There was a knock at the door, or perhaps the ringing of the bell? One of the two happened which caused me to open the door. No one was there. However, there was a small box full of many a strange content. One of said contents was a video tape. I inserted the cassette into my VCR and pushed play. A blue faced man wearing a black hooded cape appeared to me and introduced himself as The Torch Marauder. He proceeded to explain to me that I had been chosen to be The Torch Marauder for the city of Durham, and indeed for the planet Earth.
I, of course, asked “why me”. The mysterious man on the television proceeded to explain that the reasons were beyond my comprehension, and that I need only to worry about my mission. My mission: to defend the world with rock.
Upon his instruction, I removed the other contents from the box. I proceeded to paint myself blue and don the black hooded cape. On that day, I was christened a rock-n-roll superhero.
I was now to begin writing songs and creating the show. This could not be some second rate novelty act. The songs had to be good, the performances brilliant, and the audience had to have their minds blown and their hearts overcome with joy and/or sadness depending on the particular piece. In lieu of a live band, I was to perform with a video taped version of myself. Torch and I would accompany each other, and together we could do no wrong……..at least reasonably little wrong. He would play the drums, I would play the keyboards, and together we would sing the songs of angels.
On April 13, 1998 at the Duke Coffee House in Durham, NC, along with Protoblast and The Clang Quartet, The Torch Marauder made his first step into this universe, and into the hearts and minds of the people of Earth.
