|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:23:44 GMT -5
The LA van trip & the "new" speed limit
Q - Do you remember if the '73 - '74 oil crisis had any affect on touring/traveling for the band?
Joe: I remember right after new years 74, the band flew to LA to start work on Second Helping. Craig and I had to drive the van from Jax to LA and find the Record Plant to meet the band. From one end of I-10 to the other with a lot of US-90 in between.
You old farts may remember that 1/1/74 was the first day of the national speed limit, the double nickle, 55 mph.
The van was a heavy duty Ford Club Van that we had been using to haul a trailer full of equipment and with ten people in the van. On this trip, it was just me and Craig. The speedometer was broken. In his previous life, Craig was a factory trained GM mechanic so he climbed underneath and pulled the speedometer cable and found that the gear on the end had been jammed. He made a note of the part number and the number of teeth so we would be sure to get the right gear to fix it and we started our trip to drive straight through to LA. We stopped at every Ford dealer we saw and no one had the right gear. A few teeth more or a few teeth less but not the one we needed. We made good time but it still took forever to get across Texas.
We never had any trouble getting gas. When we got to California, the first town we went through had a Ford dealer so we stopped, they had the right gear. Craig installed it and when we got back on the interstate, we found that what we thought was 60 to 70 was actually 85 to 95. It was a good thing because there were CHPS all over the place. We would have been busted big time. We made it to LA in 36 hours.
We never had any problems getting gas as we worked our way back from LA to Jacksonville over the next four months. But we had to pay the price, some places it was over $1.00 a gallon. What a rip off.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:27:44 GMT -5
Q - Is it true that Leon made a 'big stink' over some German dude's shoes?
Joe: Yeah, some German Hotel. The custom must have been to leave your shoes outside your door and they'd be polished in the morning. Used to be a custom in the US too. May still be in some older high end hotels.
Leon loaded them up. Minor story, I was not a witness. He must have thought it would be funny, he might have done it on a dare. Leon was a great guy and could be really funny. But just like most comedians, sometimes the jokes fall flat. This story's been out there so I don't think I'm revealing anything.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:29:14 GMT -5
Q - Who among the crew and band was the best mechanic at working on cars or maybe the occasional broken down bus?
Joe: Except for the bus part, it would be Craig Reed hands down, no competition. In his previous life, he was a factory trained GM mechanic.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:30:19 GMT -5
Q - Were your duties mostly relating to moving equipment, amps, etc or fixing amps, guitar tech, or combination of both? If you were into the guitar and amp repair/tech whose guitar was in need of fixing or tweaking most often?
Joe: It was ALL of the above. Plus drum tech. When I started, it was just Kevin and me. We'd set up the band and the PA. I fixed the amps and guitars because I knew how, I worked on the drums because someone had to do it and Kevin wouldn't. When we hired Craig, I taught him how to set up the drums and he took it from there to a whole new level. When we hired Chuck Flowers, I taught him to set up the amps and started teaching him about guitars. We all drove the truck and loaded and unloaded. When we opened for other acts, we were quick with our set up and when our show was over, we cleared the stage like lightning. When we were headlining, once the band had their soundcheck, we slid the drum riser and the piano back and put several heavy duty electric quad boxes in front fot the openers. We were efficient and always on time. The promoters loved us.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:32:55 GMT -5
Q - What was on the agenda on a "show day"?
Joe: From the fly on the wall....
Start with:
Stage call @12:30 Unload Band Equipment @ 2:00 Unpack Band Equipment and set stage by 3:30 Change strings, polish drums, adjust monitors, general maintenance and repairs and preparation for sound check till 4:30
Then Sound check @ 4:30
After sound check:
Pull the drum riser back even with amp line Pull piano to side of stage and generally clear stage for opening acts
Dinner @ 5:30 - 6:00
Doors open @ 7:00 (?)
Keep an eye on opening acts so they get what they need and don't mess with our stuff: till 8:00 then...
Clear everything from opening act, move drum riser and piano into place, make sure all electric connections are taped and secure, all mikes and stands are taped and secure, check that the path to the stage is clear and any cables that cross the path are taped and covered so there's no chance of anyone tripping Generally making sure that everything is functioning properly and doing everything we can to make sure that the only things that can fuck up on stage is the band. All in 30 minutes or less.
Invite the band on stage...
As soon as the show is over @ 10:30:
Pack gear and load truck, usually 45 minutes to an hour
Go to hotel to shower and clean up @ 11:30 - 12:00
Load up on crew bus @ 2:00 after sound and light crews finish
Pass out on bunk, wake up when someone drops a hotel key in your face
Repeat.
Of course, before we were headlining, we'd be driving to the next show.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:34:25 GMT -5
Q - It's well known that some members of LS were drinkers...any road crew stories?
Joe: To this day, even the smell of scotch sends chills up my spine.
This was in Atlanta in late 73. MCA threw a big party for the band at the Biltmore hotel. The fashion at the time was scotch chased with Coca Cola. That's a deadly combination and I had too much. We were staying at the Days Inn North of town on I-85 and when we got back I remember gutter crawling commode hugging dry heaving feeling so bad I knew I'd have to feel better to die sick.
Ed was there but he didn't have much tolerance for drunks back then, probably today either.
To this day, I can't get close to the stuff. These days I'm not interested anyway. Alcohol was never my drug of choice. I don't drink much any more. Never did drink much, sometimes I have drunk more than I realized though.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:35:51 GMT -5
Q - Joe, did you work with any other bands after your time with Skynryd?
