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Topic: Weekend in Deadwood,S.D. |
Michael Johnstone
From:
Sylmar,Ca. USA
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Posted 21 Jun 2005 9:46 am |
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| Just got back to L.A.after doing 2 concerts at the "Wild Bill Days" music festival w/The Sacred Cowboys which is a band led by W.Earl Brown who plays Dan Dority on Deadwood.I met Earl on the set last season when I joind the cast and I've been doing some gigs with him including this festival where we opened for Big & Rich. Plus the whole thing was filmed for future showing on CMT. Besides the usual logistical screwups - lost luggage and instruments,last minute schedual changes - it was a blast. I was even in a sort of celebrity blackjack game at the Number 10 Saloon with Big Kenny,John Rich,Little Fred and Earl Brown and John Hawkes from the Deadwood show. Big Kenny even spotted me $40 when things got tough. But I caught up with a couple of risky double-downs and walked away $110 to the good. Then 5 minutes before our set on Sat I realized my E to Eb knee lever was hanging up and not returning to pitch so I was lying on my back onstage underneath my steel with a screwdriver in my teeth and an allen key in each hand while we were being announced. Obviously something got knocked out of whack during shipping but I couldn't figure out whether the linkage was binding or a cross shaft bearing had slipped out of it's place or what,so I just cranked the return springs down about 3 times tighter than normal and played the set with a real stiff knee lever - but it returned to pitch. Because of the logistics of how our gear was stored overnight,I wasn't able to get the guitar back to my room to fix it so I just played it the way it was on Sunday as well but it hung in there.Besides all that we were treated like kings and given the red carpet treatment wherever we went - free food,beer and swag. On Sat we did the obligitory meet & greet and signed pictures for all the shops and businesses in town and the next day I went in one gift shop to buy souvenirs and they had scanned my picture and were selling Deadwood t-shirts with my picture on them. I also shmoozed a bit with James Pennebaker who picks steel for Big & Rich who I hadn't met before and he was a real nice guy and sounded real tasty on his Carter. One other thing I learned the hard way is not to lock your instrument cases when you check them through as baggage in these post-911 days. Two of our instruments never made it out of LAX because their cases couldn't be opened by security and wiped down for explosive residue.Gotta grab some coffee and go work on my Excel...... -MJ- |
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Ben Slaughter
From:
Madera, California
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Posted 24 Jun 2005 12:39 pm
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| Sounds like a he!! of a time!! Bet that town has changed a lot recently... |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 24 Jun 2005 6:05 pm
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MJ: I'm truly happy for you. Sounds like a large time at Deadwood. Deadwood is the only show I watch on TV, and now it's wait 9 months for the next series.
I can't barely stand it.
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James Pennebaker
From:
Mt. Juliet, TN
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Posted 24 Jun 2005 10:21 pm
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Michael,
What a pleasure it was to meet you and what a great time we had in Deadwood. I stood in the wings and watched your whole show. What an excellent player you are and you really know how to "make tone!" I am totally jealous.
James P. |
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