Examples of super practical jokes popped up recently so I thought I'd describe about the wildest one I have ever heard about.
I was NOT in on this. This is all hearsay, however, it's true. Our Interact Club went to the state convention in Mobile during April of '68. We all stayed at the old Sheraton Battle House on Bienville Square. Being from Dothan, we took pride in staying drunk the entire time and never attending any of the meetings except the one where the lovely Kathy Parrish, our sweetheart, competed for statewide sweetheart.
Anyway, our headquarters, other than our hotel room, was a dive down the street from the Battle House named the Flamingo Lounge. We gave the manager a little extra cash so he set us up a private booth in the back of the club where we could hold court with the ladies of the evening and not be bothered by people like Mobile vice cops. We were all seniors at Dothan High but one little junior named Gus always tagged around with us. He couldn't hold his liquor but we were his guardian angels and always took care of little Gus.
Well, the last night of the convention, Saturday, we all got tore up at the Flamingo. We almost had to go get the hotel's wheelchair in order to get Gus back to the Battle House. We got him back to his room safely and that should be the end of the story but the juniors had a practical joke planned for Gus.
A drunken Gus comes into the Junior's suite of rooms and is instantly challenged to place a $1 dollar bet into a "circle jerk" pot. The idea was that everybody in the room had put a dollar in the pot. The agreement was that the lights would be turned off, everybody would begin to whack off and the first person to finish would win the pot. Gus went for it.
The lights go out and all the other Juniors start making sounds by patting their bellies with the palm of their hand. This goes on for a few moments. Suddenly the lights are cut on. Everybody is fully clothed except Gus who is caught "red handed".
But there was only one problem. One of the Juniors, Don, had lost himself in the moment and he had his whipped out too!!!! Oh man, from that moment on "Don" bacame "Jack". The Juniors came pouring out of the room into the hall screaming about "Jack"! Everyone had forgotten about poor Gus. The joke was on "Jack"!!!!
Everytime I have ever seen "Don" since that day I have called him "Jack".
Today Jack is a very prominent businessman and civic leader in Dothan and everytime he sees me he looks like he's gonna kill me.

Check out the Locust Fork Band's new website
http://www.locustforkband.com/

HEY YA'LL:
Another great day in the neighborhood!
Take a few moments & let me hear from ya. These folks on this post took the time and wrote me today.
Remember: TOMORROW IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO EXCEL!!!!
best,
ka$h http://robertoreg.blogspot.com



The Candymen in Tuscaloosa courtesy of http://www.wtbc1230.com
left to right: Bill Gilmore http://crystalhorizon.com/Classics_IV/Home_Main.htm , Rodney Justo, Robert Nix, Little Bobby Peterson[in hat & glasses], John Rainey Adkins

Tim....
Poor Bobby NEVER got laid.
We got him hooked up once in Bossier City and the poor girl couldn't get out of her room for three days.Man he was happy!
There are a lot of Bobby stories.
When the army was after him we got a girl from Jacksonville to marry him because the law was that they wouldn't draft you if you were married.
I think that she was a friend of a friend of Robert Nix and we gave her $100.00 or some small pittance. When it got changed to you had to have children that's when we knew that he was doomed.
I do seem to recall an instance when we found out after the fact, that he had been watching "a show"in fact I think that it was in Miami .
You could have very well heard Georgia Pines at the ParTee but you probably heard the James Gang do it because they released a version before we did.
We recorded it as an afterthought because we needed another song for the album, and I did it in I believe one take
I wasn't exactly thrilled when the record company decided to make it our first single.
Bobby Brean, I don't know how I remembered that 40 years later.I was close at least.
Wish I could remember what happened last week.
Man we LOVED the ParTee !!
Great times,great owner,beautiful girls.
Baby it was a LARGE TIME !
What do you do for a livin' now?
RODNEY JUSTO

