breaking the Montreal club scene were to come to fruition.

Unfortunately, it never got off the ground.  Jim's sense of humor and wit were noted, but it was also noted that he was a heavy smoker.  The others involved in the project, from what I can gather, went back to doing what they were doing.

One of the posters last saw Jim some three weeks ago.  He wasn't looking too well, but he figured that Jimmy would pull out of it.  Likely at that point, it was too late.  Per April Wine guitarist Brian Greenway, Jim Clench had stage 4 lung cancer.  His bandmates did not find out that Jimmy was ill until the day before he died.

Tragically, they were not able to visit him in the hospital to personally say goodbye.

* * * * * * *

In 1974 I became a fan of Bachman-Turner Overdrive.  I was in high school, and living in New Jersey.  "Takin' Care of Business" was making several audio appearances on WABC, and when I heard that song I thought "WOW!"  I bought the 45 RPM single, took it home, and played it lots of times.

One night I flipped over the TCB single to listen to that song "Stonegates".  That was the first time I had heard a Fred Turner song.  I found myself playing that one again and again too.  I was hooked.

BTO was also making audio appearances on FM, namely WPLJ, which I was also listening to.  I was hearing some other songs of theirs, songs that weren't in the top 40.

As I said, I was hooked.  I never had a favorite band before.  I had one now.  Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

I have followed them since.

* * * * * * *

In 1977, Randy Bachman left BTO.  Fred Turner, Rob Bachman, and Blair Thornton decided to continue.  But how do you replace someone like Randy Bachman?  How do you pick up and continue after that?

They found their answer in Jim Clench.  I had never heard of him until I saw his name on the back of BTO's Street Action LP.  He was now on bass guitar, and Fred Turner had moved over to rhythm guitar.

* * * * * * *

I took the Street Action album home.  In the first track, I knew that they were getting back to their sound that I liked, the sound that they had abandoned on their Freeways album.

Track #2 was a song called "Down the Road".  That was the first time I had heard singing by Jim Clench.  I still had no idea that there had been this band called April Wine that he used to play in.  I had no idea where or how they had found him.

But I liked his singing!  It was distinctive.  Smooth.

The good news was that BTO was continuing.  And, they found the right guy to help move them "Down the Road".

* * * * * * *

In early 1979, what was then thought to be BTO's final album came out.  It was a February night, the 21st, and Bay Area FM radio was playing a new song.  It had Fred Turner on vocals, and Fred's also got a distinctive voice.  That was good news, BTO was still going.

FM radio also played other tracks off this new album.  "Jamaica", "Amelia Earhart", "Rock and Roll Nights", all of which had Jim Clench on lead vocals.  KMEL-FM was very good about giving BTO some airplay.  I was really rooting hard for them to succeed.

Unbeknownst to me, BTO was burning out.  It had been a good run.  Eight albums, nine if you count the live one that wasn't released in the U.S., ten if you count that and their "Best of".

* * * * * * *

Also in early 1979, I was hearing two songs by this "new" group called April Wine.  They were "Roller" and "Get Ready for Love".  I picked up the 45 for "Roller".  That song was sung and written by Myles Goodwyn. The B side had a song called "Right Down to It" that was written and sung by Brian Greenway.  Decent song, also a good vocalist to go along with Myles.  I thought of how this was similar to partnership that Randy Bachman and Fred Turner had with BTO.

Of course, I didn't know at the time that April Wine had started ten years previously, and had been trying and trying and trying to make it stateside.  They were well known in eastern Canada, but not here.

That was soon to change.

* * * * * * *

One Sunday night in October 1979 I was listening to FM radio.  I was in my first semester at San Jose State, having transferred from Evergreen Valley College.  I was trying to "catch"songs off the radio onto my stereo cassette deck. Hey, I was a college student, had some funds, but not enough to my liking.  I wanted to finish this tape that I had started with off-air recordings.

