1 Pocket Ghost said:
You and me both, brother.....I'm old school too....
....The click of the balls...the quiet scraping sound of chalk going across a tip...the sound of stay-awake coffee being poured...the quiet sound of slow fans whirring overhead on a hot afternoon...maybe the ballgame on the tv (not too loud)...old time woofing & stories being told...and always the sound of the front door opening - is it a regular walking in? - a roadman maybe? - or, hopefully, a fish...
.....THIS is the music of an old school pool hall, and what beautiful music it is.
- Ghost
a pool hall that looks something like this...
I hear ya!
Let me close my eyes and wander back to the most self-gratifying times of my life........
Back... back........Ok, I'm back in the old 211 Club at 2nd and Union... early 80's..... I close my eyes
I hear the sound of a someone playing straight pool on the 5 X 10.. I hear them draw whitey and the short thump as the ball lands in the leather drop pockets... such a distinctive sound
I hear them playing on the main 9 footer... Gold Crown with ball return.. I hear the ball being made and making it's way thru the return rails and finally dropping at the foot of the table... the sound of it being dropped onto other balls
I hear one pocket being played and the sounds of a 6 ball run being picked up and being forced into their side at the foot of the table... tight.. the sound of them cramming the balls into their row
I hear the sound of 2 thumps on the floor from a opponents cuestick as they commend the shot that they just witnessed on the 3 cushion billiard table
I hear the sound of 3 cushions billiards.. the sound of them hitting the 1st ball thick with high left and hearing each of the 4 rails it hits, as it travels around the table and then lightly taps the 2nd ball at the end of it's journey
I hear the sound of money going into the coffee machine and hear the cup fall down and hit it coffee being sprayed into the cup.. I hear the lid fall as they take it out of the machine
I hear the explosive break of a 9 ball rack, the cueball dropping back down of the table, I hear the light sound of the cueball kissing the rack on a one pocket break, the sound of the breakout ball hitting the pack in straight pool
I hear the sound of a rack of balls being brought up the counter and being placed on the pile of other racks of balls, I hear the ball machine whirring away cleaning balls
I hear the woofing and after awhile, apparently a successful negotiation, as I hear the unzipping of a case, the call of "heads" and the coin landing on the table, the 9 balls being placed in the wooden rack and pressed tightly against the balls, the rack being blindly thown onto the hook on the side of the table. I can tell this is a big money game, I hear the shuffling of people finding seats close to the action. I can hear and feel the change in the room, the whole room as become even quieter. I can hear each player and identify them by the way they chalk their cue, all you hear is the chalk, the sound of a ball being hit, the sound of it in the pocket, the walking to the next position
and the most beautiful sound of all.... is....
that is all of the sounds I hear.
I hear no jukebox, I don't hear a full rack of balls being dumped on the table, I hear no whistling, no drunken bangers yelling, no sticks being chalked and then banged on the side of the table, no "Watch this" and hear the stupid 8 ball being placed on top of the rack and hear it being dropped into place after a quick push of the rack
My favorite "music" in the pool room was as described above... I can close my eyes anywhere and hear that music....
It brings a smile to my face and a feeling of satisfaction and peacefulness washes over my body. It makes me long for those days again and wish I would have recorded it.
It's my No. 1 album of all time
Cheers!:thumbup:
