A friend of mine is getting married this weekend.  I tried to reason with him, but he won't listen.  Anyway, I'm performing the ceremony, and it lead me to thinking about a personal hero of mine:  Country Dick Montana.  Ironically, Dick died 11 years ago today. Dick was the drummer and sometime lead singer of the infamous Beat Farmers.  If you never got to see them live, or at least hear one of their albums, boy, did you miss out.  What an amazing guy.  One of his best quotes was regarding Dan Quayle.   "People say he's a pussy, but I'm telling you, he's no pussy. A pussy is a good thing!" Anyway, Dick was also often called upon to perform outrageous wedding ceremonies.  He married people floating down the Colorado River, in the middle of the desert, etc.  I attended one once before a Chargers' game, out in the parking lot.  Talk about a party!  But the best story was told by Dick's longtime friend, Mojo Nixon, on the 10th anniversary of Dick's death last year, in an interview with HARP.

One of these weddings, I think it was in Arizona, [the couple] got married in a bar, then went back to their house. They wanted Country Dick to continue partyin' and drinkin' with them [so he did]. Well, the groom eventually passes out-and the bride is there on her wedding night unserviced. Who steps up to the plate? Country Dick Montana. And the groom didn't care! It was kinda like having the King fuck your wife, you know?

Man, I miss that guy.  And I hope I strive to be more like him every day.  Though I doubt any wedding I preside over will ever end quite like that.  :-)  RIP, Dick.  The world is a much more boring place without you.