The announcer said something about a new April Wine song that he was playing.  I started rolling tape.  The song was "I Like to Rock", and boy was that hot!  I really got off on the lyrics; "Journey to the Stars!  Rock and Roll Guitars!"  I thought then those were the greatest lyrics ever written.  I guess I still think that now.

Anyway, a new fan was born.  That song hit me like "Takin' Care of Business" had five years earlier.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive was my favorite band in high school.

April Wine would go on to become my favorite band in college.

* * * * * * *

In early 1981, I had already owned two April Wine albums, and a new one called Nature of the Beast was released.  I ended up purchasing that.  Dang, that one was comparable to BTO's Not Fragile album!  By then I knew that there had been other April Wine albums that existed from their earlier days that could be found in the import section.  I was becoming a big April Wine fan, and I decided that it was time to go round up all those earlier albums.

* * * * * * *

On my first visit to Tower Records in Campbell after I decided to start the roundup, I noticed that in the import section there was a copy of Electric Jewels.  I looked at the personnel.

"Great Hornytoads!" as Yosemite Sam would say.  I said something different though.  Something that I can't really remember.  Jim Clench used to be a member of April Wine!  Now I really needed to round up those records!

I remember calling up Hal Liming, "Hal!  Guess what!  Jim Clench used to be with April Wine!"

I did not, at that time, buy Electric Jewels.  There were some other things going on then.  I had found my faith, I had passed a difficult placement test to get admitted to the upper division electrical engineering classes at San Jose State, and there was this girl named Pam that I was carrying the torch for.

* * * * * * *

While in some other record store shortly thereafter, I noticed that there had been a re-release of an earlier April Wine album called Stand Back.  Jim Clench was in the band and on this record.  The track listing on the back showed that he wrote and sang lead on two of them.  I bought that record along with the Foreigner 4 album which had also been released that very same day.

I didn't like Stand Back as much as the other April Wine albums, but there were some good tunes on it.  I took an instant liking to "Baby Done Got Some Soul" though.  I still like that song.  I've made some girlfriends over the years listen to it.  I made Kathleen listen to it.  I made Lynette listen to it.  And some others.

I've also made them listen to the BTO song "Madison Avenue", from their Street Action album.

Anyway, that night I went to visit Hal.  I was telling him about Foreigner 4.  And Stand Back.  We then went out to drive around some and to shoot some silly photographs of each other.  We had a great time too.  It was a Monday night in July 1981.  Monday the 13th.

That would be the last time that I would see Hal Liming alive.

* * * * * * *

Hal's accidental death the next month hit me hard.  I was out of school for the summer, working part time, and had to take a few days off of work. I didn't go back until after his funeral.  Then some time after that, I picked up Electric Jewels and On Record by April Wine, both of which Jim Clench appeared on.

I didn't like Electric Jewels very much.  I felt that a lot of the songs were depressing.  Jim did about half the vocals on that one, with some being duets with Myles.

Oh, the songs were well-executed, but the sound of it seemed a little over-produced.

I liked On Record much better, but Jim Clench only sang lead on the last track.

My regret about the On Record album was that Hal was no longer alive to share the music with.

I think he would have liked that album.

* * * * * * *

Fast forward now to 1993.  I was married, and we were in the process of moving into the new house that we had bought together.  I learned from perusing the club ads that April Wine was back!  They were going to appear at the One Step Beyond in Santa Clara.  The ad said "All Original Members", but what could that mean?  April Wine had had several lineup changes over the years.

I took that to mean the lineup that they had when I first became a fan:  Myles Goodwyn, Brian Greenway, Gary Moffet, Steve Lang, and Jerry Mercer.

Anyway, it would be my first time seeing them.  I was looking forward to it!

Journey to the Stars!!!!!!  Rock and Roll Guitars!!!!!  I could  hardly wait!

