There are a lot of things from my adolescence that I don’t care to remember. Junior High and High School are times that I think are best left in the past or at least the deep dark recesses of my mind. However, the music from that time of my life is still one of my favorite types. The 1980’s top 40 pop with a few heavier metal songs, are my mojo if I want to get my heart pumping. And if you give me a Karaoke mic, well, you can probably guess that Love Shack will be a song that I select to sing, especially if my good friend, Ron Maxwell, is anywhere around. (You can see a video here of us performing it at my birthday party this past June.)
So when my husband, Bobby, told me we were going to see Moonman TV perform at Cin Dee’s Place in Medina on October 12, I was so excited. Moonman TV is a band that plays 1980’s music and plays the MTV videos while they are performing each song. Talk about a flashback! I love it. I don’t know what to do. Do I watch the band? Do I watch the videos? Do I just sing along with them and do my own thing? You can see the delirious dilemma I face.
I have seen Moonman TV just one other time live. It was for my birthday week. Bobby, along with our friends Kenny and Dawn, surprised me with a trip to Margaritaville in Cleveland to see them perform. They were awesome. They kept my toe tapping and me singing along from the moment we walked in the door. We had gotten there at the end of their first set and only actually got to see them do another set instead of their usual three. This happened to be the same day that the Cavs were playing in the playoffs, which is why they didn’t play as long as they normally would.
It was nice to be able to see them somewhere closer. Although, we still got there late. We thought they were starting at 9, when they actually started at 8:30 at Cin Dee’s. They had a different girl singer with them, but the guitarist, bassist and drummer were the regular crew. Bobby tells me it is Dennis Davis who plays guitar, Steve Kovacs is the bassist and Chuck Schilling is the drummer. As an aside, I like 80’s music, but I don’t need to know the backstory of bands to enjoy it. Bobby on the other hand, knows all the ins and outs of his favorite bands. Just ask him about Dream Theater’s search for a drummer when Mike Portnoy left the band.
There is just something about the 80’s music that is down in my bones. It might be that I was such a couch potato that music videos were my afternoon delight. Or maybe it was because I was a teenager and learning about all the things that teenagers learn about through music, that makes it so visceral. I could analyze it, but not when I’m listening to it. Which is what I was able to do on Friday. Well, listen and sing. I don’t know if when Bobby was doing Facebook live if you could hear me singing, but I was. Georgia Satellites “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” is just one of those songs that you can’t just listen to, you have to sing along with.
One other thing, I had never been to Cin Dee’s Place before. When I lived in Medina in the late 1980s the place had been a country bar, that I never went to. But the reputation wasn’t great. It turns out that it was purchased 5 years ago by a former classmate of mine from Cloverleaf, Andy Kason and his wife, Cindy. Andy came up and surprised me by remembering who I was. I felt pretty forgettable in High School, so I’m always surprised when classmates remember me. Thanks, Andy!
If you like 80’s music, then may I suggest you seek out a band that caters to your tastes, like Moonman TV? It will be well worth your time. Plus, with Moonman TV you also get to see the videos of your past. And if you just like to hear live music, Cin Dee’s Place is where it is at in Medina, Ohio.
