I'm not a Baby Boomer, I'm not a Generation X'er, I'm not a Millennial, I am a Proud 'Tweener

I've always identified with the music of the Baby Boomer generation. But I'm not a Boomer. Not really. The infant explosion that took place after the end of World War II in 1945 lasted roughly until the mid-1950s. Anyone born before or after that ten-year span isn't really, technically, officially a Boomer. I know, all these generational definitions (Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, etc) are just the concoctions of pretentious sociology professors, annoyingly cerebral journalists, and perhaps Hallmark. But play along. I've got something important to tell you.

While I'm too young to be a card-carrying member of the Me Generation, I'm too old to be a member of Gen' X, the proceeding group that produced some rather pathetic clothing styles ("Pull up your damn baggy pants, kid, and get off my lawn!"). But Gen X did generate some great music artists, too, namely Kurt Cobain, who despite his sad and untimely death by suicide was a gifted songwriter. 

But no, I'm definitely not a Gen X'er. I am a 'Tweener. That's someone who was born between the Boom and the X -- more-or-less between 1955 and 1965. Most folks believe I am a Baby Boomer. I was born in 1960, which according to many puts me in that boom box.  

Many say Boomers are people born from 1945 to 1964. But that isn't accurate in terms of social experience. As a Tweener, my cultural references, influences and experiences differ from both the Boomers (except for the music), and from the proceeding Generation Xers.

I personally think true Boomers with the full Boomer experience were born from 1945 to 1955. We 'Tweeners didn't go to Woodstock. We didn't ban the bra or march on Selma or burn our draft cards. We didn't really change the world much. Why? Because, well, we came of age in the mid-70's, which was essentially an extended hangover from the 60's and, then, from Watergate. 

The Vietnam War had just ended. It was a vaguely fun but kitschy, ill-defined transitional era identified by disco, sensitive singer-songwriters, KISS, widening lapels and CB radios. I kinda loved it. But that's another story. As it turned out, the 70's were just a brief moment in time that followed the far more "consequential" 60's and preceded a curious new embrace of conformity called the 1980's the likes of which our nation hadn't seen since the 1950's.

We 'Tweeners have always been content to pitch our tent in a less controversial piece of land between the Boomer camp and the Gen X camp, for pretty obvious reasons. After all, unlike Boomers, we 'Tweeners didn't go from being long-haired hippies chanting "Kill the cops" to button-down yuppies vowing to "Make a killing." And unlike Gen X'ers, we certainly didn't wear our baseball caps backward in the 90s, embrace a largely dismal music genre called "grunge," and bitch and moan and growl and whine that reality bites.

All kidding aside, the Boomers did change the world. They fought injustice and won many of those battles. And they do sometimes get a bum rap. Boomers are undeniably spoiled and narcissistic. And they did turn divorce into the new national pastime. But they really aren't that different then preceding generations. 

Baby Boomers are the subject of a lot of jealousy. They were responsible in their youth for more positive change than most any other generation in this country's history. But wow did they change. Eventually everyone settles down, chills out and sells out to consumerism. And almost everyone gets a little more conservative and money-conscious when they have kids and a mortgage. It happens. But this group did a real 180.

So Why Do I like Baby Boomer Music?

So now that we got that all straight, I can tell you why I passionately identify with the Boomers' music and always will. It's simple: I started listening to "Boomer" music when I could barely walk and talk. I had older, music-loving siblings, who are Boomers. I had hip, music-loving parents. And I was a musician who started playing very young. I began pounding on the drums when I was barely out of diapers, then turned to guitar when I was 12. And I loved virtually all the music of the 60's, especially the stuff I heard my dad play. He was a top 40 radio deejay.

The songs I heard on my dad's radio station were happy, melodic, and free from pain or angst, for the most part. But the curious thing is, the 60's were one of the darkest decades of our nation's history, with palpable hatred spewing between frustrated fathers and rebellious sons, violent race riots on the streets, and, of course, the Vietnam War and all its accompanying madness. And I did kinda get that even as a very little kid. 

That seemingly irreconcilable juxtaposition of light and darkness is what has always fascinated me about the 60's. This played out in two iconic concerts in 1969. Woodstock, the legendary three-day music festival in upstate New York in August 1969, was what many thought and hoped would be the groovy and definitive grand finale' of the decade of peace and love and drugs and mud. But four months later, in the very last month of the decade, the free Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway in California degenerated into violent mayhem and murder. It was the ultimate bummer, man.