To Rodney From Tim
Rodney,
Appreciate the reply. Thank God, I thought I went to "Fantasy Island"! I didn't detail...didn't want to offend anyone. It was in Miami. We all were drinking at the bar when you all were relating the story. I still can see Bobby Brean literally rolling on the floor crying from laughing so hard...like the rest of us.
I live on a little golf course (my passion..next to my 3rd wife & last) in St. Louis. I have been in the chemical industry (legal) for 28 years, sales...it's been a good ride to date. Still play occasionally, a single with drum machine...it never speeds up. Being a bass player my chord knowledge makes me maintain the KISS method..keep it simple stupid.
After reading all the mention of the Par Tee on this thread by the groups that passed through, I can't tell you how refreshing it is to hear someone FINALLY appreciate and understand what that club truly was about...it just wasn't another lounge stop. It was "FANTASY ISLAND". Dennis Yost felt the same too when I spent some time one evening with him in Tampa in the mid 80's. What are you doing these day's?
Tim


To :
"Robert Register"
Subject :
Re: A 3 Story Tall Cobra, The Great One & Little Bobby In The Closet Eating Popcorn!!!!


ROBERT,
PARTEE WAS A PARTY!!!! WE STAYED BETWEEN THE GIANT SERPENT AND THE
DRIVE-IN MOVIE. THAT'S WHERE WE GOT THE POPCORN!!! WE WOULD JUST WALK OUT OUR
DOOR THROUGH THE PINETREES TO THE CONCESSION STAND!! STU KAUFFMAN HAD A
GORGEOUS WIFE AND THEY WERE GREAT PEOPLE. SOME OF MY FONDEST MEMORIES ARE OF
THE PARTEE LOUNGE, MIAMI, ON THE OLD SOUTH DIXIE HIWAY!!!
MORE LATER GATOR!
ROBERT NIX!!!!-----

Check It out at http://floridarocksagain.com/


J.R. Cobb and Buddy Buie at a Classics IV recording session, photo courtesy of http://www.crystalhorizon.com/mainframe.htm
Subject :
An Email I sent to Buddy Buie Concerning Roy Orbison

Buddy:
Ya know I put all kinds of rock 'n roll stories on my blog and I've heard a couple about you.
I'd love to have permission to post anything you write but a little bird told me you have some of Orbison's clothes. The story goes that Roy was a closet smoker and didn't want his wife to discover he was smoking. While he was staying at your place on Lake Eufaula, he left his clothes with you because he knew his wife would smell cigarette smoke on them if he took them back to Tennessee.
Any comments will be appreciated.
Best,
Robert Register


Subject:
Re: An Email I sent to Buddy Buie Concerning Roy Orbison
Date:
Tue, 22 Feb 2005 22:30:06 -0500

I can reply to any stories about Roy being a closet smoker.
He smoked Disque Bleu cigarettes when we worked together.Or at least when he could get them.
Robert and JohnRainey were the only non-smokers.
I had a heart attack in 1988
Not long after that I went to a party in New York that was being thrown for Roy at the Hard Rock by,I think Bruce Springsteen.
I hadn't seen Roy in quite some time and asked him "didn't you have some heart problems a couple of years ago"
We talked for a while about life ,health, the passing of time,all the while he was puffin' away on the cigarettes.
His wife was right there when he was smoking so I doubt that he was a closet smoker .
RODNEY JUSTO

Subject:
Re: Buddy Buie: How 'bout a Roy Orbison story?
Date:
Wed, 23 Feb 2005 10:09:27 -0600
To:
"robert register"

Robert:
I can add a couple of details to your account of the Roy Orbison
clothes story.
Roy came to my house outside of Doraville to write with Ronnie Hammond
and me. He also loved a song Hammond and I had written called AWESOME
LOVE and wanted to adapt it to his style for his upcoming recording
session. I cherish those few days now since that was the last time I
saw Roy.
MEMORIES
Roy laughing hysterically when I sang AWESOME LOVE doing my best
Orbison imitation
The goosebumps I got hearing Roy sing our song. He died before he got
a chance to recorded it.
Roy going nuts over fried lobster and creme brulle when we went to
Panos and Pauls. He said it was so good it gave him a nosebleed. Later
Pano had that same
dinner delivered backstage when Roy played Chastain Park. He loved it.
Roy saying "throw these clothes away,Barbara doesn' know I'm smoking
again" Later my wife Gloria washed them and they're still in my
closet.
My car breaking down on the way to the airport .We didn't have time to
call a cab so the wrecker driver dropped my car at a service station
and took us to the airport in his wrecker. I can still hear him saying
"my God it's Roy Orbison'"
He had a legendary voice and a kind heart. All of us who knew him were
blessed.
Kindest Regards,
BUDDY BUIE

