[Dixielandjazz] strange giggers

[Cebuisle2 at aol.com]

The "strange gigs" thread focuses on those who hire the bands-but truth be  
told, some of the strangest gigs  involve the band members themselves. I  offer 
the following:
 
We played a club gig in Bangor, Maine on a cold night. The banjoist was a  
well known addict to paragoric, that old remedy for children's teething  
problems. As the evening progressed he became more and more withdrawn into a  fuzzier 
world. Leaving the club, he slipped on the icy parking lot and rolled  under 
a car. Crawling out from under it, he accused me of pushing him under  there 
car, and a real exchange would have taken place if not for the timely  
intervention of his girl friend.
 
and this strange gig-
 
We were hired as a trio (banjo, cornet, tuba) to serenade then Senator  
Edmund Muskie on his arrival at Bangor International Airport. Thinking we would  be 
inside the arrival lounge sipping cool drinks after a  short gig,  reality 
appeared and we were told we had to play on the asphalt arrival area. It  was 
August, and blazing hot, and you could easily fry eggs on the hot tarmac.  The 
senator's plane was late, and to complicate matters we were told not to play  
until he appeared at the door, and then only one song, "Happy Days Are Here  
Again" 
 
Not just once, but over and over and over for an hour as the senator's fan  
club mobbed him.
Nearly suffered heat stroke.Tuba got so hot in the sun player could hardly  
hold it.  Never played another political rally
 
                                                        Ted