Meeting Famous Folks
I’ve been an Elvin Bishop fan since 1976, when my brother came back home
on leave from the army and turned us on to his totally smokin’ live
album called ‘Raisin’ Hell’.
If you haven’t heard this masterpiece yet, seriously, you need to go out
and find it. Pure magic onstage.
Melvin seals on keyboards, Johnny V on slide, Mickey Thomas (pre-
Jefferson Starship) on vocals, an amazing rhythm and horn section, plus
Mr. “Struttin’ My Stuff” himself -Elvin Bishop on guitar. Throughout his
storied past with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, jamming with Chicago
legends Buddy Guy and Smokey Smothers, Bay Area greats like Jerry Garcia,
or sharing the stage with the likes of Hendrix, Clapton, and BB King,
Elvin Bishop remains to this day, one of the finest bluesmen around.
Despite his down home,
“Good Ol’ Boy” persona, which admittedly is a large part of his natural
charm, Elvin Bishop is also a National Merit Scholar, and actually
studied physics when he first moved to Chicago in 1959.
Ah, but the blues came callin’ and the rest as they say, is history.
I finally got to
see Elvin and his band up in Portland, Maine at a joint called “Raul’s
Roadside Attraction”, back in 1993.
Elvin and the boys played two sets, broken up by a local swing/
blues band that featured the fattest, whitest guy I’ve ever seen play a
guitar and sing. Apparently, even Elvin himself couldn’t believe it, and
he took a minute to walk out onto the floor during the middle band’s
set. OK, so this was my
chance! Elvin Bishop in the flesh, in those big ‘ol bib overalls, just
like on the album covers. I could just walk right over there and talk to
the man. Nobody was even bum-rushing him either, the coast was clear!
What was I gonna do? Sit there like a total wuss, that’s what I did.
Years passed.
I moved the operation down to Virginia, and after five years of
living here, I finally saw Elvin’s name mentioned in the CityPaper- he
would be playing at the State Theatre right here in falls church! So I had another shot at meeting my
hero, only this time, I would not be denied. I called up my sister in
Pennsylvania just as the opening number ‘Stealin’ Watermelons’ broke
out. Oh, this was the real deal, alright.
From my newly aquired position leaning up against the stage, I
was amazed at how weathered and worn out his red Gibson ES-335
looked. I suddenly realized that this was the original axe he'd been
using since the 60's, as I squinted to barely make out the faded
stickers afixed to the bottom. Since the State was nice and roomy, we
got to walk right to the front of the stage too. During his big top ten
hit, ‘Fooled Around and Fell in Love’, which Elvin had wisely turned
into an instrumental, I could see him coaxing the audience into singing
out the chorus.
Working my way to center stage, I lined myself up in his sights, and as
the big moment approached, Elvin looked directly at me, pointed and
said, “Now, I want you to
sing!”.
I didn't miss a beat, and sang that refrain for all I was worth! I tell ya, there was a moment there
where we truly connected!
After the show, I decided I wasn’t gonna leave until they threw
me the hell out. Kim, Phil
and I hung out with a few other die hards at the lip of the stage, hoping
to catch a glimpse of the blues legend. But after waiting for some time,
I noticed they’d opened the side exit door, right where my car was
sitting, once again, positioned in the perfect parking spot.
Seizing the
opportunity, I decided to slip out the side door and grab my guitar,
smuggling it back in with me, down in front of the stage. Now we were
jamming out right there on the floor with the other folks like me who
refused to call it a night. A
few more minutes passed, and I saw Elvin’s new lead guitarist come out
to scribble a few autographs. I
asked him nice as I could, if he’d have Elvin sign my guitar. “I’ll see what I can do,” came the response. Sure enough, a few short minutes
later, he came back out with my newly christened Epiphone that
said “Good Luck, Joe. - Elvin Bishop”. Too much!!
Now of course, another man would have called it a night. Indeed, another man would have been
totally content to have a signed, autographed guitar by Tulsa Oklahoma’s
native son. But was I done? Hells no!
Next, we headed through that side Exit to the outdoor staircase
where the tour bus was waiting, in an effort to perhaps meet the man who
brought us “Travellin’ Shoes” and “Sure Feels Good”. Sure enough, in a short while, his trombonist
‘Ed’ emerged from backstage. In
the words of EB himself, I felt “like a bird, leavin’ his cage. Looked like my luck was getting’ ready
to change.”