Subject:
Re: Believe It Or Not
To:
robertoreg2003@yahoo.com

Yo, Rodnoid!!!! You hit the nail on the head with this one! Stu Kauffman! He really was the best club owner in the world to work for. We always looked forward to going down there. The first time we worked for him, we stayed in this motel next to a damned snake-a-torium thing, owned by a guy I have seen on TV since then, Dr. Haus,[Dr. Haust] or something like that. You would pay to get in and he would handle snakes, and his wife would scream, "Dr. Haus!!!! Dr. Haus!!! Be careful, Dr. Haus!!!!" The third time we saw this we laughed our asses off. He had a giant alligator outside that had its tail bitten off. Probably by Dr. Haus's wife. He later became famous for producing snakebite venoms. The motel had no heat (it was Miami, remember) and the temp. got down below freezing while we were there. Sheesh, what a trip! I mean the whole era. I wouldn't trade any of it for anything, except maybe hard cash.
Jimmy Dean

Subject:
Re: Believe It Or Not
Date:
Tue, 22 Feb 2005 07:59:26 -0500

Tim
Bobby did indeed wear some "weird" glasses.
He was one of a kind.
If you saw him on the street you would walk right by him but, something magical happened when he got on a stage.He became the focal point.
I would say as well that there was the same scenario with ARS with Paul Goddard where the Bass player was easily the most recognizable member of the band.
When he got drafted,and we replaced him with Dean Daughtry the rest of the guys were really nervous about how we would be received.
The strange thing about The Candymen and our initial engagement at the ParTee was that we had only been together as a working band for a month.
JohnRainey was at that time, queer for rehearsing, and, we would practice like madmen.So,by the time we started working we were prepared.
On the way to Miami in the bus I remember Robert Nix standing up and saying"I predict that Jackie Gleason sees us when we're in Miami and has us on his TV show"
As far as seeing a pretend ARS I've never heard of such a thing.
Maybe you saw JR Cobb who was with both the Classics IV and ARS.
One more thing about the BlueBeatles.....didn't one of them have an alliterative name like Buddie Buie,Timmy Thomas,Mike Miller,Ron Rogers?

The Candymen in Tuscaloosa courtesy of http://www.wtbc1230.com

Rodney,
I would imagine that would have been our guitar player Bobby Brean. Van Dyke and wore glasses, a wonderful entertainer. JR Cobb sounds familiar. He played at the Par Tee for the second owner Bud Pecha...who he remembered as being a drunk. We would have to get him out of the "Tank" to get paid...unfortunately we watched the club go down the drain. After seeing the Candymen picture at Roy's home, the faces all come back, especially Nix, Peterson & Justo. Never forget the BIG guy. Bobby story...probably one of the best of my music career. Whether they were pulling our chain I will never know, but Bobby said when the guy's would get "lucky" he would enjoy getting to the room early with a bag of popcorn and hide in a closet and partake of the festivities....man I hope it was a true story! Another question: Was I mistaken about Georgia Pines? My memory...somewhat jaded, seems to remember the Candymen banging it out early on...same as we listened to the Pigeons/Vanilla Fudge mold "You Keep Me Hangin' On" prior to its' release when they went back north.
Tim

Robert:Your blogs bring back fond memories!!I think it's super cool that you are keeping the torch burning for the sixties and the bands that deserve a place in rock history.I'm proud to have produced and written songs for the Candymen, Dennis Yost and the Classics IV, Wilbur Walton and the James Gang,and ARS.My memory isn't nearly as good as Rodney Justo's. I often call him for info concerning those days.If I can help I will share any info I've retained. Kindest regards' Buddy Buie

