Over the last several years, I had been looking for an old friend—Scott Whipple--through occasional Google searches and other internet sleuthing, all to no avail. Whenever I talked to someone with whom I attended undergraduate school at Appalachian State University in the early 80s, I would ask if they knew what had happened to him. Outside of the odd rumor or two, no one seemed to know what had happened to him.
Two weeks ago, I was tipped off that Scott was mentioned in an advertisement for a poster for sale over on eBay (believe me, this wouldn’t be the strangest way that I have found an old friend). When I opened the link I had been provided, I found a poster for sale, with a description provided by an early roommate of Scott’s, describing the circumstances under which the poster had been made. Exchanging information with the seller, I found another dead end when I was told that he, too, hadn’t heard from Scott in over 20 years.
Nonetheless, I was absolutely charmed by what he had for sale: an old mimeographed piece of paper advertising an R.E.M. show at PB Scott’s Music Hall in Blowing Rock, NC back in 1983. It was a show that Scott had sponsored and organized, early in the band’s career (when you could book them for a thousand dollars), and Scott had done it on guts alone, as he didn’t have the money to cover the fee if it had failed. (Sidebar: the show was in Blowing Rock rather than Boone, the home of ASU, because Boone was in a dry county).
OK, so I’m looking at the so-called “poster” (pictured above), and I can’t help but smile at a large array of memories , of R.E.M., of who I was at the time. Ultimately, I decided to bid for it, even though it is literally a Xeroxed sheet of typing paper. While my resources are limited, I stupidly didn’t expect it to go for much. Afterall, we are talking about a Xeroxed copy of a copy of a copy. And, as we’re repeatedly told, authenticity is dead. If so, I could make my own poster. Why do I bid? I supposed I did feel that nostalgia was a bit more warranted in my case, as this is a material piece of my own history. I was there, in Boone, when those posters were hung. Like everyone else, I have something of a soft spot for my own mythical past.
While I felt a bit silly bidding what amounts to a full tank of gasoline on a sheet of paper, I was absolutely stunned when the bidding went to almost $250.00.
While I know this isn’t a new question to ask, I couldn’t help but wonder in that moment, “What the heck is at stake in a purchase of this type,?” especially if the bidder, unlike me, wasn’t there. While I understand that one might purchase a collectible as an investment, what was this other than an investment? What do any of us want when we’re buying nostalgic bits of this nature? Is it our youth? Is it material evidence that we hope shows others what we were? Is it an attempt to show provide others with evidence of our commitment to a certain set of memories (i.e., “I loved this so much that I spent $250.00 on it”).
More importantly, what is this “poster” for someone who wasn’t part of Boone, NC, subculture back in 1983? Remember, this isn’t an item that gives us access to something that the purchase alone can see. Indeed, you could enlarge the very photo on this page to regulation size, print it, and hang it on your wall. While not yellowed and fading, while not “authentic” in the sense of “having been there,” it’s essentially the same piece of paper to the degree that the original, the one sold on ebay was always already a copy, a Xeroxed copy of a Xeroxed copy (and not even a Xerox of something of high aesthetic value). Obviously, there is something valuable—even for the purchaser--about the piece having “been there.” Despite claims about the death or originality and authenticity, something of it lingers in a case such as this one.
Ultimately, I find something strangely hopeful about the fact that the “poster” was so valued. Perhaps we, as a culture, still have more space for romanticism than I normally suppose. And while I know that nostalgia and romanticism are often put to use to political ends with which I might not agree, the very fact of its existence somehow makes me smile. Now, does anyone have any idea what I can do with this happiness?
Greetings from Boone. Just tripped acrossed this post and thought I might direct your attention to the Boone Music Archive Reunion http://www.boonemusicarchive.org/reunion.html which is taking place April 21st. You may find info on Scott Whipple's whereabouts.
A while back I posted a photo of my PB Scott's membership id card on my blog: http://blueridgeblog.blogs.com/blue_ridge_blog/2005/09/assorted_smatte.html
...and no way would I pay $250 for that poster, but I'd love to have a PB Scotts t-shirt.
