It's been a while, but when we last left off, things looked pretty final for "The Nut". Never fear, things are never as bad as they seem. The years ahead would see some low times but also some highs. Relationships that seemed to be lost would be found again and others would simply wither away. So if you thought this rambling was over, think again, because with "The Nut", it's not over till we say it's over!!!

Just a short break from the story. With the new year just around the corner, I thought I'd take this time to count my blessings. It's been a rocky year for me and the kids, but there's always been a few friends I could count on to listen to me blow off some steam when the cork was about to pop. All my love and best to Johnny H. and Michele. No matter how bad things got, Michele was always there to make me realize that not having a job was not the worst thing that could happen to me, but having her job would be. Johnny H. ... what can I say? "Old Friends ...Old Friends...Sat on the Park Bench Like Bookends". Hey buddy, who'd have thought back in the early 80's that the two of us would be talking about kids, weddings, and PC's (?????What's That?). To the both of you we out here in the shadowlands wish you all the best . Love makes the world go round and we think the two of you just gave it an extra spin! Don't you just love old age, you can say anything and get away with it. Chalk it up to senility. Imagine, at the age of 23!

Hopefully, soon I'll get a scanner, so I can post all the other "Left Nut" pictures from way back when. If I ever get my brain rewired I'll figure out what it means to MAIL, that's right, MAIL them out to Johnny H. so he can scan them for me. One last comment for tonight. At the end of the last page, it came out sounding like Johnny H. was the cause for the breakup of "The Left Nut". Nothing could be further from the truth. Truth was, there was no cohesiveness to the band. We were just a bunch of kids with dreams. Shit happens and then you go on. Till Later.

Big Andy

Whew!!! It's been a while, but finally, back to the story. After the incident with the letter, the band just drifted apart. It was winter at the shore and Steve wasn't coming down anymore. Since Johnny H's only reason for being there was the band, he stopped coming down altogether. While all this was occuring, P.M. and I were having problems of our own. Not having a job and having to move out of the place we had for the summer was really putting a strain on our already tenuous financial situation. P.M. continued to work and I basically practiced the Bass all day and all night. During this time I even slowed down on my drinking. I would save it for weekends or if by some odd chance Steve came down with his family. I think, during this time, that I put the most into actually learning how to play my instrument. Also, the incident with the letter, had left me with major doubts about my actual ability to sing. The consequences of this would follow me for years where the only singing I did was backup vocals.

Around this time, I got the brilliant idea that P.M. and I should move up North. My reasoning was that there were more opportunities for us there. Actually, I figured if I was closer to the guys, that we would just go on with the "Nut". Suffice to say, it didn't work out that way. Johnny H. and Steve were already practicing with a Bass player and I was really too pissed off about the letter to care. I wound up getting a warehouse job at a local factory and once I made friends with the other people started my drinking again. Having some people there, made it easy to go and hang out to drink. P.M. was commuting back and forth to New York City studying Dance and the rest of the time she was working. This left me with a lot of time to just practice and drink. Upon moving up North, I renewed my friendship with Steve. One thing I must interject. For the longest time, all I ever did at night, was get Steve and we would just hang out and drink. Not that Steve was a drinker (two or three to my case), but he always just listened not passing judgement. Wasn't till years later I learned the extent of his duplicity. Anyway, at the time, it was all fun and games. Steve was actually auditioning for bands so I would tag along hoping to maybe get in one with him. He was developing into quite a keyboard player and knew a lot of people (this WAS his home town) and there were no shortage of bands looking to add keyboards. But somehow, through all this, I always felt like a third wheel. These were Steve's friends and even though I was Big Andy, it just didn't feel right.

The first band I joined, after moving up North, was a band called "Renegade".

Steve had been in the band for a short while and they were looking for a Bass player. I attended a few of their practices and was invited to join. After a few weeks of practice, the guitar player decided he no longer wanted to be in the band, so we were stuck without one. Can't remember if it was Steve's idea or mine, but we decided to meet with Johnny H. to see if he wanted to join. Funny, the way it was put to me, was that since I was the only one who didn't get along with Johnny H. that I should be the one to meet with him and ask. I remember meeting with Johnny H, and agreeing that we should put our differences aside and work together in the band. The hope was that, since the singer knew a booking agent, we would be gigging all the time. We met with the agent a few times, had some photo's taken, and acquired a gig.

It was at a high school called "Delbarton", and we were all pretty excited. When we arrived, it was a huge gymnasium, and lots of tickets had been sold. This was to be my really big first gig. Tension was there and my first response was to be "Big Andy". I was constantly making sarcastic comments and the guys were getting pretty embarassed. It was decided at a break to tell me to keep quiet. Being "Big Andy", I basically told them to shove it out their as*es, and went on with what I was doing. It was then decided that they would tell the sound man to turn off my microphone. Not being stupid, I realized immediately what they had done, and decided to give them back a taste of their own medicine. I would not sing backup on any of the songs. I must interject a note here. Seems that the singer we had was no singer at all. He couldn't carry a tune and the only reason we kept him was for the agent. So, out of this, we get Johnny H. and Steve singing with backup from the lead singer. After a few songs this way, I was asked if I was going to be doing any singing, and my microphone was turned back on. The rest of the gig turned out all right but I still had a bad taste in my mouth. In the future, this would seem to be the norm, for gigs in which Johnny H., Steve, and I would play together. Some strange dependency kept us together, while at the same time, drew us apart. After "Delbarton", the band just fell apart. The promised gigs never materialized and noone was happy with the singer. We all went out seperate ways.

Eventually, I picked up a local musicians newspaper called "The Aquarian" and decided to start making the rounds auditioning for bands. This led me to obtain a spot in a band called "Tyrant".

These guys were into Heavy Metal but not the type I was used to playing. This band was guitar driven and doing stuff like U.F.O., Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Scorpions and other early "Guitar Metal". When I joined the band, there was only the guitarist, drummer and me. Since I was so full of myself at the time, a power trio suited me. I got to play as loud as I wanted and could basically improvise as much as I wanted. This suited me just fine, since I wasn't much on learning songs note for note. We used to meet at the drummers house and practice in the basement. I was having a lot of fun, but was always comparing them to the "Nut". This went on for approximately 6 months till the band broke up from lack of direction. We didn't have a singer and after a while the lack of gigs plus the constant travel just did me in. No big fireworks on this one the band just sort of fizzled out. So... back to the paper.

And now, here it is, for all that asked!! Big Andy 2004.

This will be a new feature added to this page. For those of you that do not know, the Blue Ball Award, goes to those who have proven to be outstanding in their pursuit of stupidity. Past winners have included Steve Lundy (Radio Shack manager, ex- original Left Nut member), Pompous Asses (the ones that think they're better than everybody else), In-Laws, and Ex's. In the future, when we see fit, members will be added to the list. So to all past and future winners.... Enjoy....You've earned it!!! Hope the Midnight Special shines it's Everlasting light on you.