Those who have been reading my words for a while now, may recalle how in the early-to-mid ‘90s, I wrote a lot in this magazine about a very talented young rock band called, Alison’s Mailbox.
One of the things I have always loved about my job, is being on the ground floor when it comes to vibrant young talent and being able to spread the word about them.
Vibrant is certainly a word that could be attached to Alison’s Mailbox, because these five teenage boys bristled with life. They seemed to live each day for the sake of a song.
To say the least, I was very impressed by this group, both with their music and with the way they handled themselves. They were business savvy and new the value of good promotions and marketing.
They had a new t-shirt
design hawking their name every time you turned around (my collection
stands at 6 and I know I missed out on many), they mailed out a quarterly
fan club, they hooked up with community leaders and local charities.
They were not only good musicians with good songs, they knew how to
“work it good”. They were the
first band to do an online chat with their music fans when I was moderator
of the then fledgling CaluNet Online branch of The Times daily newspaper.
In fact, they pushed the issue with me to let them forge this new
technological trail. They were entusiastic
and sharp kids. All of them
had stars in their eyes, but the brightest stars shown in the eyes of
their singer, Paul Callaway. Though he was a
high school football hero and the senior prom king, Callaway was no
preppie in the traditional sense. He could “work” any crowd, as he
proved many times on stage in the coming years. He
was a rocker through and through. Callaway played the
whole game that day and though he was still just a teenager, his charisma
enabled him to rub elbows like a pro with the baseball stars and with
other Beat Bashers teammates like B-96 radio jock Brian Middleton,
guitarist J.Y. Young of Styx, and the guys from Enuff Z’Nuff, the Bad
Examples and other successful regional rock bands. In a very short time,
Alison’s Mailbox created a local frenzy the likes of which I, as a long
time observer of the local music game, have never seen before nor since. It was exciting to
watch hundreds of kids followed Mailbox from show to show like grunge-era
Pied Pipers. They started
filling local halls like the Musician’s Guild in Hammond, the American
Legion in Highland, and the Am-Vets Hall in Whiting and kids would be seen
mouthing the words along with Callaway to all the Mailbox songs.
It was like watching a local version of Beatlemania brewing. Woodmar Mall’s
security lost their minds when the band’s massive teen following jammed
into the Hammond shopping center in 1995 for an in-store appearance at
Woodmar Records where I was a manager at the time.
The group had come by to play a couple of acoustic songs to
promote the release of their first local cassette release. Who could have guessed
that they would set a new record and draw more people than any band
in-store at any Woodmar store ever. Theirs topped appearances by such
national artists as -- Asia, Crimson Glory, Enuff Z’Nuff and ‘60s
psychedelic icons, Spirit. Hell… Alison’s
Mailbox in-store even surpassed the in-store by Chicago radio personality,
Kevin Matthews, when he was at the peak of his popularity. The congestion of
teenage bodies brought shopping on that end of the mall to a virtual
standstill. They grew past
the geographic boundaries of their Highland turf and amassed fans from
schools all over the county. Mailbox got so popular
among the Calumet Region’s under 21 crowd that they ignited a whole teen
band movement in the region. Suddenly, N.W. Indiana was teeming with
teenage bands writing original songs. Among them: History’s End, Krooked
Minds, Felix and Underwhelmed.
At the center of this
hurricane was Paul Callaway, the charismatic frontman and singer of
Alison’s Mailbox. Paul would hang out
and drink coffee at the old BEAT Magazine offices on Kennedy Ave. Eventually,
he became such a fixture there, that we put him to work typing stuff at
deadline time and he became the official coffee meister…because he
brewed the best of all of us.
During that time, Paul went from being mere musical fodder for my
columns, to being a dear friend and confidante. So much so, that one day after much thought and
consideration, I asked him to be Godfather to my son, Dylan.
He agreed and our bond grew even tighter. As often happens in
the world of rock ‘n’ roll… the market cooled.
Mailbox hysteria subsided after the band graduated high
school and the members began to explore their personal options in the
brave new world and grow into the fine young men they are today.
I watched as Paul attend Columbia University drift away from music
for a while finding his own path in life.
Happily, in recent
months, he began making a marked return to music –– writing a lot of
new songs and frequently popping up with guitar in hand at open mic
nights. For those of us
who always loved his songs and missed his artistic side, it was akin to
the prodigal son returning home. And “Home” is
where the spiritually strong young man has ultimately returned, to the
great sorrow of those of us who loved him and are now left to ponder the
many “What if’s…” in life. Just a few days into
the new year, Paul Elliot Callaway III,
passed away suddenly while visiting at the house of his parents.
He was only 26-years-old and seemed to be at the pinnacle of his
musical self –– wanting and ready for a rebirth into the arts. It breaks my heart to
know that Paul’s powerful and emotive voice has been forever silenced.
It further
saddens me to know how the wonderful songs he was sure to have written are
now lost to us. Paul was a
remarkably talented young man who had so much to offer.
As good as the Alison’s Mailbox stuff was –– and it WAS
good –– that was just the beginning. Mailbox was only the baby steps being taken by a teenage
artist out searching for the artistic soul that he only recently seemed to
find. I know that I am not
alone in feeling his loss. But
damn it hurts like hell just the same.
Knowing there is
only one last thing we can do for our fallen brother, we have gathered the
troops several times since Paul’s death and plotted out a special night
of music and memories to honor him. On April 19, several
of Paul’s friends in the music community will band together to host a
Memorial Concert at Second Dimensions in Schererville. Our thanks to the club’s owner, Brian Gallas, for
freeing up the club that night for this occasion. On that night…
The surviving members of Alison’s Mailbox will perform their old
songs with guest vocalists pinch-hitting for Paul. Both History’s End
and Felix, will re-group with their original ‘90s line-ups and do some
of their original songs, many not heard in years.
Other special guests
comprised of members who once rocked with Paul as teens will also perform
–– Emitter, Soul Pride and Transmission ––
as well as some of Paul’s latter day friends like
singer/songwriter, John (J.D.) David.
More details and
artists will be announced in the March edition of Midwest BEAT.
Watch for the full page ads that will in the next two issues. Thank you for reading
this far and taking the time to learn more about this great local musician
who is now lost to us. I hope you will mark your calendars for April 19 and join us that night as we joyously and loudly celebrate the life, music and many talents of my dear friend, Paul Callaway.
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Callaway’s
balance between both world’s made him an obvious choice as my very first
draft choice when I was assembling the BEAT BASHERS softball team for our
charity “Rock ‘N’ Jock” game