My brother is in the hospital
getting a Dacron aorta. A simple
arm strain injury at work led him to discover that we have the same genetic
defect: coarctation or stenosis of the aorta and a bicuspid valve. Mine was corrected by surgery (just the
pinch, stretched, not Dacron; and not the valve) in 1956. Medicine has improved. Certainly people
have. No one ran marathons in
1956; and he has run several.
Lately, however, he could not make three miles, so he says that he
should have known…
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| After he started working on this, and was living in California, Paul took acting lessons. After a lifetime on stage, he said the lessons helped. He performed the work in clubs several times. Sketches of Dorian Gray trailer |
The sibling rivalry we
accepted as normal as children would not be tolerated today. My being three years older and often
150% of his weight, it just was not fair.
When I went off to college, he had more growing space. He also signed up for the wrestling
team, picked a fight with me, and pinned me in one move. So, that settled that.
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| Episode One |
He qualified for Cleveland
Public Schools major work (“super normals”) program, which I did not. Also, he actually practiced the piano,
which I did not. He had the
insight to choose the violin while I picked the coronet. So, he could get over his mistakes
quietly, which I could not. He
became a musician.
"Grey Haired Rats" -- Playing piano in a rock band sucks. I've had just about every kind of electric piano ever made. They all stink. More than once, I've had to play some strange approximation of a piano provided by a stupid promoter. One time the piano was 175 feet from the stage. (No you can't move it). Once the "piano" was actually an organ (Hey, it's got keys, what's the problem?) On top of that, keyboard instruments were ridiculed by just about everyone in our crowd it seemed. Too much like British prog-rock or worse, the Doors. Peter Laughner once told me pianos are OK, sometimes, but the pedals are only for squares. -- THE STYRENES by Paul Marotta, Scat Records liner notes here.
We both held many jobs over
the years. He spent more time
selling and less time on trucking docks, but, as Ayn Rand said, all work is an
act of philosophy. Eventually, he
made vice president at New World Records, and even got a seat on the board
before he was fired. The
Nineties were an interesting time.
We thought they never would end.
But they did, on September 11, 2001.
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| Episode Two |
Work got hard to find, so in
2005, my wife and I returned to school to complete the four-year degrees we
never needed before. When Paul saw
how easy it was for me, he returned to earn a bachelor of arts in literature at
Purchase College in the SUNY system.
He needed the vacation from life.
His wife had died far too young from cancer. He was uncentered.
Time out for school was a good choice.
He spent some time in
California. Now, he is in
Massachusetts. He has a new
significant other - and a new heart.
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| Episode Three |
You can browse for “Paul
Marotta”, though like “Mike Marotta” you will find many. We are not
dentists. These YouTube links will help.
- The Styrenes perform "OneFanzine Reader Writes" on Glasgow TV show The Beat Room in 1998.
- This fan posting of “Drano in Your Veins” has better fidelity.
- The Styrenes - All The Wrong PeopleAre Dying
- In C By Terry Riley - A 'rock' orchestration by The Styrenes - Part 1
- The Styrenes in Wikipedia here.
ALSO ON NECESSARY FACTS
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