Tales From The Road

Is That Stevie Wonder?

I was playing a gig with Kirk Whalum in LA. It was a benefit concert for a church in the area. I was already freaked out because of who was in the band! Smokin' players in the band, and then me.

Well, as we were playing, I look up and notice a man walking down the stairs of the ballroom we were in. He had an entourage around him. He got a little closer and I thought to myself, "That cat looks a lot like Stevie Wonder!" My man had braids, shades AND he was holding on to another guys arm. "Oh yeah! That's Stevie Wonder!" I thought to myself. I turn to the drummer and say, "Dude! Stevie Wonder is sitting right over there!!!" Now we're both freaking out!!!

So we start the next tune. We get down to the chorus or so and I glance over to see if Stevie is doing his famous head bob/weave. You know, see if he's diggin' the music. He was gone! "He just got here! Where did he go?"

The song ends and Kirk starts talking about an old friend. All of the sudden I hear the audience gasp. Mr. Stevie Wonder is standing next to my bass amp with a mic and a harmonica! My life flashed before my eyes!

I grew up in the 70's. Stevie Wonder was/is probably the main reason I play music today! You see people cry and faint when they see the Beatles or Michael Jackson. Well, my knees were getting weak! Stevie began to speak about his friend Kirk Whalum and then he spoke about the church and it's pastor. It was like one of those award show acceptance speeches. You remember, the speeches that were always too long. They had to cut him off with the music as they went to commercial!

We weren't about to cut him off this time! I just stood there and stared at him. Like a lost puppy dog. All those nights I stayed up past my bedtime to see him perform on the American Music Awards. Just to see what he was going to wear on the Grammy's, all of that was flashing before me!

THEN, he sang. An old hymn! Just he and Kirk. My, my, my... INCREDIBLE!!! Then we played a song and Stevie took the most incredible harmonica solo! WOW!! What talent!!! We finished that song, and as I wiped the drool from my chin and all of the sudden, Billy Preston jumps up on stage and starts playing B-3! W'sup with that!!!??? I can only take so much!!!

You know how you get that goofy grin on your face? You know the one! When you're a kid and your dad comes home and says, "Hey, let's go to YOUR favorite restaurant and a movie tonight!" You're so excited you can't even breath, but you're trying to stay cool at the same time. Well that was me thinking, "What am I doing? I'm standing here, there's Stevie Wonder, AND Billy Preston! And we're jammin' together!"

A very cool moment for me...

At another gig with Kirk in Memphis. Again the band was incredible and it was messin' with my brain! George Duke on keys, Chester Thompson on drums, Kirk playing sax and a whole slew of all star singers! One of which was Michael McDonald. Ok, so I'm set up in between George and Chester. Michael walks in and begins to tell George about a new arrangement of "Taking it to the Streets". So I'm listening to Michael as he sings through the song to get his place. "You don't know me but I'm you're bruuuuthaaaaaa'....." I started laughing! Michael looks and me as if to say, "what?"

Now, do you know how many people TRY to imitate that man's voice? Do you realize how many times in a day you've heard his voice? Turn on any one of those radio stations, "hits from the 80's, 90's, and Today" and I guarantee that you'll hear his voice singing leads, duets, background vocals probably twice every hour of the day!

So I'm laughing because it's HIM! It's the REAL Michael McDonald! Singing a Doobie Brothers song!!! Standing right there in front of me!!!

He's one of the nicest people on earth too!

THIS WILL make you laugh!

After we moved to Nashville, my wife and I both worked for a temp agency. We were very new to the area and no one really knew of me or my playing. So we had to do something to make ends meat.

We were working together at Davis-Kidd bookstore. I was stocking some shelves when I noticed a woman walk by. You know that feeling you get when someone is watching you? Well, it was weird. I mean, I could feel this woman staring at me. I turned around and said, "Hi." She replied and walked away. Not more than two minutes had gone by and she came back. "Hey, have you ever modeled before?" "Uhh....no." I said.

She explained, "Look, I've got a photo session on Saturday that I think you'd be great for. It's in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It pays $65 an hour with a minimum of two hours of work. Can you do it?" I was like, ".....uh, uh, uh, $65 per hour!?!? YEAH I can do it!"

She started giving me her contact information and what I needed to do. I couldn't get a word in edge-wise. Then finally I said, "Who am I modeling for?" "Fruit-of-the-Loom", she said. She kept going with all the other information. In my mind I'm thinking to myself, "Hmmm, Fruit-of-the-Loom is a company that makes underwear. What is this woman doing, telling me that I'm going to model underwear? OK, where's the hidden cameras?"