A RESPONSE TO HUNTER THOMPSON'S ARTICLE
graphic by skypilot Darrin
CAPN: Please send this email to your buddy, Hunter S.Mr.Hunter S. This is your invitation from me, Robert Register, to come down home and start talking your trash.Please come down home and hang out with me and my friends in the bars,lumberyards, hardware, plumbing and electrical supply stores of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and the panhandle of Florida.You'll have fun down home.We'll make EASY RIDER look like a circle jerk!Bring your Hell's Angel's buddies with ya and see what they git!We deal with tough guys like you every day,Mr. Hunter S., and everyday we send them off to Colorado and Oregon and other Yankee Hell Holes where we have deposited our human refuse for the past 90 yrs.Check out Compton, California- that's one of Auburn's experimental farms[ if they don't end up in our penitentiary or somewhere else. You need to notice that we are very successful about that shit.]
And we gonna send some more out tomorrow and we'll do the same damn thang the day after tomorrow and a week from tomorrow. We don't give a rat's ass about a bunch of stupid, guilt-ridden Yankees.And if you disagree with that, show up on our front porch and we'll give you a fuckin' education you ain't 'bout to ever forget.Ever wonder why shitheads like you don't live around us.They can't and if they ever did,they'd have sense enough to keep their fuckin' mouth shut.Please come have fun in the Deep South with us, Mr. Hunter S. and,remember, we know where the damn muddy bottom of the river is.I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT HAPPENS ON TUESDAY, THIS IS THE STATE OF ALABAMA!best,r
There's been tremendous responses to Robert's response to Hunter Thompson.
From Skypilot Greg in China:
[nasal Down-Easter drawl]In regards to Robert ah-Registah..Well, ahh... some of us just can't abide one anothah, seems t' me-ah...We're a nation at Wahh, ...a-yup... that's fah shuwa.. Recently been thinkin' that wahh may be a-gettin' a-bit-ah too closah to home, for my comfuht. Seems the Foundin' Fathas had a-sumthin' t' say about intolerance.. ahem.I've a-thunk that a clevah man once said, ...whilst cleanin' his lobsta-traps, ..that the Republicans care to think ah themselves as the morally superiah pahty... the Dems considah themsel-ves the intellectually super-iah flag-wavahs..A-yup. Only... they-ah both-ah wrong.Greet the New Boss. Same as the Old-ah Boss..Serendipitously Yours;The Token YankeeSomewhere deep inside Commie-Liberal HeavenWay Past Yankee Hell Holes
From Skypilot Are We Really?:
There are many ways to say I love you!
English I Love You
Spanish Te Amo
French Je T'aime
German lch Liebe Dich
Japanese Ai Shite Imasu
Italian Ti Amo
Chinese Wo Ai Ni
Swedish Jag Alskar
Alabama Arkansas Kansas Oklahoma Texas North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Tennessee Idaho Missouri Mississippi Montana Louisiana Virginia West Virginia Kentucky parts of Florida Nice Ass, Get in the truck
From Skypilot Ryan:
I wish I had a camera in Alabama at Nates Aunts house she is an old hippie turned Bush supporter, a beer guzzlin, Xanax poppin, non stop pot puffin, republican in backwoods alabama. I just agreed with her that the homeland needs protected because I heard the terror people purchased old ferry boats to bring 1970 impalas with guns on the back and camals. So the homeland needs protectin. I told her she is an upstandin member of the GOP and they would be proud. THen Nate who told me not to talk politics with her showed her the front page of the website. I wish I could of filmed that,
All in good fun! Freedom of speech and laughing at the results is where we's at.-- Capn Skyp

Subject :
Pods.

I saw the Pods play at the Rec. Cntr. on several occasions. I also saw the
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band at the Rec. Cntr. They had an electric
harpsichord in a Lucite case, way past cool. They also had all the over
head projectors and 16mm films stuff running. I always wondered if they
were hooked up any way with the Merry Pranksters who according to Ken's EACT
came through Dothan round that time frame. It's hard to connect the dots
when your pencil's broke.
Later...
rbiii

Robert:Your blogs bring back fond memories!!I think it's super cool that you are keeping the torch burning for the sixties and the bands that deserve a place in rock history.I'm proud to have produced and written songs for the Candymen, Dennis Yost and the Classics IV, Wilbur Walton and the James Gang,and ARS.My memory isn't nearly as good as Rodney Justo's. I often call him for info concerning those days.If I can help I will share any info I've retained. Kindest regards' Buddy Buie

