What Do You Daydream About?

Sometimes I daydream about the good times I had in the music business. It's a way of life that doesn't always include sexual promiscuity and drug addiction...but becoming family.

I'm ancient fossil and it's like mourning the passing of another lifetime. Throughout the fall and winter of 1978 and winter and spring of 1979 I lived with a band in this historical house made of stone in Media Pennsylvania. We were using western Pennsylvania as a springboard. We car pulled 6 nights a week to Pittsburgh and beyond.

We were a cover band that played regular Rock and Progressive Rock. Our vocalist was outstanding! She could sing Watcher Of The Skies beautifully. We performed in these so called Rock Clubs that were actually concert halls. We would arrive back to the band house at 3 or 4 am and she would light the fireplace , take out her acoustic and begin singing songs. We would all sit by the fire with her listening to her play and sing.
.sometimes singing along and life felt worth living.

The idea of being more like family is powerful and that's what saves you from the darkside of the music business. In the early 80s racism was just horrible and I don't know how to describe that vastness and I personally don't understand how anyone could have hatred for someone based on their race. I assume the bigotry revolves around conditioning children to be junior racists.

Nevertheless...I did everything in my power to protect my bandmates when they were threatened by the KKK while we were traveling the road. We were protected by a corporation which included having close ties with the Mob through the different managers. We had 4 different managers.

The corporation and I made an agreement that our band could go off on our own and play shows which fell between the theater bookings where we were a backing band for commercial celebrity entertainers. We had opened for Doc Severison (Johnny Carson show house band)...several times in theaters and sometimes concert halls. We were doing a gig on our own and we were threatened by bigots.

We received 3 encores. Our horn section was phenomenal and our vocalist was outstanding...but when the owner and his goons saw that they were Black..they refused to pay us and they threatened to physically harm us if we didn't leave. I ran over to the pay phone and called one of the managers in the corporation and explained the situation. He was in town and he showed up in a hot minute with two guys that were supposedly hitmen. They basically told the owner either pay the band now or we're going to kill you. The owner paid.

On the side of the stage sat Andrea. We rode the tour bus ..had laughs together and she was like a sister to me. She had her face covered with her hands...crying..and so I hugged her and told her not to worry and that she had our support. She looked at me and said..."No Johnny..you don't understand " "This happens all the time" "For the rest of my life people will always treat me badly because I am Black"

She kept crying and so I held her. She grabbed her bags and ran out to her car...took off...and I never saw her again. That was in 81' I was in my early 20s and naive . I was in shock because I couldn't understand the reasons behind the magnitude of the incident. I could never get used to it. That didn't make it okay for me. It was good that I turned away and moved in a different direction in music.



Edited by Jacob Schoolcraft - April 20 2024 at 17:56