Blue Oyster Cult toured with a big old Laser which they pointed on the drum symbols shining out in the audience. It was pretty cool but I was glad I wasn’t out there because it seemed awfully dangerous to me. Do lasers cause blindness? I liked some of their songs like (Don’t fear) The reaper. #BlueOysterCult #DontFearTheReaper #The.
As I was walking backstage towards the lighting console when I heard a crash from the Cults crew loading the laser into the wooden traveling crate. I just kept on going leaving some very angry troops to deal with the mess.
The whole tour was like that for me, one thing after another. This was my first tour out of SeeFactor having known Bob See since the Fillmore East where he was the technical director and I ran one of two follow spots with my friend Kenny Mednick.
Ted was crazy and I am not sure he still is but it’s rock and roll, his whole new is a little strange. After the show the roadies cleared the stage of our amps and they loaded the truck. The truck was a 24’ with part of the bed cut away so we could go from the cab to the bunk beds in the box. There were four of us now traveling in the truck now me, and the equipment manager and two other fellows.
Zipping out of the forum on to the interstate we found heavy traffic which pissed of the driving crew, I am not sure where our next gig St. Lewis. The guy riding shotgun rolled down his window and threw his empty Heineken bottle at one of the cars on the interstate.Oh no this is what we were headed for I thought as I slipped into the back bunkbeds and closed my eyes, I had seen enough for today.
Arriving late at night checking into our rooms I was paired with Craig the equipment manger. The hotel was jumping as we found out. Looking out our window the next morning St. Lewis was hosting a Shriner parade which was always a fun event. You know the Shriners wearing funny hats riding tiny motorcycles around in circles.
Craig taught me the “Ted trick”, Ted had a solo highlight which including breaking of a fish bowl placed on his amp stack with Teds guitar sounds. Ted would do his solo and reach the hugest note and bam magically the fish bowl would shatter while I bumped the lights to white.
The trick was Craig was off stage behind the amp line with a BB gun aimed at the fishbowl. What was learned their were thin fish bows while some were thicker. One night we ran into the thicker one, the trick didn’t work all the time. This night Ted did his run to his climax Craig fired the BB gun as I waited for my cue but nothing happened. Ted started his run again Craig fired again nothing. Ted looked over at him in panic an began his his run again while Craig grabbed a hammer and snuck behind the amps and when Ted did his run again while Ted climaxed while Craig reached over the amps and hit the fishbowl BAM the fishbowl shattered and the audience cheered .
On to the next venue. Ted didn’t like my lighting he chewed me out for having blue lighting on the band to begin the set while Ted was in red. Later I found out Ted didn’t like red. But he did like very young girls I found out when I opened my hotel room door and Teds was in the next room. The hallway was full of very young girls waiting for an audience into Teds room.
I just went my way down to get something to eat where more young ladies roamed around, Actually I think the hotel was full of young ladies.
Later the tour ended returning the equipment back to Seefactor NYC. Bob let me know I had been replaced with John O Watkins who lasted for many years. John O Watkins survived with Ted for many years while I moved on,
I moved where I don’t remember where, work is like that along with our minds. Years flow on we all moved somewhere. But through Facebook I found his son commenting on my posts but I didn’t know the difference between then. I remember John O Watkins from the Fillmore East where he worked on the stage crew https://www.powellfuneralinc.com/obituary/john-watkins-jr but time and drugs had it’s effect on me as it did for so manny others.
But there was a facebook link from his son https://www.facebook.com/people/John-O-Watkins/100000699867566 showing his fathers history.
But their was his son John Watkins with his profile was picture of a guy in a T-shirt with a camera obscuring his face. How I am I gonna figure who’s who? But John had a picture posting some of his father press clippings made sense to me. Seems there is a dynasty in the here in the Watkins story.
Fuzzypictures's Weblog 
May 17, 2020 at 9:49 pm |
Damn fun reading of the days we all had while we were young. Mine was asssiting that crazy talented fashion photog…Bill Silano. What a great education.