I am a lifelong musician, spent the majority of my career playing in Austin, Texas. I am, originally from Baltimore, Md. I am married and have 2 kids (Well, "kids", son-33 and daughter-24, from marriage 1 and 2, third time's a charm. At 63, I am still in 4 working bands. I have played with many of my idols. I have traveled, mostly, to Europe, to play. I LOVE history and am blessed to have traveled to many "dream" historical sites.
Well, I don’t know if I’d call it an obsession, more like a fascination. My best friend growing up, Mike Fitchett, had books and articles about the JFK assassination. His father was a ballistics expert who had tested the Mannlicher Carcano rifle that Oswald used. Mike loved true crime stuff and his dad told him Oswald could not have done it with that rifle. This was still in the 60s. When Mike and I moved from Baltimore to Austin in the late 70s, first thing, we went to Dallas to see Dealey Plaza. Last year I was in Dallas and Arlington National Cemetery. In Dallas I took photos of the house where Lee Harvey Oswald took the infamous rifle photo. I also went to 3 cemeteries and took pics of Oswald’s grave as well as Officer J. D. Tippitt’s grave. He was the cop that Oswald “allegedly” killed. (Incidentally, Tippit is buried very close to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s graves) Finally, on to Abraham Zapruder, who took the most famous film of Kennedy being killed. A month before Dallas I took a photo of JFK’s grave when I visited Arlington National Cemetery. I took the photo of Allen Dulles grave (CIA), who I believe was instrumental in Kennedy’s death, in Baltimore at Greenmount Cemetery. Nearby is John Wilkes Booth. Greenmount is a good burial spot for assassins.
I love history. It’s so fascinating.
Personally, I believe the CIA killed JFK and Oswald was a “patsy”, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.
I was into reggae pretty early on. Chris Williamson (a roommate) had turned me on to Marley’s “Rastaman Vibration” and “The Harder They Come” movie soundtrack. He said “There are these guys in Jamaica that don’t comb or cut their hair and they smoke weed all the time!!”.
That was all I needed to hear. It changed me. I have been playing reggae ever since.
The first time I had a chance to go and see Bob Marley, in concert, was at The Music Hall, in Houston July 29, 1978. I knew the band would come early and do a sound check because I was a musician, myself. So, I went to the Music Hall and waited for the bus to pull in and, sure, enough, they came pulling in. Not wanting to approach Bob, I went up to “Family Man” Aston Barrett and told him I was a bass player. I just kept talking and strolled in with the band. Still talking to “Family Man”, while they were doing sound check, he handed me his bass and said “Show me your reggae”. So I did. Now, at that time I was really listening to a lot of Weather Report and trying to play like Jaco Pastorius. I played a bit and “Family Man” said “That’s not reggae, that’s jazz…reggae is like this. He showed me about tone and where to put my hands, a crash course in reggae that has served me for over 40 years in reggae bands.
I asked him to put me on the guest list for after the show and he said he would.
The Blind Date……I had bought 2 tickets to the show as had my sister, Margaret and my married friends, Hammond and Susan Brown. I didn’t have a date so Margaret suggested I take a girl she worked with. Now I’ll tell ya, when that girl walked in, both of us were like…Oh no, no never. I was a hippie with hair down to my ribs and she looked like a granny-ish Annie Hall. Nope, not gonna happen!
On the way into the concert she asked me if I would hold her bag of weed. No problem. The show was amazing. The Houston Folk legend, John Vandiver (RIP) opened the show, all by himself, on acoustic guitar. After his first song was received in a lukewarm fashion. He stopped and said “I know y’all are excited to see Bob Marley. Well, so am I. I am gonna do my show, anyway and then we’ll move on together. Well, he proceeded to tear that house down. I knew John Vandiver and I was hugely proud of him….that day, he conquered the world. It is still talked about.
After the show I was going to go backstage but I didn’t know if I could get back with 5 people in tow, so I leaned over and told my date and sister, “I’ll be right back” and took Hammond and Sue with me.
We went back stage and Bob Marley was holding court. It was mesmerizing. If he was alive and preaching, 2000 years ago, he would have been called a saint or a prophet. I was sitting right next to him, on the road cases, smoking and passing spliffs, when he finished one and said “Who have de ‘erb, Man?…..I reached into my pocket and said “I do!! I DO!!”. We rolled that girl’s weed up in one spliff and it was gone…Just like that.