Those two events demonstrated the yin and yang of the decade, which of course was dominated by the Boomers. On the "FM" side there was the edgy psychedelia of the Jefferson Airplane, the angry protest songs of Bob Dylan, the cosmic feedback of Jimi Hendrix, the hard rock/blues brilliance of Cream, and the hauntingly introspective and terrifyingly intense college/garage rock of the Doors.

On the "AM" side, there was the innocently trippy, joyously melodic pop-rock of the Cowsills (The Rain, The Park, and Other Things), the impossibly beautiful and singable songs of the Association (Windy), the humorous and catchy madness of the Turtles (Happy Together), the powerful, Motownish melodies of the Grass Roots (Temptation Eyes), and the sublime, brass-filled hooks of the Buckinghams (Don't You Care). 

As the war and protests against it intensified, the radio was curiously filling up with these and other songs that were the sweetest and catchiest tunes in pop music history. I guess for many, these tunes were a safe harbor in a stormy decade. But these were the songs I remember best from the 60's. It wasn't until I hit puberty and picked up a guitar in the early 70's that I delved into the darker FM netherworlds.

It comforts me to know that several of those amazing 60's radio hit-makers are still touring and performing these songs. In fact, every band I mentioned above is part of the so-called Happy Together tour, which each summer collects some of the best surviving bands from the 60's Top 40 record charts and takes the show on the road in what has become a big, happy whiff of nostalgia. 

The tour, which hits Humphrey's in San Diego on Wednesday night, is a total blast produced and hosted by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, two founding members of the Turtles who are also known as Flo & Eddie.

The Cowsills - Then

I've seen just about every Happy Together tour, and this year's group tops them all, at least for me. But the band I'm most excited to see this time is the Cowsills, the group of immensely talented siblings that were just kids and teens in the 60's but who were among the most underrated musicians, singers and songwriters of the rock era. This band, which was the real-life inspiration for The Partridge Family, had several other major hits including Hair, Love American Style, and Indian Lake, 

Composed of siblings Billy, Bob, Paul, Barry, John, and Susan, plus their mom Barbara, the Cowsills were managed by father William "Bud" Cowsill, a domineering ex-Navy officer who beat, bullied, and alienated his children and tragically tore the band apart. 

But with the Cowsills, the good always shines through. As I've said before, no song better captured the sunny, innocent side of the 1960's than the Cowsills' "The Rain, the Park and Other Things." Released in 1967, the song combined ethereal, organ-infused pop with stunning harmonies and an unapologetic sweetness. It's the definitive 60s radio song. I love it to this day.

And the ability of the band, which now features Bob, Paul and Susan Cowsill, to keep performing and living their lives with with such joy and purpose after the horrors their father put them through as children is a profile in courage and a testament to the healing powers of music. I promise you that at the Happy Together show tonight at Humphrey's in San Diego, the Cowsills, even among all these great bands, will stand out. These guys just have a way of connecting with audiences on a deep level. 

I spoke to a Genuine Baby Boomer....

Paul, Susan and Bob Cowsill - Now

In an interview this week, Bob Cowsill, who is now in his mid-60's and still going strong, told me that after all the things his family has been through, "It means more than ever to be playing together. None of us back in the day would have predicted we would still be performing these songs for anyone this late in our lives. With many of our family gone now it's even more special to perform together. Also it's great to be singing these songs still and sharing them with new audiences. They still hold up strong after all these decades."

Bob suggested that in the 60's, young people "all felt connected as a generation by the songs that were on the radio. We were all listening to the same stations, all watching the same TV stations and TV shows and we were brought together by these songs you will hear during the Happy Together show."

Bob added that the decade in general was a decade of "growth and awareness, "But the growth in music and in the groups who recorded and performed it was astronomical. We all became politically aware in the '60's also, many of us for the first time, and it was a time to reconcile and fix sins of the past -- prejudice, mostly."  

As for the tour, Bob said, "It has special people in it who shared something incredibly unique during one of the best decades in the history of the country. The songs performed were all incredibly important hit records from the day and every one of them was and is still a winner. The songs are so strong they carry us now and we're all real proud to be take ownership when our part of the show comes up. We're all a smaller part of a bigger whole now and the bigger whole is very powerful."

Bob noted that the tour is "going great with sell out crowds everywhere. It's all about the songs and how great this group of songs is. We're all hanging by a thread most of us and the songs are carrying us now. The audience today is there because they want to hear 'Windy,' 'Hair' and 'Happy Together,' not necessarily the Association, the Cowsills or the Turtles. The songs have become more important than the groups and that's why the show works."

Bob said that when he listens to the concert every night from backstage, he and his brother and sister and the other bandmates are all "just hypnotized" by the songs.  

