From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V7 #130 Reply-To: seven-seas@smoe.org Sender: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Precedence: bulk seven-seas-digest Thursday, September 3 2009 Volume 07 : Number 130 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 19:08:44 +0200 From: "Steve & Holly | Exilios en Andalucia" Subject: seven-seas words on jake brockman by bernie connor..... i'm sure bernie connor won't mind me forwarding on his beautiful words about a beautiful person. steve g. ................................................................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................................................................. my good friend jake brockman has died in the course of his adventures. he was the most beautiful caring and optimistic person i ever met. people like jake gave us all hope, he lit up the world he was put on to live. i first met jake in 1980, gary dwyer (the teardrop explodes drummer) and myself were tripping on acid and weedling our way round liverpool city centre looking for something to do. we eventually ended up in the zoo records office in chicago buildings, just around the corner from probe. inside we encountered the bills drummond and butt plus this pixie like thing with long straggly hair and a long straggly beard, decked out in an raf greatcoat and sitting on a table cross-legged. this turned out to be jake who cut a rather strange figure in liverpool in 1980 looking like that. realising instantly that me and daddio were tripping our tits off he picked up an acoustic guitar and began serenading us with these very wonderful made-up songs that defused a con fused and psychedelic situation. that was the beginning of lifelong friendship with this most gentle, caring, loving soul on the planet. not long after his arrival in liverpool he became roadie, keyboard player and general factotum to echo & the bunnymen, completely indispensible and more a part of the band than thge musicians and the music they made. from this lofty position grew his friendship with pete de freitas, they took on the world as a psychedelic dangermouse and penfold, two poshers with a arrid thirst for life and all that could offer them. there's was a world of italian motorcycles, hand-made leather shoes and the finest marijuana avauilable to humans, every moment spent with them was like an eternity on planet whack. a knockabout series of high laughs, startling conversation and to be honest, a dazzling insight to how the other half lives. enter whittaker. their adoption of former deaf school drummer, tim whittaker as lysergic guru and artist in residence was a master-stroke. tim brought to the table an earthy lancashire witticism that was desperately needed to prevent them from becoming a modern day jeeves and wooster. this unholy trinity designed the course of my life in my early twenties; music, philosophy, fine art and the concept of the ever changing world were constantly hovering in the air around our heads and the explosion of thought that was contextualised for me by jake and put into a language we could all understand. i never learned to do anything practical at all, when he used to live round the corner he did everything for me, putting up shelves, building the children's bunk-beds, hell i even called him once to ask him to change a lightbulb for me. he came and did it, of course he did, that's what sort of beautiful cat he was, nothing was ever too much. he dircted me over the phone on how to change a washer on the bathroom tap, when it was glaringly obvious that i was woefully inept at even that, he came round and did it himself. beautiful. when pete died in 1989 and when tim died in 1996 jake was a lost but rock solid soul to cling to. he took it all in his stride and in his philosophical way he put our hearts and minds at ease. as i write this, i wish he was here to make us all feel a little more secure, we could certainly do with it. and right here, right now i can't believe that all three have gone, a chapter in liverpool's cultural history closed forever. hopefully in the otherworld somewhere the divine thunderbolt corps are rearing for their reunion gig. good luck, chaps. i can't really think of anything more magnanimous to say, jake was a good friend, someone i thought would outlive us all by sheer beauty and determination. his spirit and his smiling face will live with me forever, i'm glad it'll never go away. he really was a friend of mine and shall miss him for all time. and man, that feels bad. my love goes out to his wife, sally and everybody who ever came into contact with him, their lives will be better for it. this week: we lost our co-pilot, navigator and captain of the ship. all at once. love, man.x x x ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **************Bunnymen Online Presence******************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ http://www.villiersterrace.com/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stevedoughty/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:11:12 -0400 From: Red Subject: Re: seven-seas words on jake brockman by bernie connor..... That was really nice. Thanks for sharing it, Steve. :-) Red ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **************Bunnymen Online Presence******************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ http://www.villiersterrace.com/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stevedoughty/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V7 #130 ********************************