An Aquarian might be able to acquiesce at times, one would
think. The thing is, water has more than
one state. It can be liquid, solid, or
gas. It is not so easily penetrable or
alterable when it’s ice. You can chip
away at it or break it apart but it takes more effort and force than a few
words.
His few words were something
along the line of: “It’s just a dream.
You know you’re going to fail, don’t you?” This was said by my father after my band had
done about three solid months of rehearsal and writing arrangements. No days off.
One thing was for certain. The
band sounded great and the agency in Atlanta had work lined up for months. Six nights a week. No weeks off.
Midwest through Southeast and in 13 states. The agency was professional, successful, and
established. The producer had become a
friend. He still is.
We barely had enough material for a four-hour
gig and the call had come in. Opening in
Muncy, Indiana, tomorrow. We covered
tunes by Tower of Power, Earth, Wind and Fire, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chicago,
Wings, Boz Scaggs, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Average White Band, Rufus,
and others. We had professional
standards and one of the tightest horn sections—ever. Our attacks and releases were both always
sounding laser-synchronized.
Sorry. Not just a dream. Hard work at a manic pace to achieve the
level of music we were at. Fail? Sorry.
Every week, our money increased.
An eight-piece touring band. The
ninth equal pay increment (after agent’s fee) was the equipment payment. In the 70s, a ten thousand dollar P.A. system
was quite state-of-the-art. Didn’t
fail. So, as with a few things, my
father and I were oil and water. Still,
he was supportive in other ways. One of
the vans was financed by him.
