ONE FINE T-SHIRT 01/20/2010
 Skip & Ed with '74 Tour T-shirt An intense rush of memories can be set in motion by the most insignificant trigger, like Proust's tea and madeleine - or Edgar Matysio's T-shirt. Made of white cotton with a faded portrait of Skip Prokop on the front, the shirt generated a wave of long-forgotten emotions for Casino Regina's Technical Director last Friday. He got the shirt in 1974, when he was part of the Saskatchewan crew on the Lighthouse Cross-Canada tour. His job was to set up the stage at the various arenas the band played. Set 'em up...knock 'em down. The first one on site...the last to leave. He had been a Lighthouse fan and was thrilled to be part of the tour. Seeing the band in action and observing how passionate they all were about making music inspired him to continue in the business. The last day of the tour he rode back with Skip on the bus. "I was amazed that he sat talking with me the whole trip - 129 miles back to Regina and at the end of it, he gave me his home phone number and address so that I could look him up if I ever came to Toronto. That meant a lot to me back then and it still does now". When Lighthouse was set to perform at Casino Regina two years ago, Edgar remembered about the shirt but couldn't find it. A few months later his wife discovered it socked away in a box. He put the shirt away, disappointed at the lost opportunity. When he heard that Lighthouse would be playing at the Casino again he unearthed the box with its buried treasure and brought it to the gig. The two joked and reminisced when they met at sound check and Edgar told Skip about the T-shirt. They arranged to meet in the Green Room after the show so Skip could sign it. Already awash in nostalgia, Edgar was walloped with memories listening to the band. He closed his eyes and let the music dance around his brain. "Thirty-six years and they go by in a flash," Edgar thought, as he watched the crew tear down the set and pack up the gear. The fact that it was so like his old job was not lost on him. He was humming One Fine Morning all the way down to the Green Room, his T-shirt swinging on its hanger and a reminder of dreams fulfilled in his heart. CommentsGreg Brown 01/21/2010 12:14pm
What a great story Edgar. To be part of the 74 tour crew, well that must have been unbelievable. It's like we've all been waiting for this website to tell the world of this great band! Brenda Hoffert 01/22/2010 1:32am
Hey Greg, thanks for writing. So glad you like the site. Please be a Lightkeeper and spread the word! BTW I'm going to have T-shirts on the site shortly. Allan Ward 02/10/2011 12:36am
I'm not surprised to read about Ed Matysio's drive with Skip in Saskatchewan. As a grade 10 student in 1968 in Aurora, Ontario I wrote a weekly column on music in the local paper The Aurora Banner. Lighthouse played the Aurora Arena and they graciously spoke to me at length after the concert. Imagine! The venues they performed in, and the artists they played with, and they treated me like I was from the New York Times. By the time we finished speaking it was about 12:30 or so. Skip, sensing I didn't drive, asked how I was going to get home. When I replied I would walk (about a mile) he insisted on driving me. He had a 1950's vintage Jaguar so the combination of the car and the drummer of what I consider to be Canada's best pop group was beyond the cool factor. Even though this was 42 years ago, it still resonates like it was yesterday. I came across the Lighthouse website by complete accident, and have been happily remembering a very good time in my life, and it came with a hell of a soundtrack. Leave a Reply | Brenda HoffertI have a long-standing relationship with Lighthouse. I'm married to Paul so I was around for the very first rehearsal (in our garage!!); I'm a song-writer & have collaborated with Paul on some LH songs (Never Say Goodbye, Fly My Airplane & Lonely Places); I'm a writer & producer and have been involved in that capacity on various LH projects (One Fine Weekend, The Best of Lighthouse/Sunny Days Again, Song of the Ages, 40 Years of Sunny Days and a new project we're just getting off the ground - One Fine Story); I've been exhibiting extensively as a fine art photographer since 2005 (www.brendahoffert.com) and have taken all the new shots of the band that are on the site; I've been the band's manager since LH reunited in 1992. Though I was just going to do it for a while it became an addiction 'cause most of all - I'm Lighthouse's biggest fan!! Categories |
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