Joseph Cutrera
March 8, 1961-November
24, 1998
Andy Middleton (jazzsax@earthlink.net) -
- - Strange, but just looking at that old Omega picture of
Joe actually brings tears to my eyes, and I feel sad thinking
of his passing. It didn't sink in until I saw his face again.
Joe was always super-cool to me, very helpful and friendly, generous
and big-brotherly to me. On some level we connected as musicians,
and certainly as druggies and men in search of women. I can't
actually remember anything about my relationship with Joe that
angers me or seems negative, although I did see that side of
him with other people quite often. Odd, that he and I had that
kind of friendship when he displayed darker sides to so many
others. I toted around a huge plate of glass for years as a keyboard
stand that must be a remnant of the construction fraud.... You
had a good heart, Joe!
Cyndy Brown (Viveiros) (cynvive@hotmail.com) -
- - Joe had these great looks he would give me in passing.
He used to look at me and just say "Cyn" (but I think
he meant "Sin") or sometimes "Cynful" and
I'd feel both important and repentant. It always seemed like
he knew something I didn't and he wasn't going to let me know
either. I was looking forward to seeing him again at some reunion
- maybe figure out what it was he knew, now I guess I'll never
know. He was always ONLY nice to me.
Cyndy Brown (Viveiros) (cynvive@hotmail.com) -
- - Joe had these great looks he would give me
Dave Hill (Nanook) -
- - Say it aint so. Blade is forever with me, for better and
worse. Dashing and dangerous. And what the heck was he doing
with my CAT?
Vaya con Dios
joe mester (jome@flash.net) -
- - A good buddy. A great partier. Could not be trusted (can
anyone at that age?).
Always on a secret agenda. The blade will always be a mystery.
I'll never forget a motorcycle ride he took me on around UR.
We were sober, maybe that's why I remember it!
Tom Nalli (jnalli@means.net) -
- - I remember Blade as being quite a colorful character. He
always knew when to kiss up a little bit to stay on one's good
side (with me it was playing up to our common Italian heritage).
I also remember that Joe liked cats and was always kind to and
complimentary of my cat when he paid a visit (with other assorted
Omegas such as Corbet, Estes, McHank, etc.) to my roach-infested
apartment on S. Clinton Ave.
I don't know why but the only words I can directly recall Joe
saying to me were one time when we were hanging out at my apartment
I stretched and yawned and then apologized for it. He mentioned
how his grandfather (I believe)would point out to people that
any animal (including cats)would take good time to stretch before
they embarked on their day's activities. Joe said very seriously
that his grandfather would say, "There's something to it."
(meaning that stretching is a good thing).
For some reason I can just see and hear Joe saying that to me.
I guess that's the way I'm doomed to remember him.
Jim Abdo (jabdo@arizlaw.com) -
- - The flame that burns half as long burns twice as bright.
In his short life, Joe left some deep impressions. Like many
others, I have memories of Joe, some good, some not so good.
He was both my friend and my enemy at the same time, and that's
what made him so interesting. He caused many of us to do things
we would not have done without his influence at a time when most
of us were still trying to discover the exact location of that
line between right and wrong. He went back and forth across it
often, taking many of us with him, and after reflecting on some
of our "journeys with Blade" we got a better sense
of ourselves and which side we wanted to land on. For that if
nothing else, I'm in his debt no matter how many scores were
left unsettled. Rest in Peace
Peter Adelman (padelman@oellaw.com) -
- - Like Elliot, I have memories of Joe's talking about construction
fraud and other Down-By-The-Waterfront-ish stuff. All of my good
times with Joe were really mindless, but then, most of my time
at school was too. I will always be grateful to Blade for lending
me his blonde Gibson SG for my band's gig at the Dance Marathon
freshman year.
Elliot Garbus (elliot.d.garbus@intel.com) -
- - Looking back, I remember Joe as dangerous, sometimes scary,
but at the same time a nice guy. Running around the basement
swinging that sword, telling stories of fraud on construction
sites Didn't he work the mixing board for the Hetero's demo tape?
