DAVE HIXX
It was 90 degrees in Pontiac that day.
A five-band line up put on by the local radio station rocked the roof of an
enormous parking structure with a huge stage, vendors, and 2,500 people. I
had weaseled a backstage all access pass from a buddy, who worked for the
company that rented the speakers.
I went backstage, and the security man looked at me sideways.
I showed him my pass and kept walking."So far so good", I thought.
My hippie boss at the coffee shop I worked at was in the audience
watching the show, so I walked back and forth, from the backstage to the
front of the audience.
On my return trip I heard some guy on stage singing "My landlady treats
me like I don't pay my rent..." .I remember thinking how cool that was….I
still think that’s pretty damn cool….
I went backstage again, and the security guy didn't stop me but he
looked at me again. "Damn”, I thought " he's gonna bust me."I quickly
bee-lined across backstage, away from security dude, to the load out area.
Once there I saw a few bands loading out. I tried to talk to the DJ
from the radio station but she ignored me. I wanted to look busy in case the
guard saw me. I asked one of the guys I recognized from the band if he
needed a hand. "Sure, if you want to", he said.
We loaded out the gear, it took about 30 minutes, and I asked him if he
got high cause I had some good pot. "Not me - but I know some guys who
would love it," he said, " hang on".
We walked over to where the rest of the bands were, and the first thing I
saw was a guy in a winter hat, winter coat, and dark sun glasses wandering
around the outside of the crowd .It was 90 degrees. I watched as he walked
up to the DJ from the radio station.
Christ, I thought, it is 90 degrees out here, when the guy I helped load
out, walked up to the winter coat dude, and whispered in his ear.
The winter coat dude got a big grin, they looked at me, and they walked
away from the DJ over to where I was. I think she was still talking.
The winter coat dude was Todd Snider. I recognized him then, as the
guy I saw onstage.
Todd and I walked over to a grassy area (on top of a parking structure!) to
roll a number. We were joined by one of Todd's crew, Shamus, and a radio
station intern.
The wind was picking up, we sat down on the grass, and I pulled out
the stuff.
"Who are you working for?" the radio intern asked me,wondering why I was in
the VIP area.
"I'm just here", I said.
Todd laughed.
"Gonna be tough to roll that out here. Its windy as hell", Todd said.
I looked him straight in the eye. " I can roll a joint on the head
of a pin in a hurricane. "
Todd really laughed.
We smoked the joint, and walked back to the band area. The sun beat
down, Somebody said something, and Shamus promptly passed out, falling on
the ground.
"Wow", Todd said to one of his bandmates with a stoner grin, "Shamus
fell out..." the whole band laughed like hell.
The paramedics were on the scene quickly. Shamus was rubbing his
head, wondering if it was the weed or the heat, or the holistic massage they
were giving out backstage, and which of his friends was laughing as he lay
on the ground.
The security guard had finally had enough.
He approached the shaded table we had moved to. He wanted me to state my
business in the catered VIP area.
"He's with us " Todd grinned.
I went to the buffet line, for some free food, when I saw my
hippie boss talking to the security guard, arms flailing, through an opening
in the tent.
The guard wasn’t letting him backstage.
A few minutes later a crewmember came up to me, as I was
sampling the catering, and said "your boss wants to see you".
I weighed my options.
The words almost said themselves.
"I don’t have no boss", I said, as I moved on to the desert table.
I still ain’t got no boss,bit I do have a cool job
And the desert table has lasted about 10 years now-
And tho I can still roll a J on the head of a pin in a hurricane, im usually
too busy setting up these damnTodd Snider shows….i gotta get my priorities
straight…
Viva elmo buzz
The reno flash
Beerrun walkin
The typsy gypsy…
Long may his freak flag fly
david(elvis)hixx the tour strangler
12/14/2006 8:41 PM
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JACK INGRAM
"Mom always said don't play at Applebees". Those were the last words Todd said at the show in Tempe. I was standing at the side of the stage watching, as I did every night of the two tours of opening duty with Todd and the wrecks, another great show by one of the best bands I had ever seen. Todd didn't see it that way. He came flying off the stage into the area off to the side of the stage that served as backstage, monitor board and as luck would have it, liqour storage. He grabbed a bottle of Tequila, a guitar and me. We headed out the back door of the club and walked straight out into the Arizona desert.
We walked for a while out in the middle of nowhere taking swigs out of the bottle and talking about taking swigs out of the bottle. Somewhere along the way we decided that since the show at the Rocking Horse Saloon didn't live up to our expectations we would put on another show for the people of Tempe, Arizona. We happened to be walking by the court house steps so we thought that would be as good a place as any. There was a fountain right beside the steps and I thought it would be a good place for us to wash up. Todd bent over to wash his face in the water and I accidentally pushed him into the fountain. We'd been out for a couple of weeks and it can get pretty dirty out there so I decided to join my buddy in the fountain of youth for a quick dip. We sat there for the next couple of hours swapping songs, passing the bottle and trying to get noticed in a town that I suspect was successfully ignoring us. Hell, even a few cop cars drove past us while we were blissfully playing guitar, drinking out of a bottle and swimming in an impromptu pool on the courthouse steps! We put on one hell of a show for the people in Arizona that night. One of the best I've seen. I haven't been back to that town.
I think the cops are still not looking for us.
For more from Jack Ingram, go to www.jackingram.net
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MARK MARCHETTI:
THE NIGHT I MET TODD SNIDER
the night i met todd snider.... or could someone take some of the
bottom end off of my life.... and some of that high end off of my ex wifes voice.....
my life was a sucking void of black nothingness..... filled with anger..despair... hopelessness... depression... voices... visions... addiction...rage... bullshit.. boredom.. and lonliness, oh yea..there were brief moments of sheer joy... that just made all the other crap worse somehow....
my wife of 25 years (now my ex)... was having an affair with this guy who was 10 years younger than me... had his own plane... at one time was a male escort... i had just lost my publishing deal with chips moman.. warner chappel music...and in memphis 89, 90 ,the music biz was less than booming....
my plan was to sit in the lazyboy until i would eventually die..... my daughter started calling me"the feet" because thats about all you could see of me sticking out of the chair..... i didn't move... out of the chair... for about a year....
one night... something literally lifted me up... grabbed my guitar... drove my ass to the open mike at the daily planet.... divine intervention... whatever... but i hadn't done much more than check the mail.. much less play in front of people in a long long time... but this night i found myself at the planet...... i had a few beers... signed the list to play and sat there.. by myself... my turn came.. i got up and sang my songs... sat back down... had another beer... this young guy i had never seen before walks over to the table and sort of pats me on the back and says something like.. hey man that was pretty cool... i say.. don't touch me.. he laughs... i say you want a beer.. he says yea... and sits down... about that time they call his name and he gets up and plays his songs.... well it really fucked my shit up.. it was like hearing a young prine... or jerry jeff... or guy clark.. or kristofferson.. i felt blessed to be witnessing this..and screwed..that on the night i get up to play..the best songwriter i had heard in years decides to show up...after he finished he came back over..and i told him how he just blew me away and all that...we had some more beers...and we became friends...at a time in my life when i felt like the biggest loser of all time...he somehow made me feel like a winner...like all my dreams weren't bullshit..and like maybe my life wasn't a total waste...kind of like i quess woody guthrie made alot of people feel...whatever..that night changed my life....many miles..and many stories later find me in a much better place....God bless you todd....
hey did i ever tell you about the time there was this opening act for todd at the starlite music room......
visit Mark Marchetti's website: www.markmarchetti.com |
