1973-1983, part two
Man, You're Stubborn...
You can still go back to my home page,I won't even know. If you decide to keep reading, here's "the Rest of the Story."
Man, You're Stubborn...
You can still go back to my home page,I won't even know. If you decide to keep reading, here's "the Rest of the Story."
What a photographer! This is the only time I have ever looked sexy in my entire life
Southern Mist soon became pretty successful, and ultimately lasted well over a decade. Even though Cliff could play rock and disco and used effects to simulate organ parts, we knew pedal steel did not really fit in and he left the band. I started playing more keyboards, drummer Ron joined the Marines, and a succession of drummer-vocalists followed. We promoted our harmony as 'the fourth member' of the band, started working some larger rooms, got lot's of press in the area entertainment magazines and were in fact, the only trio to work clubs that normally had four, five or six piece acts. We did some road work as well through an agency, the most memorable one being a Holiday Inn in Jackson Mississippi during a huge flood, where we had to sneak past national guard blockades to get to the gig, only to find we were entertaining a sold out motel of people who had all lost their homes to the flood. We also also backed several singers in the recording studios around Jacksonville during this time, something I'm particularly fond of.
Conventional wisdom states that marriage, youth and a bar career do not go well together. I studiously set out to prove conventional wisdom was correct, (at least in my case.) Rosie and I divorced (for the first time, we later married and divorced again, proving I not only had a severe personality disorder, but the wonderful Rosie enjoyed repeating mistakes.)
We played some pretty nice lounges through that period, always returning to the 'Benbow' as our home base. We worked a really hot club in Arlington, the 'Cellar,' the Lem TurnerRaintree Inn (later to become the Northside Roadway), the Ramada Oceanfront Resort in St Augustine, several Airport Hotel lounges, the Holiday Motor Lodge El Matador on Philips just to name a few. When we replaced a drummer (during this time we went through six I believe,) we would usually book a 'dive' to work him in onstage (and get paid while doing so.) Those dives occupy a special place in my heart, especially the infamous 'Macs Mustang Lounge,' a club in a completely inappropriate neighborhood, populated primarily by patrons barred from other drinking establishments, and owned and operated by a man who was a dead ringer in looks and personality for the 'Dukes of Hazard' character, 'Boss Hogg.' Man was it fun.
While things were going pretty good in Jacksonville, dreams never die. The first time I left Southern Mist, was for a job offer for a showband reforming in Louisiana. A former drummer and childhood friend, the late Sam Hart, informed me around late 1979 or early 1980 of a gig with a 4 piece band with 4 horn players. Everybody in the band doubled on horn, the keyboard player kicked bass pedals, and played trumpet, the drummer (who Sam was replacing,) occasionally played valve trombone while drumming with one hand (which Sam, a North Texas State schooled musician could do as well,) and the guitar player (who was also leaving soon) played enough trumpet to play some horn pops. The the band was fronted by a multi instrumentalist who played brass and reeds. This gig sounded pretty cool to me, it was great money, the songlist was great, it was great money, the band was sponsored by Getzen (an instrument company,) it was great money, the band was supposed to have solid bookings at campuses and other high profile venues, oh, and did I say, it was great money and...
well... a long time ago, I used to play trumpet...
After practicing my horn playing, passing the audition, and playing a month in the Slidel, Louisiana Holiday Inn practically for free with no sign of the promised tour, (or the promised great money,) I quit. I'd been working an acoustic happy hour gig as a single at the hotel down the road, and Sundays with another band just to get money to live. I luckily found other work immediatly, (the practically 'for free' rehearal gig left me almost dead broke, with just the money from the happy hour gigi to live on.) It was during this time that I got to play for a short time with Freddy Fender, which was a thrill for me. The music director of the country band I was playing with at the time, keyboardist Skip Easterling, (who was a rhythm and blues legend and had played with Freddie in the past,) went back with Freddy to play full time with him, and a short time after that Freddie's bus was in an accident killing his drummer and bus driver. Right about this time, I received a call from Ron Newby,telling me my replacement with Southern Mist was not working out very well (despite the fact he was living with my now ex-wife.) I headed back to Jacksonville with a few memories, and a brand new set of bass pedals, which I vowed to learn how to play...
A while later, I quit Southern Mist for good. Ron wanted to expand the band, I wanted to play my new bass pedals, and after a short career as a duo (with Sam Hart on drums once, then back with Ron on bass, then once again back with Sam,) I became Jacksonville's first 'Rock and Roll' single (to my knowledge that is. If anybody knows different, let me know.) I was the object of a few local player's amusement, playing Deep Purple on guitar, my Hammond C-3 organ (using the Keith Emerson trick of sticking knife blades in the keys to sustain notes,) a Helpinstill electric piano, a couple of synths, my beloved bass pedals, a drum machine, a couple of Leslie 122 speakers, and a big loud PA. I went back and forth between single and duo work, did some road work both through an agent and contacts I had.