About 45 minutes later we went back out into the Music Hall and the only 2 people in it were my sister and “The Girl”…”Where the fuck were you?” they asked.
“I met Bob Marley and gave him your weed!” Well, that was the end of THAT romance.
A cool side story, Hammond Brown reminded me that Bob Marley LOVED Sue’s red hair, REDLOCKS. He played with it, rolling it between his fingers. How cool is that?!!
1 year later, when I was working at Record and Tape Collector, in Baltimore, Bob played in D.C. I went to his hotel and met him a second time. I told him I had met him in Houston and gave him some weed. He said “Ahhh, I remember”. He was so kind to say that but years later I realize how many young, white, hippie kids gave him weed. The impression I have is that he was, kind, friendly and looked you in the eye when he spoke to you.
He did sign this autograph, though. I, honestly, can’t believe I had the great fortune to meet Bob Marley…..twice! He had a profound effect on me. He would pause and look right at you and talk to you, deep eye contact. He wanted to see who he was talking to. He wanted you to KNOW he was communicating with you. It was amazing.
I still play his songs, every Wednesday night, with The Mau Mau Chaplains. I have been playing reggae in Austin for 38 years. I have played with Kade-I-Man, The Lotions, Pressure and The Killer Bees.
There it is, in black and white. Back when my world was in black and white.
I probably SAW The Deer Hunter in the Towson Theater, almost certainly did. As a child we would sit on a revolving, pearl vinyl covered stool at the soda fountain in Reed’s Drugstore. Root beer float! we lived about 3 miles south of Towson on Register Avenue. One day, when we were about 10 years old, my trouble making best friend, Mike Fitchett (see blog post about HIM!), who lived across the street, asked his parents if I could go with them to Towson. They said no. So, when they went inside he popped open the back of his dad’s International jeep and hid me in the back under a blanket. Once they were out of the car he spring me. We ran around Towson for a while and when they got back to the car he said “Look who I ran into!!” They were not dumb and not amised. It was a quiet ride home. Hahahahaha!
I got my first job (kitchen-prep) at The Penn Hotel, not really a hotel but a bar that my mom socialized at. I also did my first gig there…a million years ago. Mike also worked in the kitchen there.
As budding young hippies we all discovered that Finkelstien’s clothes store had WESTERN WEAR!!! We all got cowboy boots and hats, Levis and snap shirts. The 2 Fiklestein brother were really nice to the hippies but then, they KNEW they had a corner on the market.
Mike, as I said was a trouble maker, like, a MASTER trouble maker. Our hang was Hutzler’s Department Store. (See top photo) He would throw the elevator doors open, between floors, even when there were customers with us, in the elevators.
MIKE FITCHETT
For YEARS there was a grease stain on the ceiling of the diner, where he had thrown a pad of warm butter and stuck it there. He would also find the lipsticky-est cigarette butt in the ashtray and put it in the salt shaker and shake it until it disappeared, only to reappear for some horrified diner.
He also liked to unscrew the lid of the sugar shaker, slip a napkin over it, turn it over, slip the napkin out, blow away the excess sugar and then move to the table across to watch a patron pick up the sugar shell and see that sugar explode all over there table. I could not have wished for a more entertaining best friend!
The first mall I ever saw was Towson Plaza. It was really cool to have a bunch of stores all lined up. I think it was about 10 stores and I remember Hutzler’s complaining like it was the “end of the world” and gonna “ruin them’…….but it didn’t
One of the best jobs I ever had was at what was then called Record and Tape Collectors, on York Rd. I had been hired by Mort, down on Charles Street, where I lived. I started at the Cold Spring Lane store, worked my way up tp asst. manager there and then was moved up to Towson. My boss, Robbie Grant, ended up being a friend to this day. I admired Robbie because he was a great musician, who had been in a couple of great bands. (and he looked like David Bowie!) I worked with him and “T” Teresa Metzger. We had a ball and I was there until I moved to Austin.
I was born near Fakenham and King’s Lynn, England. My father (who I never met, left when I was 6 months old) and mother lived in Burnham Market. He was stationed there, in the army.
As crazy as this story is, it is true. My mother would cry when she talked about it.
