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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

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#7,624
We were so happy as a ZZ-Top style trio in the early 80's. Played all over the NW -- Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Northern California, all the way to Denver and North and South Dakota. Then the Go-Go's and Pat Benatar hit. Agent called us in the office and said, 'boys, it's getting harder to book a trio. You guys need to get a girl singer." We were so P-O'ed. Well, we held auditions and went through nearly a dozen women. All attitudes-- conditions. We had one more female musician to audition. She said she sing and play guitar. We weren't expecting anything and were ready to look for a different agent. But we set up a jam session.

We were waiting at the rehearsal studio downtown Seattle, yawn. She was late. Surprise surprise. Well, a Plymouth Duster pulled up, and out came a beautiful blonde. T-shirt, black leather jacket, cowboy boots. She brought her gear into the hall. Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall 212 combo! Rock and Roll! She knew all her parts, could play her Les Paul like Malcolm Young in AC/DC. When we travelled, she could cuss with the best of them. Burp. Got drunk with us. But no funny stuff. She was a class act. She had been the perfect answer to a prayer. A real musician who could sing-- and fulfil the new 'need a girl' requirement. We travelled all over the country with her and she was one of the guys. And onstage she could solo, and dress very nice. Those were the best times for years. Wish I was back there again. I thought we would never stop and never grow old. ....
 
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#7,625
alaskaleftybass said:
We were so happy as a ZZ-Top style trio in the early 80's. Played all over the NW -- Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Northern California, all the way to Denver and North and South Dakota. Then the Go-Go's and Pat Benatar hit. Agent called us in the office and said, 'boys, it's getting harder to book a trio. You guys need to get a girl singer." We were so P-O'ed. Well, we held auditions and went through nearly a dozen women. All attitudes-- conditions. We had one more female musician to audition. She said she sing and play guitar. We weren't expecting anything and were ready to look for a different agent. But we set up a jam session.

We were waiting at the rehearsal studio downtown Seattle, yawn. She was late. Surprise surprise. Well, a Plymouth Duster pulled up, and out came a beautiful blonde. T-shirt, black leather jacket, cowboy boots. She brought her gear into the hall. Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall 212 combo! Rock and Roll! She knew all her parts, could play her Les Paul like Malcolm Young in AC/DC. When we travelled, she could cuss with the best of them. Burp. Got drunk with us. But no funny stuff. She was a class act. She had been the perfect answer to a prayer. A real musician who could sing-- and fulfil the new 'need a girl' requirement. We travelled all over the country with her and she was one of the guys. And onstage she could solo, and dress very nice. Those were the best times for years. Wish I was back there again. I thought we would never stop and never grow old. ....
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Thought of this after reading your post. :-)
 
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#7,627
beans-on-toast said:
We had a girl drummer at a time when females were mostly relegated to being go-go dancers. One day she took acid in class. The school called the cops. We never saw her again. Several friends died that year. I don’t know which was worse, the revages of drugs or vietnam.
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Perhaps there was a connection between the two that was not made until many years later (if admitted to at least)?
 
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#7,628
alaskaleftybass said:
We were so happy as a ZZ-Top style trio in the early 80's. Played all over the NW -- Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Northern California, all the way to Denver and North and South Dakota. Then the Go-Go's and Pat Benatar hit. Agent called us in the office and said, 'boys, it's getting harder to book a trio. You guys need to get a girl singer." We were so P-O'ed. Well, we held auditions and went through nearly a dozen women. All attitudes-- conditions. We had one more female musician to audition. She said she sing and play guitar. We weren't expecting anything and were ready to look for a different agent. But we set up a jam session.

We were waiting at the rehearsal studio downtown Seattle, yawn. She was late. Surprise surprise. Well, a Plymouth Duster pulled up, and out came a beautiful blonde. T-shirt, black leather jacket, cowboy boots. She brought her gear into the hall. Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall 212 combo! Rock and Roll! She knew all her parts, could play her Les Paul like Malcolm Young in AC/DC. When we travelled, she could cuss with the best of them. Burp. Got drunk with us. But no funny stuff. She was a class act. She had been the perfect answer to a prayer. A real musician who could sing-- and fulfil the new 'need a girl' requirement. We travelled all over the country with her and she was one of the guys. And onstage she could solo, and dress very nice. Those were the best times for years. Wish I was back there again. I thought we would never stop and never grow old. ...
Click to expand...

Great story, what was the bands name?
 
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#7,631
agedhorse said:
Perhaps there was a connection between the two that was not made until many years later (if admitted to at least)?
Click to expand...
Sadly, I think you are correct. Messy, nasty war. I believe it didn't produce drug addicts as much as escape addicts. Those hero's came home not addicted to a particular substance; they were/are addicted to escape by chemical means. Now that they are no longer getting spit at by ******** without a clue, I see these war hero's out and about several times every week. I honk of my wife because I drop what I'm doing, stalk the guy down, and demand a handshake. Sometimes we end up teary eyed. Sometimes we hug and cry a bit together. I always remember the man's first name, which is Sir.
 
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#7,632
BadExample said:
Sadly, I think you are correct. Messy, nasty war. I believe it didn't produce drug addicts as much as escape addicts. Those hero's came home not addicted to a particular substance; they were/are addicted to escape by chemical means. Now that they are no longer getting spit at by ******** without a clue, I see these war hero's out and about several times every week. I honk of my wife because I drop what I'm doing, stalk the guy down, and demand a handshake. Sometimes we end up teary eyed. Sometimes we hug and cry a bit together. I always remember the man's first name, which is Sir.
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In all honestly I never fully understood the war in Vietnam because our leaders didn't have a strategy to win, or even a definition of winning IMO. However, the part that truly mystified me was why we literally abandoned the patriots who served when their country called and why we seemed so comfortable disrespecting the uniform and the flag during those times. I can see anger with government leadership that sent people off to a war that wasn't popular, but I can't see having anything but gratitude for those who proudly wore the cloth of our nation and earned better treatment than we gave them.
 
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#7,633
BadExample said:
I drop what I'm doing, stalk the guy down, and demand a handshake. Sometimes we end up teary eyed. Sometimes we hug and cry a bit together. I always remember the man's first name, which is Sir.
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At the risk of being taken the wrong way I think you seem to be having trouble living up to your screen name - may good be upon you.

Maurie.
 
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#7,635
BadExample said:
I struggle to make up in other ways :D
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Naval aviation guys talk tough because there's no place for second best in that profession, but when no one is looking they have hearts of gold....at least that's my experience in my 40 years in that world. I'm 100% confident that brother Jon earned his current call sign for something other than who he is when the chips are down.
 
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#7,636
Al Kraft said:
Naval aviation guys talk tough because there's no place for second best in that profession, but when no one is looking they have hearts of gold....at least that's my experience in my 40 years in that world. I'm 100% confident that brother Jon earned his current call sign for something other than who he is when the chips are down.
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Wow. That's one hell of a compliment, Al. Especially so coming from such an amazing engineer as yourself.
 
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