Posted by: Marie | Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 11:47
Uh, Marie... you were, um, what we technically like to call "a babe."
Posted by: Daniel | Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 15:53
Daddy's Money, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1983. R.E.M. played to about 30 of us (that number included the band and the wait staff). Yep, I'd love a copy of that poster.
Posted by: Pam | Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 17:53
pam, are you a Hokie?
Daddy's Money is an odd place for REM. There was a better joint, this old church (???) on Main Street where bands like Nervous Romance played -- the greatest cover band ever!
i went to a Police concert around that time. REM opened for the Police and the crowd booed. People going to see the Police didn't know jack about Radio Free Europe, I guess.
Posted by: hue | Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 18:22
Yep, I'm a Hokie. Was a WUVT DJ too from 1981-1983 - and we used to sponsor bands all of the time, and so I was 'assigned' to help R.E.M. to set up. Yes - Daddy's Money was an odd place, but it might have been during a brief period of time when the church was closed or being renovated or something. I used to go to that church all of the time - 117 North Main, or something like that?
Posted by: Pam | Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 21:12
i was a freshman at VT in 1983.
yup, 117 South Main, ( or maybe it was North Main.) i've seen many bands there. you can get right up close.
as far as nostalgia, a friend of mine was in a band called the Janitors in Blacksburg. they were looking for new singer, and he was looking for a loft. so he made a poster that said "Can you carry a tune? Are you a singing loft?" with a photo of a loft.
it cracks me up just thinking about that silly poster ... but we don't laugh at stuff like that out of college.
Posted by: hue | Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 21:36
Hue, I got my BS there in 1981, and my MS in 1983. Yeah - I think it was South (not North) Main - that sounds more like it. Great place, spent alot of time hanging out up in the balcony. There, or at Mr Fooz on Wednesday nights. Good times. Don't remember the Janitors - but do you remember Not Shakespeare? We hired them for a party once - I think they ended up going up to DC and playing alot, don't know what happened to them after that.
Posted by: Pam | Friday, March 30, 2007 at 19:42
Awww...Daniel thanks. If you were around then, I certainly would have wished you had asked me to dance...
Posted by: Marie | Friday, March 30, 2007 at 23:08
this is my butt talking, so i can't point you to any particular piece of critical theory, but check out the idea of the "one-of-a-kind" and "authenticity" being replaced by "the local." This is a case of that fer sure.
anyway, memories of REM throw me into paroxysms of teenage angst. The snare flam at the top of sitting still even now sets my jaded, near-forty heart a-flutter.
Posted by: walter biffle | Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 11:11
i remember Not Shakespear, a punk band? i have a picture in my mind of one of their singers with Duran Duran like hair and black clothes. Didn't Not Shakespear play cover as well as their own songs?
i lived in Pritchard as a freshman, and it seemed like everyone on my floor played guitar.
my friend Rob was the guitar player for the Janitors. he was an electrical engineering student. when his parents came to visit, we hid all of his equipment for him. Rob never graduated, like so many people at VT.
do you remember Nervous Romance? they were also from Northern Virginia. Seemed like everyone was from Northern Va. or New Jersey, cheaper to pay out of state tuition in Va., then in state in NY or NJ.
Posted by: hue | Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 15:18
I was at the REM show at PB Scott's. I remember Scott Whipple very well and was a member of his Numusiklub. As a club we had dance parties around Boone and charged admission.The money raised went to fund more parties and eventually the REM show. Another interesting tidbit. Scott passed out copies at the show of REM's now infamous and highly collectible Hib-Tone 45 with Radio Free Europe. I managed to get 2 copies,one of which I sold for $75 many years ago. I would love to get my hands on any recordings of that show.I can still remember very vivdly Mike Stipe dancing on stage wearing a huge over-sized foam rubber Cowboy hat. Goodtimes in the 80's for sure!
Posted by: Drew | Monday, September 24, 2007 at 11:47
Drew?? Is that Andrew "Drew" Huebner, former Martin Wright roommate? Ultimate frisbee player? cary, nc denizen?
