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I had the good fortune to meet Spike at the beginning of Duran Duran\'s ‘Big Thing Tour’ (is that what it was called?) in 1989. I believe it was at a rehearsal at Stanbridge Farm Studios that I first laid eyes on him as he gave a few performance tips to Nick Rhodes – \"Just put your bloody fingers down on the keys and it will all come back to you ...\" or something like that. Spike took over many aspects of the rehearsals, made everything flow and I was just in awe of his natural leadership and vodka and tonic-making abilities. Being on the road for a long time with the same people puts any and all relationships to the test and all I can say is, after that endless year, Spike was still cracking me up and still great fun to hang out with. We have since kept in touch and we both still have each other\'s private phone numbers (don\'t we?). Ah, I miss (certain aspects of) those times and maybe, one day, I\'ll have the chance to relive those glory days with Spikey by my side.
My favorite experience with the SAS band, oddly enough, occurred when I was not under a cloud of personal struggle and relationship-caused depression. It was after Spike and his lovely wife, Kyle, introduced me to MY lovely wife, Margot (with whom I have two lovely daughters, Chloe and Sasha, thank you for asking), that the haze started to lift and I was able to fully appreciate Spike as a talk show host as well as a musician. Of course I\'m talking about the TV show Spike and Co. were filming. I had such a great time with everyone at this gig that I was sure that it would lead to permanent work for all of us. Who knows, maybe it still will. In fact, I\'m starting to think it did for everyone else but ‘yours truly’, but who am I to complain? Love ya, Spike, and hope to work with the SAS band again soon. |
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| Stan Harrison |
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Stan Harrison has composed and recorded the music for the soon to be released CD called \"The Optimist.\"
I was born in Philadelphia, PA, and raised in New Jersey (it\'s not as bad as it\'s made out to be). Soon after graduating from college with an almost – no, make that totally – useless degree in sociology, (I learned, for example, that upon meeting people for the first time, kicking them and offering to sit on their lap is considered unsocial behavior, except in certain parts of Utah), I started working and touring as a full-time musician. Unfortunately, nothing my parents said at the time was able to stop me from doing this.
I might add that before this nosedive into the world of glory and back-stage lunch-meat, I spent a summer driving a cab. My favourite rides were the ones involving taking three transvestites from Camden to Philadelphia to buy drugs. Mind you, at the time I had no idea they were doing this, but later, in the comfort of the bottom bunk in a converted van going from Philly to Orlando, Florida, I had a few moments to reflect on my past and realized that throwing a rock at a third floor window, then disappearing and reappearing in two minutes only to return to the same place across the Ben Franklin bridge was not indicative of a \"let\'s chat\" moment. My second favorite ride was when I survived a threat to have my skull smashed in - I think that\'s how the three drunken construction workers put it. At this point I knew that I was good for only a few more months at this job. On the positive side I learned how to pump gas, drive a stick shift with the shift on the steering column (what do they call that?) and find my way to all the hidden treasures of Camden, New Jersey.
Anyway, my first ‘real’ band experience on a professional level (make that, semi-professional level - it\'s not professional until you don\'t have to back up a comedian) was with a band I\'m sure everyone has heard of, THE DOVELLS. They were famous for such songs as ‘The Bristol Stomp’ (one of the only dances I could sort of do) and ‘You Can\'t Sit Down’ (actually performed by Bruce Springsteen in the beginning of his career – don\'t expect him to play it too often these days).
This lasted for about seven months until that fateful day when the phone rang and I was told that SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY |
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