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/05/06/features-hoinski.php

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/02/03/thompson/

Ugly, Tasteless, Terrifying and Wild... Count Me In! He's been America's most unorthodox political commentator for more than 30 years. But for Dr Hunter S Thompson the Bush presidency is evil beyond belief - and judgment is nigh "That is why George W Bush is President of the United States, and Al Gore is not. Bush simply wanted it more, and he was willing to demolish anything that got in his way, including the US Supreme Court. It is not by accident that the Bush White House (read: Dick Cheney & Halliburton Inc) controls all three branches of our federal government today. They are powerful thugs who would far rather die than lose the election in November. The Republican establishment is haunted by painful memories of what happened to Old Man Bush in 1992. He peaked too early, and he had no response to "It's the economy, stupid." Which has always been the case. Every GOP administration since 1952 has let the Military-Industrial Complex loot the Treasury and plunge the nation into debt on the excuse of a wartime economic emergency. Richard Nixon comes quickly to mind, along with Ronald Reagan and his ridiculous "trickle-down" theory of US economic policy. If the rich get richer, the theory goes, before long their pots will overflow and somehow "trickle down" to the poor, who would rather eat scraps off the Bush family plates than eat nothing at all. Republicans have never approved of democracy, and they never will. It goes back to pre-industrial America, when only white male property owners could vote."

James Gang
Thanks for the tip Edward. Here's a story about the James Gang, from a guy who knew them well -- Johnny Wyker of the Alabama group "The Rubber Band". This story first appeared in Wyker's Mighty Field of Vision newsgroup:"About the same time that the Rubber Band was on it's last leg the same thang was happening to The James Gang...the Southern James Gang...which featured Wilbur Walton as their singer...the other members also doubled as The Candymen when they backed up Roy Orbison....most of those cats later formed The Atlanta Rhythm Section...Buddy Buie from Dothan produced both The James Gang and ARS...I used to go to Hotlanta back in the 60's and stay with Buddy and Robert Nix...Nix was the drummer for these groups in those days...and now all of a sudden I just remembered where I lost my first wedding ring...and that was at Nix's apartment..damn I'm firing some old memory cells tonight...amazing how the old human mind can be inspired to recall events in the long lost past ..... Anyway...when the Rubber Band finally snapped and broke up I still had a bunch of gigs lined up to play and no band to do it....the Christmas party session was about to happen and Wilbur Walton was also left with all of the gigs that James Gang had contacted to play....I had know Wilbur for years...when I was in high school I used to go down to Tuscaloosa and attend all of the fraternity rush parties and Wilbur was in college then and he was a member of The Sex Above Everythang Frat...in laymen's' terms that would be The SAE's......anyway Wilbur called me one day and said that he was holding a bunch of James Gang gigs and that he would pay me to put a band together...I think he offered me some pretty good money too...so I told him that I had the same problem...gigs and no band...so the best way to solve the problem was to put one band together to cover ALL the gigs...... One night we were The Rubber Band and maybe the next night we were The James Gang......I played bass and I hired Court Pickett to sing....and Lou Mullenix on drums...and I think Jim Coleman was on keyboards...and Tippy Armstrong played guitar on some of the gigs and Ronnie Brown played guitar...and on some gigs Frank Freidman played a second guitar....Frank was a founding member of THIS SIDE UP.... Court sang lead when we were The Rubber Band...and Wilbur sang lead when we were The James Gang.......this worked out pretty well at first when the gigs were far a apart....and in different towns.....we were all making great money and having a ball doin' it.....except when Wilbur had to do the singin'.....by this time he was a real big drunk...and would not sing until he was totally juiced up...it took us a while to get his M. O. down...he would say the PA was broken and tell us to stall with more instrumentals....we finally figured out what he was up to...and we just played a bunch of freeform jams...remind me to tell the cat tale of how we brain washed a crowd in Auburn with a one chord groove that put the whole place in a trance dance..... Anyhow......thangs were going fine until about the middle of the Christmas session and we played a gig in Mobile as The Rubber Band....then the next night in the very same building we came in as The James Gang...we got away with it until the third night when we played the same place for a different girls club as The Rubber band again.......it was really scary to be on the bandstand and to watch people in the crowd whispering to each other...you could read their lips..."Was'nt that the same guy that played with..so and so band.the other night......well.... I don't know how we ever got out of there alive that last night...but we did......I'm sure their was some fast talkin' involved and some fast cars too.....!"