"The audiences are like us: boomers with great memories triggered by songs that bonded all of us to each other," he said. "But then there are younger kids there because they know the history, they love these songs also which really gives testament to their greatness, and at a Happy Together concert they get to see and hear first hand how important and absolutely essential music and the bands who made it were to all of us.  We were all connected to each other by these songs when we were all younger and apparently we're going to stay connected forever."

The San Diego Chargers' Owners Don't Care About You.... But it's Nothing Personal

Chargers CEO Dean Spanos (right) and his liar-for-hire Mark Fabiani

I'm done with the Spanos family, owners of the San Diego Chargers, and their liar-for-hire, attorney Mark Fabiani. And they are clearly done with us. These guys keep telling us that they remain firmly committed to keeping this football team in San Diego. But just about everyone now knows that's 100 percent bullshit. The gall of Fabiani and Chargers CEO and President Dean Spanos is both staggering and sad. It's obvious they are over San Diego and can't wait to move this franchise a couple of hours north to the crummy confines of Carson, or Inglewood. Yes, greed in professional sports once again has trumped loyalty, sanity and decency.

I've defended the Spanos gang several times over the years because they are what they are: Businessmen. Nothing more, but nothing less. They're not philanthropists, I have argued (though they have given quite a bit to local charities). But I'm through defending them. Because, you see, while business is business, a professional sports franchise is a different animal. 

A pro sports team doesn't make widgets. It makes memories. It is often woven deep into the fabric of a community in a way that most regular-ole companies aren't. There is a unique bond that typically develops between a professional sports team and its city over the years, and that should be honored, not tarnished, by the owners of these insanely profitable operations.

I've somehow managed to separate my love for this football team and its players and coaches from my distrust of and increasing disdain for its owners. But after the events that unfolded this week, that's almost impossible. Shortly after team leaders met with city leaders on Tuesday to continue discussing a possible new stadium here, those local pols held a press conference at which they were almost giddy. They were obviously under the impression that the meeting went well and that they had made real progress toward a stadium solution in San Diego. Or at least they wanted us to think that was their impression.

But before the smiles even left most Charger fans' faces, including mine, Fabiani released a contradictorily dire and final-sounding statement that made it appear as if the Charger brass had attended an entirely different meeting. The Charger owners' conclusion after the Tuesday meeting was that there is no way to place a stadium ballot measure before San Diego voters before the end of this year because of potential legal obstacles. And that all but kills any chance of the Bolts staying in San Diego because of other imposed deadlines.

That was the last straw for me. If Dean Spanos really wanted to keep this team in this town, he would have had an entirely different take on Tuesday's meeting. He would have said that he'd try like hell to avoid and even fight the potential legal pitfalls and work to get this deal done for the fans who have supported this team for the last six decades.

So, it's over for me. I still love this football team, but the Spanos family's name is mud. At this point, I'd prefer that these phony-baloney owners release a statement like the one below and just stop playing games:

Dear San Diego Charger fans, 

We know this city has been the home of the Chargers for the last 54 years. We know many of you, especially Jamie Reno, will be heartbroken if we move this team out of San Diego. But we just want the money. 

We are not willing to make a little bit less money (but still make a killing) and be looked upon as heroes by keeping the team here for the next 50 years. Instead, we want to destroy our legacy in the sports world and move to Los Angeles because a stadium deal there will cost us less money and potentially make us more money. 

The thing is, folks, we really don't care about you. But it's nothing personal. It's just business.

Yours Most Insincerely, 

The Spanos Family and Our Lapdog Mark 

At least they could sleep better at night if they released such an honest statement for a change. Given the mounting evidence that this family now desperately wants to bug out, I say to my fellow longtime and loyal Charger fans: Don't buy any more tickets to Charger games! Don't support this family any longer, because they don't give a crap about you! Yeah, I know my take here will be interpreted by some as a slam of the players and coaches, who have nothing to do with all these decisions. That is not my intent at all. But at some point you have to take a stand.

Was this really the team's goodbye to San Diego?

Assuming the Charger owners can get the stadium deal they covet up north, and I think they can because they've got the NFL and elected officials up there behind them, this was essentially the team's first real goodbye to San Diego. Officially, no. But unofficially? Yeah. The team's ownership has been jerking us around long enough. I will still root for the Bolts. But no more of my money will go to anyone named Spanos.

This is the horse manure that Fabiani dumped on all of us this afternoon: “On behalf of our entire organization, the Chargers thank the City of San Diego’s negotiating team for working with us to try to find a way, at this late date, to place a stadium ballot measure before voters in December 2015 while complying fully with the California Environmental Quality Act and election law requirements."

