[Dixielandjazz] Hall Bros./Butch Thompson recollection

[Don Ingle]

Obviously a typo -- should have been Tom Pletcher. Don
----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Ingle" <dingle at baldwin-net.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 12:57 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Hall Bros./Butch Thompson recollection


> Butch - et al:
> Glad to see you back and a bit more active on the list, Butch. It also
> triggered a memory, for which I have some photos somewhere in my maze of
> stacks.
> We, the Sons of Bix, played at Hall Bros. Emporium of Jazz twice, and you
> were on the Hall band on clarinet rather than piano. I remember Red on
> Drums, a character on the par with Barrett and Hey Hey Humphries, and
> g-o-o-d! Too soon gone.
> I recall those bright, lemn yellow polo shirts your guys wore when
> alternating sets with us. Sort of a collective case of jaundice on the
> hoof.! Think Bill was on trombone instead of bass at that time. A fine
> little band. Charlie DeVore and I shared one thing -- his dad. I worked
with
> Dave for a short time when he subbed at Jazz Led., in Chicago. Charlie and
> Joanne and Jean and I still trade Christmas cards and notes, but are just
> too far away to socialize.
> Another memory of our second trip there would have made a great Laurel and
> Hardy movie. Tom Fletcher and I were going to fly  in his plane (bad idea
> now that I think of it after his last flight) up to Minn., but he had to
get
> some work down on it so we booked with Northeast to fly out of Muskegon.
At
> flight time a fog moved in and they wouldn't let us embark. So we drove
> around the lake to try getting out of  O'Hare only to find the same story.
> So we drive on to Madison, now having clocked over 325 miles, and finally
> got on a flight to Twin Cities. We grabbed suit bags and horns, and a cab,
> and as we drove to Mendota, Tom and I changed into tuxedos in the back
seat,
> with a worried looking Hindu driver staring bug-eyed at us as if we were
> practicing for the finals in a Kuma class. We finally pulled up at Hall
> Brothers, paid the cabbie who took off burning rubber, ran inside to find
> the first set half over and Charlie and your trombonist filling in.
Michigan
> to Minnesota in just 6 and a half hours.
> My first MC line was..."A funny thing happened on the way to the gig!"
> It was the old line -- The Show Must Go On. Why? Because if it doesn't you
> don't get paid!
> I do remember that in spite of the travel plans being FUBAR, working with
> the Halls once again was a hoot. A great band, and it was a sad thing when
> the club went under.
> And all this time you lurkers thought we did this stuff for the art! No,,,
> just for the memories of interesting times to live through!
> Don Ingle
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>