Couple of folks have said they'd like to hear some band stories,well here's a couple from a 3 week long Gig From Hell in Odessa,Texas.
1981,the west Texas oilfields are booming,entire families are living in Motel 6 & those roughnecks are lookin' for for some entertainment after a long day on the rig & they're making lots of money.We knew none of this before arriving.
Studio 36 (I can name it because it don't exist anymore),a few miles outside the city limits of Odessa,big place,500-600 capacity,it had apparently been built as a disco as it had a huge lighted dance floor.But the country scene was gettin' hot,so a 6' (1.8 meters) stage was built.We later came to appreciate that distance from the audience.
We get set up & get rooms (another story) & the 1st nite goes rather uneventfully,until we go to leave thru the front door & come upon this guy just beatin' the hell outta another guy,blood flyin',there's bartenders & waitresses watchin' the show.So the bass player & me kinda sidle up to one of the waitresses & say "Uh....don't 'yall think you should call the manager?"
an aside on the "ladies" that worked there:They were uniformly fat,semi-toothless & had voices that were like a buzzsaw on your brain
"Oh,that is the manager!"
That's when we realized the 6' stage was a good thing.
I have a few more stories from this gig,but I'll leave with this one from the last week we were there,when the 7 foot tall Nazi biker threatened to rape our girl singer.The bass player & I decided that was it,so we took our handguns into the bar.
1981,the west Texas oilfields are booming,entire families are living in Motel 6 & those roughnecks are lookin' for for some entertainment after a long day on the rig & they're making lots of money.We knew none of this before arriving.
Studio 36 (I can name it because it don't exist anymore),a few miles outside the city limits of Odessa,big place,500-600 capacity,it had apparently been built as a disco as it had a huge lighted dance floor.But the country scene was gettin' hot,so a 6' (1.8 meters) stage was built.We later came to appreciate that distance from the audience.
We get set up & get rooms (another story) & the 1st nite goes rather uneventfully,until we go to leave thru the front door & come upon this guy just beatin' the hell outta another guy,blood flyin',there's bartenders & waitresses watchin' the show.So the bass player & me kinda sidle up to one of the waitresses & say "Uh....don't 'yall think you should call the manager?"
an aside on the "ladies" that worked there:They were uniformly fat,semi-toothless & had voices that were like a buzzsaw on your brain
"Oh,that is the manager!"
That's when we realized the 6' stage was a good thing.
I have a few more stories from this gig,but I'll leave with this one from the last week we were there,when the 7 foot tall Nazi biker threatened to rape our girl singer.The bass player & I decided that was it,so we took our handguns into the bar.
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