This past Saturday, March 20, was the ten year anniversary of the death of Gene Eugene. Even though this post is a few days late, I decided to post these memories anyway.
Many of you may have never heard of Gene Eugene. His influence was felt through out the music industry for many years. But for me, his music spoke to me in a way that many other song writers have not.
The first time I ever heard of Gene or Adam Again was in an article that I was reading in a small music zine. It had mentioned that "In A New World Of Time" really needed to come out on cd but Gene was concentrating on Adam Again's new album. I had never heard Adam Again and my curiosity was aroused that day.It would be two to three years before I heard Adam Again and even then it was only one song. Around 1990 a local radio station had changed it's music format to Christian rock. I heard the song and had no idea who the artist was so I called the station and asked who they were playing. They said it was Adam Again. I was blown away with what I heard. I had never heard anything like it.
In July of 1993 I was in a used bookstore and stumbled across a used copy of "Dig." I bought it and was totally impressed with what I heard. It got played a lot in my house. With repeated listens I began to fall in love with that sad but distinct voice of Gene Eugene and of course Riki Michelle's incredible background vocals. I was hooked. On Father's Day 1992 my family gave me the Lost Dogs debut album "Scenic Routes." With every listen you can see and hear Gene's influence. The collaboration of Gene Eugene, Terry Taylor, Derri Daugherty and Mike Roe could not have been better.
In 1994 we decided to go to Cornerstone Festival for the first time. It was quite the adventure. (One day I will tell that story!) As we got to know the people that camped around us, one of our neighbors, Tyler, won a copy of "Homeboys." Not being an Adam Again fan, he gave me the cd. I did my best to show composure but it didn't work. I was totally jazzed! Since I did not have a cd palyer with us I had to wait until I got home to listen to it.
The Lost Dogs played the festival that year and that was my first chance to see Gene play. The Lost Dogs played the main stage and they were sandwiched between The Choir and Steve Taylor. It was a great night!
On my birthday in 1994 my wonderful, dear wife gave me the Lost Dogs "Little Red Riding Hood." With so many great songs on this album, for me, one of the major standout was Gene's song "Jimmy." What a beautiful work of art.
1995 brought two major Adam Again events for me. The band was playing a set at Cornerstone and a new album was being released. At Cornerstone 95 Adam Again played a midnight show that was one of the major highlights of the entire festival that year. The temperatures had dropped because of a cold front that had blown in and I was freezing. I wrapped myself in a sheet and headed off to what became one of my favorite concerts of all time. An amazing set with lots of songs from "Dig" and "Perfecta." Their set ended with the band setting on the edge of the stage and playing "Don't Cry."
Even though "Perfecta" was available at the festival that year I did not buy it until after I got home. It is more of a jam album than anything else and it shows off the musicianship of the band. It stills falls as one of my favorite albums of all time.
One night in the fall of 1995 my wife and I were in our favorite used cd store when the owner/manager, Austin, pulls a cd out from behind the counter. He asked me if I owned a copy of it and my mouth some what opened and my eyes got large and I said no. How much? In front of me was a copy of "Ten Songs By Adam Again." I had NEVER seen it before. He sold it to me for a whopping $6.00. What an amazing find.
I had looked high and low for "In A New World Of Time." This album was really hard to find. I was talking to a friend of mine and he said that he had a copy of it. I asked him what he wanted for it. I owned a copy of the Lifesavers first album "Us Kids." He needed that for his Lifesavers collection to be complete. so, we did an even swap. On the Friday after Thanksgiving 1997 I became the proud owner of "In A New World Of Time." My Adam Again collection was up to date.
In 1996 I got to see Gene three times with the Lost Dogs. First time they were out on tour in support of their new cd "The Green Room Serenade." They played Arlington, TX and afterwards I was impressed how accessible each of the "Dogs" were. I got to talk to Gene very briefly and was impressed how he (and all three of the other guys too) took the time for each and every person that wanted to talk.
At Cornerstone festival that year the Lost Dogs played the mainstage. It was virtually the same set I saw in Arlington TX since it was part of the same tour. But what I really enjoyed was the small acoustic set they played on a sidestage. Brainstorm, the label that Gene owned along with Ojo Taylor, had a small tent and stage at the festival that year. The Lost Dogs did an acoustic set that was all request. The tent was packed with crazy fans. The fans would yell out song titles and the Dogs would play. The set got longer and longer. It was way past the allotted time and the fans wanted more. It was great fun. That was the last time I ever saw Gene.
In the fall of 1999 my wife had taken our teenage kids to school. It was a beautiful fall morning in Dallas and I stayed in bed and slept in. When she came in she woke me up and said that she had stopped at a garage sale and there was a bunch of cds that I might be interested in. I was dressed in record time and off we went. I found a stack of Christian rock (some of it I was unfamiliar with) but there was "Worldwide Favourites." This is a compilation of Adam Again songs compiled by Gene Eugene. Even though I owned all the songs already, I had to have it. Of course at a garage sale it was just pocket change. And, it was unopen!
The new millennium found Adam Again booked for Cornerstone 2000. This was close to a dream lineup. Bands that I had always wanted to see were booked and we made plans to go. On March 21, 2000 my oldest daughter and I had gone to the library to use their computers to go on line. Our computer had crashed and we were dealing with that disaster. We were checking email and I read the news that Gene had passed away the day before. I was in total shock. I turned to my daughter and told her the news. She looked at me and asked if I was all right. I said yes and that I needed to go home. We got home and I told my wife.
Even though I did not know Gene the loss was there. Gene's music spoke to me in a way that only a handful of artist/songwriters do. Words do not explain how his song writing along with Mike Roe, Terry Taylor, Steve Hindalong and a few others touch something deep inside of me. In our home his music lives on.
