JimmyM
06-02-2008, 09:32 PM
Hey all, haven't been here in a while, but thought you might like to hear about my brush with greatness earlier today.
I'm at Bradley Airport in Hartford, CT, waiting to go through security, and I see a guy pushing a cart with an upright. I think he's not going to make it, yet he makes it. I had to go ask him about it, so he's in line at the food counter and I catch up with him and ask him about it. He tells me that he actually buys his bass a seat for each flight, then he has to strap it in upside down in a window seat, and somehow maneuver the armrests so they don't knock the bridge out of whack. Sounds like a real ordeal for a working upright player.
But after a minute, it dawned on me where I knew him...I was talking to progressive bluegrass legend Todd Phillips! No wonder he could afford to buy his bass a ticket! I told him I really enjoyed a lot of the stuff I've heard from him (mostly with David Grisman) and I enjoyed the article I read about him in Bass Player (http://www.bassplayer.com/article/todd-phillips/aug-06/22712). Then I let him eat his lunch and got on my plane.
Very nice guy for someone being accosted by a perfect stranger. And he really makes me feel like a big wuss when I complain about having to lug my laptop through airports. Sheesh...just think what an ordeal going to the bathroom at the airport is with that thing!
I'm at Bradley Airport in Hartford, CT, waiting to go through security, and I see a guy pushing a cart with an upright. I think he's not going to make it, yet he makes it. I had to go ask him about it, so he's in line at the food counter and I catch up with him and ask him about it. He tells me that he actually buys his bass a seat for each flight, then he has to strap it in upside down in a window seat, and somehow maneuver the armrests so they don't knock the bridge out of whack. Sounds like a real ordeal for a working upright player.
But after a minute, it dawned on me where I knew him...I was talking to progressive bluegrass legend Todd Phillips! No wonder he could afford to buy his bass a ticket! I told him I really enjoyed a lot of the stuff I've heard from him (mostly with David Grisman) and I enjoyed the article I read about him in Bass Player (http://www.bassplayer.com/article/todd-phillips/aug-06/22712). Then I let him eat his lunch and got on my plane.
Very nice guy for someone being accosted by a perfect stranger. And he really makes me feel like a big wuss when I complain about having to lug my laptop through airports. Sheesh...just think what an ordeal going to the bathroom at the airport is with that thing!