How I Got This Way

[bovinehost]

Finally pulled this down and did a quick scan. Sorry for the quality - I printed this in my closet darkroom as a test around 1979 or so and never got around to doing a "nice" print. Ah well, it's got 'mojo', right?

Far left is Dean Merriman, who went bipolar effin' schizo bonkers a while back and spends a lot of time under bridges. An extremely talented guitar player but let's just say he was a tad unreliable, even at the best of times.

Me in the middle with a 77 or 78 Stingray that was brought to me by Bill Hibbler, who I think now manages Glenn Hughes, amongst other things.

Far right, Fred Drake, my best friend in the universe - and, when I think of great drummers, Fred's always in the top five, bar none. Fred left us a few years back, but produced some great music in Joshua Tree (and elsewhere) at a place called Rancho de la Luna. Ask those Queens of the Stone Age guys about Fred!

Anyway, that bass, that Stingray is the one that brought me over from the dark side.

For the record, I like the NEW ONES BETTER.

There, I did it.

Jackie

 

[Colin]

Great post Jack

 

[silverburst]

You look kind of like Napolean Dynamite.

 

[TSanders]

You look kind of like Napolean Dynamite.

HHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Great one Rex.

 

[midopa]

grow



that



fro~

 

[tkarter]

I sorta remember the 70's. Sure hope there aren't any pictures.

tk

 

[Randracula]

Great pic and story Jack!I agree with Rex, it's very Napolean Dynamite( Hey Jack what are you going to play on this new song? Whatever I feel like playing GOSH!)

 

[NorM]

I thought about putting up an old school pic of me but I thought better.

 

[bovinehost]

I'm just too....me to worry about my self-image, I guess.

Besides, I can promise you that I was having fun - all KINDS of fun - back in those days.

 

[fogman]

You look kind of like Napolean Dynamite.

LOL!!!!
I'll vote for Pedro and Jack!
Nice fro Bro!
Great story.

 

[Big Poppa]

nice......

 

[bovinehost]

Every now and then, I pick up the Bass of Justice - a relatively straightforward Stingray 4 single humbucker - and I'm reminded of how blown away I was back then when Bill brought that Stingray over to my apartment and said, "Play it for a couple of weeks and, if you like it, you can pay me whatever."

We were all in different bands, playing cover material and trying to make a living, the Ramada Room and all that, but Motor Skills was what we did when we didn't have anything remotely commercial to worry about, and it was fun. We attracted some really good players from around Houston - Rodney Crowell's old drummer loved us, but wouldn't admit it in public - I think we were sort of like Primus before anyone had any idea what Primus was.

We had a tendency to play stuff in odd time signatures, 11/32 and whatever else we could do to confuse the "jazz" crowd. Or even the rock and roll crowd. I have a tape around here of a radio show we did - I claimed at one point that we would be opening for Helen Reddy at the Summit in Houston, and about a hundred people actually called up, wanting to know where to buy tickets.

Andy, our Cowpilot drummer, sat in the studio with me one night and listened to some of that old stuff and was very surprised to find that I was so 'experimental'.

I'm sure he thought I really dug playing Bob Wills - and what the hell, I do, I do.

Anyway, that particular Stingray saw an awful lot of action. One night at rehearsal, it just died. We were all looking at it, wondering where the magic sound had gotten off to. It took a long time to figure out that there was a battery in there. Yup, the battery was dead, and none of us had ever had experience with an active instrument. The sound guy eventually found us outside, confused and smoking, and said, "You know that bass has a battery, right?"

Well, no. We didn't, really.

It wouldn't have occurred to me!

Cheers, Biff.

Jackie

 

[tadawson]

You look kind of like Napolean Dynamite.

Actually, frighteningly so . . . .

- Tim

 

[Caca de Kick]

Every now and then, I pick up the Bass of Justice - a relatively straightforward Stingray 4 single humbucker

nice sig material...

 

[thunder]

nice fro' bro'! and great story. i own a 77' also i agree the ones are incredible but that bass would blow away other basses made from 75 thru. 1990. for 15 year that bass ruled the world! in my punk days i work the hell out of it.

 

[Mr Light]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Aussie Mark]

I've seen Jack with a 'fro before, but very cool pic regardless! In the past week I've been approached to play bass in a Hendrix tribute show, so I'm thinking Jack looks very Noel in that pic.

 

[Psycho Ward]

Jack I had the same hair doo back then, we called it the "General Electric".

 

[Big Poppa]

Its fun to lookk back on singed youth....My drummer and good pal has left the world too about ten years ago...demons baby.

You know the difference jack...these days the kids dont jam like us old farts.........It is funny how many young players cant play the blues......Oh well its the evolution of what we did and in stead of a garage its a laptop....

I remember the first time Steve Morse was going to play in Biff Baby's....ir was totally foriegn to him and I said "we will have a rehearsal".....It was cox albert and John Ferraro was on the road so Chad Wackerman subbed and we just kind of stumbled into radar love and it lasted 45 minutes and went to the moon and back and lasted 45 minutes. I said "OK, I guess we can start" and Steve said Im not worried anymore Lets have dinner and then jam somemore

 

[the unrepentant]

cool stories guys, nice photo too haha. I don't have any decent stories yet, give me a few years though