ONE TIME I ROCKED !!!

[Imgrimm01]

Someone asked me over the weekend “Dude don’t you miss being on stage and rockin the clubs”? My immediate answer was “No I really don’t, there was a time that I would have said I can never see myself not doing music” “However I believe that time for me has come”. He simply replied “that’s too bad man you were awesome” and our conversation turned to other things, later that night I was in bed and it was quiet and I began thinking about what he said … “ that’s too bad” … and I wanted to break down whether I thought deep down it was “too bad” or if I was ok with things as they are. I began to sing in my first band a 9 piece ( all the students in the guitar class I was taking) (The No Name Band) in 1983 and we were bad to say the least, I had little if any knowledge of pitch but of the 9 of us I was the worst guitar player and best ( I use the term loosely) singer, but we held it together for 3 years, after I graduated high school that band was refined to a 5 piece (Berwindale), don’t ask. We messed with that project for a year or so and it fizzled, after a year or so hiatus I was approached about singing with a local band that had been gigging the area a little while (Sapphire) which became (HIT-N_RUN) when I came on board we gig’d quite a lot for young guys with no real direction, we lost and replaced a member and eventually became (Mr.YuKK) short lived little deal but we had A LOT of fun. Fast forward a few years and I was introduced to some Guys from the Ebensburg area and after some jamming secured a position in (WINE OF NAILS) what I believe to be my first serious project also my first original project, John Charney , Dom Peruso, Kent Tonkin and myself wrote an album of material in a relatively short period of time, recorded a demo that we unfortunately never released, but these songs were written at a time in my life that I had A LOT to say and some of that material is in my opinion the most solid I have ever written, Wine of Nails is where I began to hone my skills and develop my style of “FRONTING” a band, I began to discover that I could go into a room full of people and somehow with the help of some great musicianship make them enjoy what we were doing, That version of Wine Of Nails stuck around for maybe 2 years or so and circumstance separated that version of the band ( Wine of Nails are still doing what they do by the way but as an instrumental duo, check them out if you get the chance.) I was out of music this time for prob. Close to 5 years when I was given the opportunity to front what is and as it turns out will remain the BEST thing that ever happened to me (musically speaking), THE GRIMM … Kent, Ron, Otto and I clicked, we wrote and created music at will, we recorded the first album and when it was released we began down the path of winning fans in many cases 1 by 1 I walked onto stages in Altoona, Bedford, Johnstown, Harrisburg, Hershey, York, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philly and many more, I went on stage in front of classic rock fans who looked at us like we were crazy for being there and within a set turned them around, I played for progressive fans who turned up their noses to metal and turned them, I played for metal fans who didn’t get progressive music and turned them, I could walk into a room where the worst biker looking heckler stood at the back of the room and you knew he would be tuff and I could turn him, when you turned him the rest of the room was yours for the taking, when we released Resurruption we turned many critics and certainly had earned our stripes in the original scent ALL across Pa. due to personal issues The Grimm eventually went on Hiatus, Returned for an original 4 member reunion in 2008 for The Grimm ride for Hope and with the help of a few GREAT bands and some wonderful volunteers managed to pack the house and earn nearly $2000. For the American Cancer Society and even though we didn’t take the stage until 1 am people stayed to see it go down, people who had left earlier returned for our Set and midway into our hour we had them on their feet. A year later I joined the already successful Lies Inc. and after some months learning material we hit stages in the area again slowly but surely building the following back, again rooms would be dead and staring and I would work these crowds to a point where they were screaming for us not to leave at the end of the night, I remember our first show at Coyote Joe’s 4 – 5 songs in No One was even acknowledging our presence , I left the stage , took it to the people and left them no option but to join in and by the time that night ended the club wanted us to give them more dates on the spot. For personal reasons I will not discuss It was necessary that I leave Lies back in June, and leave the stage as a musician for what I believe will be for me the last time. On Stage if you want respect you command and earn respect and I have always been able to do that, I have made SO MANY great friends and met so many WONDERFUL musicians, saw so many smiling faces and helped to create what should be illegal amounts of fun for countless bar patrons and music fans, so am I happy with it all ? Yes, Would I change anything? Perhaps, who wouldn’t ? Is it too bad that I am done ? Not to me, I am where I am these days, I wish those few who maybe still want to see me do what I do , could , but as someone once said the only certainty is change. All of you who still do what you do … Keep Pluggin and I will see you on local Stages soon.

[songsmith]

I know exactly where your head is right now. I've been there, my friend. I hope you'll believe me when I say that the best part of your music career hasn't happened yet.
Take whatever time you need, but keep your mind occupied creatively. Definitely keep writing songs, I wish I had written more while I was taking my time off. I'm writing the best songs of my life, since I "quit" in 1999. They don't come any easier, but they're catchier and "real-er."
I listened to a lot of music from a lot of different genres that I never would have listened to before that, and worked on being more of an instrumentalist... you do whatever floats your boat musically. You should probably concentrate on your roots, though, it's part of maturing as a musician.
I don't think you're at the end of the road, it's just a crossroads. It's very liberating.--->JMS

[MeYatch]

BLARGH!!!

I think my head exploded

[Tegamal]

I'm sorry, I can't read that.

Paragraphs are your friend.

[thebattle]

didn't think i woulda made it threw that but none the less a good read. Cant relate to it yet b/c i have been only playing for ten years not ready to quit just yet

[RamRod 1]

Bob, I think you're just taking a break.

You still don't remember autographing my guitar?

[ToonaRockGuy]

You never know what'll happen, Bobby. I "retired" at the very end of 2007 and tried (and failed) to adjust to life without music. Well, let's just say that recently I've "unretired" and have picked up the ol' sticks again, rehearsing with a band I never thought I would play with. Never say never, my friend, until you are ready to go out completely and totally on your own terms.

[Naga]

Yeah, that was a great read! My only dismay on this subject is that I only got to see The Grimm once. No other Bobby Lee band, just The Grimm. That was the return to stage in '08 at the Lion's Den. That was an awesome show, and had more shows in/around Altoona been settled, I'd have certainly become a fan of that band, as I have so many others. In fact, one of my very best friends, and a former colleague of Kent's, used to tell me about "this amazing band The Grimm". And I finally got to witness it for myself. I'm glad to have at least seen it once

Time will do as it needs Bob. If you've done your last show,... Well, that sucks. But you do as you need. If you decide to set foot on stage again, that will be an awesome sight, and I hope to be there. What will happen SHALL happen. And in the mean time, best of luck with all of your endeavors

[MOONDOGGY]

The Grimm left a great impression on me. You guys were one of the first local bands I had the pleasure of seeing and meeting, and it was a privilege. I hope you don't completely phase out music from your life. And definitely don't stray too far from the community here on Rockpage! Most of the butting of heads on here is just annoying, but for whatever reason, I enjoy your posts whether I agree with it or not.

Here's to your next endeavor, musical or not. Hip hip...