In 1981, I was at a crossroads, Alone and feeling alienated from life, I did what I always did, worked on a rock opera, It was to be called It’s Only Human, later I abandoned the title song because one of my favorite bands Utopia put out an album with the song Only Human which was vastly superior to my It’s Only Human yet the writing sessions yielded some of my best songs that made their way into the suite which was about loneliness and survival. Alienation became the new title and opening song and it’s a special one for me because Fred loved singing it and always encouraged me to revisit it. The original Section 8 featured Fred on his smooth vocals and percussion, He left the band to pursue education and business interests but our friendship only deepened. We met at rehearsals for a tour of Japan with the band Between the Two and during the tour we became close and he took an interest in singing some original songs I had been working on. We played together at The L.A. Street scene and some club gigs including The Natural Fudge where we showcased the songs and he also sang at that same venue during our wedding reception where he sang a song I had written called Marriage. Through the years as our families grew, we grew together, the bond was always there and still is.
Cut to 1/24/25, suddenly out of the blue, the first line of the song Alienation popped into my head and I was determined to find it in the book of lyrics from 1981. Once I found the book, I recalled most of the music but not the bridge other than the first chord and feel. I also wasn’t feeling the resolution of the verses musically so I added a more melodic figure to end the verses and wrote new music to the bridge, Then I asked Mindy to supply me with some words, Our style of writing together is almost like Morse code, I say I need words for this rhythm- Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
ba ba ba ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba ba
voila, an old song is now new, Thanks Babe!
Click the link above for Alienation-1/19/25/
The full Playlist of the 4 song suite by Two Grits captured on video is here-
Back to the Rock opera/Suite as a way of life, In the winter of 81, I was playing a gig at a place called The Marquis where as fate and luck would have it I would meet my future bride a little over a year later when she and her sister stopped in to the happy hour where I was playing a duo gig with another dear departed friend Michol Sullivan. Thanks to Mindy, I found my purpose and path at the same time as Love Conquers all.
The Marquis was a dream gig (thank you, Bruce, if you’re reading this), I played intermission piano when the band went on break, so 20-minute sets then the band went back on. I spent my breaks writing lyrics and concepts in my green notebook while sitting in my green Dodge Dart in the parking lot. Yup, the same Dodge Dart that had no back seat so I could transport my Rhodes to the few other gigs I had at the time. My main source of enjoyment in this era other than that gig was the writing and rehearsing for Section 8. David Steinberg and I collaborated on several songs and we rehearsed the band which now was a four-piece rounded out by Paul Eckman(Bass) and Andy MilukoffGuitar), David was on Drums and I was the lead singer and played keys and guitar. We recorded a 5 song demo which led to getting gigs at clubs in the L.A. area. I am going to digitize it as soon as I locate it in the cassette archive. I was proud of it and the band.
The songs on the tape are-
Don't Leave-Graham
Heart On The Line-Steinberg/Graham
S.S.T.T.W.T.W.I.S.S.(So Sad Today, The World, The World IS So Sad)
Can I Help You-Graham
Don't Listen To Me-Graham/Steinberg
The song Alienation became the cornerstone and new name for It's Only Human and is the missing link between Section 8 and True Grits which is the band I started when we moved to Atlanta in 1988. Both bands represented my vision of combining original melodic pop, rock, and funky songs with lots of room for extended improv in all kinds of time meters and feels. The 2nd version of Section 8 was more rock-oriented and I even played and wrote many of the songs on guitar. Thanks to Nick Thielker for his artful preservation of this photo he took and found of Section 8. From left to right Steinberg, Paul Eckman, Me, and Andy Milukoff
Alien Nation
Life and death there is such a fine line.
We are here for what seems like a very short time.
Late last night, I closed both my eyes I thought about the people I knew who survived
There is a place that everyone can feel alienation where everything’s too real.
Where being alone is all that you can do
Daily life was getting to me.
I got a section 8, but can’t really say I feel free
The modern world is getting absurd
Seems we’re heading, heading for the war of the worlds.
There is a place that everyone can feel alienation where everything is real.
Where being alone is all that you can do
bridge
I don’t want to live in Fear
I need light and love here
Let’s dance together
and laugh again
We’re all friends
Aren’t we all the same
Solitude I know that it helps in this crowded world, but let me tell you something else.
Loneliness is more than a fad.
It’s only human to want to be happy not sad.
There is a place that everyone can feel alienation where everything is real
Where being alone is all you can do
Bridge
I don’t want to live in Fear
I need light and love here
let’s dance together
and laugh again
We’re all friends
Tag-
Aren’t we all the same
Why is life insane
Can we start all over again
With gratitude to the members of Section 8-
1st version-
Jim Bistani who I met while playing while playing a gig on Mt Baldy with one of the 5 Elvis impersonators I worked with.
Ed Mann who graciously joined us on Vibes and Percussion for our first gig in 1981 at The Variety Arts Theater. I met Ed is my house in Stockbridge Ma. when he was playing drums in my brother's band "Chuck" in our basement in 1972. A few years later he played drums in my Jazz Quartet at Alice's and later in L.A. He was a tremendous influence and mentor. He is missed by the whole world of music and will always be remembered with Love, Awe, and Gratitude.
Tomo- The Fire Eater who also joined us for the first gig at The Variety Arts Theater in Downtown LA where we improvised behind him as he ate flames.
David Steinberg- My dear friend and confidante who co-led the second version of the band as drummer and co-writer and remains one of the most important people in my life. David is a prolific and versatile composer for television and film and I always loved his drumming. We played together in many projects after Section 8 throughout the 80s.
Andy Milukoff- Our resident rock star whose guitar playing and background vocals were an essential part of our rave/rock live show.
Paul Eckman- One of the most grooving bass players I’ve ever played with, We also played together earlier in 81 with The Relievers, the band led by the brilliant Marc Anthony Thompson (Chocolate Genius Inc) and featuring The legendary Blackbird Mcknight on Guitar and one of my favorite drummers and people Derick “Waldo” Roberts who I later wrote a signature instrumental song that I’ve played with all my Atlanta bands dedicated to called Waldo.
FRED
Most of all I thank my best friend Fred Crosby who made his transition on 1/25/25. We had so many good times together from the time we met in 1979 till January 2025 and the world isn’t the same without him. He sang and played percussion in the original Section 8 and played many gigs with me throughout the 80s in L.A. before relocating to Atlanta shortly after we did and raising his wonderful family here. He sang on my debut CD and no one could harmonize like him. Though he left the music biz for a successful career in business, he would always join me in whatever project I had going on when I asked him to, those included several other recording projects and live gigs but his greatest legacy is his kindness, wisdom, faith, and devotion to his family.
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