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| Leggo My Ego, Part II April 29, 2004 Although this story does not contain Rich in the physical-sense, it is very much about Rich and his everlasting spirit. It is the story of my trip back to the homeland, Pittsburgh, PA, for the Friends of Rich Rust Tribute Concert. My journey started the day I decided to throw my hat into the ring. At the funeral, Deni informed me that there would be a tribute show in Rich's honor sometime in the future. I immediately knew that I would be jumping on a plane for that no matter when it was and who was playing. Little did I know that the next step would be taken? On January 20th, I e-mailed Todd Demont to thank him for his kind words about Rich that he wrote on his website and invited him to read what I had wrote. As it turns out, Todd was one of the many organizers of the tribute show and after he read what I wrote, he got the impression that I was "an accomplished musician". I guess my writing techniques have much improved for someone to mistake my self-indulgence and come to that conclusion about me. He also thought it would be a great idea to have family members up on stage to honor Rich. I hadn't been on stage since the Battle of the Bands in 1989 to play music, but I surely have missed the excitement of that type a performance. Don't get me wrong, my kids love to hear me play and they are the greatest fans, but when someone that isn't forced to applaud for fear of living on the streets, it is an even greater satisfaction. As soon as I heard the invitation (half-hearted or not), the wheels started turning and I never looked back. Two ideas were instantly presented in my head. One: get ISE back together or two: get the Jet Fighters back together. With ISE, the logistics would be a nightmare. It would be difficult to convince the remaining guys of the sextet with whom I don't regularly talk to reunite, so that was left in the dust, which made the decision easier. The Jet Fighters reunited would also be perfect. Here is why: Matt Rust would fit into Rich's musical-spot in the band flawlessly, Shawn would love to do a reunion show, it would be more fun to reunite with two of my friends, we wrote many original songs to choose from, and with three people in the band, the set list would not have to be debated for longer than the time we have on stage. Another big reason was the fact that I played many times with both Matt and Shawn over the years, so there would be a built-in chemistry that could be rekindled. I'm sure there are many more reasons this was the ideal alternative, but these are the biggest. I e-mailed Matt and Shawn to see what they thought of the idea and they were on board in a second. The next step was for me to practice, so I dusted off my guitars and started playing again. In fact, my guitars have not rested since the day we decided to play the show. For this very important show, we also worked hard on getting the appropriate songs for a fitting tribute to Rich. Songs came and went over a few month time period, but in the end I think we made the perfect choices for our band. We had 4 original tunes and 3 cover tunes picked out for our set. The three covers included "Everlong", originally done by the Foo Fighters (just for the record, we had the name the Jet Fighters picked out while Dave Grohl was in Nirvana); "The Warmth", originally done by Incubus; and "Euphoria", originally done by the School of Fish. We selected these three songs because they each had a suitable message for the tribute and most of all we liked the songs. The original songs were also chosen for a reason; they were probably the best the Jet Fighters wrote over the years. Fast forward to April 21st�we needed to perfect the songs as a band, so I booked a flight for Wednesday morning to get some practice time in with Matt and Shawn over the next 3-days before the big show. We met at my parent's house at about 4 pm, and after a few minutes to get reacquainted; we went to the SoulBent rehearsal space in beautiful downtown McKees Rocks, PA. This is Shawn's band's rehearsal space and they were gracious enough to not only let us use it, but borrow their drummer and some of their equipment for the show. We ran through our carefully selected set of songs for the first time together that night. I am not going to lie to you, we didn't hit every note right-on that night, but to tell you the truth, we weren't bad at all. In fact, we were pretty darn good considering that Shawn and I hadn't played together in 16-years and Matt and I in about 5-years, but the most impressive part was that the entire rhythm section (drums and bass) had never played together. I was ecstatic to be playing music again, more specifically, our music and hanging out with other musicians in a dark, damp practice space is always cool. I've said it before; being in a band is less about the music and more about the camaraderie and having fun and I missed that immensely. That was exactly what we accomplished that night. I haven't had that much fun playing music in a long time. I missed Shawn and Matt and the two of them seemed to grow a bond that and the nights that followed also. We ended sort of early that night because I was tired from my travels, Shawn had to still practice with SoulBent, and Matt went to HIM show. The next day I woke up, ate, and got my hair cut to try to look my best for the show (yeah right, like a good haircut will make me look like a rock star). Dwain, my future brother-in-law, was invited to our next session to be our first audience member. The next practice, sans Matt, who was at work, Shawn and I rehearsed the cover tunes to try to hone the sound and get out the kinks. By the time Matt arrived, we were ready to take a break and to get some grub. This was the perfect idea because it gave us a breather to be able to talk and tell some stories and really renew friendships again. This also gave us time to put down our guard a little. Trust is one of the most important parts of playing in a band and this time helped build more trust. After dinner at Denny's, we got back to the workshop. The practice that ensued was much improved from yesterday's. We tightened the songs, we learned most of the lyrics, and we were interrupted less due to mistakes. Dwain commented many times that he was impressed with the quality of our music, but we were not as enthusiastic. We needed more practice, but not tonight, it was time to call it a day. I went home with Matt to the Rust house and greeted my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Whitey and a great little surprise, Madison. She was just as I remembered Richy as a kid. Madi and I ran around the Rust house and played for a while. Madi even gave me a tap-dance show with Aunt Elaine. Their house was also a great place to get inspired for the show. This is where Rich grew up; this is where Rich spent most of his short life. There are memories on the walls and throughout the house of Rich. We even watched old tapes of us playing music at his voice recital, with ISE, and even a tape Rich and I made lip-synching at Station Square. The time