IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA BABY!

Except for the fact that we had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:00 a.m. to make our set at noon in Springfield, Mass., it was quite a beautiful day; sunny with white fluffy clouds floating by, and it wasn't going to be too hot. The event was staged on the steps of Springfield's city hall, at the base of which stretched a sweet little park and was in celebration of a cross-country ride by folks into Indian Bikes. I wasn't familiar with these bikes as Harleys seem to dominate the scene, but apparently they are making a come-back, and actually predate Harley. Indian Bikes are recognizable in old photos and film clips of World Wars 1 and 2, and I believe James Dean was riding one when he had his fatal crash. They are easy to spot as they have a four cylinder engine and a little Indian head on the front bumper.

So as we arrived, Jeff Pitchell's band was kicking off the day. While we loaded our gear behind the stage, I asked one of the stage crew who the head-liner was to be. "Iron Butterfly" he replied. " The" Iron Butterfly, I queried? "The very one" he answered. So I knew that I wanted to stay long enough to hear at least a couple of tunes, though our plan was to cut out pretty quickly after our set and hit our motel in route to tonight's show in Boston at Johnny D's and catch a nap.

As we eased into our set all was going well. I was playing to now what was quite a sea of people. I felt the crowd was with us and that's about as good as it gets. When we were done playing, I made my way to the merchandise booth to sell some c.d.'s. We had quite a line of folks, so I knew we had been well received. This was gonna take a little while but there would still be time for a quick nap, and I would need it since my spot in front of the microphone had been in the direct noonday sun.

About half way through my c.d. customers, the road manager for Iron Butterfly approached me with some what of a look of concern on his face. Apparently their guitar player had missed his connecting flight and he asked me if I could do the show in his place. Now in my mind I know I have two old Iron Butterfly albums in storage, Heavy, and In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, but I really hadn't pulled them out since the 60's. I told him that I could hardly do justice to their material but was honored that they were asking me. But now he seemed anxious and continued to persist so I started to suspect that they needed to fulfill their contract of appearing as a four piece band. So it was decided...I was gonna do a gig with the Butterfly! This should be a good one! Little did I know that I would be stepping into something right out of Spinal Tap!!

Since my band had already packed up my gear, I figured I'd just play through the amp they had rented for I.B.'s guitar player, and of course it was a Marshall stack! And it came equipped with a remote control pack you clip on to your pants...very rock 'n roll! Their guitar tech hooked me up and we were good to go. The road manager placed a set list next to me with the keys to each song, and I was introduced to the guys: Lee Dorman on bass, Ron Bushy on drums, the two original members, and Larry Rust on Keyboards. Lee was trying to give me "cues" and help me out ; he'd say things like "What I need is a lot of crunch" and "can you give me more volume?"

So the first song starts, and I'm supposed to be crunching some chord and Lee and Larry are on the mics doing harmony "Ah-ah ah", a -la old hippy rock. Less than a minute goes by and my amp starts cutting in and out. I signal the guitar tech that I am having trouble, and he comes over and wiggles wires and such, and says, "let's change the battery pack" (my remote control thing). So he switches it with a back-up and I start again. Immediately my signal is cutting in and out, so we dump the battery pack and plug a cord directly into the amp...still cutting in and out...now the band is looking over at me like what's going on? All I can figure is that my guitar is shorting out, maybe from all the sweat...I'm wearing my baby blue strat , so I eye the strange black guitar , also a rental, sitting next to the amp, and I decide to make a switch...still cutting in and out...damn!...but I'm actually glad because this black thing is a beast and I could never be comfortable on it. Now I have to signal my band to go to the van and get my other strat, Pearl, and just as they rushed up to the stage with her and I strapped her on, Lee signaled me to take a solo. (Meanwhile I'm starting to expect some air traffic control signal to come out of the amp or some pod to appear on stage)...so I lean into my solo, garnering as much of a rock attitude as possible and BAM!!...a string flys off!! Not too mention my signal is still screwed up, so once again my band boys run to the van and now pull out my amp, and set it up in front of the Marshall, and I go back to the first baby blue strat. Now Larry looks over at me like "what the f..k?" It's my fourth guitar change and he has a big question mark floating over his head as he smiles and takes his solo. I smile back, but now I'm waiting for some Druids to scamper across the stage.

So finally we are up and running for real, but I had forgotten how quirky the Butterfly's tunes were...nothing that one can latch onto by ear and join in easily, so I struggle to hear the changes and was grateful that when they threw me solos, at least the progressions remained relatively stable. The fun came when I got some really extended guitar solo's and especially when Larry and I got to trade back and forth. Larry, by the way, is a hellacious keyboard player, alternating between Hammond B-3. piano, and one of those goofy portable keyboards that you strap on like a guitar. His was a bright red plastic thing that when the spirit moved him, he would make flamboyant, phallic gestures with...very entertaining!!

And yes, we did play In-A-Gagga-Da-Vida! It was a blast, and I got a huge solo space, but I was so aware that I wasn't able to remember all of the intricate musical punctuations that tie the sections of the song together, and as it's their big hit, I felt bad...then suddenly Lee is in my face and he says "we're outta here!"...I realize that he means that we should vacate the stage as now it's time for the famous drum solo. And Ron Bushy did not disappoint...he must have soloed for 20 minutes!!

What a bunch of really nice guys, and God bless them for still being out their doing it!! And yes, we've got some pictures thanks to our very own camera bug, A. J., and even a video of the event has materialized! For me, this will always be a shining moment to remember in my career. Thanks guys, for the honor. Hey for those who are interested, Iron Butterfly has their own web site too.