Posted by: jmsloop | Monday, September 24, 2007 at 14:56
Nope, but I knew Drew and Dave Huebner and Martin Wright too. I have partied with Martin a few times in recent years. My last name is Harris. I met all those guys my soph year at ASU thru my roommate Randall McCorquodale and his pal Steve King. So who are you jmsloop?
BTW...I hear there is going to be another Boone Music Archive sponsored show up there in early December. I'm going to try to make if possible.
Posted by: Drew | Wednesday, October 03, 2007 at 16:07
Hell, if that's true, we all ought to make a pilgrimage back to the Source in December.
Martin, I'm sure I'd be shocked if I didn't recognize your face, since I remember both Randall and Ghengis. I'm bad with names now, though.
Posted by: Daniel | Thursday, October 04, 2007 at 11:24
Hey, dudes! I lived next door to the Hubners, et al, out on the west side of town. I was also at that P.B. Scotts show. In fact, later that night I gave Michael Stipe my ear cuff in Scott Wipple apartment. He'd never seen one and thought it was real cool.
The Boone Reunion II was not as fabulous as the April show at the Gamekeeper, though it was fun. Horray to Chris for his efforts and Wendy & Ken and their staff for making this "Mid-Life Crisis" a blast.
So, getting back to the original point, what ever happened to Scott Wipple? Surely we couldn't let a person such as he, who helped to ignite our collective cultural frenzy, just slip away into obscurity.
Maybe so, but I'll never forget it as long as I live.
Posted by: Kenyon Kelly | Monday, January 21, 2008 at 21:12
WHO R U PEOPLE? probably i met you in G-town 1987-1988?? - I was married to steve for many years - and know all your references...........
Posted by: caroline | Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 01:39
REM played at after Sundown (not 117 or Daddy's Money) on May 2, 1983... It cost $2.... I scanned the flyer and sent it here http://members.iinet.net.au/~darryl74/images/rem1983-05-02.jpg
Posted by: jlr | Friday, October 17, 2008 at 14:18
May 2, 1983 was Derby Day at Virginia Tech - REM played at After Sundown - a video/dance joint which space was annexed by the Virginia Tech Book Store after it closed, which was itself the succeeding tennant to Kennedy's Music -- all across the street from 117 South Main Cafe. Michael Stip came to a student house, since demolished, on Ellet Road to drink gin (Tanqueray) and tonics with students who worked in Virginia's film industry during the summer. REM returned to the New River Valley to play the Dedmon Center at Radford in 1984 & 85 about 30 minutes away from Blacksburg. Daddy's Money, a bar and grill space complete with parking deck atop Mish Mish art supply store, became Morgan's then Buddy's then Eat at Joes and then the American Red Cross. The space is now vacant. One Tuesday night as Morgan's, the Lemon Heads, the Gin Blossoms and the Goo Goo dolls appeared, but the show was sparsely attended - more musicians than fans.
Posted by: SS | Tuesday, December 02, 2008 at 14:10
I was at that show and had a blast. The next day REM was did a record signing at Record and Tape Depot. Good times for sure.
Posted by: Jim Posner | Thursday, April 02, 2009 at 23:28
FYI: My suitemate was Ruth Buddenbaum who married Dave Huebner. I would dearly love to reunite with her.
Posted by: Marie | Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 20:29
fyi, I just purchased the P.B.Scott's dome in boone which sits on top of a three story home on a mountain top and in the process of refurbishing it right now and am stuned at all the talent that passed thru there, any info or photos would be greatly appreaciated, thanks Steve G. e-mail sgalluzi@aol.com
Posted by: stephen galluzi | Sunday, May 24, 2009 at 10:55
I heard that Whipple was in Minneapolis for a while. I don't know if he is still there though.
The REM gig at P.B Scotts was an amazing thing, complete with bouncers that didn't quite "get it" you might say. :))
Posted by: Randall McCorquodale | Monday, January 25, 2010 at 10:42