After some light banter, here came the man himself for an
impromptu meet and greet. Despite the late hour, and a physically
exhausting performance, (the guy was after all, close to 60 years old at
the time) Elvin seemed just as happy as he could be to be there.
“What can I do for
you, fellas? he asked, and we all kinda just swarmed down and started
asking questions. After
waiting patiently, it was finally my turn, and like I said, I wasn’t
gonna pass this up twice. We
talked a bit, I told him how long I’d been a fan, and Elvin signed my
ticket stub, then a sheet of notebook paper for my brother who'd turned
me on to him. I thanked him for
signing the guitar, and posed for a picture with this true living
legend.
I got a chance to open for Todd Rundgren at the local rock club
Jaxx. I
had to miss my sister’s wedding, but dammit, it was worth it. I arrived
at 6 for the sound check like the club owner told me to, and there was
Todd himself - onstage - playing at the piano. Todd is actually taller
than most famous folks I've met, who seem to appear much smaller in
person than you'd think.
I have to admit, standing there on the stage with the guy who wrote
'Hello It's Me', 'I Saw The Light' and 'Just One Victory' was a bit nerve
wracking, but I kept my cool. It was so quiet there. And a bit surreal.
I kinda stayed out of the way and gave him some room at first, but
eventually, made my way onto the stage and introduced myself. We shook
hands, and he asked me if I was the opener. Todd was proud to show off his
new ‘mp3 recorder/player’, which he explained, can hold 60 gigs (or
something like that) of music on it!
After completing his soundcheck, which had him testing out both
acoustic and electric guitars, Todd grabbed the new gadget and, placing
it in his suit jacket pocket, stated, “I’ll be back around 10:00- I gotta
take my band with me.” This was definitely a 'stripped down' tour, and
Todd was travelling light. He had a fellow named Jesse on board, who’d
join him onstage for a few numbers, along with Jesse’s wife, who also
served as tour manager. Just the three of them in a tricked out mini
tourbus, complete with dvd player, stereo, beds, and all the comforts
you’d want while completing a stateside tour of mid sized clubs.
Just before the show, I walked around to the front of the building, where
they were just starting to let the crowd in. The line was freakin' huge,
and right there in the middle, I spotted Pete, the drummer for Indoe
Loop! I'm like, "Pete, come here for a second.", knowing he's a huge
Todd fan.. He's like, "What is it, man? I don't wanna lose my place in
line!"
"Screw that, dude, I'm gonna get you the best seat in the house!" Next
thing you know, Pete's up there with me, jamming out on congas. It was
very cool. Alas, Todd was not present for my set, but the audience was
large and appreciative, and Kenny from Indoe Loop even came out and
filmed my set for me.
Donna Jean Godchaux
I always loved hearing Donna
Godchaux's voice with the Grateful Dead, and I thought she gave the Dead
a nice, family feel to them that may have been lacking after the pigpen
years. Over the course of their 9 odd years together, the two of them
definitely added something special to the mix. I also happen to have on
tape the single best vocal performance by Donna Jean, which came during
an unheralded show on 11-14-78 at the Boston Music Hall.
So my friend Greg was hosting ‘Dead Night’ at a local bar in Fairfax, VA
where we'd sit around and listen to killer shows, lamenting the days
when we could go see the Grateful Dead for $13.00, picking up our
tickets the week before the show. (My lowest 'face value' price for a
dead show was a ridiculous 10 bucks!) Well, evidently, Donna was in town
to see some friends and family that week, and she happened upon a flyer
advertising the weekly get together at "The Firehouse".
Sure enough, she and her husband showed up, and we got to talk a whole
bunch about the old days, best shows, favorite memories, and a whole
bunch more. Donna was so very friendly, approachable, and down to earth.
She had a sincerity about her that you rarely find these days. Donna
talked about some of her best memories, and I even asked about her days
singing with Elvis. She spent a good deal of time talking with us, and
I even managed to get a few pictures of us together. Check it out.
Ras Sam Brown ( 1924 - 1998, JA), was a true veteran of the Rastafarian Movement. Poet, activist, teacher, orator, musician and philosopher were just some of the many facets to this visionary man.
