LOST IN BIG BEND...AND SURVIVING

The Austin American Statesman has the very lucky story of Merritt Myers, who spent several days lost in a very remote area of the Big Bend National Park and survived. For some reason I am unable to cut and paste weblinks right now, as something has been modified on the home computer that is not allowing me paste links. I'll try to pull out the laptop and post a link later, but it's a great story of survival and a long one and worth a read, so you'll have to go to the Statesman site at www.statesman.com and ferret out the story.

I'm so glad Mr. Myers survived, and it details what he did right and what he did wrong. I was very surprised that the article did not include a few suggestions to make survival more likely should a reader end up in his predicament. So I've decided to add a few of my own here.

1. Take a knife and a good pair of gloves
The article mentions that Mr. Myers was able to extract small amounts of moisture from prickly pear cactus, which his mom used to prepare as a child. It also mentions he got hundreds of tiny cactus spines in his hands, legs and ... egads, mouth when extracting moisture from the cactus. It also mentions he had to use a small shovel to slice the cactus so he could chew chunks of it to extract the moisture.

As I'm sure Mr. Myers would agree, having a knife might have made this situation less wearing on his hands, legs and mouth. Also, some sort of small but heavy duty plastic bag in which to pulverize the cactus pieces with a rock to attempt to extract the moisture might have been a good deal. And perhaps a pair of ballistic gloves, the kind made to prevent puntures, might have been helpful in his cactus efforts as well as climbing and handling all sorts of sharp and abrasive rocks in Big Bend.

2. Take a GPS locater with you loaded with the proper maps of the area you will be.

No, not the GPS you bought for $100 for your car to get you to Big Bend, but the kind made for outdoorsman. Thus, not only can you plot your path as you are proceeding, and therefore know where you are at all times, but if you get lost you can use it to backtrack to your original path or to find your way back to a safe area. A common variety is shown in the bottom photo above.

Of course, extra batteries are a must. A GPS is of no use without power. I didn't see a mention that Mr. Myers had a map of the area with him, but since he was lost a map may or may not have helped him find out where he was. In any event, old school tech like a good typo map and a compass are great if the GPS fails. The article mentions he had a compass with him, and that's good, but a map might have helped him locate his position.

3. Rent a satellite phone and/or an Emergency Beacon GPS Locater.

Mr. Myers got lucky. When he took his plunge into a dead end canyon, from which he could nto extricate himself, he wasn't seriously injured. However, had he broken his legs or a hip or his back, he might not have been able to signal help with a fire and with his HELP sign made of rocks. He did have an orange sleeping bag with him, which was an excellent choice to wave at the search helicopter or plane.

A satellite phone is shown in the top picture and an emergency beacon GPS locater is shown underneath. There are many different brands available with many different features.

But for a very reasonable fee one can rent short term a locater beacon that sends out a satellite GPS signal. A bit more expensive but infinitely as valuable would be a satellite phone, to contact rescuers personally. Either device would have been crucial had he been seriously injured and unable to signal rescuers. Again, extra batteries and perhaps one of the solar powered portable roll up panels would be good things to have with these devices.

4. Keep your backcountry plan current with friends, family and the authorities.

Mr. Myers modified his backcountry plan significantly after filing it with park rangers, and did not modify it after he decided to alter his plans. Keep these notifications up to date so rescuers have a basic idea of where you were going so they know where to start looking and more importantly, when to start looking.

I don't mean to second guess Mr. Myers. My Big Bend ramblings have been far less involved than his, but as a younger man I've gotten lost in both East Texas jungles/wildernesses and South Texas deserts on hunting trips. Fortunately, in both cases, I had not only companions and a compass but wasn't nearly as far from civilization as he was and was able to extricate myself fairly quickly.

I'm not a big "go into the wilderness by yourself" kind of guy but I know many folks who are. In this digital GPS day and age, there is no excuse for not carrying a GPS loaded with the proper maps for an area, as well as a rental emergency beacon. Or a knife. Who goes hiking and camping without a knife?

