Thursday, Mar. 25, 2004 11:14 am
Rodeo and meeting the stars
My rodeo gig has not been as bad as last year, thank goodness. Our staff is more organized and efficient and I'm more experienced myself. Yesterday was not good, though. I forgot my pass and they were pretty nasty about it at the gate and made me PAY to get in. That did nothing for my already cranky mood. Then it rained through the afternoon so all my staff and I were huddled on our front porch. Not too bad there either. But then one of our local artists and spouse and entourage came for an interview and the pressure of that many people talking to me and distracting me and making me smile and talk always makes me get agitated. I had taken a Xanax by then and it helped make the rest of the evening less stressful.
I am always the reluctant one when it comes to getting big stars on my show. If it happens, it happens, but I leave it to the staff to make the inquiries and see if it will go. Yesterday... it did. I interviewed Merle Haggard face-to-face. He was very nice and such a legend that I only later thought of all the good questions I should have asked of him.
I didn't have to introduce Merle, and hadn't planned on staying for his show (especially since I didn't have my pass). One of our saleswomen had tickets, though, and I decided to stay. Nice to not have to do the introductions and then I get to relax a lot more. Tonight I was planning on staying for Jerry Jeff and Django and now I have learned that I'm doing the introduction on that one. That keeps the tension up until 10 pm and I don't like that much.
I also introduced Willie on Saturday night at the Backyard. That was very cool to get to do that. I didn't talk to him this time, but I did get to chat a couple of times with Mickey Raphael, the harmonica player, and that was nice. I'd met him many many years ago (I was 18), but this time I had something to say. Mark was at the Backyard with the opening act so it was nice to get to see him for a bit. He didn't stay for Willie. It was a long long show (as he always does). My accordion teacher went with me to the show and we dropped by Threadgill's after for Willis Allan Ramsey. That wasn't a SXSW event and I realized I never did anything officially SXSW the whole week. Too busy with everything else.
Oh, and if it sounds like I'm namedropping, let me continue. (After all, yall, this is my journal!) I interviewed and introduced Wynonna on Tuesday, too. I had to interview her long distance... she was at the station and I was at the rodeo, but I met her later and did the stage introduction for the show. She was a great interview and very professional and talkative. In person, she was very nice and very attractive, too. She looked larger on stage than in person and I think she needs a new wardrobe person to help that. She sings wonderfully and did all her hits, of course. I wanted her to do "She Is His Only Need." I've never been a big fan of hers, but that song came out just as Mark and I met and he bought that cassette for me for the car I bought in our first weeks of dating. He always said that was how he felt about me.... awwww.
Spent some time on the phone and in person with my friend the CGP. After a full year, I'm finally getting more comfortable around him and the blood doesn't pump quite so furiously. I told him I wasn't going to come see him on a couple of gigs over the weekend that I could have gone to. I think the guy he's playing for thinks I am a fan of HIS and coming to see HIM. I don't want him to think I'm going to be supporting his career that much or putting him on the air. I'm there for the guitar and that's mostly it.
I did finish that lampshade that haunted me and it turned out pretty cool. And my therapist suggested that surely the station could buy it (through someone) so that I look good at the auction and raise some money for the charity, which is the whole point. My lampshade has a Texas songwriter theme and has pics of all the greats and greats-to-be and Texas stars. I could improve on it all if I had a chance to do it again, but I'm happy with the way it turned out.
My sister and family all returned from a week in Ireland. I was a little uneasy the whole week they were gone and I was missing them. They safely came home on Sunday after a couple of days in London, too. The guitar playing nephew got to go in the vault at the Hard Rock Cafe and hold and strum Jimi Hendrix' guitar and B.B. King's Lucille and he was quite ecstatic. Maybe Stevie Ray's too. I think the Hard Rock was the highlight for both of them. They marched in Dublin in the St. Patrick's Day parade and there were pictures and audio on the web that day so I was able to get the feel of it all. I got up early and tried to watch streaming audio, but the server must have overloaded and it was down. Just as well, it was very early!
Two more days at the rodeo, work on both days this weekend, but just remotes, so I hope I will be able to rest up and, especially, get the taxes together.