The Musician... see you among the stars

I arrived at the draft board for my physical and all my high school buddies were there. All the old faces! My old buddies told me that I used to be a brown nose in High School and I got away with everything. Everyone was telling me, Let´s see you get away with this one Charlie Brown? This looked serious, and I was determined to flunk this physical some way some how.

The first thing the draft board did was to weigh us, and then they gave us a written test. I learned that the passing mark on this test was 30. The test consisted of a picture of a hammer on one side of the test paper, and a picture of a saw, a drill, a screwdriver, a nail, and pliers. You had to circle the one that matched. I circled the screwdriver on purpose. I did this with all the questions, but I had answered some of them right to not be too obvious I was trying to flunk the test. I brought my test to be marked and I received a score of 31. Shit! I fucked up! Now I had to go on to the hearing test. I told the man that I was slightly deaf in one ear. He asked me a few questions and directed me downstairs to the basement for a special hearing test. Once in the basement they put me in an isolation booth and gave me a switch with a button on top, and they told me to press the button every time I heard something. They told me to not press the button when everything was silent. Then they put a set of headphones on me and closed the door. I waited for the first sound and I purposely did not push the button. Then when it was silent I pushed the button on purpose. When the hearing test was over they had told me that I passed. What? I was beginning to get very depressed. I did not want to go to Vietnam. These tests were the only tests that I had control over. All the other tests were physical standards. At the end of the physical, all my friends from high school and I were on line waiting to be classified. As my buddies were classified one by one as 1A, which means you´ll be drafted soon, I went up for my classification and they classified me as 1Y, which meant that I would not be drafted. I jumped with joy and asked the man how that came to be and he said, You are underweight. I said nothing more, but my school buddies were pissed saying, He got away with it again! I was smiling and very happy as I left the physical. 1Y means that in the future I might be called back for another physical to see if I had gained any weight, but realistically, they will never call me.

Joey on the other hand was classified 1A, and the band and I became worried. You never know, it could be along time before they call Joey or it could be tomorrow. We now had to keep our eyes open for a new bass player, and Joey would be a most difficult guy in the band to replace.

The William Morris agency booked us at the ultimate concert. We were going to back-up Peter & Gordon in their first United States tour beginning at the
Atlantic City Steel Pier. When Aldo told us, we were totally overwhelmed. We had told all of our friends that we were backing-up Peter & Gordon and they were astounded. We were supposed to meet with Peter & Gordon at the Steel Pier at 1:30pm on Friday. As we did with all the groups we backed-up live, we learned and practiced their songs in advance. This made us very prepared and ready.

Peter Asher, of Peter & Gordon, is the brother of Paul McCartney´s girlfriend, Jane Asher. The Beatles, Lennon and McCartney, wrote the hit song for Peter & Gordon called, A World Without Love. Performing for Peter & Gordon is like performing with The Beatles. It is truly the ultimate concert.

We had arrived at the Steel Pier at about 1:30pm and we were having difficulty locating the entrance. We needed to drive our vehicles close to the stage to unload our gear. After asking around a bit, a police officer kindly directed us. As we drove on to the pier to the rear, we heard music playing and it sounded live. I told the guys to wait in the car so that I could see if this was the stage entrance. I proceeded into this big double side door, and when I entered, I saw Peter & Gordon rehearsing with an unknown band. Confused, I quickly returned to the car and told the guys that Peter & Gordon were rehearsing with another band. Aldo and I returned to investigate.

We walked in the giant hall and proceeded to the stage where they were rehearsing. They were in the middle of practicing one of their songs, and they were having trouble getting the band to groove to their music. Still confused, I finally interrupted them and Gordon got very angry. He yelled to me, Whaaat? Can´t you see we are rehearsing!? I told him that we are the band that was hired to back you up. Gordon replied, We have a band! Completely confused, I continued to add that the William Morris Agency hired us to perform with you. Gordon sarcastically replied, We don´t need two bands. This band is fine and they are already set-up. You should have gotten here sooner. I told them that we just drove two hours from New York. Gordon sarcastically again said, You could drive back to New York.... now leave us alone we have a lot of work to do. Aldo and I with our heads down in disappointment returned to the cars to convey to Joey and Ritchie the bad news. Joey and Ritchie flipped out. We were getting ready to drive back, and I thought that if they knew how good we were and how prepared we were, they would not send us away. I told the guys to hold on a moment and I went returned to the stage.

