Re: Big Bones

["Mortone" <mortone@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I remember Big Bones...

In the late 80's he was living in L.A.
He had a little room with a cot and a lamp
and his clothes...behind the stage at Tina Mayfield's
Club called Blues Unlimited on Lampertand 54th.

He had a broken down 48 Pontiac on the side of the club.

I rememeber going to many gigs at that club back then...
and L.A. had a great blues scene in those days... so you
might get to go to Tina's club and see Lowell Fulson, Big
Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton, whoever...and all Big Bones
had to do was walk out on the stage when he was ready...
on ANYONE'S gig...because he was like the security guy there.
He was also a bodybuilder, and had a few Nevada titles under
his belt...such as Mr. Reno...in the mid 80's...but anyway...

I saw him walk out from his room behind the stage on many a
night, where he was not even a part of the band...but he did
the sound at this club, as well as 24/7 security...and he was 
ballsy enough to just have a mike set up for himself ahead of
time...so he could start blowin the harp through the PA from 
the back of his room...and then just suddenly appear on-stage..
with a packed house, and a well known blues musician...
I mean, what are they going to do...tell him to leave?
The guy was a massive figure of a man back then...
a really nice soft spoken guy, once you got to know him...
but VERY intimidating looking on the surface...

Anyway...I had a regular Thursday night Jam Session at
this club for about 9 months...and me and "bones" got to be
pretty tight friends in that period...and for many years now 
I heard he had relocated up to the Bay area...and it's good
to see him getting some recognition...

He's a hellova nice cat...and got a heart as big as Gold...
Many's the time we sat out in his broken down Pontiac..
and told each other other a bunch of great lies...

~Donnie~