The statement noted that both groups have spent many hours examining possible options at three formal meetings and during numerous informal conversations. "Based on all of this work and discussion, the Chargers have concluded that it is not possible to place a ballot measure before voters in December 2015 in a legally defensible manner given the requirements of the State’s election law and the California Environmental Quality Act," said the statement, which went on to say that the various options the team has explored with the City all lead to the same result: "Significant time-consuming litigation founded on multiple legal challenges, followed by a high risk of eventual defeat in the courts."

The statement concluded that the team remains "committed to maintaining an open line of communication with the City’s negotiators as we move through the summer and leading up to the special August meeting of National Football League owners. That meeting may provide important information about what is likely to occur during the remainder of 2015.”

That last jaw-droppingly insincere graf really makes me wanna hurl. This ownership obviously has zero interest in the stadium plan presented by San Diego leaders last month. They're going through the PR motions. They just don't want any trouble. They want to continue to sell tickets for this upcoming season and act as if they're still doing everything they can to keep this team here, while they work their asses off to nail down a stadium deal in Los Angeles. 

All you Charger fans out there who keep believing, please stop. Save yourself. I know it isn't easy. I'm a diehard fan who has not missed a single game in 31 years. I had season tix for two decades and even went to the games while I was fighting cancer. I love this team. I hate the thought of the Bolts leaving. But I have grown to resent these owners. Yes, you can love a team and hate the ownership. Yes, yes, yes yes.

The mayor doesn't really give a crap, either

Personally, I don't think San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has any great desire to keep the team here, either. I think he's just interested in optics. Saving face. He's not a bad guy at all, but he's just concerned with making it look like he did everything he could to keep the team here. No mayor wants to lose, on his or her watch, a local sports franchise that has been loved by so many for more than half a century.

Faulconer hoped to speed up the process of a public vote by putting the proposal on the ballot this year. Anything later would have been too late to meet deadlines. He and other city leaders said Tuesday that they would in fact be able to negotiate a new stadium deal that is exempt from the treacherous California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process, which represented a potential huge roadblock.

The Chargers disagree, of course. Fabiani and the rest insist that the “categorically exempt” declaration the city cited opens the new stadium project up to lawsuits that could keep the project tied up in court for years, as well as cause the Chargers to lose ground in their possible relocation to Los Angeles.

After the Chargers destroyed any optimism generated by the city's presser, the city released a subsequent statement insisting that a new stadium here still is possible if the Chargers want it. “We are still at the table. We have all the ingredients for success in San Diego if the Chargers work with us. We can get this done if the Chargers want to get it done,” the statement said.

This all happened on Tuesday. It was bloody. And now more than ever Dean Spanos looks like the West Coast version of Art Modell, the defiant owner of the Cleveland Browns who took that team out of Cleveland despite still having local stadium options. For the rest of his life, Modell was a pariah in Cleveland. He could not set foot in that city without being harassed. Make no mistake: the same thing will happen to Spanos and Fabiani.

Any chance at this point that the Bolts will not bolt?

Essentially three teams -- the Chargers, the Oakland Raiders and the St. Louis Rams -- are vying for probably two spots in L.A. San Diego is most likely going. But if the Chargers do remain here it won't be because of any genuine effort by the owners. And sadly, the relationship between the Bolts and its fans has already been permanently damaged. 

While we keep hearing Fabiani tout the 14 years of dedication by this ownership to getting a new stadium in San Diego, it's hollow praise. When the rubber hit the road, when the city actually came up with a real and viable proposal, the team bailed. Ultimately, Dean and Mark will likely be remembered as the two guys who were most responsible for taking this beloved football team, with its history of great players from Lance Alworth to Dan Fouts to Junior Seau to Ladainian Tomlinson to Philip Rivers, to a city that doesn't really give a rat's backside about pro football. 

The Rams, despite their storied legacy and legendary players such as Merlin Olsen, Roman Gabriel, Jack Youngblood and Eric Dickerson, couldn't make it up there and moved on to St. Louis. The Raiders, with their gang-infested fan base but undeniably impressive on-the-field legacy, couldn't make it work up there, either, and returned to Oakland. 

So good luck, Dean. Good luck, Mark. Be careful what you wish for. Enjoy those four-hour traffic jams in Los Angeles and the fan indifference to your team, whose name, if they leave, should be changed from the Los Angeles Chargers to something more Los Angeles-appropriate. Like, say, the Los Angeles Plastic Surgeons. Or maybe the Los Angeles Waiters-Who-Are-All-Really-Actors. 

Whatever you choose to call this "new" team, Dean and Mark, just don't call us. If and when you do abandon this great city, please don't be in any hurry to come back. You won't be greeted warmly.