A Wright Lunatic

If Wright did indeed pen this number in 1985, he predicted a decade early the rise of militia groups, the Branch Davidian standoff and the troubles the ATF would endure. Note the references to "100 federal agents on the street" and "being in good with the agency."

It's also this song that has inspired Garvin's interpretation of the "John Wright look."

Leah Fasten

Hi, I'm John Wright: Local musician Terry Garvin as the mysterious "rock video opera" composer.

The infamous tape bearing John Wright's bizarre masterpiece.

Details

Scheduled for Saturday, October 28. The Zen Lunatics will also perform. Showtime is 9 p.m.

Long Wong's in Tempe

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• John Wright
• Terry Garvin
• George Benson
• Television
• Children's Programming

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"I think he's sort of got a hint of the Unabomber in him. He's gotta have a lumberjack shirt and a full beard. For some reason, I got hooked on that picture of the Soft Boys from 1976 or so, when Alan Davies was in the band and he had a beard, sunglasses, a flannel button-up and a tee shirt underneath that says 'Give It to the Soft Boys.' I'm hoping I can get the whole thing ready in time for Halloween."

Track 5: Untitled, a.k.a. "I Feel Something Tearing Us Apart" (3:34)

The only song not to have a John Wright spoken intro at the beginning or end, since the tape gets cut off just as he sings, "I sense disaster waiting in the wi . . ."

Garvin, too, senses "disaster waiting in the wi . . ." but is determined to follow through regardless. He concedes that this may be the first andpossibly last tribute to John Wright ever staged.

"All I want to do is get to the bottom of this Eddie and the Cruisers-style mystery and bring John Wright out into the open, get him out of hiding or wherever he is," he says. "If the Zen Lunatics cult of fans come, they'll get into it. Who knows? It could catch on. Or it could die an ugly death. But isn't death what Halloween's really all about?"

Sound clips of Teenage Volleyballers Track 1: "Teenage Volleyballers" (45 seconds)
John Wright Tribute Version (40 seconds)