From Puma Perl to Walter Steding
I didn’t always understand the meaning of a praise poem. I thought it was about singing the praises of the individual who had passed. As a poet, I still take things surprisingly literally at times. A praise poem is rooted in many cultures, particularly African, and eases the passage of the person by connecting them on the continuum of his or her ancestry. Walter Steding was a part of the tail end of The Factory, one of the younger members, who was mentored by Andy Warhol. He is known for his visual art, his musicianship (primarily violin), and his uniqueness as an individual as well as an artist and a pioneer of new wave music. Back in the CBGB/Max’s days he opened for Suicide, Blondie, and others, and had his own band Walter Steding and the Dragon People. He did nothing solely for material gain and was thrilled when he was offered a part of a tip jar. The first time I played with him, Joff Wilson brought him along to a poetry reading. We weren’t paid anything at all, but he expressed gratitude for the cup of tea the host bought him. In fact, he always profusely thanked me. We played Lucky on B this past Sunday, December 7, 2025. “We” means The Puma Perl Band consisting of myself, Joff Wilson, Joe Sztabnik, and Dave Donen, with occasional guests. Walter used to play regularly with us but I found the need to strip it down and include violins and saxophones separately and strategically. My decision pissed him off, but we did many other gigs and events together and remained friends. Our two-hour set wasn’t introduced as a tribute to Walter. Everything we’ve done since he died in November has been a tribute to him and doesn’t even need to be said. Prior to our set, there had been a two-hour holiday singalong complete with Santa hats and good cheer. Everyone was in high spirits. We joked that we were there to bring them down with dark, depressing holiday poems. It reminded me of Walter draping himself in glittering Christmas lights when he opened at the CBGB in Exile holiday shows at the Bowery Electric, and also of the night in 2013 when we cheered up the Otto’s holiday party with a reading of William Burroughs’ A Junky’s Christmas.
Since I’m still healing from knee replacement surgery, I find it too difficult to stand for two hours straight so I ask Joe and Joff to sing a few more songs than they’ve done in the past. During one of the musical breaks a musician I’ve never seen before quietly took a seat, opened his violin case, and began playing with us. His name turned out to be Simeon Rose, and I guess Joff knew him although I don’t think it was prearranged. Maybe it was. When I introduced the band, I told the audience that I didn’t actually know every member. A little later, a violinist I do know, Greg Holt aka Fiddler, appeared, just back from his cross-country travels and Simeon was kind enough to lend him his instrument so he could play a few. Suddenly, a wealth of violinists. Nobody could tell me Walter didn’t send them. I don’t think he’s completely asleep with the angels yet, but soon. Joff played a song he’d written for Walter and invited me up to the mic as the musicians continued to play. Sometimes you can write a poem standing at the mic. I don’t know how much of the original version I remember but here’s what I got for now.
Praise Poem for Walter
Walter Steding, who draped himself in Christmas lights
Who astounded Warhol by duplicating shades of mixed paint
Who had previously worked as a colorist in the Garment Center
Who painted portraits of his friends
Who agreed with me that my image resembled a Nazi prison matron
Who promised another portrait, but we ran out of time
Who taught me to play the C chord on his keyboard
Who envisioned me wearing a black gown and playing notes on a Grand Piano (we ran out of time on that one too, although I still have the gown.)
Who drove his car looking over his right shoulder
Who got lost three blocks from his building the night we played on Frost Street
Who took ten hours to drive to the Kingston Pop Museum and walked in at the end of the show wearing a huge smile, telling everyone “Here I am!”
Who forgot where he parked his car and found it after a month without a single ticket and finally sold it to Joff
Who accompanied Emma to her first prenatal scan and helped her to make the tough decision to continue her pregnancy
Who played with Crazy Mary for decades
Who once lived in a storage unit
Who idolized Captain Henry
Who was born in a town outside Pittsburgh called Harmony
Who described his burning interests as music, art and history
Who had a fervent wish to break the chain with his art
Who had a dream of being “useful.”
There is more.
