Magical mystery tour

 When we took off from LA in our red white and blue BW van and April 1971.

 we were not just thinking of The Beatles magical mystery tour although that tape played prominent on our cassette player as we drove.

We were also thinking of easy Rider and we're a little scared that our trip would be more like that movie than the pleasant romp through the country the way the Beatles did for two weeks filming there movie.

We still take magical mystery tours every Friday, driving to places we've never been, often getting lost usually picking the music that fits the mood of the place we hope to get to.

 

Most often it's beatle music but sometimes has if we go to places like Asbury Park, Springsteen is on the CD player 

This idea of going somewhere and not caring if you get lost was a big part of my relationship with the Beatles,even after they broke up, a sense of abandonment to fate which would possibly have made George Harrison very happy if not John and Paul.

In the summer of '72 Hank, Paulie, Garrick and me did several of such magical mystery tours in search of land, one that ended us up on the Canadian border others through the pea country of New York State .

In those days we carried the Paul McCartney pub mentality around us in the car, singing beatle tunes to the radio or if none were to be found there, singing them without the radio.

Hank of course had obsession with Beatles Christmas records, those things that were sent to fan club members and he was particular attached to the age of 34 as if that was a defining factor in our life or in one case the number 44 he would find highways that matched it to drive down, even though we had no clue as to where they would take us.

 

The band of course always had Beatles songs in its repertoire even at those times when we were trying to keep up with the times so that we would get get back side by side with rolling Stones but then also Ziggy stardust and of course mott the hoople.

We are always fighting to have the band do more beatle songs which we added to the repertoire later in the 70s when they became a more conventional cover band.

 

When I traveled around the state with Hank we were constantly singing Beatles songs and especially when we got drunk with Paulie

at one point we ended up at paulie's girlfriend's girlfriend's house and we were so drunk they didn't want us there

but we had a guitar and a tape recorder and recorded a number of Beatles songs none of which were any good because we were too drunk but ultimately almost all of them ended with the end of twist and shout.

Pauly called it Oshkosh which still resonates when I see a sign or hear of some report of that City which we have never seen.

I suppose I will continue to do mystery tours because I need that part of my life and will continue to sing Beatles songs on the road 

Two of us going nowhere