August 15, 1981 ✝

Went to the Music & Theatre today [with Lexel] to pickup some of the P.A. in the VW bus. [Lexel's] Tow or three more loads should do it. I sure do miss practice, wish Ritchie would get better soon, but it's better if he fights it [the illness] off slowly.

August 14, 1981 ✝

Lexel and I cleaned up a lot in the Basement, still a lot of S*** to do. [The "basement" was our practice room. It was in the basement at Badergasse 16, in Aschaffenburg. It was below Franz's Music Store. He had put quite a bit of money and time into making it a nice work place. Eventually Gundy moved his teaching studio into the place.] Tonight is a full moon , as full as it could be. [I'm] in a weird mood today, but full moons have been known to do that more times than once.

August 13, 1981 ✝

Loadin' and unloadin', that's about all. I caught 3 fish from the little stream out back, just finished eatin' one, tasted gooooood. [Lexel has a lovely home in the country, a little village outside of Aschaffenburg called Laufach.] [He was very gracious to allow me to live with him for several months. Lexel, if I didn't tell you then, Danke brother.]

August 12, 1981 ✝

The only work done today was Lexel tuning his drum kit and me polishing his cymbals. Since Ritchie is sick we should try and get all of the garbage thrown away and things that we can use should be repaired or put into service.

August 11, 1981 ✝

Didn't do anything on this day. Today was the first day I missed out on this Journal, I'll have to be more careful next time. [Not true, I was just confused about what day it was.] Ritchie has a bad lung infection. The doctor says se should stay in bed for 3 weeks.

August 10, 1981 ✝

Today was a nothing day, didn't do any work except help Lexel build up his drums. Shroeder and Tier loaded up some equipment from the Music and Theater, while we sat on our asses. That was damn good of them. The crosses [next to the date entry] are symbols for the days that we don't do anything, because it is very important to keep going, we can't slow down now or we'll end up where we started from, confusion.

August 9, 1981

Day of Rest. I wonder what's harder, creating a world or playin' in a Rock-n-Roll Band. God worked for 6 days before makin' his rest, I did 2 gigs and I felt Kaput. Well, maybe God practiced a little before makin' ours [our world]. Slept in today, but my energy was still drained. After breakfast I felt better. Lexel and I unloaded the bus afterwards. S***, gotta get up early tomorrow. Oh well, that's Rock-n-Roll.

August 8, 1981

We played for the Amies [the Americans] as Franz would say it, at Jeager [Kasern, Aschaffenburg], Music and Theater. Boy, am I beat. Had a little fun, we still need more practice so I can really enjoy myself on stage, but it was ok. The people [audience] could have been better, but don't get me wrong they weren't bad. I [indistinguishable] enjoyed today more than yesterday. I'm so bushed. Today was better than yesterday. [redundant]. [I believe Jim Adamaro and Jose Alvarez was at this gig.]

Aug. 7, 1981

Erlensee, Hansa Bruene. Wow what a mind rush, I never played so many mistakes in one gig, but I really didn't give a f***. We sweated like pigs upon the stage and only about 8 people were dancing. We had two encores. Ritchie was in a pissed off mood afterwards. I have to stop now only have a couple hours of sleep ahead of me.

Aug. 6, 1981 - continues.2

We still had our problems, we couldn't pay rent, we made a record, and we didn't eat. We fixed a few of them, [but] we still had more ahead of us. But now my head is in better condition, so I think.  Maybe all of this will drive me crazy eventually, but then again, maybe the insane know something we don't.
Today, "Behind the Curtain" was played on Hessen 3 Radio. F***, I didn't even hear it, someone (Rick?) told me.

Aug 6, 1981 - Continues.1

....Then came the crazy feelings, oh God, it was like ridin' a low rider at 50 on a dirt road with 3-foot potholes everywhere. Didn't know what to do, didn't know who to talk to, didn't know what the hell was going on. Didn't even understand my own thoughts and feelings. It was like smokin' one of those giant Cheech and Chong joints you know red and white with stripes and little stars in a blue background, perfectly rolled. Everybody smoked, without even knowing it, we got stoned for 7 months, then the sh** finally cleared. [more to come]

Aug 6, 1981 - Continues

Then we had our first gig [at] Heylands Schwind (homebase) [a guesthouse (pub) that was next door to Aschaffenburg's local brewery of the same name]. Oct, 11 1980 was the only time in Heylands Schwind's history to have 410 people in [house] at one time. Freak out? They [the audience] went wild, people were standing on tables and chairs, they were dancing and screaming and singing "Hey Pretty Mamma, Disco is Dead" 3 hours after we were finished. After that gig we said, "ok, let's become a profi band" We all said it, we can't blame anyone [else]. [More to come}....

Aug 6, 1981 -

About this time one year ago Lexel (Hain), Franz (Ullrich), Ritchie (Klaus Reichardt), and I made a jam session. Lexel, Franz, and Ritchie had jammed before and Stampede had existed in the pass also, but it was the first time that I played with them. [Stop, I don't know where I got this information or misunderstood the German language, but this can not be true.] During our first jam session there was something strange in the air, something almost mystical. Nobody really noticed it though, or if they did they either forgot it, in that instant or they didn't care because they didn't understand it. [I'm assuming a lot.] [To an objective audience] It would sound very normal, maybe even a little boring, and it would not sound mystical or magical, the feeling was something that [probably] could not be [captured] in a recording, but it was there.
[At this time I was living in Laufach (a few miles away from Aschaffenburg, in the country) in Lexel Hain's home.] more to come....

Joey Costello's Stampede Journal Aug 1981-Nov 1981

Okay you want to have some fun? I kept a journal for a few months while I was in Stampede. It is the egotistical wanderings of a lost 19 year old American in Germany. [Now I'm just a egotistical lost wandering 47 year old in Kansas.] Usually it is boring, sometimes it is funny. Just to let you know I will do some editing, because sometimes it's kind of ugly, and I love all the band guys now, and I was a frustrated young kid. We also have a reunion concert coming up in Aug 2010 and I only want the best of feelings to exist between us.

Sometimes the journal reveals tiny little glimpses into gigs, practices, composing of songs that are probably long lost, and stuff like that. I will also make commentary or explanations if I can remember the events.

The Journal runs from Aug 6, 1981 till Nov, 26, 1981. It wasn't everyday but it was nearly daily. This was a time in which Lexel Hain came back to the band and Frajo Kromerich had left. My friend John Guadamuz also went back to the states, Ritchie Reichardt left and Gundy Keller became Stampede's guitarist.

I will only transcribe a few lines per entry. And you guys can make your comments.

Still want to have some fun?