This February has been especially brutal for those living in the midwest and all the way to the east coast. The jet stream has forced the cold, arctic blasts more frequently into the whole area. There has been a lot of snow and resultant power outages, and eventually there will be flooding to look forward to when the snow and ice finally thaws. A messy and unpleasant situation. And more to come, if you believe the groundhog’s prediction. In contrast, the western part of the United States has been pleasantly mild so far this winter. Just thinking of the problems in the east brings back many memories of my life there for twenty some years.
As a professional trombone player, I lived in Middletown, but, in order to work, I had to drive to Dayton, Cincinnati or across the river to Kentucky. In all weather. It didn’t matter what the weather report said. I just got in my car and left for the job, no matter where it was. Ahhh youth, when we are immortal (and, for the most part, clueless). When I first started driving, my cars were junkers. Stripped down. Bald tires. Temperamental when it came to starting the motor, etc. You get the picture. I remember far too many nights after a job, in another city, when everyone else had gone, still trying to get the car to start without flooding it (at which time there was an even longer wait). I’m not sure to this day whether it was the curse words or the prayer that finally got the car to start. (Hallelujah)!
When I started working at a club in Dayton called Suttmiller’s (a theater restaurant that seated about 500 people), I finally, with a little help, was able to get a brand new car that would start when you needed it to start. With this car, I traveled thousands of miles up and down Route 75 for many years in all kinds of weather without any problems. And, I never had snow tires or chains. The car was a Corvair, which had the motor in the rear of the car, and the trunk in the front. To balance this, I put a few cement blocks in the front trunk and traveled through ice, snow, black ice, sleet, and freezing rain with never a problem on the road. Whenever possible, though, I followed salt trucks, especially late at night. A lot slower, but a lot safer.
The only other difficult part was coming out of a job and finding my car covered with ice or snow, or both, and having to clean it off before being able to think of driving. Actually, you first start the car, then turn the heat up full blast, and then start cleaning off the ice and snow as they start melting. The other indispensable item is anti-freeze in your car. I would usually also contain my own anti-freeze from playing a dance where the booze was flowing freely. (another dangerous thing about being young and stupid). But I was lucky, or maybe had an overactive guardian angel. Whatever it was, it allowed me to be here now. And I am grateful for that.
Weather and music seem to go together in some weird way. And music and booze (or whatever) seem also to be linked in some weird way. These were the days when the music for dances and parties and proms, etc, was “live.” You didn’t even have to say it then because the music for these things was always live. The only exception was the “sock hop” in the gymnasium. A lot of the time a record player with a stack of 45’s was used. Also a lot of fun in those days. Now I think that this probably was the forerunner of the DJ who would eventually take over and do away with live music altogether. A very sad state of affairs for all musicians.
I really hope that live music recovers from this downturn, and once again lives to generate excitement in a very personal way as I and many others of my generation enjoyed it. It could happen…!