My first concert was with Tommy Scordato. His brother Paul drove us through a blizzard to the Capital Theater in Passaic NJ on December 21, 1975. We saw Skynyrd who opened up for Leslie West. After the concert we hung around behind the theater waiting for Skynyrd to come out to their tour bus. After about an hour or so the finally came out. We were the only ones out there waiting for them (remember, they were not the main act and we not well known at that point) and they were pretty happy to have fans waiting in the snow for them. I remember that they didn't have winter jackets and were shivering in the cold of the snow. After a couple minutes of chit-chat they invited us on the tour bus! They passed out beers and we shared a big jug of Jacobacci wine. Gary Rossington was dating Linda Blair (of Exocist fame) and she was there as well. We stayed for what seemed like an enternity until the wine and beer was gone. Tommy kept the empty Jacobacci wine bottle in his room and we stuck a candle in the top of it which we lit during jam sessions. Over time the wax built up to the point where you could barely make out the bottle, but we always knew what was under it. It was a time that I'll always remember with a dear friend.
Ironically, Paul Scordato and I have lived blocks from each other in Connecticut now for many years. I have watched both of his children grow, graduate from college, and over the summer attended a engagement party at his house for his son. His daughter and I have coached girls lacrosse together in our town's youth program and she is a middle school teacher just up the road.
Anyway, a couple of years ago I was rummaging through an old box in my basement and found the ticket stub to that concert. On December 21, 2010, 35 years later and just shorty after Tommy's passing, I pulled into Paul's driveway, knocked on the door, and held up the ticket stub. Given the timing it was bittersweet, but we knocked down a few beers nonetheless and shared in memories of not only that night, but of a dear friend and brother who left this world all to soon.
It is funny how just one night in a life can endure for a lifetime. |