Finally, since the National Parks recently decided to follow the law and allow firearms, another survival topic is why no firearm? Big Bend is loaded with all kinds of critters that can do you harm. Various wild cats, very very large snakes, wild hogs of various types, buzzards and other creatures. A nice S&W airweight revolver weighing less than 12 ounces and chambered in .357 would be a nice friend to have if, while waiting on rescuers, any of these critters decide you'd make a nice meal or you are intruding on their territory.

On a recent visit to the Fort Davis park, during broad daylight in the camping area, we saw several wild mountain lion cubs roaming and looking for snacks. I didn't see momma lion, but I know she was not far away. Although Big Bend is a desert environment, just because man isn't meant to survive there without the proper supplies does not mean wild critters capable of killing you don't live there. Had Mr. Myers had the unfortunate luck to stumble across or into a mountain lions den, and there were cubs involved, it couldn't gotten very ugly and very deadly. Likewise, as the vultures began to circle, had they decided to descend prior to his death or unconsciousness, it would've been nice to shoot a couple of them to give the other vultures something to feed on other than him for awhile. Or for him to have something to eat.

MITCHELL NEPTUNE SALTWATER SPINNING REEL

I just stumbled into a trade for one of these, unfortunately I didn't get the imitation Crown Royale bag or more importantly the extra spool and spool bag, but fortunately it's in like new condition. I troll a bunch of fishing forums, and have A LOT of fishing stuff from my many years of fishing, plus stuff given to me by friends, found at garage sales or stuff I got from my grandfather.

I used to make the rounds of vintage and antique fishing tackle shows, and then with the advent of EBAY I quickly joined and sold many of my garage and estate sale finds there. Although I have not been doing much ebaying lately, it seems ebay is moving back towards being a garage sale instead of the Amazon dot com imitation it had recently become. Thus, I may be doing some selling on ebay in the future again.

But I had a green Garcia Abu Ambassador 6000D (For direct drive, like the commercials used to say) that I had bought with an employee discount in the 70's during a summer job at Kmart. I used it a few times, then stored it back in it's box and although I'd tried to sell it on ebay, I never got what I wanted for it and so still had it.

I saw a post on a forum for someone looking for a reel like the 6000D, and listed a group of reels they were willing to trade. Among the reels listed was the above-pictured Mitchell Neptune, a saltwater reel that is uniquely claimed to be waterproof.

I remember when these came out in 2000 or so and recall I wanted to buy one but never did. Well, I got it in the mail today and it's a beauty. If it has been used, the use has been light. I briefly took it apart and the grease was still on the gears inside. It had none of the even light saltwater crystalization sheen that appears inside reels used in saltwater. I didn't inspect the drag but will later, but suspect it's in the same shape because the line is in very good shape and really, the reel looks like it's been stored out of dust and such because it's clean as a whistle.

It has a rubberized body and a unique bail system, and I'm going to try to try it out in the next couple of weeks.

And if you've got one of these reels, and have a schematic/parts list, I'd love to have a copy. I think there is a site where I can get a copy. OR if'n you've got an extra spool you'd like to get rid of, let me know. Email is in the profile, checked every week or so.

I don't know if mine is the 6500 or the 7500, but it looks to have 25 lb test or so line on it.

The coolest feature about this reel is that the free spool switch is covered in the rubber housing, so you activate it by pressing on the rubber covering it. Very cool. The more places you can prevent sand and salt and salt water from entering a reel, the better. I'm skeptical as to how a spinning reel could prevent water from somehow entering off of the spool via the drag mechanism, but I have an open mind about it as the rest of the reel is pristine.

So if you know anything about these reels, please post. I've found a few threads about them on various fishing sites, but I'm guessing it was discontinued by Mitchell several years ago. Pity. I'd love to have a nice Abu-Matic 290 covered in this rubberized material.

CALIFORNIA CARRY ON FISHING GEAR

The teeny tiny picture of the rod above is the best I could get it from a google image, but the company that sells this rod, the Balzer 120 Travel Edition has the original on their site at PS Fishing. I got it some time ago because we used to take lots of trips to the beach in Mrs. El Fisho's four door mid-sized sedan, that didn't accomodate large two piece rods well with the kiddos and luggage.

