In The Wilderness: The Mighty Band before the Mighty Band

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Once the show began in Dad's band, I was set-up with my lighting console beside the amazing Don' who was running, of course, the entire sound for the guys on-stage. This was fun for a couple of weeks, but then there's only so much you can do with lights and beach music. Eventually, I got to where I was just aching to be on-stage with the boys--or at least with my own band--just an unformed bit of mental plasma--for now.

I did learn alot from the dadster, especially in how you can successfully and with amazing results, 'read' a crowd and authoritatively 'guide' an entire four-portion of any given evening to your and your client's ultimate satisfaction. One thing Dad did to perfection and something I've never really mastered was the art of 'killing' them (or just winning them over, however your choice of vernacular) on the first song or 'chunk' of songs. Dad had a seven-piece act with a powerful three-part horn section, so obviously he always chose an 'opener' that showcased the entire composition of the band. Inevitably, the guys would have the entire audience eating out of their hand after the first twenty-minutes of the show and usually even before then.

After the opener, it was just a matter of Dad calling the songs that gradually had everyone letting their hair down and achieving the utmost desired result that wouldn't come until the following normal 'real world' business day. To put it plainly, Dad demanded, "I want that phone ringing off the hook on Monday morning." As bored as I continued to get running lights and setting up and tearing down gear, I learned the rules of the game. That is, you can do this business of show-business in many different fashions. You can kind of go over, go over pretty good or . . . you can have the phone ringing off the hook on Monday morning with future clients demanding to know how they can engage that fabulous band they heard this past weekend. As my current band-mate and on-stage brother for over 20 years, Esaw, would say so matter-of-factly, "That's the way IT works, pal."

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