Jammin’ for Joey – The Boardy Barn – October 21, 2018
Our dear friend Joey DiBenedetto has been battling the degenerative condition ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Joey served for many years as the friendly face of the US Postal Service, delivering mail house-to-house in his home town of Hampton Bays. Good natured, friendly, dedicated, I am not aware that anyone in the world had a beef with this guy, the best that humanity has to offer! For me he is permanently linked to our time together in the rock band Total Crudd. But that was over in 1972; since then, everyone in that band has continued to play music, going their distinct but often overlapping ways. Our occasional get-togethers were always joyous occasions, where I would invariably be dragooned into doing “Coca Cola Can”. This benefit event was a chance for the wider community to show Joey some love, by raising funds for various aspects of his care. Yes, 2/3 of Total Crudd took the stage to perform, among others, Coca Cola Can. I had not planned to do any sketching, so came unprepard. When the urge struck I was unable to resist. But no paper! I ended up sketching on the backs of some of the poster sheets; Mean Gene & the Flamethrowers were captured on the flattened empty cardboard box in which pastries had been delivered.
Partial Total Crudd
Mean Gene & The Flamethrowers
Ray Band
Total Crudd, Fall 1972