It's a reasonably priced rod for the traveler, but I also now would like to have the 9 foot version of that rod. Mine comes in a 6'10", but the rod will fit in my carry on bag (diagonally, but it will fit). It works well with both spining and baitcasting or spincasting reels.

This is the rod that I use for fishing when I'm visiting California in the coastal areas and want to do some pier or surf fishing. Although it could be a bit longer with a bit lighter action for some of the lightweight surf fishing I've done in Santa Monica or Malibu, it does pretty well as a combo rod.

It's got plenty backbone for pier fishing, although again experts recommend a lighter action rod for both surf and pier for the fun of it, being from Texas I'm ever hopeful of landing a whopper off the end of the pier and would be happy to have a rod with some backbone in it to haul my trophy up to the pier.

The main thing is, it fits in my carry on bag, along with a couple of small reels and a small tackle box. These items do tend to raise scrutiny atthe TSA checkpoints, but I have come to expect this. Once they see it, you're on your merry way. I usually just put the small tackle box in a bin with my reels, all in a baggie, and with my liquid toiletries. They look, no big deal.

I've had my rod checked out once, but again, once he looked at it, he said "nice rod, have a good time" and bade me farewell. Same with the reels. No biggie.

I usually carry a Shimano Curado loaded with some kind of great braided line testing about 60 lbs or so. I use a flourocarbon leader with that line. I also carry either a Garcia Abu 290 loaded with 20 lb mono or an ancient Daiwa Silvercast with 15 lb test line. The Daiwa is an amazing reel, and although I've owned several of the same model and type of reel bought at the same time, this one cast twice as far as any excellent quality spin cast reel I've ever owned. It rivals the Curado and my Ambassador 5000 for sheer distance.

I use the Daiwa in the surf, because it just casts so dang far. Most of the folks you see fishing the surf where I do are use light and long rods, with very light mono, so me using 15 lb test is a bit of overkill.

I use the Curado for pier fishing, or when fishing near shore around rocks.

Both of these reels are lightweight, and coupled with this very lightweight rod, it makes for a nice day of fishing. Like anything else using stuff in your hands, like golfing, hunting, fishing, etc, the less weight you have to carry and hold means a more pleasureable outing.

I've got a small shoulder bag that was originally some sort of 6 pack ice chest with a strong shoulder strap that I use for my traveling tackle box. It's got a zipper compartment on top of the lid as well as side zippered compartments for stuff. I keep the weights, small folding pliers (no knife blade) and nippers in baggie in the top of the tackle bag so I can pull them out at screening.

Nothing makes a screener more nervous than seeing a hunk of lead come through the maching in a bag.

The coast in California often gets REAL DEEP REAL FAST, as with that on Florida's Atlantic coast. Not a gradual decline like some Texas beaches. That's great as far as I'm concerned, because it means that it's more likely that fish will be closer to shore with deep water.

I enjoy roaming the beach in California, or fishing from a nice pier on a nice day. The water is blue, and if you get lucky you'll see a whale or lots of sea lions.

I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE...BEACH FRONT

We're not going to the beach this weekend, but surely we will in the next few weeks. In early June at some point, fish will be returning to the Texas surf in droves, particularly big fish like Spanish and King Mackeral and other gamefish. Bait fish and shrimp and the like will be proliferating in large numbers as the waters warm, and the fish food chain will be right behind them.



I'm tempted to take a trip to Harlingen, or more exactly, the Arroyo City area. Fly fishing on the expansive flats of the Arroyo has been good lately, and I've heard tell that some large redfish and mangrove snappers have been caught in it's deeper waters lately. I have a good friend I need to visit in Port Isabel, only a stones throw away, and he's offered the use of the downstairs of his canal side home to us whenever we want to come for a visit.



He says speckled trout fishing can be quite good at times on the canal he lives on, and he has a boat hoisted above the water ready to be deployed for bay fishing action in the Laguna Madre. I know personally from many prior fishing trips to SPI and Port Isabel that fishing on the canals in Port Isabel can be quite good, having spent some long hours in my youth fishing the canals next to a marina that used to be adjacent to a trailer park in the middle of town off of the main drag.



