Sunday, October 21, 2007

Setting the Stage...

Steve Hettum was the groups manager. He showed up at the end of that first rehearsal. He was none-too-happy about my age, nor was he Mr. Charisma. Steve was the whitest man I've ever met had these pop-out eyes that made you feel like you were looking at cold steel. Billy told him to relax...that we would be unseen for the most part anyway, except on stage.

Steve pulled Candyce and I into another room and reluctantly handed me the show schedule for the month. He glared at me like his head was about to pop. He said I'd make $17.50 a show and announced he was not going to be a babysitter, "Candyce, make sure she goes EVERYWHERE with you...I don't want to EVER see her alone in the clubs." So much for the warm, fuzzy feeling.

Candyce told him I had a car (she didn't drive), and he finally relaxed a little, knowing he wouldn't have play chauffeur for me or have to cram 2 more bodies into the band van. The dude still needed his blood pressure checked though.

The schedule wasn't bad at all...pretty impressive, really. Knowing the little drummer boy, I knew about the clubs: the hard ones to get booked in, the crappy pay-your-dues clubs and the ones no one ever heard of. My debut would be at a new club called, Luis La Bamba.

I also found neither Candyce, nor myself, was the first Goddess a Go Go. The first was Mary who was Alf's (keyboard player) girlfriend. Mary was a model at Jantzen too, which is how Candyce found out about the gig. Alf didn't want Mary interrupting his 'play time'...he wanted to screw around. So after the first few shows, Mary was fired. Here is a picture of Mary and Candyce before I arrived on the scene:



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I picked up Candyce on the way. Luis La Bamba was so freaking cool! It was a restaurant for years called The Medieval Inn...it was a castle in downtown Portland! From the outside, black stone arches set the tone of the dungeon-esque interior. Everything was cobblestone and black rock, with arched passageways and no windows. Downstairs was a great Mexican restaurant and bar. Upstairs was the big bar, a huge dance floor, a nice sized stage and a balcony area for production.



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I gotta backtrack a little. Away at college, I had 3 jobs: one was doing sound and lighting for the Performing Arts Center on an as-needed basis. I had also invested $250 to attend a studio recording class at Recording Associates outside of college. Anyway, I appreciated everything that went on backstage, from the set-up to the sound checks.

I met the roadies that night. I had tons of questions for them and all three were kind to me and very approachable people. I was officially entertained now.

Candyce showed me our risers. They were 4'x4' boxes that had just been built for us, so it would be Candyce's first night on them too . The risers were placed in front of the stage, next to the speakers. My first thought was what a good opportunity I had to bust my ass w/ one wrong step.

We staked our claim to whatever 'dressing area' we could find. We had 2 suitcases of costumes and makeup to make all the change-outs, so we needed quite a bit of room.

Billy and the boys showed up as the first band concluded. Backstage instantly became a hive of activity as the other band gathered their stuff up to leave, and all 7 of us got ready.

Billy handed Candyce and I the song list and told us which songs he wanted us to perform (each set, we were to dance to no more than one or two songs...5-7 per night was tops really). I quickly lost any modesty I had...there was simply no room for that, as we dressed for the first number.

The hive quieted down as Steve went out to the stage to introduce the band. They received respectable and polite applause as the boys ran out to play. Candyce and I warmed up as the first 2 songs rolled off the list...we were to appear on #3.

Go Go Boots was the first song we would perform. As the twangy intro began, we ran through the dark hall, weaved our way through the stage and out onto our risers under the bright stage lights.

The crowd went nuts when we appeared. Billy knew showmanship and had them just where he wanted them. Then, he unleashed the hounds, "Okay folks ...TAKE THIS...this show will give you your money's worth!" It was an unbelievable night...it just intensified with each song...not just the band and the music and the dancing, but the audience and the frenzy and the crowd screaming for more. I was having way too much fun to be nervous and soaking in this mans vision and showmanship.

Here's a sampling of Billys' music...click on the 'listen to all link' to get a run-through of the whole album.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000005BRS/ref=cm_lm_fullview_prod_1/103-466...

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