Twelve years ago there was no SCC. We may have been trying to keep returnaround together or maybe we had moved onto other band projects, I can’t remember. I know I was living on Jewett St in Providence and I was working at a supermarket in North Smithfield, until I took a job in Newton MA. For anyone who’s not familiar with the area, Providence to Newton is about 45 miles.
I’ve been commuting 45 miles to and from work for the past 12 years. On a good day it would take 45 minutes, on a bad day it would be a really bad amount of minutes.
There were many commutes that were perfect therapy and there were commutes that were a living hell. Two monumental trips to and from the office I can remember include the morning that a log truck that overturned, shutting down 95 North, then there was the rush hour snow storm when I could only make it as far as Pawtucket where I found shelter at Eric Van Banjoman’s house. 95 South was entirely shut down. Tony had to guide me home from Pawtucket with his jeep…
I was at the office when I started researching the sea songs. I still have a great email from a Newton buddy. The title reads: Maritime Rock. The subject reads: Stick with it, it’s your own. That email is dated January 2003.
When you work that distance from your home, you start to feel like you’re living two lives. I had my Newton life, with my Newton friends who I drank with at my Newton bars, then I would go home to my Providence life. Rarely did the two worlds meet.
Many of my Newton friends made the big trip down to Providence when we recorded the Live at Jakes record. That was touching and meant a lot. The night SCC made our way to the Midway Café in Jamaica Plain and I think the entire office showed up. What an amazing feeling when I heard the club had reached capacity when we played our set that night.
So where is all this going? I’m not sure. For starters, twelve years is a long time to be anywhere and it’s going to be real weird no going there anymore. I accepted a job in my home of Providence and started this week. I won’t miss the commute, but I will miss my friends that I’ve spent so much time with over the years.
The question everyone asks is “What will you do with all your free time?” The answer, I will take my new found time to do two of my favorite things. First I will have more time to hang out with our melodica player (I think I’ll marry her). Second, I will have more time to do this exact thing, write about the band and music in general. I would spend so many commutes thinking about how I wanted to update the crew on what we were up to or review a new record I was listening to or tell you guys abut a great show that I had been to, then I would get home, take a nap and lose all motivation to make it happen. Music has and always will play a huge role in everything I do and I’ve been given the gift of more time to dedicate to it. So hopefully you’ll be hearing more from me….
Mark/SCC
I’ve been commuting 45 miles to and from work for the past 12 years. On a good day it would take 45 minutes, on a bad day it would be a really bad amount of minutes.
There were many commutes that were perfect therapy and there were commutes that were a living hell. Two monumental trips to and from the office I can remember include the morning that a log truck that overturned, shutting down 95 North, then there was the rush hour snow storm when I could only make it as far as Pawtucket where I found shelter at Eric Van Banjoman’s house. 95 South was entirely shut down. Tony had to guide me home from Pawtucket with his jeep…
I was at the office when I started researching the sea songs. I still have a great email from a Newton buddy. The title reads: Maritime Rock. The subject reads: Stick with it, it’s your own. That email is dated January 2003.
When you work that distance from your home, you start to feel like you’re living two lives. I had my Newton life, with my Newton friends who I drank with at my Newton bars, then I would go home to my Providence life. Rarely did the two worlds meet.
Many of my Newton friends made the big trip down to Providence when we recorded the Live at Jakes record. That was touching and meant a lot. The night SCC made our way to the Midway Café in Jamaica Plain and I think the entire office showed up. What an amazing feeling when I heard the club had reached capacity when we played our set that night.
So where is all this going? I’m not sure. For starters, twelve years is a long time to be anywhere and it’s going to be real weird no going there anymore. I accepted a job in my home of Providence and started this week. I won’t miss the commute, but I will miss my friends that I’ve spent so much time with over the years.
The question everyone asks is “What will you do with all your free time?” The answer, I will take my new found time to do two of my favorite things. First I will have more time to hang out with our melodica player (I think I’ll marry her). Second, I will have more time to do this exact thing, write about the band and music in general. I would spend so many commutes thinking about how I wanted to update the crew on what we were up to or review a new record I was listening to or tell you guys abut a great show that I had been to, then I would get home, take a nap and lose all motivation to make it happen. Music has and always will play a huge role in everything I do and I’ve been given the gift of more time to dedicate to it. So hopefully you’ll be hearing more from me….
Mark/SCC