January 2006 Featured User

Pumpkinhead

Hello Everyone, Please allow me to introduce myself,

I AM PUMPKINHEAD!

Do not accept copies or imitations, I am the real thing, the original!

Wow, I'm a featured user??? Chelle must be desperate!!!!!!

About me:

Born: 25 September 1968

Birthplace: Camden , NJ

Raised: Oaklyn , NJ

Current: Collingswood , NJ

Age: 37 …. Wow, I'm getting old!

Marital Status: Almost married once! Ffeeeeeeewww….. That was close!

Currently: Single

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite food: Cheese Steak @ Gino's in Phila , Pa.

Favorite Restaurant: Leonetti's 901 White Horse Pike (Rt. 30) Oaklyn, NJ

Favorite Music Store: The Music Place . Westmont , NJ

A little about me I guess?? Ok… Here goes…..

On a Dark & Stormy night, lightning filled the air with a sort of burnt electric smell. You could just tell something was approaching, it was September 25 th 1968, and The Pumpkinhead was born. LOL….

Anyways,

I grew up in Oaklyn , NJ . It was a small town, Population I'm guessing around 20 – 40,000. The town itself is only about ¾ of a square mile. Everyone knows everyone else there pretty much, which can be good & bad at the same time.

When I was about 13 my friends & I started drinking & smoking. We used to hang in a section of Oaklyn known as the Manor, up on the railroad tracks. It was around that time that everyone started carrying those big radios around, boom boxes we called them. Back then there would be around 200 kids out on a school night. We hung out on “The Hill”, others were hanging out in front of the stores, partying behind the school, or at the box, or the trestle, or down the gully by the tunnel. The tunnel was a large storm drain that emptied into a stream. Everyone in town around that time started listening to Van Halen.

If you can picture 200+ kids strung out along this 1 block with about 5-15 radios…. When VH would come on everyone would tune into the same station, it was cool to hear VH echoing thru the neighborhood. Anyways…

Although I had messed around on the piano since I was just a wee lad, around the age of 15 I started taking it seriously. I also played the trumpet in grade school, but keyboards I loved. When 1984 came out, I became permanently hooked. I started listening to all types of music, as long as there were keyboards involved. Some of my favorites even to this day were in no particular order:

Van Halen

Kansas

Boston

Deep Purple

Argent

The Guess Who

Yes

The Who

Triumph

Journey

Styx

Grand Funk Railroad

And a whole bunch more…

As I got older, I started playing in various garage bands; with some of the best basement stars that knew everything and that you would never want to hear… LOL… I guess the weren't ALL bad. Some were ok…

When I was about 18 I started going out to local bars to see cover bands. From what I understand this is one of the few areas you can actually make a good living by playing other peoples music, but that's another story… I used to go to one club in particular called “ Dick Lee's” There were some pretty good acts there. It was there I got my start in the music business. The bar closed a 3am, and if you weren't working you had to leave. I didn't want to drive home drunk, so I asked the soundman if he needed a hand. So for about a year or two I worked for FREE BEER!

and of course we had all kinds of fun!

The soundman's name was Wayne Reeves, who eventually hired me as a monitor engineer. I worked the local cover circuit for awhile until I met a fellow keyboardist by the name of Dave Barlow. Dave had Played with an 80's band called Tangier, & another band called Black Eyed Susan. He opened for White Lion & The Bulled Boys. He took a job with a local band, and I became his Tech. After that He introduced me to a man named Scott Humphrey, who owns a company called Light Action Productions Inc. I started working for Light Action around 1998. Light Action is a production company that provides stage, lighting, & roof systems for concerts, sporting events, & corporate shows.

On July 4 th 2000, I was working at The Big Kahuna in Wilmington , DE . It was an extremely hot day, about 110 degrees and humid as hell out. We were setting up for Poison, Cinderella, Dokken, & someone else that I cant remember.

As we finished up on the PA, I was looking for what to do next. I walked over to where a couple of my friends were. One of the road crew came and asked, “which one of you guys knows backline?” I said “I Do!” and the other guys he sent to lighting. So, The guy introduces himself, “Hi, I'm Kevin. What's your name?” I said “PUMPKINHEAD” So Kevin thought that was pretty funny… so… while unloading the trucks, I start pulling off these road cases that have the VH logo all over them…. So I asked “what?? Did these guys buy all this stuff off of VH?? Kevin replied, “ Why, You like Van Halen??” I said “Fuck Yea, They've been my favorite band since I was about 13!” So he tells me “ Actually, Mike loaned them one of his spare bass rigs and some other stuff”, and “I'm Michael's bass tech, Kevin Dugan.”

So… Needless to say It made my year that I was setting up Michaels bass rig… And working with Kevin was cool, he was a trip.

Later that day I was cut for a break. I was on my way out to my van to sit in the air conditioning to cool off for a bit, and I hear… “Pumpkinhead… Hey… Pumpkinhead….” It was Kevin… He wanted to know if I knew if any stores were open where he could get some absolute, it was the LD's birthday. So I got the owner of the venue to hook him up… at the end of the night he gave me his card & told me to keep in touch, so I did. Sometimes you just click with people. Dugan is good people in my book; about as good as they come… we've hung out at different venues with different bands he's worked with, and we have become pretty good friends.

Oh, ok… the name Pumpkinhead…

Back when I mentioned Dave Barlow… We were hanging out in a bar in Somerdale NJ called Spirits, a local band called Le Compt was playing that night. Some of the guys from Cinderella and Britny Fox were hanging there that night. I was talking with Billy Childs (Britny Fox), Tommy Kiefer (Cinderella), & Dave. Barlow was busting my stones & called me Pumpkinhead, and the name just stuck. I hated it at first, but everyone remembered the name. Eventually I capitalized on it, & got a lot of work out of it.

After I left Light Action I went to work for the I.A.T.S.E. local 8 stagehands union. I worked a lot of shows with them until I was in a motor vehicle accident in October 2002. The accident put me out of work for about 9 months. I was unable to return to stagehand work because I simply could not lift the gear anymore. Unable to go back, I took a job delivering pizza for awhile…. Chelle thinks this is hilarious… “How do you get the roadie off your porch??? Pay him for the Pizza!” But it paid my bills for a little while.

After that I went back to construction, & started my own business. Currently I am still self-employed and work as a general contractor. I mainly work in HVAC now, building huge commercial boilers and installing rooftop Central Air & Heating units.

Anyways…. That's about all I can think of for now… and I have to get this in to Chelle before she kills me! Lol… So… I wish everyone Happy Holidays!

Happy New Year!

The Pumpkinhead!!!