At 2 weeks old, my intestines fell out of my butt, due to a massive hernia. I had to be hand held, over a tray, with my intestines in a solution, 24-7. I was a mess inside. One of my testicles was found up next to my heart. I had to be tested, when I was about 12, to see if I would be able to reproduce.
Apparently, the only doctor in that area, qualified to operate on me, was a Nazi war criminal, in jail for life, who had experimented on baby Jews. My mother had to sign burial papers for me, before the surgery, because the prognosis was really not good.
She said the doctor was very cold, when she met him. “He just wanted to work”.
I have never had any problem, growing up, but I had a double hernia in my late 40’s. The surgeon who put Kevlar mesh in me, then, said “You are put together a little differently in there.” He was aware of my original surgery and I’ve heard the German surgeon, kind of, created an abdominal wall and tacked me up, in there.
It amazes me that I’ve had so many wonderful things happen in my life and that I have 2 beautiful children. (Well children 24 and 33 years old) So, born lucky…I guess.
In 2018 I took my grown kids to spread my mother’s ashes in the church where I was baptized. Now I know what Burnham Market is like….I left there at 6 months old.
In around 1982 I was standing at the magazine rack, looking at a Playboy magazine, in the 7-11 on Loop 360, Capitol of Texas Highway and Bee Caves Rd. looking at a magazine when I heard a very LOUD and immediate noise behind me.
A car had come in the sloping driveway, jumped the curb in front of the store and came right through the window and into the magazine rack!. HUGE panes of glass were coming at me as I dove for the end of the aisle by the coolers. I think I dropped the Playboy!
Had I not moved, right away, that car and that glass would have gotten me. Thank God for you, quick reflexes!
The year was 2000. I was working my first travel agent job, at Travelfest. I worked for Rose Pace and Damir Bogdanic. I loved that job and stayed with travel for 10 years.
My manager, Zel Heaney and Damir pulled me into the office one day (Oh shit! What have I done now?) and said “We need someone to escort a group on a cruise and we know how you love history. ” They offered me a free trip to the AMAZING city of Athens, the Greek Isles of Mykonos, Santorini and Patmos and ending up in Rome. Do ya think I said “Yes”??
For me it was the trip of a lifetime. A dream come true. I had reamed about that part of the world. I had been to some Roman ruins in Switzerland on a prior trip butt NOTHING the Athens or Rome.
So, before the trip there was a meet and greet with many of the people going on the cruise. Many of them would take me aside and say “I don’t want to be at a table with Celeste Beard, don’t seat us with her.”
I had no idea who Celeste Beard was so I called Zel and she told me that she was in the “NEWS” for “possibly’ murdering her husband…haha…no, REALLY!. Zel also said she didn’t think she was gonna show on the cruise, which she didn’t and, eventually, she went to jail. Still there, I hear.
It was interesting, traveling all that way by myself, with a group of strangers. I made 2 great friends, Stephanie Dupree (Routh) and Todd Routh and we are still great friends today. We just clicked as they say.
I will write about the whole trip but right now I just wanna tell the story of the island of Patmos and the Cave of St. John the Hermit. He wrote the Book of Revelations in this cave.
I was not credit card savvy when I went on that trip and I had pretty well run out of cash by the end of the trip. People paid $75 dollars to go to the cave on an air conditioned tour bus.
I was feeling a bit sorry for myself but I decided just to get lunch in the harbor and just enjoy being there. I went into a fish market/cafe and had pan friend squid in olive oil and parsley. (It was still called Calamari) It was fantastic. I had never had a flat, whole squid before, just Calamari, breaded and fried. This was delicious!
While I was sitting there, outside in the sun, I noticed a black bus, like our yellow school busses, pull up. I asked my waiter if that bus went up to “The cave”. He said it did. “How much”…”80 cents”…”Seriously? 80 cents?” I still had THAT much cash.
That bus went along the coast, stopping at 3 little fishing villages, before going up the mountain. No air conditioning, just hang yer head out the window! At the 3rd village 3 Greek Orthodox Priests, with black robes tall black “stove-pipe” hats, each had a rope and were ringing the traditional 3 bells in the church facade. It was really thrilling to see.
