The Steel Guitar Forum

Just wondering how many of you, or if any of you have ever played music quite a few times with a musician, doesn't matter what instrument, and you thought you knew them quite well and even thought a lot of them just to find out later on in life that they were being chased by the FBI on a wanted list or that they were serving time in a Penitentuary somewhere? I've had this happen at least twice and it sure knocks your socks off when this happens, especially when you really thought a lot of the person in question. This is one scary feeling and sort of shows you that things aren't quite what they seem sometimes.
Gene

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If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!

Yes.

Gene

Are you sure you aren't just projecting?

I played with a band for 2 years, and had never mentioned that fact that I'm Jewish, not because I was hiding it, but because it was never relevant to any conversation we ever had.

So one day we were talking about religion, and I mentioned it, and the drummer's wife thought I was kidding. It took me about 15 minutes to convince her I was not.

The next day I was fired from the band, and when I ran into the drummer a few months later, he laid a bunch of nazi crap on me. Told me that it was too bad Hitler hadn't "finished the job" and accused me of lying to him because I hadn't mentioned it before, and said if he had known he never would have played with me in the first place.

I was working with a piano player for,about,8 yrs. I knew he had some financial problems because of his wife's health,& because of it,had to file bankruptcy several yrs. earlier. He begged & pleaded,& "cried on my shoulder" to help him out. Well,I signed for a <u>sizable</u> loan for him. (Not a co-sign,my name exclusively!) Well,guess who,to this day,is payin' off the loan? DUH!!
He was paying it off at first,but then "ran out of money". I almost lost my house because he missed 3 consecutive payments.

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Back in the early 70's I worked with a drummer for about three months and one day he was gone. I asked one of the other band members where he was? I was told the MP's picked him up for desersion. I didn't know him very well, but it still floored me!

Geo

Me and my wife try to sell or house and found out the guy that just moved in next door(I mean next door) is on Hamilton County Sexual Predator list!! (for sexual batery) to make a long story short it took a year and a half to sell.That Sucks Mike.

Mike. that was outrageous. so sorry for that rude experience.
but they are nazis

I don't understand people What the hell is a guys religion got to do with things. You are either a nice guy or your not. As for money, the best way to lose a friend is to lone him money. I have had it happen. There are a lot of a** holes in the world. Nothing you can do about it. And Mike, I would not let it bother me. Some people are born stupid

I know a woman who was married for several years and had two beautiful daughters by her husband. One day he was alone with the younger daughter and a friend and the friend told her mommy that he touched her, ahem, 'inappropriately'. He was arrested and it turns out has a long history of public exhibitionism, lewd behavior, etc. They are now divorced and the woman and her daughters live a rather stressful life. You think you'd know a guy after being married to him for, what, 10 years??

Wow Mike, that is horrible!

Nothing too bad to report here, the occasional hard drug user unfortunately...some of those cats can hide it really well at first, then sudddenly its like "how could I have not seen it?"

Hey Mike, they should have made you the band leader. I never knew a Jewish person that didn't have a knack for business.

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

I once met a married couple at a party in Spain. Several months later they were arrested, convicted, and sent to jail. Turns out they were members of a counterfeit gang.It was in all the local newspapers and everything. I have to admit though that my first impression of them made me somewhat suspicious. Sometimes things are what they seem and sometimes not. You just never know until the truth surfaces.

This is slighty ( OK more than slightly) off the subject, but I just saw the film "A History of Violence" whih is about a former mafia hit man who has walked away from that life and started a new one as an honest citizen, and even his wife of almost 20 years doesn't know about his past, till it catches up with him.

It's an excellent film, and I recommend it highly.

BTW the incident I mentioned earlier was close to 25 years ago, and I've long since put it behind me. Life's too short to dwell on stuff like that.

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Warning: I have a Telecaster and I'm not afraid to use it.
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My web site

Used to be this one fella, forget his name, nicest guy in the world and a heckuva steel player, played in Michael Landon's Road-eo Band, then one day I hear he was swept up in the Federal Witness Protection Program; name change, new address, the whole 9 yards.

You couldn't find that fella today to save your life...

I played in a blues band for 3 yrs, group of fun guys. Learned during a local paper interview that the bass player was a 3 time Olympic speed skater! I had no clue, he had never mentioned it. He was in the same Olympics with Eric Hayden, and two other years. An entire wall of his house is full of medals. He's still a good friend.
Mike P, that's an awful story, you're definitely the better man. JP

mike..was the drummer's name mel?

over the years i dealt with a local union..later on the main guy turned out to be a child molestor..

I have played in bands with seemingly normal people,
only to find they are actually reprehensible turds.

World class welshers, bigamists, BIG coke dealers, pedophiles, wife beaters,
serial assaulters, of course a thief or two,
guys that will try to blackmail your lady into sex,
one I suspect of murder.....

