When SRV Came to Town

I've had the good fortune to meet a lot of folks who were very important to me here and there. I never meant to be an autograph hound or anything like that, but again and again I'd find myself lugging gear or rubbing shoulders with folks I idolized. BB King, Ray Charles, Kris Kristofferson, Dr. John, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, and on and on.

On November 24, 1989, it happened to be Stevie Ray Vaughan.

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I'd seen SRV before, at some huge concert at the Astrodome in Houston. My seats were so far back that for all I knew he was actually the Screaming Texas Blues Flea. Good, but... not exactly gripping.

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But my then-girlfriend and I went to the Coliseum that night in '89, eager to see a sober SRV on the bill with Jeff Beck, another of my idols. They were co-headlining, meaning that each night they'd swap slots. On this night, SRV was playing first.

And he was on fire, really in good form, tearing it up. Our seats weren't bad, and it was a much better experience than the previous show.

As Jeff Beck took the stage, a young man stood up at the end of our row and asked, "Who here wants to go backstage?"

That'd be ME.

He explained that he was on the crew, and was selling his two backstage passes because he had a family emergency and had to leave right away for San Antonio. For a modest fee, he'd sell me the passes.

My common sense started tingling. I figured he'd take my cash, scoot, and leave me waving bogus passes at unsympathetic security guys. I started to ask him exactly how I knew the passes were legit.

He said, "Let's go down there now."

***

So Girlfriend and I followed him down. He flashed the passes at the security guy on the floor, and suddenly we had access to killer seats. He told us we could use the passes to even sit in any open seats.

I was sold, and so were the passes.

***

Jeff Beck, touring for his terrific Guitar Shop album, was burning it up onstage. And at the end, SRV joined him for a titanic cover of Freddie King's "Goin' Down." I swear it seemed like being in an earthquake. It was terrific.

Afterwards we headed backstage. After a couple security goons told us we had to go in via one particular entrance, we found our way.

And there we were, mingling with members of the bands. It wasn't a wild scene at all. Just lots of hangers-on and musicians, eating from the fruit trays.

Soon SRV and Beck emerged. We approached SRV to sign our ticket stubs. Seeing as how he'd just come off stage, he had some difficulty understanding my name.

Him: "Brad?"

Me: "Brian!"

Him: "Brent?"

Me: "Brian!"

Him: "Bruce?"

Me: "Brian!"

And so on. He finally got it right, and signed my stub. He was just a regular guy, albeit an incredibly talented one. He was friendly, approachable, down to earth.

I approached Jeff Beck: "Howdy!"

His response: "'Ello, mate!"

Quick autograph on the pass and we were done.

Stevie hadn't been sober all that long. I don't think it'd had even been two years at that point. And less than a year later he was dead.

***

I was managing a guitar shop when he passed. You can only imagine how the phones lit up that day.

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Today was a good day. I went to Krav Maga tonight and felt strong, motivated, just ready to go.

My kicks were poppin' tonight, though maybe too much so, as I've got a sore ankle now. I hope it's just a passing thing.

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Wolfboy is still under the weather, and I may have to stay home with him again tomorrow.

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Paid $6 to wash the van today and it still doesn't look clean, dang it. SO, better try again, right?

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Good night.