Everything felt different. Nothing felt like "home" anymore. People who had known me my entire life would cross to the other side of the street when they saw me. Even though I had never been arrested for the murder, and I had been cleared as a suspect by the police, none of the newspapers reported that. But the earlier reports of "Arrest Imminent" etc. had been front page news. It felt like I had been tried and convicted in the press. My life was in shambles, and I needed to try to get it back. I realized it would be easier for me to do that if I left Conn.
The evening of the day I found my Mom dead, I didn't feel like being alone, so I went to the club. A well-known band from Boston, The James Montgomery Band, who played regularly at the club, was there. We were good friends. James was originally from Detroit. Near the end of the night, a number of musicians from Detroit who were there visiting him were invited to sit in. So was I, and I accepted. I know that might sound strange, but music is a great healer and a great release from pain, and I needed it. I'm sure some people in the audience who were aware of what had just happened in my life, perceived my getting on stage as cold and indifferent, but all the musicians understood. I played with real intensity that night. I was channeling all of my pain through the music. And it was very good. Afterwards, a couple of the Detroit guys came up to me to compliment me on my playing, and when they found out I had just found my Mom murdered a few hours earlier, they were floored. One guy, Tim Schafe, was the Musical Director and bass player for The Mitch Ryder Band, a very well-known band based in Detroit, and he told me I had a job waiting for me in his band, if I wanted it. I definetely wanted it, but the police tied me up for the next two months, and I never thought that band would wait for me..after all, we had just met, and two months is a long time to wait when you are trying to fill an opening in a performing band. When I was finally cleared by the police, and given permission to leave the state, I called Detroit to find out if the job was still available. I was amazed to find out that they had never even looked for anyone,and that they were just waiting for me to get there. I didn't need a lot of time.. I was ready to go. It was time to see if I could get what I had thought of as my life..back..and so I got the hell out of "Dodge", and hit the road for Detroit.
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