Back in the 70's, our friends Joe and Lena lived and worked in Houston, but Joe ran a seafood business out of Port Isabel and regularly trucked fresh seafood to the high end restaurants in Houston. Joe kept a trailer and a boat in Port Isabel, and spent half of each week there fishing and working. I used to think that old Joe didn't have a very satisfying job, but after thirty years in the workplace I'm now convinced that old Joe had stuff figured out that I could only recently comprehend.



I know Joe made a lot of money, because he lived in a huge house in Champions, had nice cars and the like, and when he passed his child and wife wanted for nothing because they had also saved lots of money. I thought my father, as an attorney, must have a much more exciting life back then. And although I have no regrets about my life and how I've lived it, occupationally and otherwise, I also realize now that life ain't just about working.



Kind of like the fly fishing equipment advertisement I've read in various fishing magazines, which goes something like this: If it were your last day on earth, would you want to spend it at the office?



So Joe had some stuff figured out early on and it took me a long time to get to the same place, despite having him lead by example. I'd fish for hours at the piers or sitting on Joe's boat in the Marina next to the trailer he and his wife owned and kept in Port Aransas for their weekly visits. My folks would be visiting with Joe and Lena, leaving me time to cast net some shrimp and do some speck fishing on hot Texas summer nights.



I desperately want El Fisho Jr. to have some of the same experiences I had in my y0unger days. Then, I'd sit for hours on a summer evening down at the Lower Laguna Madre in one of the few condos that existed in South Padre Island in 1972. Back then, there were just a couple of hotels and a couple of very small condo complexes. There were just a very few places to eat. The large Bahia Mar complex had just opened, but that was back when there were stilt beach houses all over the island instead of mega-hotels and large high rise condos.

I'd catch all kind of fish, being at a lighted pier. I'd catch great game fish like redfish and speckled trout and lots of other interesting fish. I'd get distracted every now and then and get some huge crabs right below the pier, and use those for bait as well.

There are a few places like that left in Texas. They're in isolated bays and on the isolated beaches in places like Matagorda and the Padre Island National Seashore (PINS). Fish are plentiful and nature is as it has been for many years on the Gulf...wild. It's an ever changing landscape and full of critters that you might not think live in the dunes and swamps and coastal lands of both the bay and ocean side of islands and peninsulas.

So I want El Fisho Jr. to keep seeing places like that and to get to fish at wild places like we did in Matagorda a few weeks ago. He loves the outdoors, and it's so nice not to be in a "State Park" environment with rules and regulations and lots of people all around you.

FIRST ALBUMS OF BANDS AND THE PETER PRINCIPLE

There are more than a couple of bands that I really like their first albums. Montrose and Bad Company both had excellent freshman and sophmore efforts, but clearly the first albums excell. They are new. They are excited. They are reaching out in their performances, and they are playing together on these first albums.

Lots of groups had great first albums and then faded into obscurity, either quickly or slowly. Bread was a band that released a killer first album in the early seventies, containing the most excellent tune "Mother Freedom", but the later albums to me were disappointing. Guns and Roses is another example. Appetite for Destruction was awesome, but subsequent efforts fell way short. Or take Janes Addiction. Their first indy album, titled Triple X, was a mostly live effort capturing them in their hungry pre-fame L.A. club days, and it is certainly one of my favorite albums. But thereafter, after they got the record contract, subsequent releases, although good, again felt contrived and over produced and just didn't rock like XXX did. And likewise with other artists.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, like almost every rule.

The Beatles. The Stones. The Who. The Yardbirds. John Mayall and the Blues Breakers. Led Zeppelin. The list goes on and on of super groups and artists that arguably had their "best" album(s) later in their career, although usually great debates occur with fans as to which album is truly the greatest.

I'll think of some other First Album Bands I know of and list them in an edit here, and as always you're always welcome to comment and make me smarter.

FAVORITE LED ZEPPELIN SONG

That's kind of like asking which hundred dollar bill I'd like to have, from a stack of them in your hand. Or like when The Princess discusses her boyfriend de jour. It changes frequently, often depending on which Zeppelin song I'm listening to at the time.

