Roadie #3

OK, Mike is the winner sort of.. Trident sugarless now. In the past almost any type of bubble gum. Wally was able to muti-task like no one else. Play guitar, smoke a cigarette, chew bubble gum and blow bubbles all at the same time. And on top of that yell at me for not having the guitar in perfect tune.

I was at FYE in Kenwood Mall (Cincinnati) on Friday and they had 2 of the Deluxe versions. I spoke with the manager and he looked up his inventory records and told me that they have sold 16 copies and when they get down to 2 they automatically re-order another 3 copies as long as they sell at least 3 per week they try to keep 4 in stock.

Call around to some of the local sound companies and ask them who re-cones their speakers. I am sure that the speaker can be repaired but the cost could be a wash to buying a new one. I know in Cleveland there is a company "Empirical Sound " that we used back in the 70's and even when we were getting ready for the reunion tour we need some work done on the rehearsal monitors and they were able to do the work as a reasonable cost. You should have no problem finding such a place in South Florida.

Yup, they were knocking Jerry and went into the segment where he introduced Gary and the band and then you guys started to play.

I missed Billy on the telethon but was listening to Howard Stern and he played a little bit of Gary Lewis & Playboys performance and therefore I got to hear Billy. As always, Billy was right on.

The type of gum has changed over the years. You have to remember that I have been tech'in for Wally since the days of Target. I think that was 1968 or 1969.

I know but I'm not telling

The shaker incident in LA now seems like a funny story but at the time it was disastrous. As I remember, Paul was playing the shaker and I see Wally look up in the air (you can see it in the video)and shake his head. I notice the glass of Diet Coke on his amp is now laying on its side and there is coke dripping down the front of the amp and all over the floor. I ran out and wiped the mess up and headed back to guitar world. Paul looked over to me and tossed the now empty shaker with no lid over to me at the same time Jennifer is calling me over to her keyboard and tells me that the keys are sticking down with every note she plays. When the shaker exploded the little balls inside not only landed on Wally's head but sprayed all over Jennifer's keyboard. The tiny little shaker balls were falling between the keys making them stick. I was able to clean out the majority shaker balls and the rest is history. Just a side note, the LA trip for the crew and band seemed to be full of little Gremlins, but we fought through them and had a great show. I just hope we have the opportunity to back out on the road and do it again.

And what about their crew. . . without our Kevin "Dugie" Dugan (Michael's bass tech for more than 20 years and Raspberries crew member) on board how good can the road crew be. Remember, without a first class crew they can only put on a second class show.

To be honest we have not had any issues with the Vox amps on the tour other than the one that got smashed by the stage crew at the Denver Show (not ours but the venue stage hands). As we have four complete amps and since Dave now uses an Ashdown bass rig we have two extra amps.I always bring the extra heads to all the gigs and they are wired and ready to go in case there is a problem but to date, no issues. The model of the heads we are using is AD 120 VTH. If we go back out on tour I plan on changing the preamp tubes in the Vox heads and really going through each piece of equipment with a fine tooth comb. For the most part the equipment has been in storage since the LA show and only used for a couple of jam sessions by the guys which by the way were a lot of fun.

Aw, Billy I wanted to answer that one Ernie

1 Roadie - 1 Lighting technician

Listening and they are playing "Tonight" from the new CD/DVD. Interview to start shortly. Bernie, I do not have the capability to record it.

Happy Birthday boss. Let's have a party and get the show back on the road. Since you, Wally, Dave and Jim has all reached this milestone how about one show for every year?? I am ready when you are. See you soon and have a great birthday. Ernie

Kevin, A very Happy Birthday from one of your greatest fans. I know that taking care of my Baby Sister is not an easy chore. I lived with her for 18 years only because I had to (ha, ha) you my friend have the choice and I believe you have made the right one. You are part of the family. As for being part of the CREW, I am extremely excited that you have been recognized on the new CD/DVD as being part of the crew and your help is and has been fantastic throughout rehearsals, load-ins, load outs and everything in between. Helping this old man load in/out of the rehearsal hall has probably saved me from throwing out my back and having a second heart attack. So as I said before you are not only part of my family but part of the Raspberries family and everyone thinks the world of the work you have done and I hope we continue to do in the near future. And who knows maybe if we get the opportunity to go back out on the road you might even get paid. Once again to my almost brother-in-law a very Happy Birthday and 50 is only a number and you will never catch me. Ernie

He still has a great voice

I am certain that it was 81 because I was hauling the gear and Frank Mussalra was the drummer. Dave and I shared a house in South Euclid from 80 thru 83 until I got married. Frank left the band in 83 and was replaced by Mark Chambers (not sure of the spelling of Frank's or Mark's last name. They did do some demo's at my cousins studio but I do not know what ever happened to the tapes. 83 was the year I married my wife, Kim and the Secret played a set at the wedding (Wally, Dave, and Eric Robertson in Tuxedos) with Mark on drums. Somewhere I have video of the weeding with them playing but at this moment it is lost thanks to my youngest daughter. Just a note, the Secret still performs around Cleveland with Eric Robertson still singing lead and they still rock. Went to see them a couple of months ago and our own Berries drum tech/monitor tech Dave Booth is mixing FOH for them.

