If you know Tom Greenwald, it won’t surprise you he spent his 50th birthday in Nashville. That’s the way the author/creative director/very funny and cool guy rolls. (The trip was a surprise gift from his wife, Cathy Utz.)
His great time was made even greater when he ran into fellow Staples ’79 grad Judd Fuller. Judd lives there, and plays bass for country star Rodney Atkins.
They tour 6 months a year, so it was pure luck they happened to play that night at Nashville’s own Bridgestone Arena.
Tom and Cathy — another Staples ’79 alum — joined 10,000 other fans, stomping and hollering to “Take a Back Road” and many other hits.
- Judd Fuller (left) and Tom Greenwald
Then Tom and Cathy joined Judd on his tour bus, for beers and laughs. The biggest ones came when they talked about their first band together (“Storm”).
Seems they were hired to play a dance at Coleytown Junior High School. But guitarist Brian Howard announced he was going to decapitate a live chicken on stage. Tom and Judd were not sure how that would go down with 8th graders.
They talked Brian out of it, and the show went on.
Tom says that Storm — which also included Eric Michaels and the late Paul Spina — “rocked everything from Sabbath to Kiss to Deep Purple” (admittedly, not a wide range).
“I think we broke up because of artistic differences,” Tom says.
“That, and high school.”
(PS: Judd says hi to everyone in Westport, Tom reports. And he wants everyone to know that “despite many years of living in the Confederacy, he’s still a Mets fan.”)
