Garage and Beat #9 Cover illustration by Violette Le Quere-Cady

Note: New info came to light and this piece was edited 8/10/20.

I was sorry to hear about Emitt Rhodes’ passing recently. All the Facebook stories about what he and his music meant to my friends reminded me of how much he and his music meant to me as well. I got out Garage and Beat #9 and reread the interview Kim Cooper and I did with him in 2003. It was quite an adventure taking the legendary singer/songwriter/producer and multi-instrumentalist out for a meal and cocktails at his favorite Red Lobster restaurant. What a wild, brash, talented and outspoken character! That was shortly before I started dating Julia Devine and I was reminded that Emitt’s music was among a tiny smattering of music that I shared with her early on in our relationship. As is the case with a lot of other fave musicians who leave this world, Julia and I got out a bunch of his albums when we heard the news and reconnected with a bunch of wonderful songs and memories. I don’t remember exactly how many times I hung out with Emitt, but it was always intense. We even got him to come over to our place for the big Fourth of July hoo haw on Happy Hill one year! He was always a bit awkward to talk to and seemed to me like he was wary of those who sought to get to know him. He was self deprecating and yet exhibited flashes of garish sexual pseudo fantasy towards any female who was within earshot. It would not be unusual for him to say something like, “One of you should sing; I’m an old guy,” and something like, “When do the girls get naked?” in the same breath. It’s like he had Asperger’s syndrome and Tourette syndrome simultaneously. I’m glad Julia got to meet him and see what an interesting person he was. I’m also glad that Michelle Santamaria and Jessica Mirmak came along with me and Kim, shortly after the interview we did with him, and helped coax him into doing a quick recording session with us. We did a version of a song I had written years earlier when I was in a band called Cheeseburger. I wish I had a copy of that session’s take on “Team Work Doesn’t Seem Work,” but alas, I do not. In GAB #9 I mention not having heard the results yet so who knows if it was ever completed.

I’m not sure if there was another session with Emitt or if we did two songs that one day. Bangers and Mash recorded a song with Emitt that I had just written and had the music (lyrics and chords) in tow when we paid a visit to Emitt’s garage studio for some impromptu fun. “Would You Like Some Scones with Your Tea?” is catchy and has a bit of a Mersey Beat vibe (maybe, sorta, kinda… if you squint and use a whole lot of imagination!), if I do say so myself. Of course, nobody bothered to take notes or pictures. I wish I had a phonographic memory (we are talking about music, after all!), but I don’t. Thankfully Craig Ceravolo got in touch with me after my first version of this article and supplied some details of what went down. Craig played bass in Bangers and Mash at that time and Scott Hillman played drums. For this session, I played rhythm guitar and sang, Craig played piano in the control room and worked the knobs, Scott played drums, Emitt’s roommate Jimmy played slide guitar and Jessica Mirmak played bass. Craig remembers asking Emitt to play the piano and Emitt declining. He also remembers Emitt scolding him playfully whenever he flubbed a piano part or missed a recording cue. I’m pretty sure Kim, Michelle and Jessica sang backups. Craig definitely was one of the male backup voices, possibly the only one. It was a real hoot to dust off my iMovie program and put together a video from borrowed clips from YouTube. The tune sounds better to me now than it did when it was fresh. If I had had more faith in the song then, I probably would have worked it onto a Bangers and Mash release way back when.

Edwin Letcher

August 9, 2020