But most people are right nice,
that makes up for it.

I have played with a guy who was getting into the whole;
"Black helicopeters from the UN
taking over the USA thing."
Fortunately that didn't last.

But never anything as butt stupid as Mike's story.
Stupid is as stupid does,
and Mike you ain't stupid.
Those joker sure as hell are. And mean too.
No doubt "Life" will get them in the end.

A drummer pal who I'd grown up with and who had never asked me for anything in 30 something years of friendship comes to me one night asking to borrow $1,000.00

I loaned him the money,he paid me $100.00 back and that was the last time I saw him 7 years ago.

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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.

I think that sometimes we can all get caught up in "WOW! What a picker" syndrome and inadvertently expect that the individual must be a super person, because he or she is a "super picker". I have been playing music for almost 50 years now, and have had the honour to share the stage with some fabulous musicians, and some really wonderful folks, but not always one and the same person. I know some great players whom I could care less if I ever played on the same stage with, mostly because of thier bad attitude, unacceptable behavior, or what have you. There are some other people who can play and who are also just plain nice folks - doesn't matter if they are old friends or new ones - you know what I mean!

Sometimes when I meet or am around someone who is really talented on an instrument, I like to "step back" and visualize what that person would be like if he or she could not play - "take the instrument away and see the person that is left" so to speak... is this the type of individual whom you would like to spend time with? Invite into your home? See going out with your son or daughter?
Also, it's very true that you can work with someone, or be around someone for a long time, and never really know them. A long time musician that I know recently just "dropped out of the picture" - quit the band, quit playing anywhere..... just dropped out of sight for no apparant reason. I later learned that charges are pending regarding child pornography..... how very sad!

Well....I knew a fabulous Fiddle player that played around the Northwest and Canada and thought I knew him very well and just about six months ago I was watching America's most wanted and I'll be darned if his picture came up on the screen and the FBI was looking for him for child molestation and rape, I don't know to this day if they found him or not, man that just about floored me.

Another time back in about 1965 I had a little four band and had booked into a club in Milton Freewater, Oregon and I had just hired this guitar player, we started unloading our equipment into the club and all of the sudden the club owner comes in and says, is that your lead player and I said yes. He said, that man is not gonna play in my club so either get yourself another guitar player or don't bother setting up. So come to find out this guitar player had done something pretty awful to this club owner before. I couldn't find another guitar player on such short notice, the union wouldn't do anything, so we lost the two week gig. Now the story gets really good.
About two years later I was playing Portland, Oregon and one night a Sheriff walks up and says are you Gene Brown and I said yes what can I do for you. He said do you know xxxxxxx xxxxx (the guitar player I was telling you about"? I said yes and he said this guy is in the State Penitenuary doing time for Rape and he is suing you. I said for WHAT? He said he's suing you for two weeks wages that he says he never got when he played guitar for you.
I could not believe this, so I contacted a lawyer and he said I didn't have a leg to stand on, I had to pay the Jacka$$ $400.00 which I didn't have at the time while he sits on his @$$ in jail and after he was the one that caused us to lose the gig in the first place. Well, I made him take $10.00 amonth for as long as it took, but I will never forget that experience as long as I live.
Life is full of little surprises, huh?

Mike, that was a terrible thing those people did to you and if I were you at the time I would have gone to whomever in the government and had my say with them, that is absolutely discusting what they did.
Gene

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If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!

Hey Gene, next time I'd try a different lawyer!

played with a band in mo. good country music. my self a believer in God but non dominational, heard one band member say all Jews were faggets. i kindly told him the only fagget i saw was him and packed and left. were all equal humans !!!!

jerry

Gee whizz...the bands I have played with over the years must have all been "abnormal"....no drunks/drugs/peda watsits///nuffin !!!

Or have I just been lucky...or maybe led a sheltered life ( musicwise I mean)

15 years as a cop down under I got to see the worst of people...but NEVER in any of my bands
guess a guy CAN be lucky eh ?

Glyndwr

Carter SD10 4x5
Peavet NV 112
Hilton M626B
BJS `Hughey` bar

I wonder if the rest of the Ponderosa guys would have ridden with Michael Landon... if they new he was... from N.J...
I got a call a few weeks back to play for a group with a girl singer, she called & told me she heard I was a good picker, to come sit in for the first set, if it worked I would play the night and get paid too. I figured why not. She also told she was real talented & had a golden throat.
After the first set she told me I had the gig, so I stayed, got paid at the end but told her tactfully that I did not want the gig. It was too far to haul for too little bread. She got all sister necked and finger waving at me.. I finally had to tell her that I had worked with lots of really good girl singers... but she wasn't one of them.