Tony Urso
was a great guy. A perfect balance of
smart and smart-ass. A real straight up
Cleveland guy. They don't get better. His many friends, his family...they all know
that. He did have his quirks
though. Since I played with him in a
band for a while, and went on a couple of tours with him, I got to know a few of those quirks
firsthand. Just little things that made
him unique. It's funny what you think of at times like this, but one thing that has
been on my mind the last week concerns Tony and electronic guitar tuners. Mainly I remember how much he disliked them. In the two years I was in a band with Tony, I
never once saw him use one. Let's face
it, clubs and bars can be very noisy places when you are trying to get ready
for a performance. All of us used an
electronic tuner, it's just easy and more reliable then the ears when you are an environment where it's so loud you can't hear yourself think. Not Tony though. He'd scoff at tuners: "I don't like those things." Of course he usually was in tune and he sure knew how to play the hell out of his guitar, so it never really mattered. Still, just out of curiosity I recall questioning
him a few times about his aversion to electronic tuning gadgets. On one of those occasions I remember him telling me: "I don't need them…because I
am in tune with nature. I AM IN TUNE
WITH THE COSMOS!" Of course my
response was to laugh (at, with) him.
Right Tony, I think you are also in tune with a few beers! That was Tony though. He was known within the band circle to occasionally be slightly "out there."
On his own plane of existence, I mean.
Planet Tony. A deep thinker I
guess is another way to put it. Anyway, later
during the gig I began to notice something...something out of tune. Who is it?
Well it couldn't be TONY. He's in tune with the cosmos...so it must be
the rest of us! Now I think, well, he
really is in tune with the cosmos - and the cosmos is now a much better
place. Unfortunately he has left a
vacuum on this level of existence, here in Cleveland. We are not a better place without Tony...but we are a better
place for having known him and having good memories of him. So I just want to say, so long Tony. See you 'round the cosmos sometime.
Links:
Francisco
Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
Francisco
Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
Francisco
Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
Francisco
Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
Francisco
Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
Francisco
Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
Francisco
Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
Francisco Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
Francisco
Antonio "Tony" Urso passed away Aug. 14, 2013. - See more at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-herald/obituary.aspx?n=francisco-antonio-urso-tony&pid=166446300#fbLoggedOut
