Revisionist History

The Gipper

@king-ghoolie-lives said:

Hey cocksucker,

There are, ah, I don't know, maybe 50 people on this board who have met Richard Balestra, and Tommy V on many different occasions.

FOR INSTANCE...................

West Side Steve and I go back furhter than anyone. I have played on stage with him, and Stan listened in the audience. I consumed Irish Whiskey with him. They have both met Rich as well.

Just FWIW, I go back to the 9th grade with WSS, which would make it about the time the Super Bowl was first created. We are old fuckers.

The inaugural 1999 tailgate party featured a photo of me kissing Rich on the cheek. At that time, just as I kick your pussy in on this board, I was pretty tough on Rich. In the picture, the poor guy didn't know whether to punch me or go along with the fun. If you look at the photo you will see that for a second, his fist was clenched.

Roach has been to Memphis and met me and my wife, he has also met Rich.

You can also add to the people who have met both Rich and I seperately and together, Hoorta, Stan, KSHutchins, Chicopee John, Zombo,Furnier, and a shitload more.

The only asshole that even remotely thinks Rich and I are one in teh same, is YOU.

Perhaps he means that you are of one mind, not the same person? (though I don't think you two are of one mind)

You are a dumb fuck, a dimwit, a dimbulb, a moron incapable of telling the worldly different writing styles of Rich and I.

When I wipe my ass, I see you.

The Gipper

@king-ghoolie-lives said:

Gipper, good conversation, let me hit a couple counterpoints without pasting them..........

Valuse of a 1932 program ------

Value has always been an issue that depends on the beholder. And THIS is where I will try to make a distinction regarding the Browns historical accomplishments. Understand, in principle, that is to say, core value, I put the same value on those historical records that you do....... Wellllll, kind of.

Let me elaborate with an example. The Giulietti ( Jew-Lee-Eddy) accordion is without debate, discussion or contender, the absolute greatest, finest, most beautiful accordion ever made. Bar none. Floren and Welk played Pancordion,s, Dick Contino played Excelsior, but the real Maestor's, the guys who could REALLY play, guys even more unknown as the ones I mentioned, for instance, the greatest accordion player of all time, Charles Magnante, quested for the Giulietti.

I own two, one-of-a-kind Giulietti's actually hand made for me that are beyond priceless to me. In 1995, I could have on a quick sale, sold either of these instruments for $25,000 - $30,000 dollars. In 2012, I might see them for the same, but with so few real players left (Polka players are hacks)the market of players who need and owuld pay $30,000 for one of these instruments has greatly dwindled.

Most of the players who have the skills to appreciate this instrument are at ages where their careers are behind them. Young players, can get a Chinese accordion for $600 and make some John Mellencamp type sounds and nobody knows the difference. Want a step up? Some ass clown in NYC just decided to name himself the Giulietti factory and will sell you a pices of shit for $3,500 that outwardly looks identical to my one-of-a-kind instruments.

Now, does anyone listening to my band on Beale Street know the difference, or give a shit? Nope. Does anyone notice a difference? Ahhhhh, yes, the producers and engineers who hire me as a side man have learned that in the stuio the richness of tone, lack of variance in volume produced by the bellows, truer tuning, less mechanical noise, less air noise, and expressive voices coming out of hand made reeds, makes better, sweeter, quieter recordings. As such, I get more studio calls than I can shake a stick at, and in spite of my shitty playing, I have found great success as a studio sideman putting tracks on everything form movies, to cartoons to commercials to training films.

I am proud of my accomplishments and of my beautiful instruments.

However, mention accordion and some dumb fuck kid will come in here and slam it, make oom paa paa references and tell me how lame and dated accordion is.

Does that mean all of that history, work and craftsmanship doens't have value?

No, not at all. What it means, and what me must remember is that those who recognize this value are few and far between and themselves dwindling minute by minute.

So too with old memorabilia, as those who value it grow less and less, and that has already happened, it is harder to impress that value upon people.

That is the problem we are dealing with in this discussion, but no matter how precious something in the past is, one cannot force it's value on young people.

Fair point. 90% of people would look at a Jackson Pollack painting and say it was child's play that any 3rd grader could duplicate, yet they sell for millions and millions of dollars.

It all goes to the market. If you were to put one of your classic accordians up for sale, 99% of the populace might say they don't want to bother buying it for any amount of money....but that small niche market still will bring you top dollar for it because of the competition within that niche market for that commodity.

On the other hand I see these things that come into the Antiques Road show/Pawn Stars/American Pickers all the time where the owners have to be told: "even though it is old and rare, there is just no market for your item, thus it is of little value".

On the other hand I see these guys paying like $3500.00 just for an old engine block from a Harley Knucklehead, and I scratch my head at how it can be worth that much....then I just think, that is the Jackson Pollack of motorcycle engine blocks.

The same for sports memorabilia. It is the market. You can have a bat signed in 1921 by some utility infielder of the Philadelphia As....or you can have one signed in 1921 by Babe Ruth....and the first though old and rare has little value, but the second is extremely valuable.

I guess the same can be said for old titles...these young people may not know their value, but to some they may be a Giulietti