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by Stephen Fobes
October 7, Part 1 - Gerard's early, and sometimes difficult, years. October 20, Part 2 - Gerard's High School Experience (the Secret Weapon!) October 27, Part 3 - Garth Brooks and the Music Video. November 3, Part 4 - The many sides of Gerard Fobes. 
Gerard always played the drums at home. He loves the Beach Boys, the Beatles music and knows all the music and singers from the 50's and 60's. We attended Beach Boys concerts whenever they played at the local amphitheatres. He also enjoyed Jan and Dean. One summer Jan and Dean were playing at the Orange County fair. We went to their performance and danced in the aisles like all the other old and young fans. After the performance Gerard and I sneaked backstage to meet Jan and Dean. They were delighted to meet Gerard. He was able to discuss with them all the details of their careers. He knew all the songs they wrote and all the details of their life and movie. I asked Gerard if he wanted their autograph, he said the handshake was enough for him. They were impressed with his knowledge. The following year they performed again and we got backstage to see them. They remembered Gerard and were delighted to see him again.After Gerard graduated from high school, he attended an arts college in Anaheim. They had a group there called the High Hopes. There were twelve musicians and singers in the group, all with some kind of disability. Gerard had seen them perform some years earlier and always wanted to play drums with the group. He auditioned to play the drums and was accepted as the drummer for the High Hopes. They had a van and would pack all their equipment and uniforms in the trailer and they would travel throughout Southern California to various service organizations such as the Elks, and perform. They also performed on some national television shows. One of the most wonderful and exciting experiences of Gerard's life is when he was the star of a Garth Brooks music video for one of Garth's top selling songs "Standing Outside the Fire". When deciding the cast for the movie, they were going to get a normal child and with makeup have him play the part. Instead someone suggested they get a handicapped child to play the part. Casting people went to a variety of schools in the Los Angeles area and selected a dozen people who might be able to do the part. Gerard was selected and we were told to have him in Los Angeles at 7 am for filming. His music teacher at the school did not tell us about his part, so we assumed it was going to be a small walk on role. Jeanne took Gerard and was very surprised when she arrived that everyone was excited that the star had arrived. The filming took 4 days at a variety of locations. Gerard had his own wardrobe girl and makeup girl, both beautiful blonds. People all over the country who saw the video would somehow get our name. Many were teachers, or people involved in social work for the disabled. They wanted a copy of the video to show their classes or groups. Eventually Garth's production company released the video and it could be purchased at retail music stores. In the version that was cut for release Garth tells a humorous story about how Gerard was chosen for the role. The director asked Gerard if he knew the difference between reality and fantasy. Gerard loved to expound on philosophical questions and gave a long response on reality, he then looked at the directors beautiful blond assistant, pointed to her, and said, "That's fantasy". At that point the director was convinced that Gerard could handle the rugged 4 days of filming. Gerard received requests to speak before a variety of groups and discuss his experience. He is very articulate and enjoyed this experience. | |||
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