Parousia played Daemen College, located at 4380 Main St. in Amherst, NY 14226 in 1981 and again in 1982.
March 20, 1981 – Daemen College Concert
Our first big gig at Daemen college and we could officially bill ourselves as ‘Buffalo Recording artists’ thanks to our song ‘Miss Ogyny’ making an appearance on the Buffalo Homegrown 97 Rock album and all of the resulting airplay on WGRQ FM.
We loved Daeman, it had a big stage a great dressing room and an enthusiastic liquored up crowd. Parousia always loved a big stage and tonight was the night. We played all of our original songs and some killer cover songs all wrapped into one big Parousia-esque show performed in our own unique and entertaining way. We were well received here, the students, alumni and faculty really liked our concert and invited us to return the following year. We couldn’t wait to come back.
Daemen College – Friday, 03.20.1981
Parousia lights up the Crypt for Daemen College 1981
Daemen College Campus
February 13, 1982 – Daemen College Concert
This was Parousia’s annual return to Daemen College and this was where we wanted to be… playing the college circuit. We were flattered that the students enjoyed last year’s show so much that they brought us back for an encore. Of course it did help that our band was more affordable than most other local bands contracted through Starstruck or JR productions. So we planned a hot show on this cold Buffalo night in February for the many college guys and gals in attendance that were quite well lit and ready to rock!
Since the last time we played here, we no longer had Kim Watts in the band and we added a bunch of new songs to our roster like, Lucifer’s Lament, Perpetual Change and Abacab. We gave everything we had for our audience that night until we were all shagged-out. The audience loved it.
Then afterward, disaster struck… during tear-down and load out, Gregg Filippone, (our sound engineer), got stuck in the freight elevator. The lift began its journey to the bottom floor but never made it… it jammed half-way down the shaft and there was no way Gregg could crawl out. He was trapped in there for about two hours and he literally freaked… he started screaming and broke the elevator door and other things trying to escape but there was nothing he or any of us could do… We stood there helpless watching him run around like a hamster in a cage.
About 1:45 am we finally tracked down the janitor who showed up to the scene of the emergency with his squeaky-wheeled bucket and string mop as if he could somehow clean Gregg out of there… It took him only a few minutes before assessing the situation as hopeless and defaulted to an engineer to get the elevator working.
Who me… yeah, I hate elevators.
I think we spent about three hours in total trying to rescue poor Gregg from the mechanical clutches of the demon lift. Once it was working, it took us to about 4:30 am to finish loading the equipment into the truck and then the drive back to the Music Mall in Cheektowaga to unload before heading home to bed.
Of course, it wasn’t long until we heard back from the college. Apparently, the elevator door was irreparably busted and the Daemen bureaucratic pin-heads withheld our pay and then turned around and sued us for property damage! We couldn’t afford an attorney, so Patt and Barry (the dim-witted guitarist) led the challenge into the legal arena to take up intellectual arms against the school’s lawyer.
In spite of that, we actually won our battle in court and were paid our back wages.
The judge opined that when the elevator malfunctioned, Gregg’s life was perceived to be ‘in grave danger’ and Gregg ‘did what was reasonable’ to try and get out of there and therefore Parousia could not be held financially liable for the damage or the cost of repairs. The gavel of justice descended >bang< case dismissed!
And there you go… yet another litigious moment brought to you by the Parousia road crew who, for a matter or record, we couldn’t have done without.
Parousia at Daemen College. Please don’t sue us!
Wow! Of course, I remember this night. It was a service elevator where the doors opened up and down instead of from side to side. I could pry the doors open a little and see the floor above me (I was caught in between floors). It was late, we “partied” all night long and I had enough of waiting. I think somebody was able to hand me down from the floor above a hammer and screwdriver, as I held the doors open a little. There were large chains that controlled the doors. I used the screwdriver like a chisel and hammered the chains until they broke. Without the chains, the doors “magically” opened! I crawlled up to the next floor.
I didn’t know until years later (like a year or two ago) that the band had legal issues concerning this. Gerry told me this and I was suprised. I have told this story hundreds of times and thought about it many hundreds of more times (even today) as I entered elevators.
As a side note, on my honeymoon in 1989 I was in a Parasailing accident in Mexico where my Parasail separated from the boat pulling me. I crashed into a high rise hotel on the beach where my Parasail got wrapped around the mechanics on the hotel roof and I was left dangling about five stories high on the side of this hotel (picture that for a moment!). Amazingly, as I was hanging there, I was feet away from a service ladder built into the side of the hotel to access the roof and I was able to climb the ladder to the “safety” of a hotel roof in Mexico. Nearly was killed for real. Being stuck in the Daemen elevator really wasn’t THAT bad. Gregg
Wow Gregg; I never knew about your para sailing accident in Mexico that nearly cost your life. YIKESVILLE!
Thank God you made it out of that precarious situation “in one piece.”
There’s not a lot more for me to add to the Damien College Service/Freight Elevator incident; except for the fact that Damien College did try suing us for damaging their elevator. The case went to small claims court and Gerry Cannizzaro (my brother), I and Pat Connolly attended the trial as the defendants with NO Defense attorney to represent us. We were going to try and defend ourselves! Damien College did have their lawyer to represent them; so we were in for a tough fight without a doubt.
Damien was threatening/attempting to withhold our band payment for the gig we performed at their college due to expenses incurred to fix their service elevator. That was their lawyer’s legal argument. However; I explained my argument to the judge claiming that our job (gig) and the elevator incident were two separate and distinct incidents that should no way be confused or inter-related at all due to the fact that elevator incident occurred AFTER we performed for Damien College and not during the times of our performance. We technically and legally fulfilled our contractual agreement and responsibility with the college and I explained to the judge that we were entitled to our full pay as stipulated by contract. Amazingly; the judge agreed with my rational (logic?) and told their attorney “the kid does have a point”; thus dismissing the case altogether. Not too bad for a ‘dim-witted guitar player’ huh players?
To my knowledge Damien College never filed a separate claim against us after this case; but I could be mistaken (highly doubtful). You should of seen the “deer caught in the headlights” look on their attorney’s face after the case was dismissed. He probably was thinking ” I was out chumped by a long-haired guitar-wielding mutt.” Giggidy! I ‘kinda felt a little like Perry Mason; or should I say Barry Mason; DOE!
Well “dogs”; that’s all I have to say about this. ‘Dat’s me story and I’m stickin’ to it!
Rock on!
Barry (the not so dim-witted guitarist this time)