HUCKLEBERRIES: Cd'A rock 'n' roll writer

You know Michael Koep as the man who is keeping Chris Guggemos’ summer music legacy alive.

But Michael’s “loyal, energetic” fans know him as the drummer of the popular local band, The Rub.

At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, at the Iron Horse, Michael, author of the award-winning Newirth Mythology trilogy, will reintroduce himself as a writer for the launch of his fourth book, “Gigmentia” — a 282-page snapshot of a working-class band, which, against staggering odds, makes a decent living in North Idaho.

Michael describes “Gigmentia” as a “love song to the drums, the rock performances, the lifestyle of being a blue-collar rock musician — not the rock musician that has the Grammy Award won or the sold-out shows at Wembley (Stadium), but the over 99% who are doing this day in and day out with the ultimate reward of … elevating and entertaining and inspiring people.”

“Gigmentia,” a mash-up of the words “gig” (1920s jazz slang for "engagement") and “mentia” (condition of the mind) takes readers through The Rub’s 2018 “festival season” — 50 shows performed between May and September. It’s a word coined by Rub guitarist Cary Beare to describe “the confusing state of too many shows, too many late nights, too many repetitions to remember accurately — or at all.”

Michael views “Gigmentia” as his struggle to remember important moments from his 30 years as a drummer, including the last 15 as part of a trio consisting of Cristopher Lucas, Beare and him. In 2018, he used a detailed journal to help him remember things, big and small, even as his beloved mother, Diana Denise “Dee Dee” Koep was losing her memory to aggressive frontotemporal dementia.

Dee Dee would die at age 72 that Aug. 14 before The Rub’s 2018 festival season ended.

Michael describes The Rub as a “power trio” with a “sneering, kick-your-ass, hard-rock edge.” He and his bandmates aren’t afraid to play anything, adding their original flair to cover songs. “We aren’t trying to recreate a song,” Michael said. “We fall on our face a lot, but that’s part of the fun.”

Michael will be 55 in November. He’s been hitting “things with sticks” most of his adult life. And he wonders how much longer he can do that. As a lively drummer, he said, a gig with three, 90-minute sets — with three hours of setting up and two hours of breaking down — equals running 10 miles.

His fuel is water, caffeine and carbohydrates. He carries a “gig bag” containing emergency supplies, including toiletries with ibuprofen, a Beanie with a headlamp, two vials of glitter, and medical tape to prevent blood from splashing on the drum set and audience when he splits a knuckle on a cymbal.

“Sometimes the life of a musician can be very unglamorous,” Michael said.

Michael met his bandmates years before forming The Rub.

Cristopher is the son of famous New York jingle writer David Lucas and Deanna Sylte of The Sylte Sisters, a 1960s acapella sensation from Rathdrum. In 1998, Cristopher captivated Michael with his guitar play and songs at a friend’s dock near Beauty Bay. A decade earlier, Michael was bussing tables at The Coeur d’Alene Resort when his mother, the lead concierge, introduced him to Cary, who was between sets at the Shore Lounge.

On Tuesday, former Rock 106 personality Tripp Rogers will emcee the book launch, which will start with a reading by Michael and then Q-and-A’s with Michael and The Rub members. For a $20 cover charge, attendees will also receive a copy of "Gigmentia."

Political Hoss

Dan Blocker, the 6-foot-4, 285-pound actor who played kindly Hoss Cartwright in the popular 1960s TV western, “Bonanza,” was the toast of Coeur d'Alene when he visited in the summer of 1966.

The actor made a brief appearance at the Kootenai County Saddle Club Rodeo at the fairgrounds. But his main reason for the visit was — politics.

Big Hoss was a liberal Democrat who would support the failed presidential bid of Eugene McCarthy two years later. And he was in town to back the U.S. Senate bid of Congressman Ralph Harding, an Idaho Democrat. He gave a speech for Harding at the old Desert Hotel and then rode a buckboard in a parade in his honor to Person Field for a Harding rally.

Blocker said he liked Harding because he "took a strong stand against the John Birch Society." And: "(Harding) had the courage to speak up against right-wing extremism, and his courage has impressed others to do the same." If he won, Blocker said, Harding would fit in nicely in Washington, D.C., with Idaho U.S. Sen. Frank Church, another Democrat. But he didn’t.

Incumbent Republican Leonard Jordan gained a second term with 55% of the vote.

Splitsville

On Aug. 2, 1983, Mayor Jim Fromm persuaded the Coeur d'Alene City Council to split in two Red Halpern's Parks & Recreation Department — one department for parks and the other for recreation, angering Councilman Ron Edinger.

"This is a bunch of (expletive deleted)," Edinger roared. "You guys are just nitpicking, and it's just a witch hunt."

The Press article didn't report the council vote. But it said the recommendation by Fromm followed an audit that showed a city budget deficit of $300,000. Fromm thought the parks half of Red's department was subsidizing the recreation side. In his 30 years as Parks & Rec director, Red had built the city into the softball capital of the Inland Northwest.

Red commented simply that he’d do as the council wished.

Red remained in charge of the recreation side until 1984 when he quit. Two dynamic directors – Steve Anthony (recreation) and Doug Eastwood (parks and cemetery) replaced him. Now, Bill Greenwood runs the reunited departments. And Red? He was inducted into a half dozen softball halls of fame, including the Amateur Softball Association.

All’s well that ends well.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: He loves bright things that shine and flash/and takes them home to his own stash;/with morals frail and greed that’s keener,/he’s a flying misdemeanor — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Magpie”).

• Limericking: I sometimes can struggle to find,/The right method to get through the grind./But our good friend Don Sausser/Brought us all a bit closer,/To the goal of just being more kind — The Humble Spud. (“DON”).

• Did You Know … That former Major League Baseball player Dick Sharon led Western Realty to a 1978 lower-division slow pitch title here? After a back injury ended his career at San Diego, Sharon, then 28, moved to Coeur d’Alene and sold insurance. He enjoyed his time on rocky local diamonds with friends but missed the big-league glitter.

• Factoid: On July 28, 1998, a district judge ruled that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe owned the lower third of Lake Coeur d’Alene and the St. Joe River within its boundaries. And, despite hand-wringing by some non-tribal members, the world didn’t come to an end.

• Birds of a Feather: During the 1978 Idaho gubernatorial race, a Crowe helped save a sparrow hawk. After a campaign aide in Moscow found the hawk with a broken wing, candidate James Crowe of Hayden Lake flew it in his private jet to birds of prey specialist in Boise. Crowe finished fifth of six in the GOPrimary. But, as you see, his good deed is remembered today.

Parting shot

Now, it’s called East Sherman. But 65 years ago, for merchants on Sherman Avenue, east of 11th Street, it was “The Miracle Mile.” And it had a queen and 10 princesses, selected from among 58 contestants. In August 1958, Eleanor Muller, 20, a former Miss Coeur d’Alene and daughter of county commissioner Elmer Muller, reigned over a month of Miracle Mile promotions. The crown came with perks including — free use of a 1958 Buick, outfits galore, nylons, Samsonite luggage, two cases of Coca-Cola, two cases of Pepsi Cola and a transistor radio. Hokey? Not in the 1950s. Some 3,000 residents turned out to see Eleanor’s coronation and to dance to the tunes of Ralph Dickinson’s orchestra. The only ones missing were Ozzie and Harriet.

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Dave Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com. You can find more photos and stories about Coeur d’Alene’s recent history on his Facebook page: D.F. Oliveria.