Re: [Harp-L] Sit-In Stories

["James Sterett" <jsterett@xxxxxxxxx>]

One memorable brush with greatness was the first time I sat in with Vassar Clemens... he and his band (bass/gtr/fiddle) were playing in the 1st floor lounge/bar of a 20 story office building on a Saturday night in the NYC suburbs.  He had long been a hero of mine since, at the time, I thought bluegrass began and ended with "old and in the way."  There weren't too many people there that night, I drank up some courage and asked him if I could sit in.  He immediately said yes.  So we start playing something, a fiddle tune (can't recall the exact tune) he plays the head, gives me a nod and away I go, I play for a while, turn back to him and say "take it Vassar."  And he did.  It was that "take it Vassar" moment that I can still remember clear as yesterday.

JIm.

>>> Mojo Red <harplicks@xxxxxxxxx> 07/27/06 4:49 PM >>>
Hey gang,

Last Sunday afternoon I was invited to sit in with
some friends of mine, Tom and Bob Lindsey and the
"Trouble Brothers" band, for what was purported to
be a "Jam-Party", according to my e-mail
invitation.

The party was a swank golf club resort up in the
mountains near Genesse, where temperatures were
invitingly cooler (low 80s) than the 95 degrees
we'd been enjoying all day in Denver. 

So I load up my harps, mic and amp and drove up to
this fancy resort where all these really rich
looking people were being served cold drinks by the
pool... no sign of a party. I asked the guy at the
desk and he tells me "there's some kind of party
for a guy who used to work here," and he gave me
directions to a picnic area a mile or so away. "You
can't miss it."

I hate to be seen as a party crasher, but the band
~did~ invite me to sit in, so I drove around the
property, down some dirt roads to the forested
picnic area and I start to see cars and pickup
trucks... and LOTS of motorcycles. There were tons
of people, many in their bandanas and chaps. 

Ah, this is more what I was expceting the Trouble
Brothers. There was barbecue going, a keg of beer
and there was the band stand. The band was taking a
break and Bob invites me to get my stuff and come
up for the next set.

So I set up my big Alamo amp and we run through a
bunch of up-tempo blues songs including 
"Crossroads", "Hoochie Coochie Man" and a mess of
other biker-type blues-bar standards. We were
playing at loud, obnoxious volumes, but, hey were
were outside and this crowd ate it up. 

I thought it strange that there was this vintage
Harley parked right in front of us, right on the
make-shift band stand, but the crowd was
enthusiastic and I was happy to be playing.

When we break I talk with Bob and I ask, "So, why's
that bike parked here?" He smiled slowly, with his
Trouble-Brothers smile, takes a long drag off his
Marlboro and says:

"Oh, well, you see that engraved little box there
right next to the Harley?" I noticed, for the first
time, a beautiful laquered wooden box, about the
size of a shoebox, sitting on a stand. It's
engraved with an intricate Harley logo and some
guy's name. I asked who's name was on the box.

"That's the guy who used to work at the resort. He
was head grounds keeper at the golf club for years.
He died a few weeks ago. That's his bike up there
and those are his ashes. This party is his wake."

Wellll.... Okay then. I took a long drink of free
beer, ate my fill of pulled pork and got ready for
the next set. I'm sure glad I didn't knock that box
over in the first set when I was jumping around
onstage doing my cheap harp-god-rock-star imitation
during those Stevie-Ray Vaughn songs. Day-Yum!!

You guys have any cool/funny sit-in stories?

Harpin' in Colorado,
--Ken M.

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