Your father sounded like one incredible guy. It must of been hard writing this, but I sure enjoyed reading it.
Despite our love/hate relationship, his funeral drew over a thousand people, and I can't deny his impact on their lives.
Did he fight anyone famous? What weight class did he box in? That is a pretty rare combo - music & boxing??
I really could tell you as I not good with names. He just stayed middle-weight, won the Golden Gloves twice and he figured he'd better stop before he ended up punch drunk. But since boxing and pro-wrestling at the time were on the same card, he's be in the lockerroom with some of the legends of both worlds - Nature Boy Buddy Rodgers, Dick The Bruiser, Bobo Brazil, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, etc. When he left boxing, others stayed. For example, he fought Bronco McKart's father back in the day and since we live in the same town, I grew up and went to school with the McKart family. Dad loved Bronco like a son and would always give Bronco advice even if he didn't want it or it didn't jar with his official trainers. In fact, the last time my father and Bronco talked was at wedding a few years before he died and Bronco came back after an embassing loss with low-blows galore on his part. Dad went to this wedding just to give Bronco a verbal tongue-lashing. I told him prior, "Tell him I'm going to refer to him as Andrew Golotta!!" and my old man couldn't be that damned harsh. Next time I saw Bronco here in town eating at a restarant, he slapped me on the back, said "Wassap" and I said, "Hey there, Golotta --erm, I mean, Bronco!" He shook his head and wanted to crawl in the nearest hole.
he TRULY LIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah. The last few years of his live though, he couldn't stand living. Between not having any energy, breathing problems, and arthritis making it impossible to play guitar, he complained that he'd rather be dead than feel miserable all the time. When he first discovered that he could no longer play the guitar because of his left hand couldn't make the chords, he cried. Bitterly. We tried to tell him that with medication, he'd be fine but muscians like him are perfectionists -- they're their own worst critics. Not being able to make a simple chord broke his heart. He wanted to die right then and there and this was in the mid-90s. He never touched his guitar again unless he was drunk and his grandkids were over (or both). The guitar is mine now but I don't play. Never really learned how but some day, I will. I think it would flatter him deeply if I learned to play music he could only dream of -- classical guitar. Andreas Segovia/Estaban/Steve Howe type stuff (and I admit I love it myself -- hard for me turn the TV passed the Esteban informercials late at night!)
On the subject of Styx now, I will say this -- I'm objective. I'm not a kiss ass. I, for one, can't help but wonder how DDY would've produced Brave New World? He called it an album of "missed opportunities" and wasn't happy with it. I'd really like to know what more or less he would have done with it. Did certain songs need more instuments, a different mix, better sequencing, etc.? I'd love to pick his brain on this just for curiosity's sake. When I listen to "I Will Be Your Witness", it's an excellent song but it's missing something. As it stands, it's nothing more than a drumbeat and a guitar jangle until the bridge and chorus then the keyboards and bass come in only to drop off so soon. Something tells me that DDY would made this tune sound a lot more "full" like most Styx songs do by adding more instumentation and his "overproduction" skills. For the better or worse, I don't know. Hence my curiosity!
