Joe’s Good Time Dance Band

One of the wonderful things about the family I married into is the music. Maile’s dad Joe put himself through college playing in a band (that his dad managed) and has been a lifelong guitar player with a band on the side. My kinda guy. (On my first date with Maile she told me that as a little girl she used to fall asleep in the fuzzy lining of her dad’s guitar case. I remember thinking, “This girl is for me!”)

I had heard about the Good Time Dance Band from their time in Hawaii.  Now Joe has shared with us some old converted VHS video from a gig that the drummer, Jim Coulter, posted on his site. Joe sings his first song at about 6 mins. See his description below.

Joe’s history of the band:

The Good Time Dance Band formed in the late 70s in upcountry Maui, Hawaii. Their popularity was due to the fact that they played Classic Rock, Country Rock, Country Smooth Jazz and popular Hawaiian music. They were very eclectic in their repertoire and as a result they were very popular on the hotel circuit and played frequently around the island.

The main band members consisted of Joe Broccoli, vocals and guitar, Jim Elliott, bass, harmonica and vocals, and Jim Coulter, drums and vocals. In later years they added Larry Givens, guitar and vocals, and John Neff, piano, bass and guitar. This video features Broccoli, Elliott, Coulter and Givens playing at the Maui County Fair in the early 1980’s.

Sven Eric Molin

This post is to remember my father, Sven Eric Molin, who died when he was 57 and I was 15. I’ve begun gathering here all the stuff I can find online, first by simply searching “Sven Eric Molin.” Brother Pete shared the wonderful obit of our dad, lovingly crafted by his college roommate and lifelong friend Alden Vaughan.

Obituaries

Sven Eric Molin ’50

Sven Eric MolinSven Eric Molin died November 5, 1987, after a life-long struggle with diabetes. Amherst friends who knew Eric well may recall his daily insulin injections and occasional seizures. In recent years diabetes had affected his eyesight and circulation; he had endured several operations. Through it all his mind stayed as sharp as his wit, and to the end he remained a dedicated teacher and scholar.

Eric (“Tink” in those days) came to Amherst from Rochester, N.Y., and subsequently from Wilmington, Del., where his parents moved when he was in college. At Amherst, he was an avid student of English literature and a fund of knowledge on all kinds of music. (I still see Eric deep in conversation with Lionel Hampton in the Thete Delt bar while Hamp’s band, weary from playing the Senior Prom, waits impatiently for post-concert libations.) Eric was active in the college band, college radio station, and Thete Delta Chi fraternity, which he served with uncommon intelligence and diligence.

After Amherst, Eric earned an M.A. at Columbia Univ. and a Ph.D. at the Univ. of Pennsylvania. He taught briefly at Ohio Univ. and for many years at Randolph-Macon Women’s College before joining the English department at George Mason Univ. in 1971. At various times in his career he held temporary positions at Columbia, C.W. Post, and the City University of New York. He was also a Fulbright lecturer in Finland and a research fellow in Ireland. Besides his teaching and administrative responsibilities at George Mason, Eric served for the past several years as his university’s representative to the Folger Library’s Institute for Renaissance and Eighteenth Century Studies.

Eric was devoted to both the institutional and the intellectual aspects of academic life. His students valued him as a stimulating and dedicated teacher; his colleagues cherished his wise counsel and deep commitment to quality education. At George Mason he was, at various times, a member of the University Senate, the Graduate Council, and the European Studies Committee, and he coordinated the Freshman Writing Program; he was also active in the American Association of University Professors. With equal dedication, Eric contributed to literary scholarship. To his fellow specialists in literature, he was an authority on eighteenth-century fiction and drama and the author of important journal articles, co-author of Drama: The Major Genres (Dodd, Mead, 1962), and co-author of a work-in-progress on the early nineteenth-century American theatrical entrepreneur, Dion Boucicault. Eric pursued his intellectual interests with fervor and energy until the end: a week before his death, he read a paper to the annual conference of the American Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies.

