An anniversary of sorts

[Harry]

August 25th, 1997, right around this time of day, too. That was 24 years ago, and using the ancient software of AOL and likely a 300 baud modem, I mad my first contact with the A&M Corner. It was part of "Rudy's Corner", and all I could get to was the "Fan Contact Page", where like-minded A&M fans were gathering and posting a little blurb about themselves. It took me a little longer to find the actual BBS forum and post there.

Earlier that year, I remember doing an "Altavista" web search on "Herb Alpert" and it found this place, but the link that it gave me was not right, as I never actually got here. Surfing the Web was a painfully slow affair back then, as you'd key in a URL, or click on a link and then sit back and wait for a page to load. Phone cradles and 300 baud modems were nearly state of the art, although I'd heard tell of a 1200 baud modem.

The PC at the time was probably something we'd picked up at a Micro Center, a superstore of computers and peripherals. We had some sort of gray market Sony monitor with VGA resolution, and an old Okidata matrix printer. The only reason we we ever got Windows was to run the Star Trek After Dark Screen Savers - and they were outdated when Windows 95 came along.

 

[Mr Bill]

I remember those days fondly, as Rudy, you, me, Steve, LPJim, Bill Bernardi and others all got to know each other...

I also loved that Star Trek Screen Saver. I pretty much kept mine on the one where Spock walked around looking at what was on the screen saying, "fascinating." I usually kept it on one of my many scriopt projects, so hearing Spock compliment my work in such a way was somewhat gratifying (despite not being authentic praise)...

--Mr Bill

 

[Rudy]

I remember we'd picked up a new car in Ohio the week prior (August 18) and headed to Minneapolis the following weekend (25th). And remember coming home to that whole Princess Diana mess over Labor Day weekend.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

It wasn’t too long after Harry that I found this place….I joined up, got mad at Rudy’s lukewarm review of Sergio’s Stillness, and fired off a post to that effect. He responded with an offer that I could write my own version, which I did — I think that was my first published thing on the net.

 

[Harry]

I remember being so excited to read actual threads on A&M stuff, with all sorts of great information. Mike B. or LPJim had pointed the way to Thoughtscape Sounds and what seemed a miracle at the time, that 2 CD set of Brasil '66 material that nearly covered their entire A&M output.

But my biggest excitement in those early days was confirming - and then finding - the single for "Mexican Drummer Man." I'd read the name of the record and its catalog number in one of the Herb Alpert Tijuana Brass trumpet books on a "discography" page, but in all those years, never really spent much time and effort tracking it down. On this occasion though, I asked advice from a radio station music director who suggested R&B Records - Val Shively's place in my home town of Upper Darby. On a lunch hour, I ventured into the place, and in total amazement, actually came away with "Mexican Drummer Man" on a promo 45.

After listening with rapt attention that evening at home, I rushed to the old 486 computer, booted up AOL, and worked my way to this A&M Corner - and made my first thread post of the lyrics to "Mexican Drummer Man". A monumental day...