Cygnus - Lookin' Back

Midwest Entertainment.Net

Monday 06th of February 2012

When: Fri Nov 24, 2000 10pm to 11:59pm EST

Where: Wheeling, WV
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Cygnus...

"The old times and how it use to be..."
The "Cygnus" band was formed in late 1981. The original members were myself, Tim Donahue, Mike Newhart, and Tim Porter. Later on that year we picked up John Thornburg on keyboards. We played our very first gig on October 9th. 1981 at the Trinity Episcopal Church on 43rd. Street in my home town of Bellaire, OH.

The Original Cygnus Band

Lately, I've been saying that I've been spoiled with the quality of musicians that I've played with in my life. This is where it all started. Despite the fact that the average band member age was just over 15 years old when we started, we played many of the same places that bands with members over twice our age played. To this day, when I listen to those old tapes, (some of which I'm going to add to this site) I still think we sound pretty good. A totally unbiased opinion of course.

To say that I experienced many "firsts" during my time with the original 'Cygnus' band is an extreme understatement. I had my first beer (1qt. Miller High Life) after our first gig. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. The legal drinking age was still 18, so the oldest member of our band had no trouble finding a place to purchase it. We took a ride and talked about how we were all going to be rock stars. (I still haven't given up all hope.)

Mike Newhart was the only one that consumed a little more alcohol than he should have that night. We stopped at a local 'Big Boy' restaurant because Tim Porter and his girlfriend had to use the facilities. A few minutes after Tim went in Mike aid "I gotta go too." He got out of the car walked up to the window in front of where a couple was eating, and began pulling on the window sill. We were wondering what in the Hell he was doing. After some time, Mike returned to the car to inform us that "they're closed!" Later that night we had the opportunity to introduce Tim Porter, who was from nearby Wheeling, WV, to the crazy lady that roamed the streets of Bellaire, OH and would flash her hideous tits at anyone who yelled at her. Needless to say it was a fun night. Other firsts included: Writing our first song(s) and playing our first bar gig, which happened to be at the downstairs room of a local strip club. Boy was my old man pissed when he found out!

The first change in our line up, Tim Port left and was replaced with Mark Nelson

I also had my first groupie encounter while playing in 'Cygnus.' The band played every other weekend at a bar in Moundsville, WV called 'The Dugout' for $100 and 2 cases of beer. (Those were the days.) One night during our last set, I noticed this woman with her chair halfway on the dance floor and who appeared to be rubbing her crotch. At first I thought that I had just caught her in mid scratch, but this behavior continued for quite some time. After a long set, and a valiant effort to take home as much of my pay as possible, I headed straight to the very small (one toilet, one urinal and one sink) men's room. In the course of evacuating my bladder, I heard the door open behind me. When, after a few seconds, no one stepped up to the toilet beside me, I glanced over my shoulder to find a woman who was at least 2 1/2 times my age and who, as observed later by Tim Donahue, looked a lot like Getty Lee from 'Rush.' Now, I'm a huge 'Rush' fan, but Getty Lee does not make a good looking woman! She asked me if I was embarrassed, and as I struggled to come up with an appropriate answer, she said "Well how else was I going to meet you?" I told her that a simple hello would have been sufficient.

It was then that panic set in. How was I going to exit this restroom into a crowded bar without someone seeing me leave with this ugly woman? I decided to quickly sneak out of the door shutting her in behind me. That helped, but she continued to follow me around the bar for the next hour or so while we tore our equipment down. There was no way to get out of being harassed about this one. Even telling her that I was in a serious relationship, and that I didn't want to cheat on my girlfriend didn't stop this woman. Her response was "I won't tell." Eventually, she gave up saying "I hope your girlfriend realizes how lucky she is that you would pass on going home with me. But, next time you guys play here, I'm going to wear my black Spandex pants, and you'll be sorry!" The only thing that I could think to say was "I'm sure I will." (I've seen Getty Lee in Spandex.) Since then, I've managed to upset a few other women by passing on their advances. I was even accused of being gay once because I chose not to cheat on my wife with a woman who had a mustache like Gabe Kaplan. I told her "If I WAS gay, I might be a little more interested." She shut up after that.Miss the days of Cygnus? Check out this video of 'Cygnus' performing at the 1983 Bellaire Glass Festival. This is a captured and compressed copy of a VHS copy of an 8mm movie.

The audio track is a recording of the 'Cygnus' original "Lookin' Back" recorded in early '83.