My Constant Readers may remember a couple of other posts in this series, where I document my "brushes with fame" with rock and roll stars or other music personalities. Well, today I want to mention my encounter as a teenager with Ed King, guitarist for the Strawberry Alarm Clock and Lynyrd Skynyrd (and the writer of the guitar riff from “Sweet Home Alabama.”). In the summer of 1970 I was 18 years old and playing with my brother Jack in a band called “Neva Union Museum” (as I’ve said many times before, all the good band names have been taken!). We had been hired by the Roof Garden Ballroom in Okoboji, IA as a “house band” to open for national recording artists booked to play there that summer. We opened for the Strawberry Alarm Clock (by then down to 4 members and a couple years from a hit record, but still sounding awesome with Mr. King on guitar) on a Saturday night that summer. The next day we had gone back to the ballroom to tear down our equipment. In walks Ed, probably to do the same. He hauled out his Les Paul Goldtop and we proceeded to jam on “Politician” for about a half an hour. A memorable moment in time, and I wish I had some audio or video of the jam, but here is some video of the 'Clock at their reunion in 2007. Ed is the 3rd player from the left in this vid. To see what Ed is up to these days, check out his website at www.edking.net, and keep on rockin!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Charlie,
The 3rd guitarist from the left (dude in the fringe)? Or 3rd player counting the keyboard in the back?
For your last brush with fame I came up with my famous "I peed next to Mose Allison" story. What do I have left? Scraping around here --
Oh, OK, do you remember or did you ever hear a song called Skinny Little Boy (From Cleveland, Ohio)? It was a regional northern Ohio hit by talented singer/songwriter Alex Bevan. Anyway, I attended a show at a club where he yelled at his noisy audience during an acoustic telling them to shut the ef up or leave, & so most of them left. I was all for it because it had been getting hard to hear him. So then I stuck around afterward & the bartender bought us both a drink, and we had a fine chat -- and that's my SECOND brush with fame.
That would be the 3rd player from left (counting the keyboard player); he's the one playing the classic fuzz tone lead throughout the verses and chorus. He didn't get to take a solo at the end though; drat! It would have been good to hear him wail on that red Strat.
I'm not familiar with that tune, but thanks for your recollection of a nice chat with Mr. Bevan!
Post a Comment