Right now, I'm thinking that Trampled Underfoot might be my favorite LZ song. Yesterday, and on many prior occasions, I've been convinced it was SIBLY. Or Kashmir. Or Going to California.

And so on.

That's the power of music with a band that speaks to you. I don't care if it's Russian Polka music, if it talks to you, it talks to you. Music soothes the savage beast, I have long found, and back in the days of the hour long commute each day to work, I used to pick with care every few days appropriate selections for the round trip.

I enjoyed epic double albums (CD's really, but I'm getting old and set in my ways) like the Drive By Truckers "Southern Opera". It was perfect for a round trip two-fer. By the time I got home, I had been entertained, done some thinking about the lyrics, and in the process I had relaxed greatly from an often high stress job.

So I was thinking today how little I've posted about Led Zeppelin and it's members, as a band and individually. And I guess that's gonna have to change. It's nice to find other people out there who are intelligent, not crazy and who "get" certain kinds of music with whom you can critically (with hopefully some tawdry gossip thrown in) discuss music and something other than the fucked up politics of the world where we live. And messed up economy. And messed up environment. And so on.

And you learn things you didn't think about before. For example, I had always known that the Sub-Saharan and Morrocan regions provided early inspiration for Page and Plant as they began to make some money and could travel early in their career. I know they took a "fact finding" expedition to those areas to listen and absorb and learn how to play those unique rhythms and different instruments. I've heard they both spent some time becoming familiar, but perhaps not proficient, with certain instruments as later come to play in their music, particularly in their post-zeppelin careers, both individually and together.

But I had never thought of the Welsh and Celtic connections and allusions in their music, and of the many legends that go along with those cultures and related cultures. I knew about them, I just never connected the dots. Sometimes I can be so clueless about something like that which should be obvious, as I've always been real observant and good at seeing the big and little picture.

So along with thinking about that instead of the Dow Jones or the Market or Greece or any of the other myriad of potentially life changing events for the rest of the world, I think it's much more relaxing and indeed, personally productive to think about Led Zep instead of impending disaster on numerous fronts. Keep posted on the news, yes, but don't get hooked on the CNN live feed. Or so I say.

So I like to think about things like surf fishing or fishing for golden trout in the small creeks of the Eastern Sierra Mountains in California. Or my favorite Led Zeppelin song.

Today, as I said above, my favorite LZ song is Trampled Underfoot. In sort of a trifecta, I decided today to compliment this choice, thus my favorite album side was side 2 from Physical Grafitti, which includes the above favorite song as well as Kasmir and Houses of the Holy. Unsurprisingly, Physical Grafitti is currently in my car player and ranks as favorite album at this time.

The favorite live CD I've ever heard of Zeppelin arose from a very well recorded show in 1969 in Dallas, Texas. It was about a 45 or 50 minute opening set, but everything came through crystal clear and it's a real good live recording. They were just on the cusp of fame and fortune but at that time they were still Hon-Gray and hyped up on the excitement of the sudden rush of fame.

John Bonham had just received his first set of Ludwig Drums as an endorser, thanks to Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice. The big natural finish Maple kit. Legend has it that Bonham's kit included twin bass drums like Appice's, but that at the first rehearsal with them, Page insisted that he cut down to one bass drum. As I recall, Bonham was using twin medium sized congos where he would later position a tympani drum.

Bonham was loyal as a dog to Ludwig and Paiste cymbals. I admire loyalty. There were tons of drum companies will to drop LARGE dollars on Bonham back then if he'd switch, but he was loyal. According to legendary drummer Jim Keltner (studio great, Joe Cocker Mad Dogs and Englishmen and solo albums by Ringo, Lennon and Harrison over the years), he once was able to "tap" on Bonzo's drums on stage before a gig. To his great surprise, the HUGE drums Bonham played were tuned way up high, like jazz drums. Keltner thought the drums must be waiting to be tuned, for there was no way those drums could belt out Bonzo's signature thumps.

Keltner will tell you in the same breath that he was dead wrong. The drums had been tuned, very much to John Henry's liking. He came out to start the show, made a few minor adjustments and then low and behold, Bonham's signature deep sound was coming out of those tinny, high-pitched drums. To this day, Keltner will tell you he doesn't know how that happened, that Bonzo could get "that sound" out of those high pitched drums.

