Sunday, October 21, 2007

Even Your Nightmares Come True...

Rockabilly Queen - Billy Rancher and the Unreal Gods

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It was torture what they did to Billy. His body bore a scar that went from his upper chest and dove downward to his waist, then around his side and hip...that was just the visible part.


They took over 60-lymph nodes from everywhere in his body: respiratory, renal, vascular and intestinal system. Plus, they had just taken a testicle and you know can imagine how excruciating that was at 24-years old; not only physically, but screw with your head stuff. That is, unless you are so pure and driven a person, that it is merely secondary, and amazingly... that WAS Billy.


He was outta the hospital in a little over a week. I was personally in shock what they had done to him. I couldn't believe any of it was real or necessary; 'Billy was FINE and felt good enough to be himself...what did you DO TO HIM?'


We didn't perform for a couple months and taken a big step back professionally. One of Billy's decisions was that no one would know about the cancer. As far as everyone outside the circle of the band was concerned, Billy just 'poof,' disappeared for a while. We had inconvenienced everyone and not given anyone a good reason.


Gawd, I wish he had been the opposite; people, fans, club owners, managers, everyone would have understood! They would have allowed him the recoup time and been marketing the angle like mad.


I look back and know now that sympathy wasn't a part of Billy's vision. What Billy was doing, and not what was happening to him, was what he wanted people to see and hear.


Billy was a performer. None of us had medical insurance! At the time, I was too young and too ignorant to recognize what financially that would do to someones life.


All of us were living on pb&j sandwiches at the end of Billys' recovery. When we did the first show after the shark bite, we could barely afford the gas to get there. None of us said a word. We were just glad that the ride wasn't over and to be performing once again.


We all hoped too, that the dark cloud was gone. Billy lit up like a full moon that night. If there was a dark cloud, I couldn't see it anymore!


But something was different.


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