MySideOfTheStage
Rookie Season
Column by Rich Nesin (7/15/22)
I have long resisted the urge to write about myself. I have been asked to write books about my life on the road, and have always turned them down. I consider myself a storyteller in the ancient troubadour sense of the word. I always enjoy sharing my tales, but feel that they are better told in person. The jury remains deadlocked on that one, but here I go, nevertheless.
I am a self-proclaimed "Roadie For Life." It's not political. It means that my life has been spent on the road. I have traveled all over and seen the world from airplanes and tour buses and seen each city from hotel windows and the stages of its concert halls. As a dear friend used to say, "I’ve been everywhere twice and met everybody once!"
It was never really about wanderlust, though I do love the travel. I would never have gotten to most of these places on my own. Still, it’s what I do, in large part, because music has always defined who I am. So, let me tell you a story.
It was October 1975. It was essentially still my rookie season. I’d done one tour (with Hall & Oates opening for Lou Reed) and that’s hardly enough to call me a seasoned pro. I wasn’t exactly a bonus baby with high expectations. I was just a lucky SOB who happened to be in the right place at the exact right time; literally.
But there I was finishing up rehearsals with Bob Dylan preparing for the now legendary Rolling Thunder Revue. We had spent the better part of two weeks rehearsing daily at the original SIR on West 54th Street.
There were some incredible moments within those walls. On day one, Bob, Rob Stoner (bassist and band leader) and Jacques Levy (co-writer of the songs on Bob’s Desire album) sat alone in the studio -- with me observing in case they needed anything -- and actually played almost every song he had ever written. Fourteen hours of just legendary song after song after song. Imagine hearing "Sad Eyed Lady of The Lowlands" in that intimate setting!
Then, there was the day that Roger McGuinn walked in with a tan attaché case and proudly displayed his space age "wireless telephone." It took up the entire case. There were many such moments and, as a fan, my jaw was on the floor daily. Or the afternoon that Arlene Smith, lead singer of The Chantels, stopped by and sang "Maybe" as a duet with Bob!
When we finished rehearsals at SIR, the tour moved up to Cape Cod and a place called the Seacrest Motel in Falmouth, MA. There, our crew constructed the show, complete with sound, lighting and the roll drop curtain that displayed the tour’s circus like imaging. It was all set up on the floor of what had been an indoor tennis court.
It was all very secretive. The media was not welcome here. Venues were booked only as The Rolling Thunder Revue with no mention of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Roger McGuinn, Mick Ronson, a then unknown T-Bone Burnett, etc. Posters for the first show, at Plymouth, MA only went up the day before the event took place.
The Seacrest was all ours, except for a party of older women who had an annual Mah-Jong tournament. Allen Ginsberg was completely fascinated by them and spent much of his spare time speaking with them while watching their matches.
On the first full day, we had scheduled two full show rehearsals with a dinner break. The plan was to flesh out the running order of the show; which songs would be kept and which would be shelved. It was pretty heady stuff for my 24 year old eyes to witness.
At dinner time, the band and most of the crew left and I stayed behind, I forget just what for. I only stayed for a few extra minutes as I was pretty hungry as well as anxious to feel a part of what was really my first big tour as a roadie. I took care of all the amps, guitars, drums and percussion that were not part of Dylan’s own set up. He had his own guy; Arthur.
So, with everything shut down and my hunger calling, I ran across the tennis court "stage" towards catering. I managed to travel about fifteen feet before I felt something around my ankle. I stopped, within a step or two, looked down to see a cable had caught me. Only problem was the cable was still attached to Bob Dylan’s brand new Fender Telecaster which was now falling off its stand and headed face first for the tennis court floor.
It’s true. In moments like that, you do see your life flash before your eyes.
I picked the Tele up, terrified. The fall had smashed the toggle switch, but didn’t seem to do any further damage. Fortunately for me, my life and my career, Arthur was able to repair it before anyone else knew what had happened and the evening rehearsal went on as if my misfortune had never happened.
Years later, it dawned on me exactly why the first bit of advice I always share with anyone who wants to be on the road is: "Never ever run across a stage. Period" Now, you know, too!
YouTube - "Bob Dylan" - Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
YouTube - "Maybe" - Chantels with Arlene Smith
Rich Nesin is a father, husband, singer/bassist with Inner Sanctum and Earthlings NYC, and a "Roadie for Life."
©2022 Roger Zee
foreground: Bob Dylan, Rich Nesin, Jacques Levy