I had one more flirt with band life when country singer and Jacksonville celebrity Alan Porter called. Allan was a star in Jacksonville, actually did television commercials endorsing a local restaurant chain, and was at the start of a major push by a group of financial backers. He had a paid 2 week showcase in Nashville, (an extremely rare thing), a television taping on Hee-Haw scheduled, and quoted me some pretty good money to replace his guitar player, who did not want to travel. I made a quick overnight trip to Bitrmingham Alabama, (where the band was booked that week.) I met with the rest of his band and decided to go with Alan. I soon found out the guitar player didn't mind traveling, he just didn't want to travel with Alan Porter, and the pretty good money Alan quoted me was a slight exageration, to say the least.
We arrived at the gig in Nashville, only to be awakened the next day by police inquiring about the stolen Uhaul trailer in back. Everyone in the band thought someone else had rented it, somehow, nobody went to jail. Things just got worse from there. Alan actually missed the television taping, drank (and otherwise disposed of) most of the band's first week paycheck. He then disappeared, leaving 2 vans to carry 3 vans and a trailer's worth of equipment home. We headed back to Jacksonville, made some calls, and the very next week the newly formed 'Opal City band ' was playing at the Jacksonville Beach Ramada. I left the band, determined to stick with my single act, or, at the very most, a duo.
It was just after this time, that Biloxi Mississippi decided it needed me for a while. The Long Beach Mississippi Ramada Inn to be exact. We (myself and Sam Hart) had booked several road jobs, the Lexington Kentucky Holidome first, and then a six week duo job in Biloxi (actually Long Beach two cities up from Biloxi, at the Oceanfront Ramada.) with the intention of taking a couple of weeks off after we were done there. We ended up staying there quite a while, made some good local friends. When the gig ended, another club in town called... I met Debbie... a year went by... Sam and I went different ways... Debbie and I went different ways...Biloxi and I went different ways...
I recovered from my broken heart in my former home town of Sebring. After a short time feeling sorry for myself, I hustled a few gigs, and met my future ex-wife no.2, (or 3, depending on how you were keeping score,) Janet. I was working a club in Sebring that I occasionally booked for a couple of weeks just to get back to my home town when She came down to Florida from Ohio to visit her parents
After unintentionally giving her the false impression I had money by flying her down bi-weekly to Jacksonville, we married. By that time I was the music director and house entertainer at a west side 50's and 60's bar, Candy's. I was working with quite a few national acts (well, former national acts, anyway,) often they invited me to join them in their shows, I even got to back the one and only Tiny Tim. Janet and I were very concerned that the city of Jacksonville was not a good place to raise Janet's two young girls. We decided to try and make a full time home in Sebring, where kids could be kids, not prey walking the big city streets...
next, the rest of my life...
Conventional wisdom states that marriage, youth and a bar career do not go well together. I studiously set out to prove conventional wisdom was correct, (at least in my case.) Rosie and I divorced (for the first time, we later married and divorced again, proving I not only had a severe personality disorder, but the wonderful Rosie enjoyed repeating mistakes.)
We played some pretty nice lounges through that period, always returning to the 'Benbow' as our home base. We worked a really hot club in Arlington, the 'Cellar,' the Lem TurnerRaintree Inn (later to become the Northside Roadway), the Ramada Oceanfront Resort in St Augustine, several Airport Hotel lounges, the Holiday Motor Lodge El Matador on Philips just to name a few. When we replaced a drummer (during this time we went through six I believe,) we would usually book a 'dive' to work him in onstage (and get paid while doing so.) Those dives occupy a special place in my heart, especially the infamous 'Macs Mustang Lounge,' a club in a completely inappropriate neighborhood, populated primarily by patrons barred from other drinking establishments, and owned and operated by a man who was a dead ringer in looks and personality for the 'Dukes of Hazard' character, 'Boss Hogg.' Man was it fun.
While things were going pretty good in Jacksonville, dreams never die. The first time I left Southern Mist, was for a job offer for a showband reforming in Louisiana. A former drummer and childhood friend, the late Sam Hart, informed me around late 1979 or early 1980 of a gig with a 4 piece band with 4 horn players. Everybody in the band doubled on horn, the keyboard player kicked bass pedals, and played trumpet, the drummer (who Sam was replacing,) occasionally played valve trombone while drumming with one hand (which Sam, a North Texas State schooled musician could do as well,) and the guitar player (who was also leaving soon) played enough trumpet to play some horn pops. The the band was fronted by a multi instrumentalist who played brass and reeds. This gig sounded pretty cool to me, it was great money, the songlist was great, it was great money, the band was sponsored by Getzen (an instrument company,) it was great money, the band was supposed to have solid bookings at campuses and other high profile venues, oh, and did I say, it was great money and...
well... a long time ago, I used to play trumpet...
