Thursday, February 3, 2005

Goodbye Dean Wormer: The  CBC reports that Actor John Vernon dies... ""Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life..." 4:23:29 PM    comment []

... sometimes you know better than you should Just as I pushed post for the last posting, the bass solo began. I reached for the person to my right to squeeze the life out of them but they had already found their ride and walked away. Through a rather confused chain of transportation reps, I started providing keywords to trigger my reservation including my name, my affiliation, blood type, shoe size and smoking preference. I'm now sitting in an Escalade in the rain waiting for the other Lost Boys. The one woman who actually took an interest in my case had no phone but a genuine interest in helping. That makes one person so far... 1:23:01 PM    comment []

... on land Delta baggage claim #1 in Jacksonville... it's trying it's best to be like the spaceport in Star Wars. Uniformed welcomers smile at every intersection and remind you of where you are.; strange bands play tunes that might be familiar to you but not to them. There are so many name brand gathering signs around for the junketeers, I feel like I should let them know I use their products. Everybody's here...except my ride. It's strange to see money and the lack thereof standing side by side waiting for their bags, the promise of a party and maybe a victory for their side in common. After watching my share of Super Bowls and knowing that they tend to be one sided, it becomes clear that it's being there that is the only important thing. For many this is the one and only time they will find themselves in Jacksonville. It really doesn't matter; the location changes every year and if it was in Brownsville, TX they would find a way to make that matter. The jazz combo on top of Baggage Claim 2 has just started up again; I'd better stop writing before the bass solo or I may choke a stranger. 1:02:53 PM    comment []

... finally on the move Off to Jacksonville for a little work... new gig, new band (well, they've been around for a while) and for an extra added bonus it's the weekend of the Super Bowl and we might as well put the show out live on the TV. I'm surprisingly calm about the deal; I'm guessing that either I'm 1) just so friggin' glad to be getting back to work or 2) the new gig nerves circuit got fried on the last tour (I sure gave them a run for the money). I'm hoping to find a the time to see a few friends who are in town at the same time as we are the support staff for all bread and circus events (!) Besides the obvious sports event, there are a number of musical performances on and around the field. The arena has a series and there are so many corporate parties and events associated with the Super Bowl weekend. There is so much money in the corporate and industrial world that some of the acts you never hear or see anymore still make a pretty good living being the band that plays after the yearly awards dinner. I have in the past done shows for large multi-national corporations who will have 5 major acts 5 nights in a row at their yearly meeting for about one million dollars for a 90 minite set. When you are on the road doing concerts getting every penny that has been agreed to is a big part of a tour manager's (or tour accountant's) job. If you ever wander into one of these corporate gigs, not only do you get your fee, they might comp you on services and hotel stuff or give you big bags of goodies. I'm still using up stuff I got from a show in 2000 for an association of drug stores! So, I know I've got pals doing the "Tailgating Party" and others who are actually doing the halftime extravaganza on the field. Will this be another roadiepallooza or will we all just be working in the same city at the same time and not see each other? More later at it becomes more obvious... 9:21:34 AM    comment []