I approached them again and said, Listen, we drove a long way to get here.... the agent hired us for a reason.... if you could be so kind to let us play just one song with you to give you an idea of why we are here.... if you don´t like us we will then leave.... please give us the chance to at least show you... we already know your songs! Gordon looked at Peter disgustingly and Peter replied, OK, just one song.

I quickly ran back to the car and told the guys... Let´s go.... we got one shot.... so let´s make it good. We grabbed our guitars and proceeded inside, and plugged into the other bands amps on the stage. Aldo got on the other bands drums. I said which song would you like, and Gordon replied, World Without Love. They counted off the song and we played. Peter & Gordon thus went into shock. One had to see the look on their faces. They could not believe that we sounded so big and polished, and that we went through the song completely from start to finish without a mistake or problem. The other band looked on in amazement. Then Peter said, You guys are fucking great, you´re in! We responded with confidence. Then Peter & Gordon told the other band to pack up and leave, and they did. As the other band was packing-up their gear, the leader of the group began softly cursing to me. I replied to him that we were sent by the William Morris agency to back them up. I added that there was nothing I could do! I kind of felt sorry for them. After all, they just lost the chance to back-up P&G. After the other band departed, we brought our instruments in to set-up on stage. We then went over two more tunes, and Peter & Gordon fell completely in love with us. They replied to us that there was no need to practice anymore. They then invite us to grab a bite to eat, and then join with them at their hotel. The road manager of Peter & Gordon suddenly arrived. His name is Keith and we were introduced. Keith is one of the most pleasant persons we had ever met. He was very warm, and he got a kick out of our personality. We all then got into their limousine and drove to a really nice restaurant where we all had dinner. This beautiful, very sexy, blonde girl was waiting for Gordon when we arrived. He was constantly putting his hands between her legs in front of everyone, and she happily enjoyed it. Personally, it made me very horny. After dinner, we told P&G that we needed to book a hotel room. The manager Keith called neighboring hotels to get us accommodations. The hotel that Peter & Gordon were staying at was sold out, just as their concert. Keith succeeded in getting us a hotel, and we went there to check-in and get ready for the evening performance. What Peter & Gordon didn´t know was that we brought the Beatle style jackets to wear for the performance. This would make our band look very English. We knew that the jackets would totally freak them out.

There were two shows scheduled each day, one at 7:00pm, and another at 9:30pm on Friday, and 4:00 pm and 7:30pm on Saturday night. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs is also performing. When we arrived for the opening show, Peter and Gordon freaked at the way we were dressed. They were in complete shock. We American boys looked as though we were from England. Actually, know could tell otherwise. We fit right in, and the show went on without a hitch. We even bowed in unison just as The Beatles did when they finished a song. We acted totally authentic. The crowd totally went wild during the performance. The show continued on without a hitch. The next day, Joey´s mother, and sister Gracie arrived to hopefully meet P&G in person through us and to watch the concert. No one else´s family came to enjoy the greatness, not even mine. However, Joey´s family is my family and that is all that counted. We invited Joey´s mom and Gracie backstage to meet Peter & Gordon. Gracie was completely overwhelmed. Joey´s mother wanted to take a picture of us with Peter & Gordon, and P&G didn´t mind a bit. So we all went to the rear of the Steel Pier and Gracie took this photo use above.

During our first break on Saturday afternoon, we tried to roam around the Steel Pier, but wherever we looked there were girls waiting to overwhelm us. The girls, and there were hundreds of them, wanted autographs or wanted to sleep with us. We knew we had to try to find a way around them so we would not feel cooped-up in a cage. Joey and I found a secret door that lead to a passageway behind the audience area, and we decided to take that route. When we arrived at the end of the secret passageway, there was a door leading on to the Steel Pier in back of where the girls were waiting. We opened the door carefully and began to walk out into the open. Then suddenly one of the girls spotted us and screamed, There they are! This alerted the other girls who were waiting for us, and before we knew it the mob of girls were running toward us. Joey and I began running very quickly while laughing. I was just like the scene from The Beatles movie,
Hard Days Night . Joey and I ran like crazy, and through twists and turns.... we lost the girls and ended-up out on the main boardwalk. Joey and I mingled though the crowd.

