From Casual Fan to Support Crew Technician
One of the benefits of performing with It’s My Party is meeting so many outstanding people. Sometimes fans become an integral part of our team. Ken Peters, became our guitarist and songwriter from 1986 through 1988. Arne Kraft was our road manager from 1985 through 1986. Cedric Young played guitar for us in the late 2000s. Kevin Plinzke, a friend with a passion for music, was our outstanding sound technician in 1988. Recently, Ed O’Connell, a loyal follower, joined the group in many capacities.
Here is his story:
Ed was raised in Bayonne and Princeton, NJ in the early to late ’60s. After winning an AM/FM radio in his youth, Ed began tuning into 77 WABC from New Your City and the Philadelphia Sound from 56 WFIL. Listening to these stations, Ed gained an admiration for the rock-n-roll and pop music of the time. Although his aunt was a musical, owning a baby grand piano, Ed never considered himself a musician, giving up on French horn. “I hated lugging that heavy case around and I didn’t think it was a cool instrument,” Ed recalled. However, in high school he joined chorus and in his senior year some members of the chorus, including Ed, began singing doo-wop songs at school functions.
During his college years, Ed started to listen to contemporary FM stations, which opened him up to new genres of music. Later on, through his passion for model railroading, Ed met two fellow model railroaders who happened to also be musicians, Bob, the guitarist in Big Tree Road, a classic rock cover band, and Joe, the drummer in Four Man Trio, which covered the music of the ’50s &’60s.
In 2009, while still living in New Jersey, Ed happened upon It’s My Party by way of YouTube. As he recalls, “I was looking for the 1968 hit ‘Will You Be Staying After Sunday’, but did not know the name of who recorded it, since it was by a lesser known group. I Googled the title and in addition to a YouTube video of the Peppermint Rainbow doing a lip-synced performance on a TV variety show, the second thing on the list was a recently posted video of three attractive young women in period outfits performing the song backed by several musicians in black suits.” Of course, he was referring to It’s My Party.
After checking the link to our website, Ed discovered that we were from Rochester, NY, where his sister and mother happened to live. Although Ed did not get a chance to see one of our shows shortly after discovering us, he ended up moving to Rochester, on New Year’s Eve 2010.
The next three seasons Ed caught about three shows a year. And at our What’s ‘Ur Scoop performance in 2013, he reunited with John Clemente, the author of Girl Groups – Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World, in which John had included It’s My Party. John was the lead singer of the aforementioned Four Man Trio. Surprised to see his erstwhile friend, John sent a selfie of himself and Ed to Joe, the drummer, along with the caption, “Look who I found!”
After following us for several years, Ed asked if he could help in any way, that’s when his involvement began. Ed started out by helping tear down gear at the end of the performances. He organizing skills and trailer packing prowess were evident. Slowly Ed’s involvement expanded. From merchandising, to running lights, and even sound, Ed did it all, providing yeoman service. At the end of the 2017 tour, Ed helped store gear and repair any equipment that may have taken a beating during the touring months. One example was repairing the broken frame of an expensive glockenspiel.
He may not play an instrument, but he is instrumental.
In 2018, Ed contributed to every show, juggling his work schedule as an EMT. Ed has proven invaluable with everything he does for us. For his efforts, Ed enjoys the camaraderie among the It’s My Party team, which includes hanging out with those who can at an after-gig, late-night meal, usually at Denny’s.
Ed recalled one special after-gig gathering, “While several of us were eating at Denny’s, someone commented on the multitude of talents I had assisting the band. I replied that I could do just about anything except play an instrument. James quickly responded, ‘He may not play an instrument, but he is instrumental.’ I took that as the ultimate compliment.”
From left to right: Ian, James, Steve and Ed provided setup at tear down during the 2017 season.
We appreciate Ed and all our attendees, and we are certainly looking forward to our first show of the season on June 18th at Burgundy Basin Inn. We know Ed will be there, six hours before showtime. Ed at times longs to return to New Jersey, however, in his eyes there would be a price to pay, “You can take a guy out of Jersey, but you can’t take Jersey out of the guy. Maybe I’ll go back there someday, but then I’d really miss It’s My Party!” We would surely miss you too, Ed!
Readers make Guesses on our Cover Song Artist
In our May newsletter we mentioned that our group is recording a cover song from an unlikely artist. We have had three very excellent guesses thus far: Darlene Love, Jon Bon Jovi, and George Harrison, however they are all incorrect. This is a solo artist who also performed with a group and garnered accolades from the music industry. Another clue is that it is male artist. Again, this artist’s songs appear to be very unlikely picks for an It’s My Party cover rendition, especially if you are not familiar with his entire catalog. If you would like to try and guess, please leave a comment.