* * * * * * *

We had arrived early before the show.  My wife had been wanting to meet Jerry Mercer, as had I.  I wanted to meet all of them!  But my wife had a special liking for Jerry Mercer.  We hung around the exit, somewhere near the tour bus.  I happened to spot Brian Greenway leaving the exit and heading to the tour bus.  I said "excuse me, you're Brian Greenway, aren't you?"

Yes he was!  I was meeting Brian Greenway!  I was chatting with him, and I had brought along my copy of his 1988 solo album, Serious Business.  He asked me what my name was, so that he could personalize it.  As he was signing it, I said "you know, when I bought this, I had no idea that you would end up autographing it!" He said "I had no idea I would end up autographing one in California".

In further conversation with him, I learned that a new album called Attitude was coming out.  I also learned that Gary Moffet was not in the band this time around.

What blindsided me though, was the news that Jim Clench was in the band.

"You mean Jim Clench is back in the band??!" Boy was I excited about that news!  I was going to get to see Jim Clench!

Myles and Jimmy had not yet arrived; they were driving down separately from San Francisco.  Brian went and got Jerry Mercer out to meet us.  I had a lot of fun talking to Jerry Mercer.  I was the first American he had met who had had all of the April Wine albums.  We were rattling off all the names to them.  Then we went over to the van so that he could sign some albums.  He offered to come with us.  That was when Chip and his wife Gabriela came by.  Jerry Mercer was in our van, sitting down, and autographing some albums for me.

"Chip!  Come over here and meet Jerry Mercer!"

Chip thought I was joking.  We've played some jokes on each other over the years.  He saw a pair of feet in tennis shoes from the back of the van.  When he got there he was astonished to learn that those feet belonged to Jerry Mercer!

* * * * * * *

I didn't get to meet Myles and Jim until after the show.  I hung around with some other fans at the exit.  After what seemed like a long twenty minutes, they emerged.  I remarked to Jim, "Jim, if I had known I was going to be meeting you, I'd have brought along some BTO albums for you to autograph".  He smiled.

Neither Myles nor Jimmy were very talkative that night.  They had played their hearts out, and it was time to get on the tour bus and get on down to Fresno.  But they didn't leave us until everybody who wanted an autograph got one.

The last thing I said to Jim was, "stay in good health!".  He smiled, thanked me, and then got on.

I would never get to see him again.

* * * * * * *

Some years later I got into exchanging occasional email with Fred Turner.  I asked him once how they found Jim Clench.  Did they audition thirty or forty bass players?  What made them decide on Jim Clench?

Fred wrote back to say "we heard that he was available".  He also told me that he felt Jim Clench made a good contribution to BTO.

Some time after that, both BTO and April Wine played the same bill in Quebec City.  I asked Fred if he got a chance to chat with Jim Clench.  I wanted to know how he was doing.

Fred said that Jim looked healthy, and seemed very happy.

* * * * * * *

After the New Year's Eve concert by BTO in Tempe at the end of 2003, my friends and I were invited by Robbie Bachman to a private reception at the hotel they were staying at.  Sometime during that, I asked Robbie if he was in contact with Jim Clench.

Robbie said no; they did exchange a few words in Quebec City but that was about it.  Robbie then said something about Myles being somewhat protective of the other April Wine personnel.

Yes, Myles is the leader of April Wine.  He wants only the best to be on stage with him.  A good chunk of his life has been invested in April Wine.

Yes, he's somewhat protective.

* * * * * * *

After Jim Clench left April Wine in early 2007, we would ask Brian, via the webforum, about how Jimmy was doing.

Brian didn't know.  They had had a long friendship of about thirty years, but Jimmy wasn't checking in with his former bandmates.  We had no idea what he as up to.  April Wine was out touring, and had a busy schedule.  Jimmy was somewhere in Montreal, doing who knows what.

There was speculation that Jim Clench had become a realtor, but I doubt that that happened.  There were some posts made in jest about how he was working at a 7 Eleven, and about how he had been seen with Elvis Presley, or something like that.