The cave is situated right beneath a big castle. It is actually the monastery of St. John. When I got to the cave the bus full of tourists was just leaving. I went inside and was alone except for the old woman attendant. I had the place to myself. Just me, my hostess and the ghost of ol’ Saint John! The ceiling is cracked into thirds, by the finger of God, so we’re told.
Needless to say, when I went back outside there was no bus waiting for me.The view of the town, the harbor and the sea was just beautiful. There was a clearly marked trail leading down the hill and the ship wouldn’t sail for another hour and a half so I thought I’d just hoof it on down the mountain.
On my way down I found a young Greek couple, dating I think. He was playing a guitar, playing blues so I told him that I was a musician from Austin, Texas. He lit up….”Do you know Stevie Ray Vaughan?” meaning was I familiar with him. “Of course. I knew Stevie”….Man, he just wigged, right there. He was beside himself. That was the coolest and most enjoyable moment. He made my day and I made his.
See what happens if you just travel and let it happen? Tours are expensive, the cave was packed, shoulder to shoulder for those 40 people on the tour and they didn’t see the priests ring the church bells OR meet the world’s biggest Stevie Ray Vaughan fan…..and the Calamari!!
I was in line at a convenience store and it was taking FOREVER at the register. I got fed up and decided to leave. I took what was in my hands and put it on a counter, telling the Mgr. I was leaving. He asked if I was returning the product and I jst said it was talking too long and I was leaving. I went outside and was walking down a dark row of storefront. The was an open window and a guy asked me what I was looking for…”Something to eat” was my reply. I got something and went outside and got in a big old 1960’s kind of car, like a Lincoln or something. He produced a pistol and took 2 shots at me. At that point I drove into a big hole, a hole I would not be able to drive out of in real life. I ended up driving through a fence, the back of the store wall and the front of the store wall and tearing down the road. At that point the car died and I noticed a group of armed rednecky me down the road in front of me.
I started trying to wave cars down to rescue me, several passed me but the third vehicle, a big Red 1950’s style truck stopped. The driver said “Grab that ax, in the back, which I did. I sat in the passenger seat and he drove past the bad men. Then he said “My gun is under the seat, hand it to me”. It was a shotgun, which he pointed at me and said “Get out. I’m going to tell them where I dropped you.” (Not my day, huh?)
I went to the right and into a woods for a while. When I came out I was near a big dark brown band looking building. An thin, older African-American woman was walking by and I asked her to hide me. She said she couldn’t but then took me inside. The men appeared down at the end of her drive. Suddenly she was about 20 years younger (40’s) and plumper but not fat.
She took off all of her clothes and went outside. I was behind her. She went up on a small hill and stood next to a hay bale sized bale of money. Bill were flying off the bale and she was shouting “TAKE YOUR MONEY. I DON’T NEED IT!!”
Then she got in an old Claw Foot porcelain bath tub.
How did it happen? After STOP THE TRUCK first played at Equiblues Rodeo in St-Agreve, France I stared receiving emails from Yvette and Andre. To be honest, I first thought they were another couple that I had a photo of from playing at the rodeo. It wasn’t until meeting them that I realized who they were. I can’t recall if it was 2nd Equiblues or when they came to Austin for SXSW that we stared our relationship. They love coming to Texas and have travelled all over the state. It’s their version of me going to France..CAN’T GET ENOUGH!
On our first trip (my only trip) to Paris they showed us all around took us everywhere. It was awesome.
What really want to express is that it is rare, as an adult, that you have a chance to make friends on this deep a level. The kind of life-long friend we made as teenagers, when we had all the time in the world to spend with people…and really bond. We have bonded with Yvette and Andre and they are family to us. It makes me cry, a bit, when I think of how close they are with my daughter.
YVETTE
Yvette…Let me tell you about Yvette. Yvette is a bundle of LOVE, and the kindest, sweetest soul you could ever meet. She and Andre call me “Papa Poule” (Father Hen) because of the way I watch over my daughter. Mina LOVES these 2 people more than I can tell you. On Mina’s second trip to France, Mina went to Paris for a few days ahead of me and Andre and Yvette insisted on picking her up from the airport, chaperoning her and getting her on the train to Annecy, where she met me. Yvette is Mina’s soul-mate. She also introduced Mina to her daughter, Virginie, who took Mina shopping around Paris. On Mina’s 3rd trip to France she went and stayed a week with Yvette and Andre at their home outside Paris. She still considers that the best time she ever had in France. Mina calls them her “French Grandparents”.
