Page 195 |
One More Time for the Gipper |
A photo from the 1983, Sacramento Chili Cookoff: "Nice expression, dude. Did you sample the chili before the gig?" Now, I know what you're thinking and that NEVER, EVER happens to rock people on stage. No-o-o-o-o-o-o. We're way too pristine and far removed from any normal human body frailties. It's widely known that in the entire history of rock music, it has never happened, not even once. Just "passing" a proud legacy onto the next generation. |
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In
November of 1983, I married for the 3rd time. We would have
2 daughters in the next 3 years. Adorable, ornery, cute
little daughters. I'm working on getting them to let me
include their pictures in here, but you know how girls can
be. 1984 On
July 3rd, 1984 we played the "DC Beach Party" with The Beach
Boys, Hank Williams Jr., Ringo Starr and America
(to
name a few).
This was one heck of a fun day. America was great, as
always. I spoke with Mel Tillis backstage and it's true what
they say about him being a nice guy and a real gentleman.
Hank Williams, Jr. gave Sneed a pair of "Hank Jr."
suspenders, which he promptly wore. After the gig in D.C.,
we all jumped on a plane and flew down to Miami, Florida to
play another gig, the very same day, on the beach
down there. Great fun and were we ever feeling impressive?!!
Rock people like that sort of thing, ya know. One Million
People - One Day. Very shallow, but makin' some memories.
Yes, indeedie, Louise! Below
left: Floyd and me with America, backstage at the D.C. Beach
Party. On the right: Guitar roadie and good friend, the late
Doug Burch. He was killed in a motorcycle accident in the
late 1990's. A talented young man with a wonderfully gentle
disposition. Doug had to fight off the women. He didn't
always succeed in that effort. He is missed
greatly. Click
on the blue link to see more pictures
from 1984 when
we were touring in the northwest. (return
links provided) By
December of the 1984 touring season, I found myself in the
position of being the so-called "spokesman" for the
musicians, on a business level. I had always been a "fish"
in being too outspoken and taking the lead in band matters.
Now, remember this: I had already been in a "legal
disagreement" with Danny, Chuck and Cory, just 8 or 9 years
earlier, and here I was making demands and carrying on quite
aggressively. Guess what? I got fired. Si. Gone. History.
See ya!
Here's a cartoon
by Gary Larson that says it all and I just couldn't resist putting in
here. This is great. Check it out.
Graphic deleted due to
FarSide copyright infringement. This was the one showing
THREE guys (heavies) having just thrown a dog off of a
bridge over a river. The dog was on his way down and he had
CEMENT on his shoes. The caption read,"HE BIT THE
GODFATHER."
Is
that perfect, or what? It even has 3 guys in it. It's too
perfect to not be included here. So
I was gone ... AGAIN. I decided to move out of the Thousand
Oaks area of the Los Angeles
basin,
and relocate back to my hometown of Modesto, where my family
lived. This brought a new period for me called my "MISTER
MOM" period, but I won't go into that. Just know that until
1988, when we started an Environmental Testing Laboratory, I
was MR. MOM and loved it. Oh, it was tiring as hell, no
doubt about it. I have great respect for mothers, tending to
the needs of infants. More than anything else, it is simply
"tiring." The love is what carries you through, as it did
for me. I am certainly aware of the inherent situation of
one person being home all day with the kids, then when the
other comes home, it's "Here. Take the kids. I need a
break." Men don't usually understand that particular kind of
stress. Still, it's a time of my life I'll cherish forever.
All dads should be so lucky.
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