Joe was many things, but certainly never boring. I am sorry to
hear he has passed on. Peace.
S-Man (marobinson@bankofny.com) -
- - Joe never seemed to be able to make me mad at him for more
than a minute or two. He was always there for me when I was down,
with a joke, a hit, or an act of sensless violence. I hope he
has found peace. I think I'll go listen to the famous S-Men '81
"Joe Blade Mix" tape. That is how I'll remember Joe:
Doing me a favor.
Dave Lewy (dlewy@akbs.com) -
- - I had more than once thought about Joe since my time at
Rochester
and often thought how interesting it would be to see him again,...see
if he had changed, see what path he had taken. Ironically, I
learned,
only after he died that he had moved less than 20 miles away.
He was an interesting sort. As Jeff so insightfully stated,
"one not to be
ignored". He is a part of my life and I am saddened by his
death. Many
times in college he angered me. He did some truly hurtful things.
But there
were times he showed great kindness and I knew that Joe really
cared about me,
even if he had a difficult time expressing it. He was an interesting
sort.
Goodbye.
Connie Jarvis (CTJarvis@aol.com) -
- - Despite his shenanigans (most notably for me, Conguido
- the young and impressionable one, was when he put me up to
shooting off a bullet casing out of Mike "Spike" Hubbard's
12-gauge shotgun into the ceiling at Mat, Mandy and Abdo's house
sophomore year), Joe was a kind, loving, talented person with
a lot to offer. I hope that he was able to use his gifts constructively
after UofR and that he has found the Lord. May his soul rest
in peace.
David Hill (Dead End) (tetsuma@mindspring.com) -
- - My fondest memory was getting a phone call from Blade and
Joe Cangemi (remember the Phoenixes?) one halloween evening.
They said they had a friend they wanted to meet. Someone they
had brought home from that area behind Phase.. you know,
over the fence.. Well, I showed up and they introduced me to
Fred. I wont go into more details, but this was definately
the strangest thing that has happened to me. Goulish, too.
Yikes, we're all getting older.
Jeff (peace4@aol.com) -
- - Yo Blade! The funniest thing I will always remember about
Blade is the incident
with the Hefty garbage bag and the tank of N2O in the Omega lounge.
Unbelieveable. Hope you've found your inner peace.
Ellen Weinraub (eweinraub) -
- - Nobody heard from him in over 15 years, and he resurfaced
and started calling me again last June, just 6 months before
he died. I'm glad that I had that chance to reconnect with him--to
hear his voice, to hear how his life had been going and to settle
some old scores.
Last summer he saw the website and asked me about the Joe
Blade referral. I told him the he was being ragged on, obviously!
I'm not sure he realized the extent to which people ragged on
him after he left UR, but he did know what a dick he had been
to alot of people and he was truly sorry and embarrassed about
it.
Thanks for the tribute. Whatever anyone thought of him, in
the end that pin on his lapel connects him to all of you. At
least stop for a moment and think about your life, which REALLY
is unpredictable, precious and too short.
Leslie Zigel (leslie.zigel@bmge.com) -
- - Joe always seemed on the edge and I found it hard to break
his exterior walls. There was definitely some dark stuff ticking
inside. As I search my memory I guess I was most touched by his
lending me a jacket for my second Omega "formal". It
red velvet of course and I felt hip wearing his threads!
Joe, good luck on your journey through the next phase. Un
abrazo.
Mark Giuliano (giuliano@stsci.edu) -
- - Joe was and is a mystery to me. On one side he was a great
buddy who was
always there for you. He was always the loudest and most ready
Brother
to take part in the Fraternity. On the other side Joe did things
which
I cannot agree with. I regret that I did not have a chance to
talk
over these things with Joe before he passed away. I hope that
he finds
peace and happiness where he is now.
Mark
Kagan (zippy@ardentmicro.com) -
- - Maybe this was the long layover in Purgatory.
Phil (pzawisa@klehr.com) -
- - He's perhaps headed north, with a long layover in purgatory.
Hope we all meet him up north.
--Phil
Jeff -
- - I've got many memories. I hope you've found a peaceful
place.