Dothan's own JIMMY DEAN on the PAR TEE in MEAhhMeee:

We (the James Gang) played at the Par Tee Lounge in Miami many times back then too. I've always wondered if it's still there and what happened to the owner---I think his name was Stu. He gave us a bottle of champagne on our last night there in 65; we raided his cooler and completely wiped out his champagne supply. He took it well, but never offered us free booze again.
Jimmy Dean


From: "Rodney Justo"
To: "robert register"
Subject: Re: They Be Talkin 'Bout The Candymen Playin' The PAR TEE Lounge in Miami around 1965/66
Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 18:52:13 -0500


I remember the BlueBeetles.
They were playing a club north of us once when we were playing the ParTee.
I think that it looked like a Tudor style English Pub and it was I think in Coral gables.
Fred Neil who wrote Candyman as well as Everybody's Talkin' and The Dolphin used to play there.
It seems to me that they were getting ready to play in the Bahamas which I thought was really cool.
That was very early in the Candymen days.Little Bobby Peterson was playing keyboards.
We got to be really good friends with a band called The Pods who were pretty much a Beatle band.
Mario Castellanos was a really talented guy who played guitar ,bass, and drums.Maybe even more for all I know.They also had Chris on guitar,Albert on guitar,and Willie on drums.I think Willie had some success as a latin singer later on.
We ran into Mario at the Action House in Long Island (of Rascals fame) and I also saw him once in Alabama when I was with Beaverteeth doing a show with Leslie West and he showed up.
Mario was a true vagabond who was happy to go from city to city in his van singing.
I would bet that the guys in the Blue Beetles remember them as well.

From Jeff at the Limestone Lounge http://limestonerecords.com

Re: Remembering The Blue Beetles at The Par Tee
Very interesting, Roberto. I appreciate you getting those comments from Jimmy and Rodney.
Mario Castellano went on to sing and play lead guitar with a band called Hot Soup, which had an album called "Openers" on the Rama Rama label (also issued a few years later on a label called Roxy, a la another group with strong Miami ties, Year 2000). Their organ player was Willie Akridge, who I see was born on October 21, 1947, in Dothan, Alabama! Another Dothan tie. Frank Carillo, who recorded for Atlantic in the late 70s, was also in Hot Soup.It's good to see that these guys remember the Blue Beetles and the Pods. I'd be curious to hear more about that club in the Gables.
Jeff

From: "Rodney Justo"
To: "robert register"
Subject: Re: Examining The Sires of Dothan's Rock 'N Roll Pedigree
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004


By the way the Roemans were not called the Romans before joining up with Tommy Roe but were called the Roemans BECAUSE of their association with him.
They were called Lanny and the Impressions

I SENT RODNEY JEFF'S MATERIAL ON THE ROMANS TO CLEAR UP THIS MISCONCEPTION.
MO' FROM ROCKIN' RODNEY:

Sat, 11 Sep 2004 16:24:12 -0700

I had a very short time in the world of academia which consisted of a mighty 6 weeks at St.Petersberg Junior College.
I was going to ba a music teacher.
Two things happened.First, I got sick for the second time with mononucleosis and missed a month of school and when I returned I looked up at my professop and realized that I was 17 years old and making more money than him.
I played drums and also timpani in the orchestra.
With me was a kid from Tarpon Springs named Bertie Higgins.He didn't read so well so I thought that he would have a hard time in school.
In fact there was a time when my car broke down, and we would hitchhike home together.
He showed up probably a year or so later as the drummer for Lanny and the impressions.
I remember once telling him that I thought that it was time that I start living on my own ( all at the wise old age of 17) and I had been looking at an apartment in a garage behind someones house.
When I told him the name of the owner of the house it turns out that it belonged to his aunt.....small world