And such is another tidbit of history about Led Zep. And I submit, that the history and back story behind the makers of that music that takes you away or really moves you is as important as any other history about any other subject. As mentioned above, particularly in these turbulent times.

Led Zep made their own path, and plowed their own roads. Few had been where Zep would go, and really few bands are as revered 30 years after they ended, save for a few of their contemporaries and predecessors like the Rolling Stones. I regret that I didn't get to see them at O2, and wonder when that DVD they recorded of the O2 show is going to be released.

Even more than that regret, I *really really really really* regret in the mid-70's taking a date to see some top 40 artist whose name I've long forgotten in a concert that she just had to see. At the last minute, I got offered a chance to go see Led Zeppelin in the Summit. I foolishly chose to please the date and take her to the promised show, thinking I'd have the chance to catch Zep in the future. That was the last time they came through Houston.

But thanks to the release of How The West Was Won a few years back, with a nice TV you can at least see the boys in action better than in the movie they made in the 70's. I also admit a certain fondness for the NO QUARTER project that Page and Plant did. The DVD is excellent, and features the late, great Michael Lee on drums, playing a massive marching snare with a Bonham sized kit. And just rocking those drums like nobody's bidness.

The Led Zeppelin Unplugged MTV show DVD is also one of my favorites. It's different, but like No Quarter, it's cool as hell and it rocks.

An essential part of a desert island music list would include the Zep's BBC LIVE 2 CD set. As with the BBC Live sets by Hendrix and Rory Gallagher, this one catches them fairly early in their career, well into their classic material but still lean and mean.

Now as I've been writing this, I've been thinking of some of my OTHER favorite songs by Zep. But I remain steadfastly resolute in my resolve not to change the above choices of my favorite Zep selections.

Until next week. I promise.

WHERE IS SINGER-SONGWRITER-GUITARIST ELIZABETH WHITE? OR THE STORY OF 2003

2003 was a banner year musically for me. I was playing all over town, both with old friends and new friends, and had not played that much in six or seven years. It was damn magical, both in the content of the music and in the folks I worked with, and I'm glad I captured the gigs and rehearsals on digital audio tape (DAT) for later transfer to CD.

1988 and 1993 were other banner years for me musically, but I'll save that for another post.

But the point is, that in my life there have been a couple of periods where the music was magical and the gigs were plentiful and I got to do lots and lots and lots of playing. The kind of drumming that just elates you to a different level of existence, if that makes any sense. Some people get that elation from fishing, from motorcycle riding and many other activities.

It just happened, but I had put in hard work and networking and supporting other musicians and acts and helping folks whenever I could. But the result was after some months of semi-regular activities, the gigs and opportunities came from all directions. I was in a position to be able to pursue most of them, and thanks to an understanding family and bride I got to "ride that wave" until it crashed ashore.

Of course, I was playing several times a year with old friends Billy Ray and Ricky Ray. We'd meet up at a friend's place on Lake Fork on an isolated large Ranch that fronted a nice cove of the lake and write songs and play old favorites for several days. This has been going on since the late 80's and is always fun and we always end up writing some great songs, or at least songs we think are great.


I had gotten back together with some folks I went to high school with and who had all played in bands back then. After being asked to do so by the reunion committee, we formed a band to play our high school reunion. We learned all the songs that were popular back in the day, heavy on The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, Led Zeppelin, The Stones and the like. We all pretty much knew most of the songs already just by having heard them on the radio a zillion times, and we were blessed to have a pro player in our midst.

Robert and I had played in bands beginning in 9th grade. Even then, he was a scary good guitarist. So good that we all knew he'd be famous someday, and he is. He went to North Texas State and got his music degree then moved to Hollywood and went to the famous G.I.T. (Guitar Institute of Technology) and was so good as a student there that he became a teacher as soon as he graduated. He began doing studio work (where the Union bucks are) and casual gigs all over the So Cal area. He would fly in for visits with his folks, and about a year and a half before the reunion we began rehearsing together as a band every six months. In his spare time, he writes music books for major publishers and is quite well known as a great guitarist.

