Read Online Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From the Road by Kinky Friedman, Willie Nelson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kinky Friedman, Willie Nelson
Tags: nonfiction, Personal Memoirs, Biography & Autobiography, music, Entertainment & Performing Arts, Musicians
Ads: Link
desk and a phone, and that music veteran was dismissed. I was on my way. But it always came back to that cover.
I’ve loved these folks from the very beginning, and I still do.
Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.
—W ILLIE N ELSON
A S I MENTIONED BEFORE , WE LOST THE B EE M AN . B EE S PEARS WAS A great bass player and all-around fantastic human being. He is still missed all the time.
Kevin Smith has jumped in on bass and is doing a great job! It’s not easy to follow Bee, and playing with us is a lot of ESP that takes time to master. I never know what I’m going to do, so of course the band is never sure either. It’s kind of like walking the high wire with no net. There are no take twos in a live show, and you can’t take nothin’ back, so the best way to follow me onstage is really simple: you wait, wait, and then wait some more until you know what I am doing, then jump in. If you are a good musician you will know what to do.
Wynton Marsalis told me a story about a jazz musician who asked the bandleader who had just hired him, “When do we rehearse?” The bandleader said, “Can you play?” The musician said, “Well, yes.” The bandleader said, “Well then, what the fuck do you want to rehearse for?” It makes sense that either you can play or you can’t play. It’s too late to learn once you get out there. You turn everything over to your inner self and go for it. You have to trust yourself, and that requires confidence and talent.
T HE SOUND DEPARTMENT IS B OBBY L EMONS AND A ARON F OYE . T HE lighting department is Budrock Pruitt. They do a great job of making us look and sound good. John Selman is the stage manager. He makes sure everything is perfect for the shows each and every night. Kenny Keopke works with John to keep the show going. Tom Hawkins has been wrangling Trigger for me for many years now. I know that at showtime Trigger will be tuned and ready to bark. Larry “L.G.” Gorham has been watching my back for over thirty years. Gates “Gator” Moore and Tony Sizemore have been driving the bus for me for millions of miles. We have worn out several buses, and when we all lie down to sleep, we know that our lives are as safe as they can be. Thank you, Gator and Tony; we are here because you got us here. David Anderson is maybe the smartest guy I have out there, besides Paul. He does everything he has to do very well—public relations, road manager, computer wizard, and sparring partner. I practiced all my tae kwon do forms on the bus, going down the road at sixty miles an hour, using David as my opponent. He was a good sport. Thank you all very much!
DAVID ANDERSON
It was New Year’s Eve 1973, after my senior high school party; I was high on mushrooms and riding up and down on the Dallas Hyatt Regency elevator for fun. It was there I experienced my first encounter with the man I would spend the rest of my adult life with. A man who would change—had already changed—my life forever.
Shortly after midnight, the elevator door opened and through the hallucinogenic glaze of my eyes stood before me one of the largest superstars in history, and next to him was Willie Nelson. I offered Leon Russell and Willie a ride, asked them what floor they wanted, and delivered them safe and sound with great relief. My journalism and sociology teachers had recently introduced me to Willie’s music while trying to explain why Leon Russell had just cut his first country record, Hank Wilson’s Back .
That next year, our paths would cross yet again. It was during a very new growth period for Texas music and music festivals in general. Tom Lett, owner of the Best Parking Lot at Dallas’s Love Field, had the pioneering idea of bringing festivals to the heart of Dallas during the pre-amphitheater era. I was an eighteen-year-old kid right out of film school and enjoyed music, though I was far from an expert. But when the chance came along for me
I’ve loved these folks from the very beginning, and I still do.
Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.
—W ILLIE N ELSON
A S I MENTIONED BEFORE , WE LOST THE B EE M AN . B EE S PEARS WAS A great bass player and all-around fantastic human being. He is still missed all the time.
Kevin Smith has jumped in on bass and is doing a great job! It’s not easy to follow Bee, and playing with us is a lot of ESP that takes time to master. I never know what I’m going to do, so of course the band is never sure either. It’s kind of like walking the high wire with no net. There are no take twos in a live show, and you can’t take nothin’ back, so the best way to follow me onstage is really simple: you wait, wait, and then wait some more until you know what I am doing, then jump in. If you are a good musician you will know what to do.
Wynton Marsalis told me a story about a jazz musician who asked the bandleader who had just hired him, “When do we rehearse?” The bandleader said, “Can you play?” The musician said, “Well, yes.” The bandleader said, “Well then, what the fuck do you want to rehearse for?” It makes sense that either you can play or you can’t play. It’s too late to learn once you get out there. You turn everything over to your inner self and go for it. You have to trust yourself, and that requires confidence and talent.
T HE SOUND DEPARTMENT IS B OBBY L EMONS AND A ARON F OYE . T HE lighting department is Budrock Pruitt. They do a great job of making us look and sound good. John Selman is the stage manager. He makes sure everything is perfect for the shows each and every night. Kenny Keopke works with John to keep the show going. Tom Hawkins has been wrangling Trigger for me for many years now. I know that at showtime Trigger will be tuned and ready to bark. Larry “L.G.” Gorham has been watching my back for over thirty years. Gates “Gator” Moore and Tony Sizemore have been driving the bus for me for millions of miles. We have worn out several buses, and when we all lie down to sleep, we know that our lives are as safe as they can be. Thank you, Gator and Tony; we are here because you got us here. David Anderson is maybe the smartest guy I have out there, besides Paul. He does everything he has to do very well—public relations, road manager, computer wizard, and sparring partner. I practiced all my tae kwon do forms on the bus, going down the road at sixty miles an hour, using David as my opponent. He was a good sport. Thank you all very much!
DAVID ANDERSON
It was New Year’s Eve 1973, after my senior high school party; I was high on mushrooms and riding up and down on the Dallas Hyatt Regency elevator for fun. It was there I experienced my first encounter with the man I would spend the rest of my adult life with. A man who would change—had already changed—my life forever.
Shortly after midnight, the elevator door opened and through the hallucinogenic glaze of my eyes stood before me one of the largest superstars in history, and next to him was Willie Nelson. I offered Leon Russell and Willie a ride, asked them what floor they wanted, and delivered them safe and sound with great relief. My journalism and sociology teachers had recently introduced me to Willie’s music while trying to explain why Leon Russell had just cut his first country record, Hank Wilson’s Back .
That next year, our paths would cross yet again. It was during a very new growth period for Texas music and music festivals in general. Tom Lett, owner of the Best Parking Lot at Dallas’s Love Field, had the pioneering idea of bringing festivals to the heart of Dallas during the pre-amphitheater era. I was an eighteen-year-old kid right out of film school and enjoyed music, though I was far from an expert. But when the chance came along for me
Similar Books
