Pribek

Today should be a fun one filled with music and baseball.

I’m headed up to the studio in a few minutes to finish recording this song that we did basic tracks on earlier this month. I’ll be doing the vocals and guitars today and we’ll possibly mix it as well. Anyway, it is the first song in this batch that I plan on releasing digitally, one at a time.

Then, I’m headed over to meet stepson Ryan at Hammons field to watch a ballgame. This is Texas League AA ball which is usually a pretty good time. The Springfield Cardinals, the St. Louis Cardinals affiliate will play the Tulsa Drillers, the Colorado Rockies affiliate.

Check out this Tulsa Drillers logo that features a shadowy figure attacking a baseball.

In the movie “School of Rock”, Jack Black’s character says; “The first thing you do when you start a band is discuss your influences”. It’s funny because it’s true, musicians talk a lot about their “influences”. Actually, they talk a lot about who they try to sound like. Anything or anybody can be a creative influence or affect your interpretation. Influences can be negative or positive, conscious or subconscious. If you are speaking about something like a musical influence, the ones that occur naturally around you are as strong as the ones that you seek out.

Thinking along these lines, I once remarked that, “I’ve probably been influenced as much by Ernie Hays as anybody else because, I’ve probably heard him play more than anybody else”.

Who is Ernie Hays? Ernie Hays has been the stadium organist for the St. Louis Cardinals since 1971. I have heard him play at every Cardinals home game I have attended, watched on T.V. or listened on the radio.

Ernie is not just about, “Duh Duh Duh Duhhh-Charge!!!” Ernie can play, he has some chops; some hip chords. He is an icon in St. Louis, part of the tradition.

While driving around today, I was listening to the Cards game on the radio and there was Ernie in the background, ever present a sound that has stood the test of time. I started to think that I’ve been listening to this guy since I was a kid and I really don’t know anything about him.

When I got home I did a little looking and found this great, 2005 article by Chad Garrison of the Riverfront Times entitled “Dirty Ernie”. I kind of figured that Hays had spent some time in beer joints and piano bars and that is confirmed. What I did not know is that Ernie Hays is the king of dirty old men and is outspoken, somewhat philosophical and an all around very interesting guy.

Here are a couple of Ernie’s one-liners.

“What’s better than a rose on your piano?” he asks. “Tulips on your organ!”

“Hey, Rick, you know how to tell if a woman is ticklish?” inquires Hays. “You hit her with some test-tickles.” Pause. “You know what a Cardinal can do that a Cub can’t? Whistle out of its pecker!”

It is a fun article so, do check it out.

Here is a video of Ernie playing “The King of Beers”.

By the way, the Cards beat the Pirates 16-4 this afternoon and are once again only one game out of first. Rick Ankiel hit two home runs and drove in 7 runs.

Well, here we are, the first week in September and the Cardinals are one game out of first place in the N.L. Central with a record of 68 wins and 67 losses. They have had a hectic year to say the least, LaRussa’s spring training D.U.I., countless injuries, and the death of reliever Josh Hancock.

The team will play 27 games over the next 26 days to finish the season. That is a tough grind especially as they are relying on the elderly, bullpen arms of Troy Percival, Russ Springer and Jason Isringhausen. However, five of those remaining games are agaist the first-place Cubs and three are against the second place Milwaukee Brewers so, they can control their own destiny.

Tonight, against the Pirates, Mark Mulder, returning from shoulder surgery, will start his first game of the season. If he has anything it will be a big plus. Consider this, the Cards have a record of 10 wins and 34 losses in games that were started by Kip Wells or Anthony Reyes. In games started by other pitchers they are 58 and 33.

Every time I hear anyone talking about last years’ World Series winning team, they are described as “sub-par” or the phrase, “the Cardinals backed in to it”, is used. Wouldn’t it just be a giant kick in the ass if the Cards “backed In to” another World Series title? If that happens Tony LaRussa will have reached legend status. Has any other manager/coach led two “sub-par” teams to back-to-back championships before?

And, think about Rick Ankiel; Hollywood should be drooling about this guy. ESPN is referring to him as “The Natural” or “Roy Hobbs” in his daily highlights. Picture this; As a 21-year-old pitcher, the kid tears up the league with serious heat and a knee-buckling curveball only to melt down in the playoffs and set a record for wild pitches. The wildness doesn’t go away and after numerous injuries and comeback attempts, he gives up pitching and decides to be an outfielder. Nobody thinks he has a chance but, the team keeps him on in the low minors out of loyalty. The years pass by and he develops the skills of an every day ballplayer until, the day he makes his triumphant return sparking the battered team and taking them to the World Series.

As the diffused light of August passes and the evenings grow cooler, what could be better than being in the hunt, in a pennant race? What could be better than September dreams?