Questions/Answers

I recently decided to allow myself to be questioned
by a fellow blogger. The fine folks, er, folk...wait, what
IS the singular tense of that word??? Never mind.
Lucky Star asked the questions.

Now, normally, I shy away from being interviewed. In fact,
if I've recently declined YOUR request, please don't be
offended. There. I knew you'd be OK. It's just that I've
been suffering from a seasonal meme allergy, you see.

Really, I thought the questions would be a bit more
personal, given the source (LOL), but that's fine.
Here's all the excitement for you:

Q: Tell us about your musical career. When did you start
playing, do you sing, what do you play, where do you play,
how do you play...uh...you get
the idea.

A: Career....now that's a funny word. Well, you didn't say
"lucrative", so I guess it's OK. I was lured into music by the
Beatles, Cream and Jimi Hendrix in the late 60s (via my
brother's record collection).

Maybe my mother saying, "A musician? So, ya

wanna be a bum, like ya brutha!?!" helped push me.

I can also recall listening to the end of the song "Long, Long,
Long" by the Beatles on the stereo in the basement of my
childhood home in late 1968 and my mother yelling down
the stairs, "He moans like that 'cuz he's on drugs, ya know!!"
Cool!!! Score another point! LOL!

[side note: the next year, I got in trouble with Mom for
blasting "Cold Turkey" at high volume. "But, Mom, it
says 'Play Loud' right on the record!!".....she wasn't having
it. Her opinion of the song? "If he doesn't like cold turkey,
why does he eat it??" .... she couldn't have been THAT
naive....could she? ]

So, anyway - it was inevitable that I would start picking up
my brother's guitar every chance I could get. He decided to
"fix" that by explaining to me that there was a glut of guitar
players in the world, but not so many bass players.....oh,
and his friend Peter just happened to have a spare bass I
could use. Ta da....I was a bass player....well, kinda.....
I don't know WHAT my excuse is today....

Over the course of my life, I also learned guitar and tinkered
with bouzouki, Chapman Stick, mandolin, charango.....if it
has strings, I'm game. Much to the chagrin of Mrs. L, who
has to put up with it.

I sing when forced. I'm much more comfortable providing
harmonies than singing lead because like any good self-loathing
artist, I'm unimpressed with my own voice. One of the bands
I'm in at the moment has decided they want me to do MORE
singing....ugh.

I'll leave the "how I play" alone.....some things are private!! ;)

Q: As a child, what was one of your favorite games?

A: Does a rocking horse count? I wore out the springs on mine.
As far as "games" games, I remember playing "Skittle Ball" for
hours on end. I think that's what it was called....it was a
"bowling" game with a wooden ball on a chain that you had to
swing around to knock over the wooden pins.

Q: What was your first concert?

A: George Harrison at Boston Garden, 1974....early show.

One of my cousins got "better" seats than the ones he
originally bought, so I got his original tickets. Problem was,
I wasn't old enough to drive yet. There was no way either
of my parents were taking me....they were in the early
stages of a long, nasty divorce. My older brother was
living in Los Angeles at the time, which was

not convenient for a Boston show. So, I called up one of my

brother's old high-school friends. This was the day before the

show I think. I asked him if he could take me to a concert....

and he responded with the non-enthusiasm you'd expect
from someone getting a call from their old friend's "kid" brother.

He was hemming and hawing. Probably trying to think of

a "nice" way out. And then I told him it was the George

Harrison show. "OF COURSE! SURE!! I'd LOVE to take

you..........you REALLY have tickets?!?"

Then he made me promise not to ask anyone else, because he

was DEFINITELY taking me....

The next afternoon he showed up at my house and asked
"to see the tickets", as if he still didn't believe I had them.
And away we went to Boston Garden. On the way there,
we heard on the radio that Ravi Shankar was not feeling well
and may not perform his opening slot. Which sucked, because
even then, I liked Indian music. A LOT!

We arrived at the Garden. There were joints being passed
down the admission line. My brother's friend didn't partake....
probably because I was there, but I wouldn't have cared nor
ratted him out - but he probably wasn't sure. But can you
imagine such a scene occurring NOW, INSIDE a venue??

Then it turned out that Ravi Shankar DID play the afternoon show,

but later bowed out of the evening show. Woo hoo!

And of course, George.....well, he was always a musical hero, so

I loved the show (though his voice was a bit hoarse on this tour).

My brother's friend even gave me a ride HOME, after he'd already

gotten into the show. How's that for being a sport?? LOL

Q: If you could make one change to restructure American politics,
what would it be?

A: No millionaires allowed. And anyone whose personal fortune
grows exponentially while in office will be executed the day after
their term expires.

It's funny that I have less to say about that than my first concert!!

Q: What is the furthest you've ever traveled from home?

A: Acapulco, but this summer I'm going to Europe,

which will win out by 800 miles or so. And hopefully, when I
return, I won't have to spend two hours in the airport
bathroom, like when I returned from Acapulco!!

Wasn't that thrilling? Aren't I an interesting interviewee??

Heh - well, it was way more interesting than the
"nothing" I've been posting recently. So, thanks go to
Lucky Star.