Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 9:41:37 GMT -5
After the Alarm Clock did a tour of the South with Skynyrd opening the shows, me and Ronnie did exchange phone numbers. A year later he said he'd be in L.A. on a certain date and wanted to go to a Dodger game. I bought us all tickets to the game. He didn't show up. I never heard from him again until October, 1972.
I had moved to the South (North Carolina) a full year before Van Zant called me. I was drawn to the South by the Allman's music...but prior to that, the Alarm Clock had done a 4 month tour of the South and I was TOTALLY CAUGHT UP IN IT.
I'd been in the South before, but only on the Beach Boys tours. When I got a chance to travel the back roads, explore the area and take my time, I was hooked. I couldn't wait to move there and I did soon after that tour was over.
I had never heard of a 'meat-and-three' (a cafe that serves one meat with 3 vegetables) until that 4 month tour with the Clock. Absolutely an eye opener. It has California beat all the way up and down.
I don't exactly know how Ronnie found me in Greenville, NC. I don't think I ever asked...if I did, I'd forgotten about it.** But I was playing this club in Greenville and he called one day saying Leon had quit and he needed a bass player. The next day he drove up to get me. That's how I became the 2nd luckiest guitarist in the world. The reason he thought of me when Leon left is that I played a bit of bass in the "Alarm Clock", especially on many of the recordings. Later, as you know, Ronnie called me the worst bass player he'd ever played with. !!!!!!!!!! THE NERVE!
I was NEVER a welcomed addition to the band, except that Ronnie invited me. After we wrote ALABAMA, there was no reason to impress him any further. Ronnie had his reason for having me there and he was the ONLY reason I was there. Allen and Gary didn't care to have me around from the git-go...they're very competitive and I don't care much about competition.
There's a new book by Mark Kemp called DIXIE LULLABY. Here's an excerpt: "Ronnie Van Zant was the reason I joined that band," said King. "I didn't care anything about those other guys. I was always a better guitar player than either of them anyway, so..." He paused. "I mean, they wrote some good stuff, but Ronnie was the soul of that band."
There's probably more of me in this book than makes me comfortable! But it's a good read about Southern culture and music in the 1970s.
** A friend of Ed's (Howard Martin) has since cleared this up on how Ronnie got in touch with Ed.
"I was a drummer that played in several bands that toured the Southeast in the early 70's. Ed and I had played together some after meeting him when he was on the last Strawberry Alarm Clock tour.
I'd been playing in a club in Atlanta for two weeks alternating sets with Skynyrd. I'd read about them in an unpublished book Ed had written which I think was titled 'From the Gutter to the Curb' (great title). I brought that up to them and Ronnie and I talked about Ed several times. I told him about how well he was playing, how he'd really found a fondness for the Southern approach to music, etc. About a week later he tracked me down through my booking agent at the club I was playing in Greensboro, North Carolina. He wanted to know where he could find Ed and see him play. I think he said something like "Leon's gone Jesus on us and we need a bass player now." I told him the name of the club where Ed was working in a house band. Ronnie drove from Jacksonville to Greenville, saw Ed and the rest is in fact history.
Ed never knew how it happened because somehow we just never talked about it. We've had a good time putting this missing piece of the puzzle together some 30 years later."
I had moved to the South (North Carolina) a full year before Van Zant called me. I was drawn to the South by the Allman's music...but prior to that, the Alarm Clock had done a 4 month tour of the South and I was TOTALLY CAUGHT UP IN IT.
I'd been in the South before, but only on the Beach Boys tours. When I got a chance to travel the back roads, explore the area and take my time, I was hooked. I couldn't wait to move there and I did soon after that tour was over.
I had never heard of a 'meat-and-three' (a cafe that serves one meat with 3 vegetables) until that 4 month tour with the Clock. Absolutely an eye opener. It has California beat all the way up and down.
I don't exactly know how Ronnie found me in Greenville, NC. I don't think I ever asked...if I did, I'd forgotten about it.** But I was playing this club in Greenville and he called one day saying Leon had quit and he needed a bass player. The next day he drove up to get me. That's how I became the 2nd luckiest guitarist in the world. The reason he thought of me when Leon left is that I played a bit of bass in the "Alarm Clock", especially on many of the recordings. Later, as you know, Ronnie called me the worst bass player he'd ever played with. !!!!!!!!!! THE NERVE!
I was NEVER a welcomed addition to the band, except that Ronnie invited me. After we wrote ALABAMA, there was no reason to impress him any further. Ronnie had his reason for having me there and he was the ONLY reason I was there. Allen and Gary didn't care to have me around from the git-go...they're very competitive and I don't care much about competition.
There's a new book by Mark Kemp called DIXIE LULLABY. Here's an excerpt: "Ronnie Van Zant was the reason I joined that band," said King. "I didn't care anything about those other guys. I was always a better guitar player than either of them anyway, so..." He paused. "I mean, they wrote some good stuff, but Ronnie was the soul of that band."
There's probably more of me in this book than makes me comfortable! But it's a good read about Southern culture and music in the 1970s.
** A friend of Ed's (Howard Martin) has since cleared this up on how Ronnie got in touch with Ed.
"I was a drummer that played in several bands that toured the Southeast in the early 70's. Ed and I had played together some after meeting him when he was on the last Strawberry Alarm Clock tour.
I'd been playing in a club in Atlanta for two weeks alternating sets with Skynyrd. I'd read about them in an unpublished book Ed had written which I think was titled 'From the Gutter to the Curb' (great title). I brought that up to them and Ronnie and I talked about Ed several times. I told him about how well he was playing, how he'd really found a fondness for the Southern approach to music, etc. About a week later he tracked me down through my booking agent at the club I was playing in Greensboro, North Carolina. He wanted to know where he could find Ed and see him play. I think he said something like "Leon's gone Jesus on us and we need a bass player now." I told him the name of the club where Ed was working in a house band. Ronnie drove from Jacksonville to Greenville, saw Ed and the rest is in fact history.
Ed never knew how it happened because somehow we just never talked about it. We've had a good time putting this missing piece of the puzzle together some 30 years later."