I Remember Hal Lovo

Harold "Hal" Lovo . Now there was a guy. I am playing music at work and the Rolling Stones song "Live With Me" comes on. I am reminded of Hal because if I recall his band opened with that song. Hal is one of those characters that sticks with you after decades of not hearing from him.


 I wrote those lines then I decided to Google him. Then I saw something none of us wants to see. An obituary.  This urge to write about distant memories sure takes you weird places. We all gotta go one day but Hal left us at 60. Almost thirty years later I was straining to remember the name of his band and good it was mentioned several times in his obituaries, The Hooded Rats.



I met Hal when I started working at Long and McQuade Music on West 4th Avenue. We were both in the credit department. He was such a character, specially with a guitar in his hands.



From my dim memories, I recall that Hal grew up in Steveston and played junior varsity football for Hugh Boyd. He was Al Bundyish that way when he would regale Pete and I about those days. He told us of the pre game speeches of his coach and eating pasta on game day.

One of his classic quotes " I rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy".

He would twist a certain Beatles classic to " I want to hold your gland"

The Cars song "It's All I Can Do " became "It's all I can do , is keep digging for poo".

The Who song " Tommy Can You Hear Me?" became " Eddie Can You hear me ? "


I saw the Hooded Rats play at least twice . Hal with his cap on backwards on guitar and vocals. As somebody who spent hours and hours in high school playing in bands, I could tell right away the Hooded Rats were tight. They really played together.

Hal would restring his guitar and once he got two strings on there he would play the intro to the Eagles Teenage Jail.

Another time he was playing and singing and Pete and I giving him our rapt attention. A co-worker was inspecting the scene and Hal's good natured retort? " I am just entertaining the troops".

In those times the Marvel TV movies were filmed in Vancouver. During office hours he would watch the filming of the  Death of the Incredible Hulk.

In what might have been the 1989 season opener of Monday Night Football, Hal and his wife invited me over for dinner. This was also my first term at Simon Fraser University. He showed me this cannabis plant he was growing that he eventually showed.

I have no idea why it took me this long to think of him or even try to get a hold of him but things happen. I  miss you bro and I hope you are in a better place.