spent that night and the next day helped me get closer to the root of the reason why I made the pilgrimage. The next day I started to become nervous. No one was home, so I didn't have any distractions to keep my mind off of the fact that I would soon be playing on stage in front of our fans for the first time since the elder Bush was in his first year at the oval office. The months of practice and the hours of time clocked in with my guitar were finally coming to a head and I was feeling the pressure. After what seemed to be the longest day ever, Matt showed up from work and we headed to the last rehearsal for the Jet Fighters. We met Shawn at about 6 pm and ran through the set list. After one time through, we were forced to make some tough decisions. We were allotted 20-minutes and our set was currently over 30-minutes, so "Everlong" and "The Warmth", two cover songs, got the axe. The next step was to run through the new, shorter set. This time it clocked in at 22-minutes long. We played it once more and declared ourselves ready for the show! The next day was the BIG DAY. We left the house at about 2 pm and met Shawn and Frank (the guitarist for SoulBent) at the practice space. Frank was the reason the crowd could hear my guitar because it was his nice Marshall amp I used for the show. We then loaded up the cars and drove down to Nick's Fat City, Southside. It was a beautiful Pittsburgh day, the kind I often get in Florida, and the kind that gets the Southside really hopping. We unloaded the equipment and then we relaxed for the last few moments before the mad rush began. Bands arrived by the half-dozens (literally) and soon after that the fans started to appear. We greeted a few friends and the nerves built up. From the moment that Ice Cream Headache took the stage until we left the stage was one big blur. It all happened so fast, but one thing I vividly remember, we had fun! We sounded good and Rich would have been proud of us all. He would have liked that Shawn came back and played with the Jet Fighters like the good ol' days, he would have liked that Matt was such a stage presence and played our songs in his place, and he would have even liked hearing me sing our songs. This was the first time ever that I sang on stage. I am not going to sign up for "American Idol" any time soon, but I could feel Rich helping me sing his parts to our songs and that got me through. I want to thank Shawn and Matt, but mostly Rich, for the power and the courage to get back on stage again and even sing. The crowd seemed to enjoy us too. I was a little disappointed that there weren't more people there for our set, but that early in a long show it is not that uncommon to have a smaller crowd and I should have expected it. Our families and close friends were mostly there to witness the rebirth of the Jet Fighters' fame and that was all that mattered. |
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| Richard John Rust |
| March 9, 1971 - January 13, 2004 |
| My Best Friend and Cousin, I will Love and Remember you Forever. |
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| Stories about Rich |
| Once we stepped off the stage, we were inundated with congratulations, snap-shots, and requests for our autographs for the auctions items. Even in my heyday of playing with bands and up on stage as a teenager and in my early-twenties, I never got this kind of recognition. At that moment, I quietly thanked Rich for this gift of fame that he felt most of his adult life. If this kind of attention won't give you a big head, I don't know what will. I loved the rock-star status that came with the night. I wore my "back stage pass" the entire night like a badge. The people at the show, both bands and fans were wonderful too. The reaction to our set seemed sincere, but it is tough to judge that in complete confidence. I don't think that any one would say if they didn't enjoy our songs, but everyone only had great things to say. I got to know some of the people Rich played with by going to the shows and they were praising our band the whole night. I expected that from people I knew, but I heard these words from all the talented musicians. When Rob from the Clarks (one of, if not the most popular band in Pittsburgh these days) said we did a good job and he loved the name of our band as I got his autograph for my niece, Halee, I was on cloud nine. I hate to single out just the Clarks, because all the other bands were the same way with their compliments and I truly appreciated every one of them. I'm not sure if it was just the atmosphere brought on by Rich's memory or if this just happened to be the nicest group of musicians in the world, but everyone was completely grateful of our set. As Rich said, "it was more than just the free beer". The rest of the night was just as magical. I found myself with a huge smile on my face as I danced and sang to all the music. I thought about Rich and all the people that came to be with him that night. I was overwhelmed by the entire mood of the night. Memories of going to watch most of these bands all over Pittsburgh with Rich or to see Rich play came roaring back. Every band had a special story to tell about Rich and what he did for them or with them. Every musician played with more energy. You could feel Rich's presence when you heard songs from his former bands. His parts may have been sung by or played by other people, but all I heard was Rich and would become emotional at times. When I stopped to take a moment to see the graciousness of all the donations at the auction tables, I was in awe. I could have never imagined that all these precious items were given for the benefit of my cousin. I know he was a great man, but some of these things were donated by people that didn't know Rich and they gave because it was the right thing to do for the community. Once over, the thought that the almost sold out crowd was willing to spend their money for every one of these items was also incredible. When it came right down to it; Rich's life centered on music. I'm not saying that his family and friends were not important to him. On the contrary, I have never known a better and more loving father, husband, son, brother, cousin, and friend my entire life. It was just he also deeply loved music and everything about it. Just about everything he did derived from his love of music. This evening was the finest way to give tribute to a great man. I think back to when Rich wrote about his feelings after playing in and working on the Mark Pluchinsky benefit show (March 24, 2003 entry) and what Amy and I always say now, "Life is too short". I am grateful that I was invited and I am extremely happy that I found the courage and decided to play in the show. It was great, heartfelt music along with family and friends all rolled into on night of unselfish and emotional energy. I think that every tear was for joy instead of sorrow for one night. That joy I'm sure was also felt in everyone that came to the show and did the right thing for Rich's family. It was the joy of knowing Rich Rust. I'm sure Rich smiled the entire time as he enjoyed the show. |