Back in November of 1990, I had the good fortune to meet one of the greatest, most respected members of the Rastafarian faith while living in, of all places, Durham, New Hampshire. Yep, that 'last bastion of white folks' state actually has some black people in it. Hey, I counted at least 3 while living up there! Anyway, my buddy John Hoar was way into the Rasta thing for a while, and was always going on about their teachings and even adopted their manner of dress, sported the major dreadlocks, and pretty much adhered to their unique way of life. It never really appealed to me much, but I was always open minded, and curious about other cultures and stuff. So when he told me that he was going out to see Ras Sam Brown, I jumped at the chance to join him.
We drove out to his friend Doug's place, another 'honky dread' who was even more into it than John, and who actually made harps and other musical instruments for a living. That was so wild, actually seeing and getting to play these hand carved and fully strung harps. I mean, how often do you get around ONE harp, let alone an entire room full of harps??
Mr. Brown was napping on the couch when we arrived, and I was immediately startled at how old he seemed. Having been born well before the second world war, Sam Brown Livermore had put on a lot of mileage, and clearly had seen a great deal of the world. On the floor at his feet sat a large coffee can full of ghanja, which we smoked in large, cone shaped spliffs throughout the evening.
After some initial conversation, mostly centered on music, John was able to coax Sam into playing his new LP. He actually had two of them there, "Teacher" (containing 11 songs with a small photo of Ras Brown on the lp label) and "Teacher" (20 songs on the 'oneness' label), both of which had been done in a cheap studio with less than perfect accompaniment. I'm not sure if the first one is still in print, and I'm sure both are hard to find nowadays. But the point was to get Ras Brown's poems down on record, and to this end, both albums serve quite well.
Ras Brown's unique style is very distinctive, and his poetry comes in steady, droning beats, almost rap like. He's got a very deep, rich voice which is all the more commanding in person. You could tell he's got a great deal going on in his head at all times. Just listening to the transition from his raps on topics such as 'Aids/Desolation' to 'Judgement' and the very telling 'Girl, you abuse me Kindness' has you sitting up and paying close attention. Back in the day, Ras Brown was a teacher to many of Jamaica's youth, including those who went on to huge, worldwide success, such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. He told me about seeing them drop in and out of the Rasta camps over the years. A man ahead of his time, Sam Brown actually ran for Jamaican Parliament back in 1961, on the Rastafarian ticket. In his later years, he was known to travel a great deal searching for plants which might cure the Aids epidemic, which he saw as devastating to his people.
After some time listening to his music, I hooked up my Gibson SG bass and began jamming along. This seemed to catch his interest, as he suddenly snapped his fingers at John and Doug and motioned for them to listen as I played along. Of course this was easy stuff, and it had a certain charm to it, but nothing all that challenging. As the conversation continued, things shifted to deeper topics such as religion, philosophy, life and death. He wanted to know all about what I had planned in my life, where I was going, what I was doing, etc. Lots of questions ensued, and I was obviously playing the part of the young whippersnapper kid, learning at the feet of the master. He challenged and provoked my previously held notions until I began to feel a bit uncomfortable in my own ignorance and unworldliness. Many of the things Ras Brown espoused just didn't seem to jive with me though, but I did my best to state my beliefs, and to quite honestly, keep up with his thick Jamaican accent. After some time, we drifted into a nice drum circle jam, which changed the mood to one less tense. He then began talking about his upcoming tour and need for good musicians. Next thing you know, I'm being asked to join Sam Brown on his world tour - starting in Zimbabwe, Africa! Sez WHATS??
I gotta admit,the thought of picking up and heading off to Zimbabwe really appealed to me at that point in time. I knew it would be a defining moment for my musical career, and really gave the matter some serious consideration. But in the end, I just couldn't get down with all that "Rasta this and Dreadlocks that" preaching. For some reason, I couldn't grasp the significance of obeying those precepts of the Rastafarian Movement, and couldn't shake the feeling that I'd be playing into the very same 'honky dread' phoniness that I'd secrectly been snickering at when I attended Grateful Dead shows. I thanked him for signing a copy of 'Teacher' and noted his inscription; 'To Joe, compliments, Sam Brown', along with the date, 1/11/1990. (nov 1st)
A few months later, John borrowed my camcorder to head down to Washington, DC and film a big Rasta get together at the Smithsonian Institute, which was attended by many of the biggest names in the Movement. I got a copy of that, plus our conversation at Doug's, with Ras Sam Brown trying to educate this poor, dumb white boy about not eating meat. Alas, Sam Brown passed through this lifetime back in August of 1998, while attending an International Conference, Trade Fair and Cultural Expo in Barbados. He left with us a long legacy of poetry, teachings and writings, not to mention some very fine music. Though I still don't embrace the Rasta movement as completely as some, I have nothing but respect for Ras Sam Brown, and thank him for his teachings and his music. He will be sorely missed.
