More Than a Filling! (A Preamble)

Alas, I have survived my Root Canal, and i'm swift to be on the mend. So how about story time eh?

You can relate, right? Having extremely strong Fillings Feelings about someone? (Sorry, my mind is still numb along with the entire left side of my face-lol). Well, Mr. J makes the whole world brighter with his big smile, his hearty laugh and the fact that he rarely takes anything seriously which is near-about the only way we can survive this bumpy ride we affectionately call "Life".

I met him at a time in my life when I was not really looking to get involved with anyone, still traumatized by the last relationship which nearly snuffed out the tiny remaining embers of my soul. I'd been burned bad, wasted valuable years of my life and didn't quite know which road to take next. Dead is what I felt, dead to the world and dead to the knowledge that any goodness remained on Earth in the form of human life (Sometimes I still have my doubts about that!).

[left to right: Ginger, Mom "Mee Mee", and Jolie]

My neice Jolie, who passed away in May of 1998 at the tender age of only 20 (Miss You Girl!), was always boy crazy (just like her ol' Aunt Jackie). She was crazy about this guy named George who she said was her boyfriend at the time.

"George is in a Death Metal band, and they're playing at the New Daisy. I want us to all go see him play!"

"Death Metal band? Yeah right." I snickered. I had my doubts, Jolie's boyfriends were not usually musicians, and she normally loved the sounds of the boy bands and more 'pop' music. However, Auntie Tamra and I were curious, so we agreed that we would go and check out this "George" and validate his true form.

Gathered up the 'crew', which at the time was my 'blood sister' & best bud, Tamra, and mysuper-stoopid screwed-up, drug abusive, redneck, braindead 'boyfriend', Chris and some other of his socially inept, mentally challenged pinheads. We all piled into my new 1998 Black Grand Am and headed off to see the show.

Chris was the type of guy who's ass you would want to pulverize just because he went so far off the idiot scale, and because he 'thought he was so cool'. He was singing along to Matchbox 20 on the radio, making Tamra cringe from the backseat. [Chris was also the reason that I later missed a perfectly good "Slayer" concert, as we had some fight and I was so drained of emotional energy that I forfeited going at all-I was supposed to take Tamra, and should have just done so it would've been a blast. I still kick myself daily for that].

We make it up to the New Daisy Theatre, which sits right on Beale Street, Downtown Memphis. The show is called "Flesh Fest" and it features a group of the heaviest musicians that Memphis had, Death Metal, Thrash/Hardcore, and Black Metal bands. Little did I know that later we would become so well aquainted with these guys-some for better, some for worse.

I don't remember much about the actual music that was played that night, I was too busy keeping an eye on my neice and scrutinizing her 'boyfriend', George, as well as wondering how embarrassed Chris was going to make me (which by the way he accomplished by throwing up in the row we were sitting in, and attempting to "mosh" only to pass out-embecile never could handle his liquor, or anything for that matter).

However, I do remember catching a glimpse of Mr. J's band, "Gutterbitch" when they were going onstage, and although I don't specifically remember the songs, I dug their sound. It was mean and had a heavy grind. I remember he looked a little mean at the time, long Purple hair, shaved on the sides, face full of piercings... But I barely took notice. I remember glancing as he passed, and then soaking in all of the other surroundings as well.

[Photo of "Gutterbitch" boys in the early days, Mr. J is the 2nd from the left]

It was a relief, I think, when that show was over, for the mere weight the 'baggage' I was carrying with my 'ex' being there and all... Can't quite remember why I wasted such a valuable chunk of my life on that deadbeat... I guess I did the best I could. No, I take that back... I could have done a hell of a lot better, but then, things might be very different now.

You see, I'm a firm believer that the roads we take, and the trials we endure make us the people that we are today; And little did I know, that the historic "Fleshfest" show was indeed soon to change my life forever.

{To Be Continued} :)