It was my privilege to know Eric even better in recent years than when we roomed together in the 1940s. Time had dimmed none of his puckish humor or his affection for music or his passionate commitment to a variety of causes. On my frequent visits to Washington, we reminisced about old times, caught up on university gossip, and shared our current professional and personal enthusiasms. We had abundant opportunities to do all those things in the summer of 1985, when my wife and I moved into Eric’s house in Arlington, Va., for nearly two months; he was there much of the time, between trips to Ireland, Rochester, and elsewhere. The three of us (and our dog) formed an unconventional but very congenial family. I shall sorely miss Eric, as will legions of his friends, colleagues, and students.

Eric was married twice and had five sons, two of whom graduated from Amherst: Karl Teo (Ted) Molin II, ’78, and Franklin Bache Molin, ’86. Contributions in memory of Sven Eric Molin can be made to the George Mason University Foundation and to the Diabetes Association.

— Alden T. Vaughan


SVEN MOLIN, PROFESSOR AT GMU, DIES

November 7, 1987

Sven Eric Molin, 58, a professor of English literature at George Mason University since 1973, died Nov. 4 at his home in Arlington of the complications of diabetes.Dr. Molin was born in Rochester, N.Y. He graduated from Amherst College and earned a master’s degree in English from Columbia University and a doctorate in English from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a professor at Ohio University and at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia before moving to the Washington area about 14 years ago.

Dr. Molin was a member of the American Society of 18th Century Studies and had represented George Mason University on the executive committee of the Folger Institute.

His marriages to Ann Molin and Barbara Molin ended in divorce.

Survivors include four sons by his first marriage, Karl Teo Molin II of New York City, Army Lt. Peter Castle Molin of Fort Benning, Ga., and John Bickford Molin and Franklin Bache Molin, both of Arlington; one son by his second marriage, Jason Eric Molin of Washington; two half-brothers, John McCauley of Wilmington, Del., and Edward McCauley of Rochester, and one grandchild.

The Washington Post


SVEN ERIC MOLIN

1956 Ph.D. Graduate
Dissertation Advisor(s): Arthur Hawley (Joe) Scouten
“John Wesley’s Techniques in Revising Literary Masterpieces for His Methodist Audience”

- https://www.english.upenn.edu/people/sven-eric-molin


Other Links

September 2016 Singalong at Barton Springs

We had another great annual installment of my bday singalong – I turned 44 on Monday, a day after the singalong – on Sunday at Barton Springs. My main man Doug showed up with guitar and played along with us. It was a beautiful morning.

Laurie shot this nice little video of us singing George Harrison tune:

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January 2016

Here is the story of my  January, in pictures, songs and videos.  We started the new year by hosting a New Year’s Eve dinner.

Gray, playing guitar for us after dinner, by the fire
Gray, playing guitar for us after dinner, by the fire

Maile, Anais and I spent a lazy Saturday afternoon with Townes having a picnic and wandering around Zilker park.

Anais and Maile, running w Townes at Zilker park
Anais and Maile, running w Townes at Zilker park
Anais and Townes, kissed by the sun
Anais and Townes, kissed by the sun
Anais, making a heart with her arms
Anais, making a heart with her arms
My tall shadow, waving atop the big rock in Zilker park
My tall shadow, waving atop the big rock in Zilker park

Anais snapped these shots of us at dinner one night.

Dad eating dinner, by Anais
Dad eating dinner, by Anais
Anais selfie with adoring dad
Anais selfie with adoring dad

Our first week back at work I ran AV for the Black Student-Athlete Summit. Here is a UT-Austin panel of collogues.

Leonard Moore moderates a panel with Thais, Darren, Louis, Devin, and MJ
Leonard Moore moderates a panel with Thais, Darren, Louis, Devin, and MJ

While I was helping run the BSA conference, my brother Pete was in town to attend the MLA conference and present with a panel of War Lit writers. It also happened to be free-week at many clubs downtown, so we  walked 6th St. and stopped in a few clubs on Red River.

First we hit the Mohawk and caught a band, then singer-songwriter Ben Ballinger.

