Root Note Pleads the Fifth
Story by Hung One On – Mystery Digital Mischievist
Hi, Hung here.
Don’t you just love it h,h,h, anyway me and young hph (another h, all I need is Helvi or Huffed Holive J) have been talking about music over at The Muse page here at the Arms, the page I originally set up for music as The Dot was starting to slow down. At the time me and Mikey thought it may be due to all the links we were all posting so I set up The Clip, The Muse, The Comma and The Link to take our posts into categories.
Hph was interested to know that I was musical so I thought you may want to know about what is was like to be in a “band”.
When I was a kid growing up in Austinmer, as you know from my Christmas story, I didn’t mention one of my real sisters. Her name is Clare. Clare’s boyfriend now husband was a drummer and he taught me how to play the drums. I then went to the guitar and then finally to the bass guitar. Now I was good but never great, although some said I was a fantastic blues guitarist and the last band I played in was called Ambush. We played pub rock seventies music. Heres out first bracket, not in any real order and I am struggling to remember them all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbG6M28UkFg
Tom Petty – Breakdown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lFxGBB4UGU
Van Morrison – Moondance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Fs5GrUBwI
Steely Dan – Do it Again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRufMP1HCS8
Dire Straits – Down to the Waterline
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCLXy-vSu3o
ZZ Top – Tush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fafCCsb6jzc
Roy Buchanan – Further on up the Road
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3JsuWz4xWc
Jimi Hendrix- Hey Joe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTwsbKYaoY0
Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B0Y3LUqr1Q
Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGBuQoDt4G8
Jimi Hendrix – Fire
Now let me tell you. Being in a band is crap. We got $85 each a gig. I would leave home at four in the afternoon and get home at two in the morning. This is sweatshop wages. Rehearse Friday nights and one big lesson I learnt. Never introduce a song to the band that you really like. The reason is by the time you have perfected it you will hate it. Play songs for the audience not yourself. In my song list there are several examples of this. More later.
Groupies – Not when you are big, fat, married.
Drugs – heaps and heaps but you couldn’t take any and any way apart from a few whiskeys to settle the nerves you couldn’t afford to take drugs, you have to stay alert, you need to know how to play around 50 songs, people would steal your equipment and you had to drive home.
So why did I do it? – Simple, you can sit at home and play Stairway to Heaven perfectly to the cat, dog and TV set however playing in a band made you play to a certain level. The song had to be right, as close as to the original that you could get. When I retired from the band scene I found it really difficult to play a song out on the back patio as I would need to get it right. From time to time I pick the guitar up but honestly I really can’t get into it any more.
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
Good story.
It brings back memories. As you know from something that I wrote years ago, I bought Mitch Mitchell’s drums.
Woke all of the neighbours, but could never be any good. Realised it and sold them for 35 quid.
I also empathise with your wages. When I had the nightclubs, we paid ‘Supertramp’ a percentage of the door takings.
It only amounted to approx 40 pounds, because they were still up and coming.
I worshipped them, but my partner was a jazz musician (tenor sax), so I had to persuade him to get the groups in to get a younger crowd in……………………it worked in the end.
LikeLike
Wow Jules 35 pound for Mitch Mitchell’s drums, wonder what they would be worth now. What was the bass players name? He was really a guitarist but boy he knew how to back Jimmy.
LikeLike
I only paid 15 quid!!
I was working at Heatrow Airport at the time (a civil servant, chuckle), and knew someone who knew that he was selling them.
The bass player with the funny hair, was Noel Redding. I saw them live..From a distance. I didn’t know them and never met Mitchell. I picked the drums up from his house, but he wasn’t there. He may have been with Georgi Fame then ..Can’t remember.
LikeLike
Yeah, Noel Redding, stellar player
LikeLike
Oh and still listen to Supertramp today, Crime of the Century is my favourite but I do like most of it, Indelibly Stamped probably next.
LikeLike
This is great to have a story that you and your mates ‘got the band together’. Thank you for it, Hung. Keep cool, Hung.
LikeLike
Hello, Sandshoe… can’t go to sleep in this heat ?
I can’t either:)
LikeLike
We is just warming up hph
LikeLike
we was too just warming up..
LikeLike
Thanks shoe. I will be explaining how the band connected in my next exciting episode but thank you. 🙂
LikeLike
this is of course 🙂 the synopsis of how the rock star Hung found out about drums in Austinmer and as well flipped over getting together with good mates and a guitar to make noise that came out orright. Looking forward to how the connections were made thank you. 🙂
LikeLike
I was thinking what amazing things you can do with photoshop Hung.
Pub music was all the go once then the nimbys moved in, wrecked for all. Good choice of tunes and a bit of Van thrown in.
LikeLike
I was just about to ask him if that’s him in the photo, then I saw your comment, Algernon.
(Well, Hung, is that you in the photo?) I don’t think it is enhanced, Algernon. Looks natural to me. I will comment more after he provides the answer 😉
LikeLike
Warrigal is a genius, the face is mine but the body hasn’t looked like that for 30 years. Nice bass by the way.
LikeLike
Who is Warrigal, Hung? …a student of Victor Frankenstein ?
🙂
LikeLike
Warrigal once frequented these pages but does so rarely now and for what I am not sure. Warrigal is a master at using digital photos to create something brand new. He does have his own room here at the Arms and for a good read try his Mongrel and the Runt stories, just magic. Warrigal also did the artwork for my Father O’Way series that I made Mike delete when I was really pissed off with him plus life the universe and everything.
LikeLike
the music is coming through very well Hung One. The girl with the finger nails all red. Was she a frisky groupie or looking for her didgeridoo.?
I tried my hand at the piano some years ago, took many lessons but I was hopeless.
LikeLike
Wish I had got her name Gez? She may have liked fried knackwurst and beer, hmm, now there’s a good woman. 🙂
LikeLike
If playing in the band makes you happy, Hung, why don’t get a band together and play for charity, when you have time, I envy anyone who can play an instrument any instrument….
LikeLike
Good selection, Hung…I’ll start at the top….
LikeLike
Thanks H. Don’t think I can do it again. In this intriguing three part series some of the reasons become apparent.
LikeLike
Thanks for the story of 1/3 of your life, Hung 🙂 As long as our ears are okay, we’ll keep on enjoying our music. Tom Petty, Steely Dan, Jimiiii .. good ones…
LikeLike
Reelin in the Yeeears…. 🙂
LikeLike
Rikki don’t lose that number got a go sometimes. Some of the stuff we played made me feel ill, especially the Angels but I did like ACDC.
LikeLike
Well will we see your face again then
LikeLike
I think so Ace as ugly as it is. Interestingly here in Adelaide bar drinkers or to use the local expression front bar drinkers loved them(The Angels) but my view was how could a really good guitar riff outfit write such crap lyrics.
LikeLike
Thanks for the insight, Hung, now why did you become a bone idle, good for nothing, can’t get a real job, purse carrying nancy boy, poofter male nurse (at least that’s what they call me)?
LikeLike
Cause me Ma and Pa insisted I got a trade instead of being a drop kick muso. Anyway when I said I wanted to go nursing Ma turned to Dad and said “Thought he was a poofter” only joking 🙂 🙂 🙂
LikeLike
My dad said something similar to my mum!
LikeLike
Thanks for the laugh M. You know it’s funny, a lot of the blokes thought I was a poofter for being a male nurse. The thing was I had a different girlfriend every week but most surprisingly my big brothers mates who were all beer swilling, dope smoking, bike riding, pig shooting surfers really stood by me.
LikeLike
There was a bloke about six months behind me during my training, looked to be gayer than Christmas. He was screwing the hottest looking nurse in the hospital, and later married her! Can’t always pick ’em.
LikeLike
I get you Hung. I just like music. I’m not really into discussing it. I have friends who were or are in a band. Know the hard work involved. Finding venues for live gigs can be difficult depending on where you live. I’ll make a point of popping into the other spots here. I used to do that but nothing was happening, or maybe I just picked the wrong day/week – whatever. I’ll try harder. Take care. You’re in good form.
LikeLike
Thanks Viv. Playing in a covers band for “money” was something I always wanted, when I got there I didn’t really like it.
LikeLike