Fridays are always casual dress days at work. That's a good thing because I'm what you'd call a jeans and a t-shirt kind of guy. Although I'd been out for a few weeks, work this week was pretty much what it's always been, although I forgot a password or two there at first. Otherwise it was same ol', same ol'.
Jeanne had the kids and all the stuff that goes with them loaded in the car when she picked me up at work at 5:30. We were on the interstate in no time and headed toward Knoxville. It's been nearly two months since I was there last, and I've been missing it. Tuesday I had spoken with Mark, the former Long Branch bartender. Mark now lives in Nashville and tends bar at a place very similar in nature to the Long Branch, but it's called the Springwater. Anyway, Mark said the old Long Branch has gone through some more changes lately, this time for the better.
If you recall, I had said that the Long Branch had taken on a new breed of regulars since the good old days when I used to hang out there. In came a new wave of youngsters with baggy pants and drug habbits. The pants I don't mind, but these kids came in threatening to kick everyone's ass, usually high on cocaine or heroine or crack or something. Well, since I've been in Nashville, it seems that it hit a point where all the old regulars stopped coming in and it became widely known that you could buy drugs there. I overheard what I thought to be a drug deal one night. That was months ago, and it seems to have gotten much worse since then. As I understand it, It got so out of hand that a local bi-weekly newspaper, Metro Pulse, mentioned in an artcle that you could get heroin, crack, and coke at the Long Branch. The next day, The owner fired the primary bartender who allegedly allowed these things to go on, or at least didn't seem to try and stop them from happening. He had to have either known about what was going on in there, or he SHOULD have. Regardless, he's unemployed now. So now the primary barkeep is Todd, who was working there just parttime when I moved. Check out my Guided Tour of the Long Branch Saloon to leard more about the Todd, and the 'Branch in general.
So Jeanne and I drive into Knoxville. As we get into town, Mike calls me on te cell phone to see where we are. I told him we were just getting there, and he told me to high-tail it on over to his house, that he, Brian, Shasta (Brian's girlfriend) and Ted were there now and J.J. and Jack were en route. I told him I was running by my parents house and I would be there after I unloaded the car and got the kids in bed. Then I called Jack who agreed to come to my dad's and pick me up.
I got over to Mike and Brian's house where I was flooded with questions concerning my past two months. I explained answers to each one to the best of my ability, and then gave everyone a status report on our move back to Knoxville. I told them about my interview with HGTV next Friday, and showed them the houses we planned to view on Saturday. I enjoyed a few beers with the boys, like I had never left town in the first place. Life is good. Jack wanted me to hear the master CD from the new Wicked Cow People material. Jack was the engineer, and he tracked, mastered and produced this demo. J.J.'s band had been working on this EP for months. I was glad to hear the final product. Jack as well as the four members of the band all deserve a hand. It kicks ass. I begged Jack to borrow the CD so I could bring it back home and burn a copy, but that didn't happen. I settled for a cassette copy.
After a while, J.J. never showed up, and Ted and Jack were both getting ready to leave. I decided that I'd split as well. I wanted to check out the Long Branch for myself. Ted volunteered to drop me off there. The others didn't want me to go, and couldn't seem to convince me that it was a waste of my time. Go figure. So off I went to the Long Branch.
Ted dropped me off in front of the Branch, and as usual, Gary was standing outside, beer in hand, wearing his signature big-ass-grin. I spoke with him a while, showed him picture of the new baby and went inside for a while to see who else was around. I saw a few familiar faces, and it seemed like the drug days I had heard about had never happened. I had a beer or two and headed down to Moose's Music Hall to find Justin, whom I knew would be working. While I was there, I ran into a couple of guys I used to work with when I did stage and sound work. I hadn't seen them in some time. I told them that I had already spokenwith our old boss about doing some stage work from time to time once I get back in town. I'm lined up to work the KISS concert at the end of April. There's also a Red Hot Chili Peppers / Foo Fighters show coming up, and then you have the summer concert series on the lawn of the World's Fair Site. I can't wait for that.
See, instead of paying fifty dollars for a ticket to a concert, I get there about 7AM and unload the trucks, set up the stage, sound and lights, then I'm off work until after the show. If we want, we can watch the show from the lobby an aisle, or backstage. We always get an all-access backstage pass, and usually a tour t-shirt with the band's logo and the word "CREW" on it somewhere. From the years past that I've done this, I've got quite an impressive collection of backstage passes. I've worked with Elton John, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, "The Artist," and many, many more. I can't wait to add KISS to that distinguished list.
After talkin to them for a while, I went back to Gary's where I sacked out on his couch. It had been a long fun-filled evening.
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Page Last Updated: April 2, 2000
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