Below is Ras Sam Brown's "Treatise on the Rastafarian Movement" which goes a bit further in explaining his precepts and ideas.
Ever since Man has found himself the master of planet Earth, from primitive man til this time, he has always sectionally upheld some form of deification to a higher concept; every race of man has got their own form of worship unlike and peculiar to each other race of tribe.
Gods are the creation of the inner consciousness of nations to deification of an individual. Elders and parents beget progenies who in turn carry on the perpetuation of such culture.
We in this cause will give brief and concise account of the culture of Rastafari, its code of law. etc. Unlike all oders of religion, the culture of Rastafari was not handed down from father to son as the people of Christendom. We who have perused the volumes of history knew that in this 20th Century a king would arise out of Jesse´s root, who should be a God (Almighty) for his people and a liberator to all the oppressed of Earth. We the Rastafarians who are the true prophets of this age, the reincarnated Moseses, Joshuas, Isaiahs, Jeremiahs who are the battle-axes and weapons of war (a Jidah, or Holy War); we are those who are destined to free not only the scattered Ethiopians (Black men) but all people, animals, herbs and all life forms.
We are the vanguard of 144 000 celestical selectees who shall in turn free 468 000 millions particularly and the world at large. We are the disciples of Rastafari, who have walked with God from the time when the foundation of creation was laid, through 71 bodies, to behold the 72nd house of power which shall reign forever. We now stand as the fullfillers of prophecy; we knew before that when a king should be crowned in the land of David´s throne that individual would be Shiloah, the anointed One, the Messiah, The Christ returned in the personification of Rastafari ( on his vesture and on his thigh is a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords) - see Rev.19:16.
We also know the significance of Daniel, declaring from that time of this time, for I ( far eye) beheld until all the thrones of Babylon was cast down and the ancients of days did sit (the bearded God), whose eyes were like flames of fire, the hair of whose head was like unto wool (matted hair), whose feet were like unto burning brass (black skin); and he tradeth the fierceness of the winepress of his wrath, to execute Justice and Judgement on the Gentiles ( the nations of Europe and their black allies).
The scriptures declare God hags in motorless spaces surrounded by thick darkness, hence black man. God came in many bodies, to reign forever in Rastafari ( the triple-crowned monarch), The Holy One of Israel whose ray of light shall finally dim the eyes of the dragon (advocates of Christendom), and through whose power all those of many nations who embrace the faith and uphold it laws shall live forevermore with God. We are those who shall right all wrongs and bring ease to he suffering bodies, and peace to all people.
World warning: the sevent last vial of wrath is now uncorked, about to be poured on Earth. The Rastafarians ( Eternal Ones) possesses the key to war and peace in the Universe. We the ransomed of the fall who knows that heaven (Paradise) is the land of Ethiopia on the side of the north, who maintained Divine control over all minds of men, rich and poor, great and small alike. For they are those who pass through great tribulations in Jamaica by the name Rastafari, and in other lands by different names. They are those that shall not take the beast by force (if you bow before force, God and History shall record your Judgement) of armament, but while the world of nations struggled for power, the glut of power that men and nations seek is foreign to the policy of Rastafarians. Who draw his reservoir of strength through faith and humility, who through the fall of Zedekiah to this day has struggled to maintain our culture and dynasty throughout the reign of every foreign foe, the Rastafarian is he who bow the knee to God (Rastafari) alone. We are those who obey strict moral and divine laws, based on the Mosaic tenet:
1) We strongly object to sharp implements used in the desecration of the figure of Man, e.g., trimming and shaving, tattoing of the skin, cuttings of the flesh.
2) We are basically vegetarians, making scant use of certain animal flesh yet outlawing the use of swine´s flesh in any form, shell fishes, scaleless fishes, snails, etc.
3) We worship and observe no other God but Rastafari, outlawing all other forms of Pagan worship yet respecting all believers.
4) We love and respect the brotherhood of mankind, yet our first love is to the sons of Ham.
