When my dad passed away back in December of 2012, I had the grand idea that I wanted to put together some kind of memorial gig that would allow the many musicians that he played with over the years to come together and celebrate his life in music. It was (and is) a great idea, and I wish I’d had the time and resources to actually make it happen. But once the dust settled a little bit on the immediate aftermath of his death, it was the middle of winter, I was swamped with taking care of my autistic sister and dealing, legally, with the last of my dad’s financial affairs, and the steam just wasn’t there anymore. Especially given what an undertaking it would certainly prove to be, to contact all his now far-flung friends, to book a hall or club, make all the arrangements, act as emcee, and so on.
And though everyone I spoke to graciously assented that they’d love to be a part of it, and just as graciously saw fit not to call me out on my inability to put it together, I think what we were all secretly longing for was a chance to hear my dad play a show of his own, in good health and good spirits, one more time.
Well, today on what would have been his 66th birthday, I’m happy to debut the Terry Felus Tribute Page:
https://terryfelus.bandcamp.com/
My dad was an obsessive note taker, collector, recorder, and documenter. After we cleared out his house and storage locker, I ended up with several boxes of old cassette tapes that I’d had to then put right back into storage since I didn’t have a ton of space in my own city apartments to make heads or tails of it all. Now that I’m fortunate to be living in a bigger space, I’ve finally got the room, both physically and emotionally, to slowly start digitizing some of what he left behind.
To kick things off, I’m starting with two gigs recorded roughly a decade apart: late December 1973 and New Year’s Eve 1982. If you click through to the Bandcamp page that I set up at the link, I’ve scanned his handwritten labels from the cassettes themselves and have included as much other information as I have about the gigs, which is unfortunately not much. (If you catch any errors or omissions that need to be addressed, please let me know.) It’s my intention to keep adding to the page as I continue to comb through the tapes I have on hand. And of course if any of you have recordings in your possession that you’d like to see added to the archive, by all means send them my way. And, like they say here in Chicago, check back early and often for updates as I get them posted.
What a joy it’s been to revisit not only his showmanship and musicianship but also his incomparable trio.
For those of you who never met my dad but have seen me play with my band, you’ll quickly discover here that I learned every single one of my tricks from him.
For those of you who knew him well, I hope these recording bring back wonderful memories. Please feel free to share the link with anyone who I may not currently have contact information for.
Queen of Peaches 