Rich White, Yvette and me in Chalencon, FR.
Andre…Let me tell you about Andre….When we first met he didn’t talk much because he is not a jabber-mouth, anyway, and Yvette spoke better English. Over time, he is, now, so comfortable with us that we get by just fine.
Andre always has his camera. He takes amazing photographs. He took this one of Mina jet-lagged in The Louvre.
He is shy but quite funny….We call him “KING ANDRE” because he can park in a “shoe box” in Paris. We were like…”No way!”…Andre? “Way!”. Seriously, forward and back, inch by inch, but he WILL park! (Merde!)One of the best gifts I have ever given. I gave Andre a real Carhartt, a real “ranch” coat. This coat is bullet-proof and genuine. He wears it well.
Pastry in Paris…YES!
Mina and “King” Andre at Notre Dame.
Yvette, Mina and “Papa Poule” at Notre Dame
Us with Trish Wesovich (Trish is our dear pal. She and Mina speak French so it made talking a bit easier). Speaking of talking, one of Andre and Mary’s best shared moments was Mary getting them to say Gruene=GREEN Hall in a way Texans would understand. I can’t spell it out (Goo-WEEN-aah!) here, but they all laughed until it hurt trying to make this happen.
L to R Yvette, Mary, Andre, Me, Trish Wesovich, Mina….Eating BBQ at the Salt Lick, in Austin
During the 90’s I tried my hand at songwriting. My friend Ron Hicks encouraged me to co-write. I wrote with Ron and Erik Moll as part of Sunroom Music Group, run by Linda Wier, Rusty’s ex-wife.
Erik Moll was already a well known songwriter in Norway, where he spent half his time. He was friends with an artist who was looking for material for his “Country music” themed album. Steinar Albrigtsen ended up cutting several of Erik’s song for the album, including the title track. ALONE TOO LONG. Ron Hicks had the HIT single, In Rosa’s Heart, a great song! Steinar also cut BURNIN’ MOONLIGHT and YOUR DADDY”S CADILLAC, both co-written by myself, Erik Moll and Ron Hicks.
That album went double platinum. We were beyond thrilled! Steinar sent us all PLATINUM RECORDS…How nice!
About a year later Steinar came to Austin looking for more songs, for the next Cd. The title song was Ron’s…BOUND TO WANDER, another great Ron Hicks song, one of my favorites, really.
Well, this time..I got the single with I JUST WANNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN. Steinar kindly made sure I got the GOLD SINGLE for my wall. This was the height of my songwriting career.
About a year after that Erik invited me (bass) and Rick Poss (lead guitar) to do a tour in Norway, 10 venues including Oslo, Hamar, Gjovik and Bergen. It was just beautiful in Norway.
Every night Erik had me play I JUST WANNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIn and very night, as soon as we started they screamed for the song. They all knew it from being Steinar’s hit. For the 2 shows in Oslo, Steinar played with us. For me, it was an incredible THRILL to hear that reaction to me song.
As a side note, in the early 90’s my ex, Karen, and daughter Mina went to Switzerland for 2 weeks. One night we were in a restaurant and we learned our server was from Sweden. When I went to the bathroom Karen told the girl about my song in Norway and it turned out that the server KNEW my song. When I cam back to the table SHE SANG IT TO ME!!! She said her mother LOVED Steinar Albrigtsen and had that album and played it all the time. I couldn’t believe she knew the words and the melody, What a thrill!
On tour with ERIK MOLL in NORWAY.
I had 2 songs on this Cd, I JUST WANNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN and SUDDEN STOP. I JUST WANNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN became a GOLD single from this Cd.
I had 2 songs on this CD…BURNIN’ MOONLIGHT and YOUR DADDY”S CADILLAC, both co-written with Erik Moll and Ron Hicks
I was THRILLED when I JUST WANNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN came out on Steinar’s GREATEST HITS and the music book for this cd.
myentertaininglife-stevecarter4 years ago
Burnham Market
One of the best gifts I have ever given. I gave Andre a real Carhartt, a real “ranch” coat. This coat is bullet-proof and genuine. He wears it well. 
My Entertaining Life-Steve Carter 