5) We disapprove and abhor utterly hate, jealously, envy, deceit, guile, treachery, etc.
6) We do not agree to the pleasures of present-day society and its modern evils.
7) We are avowed to create a world order of one brotherhood.
8) Our duty is to extend the hand of charity to any brother in distress, firstly for he is of the Rastafari order - secondly to any human, animals, plants, etc., likewise.
9) We do adhere to the ancient laws of Ethiopia.
10) Thou shall give no thought to the aid, titles and possession that the enemy in his fear may seek to bestow on you; resolution to your purpose is the love of Rastafari.
I met singer/ songwriter Mary
Lou Lord on my birthday last year.
I’d been hoping to catch a rare club performance by this subway
dwelling alterna-folk/ pop underground artist since being turned on to
her back in 1999. My friend
Andrea called up and said she was going, and did I want to meet her
there.
I ended up being so busy beforehand that by the time I got to the
Iota, Mary Lou was just finishing up her show, and I only caught like the
end of her last tune. I
spotted Andrea inside, and asked how everything had gone.
She was all psyched up about the show, and told me I missed a good
one.
As everyone began to trickle
out of the club, Andrea asked me if I thought we could wait around and
maybe meet her. I asked
around near the bar if Mary Lou would be coming back out to talk with the
fans, and heard that she most likely would.
As I was standing around waiting with the rest of the fans, hoping
to catch a few minutes with the Boston based artist, I decided to get my
camcorder ready, which I’d smuggled into the club inside my backpack.
Of course, the battery was stone cold dead, and finding an outlet
to plug into was a near impossible task.
Still, I wanted to see what I could do, and after Andrea got her
turn talking with Mary Lou, I sidled up to her and started talking.
I gave her a copy of my CD, which she promised to listen to later.
Mary Lou took lots of time with everyone, so nobody felt brushed
off, and I thought that was real nice of her.
Finally, everybody was ready to split, and I guess Andrea figured
this was it- that we’d now be leaving, with a wonderful memory of
meeting her idol, Mary Lou Lord. Wrong.
I asked her and my buddy Dave
to hang out just a while longer, as I took the camera, now with a little
juice left, up to the stage area where I noticed she had left her guitar
still in its stand. Andrea
asked what I thought I was doing, and I stated boldly, “hey, not only
are we gonna hang out with her, but we’re gonna jam with her too!”
Just as we were shooting some scenes inside the club, Mary Lou
walked up and started getting her stuff together. This is where I made
my move. After talking about songwriting and some other idle gossip, I
just came out and asked her “what are we doing after the show?” She told
me she didn’t have any plans, and I suggested we go outside and play a
couple of songs in the parking lot. Much to my surprise, Mary Lou upped
the ante and sated, “actually, we can go out on the back deck there and
play, where it’ll be nice and quiet.” Cool!
So the next thing you know, about 12 people all gathered around on the
back deck of the Iota, taking turns singing and playing their own
original material.
This is where I met a fantastic singer/ songwriter named
Thad Cockrell
who just blew us away with his clear, soulful voice and sensitive
lyrics. Also on hand was Britta Wolfrum, a wonderful singer/songwriter who had some really awesome tunes to share. Once everybody got a turn to play, I finally had my chance, and quickly busted out a few of my own tunes. We kept the camera going throughout the rest of the night,
having now found an electrical outlet to use. Unfortunately, Mary Lou
didn’t want to play any more that night, and it took a great deal of
coaxing to get her to do a funny number with Thad that had to do
with ‘why don’t you take me fishin’, and stuff like that.
What really made her night was when Britta and I did her song -Helsinki,
and it was great to see the pure pleasure and almost shy blushing look
on her face as we played it.
After everybody was done
playing, we gave our good-byes and hugs, and Mary Lou gave me a CD of
hers, which she was kind enough to sign for me with a real special
message. Britta told me she
and Mary Lou listened to my CD on the way back to Boston, and that they
really liked it a lot. I hope to make it back up to the Boston subway
stops where she can be found most days playing and ‘busking’ to the
crowds.
If
you haven’t heard anything by Mary Lou Lord yet, then by all means go
out get her big “sony/workgroup” produced album “Got No Shadow“ or
the new self produced one “City Sounds”, which she recorded herself
right there at the Harvard Square/ Park Street Station..
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Tune in next time for more personal stories on meeting Mark,
Don and Mel from Grand Funk Railroad and others!
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