Joe: No. I'd already taken one band to the top. I figured the odds of doing it again were slim and none. Now Ed beat those odds but that was Ed.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:39:17 GMT -5
Q - Ronnie was a fighter, but was he a winning fighter more than a losing fighter? Joe: He was a dirty fighter.Q - Did anyone ever "win" against Ronnie? I imagine if you won once, a rematch was coming sooner or later? Joe: How do you win fighting the boss?
Those guys in Santa Monica or wherever won (See this thread for the story). They were kicking his ass till he got hauled back on the bus with his tail between his legs. He didn't have any power or advantage over them so he got his ass kicked.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:43:56 GMT -5
Q - Was it just like any other band or group of people...you have bad times, but the good times outweigh the bad?
Joe: Think monkey house. Normal social conventions and boundaries that you take for granted in your more normal life did not exist. The only discipline was that on stage, you played your part, the part you had written and rehearsed, recorded and played the night before exactly the way you had played it before. Everything else was soap opera. It was happening all the time in one form or another. The most obvious and extreme examples are what happened to me, Ed and Bob. I wasn't called into the bosses office where he repeated a bunch of platitudes and fired me, I WAS ATTACKED. When Ed left, he didn't hand in a neatly typed letter of resignation, he walked out of a band meeting, F you, I'm out of here. With Bob, they pushed him over the edge. Everybody in the whole organization was extremely talented at what they did, it's just they were crazy too. This wasn't your ordinary church choir, this was an in your face rowdy Rock and Roll band.
Now why stick around this kind of circus? Most of the time it was an incredible adventure, going places, meeting people, seeing and doing things I never imagined doing. There were many challenges but I delivered, we delivered. The road crew was as good at what we did as the band was at what they did. There was a great camaraderie and team spirit I haven't seen since. And both band and crew performance, we were kicking EVERYBODY'S a$$.
Now remember the Henry Paul interview of awhile back? He was dissing Ronnie for the rock and roll attitude and stuff. Henry's a decent guy and wrote a couple of nice songs, I'm not attacking him but the Henry Paul Band would never be more than the first opener in a three act bill with Skynyrd headlining. All that craziness, insanity, energy and instability was an important part of the magic that made Skynyrd what they were. It was part of the magic. Even before the first album was out, when they were coming on stage, there was a tension and excitement in the crowd that was palpable. They had an intensity and they released it in their music in a way that few other bands could do.
It was a wild ride, a roller coaster that took you straight up and then straight down and then back up again. I'm glad I was on it. I proved to myself that I could do anything and with all the things we faced, that's what was expected. I repaired and modified guitars and amps, I made all sorts of cables, I built an on-stage electric distribution system, I dealt with other band a ever changing stage situations. I dealt with customs, airlines movie stars and rock and roll stars, big cities and small towns and all points in between. There was always something.
Ed has said that if Ronnie had called him he would have gone back. I probably would have too but just like the Fonz, Ronnie could never admit to making a mistake, it was never going to happen.
It wasn't like any other band or group of people. It was a strange brew and it had some magic to it. Even today, the success of the tribute band is due to their trying to recapture that magic. We beat them up some times because we see it slip through their fingers and they can never catch it or hold onto it.
Ronnie wasn't 90% a$$hole. He was the boss and sometimes bosses are a$$holes, it comes with the territory. I think most of his management skill developed because he had some crazy people with some talent he had to keep in line and turn them into a band. Oh, and he was a bit of a redneck thug too. But if he hadn't done what he did to keep Allen, Gary, Bob and Leon in line, Lynyrd Skynyrd would never survived playing bars.
Being on the road with a rock and roll band like Skynyrd is just a different world. It's a different reality.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:45:22 GMT -5
Q - (From Craig Reed) Joe, do you remember the party by Peter Rudge and Trifold after that 1974 Europe tour when we all destroyed that restaurant after Ronnie cut the cake southern style? Wasn’t it you to get the first piece of cake in the face by Ronnie? Then we shook up the champagne bottles and squirted of the cake. The floor got so slippery you could not stand up. All those nice pillows and couches were ruined. They had to close it down and redecorate it.
Joe: Oh hell yes Craig, how could I forget. That was a BLAST!!!
It was Allen's birthday and Chuck threw the first slice! I think he got Ronnie.
The restaurant was in the basement of some small hotel. The food was great and there was a never ending supply of some delicious red wine. I remember that I had a nice buzz going. After dinner they brought out this huge sheet cake for Allen's birthday. Allen sat in a seat of honor next to the cake and everybody sang Happy Birthday. While we were singing, Chuck went up and sat on Allen's knee and I followed right behind him and sat on the other. At the end of the song, Chuck got Allen, then Ronnie and then all hell broke loose. I know that I got Rudge and Curvishley, others did too but maybe that's why Rudgie had it in for me.
I think Dean slipped out just as it was starting, he would have been a favorite target. Everybody was covered with this delicious cream icing and cake and they had these beautiful Jaguar/Daimler limos to take us back to the hotel.
Hey, it was at the end of a pretty grueling tour that had just been extended a few shows, there was a lot of stress to be released. We needed it.
It was a night to remember.
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:47:30 GMT -5
Q - Joe, Who was the most difficult member to work with in Skynryd?
Joe Yes
|
|
|
Post by ekforum on Nov 30, 2009 17:50:31 GMT -5
Q - Did you ever have any problems with Customs when you went to Europe or Canada?
Joe Going to England, might have been the Knebworth trip or the one before, but the customs agent wanted to look at the contents of almost every case. Hindsight's 20/20, I probably could have slipped him a 20.00 pound note and been done with it, but we were hippies, we just didn't want any trouble from the "authorities".
|
|