A Smith Gallery - “Open-Theme | Unleashed” Photography Contest

“Ringo Bailey, named after Ringo by his father, also a drummer, kept a deaf parrot on a stand between his high hat and a crash cymbal. The special bird kept perfect time, bobbing up and down. Eddie Angelotti, the bass player, had become lazy and just watched the bird. His heart wasn’t in the music anymore. The band, “Oppenheimer’s Valentine,” started thirty-five years ago as a punk ensemble with Brian Wilson influenced harmonies. They changed their style numerous times over the years, from punk to straight-ahead Southern rock with the addition of an accordion and cello. The accordion player was Ringo’s Midwestern cousin and the cello player, his brother’s adopted daughter. There was simmering conflict and poorly controlled dissension within the band.

Ingmar Tellepsen, the lead guitar player, made the decision to blow up the situation, bring things to a head. He wrote a song, “Duane’s Polka,” with a significant solo by the accordion player. It was a tongue in cheek homage to The Allman Brothers. Ingmar had hoped it would ignite a meaningful conversation about the direction of the band, never meant to be recorded. Eddie Angelotti, hoping to further inflame the situation, insisted they record it. Hearing it, their manager decided it was a hit and put it out on Spotify. It eventually became the highest charting hit of their thirty-five years. After two engagements, highlighting the new song, the band broke up.

Ingmar eventually took a heavy metal version of the song on the road with his new band. Ringo invested in an exotic bird themed restaurant in New Mexico. Eddie, returned to his youthful first love, lawnmower repair. Sid Mooney, rhythm guitar player and multi-instrumentalist, the quiet one, returned to Ireland, producing Welch musicians attempting to break into the Irish music scene.

Ingmar Tellepsen was eventually sued by The Tepatitlán Polka Kings, accused of stealing the melody of their song, Polka de Nieve, a Christmas tune….” From A Dream About Open By Franklin Cincinnatus