We liked him, we didn't know what he was up to, but we were all wishing him well just the same.

* * * * * * *

On Wednesday we got the news.

One of Canada's finest bass guitarists was no longer with us.

Jim Clench died in a Montreal hospital at 9:30 that morning.

As one member of Randy Bachman's forum has since stated, it was a kick in the gut.

* * * * * * *

As I said, a lot of us have been in a funk this week.  This was unexpected.  A favorite musician of ours was gone.

Myles asked Brian to post this on the April Wine webforum:


The news of Jim's death has left me numb and like many others I`m sure.. melancholy. I meant Jim in 1970 the year April Wine came to Montreal from Nova Scotia. When Jim Henman left April Wine in 1971, I asked Jim to join the group which he did, and so began an amazing 19 year fraternity.

He was a hell of a bass player and possessed one of the most unique voices in rock. I had the pleasure of writing songs with him in the 70`s , although my most-liked songs of his, he penned alone... Oowatanite, Cat`s Claw and my personal fave, You Opened Up My Eyes. 

Jim was one of the smartest, funniest and most giving persons I ever met. When Jim passed, on Monday, he left a lot of friends and fans saddened. His illness was sudden, and a surprise to myself and to the other members of April Wine.. 

I`m sorry that I didn`t have a chance to personally say goodbye. Perhaps we`ll get the chance to say hello again some day... and write some more tunes together.

rest in peace Jimmy.

* * * * * * *

Goodbye, Mr. Clench.  May God give your family, friends, and bandmates strength and peace.

Jim Clench, R.I.P.

This evening I am extremely saddened to report the passing of Jim Clench, vocalist/bass guitarist for April Wine and BTO.  He had been battling lung cancer, and lost his fight with it at 9:30 this morning at Lakeshore General Hospital in Montreal.  He was 61 years old.

Jim Clench was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on May 1, 1949.  In 1972 he joined April Wine in Montreal, replacing Jim Henman on bass guitar.  He appeared on April Wine's sophomore album, On Record, and went on to contribute significantly to their Electric Jewels, Live, and Stand Back albums.  At the end of 1975, he left April Wine, and the following year he was recording demos with then future April Wine guitarist Brian Greenway.

In 1977, Brian Greenway was asked to join April Wine, and Jim Clench was asked to join BTO to replace Randy Bachman.  He appeared on the BTO albums Street Action and Rock N' Roll Nights, contributing heavily to the latter as that he sang lead on six of the nine tracks.

After BTO disbanded in 1979, he moved to Calgary, joining up with the band 451 Degrees.  After that effort, he was a member of the first incarnation of the Vancouver-based Loverboy, and after that what he did is largely unknown.

By 1992 he had moved back to Montreal, and re-joined the re-formed April Wine.  He sang and performed with them until the end of 2006, having appeared on the albums Attitude, Frigate, Back to the Mansion, Live 2003, and Roughly Speaking.  Shortly after the release of Roughly Speaking he left April Wine to pursue other interests.

The song that he will always be remembered for was "Oowatanite" from April Wine's Stand Back effort, though my personal favorite has always been "Baby Done Got Some Soul" which was from the same album.  He sang lead on the Bryan Adams-penned "Wastin' Time" which Bryan Adams himself did one year later in 1980.

Not much is known about his interests.  We know that he really enjoyed playing golf, and that's about it.  He was never one to seek the spotlight.  He was well liked by both April Wine and BTO fans, and those of us who are fans of either or both of these bands are right now in a state of shock over this.

In his honor, I am including some YouTube links with some of his songs.

R.I.P. Jim.   You are already being sorely missed.

Oowatanite

Baby Done Got Some Soul

Don't Walk

Jamaica

Rock N' Roll Nights

Weeping Widow (Live, August 2003 concert, from an audience member)

You're Gonna Miss Me (and we're gonna miss you, Jim)