And I do remember driving out to Cyrus Erie West when I worked with Wally and Mike McBride (Target). From the East side of Cleveland it seemed like the longest drive.

I have to thank both Paul and Billy for their expertise and assistance at every show helping me to get all the guitars tuned and ready to go. For me it was a true 30+ year layoff from the music industry and not being a guitar player the issues relearning the tuning and restringing techniques took a little bit of time. Paul and Billy, I have said it before "a thousand thanks". The one question I always get asked is "how can you be a guitar tech and not play guitar?" The answer "surround yourself with the best and never stop working to be the best you can be".

One more thing; as you watch the videos from VH1 take a look on the wall and you will see the Flying V and Rickenbacker hanging behind the band. VH1 had some guitars hanging on the wall and I thought it would be a nice touch to replace them with Wally's for this historic occasion.

As for Dave's BLUE ric, I don't know who bought it and Wally's guitars except for the Parker are all originals and over 30 years old. They just don't make them like that anymore. They hold tuning even when they travel across the country which I find amazing. Most of the parts on Wally"s guitars (tuning pegs, electronics, pick guards) are all original. Wally kept the original Raspberries road cases for the Flying V, Rickenbacker, and Doubleneck which continues to protect them and keep them in pristine condition.

One thing about the band and performances is that many bands that go out will rent or use the house back line (amps, keyboards, etc), however because we want the best for the fans we choose to use all of our own equipment except for the sound system. This makes things a little tougher for hauling the equipment around the country but the end result is that we know what we have to work with every night. As for keeping everything straight I have put together a computer program which lists every song and what each person plays and what back up guitar is to be used in the case we have an equipment failure. The printout is color coded to make life easier and I give a list to everyone in the crew. We do the same for the vocals and lighting crew. The software took some time to develop but it works great. The biggest problem is finding the room to stage all of the guitars. We keep all the guitars off stage so they can be tuned and polished between songs. My guitar world has most of the equipment so that I can make repairs and tune as the show goes on. Although my main responsibility is to take care of Wally and his gear I have to make sure that everything on my side of the stage is operating properly. Believe me, there is never a dull moment during a show or a time to relax. Setting up guitar world usually takes more than an hour. A couple of weeks ago when we were able to see the DVD "Live at Sunset Strip" I was able to see and hear what the band sounded like from the fans view (I normally only see the sides and backs of the guys and can't really hear a good mix) and my comment to the guys was "Wow, what a great band" As I made that comment to Jim he told me that he could arrange for me to continue to have that vantage point. I turned him down cold!!!

It has been a little hectic around here so sorry about the delay. Here we go... Lots and lots of guitars: Wally - Gibson Doubleneck, Flying V, Rick 360/12, 1956 strat, Epiphone Jr, Parker Fly, Martin acoustic Eric - Variax 700 electric, Variax 700 acoustic, 2 Strats, Rick, Taylor acoustic, Hofner bass (first show only - not used)and the last purchase Fender Tele Dave - Vintage Fender Precision Special, Ric (sold), Fender acoustic bass, Danelectro Longhorn bass, Fender strat Billy - see above Paul - Fender Strat, Epiphone 12 string, Fender tele, ovation acoustic, Gretsch semi-hollow body I am sure I am forgetting something and due to the fact that I am restructuring my computer files I do not have easy access to my berries files for a couple of weeks where model numbers, ages and all kinds of information on all the gear can be easily found. I do know that all the guitars fit into 3 guitar caskets for transportation and that when it comes time for restringing it takes about a week to get through everything. Tuning before a show takes a couple of hours and then constant rechecking up to show time as well as every guitar change. In addition, we need to be prepared to switch guitars in an instant if there is a broken string or electronic malfunction. Knock on wood during the reunion tour not one broken string.

He may not smile while he is playing but look at his face at the end of a song. The grin is always ear to ear. Many times during shows the crew tries to crack him up but his concentration level on the music is so intense.

Can someone record the interview? I have to work tonight and won't be able to listen. I would love t get a copy. Thanks, Ernie