Ben Ballinger at the Mohawk
Ben Ballinger blowing the harmonica at the Mohawk

Then we hit Cheer Up Charlie’s to meet up with Pete’s fellow panelists, Patrick and AB. We arrived to Girls In The Nose , a band of older women. They were great. A friend informed me that they are a lesbian band that’s been going for decades. And what a refreshing contrast to the cool, unintelligible band that was playing for hipsters next door.

I was smiling before I could see them because as we walked in they were singing about the “pedagogy of the pussy.” Then there was “More Madonna, less Jesus!” My favorite, that was in my head for days, went, “We juxtapose the pantyhose with FREE-DOM, FREE-DOM!”

Girls In The Nose at Cheer Up Charlie's
Girls In The Nose at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Peter, Lauren, AB, and Patrick at Cheer Up Charlie's
Peter, Lauren, AB, and Patrick at Cheer Up Charlie’s
War Lit Panel at the MLA Conference: AB, Patrick, Stacey, Peter, and Roy
War Lit Panel at the MLA Conference: AB, Patrick, Stacey, Peter, and Roy
Anais with a pretzel monocle
Anais with a pretzel monocle (downtown waiting for Peter’s panel)
Sunday Singalong at Stacy Park
We had a beautiful Sunday Singalong sitting in the sun at Stacy Park
Anais got a bunch of awards!
Anais got a bunch of awards!
We biked the boardwalk and had a picnic with all the lovies.
We biked the boardwalk and had a picnic with all the lovies.
All the lovies at the picnic
All the lovies at the picnic
OPNTHDOr (some old artwork of Anais's I found going through a box of her art)
OPNTHDOr (some artwork of Anais’s I found going through a box of her art)
A glimpse into Anais's tiny world
A glimpse into Anais’s tiny world
Anais's room, after she spent a long time cleaning and organizing
Anais’s room, after she spent a long time cleaning and organizing

Gray and I jammed at his place. Check out the selections below.

Gray's Delay Delay, which can be heard in our jams below
Gray’s Delay Delay, which can be heard in our jams below

I photographed and video taped the UT MLK Day ceremony and march to the capitol. Jessica edited it together into the video below.

Girls scouts at the MLK statue on MLK Day
Girls scouts at the MLK statue on MLK Day

This little guy stole the show!

Marching to the capitol, we ran into Casey and Natalie, Georgia and Adele (lower right w Anais)
Marching to the capitol, we ran into Casey and Natalie, Georgia and Adele (lower right w Anais)
A misty morning shot of the river on my morning commute along the boardwalk
A misty shot of the river on my morning commute along the boardwalk
A full-moon shot of the sunset from the boardwalk on my commute home
A full-moon over the sunset from the boardwalk on my commute home
A day at the Menil with Maile's folks, Joe and Ellyn
A day at the Menil with Maile’s folks, Joe and Ellyn
Maile and Ellyn, lounging on the grass above my approaching shadow
Maile and Ellyn, lounging on the grass outside the Menil, with my approaching shadow
A curl of steam on my tea makes an
A curl of steam on my tea makes an “e”
Looking up at the cedars in the front yard at Tomball
Looking up at the cedars in the front yard at Tomball

Maile took me on a great date to see Kool an the Gang at the ACL Live stage.

Kool and the Gang

Kool and the Gang

Kool and the Gang
Kool and the Gang

Doug and I saw Thomas play with Bryce’s band, Brother Superior.

Brother Superior at Blackheart
Brother Superior at The Blackheart

Brother Superior

We FINALLY took Anais out on our kayak and it was a magical morning on GORGEOUS day
We FINALLY took Anais out on our kayak and it was a magical morning on GORGEOUS day
Epic bday jam at Gray's
Epic bday jam at Gray’s
Gray and his blue Telecaster on a sea of color
Gray and his blue Telecaster on a sea of color

And I’ll end with a song that I improvised one night in the studio. Channeling Mark’s frustrations with DC, I looped some vocal lines and spit this out: