Remembering Summer Heat, Part Six

That concert at Greensburg High will always remain in my heart as probably the very best show we ever collectively put on as a band. Yes, other shows were maybe better musically, some of the band had better nights than other members, but collectively, the first Greensburg show was no doubt our best one ever!

That show also was a catalyst of sorts that led to other out of town shows as well.

We were asked to play at a nightclub in Carthage one night. It was a Friday night show, and even though not a single member of the band was 21, we got the go ahead to perform there one Friday night. It was going to be damned good money, too. Since the crowd in attendance would be consuming alcohol, I guess the owners of the nightclub decided we could be paid a handsome sum of money for our night's work.

I don't remember the name of the club now, as the years have taken a toll on certain things I remember. I do know, however, that the place we were playing had at one time been a bowling alley. We knew we would have a large area for people to dance, and people would be eating and drinking as well, so we were really fired up at playing at an adult oriented nightclub, regardless of the fact that we had heard the place did tend to get a bit rowdy at times.

We met at Mike's Dad's law office and proceded to load Denny's Dad's van with all our equipment, which I assure you was not a quick task to do, because we did have a lot of equipment. Part of it always had to go in a couple of our cars, to boot, and we always managed to get everything loaded in a relatively reasonable amount of time.

This particular evening, we used my car as well, which didn't happen a lot, but what the hey? I felt like I was one of the band(which I've since been told by Mike that I indeed was a part of the band) so I didn't mind loading a bit of equipment in the trunk and hauling a couple of the guys in the band with me. We also took along a friend, maybe two, but one for sure that I remember. A friend of mine, Bill, who also played fairly good drums, came along with us as well. Later on, Bill's attendance with us that night would lead to bigger things for him. But that's a story for later on.

Anyway, loaded down with equipment, a couple of guys from the band, and Bill, we began motoring from Rushville to Carthage for what we were expecting to be a great night of music and fun.

We couldn't have been more wrong.

We arrived about an hour before we were to take to the stage and walked in to check the place out since we had never been there before. Upon our arrival, we got out of our respective vehicles and walked in the side entrance door to the nightclub.

Coming in from out of the bright sun to a dimly lit room with no windows took a moment to get used to. But as our eyes adjusted, we were pleased with what we saw. The stage ahead of us was carpeted and surrounded by a wooden railing with an opening off to each side to enable us to carry our equipment up and thru for setting up. The ceiling, however, was quite low, and though none of us was tall enough to ram our heads into it, it was going to have to be of some concern while the band moved around on the stage, and certain movements with the microphone and guitars was going to be limited.

There were several tables off to each side of the stage and up against the walls, leaving a vast area in front of the stage for dancing. A hallway led the way up to the front of the building, obviously to the entrance and the kitchen and bar area, and probably where a lot of the patrons would enter and pay their cover charge to get in.

A small service window was in one of the walls, apparently where one could go and order drinks once the dancing got started. We saw a couple of fellows sitting at a table, having a couple of beers, but they seemed not the least bit interested in a group of guys checking out the stage. They seemed more determined to concentrate on their drinking. We all looked at each other amongst ourselves and started asking each other what this night might hold in store for us since the crowd would be drinking alcohol while listening to us, watching us and dancing to our music and our show.

I looked around, found the electrical receptacles both on the wall and recessed into the stage floor and I began figuring out where each one of our pieces of equipment needed to be plugged in as well as where my lighting console was going to be located. We each walked around the stage and pretty much came to a mutual agreement as to where each item was to be placed. It was much easier to decide then than after we started bringing all that equipment in and then try figuring it out.

After about five minutes of discussion on the matter, Bill, Mike, Jay, Bill, Jim and myself started out to get the equipment and Denny decided to go find the manager and let him know that the entertainment for the evening had arrived.

We had probably moved in two amps and the beginning of Jim's drumset when Denny reappeared, and the look on his face wasn't a happy one. It was more of a look of shock and disbelief than anything, to be honest with you.

Jay was the first to approach him after we put our first bit of equipment on the stage. "Everything okay, man?" he asked Denny. "You don't look too happy, dude."

Denny shook his head. "No, guys, we got a hell of a problem here. The man up front says we aren't scheduled to play here tonight, that we're supposed to be here next month instead of tonight."

I would love to have been able to have see the shocked look on all our faces, especially mine, because this was a dance we had been anticipating for a couple of months since we were booked to do the show. I saw the look on Jay's and Mike's face. I didn't look at Bill, probably because I didn't think it would matter to someone who wasn't in the band, but I did look at Denny's, and we were all no doubt wearing that same shocked expression, and one that was also filled with disappointment and disbelief.

I looked at Denny, who had handled the booking, and I asked him, "Man, are you sure it was tonight we were supposed to be here?"

