In 1975 I played a mafia owned club in Huntington, West Virginia. Most of the guests were also mafia.
They were really nice guys, treated us well.
They were really nice guys, treated us well.
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Did We Just Play for the Mob?
- Thread starter 5andFretless
- Start date
I used to play in a band that got booked by motorcycle clubs on the regular. Never had our phones held but it was always made really clear that no photos were allowed. One club told us if anyone was caught taking pictures their phone would be taken and destroyed.
I also played in a house band at a small remote family campground for a summer. Not long after it closed that fall, it was raided and the owner arrested for running a high stakes poker game in their equipment shed. The BL who hired me for the job was somehow involved in the game and did 18 months in prison for his participation.
Playing Richie DeRichatelli's private party where they want to check the vehicles and put phones in a box? Not scary. Annoying if not communicated in advance (agent fail), but not scary. Getting parked in at a biker rally for 4 extra hours while they went full rabid feeding frenzy mode for the wet t-shirt contest, and started a jousting match that involved throwing picnic tables at each other? REALLY freakin' scary.
BTW, I'm half Sicilian.
My father grew up across the street from Johnny "Pops" Papalia or "The Enforcer" on Railway Street in Hamilton, Ontario. Papalia was part of the French Connection drug smuggling operation in the '60s, the basis for the non-fiction book and the movie. It was literally across the street from my aunt Florence's house on Railway St where Papalia met his fait, out front, in '97.
The village in Sicily where my entire paternal lineage is from, Racalmuto, Agrigento, was also the birthplace of a the Italian author Leonardo Sciascia. My great grandmother's sister Daisy, both from Racalmuto was married to a Gambino--one of five families--in Brooklyn.
My father grew up across the street from Johnny "Pops" Papalia or "The Enforcer" on Railway Street in Hamilton, Ontario. Papalia was part of the French Connection drug smuggling operation in the '60s, the basis for the non-fiction book and the movie. It was literally across the street from my aunt Florence's house on Railway St where Papalia met his fait, out front, in '97.
The village in Sicily where my entire paternal lineage is from, Racalmuto, Agrigento, was also the birthplace of a the Italian author Leonardo Sciascia. My great grandmother's sister Daisy, both from Racalmuto was married to a Gambino--one of five families--in Brooklyn.
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Wow, that is one hell of a gig story.
As far as the turning in cell phones I have no issue with that
as it was a private residence, and I would not like my party smeared on social media.
Also, I would like all patrons at gigs to turn in their cell phones because I'm
sick of playing to Cell Phone Zombies.
Thanks for sharing.
As far as the turning in cell phones I have no issue with that
as it was a private residence, and I would not like my party smeared on social media.
Also, I would like all patrons at gigs to turn in their cell phones because I'm
sick of playing to Cell Phone Zombies.
Thanks for sharing.
My initial reaction about taking your phones was, oh heck no. But then i read what someone else here said...wasnt that long ago that you didnt always have a phone on you. Im old enough to remember pre-internet and cell phone days. There was only one way to get you and that was a pay phone at a gig (if there was a working one nearby). I have kids and i do like being able to get ahold of them 24/7 but, i also remember playing gigs at seedy bars in my early 20s and my parents had no idea where i was let alone how to get ahold of me. Jeez, i would get up at 8 yo and get on my bike and not come home til the streelights came on, they didnt know where i was then either lol On the other hand, should have been communicated beforehand IMO.
This kinda reminds me of when my buddy was filling in on drums for Big & Rich a few years back. It was CMA week in Nashville and after the awards show B&R played a concert in John Rich's bar/stage area of his house. I told my buddy to send me some pics and he said no can do...according to contract. I think he just ended up leaving his phone in his truck for the night. He said he wanted to make sure he could still work in this town...
It was possibly hosted by the mob, or some sanctioned Russian oligarch, or someone else super-duper paranoid about their security and/or privacy. They should've made the security arrangements clear in the initial deal, but hey you got paid well for it and it was an experience!
I have gone to many federal and government facilities that cell phone collection and armed guards does not bother me. Plus our attachment to phones is really bad. I went to a meditation retreat and even there everyone is just looking at their phones
But I would not air out in public a gig like this. There is a reason they are paranoid with security. I hope you are making efforts to secure your location and identity.
As part of security by design, they did not warn you. I do understand why it would bother the OP
But I would not air out in public a gig like this. There is a reason they are paranoid with security. I hope you are making efforts to secure your location and identity.
As part of security by design, they did not warn you. I do understand why it would bother the OP
I have no issue with leaving my phone in my car, or with locking it up somewhere safe… when I have the key.
But I don’t hand over my valuables to anyone except a trusted friend or family member. The phone fits in that category. They are expensive (at least to me: I drive a 25-year old Toyota and live in a house paid off more than a decade ago, with not a lot of “disposable” income.) and besides being expensive, they are filled with personal data… which we are forever being told to jealously guard.
Hand it over? Nope… I could leave it at home, but not relinquish it. Guess I’m not the right kind for such an affair.
But I don’t hand over my valuables to anyone except a trusted friend or family member. The phone fits in that category. They are expensive (at least to me: I drive a 25-year old Toyota and live in a house paid off more than a decade ago, with not a lot of “disposable” income.) and besides being expensive, they are filled with personal data… which we are forever being told to jealously guard.
Hand it over? Nope… I could leave it at home, but not relinquish it. Guess I’m not the right kind for such an affair.
Yep, the security issues are my key objection too. Leave it in the car? No problem. I'm fine without it at a gig but on the way home, usually late at night on rural roads, it's a necessity if something happens like hitting a deer, witnessing an accident, calling for a stalled/stuck car whose cell battery is dead, etc. All of which have come up.
Fats Waller Was Kidnapped to Play Al Capone's Birthday - The Vintage News
He was reportedly paid $100 per song over the three days they had him.
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Some people have a stuff on their phone they use for gigs--set lists, chords, lyrics, tuner, etc.
