What, The Dick Ends?

As I alluded to in previous posts, the days of The Dick Ellis Revival are near an end. Not the band itself--no need to run for the nearest open window!--just the band under that name. I had thought it was a good compromise name; one that we could all get behind. It wasn't my first choice, and others were lobbying for names that I couldn't live with. But, as is the nature of compromise, it just didn't satisfy enough of the stakeholders. So the search is mounted again for a consensus name. I don't know if you've ever tried to come up with a band name, but it's incredibly difficult. Especially finding one that will please seven people (and their attendant satellite community). And represents the essence of the band. And is original.

It's also unfortunate because after we had settled on the name, I had been inspired to whip up this essay on the origins of the name. It was going to go up on the website, but there's no point in that now. So here, by semi-popular demand, The Dick Ellis Essay.

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Far and wide, the question is asked: Who is Dick Ellis?

Fear not, my dear friends, for we have asked this question ourselves. And the answer has been revealed in time.

Some say he was a hometown hero. Some say he was a man of the people. Others say he is simply a myth, a story told to sooth worried souls in the dark of night.

But Dick Ellis is not one man. Dick Ellis is an idea. The idea of Dick Ellis cannot be expressed in one person. It takes a village--or at least a band of seven people--to conjure the presence of Dick Ellis. For Dick Ellis is not a captive of mere flesh and blood, nor of the flimsy, impermanent margins of time or tide.

Dick Ellis is the hero within all of us, waiting to be discovered--in every hometown, every city, every nation, and across the deep silence of space. Dick Ellis is a pure celebration of all that is beautiful and true.

But it wasn't always so. In the Fallow Times, there were many who turned their backs and sought instead the false pleasures of the shiny new ways and sounds. But, little by little, with each passing year, the shiny veneer thinned, the phony sparkles fell to rot, revealing more and more of the empty void behind the over-polished facade.

And the people began to wonder: Where was Dick Ellis?

And where was Dick Ellis? He was right where he always had been; we had simply become blind to his presence. And where is Dick Ellis today? Search your innermost soul, dear friend, and you will know the answer:

Wherever people speak from the heart -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever joyful folk maximize their mojo -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever innocence yearns to break free from the barbed tethers of the cynical mind -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever the Natural Smile, the Happy Tear and the Rebel Yell sway hand-in-hand -- there you will find Dick Ellis.

My friends, the spirit of Dick Ellis walks amongst us again. Find him, walk with him, dance with him. It is time for all of us to step out into the sunshine and join the parade. Welcome the rejuvenation.

Welcome The Dick Ellis Revival.


Sincerely,


The Esteemed Stan Herman