Rev Johnnie was a traveling man occupationally, and handled lead vocals, keyboards and second guitar. He and I had been good friends in high school, but never played in the same band together, although we had both been playing all over Houston in the years since high school and knew many of the same folks. He was big friends with Robert then and now, and learned to play guitar from Robert. He often went to L.A., and he and Robert began doing Starbucks guitar duo gigs to get a groove going between them. Our high school friends Rick and Stan booked the reunion gig and handled details and doing the PR work.

Robert's brother Quint was an excellent bassist, having played with various large church bands in Houston as well as tons of other bands. He was a world class bassist and as far as I could tell, he never made a mistake or dropped a note. And I recorded the gig and rehearsals and listened to the playback. I had never played with him either but he too had been playing since high school. He's the kind of pro bassist that makes anyone playing with him sound muey excellanto.

So we had three guys that had been gigging fairly regularly since high school and one pro from L.A. for the band. We sounded good, damn good, and the gig came off even better than any of us expected. It was a great gig. We did another gig that year and a follow up gig the next year, but none had the same magic and pizazz that the reunion gig had. All of us are, of course, still playing. We only practiced about 3 times over a year and a half period since we lived all over the place, but our active playing skills and the ability to practice on our own as well made it happen.

I also played that year with a blues cover band, the unfortunately named Drivin' Wheel. Two nice architects that had been playing together since their college days and I covered a very cool list of great tunes from Texas bluesmen like Doyle Bramhall III, Arc Angels and Storyville. Unfortunately, after half a year of working up our three sets, I could not get these guys to gig, despite me lining up a party gig for us. The final straw was when the bassist showed up to a practice with a leather hats and shirt, and they wanted me and the guitarist to get one too. That was that.

While working up the high school reunion band the year before, Rev. Johnnie had introduced me to a band called Polyhollidaise. They named themselves after character actress Polly Holliday, who is best known for her role as "Flo" on the 70's sit com "Alice". Don't ask me why because I don't know why they chose to honor her.

They were a bunch of college degreed tech geeks working for big oil in Houston, but again had played together since college. They were 10 years younger than me, but played a lot of songs that predated their birth. Cool songs. They were a party band and had a good following. Their drummer got shipped off to Europe for a year by Shell, and I stepped in to play some very fun gigs for them. We even played at Mardi Gras in Galveston, and that was a hoot. That gig lasted for a year, until the drummer came back, and we did several parties and even a gig at Grif's Sports Bar in Montrose. Big fun.

I did some substitute drumming gigs for a drummer recovering from rotor cuff problems in a band called The Bill Hendricks Experience. Funny, huh? It was corny but the band was tight and full of great players, playing blues standards. One great lead guitarist, a great vocalist/lead guitarist in the namesake of the band, a very talented bassist and a stunningly talented keyboardist with an eye for the ladies made this a fun outfit to play the Clear Lake area in mostly outdoor gigs.

I even branched out on my own booking gigs for friends who needed bands and did some wedding and party gigs with my dear old Houston blues playing friends like Little Screamin' Kenny, Dogman Miller, Skiles Kelley on guitar and the infamous Woody Oakes on bass. We'd all played together at one time or another and knew the original and cover material of the three guitarists very well. Little Screamin' came up for a great name for us while we were doing a wedding gig...THE SONS OF CUPID. It stuck, and no matter how the above named personnel rotated, we called ourselves The Sons of Cupid. I had a great time playing with all those folks, all of which I'd been playing with from the early to mid 80's, and it was indeed as Little Screamin' leaned over and said to me one night, it was just like old times.

Little Screamin' was the lead singer and has a ton of great originals, as did Skiles and Dogman. We had all played some decade before in the house band at Dan Electro's and we had all sat in with each others bands all over town for more than ten years. at one time or another, all of us had been in bands with the others. So we didn't need any rehearsal or even songlists at the gig. Little Screamin' would just call out numbers and we'd just tear into them.


