Parousia’s last performance as a cover band was at Fast Annie’s April 10, 1982. It’s been said that all good things must come to an end and it was no different with the six-member rock band Parousia, with Barry, Gerry, Garth, Bob, Patt & Eric.

This show was a horrible gig. Not only was the band not into it, but someone working at the club sang along with the band through the stage monitors, off key and so loud, that it made it difficult for us to hear each other on stage and finish our set. It also confused the audience and that’s what really made me angry. But seeing how it was the last show, what would was I really going do about it? Parousia wasn’t going to be playing Fast Annie’s again.

The sad truth is, the six-member rock band was too big (and too expensive) to continue.  Producing and performing the show-set was a massive effort and we were exhausted and sick at heart of playing the same cover songs over and over again, As artists, we desired to play more of our own songs, but couldn’t take the cut in pay. The decision to play original music was financial suicide for a band. You could play maybe three clubs in Buffalo for little to no pay. For the last four years the best our band could do is work in a few of our own songs here and there and sometimes, not at all.  But all that is academic, the point, if you want to be a working band in Buffalo, you had to please the audience and play the classic rock songs they recognized. Many of those songs were our favorites and whenever we could we chose the more obscure yet challenging songs to learn for example “Toronto Tontos” by Max Webster and “Second Coming/ Ballad Of Dwight Fry” by Alice Cooper, “Subway Terror” by Starz and “Perpetual Change” by Yes.

The reoccurring problem was this… all of the money earned by Parousia went to pay expense, i.e.: the road crew, the equipment truck, the rehearsal studio. Or, pay for repairs and replace equipment.  We could never get ahead of it… The band needed new gear and new technology, but there wasn’t even enough money to fix the old gear in spite of the band performing and earning money several times a week.

Finally we just had it… tired of running and running atop of the wheel to no avail, we jumped off and watched the band spin down and stop.  Was that the end? Check out what the band Parousia did during the year it was on hiatus in 1982. (HINT: See the tab “Side Projects”). Following that, Parousia reformed as a more streamlined four-member band writing and performing all of its own music.