Rockabilly, Rings of Fire and the Secret Service

Jackson, TN is home to the Rock-a-billy Hall of Fame.  This is not very interesting to me personally, but to the people around here it's a fairly big deal. 



I got a call from a fellow trumpet player who has been getting me lots of gigs, but this one may be the topper...or at least it is one right up there. 



Apparantly the original members of Johnny Cash's band all live around this area...or, as they say here in the south, 'round these here parts.   They are reuniting next week to play in the Rock-a-billy Hall of Fame Music Festival and happen to need a couple of trumpet players to join them on Ring of Fire.  I jumped at this opportunity! 



Ring of Fire is a classic and I get to play it with some of the musicians that helped make it a classic!  Woohooo! 



This is even more exciting than playing for the Vice President of the United States in 1999 when Al Gore came to IA and gave a speech, a loooooooooooong, booooooooooooring speech at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.  Doing the whole Secret Service thing was interesting though. 



What I remember most about the Secret Service was that we had to load up our instruments on a bus the day prior to the event.  I hate that because I like to be "attached" to all the stuff I know I'm going to need for a performance.  In marching band I always had my spats, gloves and hat with me at all times...I was always prepared!  Anyway, I didn't like the fact that somebody besides me was going to be handling my "baby", my horn.   They had to run all the horns through their "scans" or whatever they did to them before they set them out on the chairs we'd be performing in.  We all had to be patted down before we got in line to go into the venue and we had to follow the line single file to the performance area.  We could not detour at all...no restroom break at all!  This is not a problem for me because I have an unnatural fear of using public restrooms, but for the poor flute player it was trouble because she really had to go...I mean really, really had to go!  And that was before we played, and before Gore's loooooooooooooooooong, and booooooooooooooooooooring speech.  I felt so bad for her. 



I remember entering the performance hall and all of the instruments were set out in their appropriate place and all was well.  I remember sitting in the hall thinking about the fact that we weren't really checked all that well and that a nut case could easily pass through all the stuff to get in and create havoc by doing something stupid, like attacking Gore or something.  Anyway, I guess all those guys in suits with the ear pieces are trained to look for the nut cases...might explain why the one guy kept staring at me.  Only kidding!  LOL



So, that was one neat thing to come from being a musician...now, I have another!  Woohoooo! 



Burn, burn, burn!