[Dixielandjazz] strange giggers - the worst

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

The worst gig I played was in about 1960 for the Governor of Missouri  The 
band was lined up on the flight line in St. Louis.  A couple of the guys 
forgot to wear the correct overcoat so the Commanding officer made us take 
off ours.  So here we are in Class A's on the flight line in five above zero 
waiting for his plane.  When we finally got to play I knew I was playing 
because the right notes were coming out but I couldn't feel the horn.  We 
all had a lot of pain thawing out our fingers and feet.  That wind cut right 
through us.

The second worst gig was when the AF band played the Mardi Gras at Biloxi. 
It's warm down there right?  We all had on two sets of longies, our regular 
uniforms and top coats.  That wet cold wind off of the gulf was wicked and 
went right through everything .

On the opposite end of the temperature gage we played a concert on the deck 
of a Battleship.  I'm glad I didn't join the Navy.  Man was that hot.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Cebuisle2 at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 4:47 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] strange giggers


> 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 As the evening progressed he became more and more withdrawn into 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
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