“Gerry’s Grandma’s Garage” located at 105 Baxter Street in Riverside, was Parousia’s primary rehearsal space in the Spring & Summer of 1976.  Now came the time when the band was no longer tied to rehearse at All Saints School, thanks to the critical purchase of our first portable keyboard, the Vox Jaguar.  This was the same make & model keyboard used by Ray Manzarek of “The Doors”.

Here’s a my little story of how the Vox Jag was acquired;  Barry, Patt and I pooled our money and purchased the keyboard from my “Uncle Whitey” who owned a furniture refinishing store (Richway Refinishing) in the burbs of Buffalo. The Vox was stored in the back of the shop and had not been used in years. A worker asked my Uncle to store the keyboard until it sold and we became the lucky buyers.

That one keyboard added a whole new dimension to our sound and it really freed us up to play gigs where we couldn’t before.  We no longer had to worry about whether a venue had a house piano or organ for us to use, we had our own.

We loved Grandma’s garage.  It was very low profile and homey.  We would leave the door up and feel the cool summer breeze smack us in the face while we played (for as long as we could until neighbors started complaining).  Friends from the neighborhood would always stop by. 

One of them was my good friend, Carol Geiger.  Carol was one our biggest early supporters and fans.  She would hang out and listen to us perform and give feedback on our songs and sound.  It was nice to have someone to perform to on those long afternoon rehearsals. Plus, she was at that age where she would rather be anywhere than be at home with the parents and younger siblings on a Sunday and what better place to relax than at rehearsal with your own friendly neighborhood rock band.