Month: August 2020

I Caved

For a few years in the late 1970s, I worked full-time with an Alabama cover band with my friend and mentor Bobby D. We played regularly at hotel bars in several states, usually six nights per week. We once had a multi-week gig at a Fairmont, West Virginia hotel lounge. On a Sunday (our free day), we visited Laurel Caverns in nearby Pennsylvania.
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Thin Crust

In the early 1970s, I worked at a pizza restaurant in Auburn, Alabama. During a slow work night, I was the only employee working other than the delivery person. I would take orders and then prepare them. A man came in and was the rudest customer I’d ever met. I had trouble taking his order as he snapped at me. He had an attitude, and I didn’t know why. I held my tongue as he ordered a pizza, paid, and entered the dining room.
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That’s How Strong My Love Is

Early in the 21st century, I played guitar with an unnamed Auburn, Alabama band for a wedding reception. The bride had requested we play the classic Otis Redding song “That’s How Strong My Love Is” for the bride and groom dance. The bandleader/singer sent a YouTube link of the song to all band members and asked that we learn the tune in the original key. We planned to run through the song at soundcheck, an hour or so before the event began. No problem, the band is talented, and we’ve successfully learned tunes like this many times before.
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