The Ultimate Name Drop List: People I've talked with Since
1970 (part one of 4,113)
I have expelled lung gas a
gazillion times with my brother, Rick, as well as with my wife, Sandi Banister,
Bruce Springsteen, Dave Benson, Frank Zappa (R.I.P.), Karen Faust, Gary Banta,
Rod Stewart, Randy Fuelle, Jimmy Page, my father, Mac (R.I.P.) and my mother,
Jeanne (R.I.P.).
Our publishers, Liz Abbott,
Kent Johnson, and Lyle (R.I.P.) and Ellen Duplessie (R.I.P.), as well as Gary
Heffern, Tom Ames, Lee and Tanya Ward, Danyell Millsap, David Cobler, Dustin
Millsap, Kelly Logan, Billy Gibbons, B.B. King, and Mr. An all have swapped
modulated sounds with moi.
Equally as exciting were my
bons mots with Steve Miller, REO Speedwagon (the original members!), Terry (the
guy who never leaves his house), Stephen Pearcy, Kelly Costa, Penny Holladay,
Shelly Harms, Athan Vlahos, Gabriel Wisdom, Erik Thompson, Cindy Pace, Cindy
Spicer, Cindy Witte, Billy Idol, and Bryan Adams.
Many people with whom I
spoke were happy to expell carbon dioxide, including Bob Bolinger, Bob Ramsey,
Bob Tedde, Bob Lafrate, Bob Seger, Bob Cowan, and Bob Weir. Other Weirs include
Larry Weir, Maria Weir, Pixie Weir, and Michael Damian Weir. Weird Al Yankovic,
too!
I almost forgot to mention
Ron Jacobs, Jeff Prescott, David Lee Roth, Scott Heath, Scott Chatfield, Anna
Fernandez, J. J. Cale, Connie Mathena, Kenny Weissberg, Chris Boyer, Dave
Rickards, Brad Messer, Phil (the guy who thinks he looks like me), Jeff
Berkley, Levon Helm, Gene Simmons, Trish the Dish, Cookie "Chainsaw" Randolph,
Phil Lesh, and Huey Lewis!
I have traded hot air with
Don Story, Andy Vereen, Johnny Gun, Jack Pinney, Dave Stanger, and Dr. Paul
Kater, as well as with Dr. Gerry Paul, Dr. Geoff Zubay, Dr. Ron Petrillo, Dr.
Jan Pragit, and both Drs. Repaire and Graves.
Oh, how I enjoyed shooting
the sh#t with Greg Kihn, Cameron Crowe, John Hammond, Linda McInnes (R.I.P.),
Country Dick Montana (R.I.P.), Joey Harris, Jerry Raney, Bud E. Blue, Bun E.
Carlos, Rick Nielsen, Stevie Stephens, Ted Giannoulis, Ted Leitner and the team
of Bing, Dice, Dog, Duck, Lizard, Asp, and Ski, all from U.W. Oshkosh.
Bill Wyman, Yoko Ono, Simon
and Dianna Ashenden, Peggy Thomas, Maureen Levine, Lee Loughnane, Steve
Redfearn, Bob Speth, Tim Flannery, Black Jack McDowell, Robert Plant, Eric
Burdon, Brian Auger, Ian Anderson, and John Kay have all had their lives
enriched through conversation with yours truly.
I have even jawboned with
Mojo Nixon, Jose Sinatra, Yakov Smirnoff, Vladimir Kuzmin, Russ T. Nailz, Sam
Kinison (R.I.P.), Larry Himmel, Paradise Patricia, Kathy Scoville, Lou Curtiss,
Toody and Muldoon (the two CHP officers who hauled me off to jail on September
18, 1978), and the religious zealots who regularly ring my doorbell when I'm in
the garage on a Saturday afternoon trying to fix something I should have just
thrown away.
(NEXT MONTH - the names of
every reader of this column and more!)