Bud Buckley
Singer Songwriter
Guitar Teacher
Halloween doesn’t flood my memories as much as it does for many. My memory is crowded to begin with. Even wrote a song called “Crowded Memory.†I think the sugar OD I must have experienced eclipses any of the other fun I may have had. It was always about the candy. I can remember helping my Mom and sister fashion a robot costume out of brown paper shopping bags for me when I was small enough to wear one like a calf-length dress. I remember it because I insisted on using the same idea a year later. I don’t remember any other childhood costumes except for one in late high school where I dressed up as a catholic school girl in a regulation uniform–my single foray into cross dressing. Honest!
Having been elementary school teachers, unhealthy Cathy and I had more than our fill with holiday celebrations. You try teaching arithmetic to 30 nine and ten year olds around any holiday year after year and see how enthusiastic you still are at the very mention of (fill in the holiday of your choice). I generally try to escape to some vacation spot to avoid taking Christmas gigs too. Although this year I succumbed as I promise to do a Christmas compilation CD gig for SarasotaMusicScene.com, an outfit that deserves my undivided attention.
But Cathy has dressed me up two years in a row for my Halloween gig at Back Eddy Bistro where I serve as the house musician. Yes, I am an adult male who needs his wife to dress him for the holidays. You want to make something of that? Every night is fun at Back Eddy so I didn’t mind it. My pal Joe Surowiec dropped in and added some mandolin and keys. I like the adventure of creating arrangements on the fly.
So while my New York friends were suffering through a very early snow storm, I was plowing through a bunch of cover tunes I do once a year. Monster Mash, etc. Mission accomplished. Now it’s on to prepare for Christmas. Also I’m doing a Boxing Day Party. Anybody out there who can suggest tunes for THAT?