I listen to the CD's I've made of these gigs and am glad I recorded them. All of them are very special and of course, the music brings back snapshots and videos in my mind of some of the moments from those gigs. My, My. How time flies. One CD I always enjoy listing to is the original music of Elizabeth White, who used to live in Sugar Land.

It was a one-off showcase gig as a backing band for Elizabeth White, doing her material which I liked a lot. From California originally and a horse trainer by trade, she had moved to Sugar Land after she met her partner on the internet and self-recorded a very nice CD with some strong folk-blues-rock originals. Pretty rocking originals with great lyrics and some great tunes.

The CD had been done in a pro studio and featured some very talented cats playing on it. It made a good practice tool since we never really ever rehearsed together as a band, and I was able to chart out the drum parts by transcribing the music on her cd. We varied a bit at the gig from the CD arrangements, with a little longer or shorter guitar solo here and there, but it was easy to follow and no one stumbled.

I recruited a bassist I had played with recently in an R&B fusion band called Voi-ij (get it, Voyage?). I didn't, and left after a few rehearsals. Despite having some good players, that band was all show and no go. But I met Lisa in that band and we played well together and so she was on board. Lisa could rock a fretless precision bass like nobody's bidness, and played loud and clear and strong.

The lead guitarist, the single named "KAT", was someone that I didn't know before and haven't seen since, but she was blazing. Playing a strat and a solid state Roland Jazz Chorus Amp, she was getting some of the most incredible Clapton-esque tones out of that Strat.

I was amazed not only at Kat's inspired playing but at the great sound of what I never thought could be a blues rock amp. Kat showed up at the gig with her rig (no pedals btw), and off we went and played and blazed and then she loaded up and off she went. Wish I knew who she was because she could play some blazing solos that to me really sounded derivative but not copy-cat of Clapton. Just righteous.

Lisa and I did a brief run-through of a forty minute set at Elizabeth's home, but the lack of a PA made that sort of an instrumental effort only. Kat never made the rehearsal, but Lisa and I had rehearsed with the CD we had and Kat had played with Elizabeth before, so when we hit the stage at the Rhythm Room on Washington we didn't know what might happen.

But happen it did. We sounded great. We had a great soundman and the drums were well miked and everyone was in sync as if we'd played a hundred times together. I have the CD to prove it from a great soundboard mix.

Elizabeth White played acoustic rhythm guitar and sang. There were no backing vocals, but she sang so well and soulfully that the band didn't need them.

The gig was a showcase for an outfit called Go Girls Rock!, run by the then-partner of Elizabeth. I forget the name of the woman running the show, but she had built a pretty nice niche for herself sponsoring shows and working with female artists to help them get record deals. There were some fairly big west coast names associated with the outfit and gigging at their shows.

After that, I spoke to Elizabeth a few times and then she disappeared. Her relationship ended and she moved somewhere and that was the last I heard of her. For awhile, there was a link to her CD and an email for her on the GO GIRLS ROCK website, but I think that's gone now. In any event, she never responded to any of the emails I sent to her over the years at the addresses I had for her.

I keep up with most everyone I've ever played music with in Houston or Austin. Not all, of course, as some moved on and some were strange, but those longtime friendships continue with the cats I've jammed and played music with over the last near 40 years, since childhood. Unfortunately, some are dead as well. As time goes on, I realize...sorry Chicago...I realize that life can be so fleeting. There's so many good folks I played with who have passed on (and very few were drug or alcohol related, btw, most were cancer or other dread disease striking otherwise very healthy, non-drinking and non-smoking people).

But I never heard from Elizabeth White after she moved on from her relationship. I talked to her fairly regularly after the gig we had, and we had plans to do more playing, then her problems began and she moved out and disappeared.

So if you know Elizabeth White, or if you are Elizabeth White, the singer-songwriter-guitarist that I did a great and fun gig with in Houston back in June of 2003, I'd love to hear how she's doing. I surely hope she's doing well and still playing music, as she had a great talent. I have the master DAT tape from that gig that she wanted, but we just never got together for me to give it to her. I know she got copies of the cd dubbed from the DAT original, but I figure it was her music and one day she might like to get that gig mastered from the DAT and put out a live CD of her Houston years. It was a rocking band, after all.