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[Click on the song titles below to hear live tapes and
recordings.]
 I
often said to the audience that they were the real Rooters — and Marble Bar
audiences were the best. [Vix
Bidet Party, recorded at Soundspace in Jersey] Their enthusiasm,
acceptance, and wild dancing from the first moment we played there made me want
to stay.
That feeling, combined with another news story, inspired me to
write “Runaway
Housewives.” The lyrics had Cherie asking, “Will they be in Baltimore?”
In response to my recent search for Marble Bar memorabilia,
Tom Roller, one of our most faithful fans, sent me some old Rooter and SWC
mailing list cards that we gave to audiences in the '80s.
 With
my silly attitude, I had left one month's card mostly blank and offered awards
to people who drew on them. Jim Weaver of Mechanicsburg, Pa., won a red vinyl
record autographed by all four Rooters, and we used his prize-winning punk pig
cartoon on the next month's card.
Second prize, an Ultraman T-shirt, went to Adolf Kowalski. (I
swear, it wasn't a fix — I hardly knew him at the time.)
"Boy, did I drink a lot back then," Tom reminisced in a recent
letter describing his experiences at the Marble. "You wrote something on my arm
with magic marker and we danced to a couple of songs by TruFax & the Insaniacs.
(Read "Jumpin at the Marble Bar," Tom's 1980 poem.)
"The inspiration for the 'lazy, lilting skirt' came from
another woman I danced with who wore a long, white skirt, white socks, and
sneakers," he continued. "My memory of the place was that it was grubby, dingy,
run-down, and perfect for punk-new wave — especially to hear the Rooters."
Tom recalled that at another Marble show, "Reesa lightly kneed
a drunk to the edge of the stage and tipped him off." I probably never missed a
beat, either.
I've spoken with Cherie and Larry, and e-mailed LesLee to
piece together the memories. Please
click here if you
can add any more information to this story.
Now I‘m an editor and Web designer, and when I play music, it’s just for fun
with my friends. My stash bag holds Depends instead of pot.
But the Marble Bar remains one of my fondest memories of those
new wave days.
[TOP]
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From
a More than Occasional but Less than Regular Marble Bar Performer