Straight Guy, Little Feat

Gay Guy,

Richie Hayward, one of the founding members of the zydeco-infused rock band Little Feat, died last week. I was a fan. Not a fanatic, but a fan. The band has been through many lineups over the years, so I'm sure the magic will continue.

I don't know if I ever told you that I once won a contest from the band. Back in the mid-80s, I entered a drawing by dropping my name into a box at a Strawberries record store in Boston. Just about when I had forgotten all about it, a local DJ called me on the air to tell me I had won the grand prize, which included a shopping spree at a record store and tickets to a concert later that day.

My friends also heard the news and it seemed like a big deal. The spree was set for an early Sunday morning, which coincided with the daylight savings switch, so in the end only a few of my friends showed. The radio station promotions guy was a stoner and even less happy about the early start time. He was obviously a wannabe rocker, and the promo gig at a rock station was probably as close as he'd ever get.

So there was a small crowd, but everyone was excited to see my dash. I had the duration of the band's Let It Roll song to grab as much Strawberries merchandise as I could carry to the register. The limitation was that I couldn't set anything down.

The smart thing would have been to use this golden opportunity to launch a killer CD collection. But I was a college kid up early and not thinking straight. So I grabbed dozens of cassettes, which were still my format of choice. I crammed them into every available crevice as I waddled through the store, trying to find the good stuff. I also took a few requests from the friends that did show that morning. I was willing to share. A little.

My shirt, pants, and arms were full long before the song came to a close. It was a great haul and a lot of fun. I can't remember all of the selections, but the big names from 80s rock were well represented... Talking Heads, The Police, The Cars, Elvis Costello. There were also a few guilty pleasures and one hit wonders thrown in there, too. I can't remember them as well, but let's just say Scritti Politti was in the mix and move on. When they counted them up, I had over 50 items but many of them were sets or collections. I was thrilled and splurged on cab to get it all back to my apartment.

The stoner station rep stood me up at the concert, though. I had to beg the theater manager to let me (and the girl I was failing to impress) in from the rain. After a phone call or two, he came through with some good seats. Somehow he let the band know, because they gave me a mispronounced shoutout before their encore set, which closed with Let It Roll.

--Straight Guy

Readers: I'm traveling right now, so I can't post any art, movies, or links. But if you're partial to southern rock, check out Little Feat on Google or YouTube.

5 comments:

Straight in Upstate said...

Why am I bludgeoned with the death of every crap-ass celebrity that I never cared about, and Richie Hayward falls through the cracks? Must now put on Waitin' for Columbus.

You'll need to change your "about us" sidebar - you and GG have Little Feat in common. I assume you knew that but I don't know, blog partners never seem to talk anymore. I don't know what the world is coming to.

Oddyoddyo13 said...

Hold on-you mean back in the eighties when you had multiple ear piercings/tattoos?

(Just a little warning, never tell your kids about this, because if they hear it, none of those "Back in my day I had to..." speeches will work anymore.)

SteveA said...

Rockin' 80's dude...what a great story!

Dan Pearce said...

SG, those cassettes WILL come in handy some day when you have another shot with that girl. Hold onto 'em.

Single Dad Laughing

Anonymous said...

Wasn't this a premise of a Laverne & Shirley episode except they only managed to cross the line with a single Moon Pie?

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