After practicing my horn playing, passing the audition, and playing a month in the Slidel, Louisiana Holiday Inn practically for free with no sign of the promised tour, (or the promised great money,) I quit. I'd been working an acoustic happy hour gig as a single at the hotel down the road, and Sundays with another band just to get money to live. I luckily found other work immediatly, (the practically 'for free' rehearal gig left me almost dead broke, with just the money from the happy hour gigi to live on.) It was during this time that I got to play for a short time with Freddy Fender, which was a thrill for me. The music director of the country band I was playing with at the time, keyboardist Skip Easterling, (who was a rhythm and blues legend and had played with Freddie in the past,) went back with Freddy to play full time with him, and a short time after that Freddie's bus was in an accident killing his drummer and bus driver. Right about this time, I received a call from Ron Newby,telling me my replacement with Southern Mist was not working out very well (despite the fact he was living with my now ex-wife.) I headed back to Jacksonville with a few memories, and a brand new set of bass pedals, which I vowed to learn how to play...
A while later, I quit Southern Mist for good. Ron wanted to expand the band, I wanted to play my new bass pedals, and after a short career as a duo (with Sam Hart on drums once, then back with Ron on bass, then once again back with Sam,) I became Jacksonville's first 'Rock and Roll' single (to my knowledge that is. If anybody knows different, let me know.) I was the object of a few local player's amusement, playing Deep Purple on guitar, my Hammond C-3 organ (using the Keith Emerson trick of sticking knife blades in the keys to sustain notes,) a Helpinstill electric piano, a couple of synths, my beloved bass pedals, a drum machine, a couple of Leslie 122 speakers, and a big loud PA. I went back and forth between single and duo work, did some road work both through an agent and contacts I had.
I had one more flirt with band life when country singer and Jacksonville celebrity Alan Porter called. Allan was a star in Jacksonville, actually did television commercials endorsing a local restaurant chain, and was at the start of a major push by a group of financial backers. He had a paid 2 week showcase in Nashville, (an extremely rare thing), a television taping on Hee-Haw scheduled, and quoted me some pretty good money to replace his guitar player, who did not want to travel. I made a quick overnight trip to Bitrmingham Alabama, (where the band was booked that week.) I met with the rest of his band and decided to go with Alan. I soon found out the guitar player didn't mind traveling, he just didn't want to travel with Alan Porter, and the pretty good money Alan quoted me was a slight exageration, to say the least.
We arrived at the gig in Nashville, only to be awakened the next day by police inquiring about the stolen Uhaul trailer in back. Everyone in the band thought someone else had rented it, somehow, nobody went to jail. Things just got worse from there. Alan actually missed the television taping, drank (and otherwise disposed of) most of the band's first week paycheck. He then disappeared, leaving 2 vans to carry 3 vans and a trailer's worth of equipment home. We headed back to Jacksonville, made some calls, and the very next week the newly formed 'Opal City band ' was playing at the Jacksonville Beach Ramada. I left the band, determined to stick with my single act, or, at the very most, a duo.
It was just after this time, that Biloxi Mississippi decided it needed me for a while. The Long Beach Mississippi Ramada Inn to be exact. We (myself and Sam Hart) had booked several road jobs, the Lexington Kentucky Holidome first, and then a six week duo job in Biloxi (actually Long Beach two cities up from Biloxi, at the Oceanfront Ramada.) with the intention of taking a couple of weeks off after we were done there. We ended up staying there quite a while, made some good local friends. When the gig ended, another club in town called... I met Debbie... a year went by... Sam and I went different ways... Debbie and I went different ways...Biloxi and I went different ways...
I recovered from my broken heart in my former home town of Sebring. After a short time feeling sorry for myself, I hustled a few gigs, and met my future ex-wife no.2, (or 3, depending on how you were keeping score,) Janet. I was working a club in Sebring that I occasionally booked for a couple of weeks just to get back to my home town when She came down to Florida from Ohio to visit her parents
After unintentionally giving her the false impression I had money by flying her down bi-weekly to Jacksonville, we married. By that time I was the music director and house entertainer at a west side 50's and 60's bar, Candy's. I was working with quite a few national acts (well, former national acts, anyway,) often they invited me to join them in their shows, I even got to back the one and only Tiny Tim. Janet and I were very concerned that the city of Jacksonville was not a good place to raise Janet's two young girls. We decided to try and make a full time home in Sebring, where kids could be kids, not prey walking the big city streets...
next, the rest of my life...
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