Happy E Day!

July 13, 1996 – E Hood Plays First Show With Hepcat Dilemma

When Hepcat Dilemma took the stage at the Graffiti on July 13, 1996 a special guest was along side. E Hood had been the bands greatest friend and “biggest fan” for three years, attending nearly every rehearsal and show and on that summer night E performed with the band in a ambitious set that included several new songs and the use of keyboards onstage for the first time. Hepcat Dilemma had been rehearsing as a four-piece for several weeks with E playing assorted percussion, congas and whatever he could get his hands on joining drummer Byron Glatz in a madcap percussive assault. While E was officially a guest and didn’t join the band for another month he has played at every show since.
From Bob’s journal…

…The first band was off quickly and we started to bring our gear on stage. For all the stuff we brought it went pretty fast and Jeff (the Graffiti sound man) told us to take our time. Got a decent sound check on the keyboards and we could hear them pretty good through the monitors. We set them up on the far left of the stage and put E between me and Chuck. It was a lot more cramped than usual but nothing we couldn’t deal with. I was still tuning and Chuck was out at the bar when Jeff announced us but there was no point in rushing. When we were ready we started to play.

Loving Cycle
– after this song Byron ran over to the sound intern who was working the monitor mix and requested a few adjustments – less bass, more vocals and guitar. The sound on stage was never particularly good. We heard most of the vocals from the main speakers.
Ahoy Mr. Page
The Gift of Slab
Reality Bringdown
– these all went well and we were rolling along. Chuck got a little out of sync on “Slab” but it was hardly noticeable.
Ethiopia
– our “untitled” keyboard improv. The transition went smoothly and the piece went very well. Our first appearance with a keyboard since Sam’s Jam three years ago. Wound down and went directly into…
Chance Meeting
– live debut. Sounded very good. Gentle but strong. Right into…
Hawaii Five-O
– another live first. Three in a row. “Five-O” was great – it rocked and was hilarious. Right into…
The You Must Forget Before You Remember Blues
– our first actual pause since after “Slab”. I felt we were playing with great confidence.
Milty Henk’s Immortality
Unlikely Candid Date
Appomattox
– final keyboard piece of the night though not by choice. The intern tells me “Last song” so I look at Jeff and ask if we can play two. He says okay so I grab the guitar and we leave “Sam’s Middle Name” for another night.
Magic Bullet Theory
– I thoroughly botch the intro and fall hopelessly out of sync. Byron’s just back there shaking his head. We play through it. I make some noise and it slows to a halt and then “…one, two, three, four!” and we’re back into it. It never gained the power that it usually had but disaster was avoided.
The Hot Seat

It was over and we began to unplug amidst a splattering of semi-enthusiastic applause. I was feeling very good despite what was obviously a disappointing turnout…. As for E, he was a star. His allsorts sounded great and came through out front though I was told the conga didn’t come out as well. But E was great even when he wasn’t playing. Doing the yo-yo, reading a newspaper and playing jacks behind Chuck, nearly tripping him. Everyone loved him and they should have….

A month later, after watching King Crimson perform at the HORDE Festival E joined the band. Soon afterwards he was interviewed by the Hepcat Dilemma newsletter “Dreaming Through Life”…

DTL: How did you get yourself into this situation?
E: I was downstairs hearing “Loving Cycle” when someone touched me. At first I thought it was Blanche but it was much too special. From the ceiling it smothered the room with an energy that made me went to stick my fingers in my mouth. I came back week after week for the next three years always searching for an answer. The cowboy from the Village People came to me in a dream and told me I was the answer.
DTL: What did you add to the mix?
E: A dynamic sense of gick. In the form of touching others expendable energy is a useful thing. It’s like everybody’s got a raincoat on.
DTL: After all these years what’s it like to play with Hepcat?
E; It makes me feel sassy, almost as if I’ve been bad. This is my punishment. Oh, shit.
DTL: Tell us about your last band.
E: In my senior or junior year of high school I met up with a bunch of blokes and we called ourselves Mistaken. What a bloody mess and a bunch of fudge. We did a Blue Murder tune. It was pretty sick. We did “Seventeen” by Kip Winger. It’s no wonder I wish I was a girl. There were four of us. We broke up because of musical difference. I wanted to be a hip-hop star.
DTL: What are your musical influences?
E: First and foremost my father because he’s such a goddamn man. Mike Jackson for the way he breaks me down…makes me feel weak. King Crimson. Bon Jovi…we’re really getting into this now aren’t we…
DTL: What’s going on inside your head?
E: More of that fudge. It reminds me of the big Indian from “One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest”…or was that the Village People? Are they related?
DTL: What are your musical goals?
E: To be the best I can be. To achieve a freedom like the wind and be the next Dorothy Hammill. I don’t like to be modest. Like the Ange says, “This is for real, for real.” Funk.
DTL: Anything else you’d like to tell Hepcat fans?
E: Be prepared for a jaw-droppin’ hairbrush spankin’ like mama used to give.
DTL: Who’s the best golfer in the band?
E: Fifi that little slut. God, I love him.