Denny replied,"Hell yeah, man. I've got the date circled on the calendar at home in red, and I wrote it down on the message pad right next to the phone the night this dude called us and asked us to be here. He said they have a country-western band coming in tonight, and they're getting paid union scale."

That statement signalled to me the truth of our situation. The nightclub had booked a dues paying band and they had set the date, probably the only one they had open for awhile, and this band probably catered more to the redneck crowd that would probably be here tonight. I was quite sure they would be much more accustomed to listening to Merle Haggard and Charley Pride than they would be Steppenwolf and Cream.

Me, being the ever-present rebel at times like this said,"Well, hell, they can't take the stage if they have five guys sitting in the middle of it, can they?"

Jay started smiling that sly Jay smile that I've missed so much over the years since his untimely passing a few years ago, and he asked, "You mean, just plop our asses down on the stage and refuse to move, Charlie?"

I smiled back and shook my head in an affirmative motion.

"Far out, man, and you're right, they can't do shit as long we're sitting in the way. Besides, we're all underage and if anyone touches us, they go to jail, right Mike?" I think because Mike's dad was an accomplished attorney we all considered Mike our legal adviser.

"Yeah, legally they can't touch us, man. If they do, we can have all their asses hauled of to jail by signing a warrant against them," was his reply.

So, we moved our equipment back out to the vehicles, walked back inside the club, and promptly planted our asses down in the middle of the stage. I pulled a cigarette out of my shirt pocket, lit it up, and passed one over to Jim and one to Jay. And that was how our protest began that night. A sitdown strike in an over 21 nightclub, daring anyone to interfere with us.

A few minutes passed, a few more patrons made their way in and sat down, the waitress taking their orders, and soon the alcohol was beginning to flow amongst the patrons. We all thought we were truly going to make a statement and somehow get our way by sitting down in the middle of the stage and refusing to move.

I seemed to have forgotten the one obvious thing about this protest of mine.

We were sitting in the middle of the stage, attempting to stop the evening's entertainment from setting up on the stage in a nightclub where the sign on the door clearly stated: NO ONE UNDER THE AGE OF 21 WILL BE PERMITTED TO ENTER UNDER PENALTY OF THE LAW.

We were all under the age of 21.

Gigantic whoops, here, folks!

About a half hour into our sitdown strike the manager walked in and stared at us, the look on his face clearly stating that he didn't know why we were still here, and the sneer that followed that look clearing stating without words that he was highly and profusely pissed right at this moment. He grabbed the waitress by the arm as she started past him and I could tell she was basically telling him from her body language that she had no clue as to why were still there, and even more why we were sitting in the middle of the stage where his union scale band was going to be playing in less than half an hour.

His hand pointed to us, pointed to the door and his right fist hit his right hand and made quite an audible sound, even over the blaring of the jukebox.

I believe had I been a lesser young man at the time that my bladder would have probably emptied itself right at the precise moment his fist hit his hand.

He turned back towards the front and stormed off, and this halfway attractive waitress came over to us, a bewildered and embarrassed look on her face. I could tell she didn't want to do the deed she was about to do.

She walked over to us, looking at each one of us as she spoke, and she spoke nicely, a bit ashamed, but also delivered the message her boss had given her to deliver. "Guys, I have nothing in this, so please don't be upset with me, ok? My boss told me he's not sure what it is you're up to, but I know what's going on, because he hired another band in here tonight instead of you because he told me he did. But if you don't get out of here now, and I do mean now, he's going to call the sheriff's department and have you all arrested for being in here, and he can do it because you're all under twenty-one. He told me to tell you to come back in four weeks and the whole place will be yours for the evening, with an extra fifty dollars over what he said he'd pay you to begin with. He doesn't know I told you about that you really supposed to be the band here tonight, and if he finds out I did, I'll get fired, or worse. Just pick up your stuff and go, and we'll see you here next month, ok guys?"

She didn't wait for an answer, she just took her drink tray on back towards the kitchen area, and with that, we all looked at each other and decided getting our asses thrown in jail was not worth what we were trying to pull, so we each stood up and grabbed what we had brought in with us, and made post-haste to the door and out to our vehicles. It didn't take too long to get them started and heading back towards Rushville, either.

We ended up going back to Mike's house and sat with his family in the family room and I got to listen to Savoy Brown that night for the very first time in my life, their album Blue Matter, and we talked to Mike's folks and sister about our experience that evening.

Mike's dad, Jack, looked at us and asked, "So, are you boys going back up there and play next month."

Without a moment's hesitation, and damned near in unison, we replied, "Hell, NO!"

That response got Jack's family laughing, and finally, after a few seconds, it got the rest of us laughing, too.

to be continued.....