On a previous trip to Ann Arbor, around 10 years ago, I managed to track down all of The Iguanas, Jim’s High School band, and a dozen of so of his schoolmates. But I’ve just found out that there’s an imminent class reunion at Pioneer, his High School, so I’m organising my next trip to Michigan for then. Attending an American High School reunion is an enticing, if bizarre, prospect, for someone whose experience is confined to watching movies like Grosse Pointe Blank. I’ve emailed the organisers. They sound intrigued but slightly defensive. I’ll keep working on them.
Today I got a lovely note from Dale Withers, who was in Jim’s year and was a fan of the Prime Movers:
“Jim and I were in the same accelerated English class in 10th grade (the teacher's name was Jean Procaskey). He seemed to be extremely preppy at that time, wore penny loafers, khakis, button down collared shirts, and crew neck sweaters, and he wore his hair a little bit longer than average, although far above his shoulders. He was a very good looking guy, but kind of shy and quiet in class, and extremely intelligent.
“After we graduated, I remember when I was attending the University of Michigan that Jim was playing in the Prime Movers, and many times he would make his way from booth to booth, table to table, in the MUG (Michigan Union Grill) which was semi-subterranean with a noirish feeling, quite dark. It attracted a great number of high school students, my 15-year-old sister included, and there was an old guy reminiscent of a movie theatre usher who used to circulate constantly, trying to catch high school students who were sitting in the booths and kicking them out. Many times when we were sitting in there, Jim would come through and stop at each booth or table, saying humbly with downcast eyes (and I remember him saying these exact words) "please please please please come to our gig." The band was excellent and well worth seeing.”