Well, it was all legit! Lisa and I drove about an hour up to Bowling Green to the FOTL headquarters. I sat in a room with 12 other men. All different ages, sizes and backgrounds. A woman walks in with a huge box and starts yelling, "You! What size? You over there! What size?!" She starts throwing underwear at each of us.

Another woman walks in with a camera and yet another with a clip board. The "main" woman, she was the type that you see on tv. The type that would be in a Hollywood drama. Business suit, glasses, hair in a bun, but you know that she really could be an actress or model. Really pretty lady.

So again, my mind is saying, "Dude, there's got to be someone of male persuasion that's going to come in here and help out with this. Right? I mean, are we all going to walk around in our underwear in front of these three women?"

"Here's the deal." The main woman explains. We have a new line of underwear and we need to get some different opinions on fit, style, look, etc etc. I'm going to give you three different pairs to try on. One is a brand new brief. One is the same brief, but has been washed once. And the last one is the new version. Tell us what you think of each. AND OH! We'll be taking pictures and notes of your comments." As we all started to laugh about that, she chimed in and said, "Don't worry, the photos are from the waist down. No one will know who you are."

My wife started to laugh! I don't know that I've ever seen her laugh that hard. Of course she had to leave the room, but I think the comic factor for her was worth the ride itself! The Lord really does have a great sense of humor!

It was weird being in a conference room with 12 other guys. All sitting around in our underwear. Some shy, still having their shirts and jackets on. Covering as much as possible. Others just as free as they were when they entered the world from the womb.

So I'm standing there. In a pair of briefs, that really don't fit right anyway. The "main" woman is standing next too me, another is kneeling taking pictures of me and another is taking notes. The main lady asks me, "So, how does the waistband feel?" "Ok, what about the bands around the legs?" as she reaches and pulls at them with a couple of fingers. I said, "OH, HEY, YEAH, just fine there lady! These feel alright, I guess." Meanwhile, the other one is snapping pictures like it's the last roll of film on the planet. And the other lady is writing down everything I say.

I'd like to think that those pictures would be interesting enough to be on the web somewhere. AW, I doubt it! HAHA! That would be a scary thought!

Who knows! Maybe I could be America's Next Top Model! Does anyone know how I can get a hold of Tyra Banks? JUST KIDDING!!!

I was working with Take 6 at the time. We got a call to play the Tonight Show. My wife wanted to come along so we bought an extra plane ticket and off we went! We went to the set/studio for the taping of the show. Do our little sound check etc etc. We had plenty of time to just hang out. After sound check, my wife and I just walked around the set. It's so much smaller than it looks on tv. It's amazing how they do that stuff!

Now this was several years ago and at that time, both of us were WAY into the soap opera Days of Our Lives. We knew/know ALL the characters! Bo, Hope, Brady, Marlena etc etc. Anyway, they tape that show on the same lot as the Tonight Show. We found that out and FREAKED!!! We just knew we were going to see some stars!!!

So, after sound check, we walked around, hung out, etc etc. We went too the NBC cafeteria/commissary and had some lunch. We sat and watched and the actress who plays Hope walked in. Grandpa Brady walked in. A few others that we recognized came in too. THEN, Deidre Hall walked in with a friend. She's probably the most famous from that show. She plays a character named Marlena. Like I said, this was years ago and at that time, Marlena was possessed. (on the show of course) My wife and I had really stopped watching it because we felt it was getting a little goofy with that possession thing. Anyway, we're having lunch and giggling with each other. "Oh my gosh! There's so and so! He's so much shorter in real life!" my wife would say. It was funny now that I look back on it.

It came time for us to go back and tape the show. As we got up to leave, we noticed that Deidre and her friend got up to leave too. So we paced ourselves so we could see her close up. (We're so crazy!) As we're standing near the door, Deidre walks by us. "Ms. Hall?" My wife says. She turns to acknowledge us. "We watch your show everyday! We love it! We're sorry that you're possessed right now though." My wife says. I'm laughing in my heart because my wife is really outgoing, not shy at all. But you should've heard her voice that day! Makes me smile even now!!! Ms. Hall said, "Well, you just keep watching. Things will get better." As she walked away, my wife and I went back and forth like two teens at an N'Sync concert, "I can't believe you said that!!! Do you think she thinks we're stupid? Why did you say possessed? Are you crazy or something?"

HAHAH!!! funny stuff!!!

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