Memories of James

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Trap Set Mania!

  I remember around 1984 or 85,  James was 17, senior year of H.S.. We were attending a Choir concert at Ponderosa H.S. where James was playing trap set in the last piece on the program. Being the last song it was a fun rockous Gospel piece with a bass player and James on the trap set.  It was coming to the end of the song and the Choir director Mr. Vandenbosch, took the choir into a *"vamp".

     While they were in the vamp at the end  of the rockous Gospel song, the Choir director Mr. Vandenbosch, starts giving James ques to put **fills in while the vamp is going on. James was as usual AMAZING! Putting in fill after fill after fill. 

    In talking with James after, it was amusing to him that Mr. Vandenbosch was , and actually I remember this as well, pointing at him so much to put a fill in he couldn't until the timing of the vamp was right! 

After the song was over the crowd erupted into a thunderous applause and most of it was for James . It was like the whole crowd was just blown away!

   I was excited to see James on stage that night but James's talent was not new to me as I grew up listening to him practice and play his drum set. It was one of the first times that other people had the pleasure to experience his talent!

David Tobias, 

younger brother

     *A vamp musically, is when the piece you are playing continues to repeat only a couple of measures over and over as long as the musicians want. It is a kind of showcase to show off, if you will. A lot of current Techno music use vamps as you can go on and on for as long as you want. 

     **A drum fill is a short, improvisational transition between parts of a song, like a brief drum solo that fills a gap between musical phrases. Drum fills are an essential part of drumming.

Berlin Backup!...

  There is a great band from the 80's called Berlin that had a great song called "The Metro".  Those of you who are true Berlin fans will know the song I speak of!    To catch the rest of you up to speed It is a song about a love lorn woman riding on the metro reminiscing about her recently failed relationship.   

   It was around 1983 and James had just acquired one of his first electronic keyboards, a Roland SH-101.  It was only two and a half octaves, but it had a bank of switches and knobs that you could create a variety of  different sounds. 

   James listened to the song over and over and worked out all the keyboard parts on this TINY keyboard!  This included a whole host of background noises including the quintessential WWII European ambulance with the Doppler effect going by, you know the one I mean... nee nar, neee naaaaarrrr, neeeeeeeee naaaaaarrrrr!

   He gave me access to a rehearsal and played it for me a couple of times.  I remember him making mistakes and starting parts over and over, rehearsing his craft until it was perfect.  His energy was something I had never seen before, playing keyboard, fliping switches bobbing his head for timing.  Thinking back on it now I am amazed that I had a front row seat to greatness, although I was too young at the time to appreciate it, I do now...

David Tobias, 

younger brother.

Moonlit DU skate session!

  Me and James were coming home from a Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps awards banquet in September 1985 around 10pm when we made a quick detour and stopped off at a water sculpture pond that was empty on the University of Denver Campus where James had just begun college.  As mentioned earlier it was empty for the upcoming winter and was stateable! 

  It was a nice warm late summer, early fall night and we were wearing nice closes for the banquet. Not wanting to ruin the clothes from the upcoming skate session we were about to have...we took them off and skated in our skivvies!  It was late enough that there were no people around so nobody was offended by the half naked skateboarders shredding a sweet bowl.  

   This was the time before we had skateparks everywhere. Early skaters know what I'm talking bout'... We had to be creative and also pay attention to the landscape rolling by.  If we saw a sweet spot we would note it and hope to make it back.  If we did get back it might not even have been skate able.

  What I remember to be a nice gentle sloping almond shaped bowl with giant landscaping boulders at one end right by a section that created a small waterfall.          It was this part that most resembled a lip on a half-pipe or skate ramp.  Gaining speed James flew around the bowl and headed toward the lip.  Like he had already done it a hundred times in his head he weaved around the giant boulders and went up the transition to the lip, grinded on his back trucks, did a 180 and came down still avoiding the giant boulders on the way back into the bowl.  It was the coolest thing I had ever seen and he made it look so easy!

David Tobias,

younger brother

Last time I saw James...

   The last time I saw my brother James was the last week of December 2019.  I went to visit for a week the day after Christmas.  It was the 31st of December at around 11 am.  It was the last minutes of time I had with him before  I had to get to the airport to catch my flight home. I remember it was a particularly beautiful, mild late day for December in Maryland.  The sun was shining and there was a feeling of tranquility about it.  I look back now and believe that the Lord was present that day.   I had all my stuff packed and  in the car and went back to his home to say good buy.  

   We were in the living room and I gave him a big hug and completely lost it, crying and was shaking uncontrollably.  As usual, James was a Sequoia and held me up until I gained some composer back.  I tried to hold that pose for as long as possible, and kissed him on the cheek and forehead.  We then walked a short distance from his home to the parking lot and said goodbye. 

   I remember getting into the car and breaking down and crying again.  I backed out of the stall and he was on my left still standing on the sidewalk.  We waved and smiled to each other as I drove off.  I then broke down crying again as I drove off.  I drove slow, looking in my mirrors as long as possible to get the most memory of him as I could. I remember thinking to myself I hope that this is not the last time I see him...it was.

   Despite how heart wrenching it sounds it has become one of my most cherished memories, possibly because it is the last...?

David Tobias

     If you knew James and have photos or a memory of him and would like to share it and be apart of the website and our everlasting living tribute to James, submit it to inquiries@jatmemsch.org     

     We would love to hear from you and any new stories about James that illuminate the beautiful spirit that he had.