The HipNecks had some fun with the sponsor signs before going on stage.

Members of the HipNecks having a little fun before the band takes the stage.

The HipNecks take the stage.

Tom Van Ness, general sales manager of The Quincy Herald-Whig and TheLocalQ.com, is serving as the party’s emcee.

Tom Van Ness

Here’s a photo of the crowd enjoying dinner at One for the Local Q’s “NYE2013: The New Year’s Eve Party Everyone’s Talking About.” Those who bought the all-inclusive package started streaming in at 6 p.m., with general admission ticket holders expected at 9:30 p.m.

The party continues until 2:30 a.m.

Dinner, dessert, champagne – and music – being enjoyed at One.

I was going through cassettes that I have in a huge box to find the good ones to convert to mp3 with my nifty converter. That is when I found the interview tape. I had almost forgotten about it. I stuck it in the player and let it roll. Instantly, I was back there, sitting at a table with this dude. He was really curious about my ‘work,’ which was nothing more than four album reviews and a rant about concert tickets. I showed him a couple of them and he seemed to enjoy them. He told me I had a sharp sense of humor. We made small talk for a while about the weather, family and finally music. That is when I bought the first round and pressed record…

Van Dyke

DVD: So, I know you have some Lou Reed in your player there, what else might someone find in there?

Phoenix Guy: Oh, I like all different kinds of stuff. There is rock, jazz, classical, maybe a little country in there. It really depends on the day. It’s kind of like pairing wine with food, or putting chords together for a song. You can’t just throw a bunch of notes together and have it sound good. They need to complement, coordinate with each other.

DVD:  Are you a musician then?

PG: Well, that’s a pretty broad term. I think everyone is a musician. Some just have not found their instrument yet. (laughs) I play some, if that’s what you mean. How about yourself?

DVD: I play some too. I was in a band for a while back home.

PG: Yeah. I was in a band back in the early days. I kind of fell into it actually. I had no plans of putting a band together, it just kind of happened.

DVD: Really? How is that?

PG: Well, it’s a long story. I played with some guys I went to school with for a few years. I ended up meeting this girl and kind of lost interest in the music, if you catch my drift. We flew out to Vegas one weekend and got married. We were just dumb kids. I think we were maybe 19 or 20. It was great for a while but it didn’t last. It was after that when I ended up playing again.

DVD: What kind of stuff did you play?

PG: Again, not a short answer for that one. I didn’t really play anything right then. The thing was, I found out my wife was cheating on me and I was working this job that I hated, so one day I just decided to take off. We had been saving up to buy a house, so I had some cash. One of the guys from the old band was living in New York, so I decided to head that way. I figured I would check out the big city for a week and hang out with my old friend. It was supposed to be just a vacation type thing. I would relax, clear my head, then start fresh.

DVD: So it didn’t turn out as planned, I am guessing.

PG: (laughs) No, not quite. I got there and he took me around the city, showing me the touristy stuff that first day. He tells me he’s in this band and they are pretty good. They had some interest from some labels and stuff like that. I thought it was cool, you know? So, he says they have a gig that Friday night and I should check it out if I am still here. I was gonna take off that morning, so I said I wasn’t sure. Then he says that the band is rehearsing on Wednesday and he would bring me along, so I could I least hear what they were doing. I thought that would be interesting enough, so I went. They were OK, I guess. They got through a couple songs, then they started another one and the singer’s voice started cracking and stuff. They stopped and he just had this terrible cough going. So my friend starts singing instead, so they can get through the rehearsal. They had three or four original songs. There was one that we used to do years ago that he kept and some others that were pretty good. I am just taking it all in, having a few drinks, enjoying myself, you know? Then he says, “Hey, you wanna sing this one?” I had a few in me by then, so I said sure, I’ll do one.  And that was that.

DVD:  So you sang one song and they fired the singer and hired you?

PG: No, it’s not that simple. I sang that song, then a few covers and we all got torn up and hit the clubs until we couldn’t see straight. I decide to stay to watch the gig on Friday and we spent the next day recovering. It turns out, the singer had some kind of throat infection and was not going to be able to do it. This was a big deal kind of show, so they begged me to help them out. They decided just to use the one original song I knew and covers for the rest. Luckily it was a 30- or 40-minute set in the middle of four other acts. So, Friday comes around and we do the show. Some label guys are talking to us and trying to convince us that this band is just not the right mix. We don’t fit together, he says. He tells me and my friend that we need to be working with this other guy he represents. We were polite, but the other guys weren’t. They got bent out of shape thinking we were cutting them out or something. Well, it got heated and we ended up doing just that. That is the way those record company guys are, always getting you paranoid about each other so they can control you.  Yeah, lots of shady characters in bad suits. To this day I cringe every time I see a Mercedes. All those scuzzballs drove ‘em. Anyway, in the morning, we are hurting pretty good since we drowned our sorrows a bit after the band incident. My friend says we need to go get a pick me up and he knows some people over in Queens that can help us out.

DVD: Drugs?
PG: (laughs)No, man, sugar! That was just the times. We dabbled with it, but never got heavy into it.

DVD: So what happened when you got back home?

PG: (more laughs) Oh man! I wasn’t home until I got here! (laughs and laughs). We end up heading over to Queens to find this guy to hook us up. We met him in this dive bar and he asks if we are in a band or something. We say we were a few days ago, man (laughs).  We tell him we play a little guitar or bass, and sing a little bit too. He tells us to go over a couple blocks and check out this friend of his that’s a drummer. He was looking for some people to jam with. So we do that and let me tell you, this guy was nuts. We end up joining his band. We played a couple shows here and there and one day this smarmy manager guy they were working with shows up saying we can go on this tour of Europe opening for some other guys he manages.

DVD: Wow. That is awesome! What was that like? Who was it you were opening for?
PG: It was a good time for sure. I’m not sure who it was. They never got anywhere, I don’t think. Probably couldn’t do what the record company wanted, so they pulled the plug. That’s what they did back then. You did it their way or else. That’s why they put these tours together. They put another band on the bill to get you paranoid about who they really are looking out for. And if you step outta line, they remind you that you aren’t the only game in town and the next is waiting in the wings. The next big thing is all they care about. It’s different today, though. At least, it looks that way.

DVD: What do you think of today’s music?

PG: I don’t, really. It seems like every dude with a wallet chain is putting out music these days. It is all so phony and contrived. Seriously, does it take eight people to write a song? It is all product. There is good stuff around, but it is like finding a tootsie roll in a mountain of turds. I cannot remember the last CD I bought that was made in the last 10 years. The music business is just not set up for quality music to take root in it. That can change though. I mean they can grow grapes and make wine here in Arizona, so someone probably has a way to be creative and interesting in the current climate of the music business. Have you tried any of the Arizona wines?

DVD: Not yet, but I am looking forward to it. Thanks for talking to me. This was very interesting.

PG: Hey, just keep doing what you do for you. If you really enjoy it, it will work out. It may be a long road, but its nice to still be out there driving, isn’t it?

– Don Van Dyke