Joey and I met two girls and the one I ended up with was 14 years old. She wanted to go with me to my hotel. She was real cute, and I noticed that it would be a special moment to remember if I took her to my hotel...so I did. Once in the room we sat on the bed and I kissed her, but wouldn´t have sex with her. I guess she will treasure that kiss. Actually my purpose was to keep this little girl busy while Joey played around with his big sister. The girl and I left the hotel and we walked back to the Steel Pier via the boardwalk. It was a soft beautiful night strolling on the boardwalk. As I looked at the gigantic marquee on the Steel Pier, which read in bright lights about 20 feet high: TONIGHT PETER & GORDON.... Then under that with letters 10 feet high read: SAM THE SHAM AND THE PHARAOHS. I stared at the sign as we were walking and I thought, Where was our name? We were the heart and soul of the background music, but our name The Van-Dells was not there. If only we could get some visual credit sometime. Maybe I´m too anxious, or maybe we have to pay more dues. I don´t know. Anyway, the 14-year-old girl and I returned to the boardwalk. We found Joey who was in a quiet cozy spot on the boardwalk with her older sister. This little girl was real cute and shy and she touched my heart. I really enjoyed being with her and she will probably tell all her friends for years to come that she went to the hotel of Peter & Gordon, and kissed one of the band members.

Joey and I returned to the Steel Pier. There is no way to get around all these crazy girls waiting for us. We have to give them autographs. The girls had pictures of Peter & Gordon and we proceeded to autograph them until our hands started to fall apart. Then Joey and I quickly began running until we arrived in the protected security area.

After the second show with Peter & Gordon, we all entered the limo and proceeded to all go out for dinner. Joey and I did not have time to say goodbye to Gracie and his mother, but we knew they would understand and we would contact them latter.

Peter & Gordon quickly became attached to us, because not only were we a handsome group of guys, but we were a great sounding band. They knew how great they sounded live with us, and we blended right in with their look. They wanted us for future tours throughout the U.S. We all became good friends. I especially became good friends with Peter. The weekend tour was very successful and we all had a great time. Peter & Gordon had to suddenly go back to England for an important TV appearance. They asked me if I could hold their instruments at my house until they arrived back in the U.S. Of course I said yes. When we arrived at my block in Brooklyn with Peter & Gordon, everyone in the neighborhood was shocked to see them in physical form. We unloaded their instruments into my basement and Peter & Gordon left to return at a later date. All my neighbors and friends hanging and watching about were in shock. They knew then that my band was the band of the stars.

My neighbor Joey, who was Jenny´s son, saw me with Peter & Gordon and came to me and wanted to learn an instrument. He was interested in learning how to play the bass. He also wanted to know what kind of bass to buy. I told him that the only great bass was a Fender Precision, and if he bought one I promised to teach him a few things to get him on his way. He was very happy, but my mother was not and started to complain about the added instruments in the basement. I told her they belonged to Peter & Gordon and she replied, Why don´t you get a job in the bank instead of fooling around with the music. I ignored her with mental confusion, because she always knew how to work on my head. She never has anything nice to say. In addition, my brother and sisters felt the same way, except my sister Maria, who was always very supportive and positive.

A month later, I was home in my house on 7th street and the phone rang. It was Keith, Peter and Gordon´s manager. He said that they had just arrived and they wanted to pick-up the instruments. I said OK, see you in a bit. All my neighborhood friends were playing stickball in front of my house on the street and I told them that Peter & Gordon are on their way here. They all looked at each other in confusion. P&G arrived and a crowd began forming. All the neighbors were out in front of their houses to look. P&G remained in the car, but everyone could see them well. Keith and I loaded the instruments in the car while Peter & Gordon stood patiently waving briefly to everyone. I asked them where they were going. They were very appreciative that I took good care of their instruments. They told me that they were staying at a hotel on 61st and Central Park West. Peter said, Why don´t you come down and hang-out with us tonight. They also told me that they were performing at The Brooklyn, Fox and they were trying to arrange for The Van-Dells to be their backup. I was much honored, and I told them that I would be there in a few hours. They gave me their room number.

I returned to play a little stickball on the street and afterward I had dinner. After dinner, I took a shower, dressed, and then I jumped into my 1963 canary-yellow Chevy convertible and headed to the city (Manhattan). I arrived at the hotel and passed through security with no problem after they called and checked. I entered the elevator and exited the 18th floor where there were cute little chickadees hanging about, and I entered P&G´s room. As I entered, Gordon was in bed playing with his sexy girlfriend. He pointed to the entrance of the next room where Keith and Peter were. I entered the next room to view Peter and Keith eating at a table. They quickly invited me to join in. We eat and talked for a while then Gordon joined us. Keith, and P&G began talking about all the little appearances they were doing the next day and they were trying to plan how many, and how to get there on time through all the traffic. After all, they can´t take the subway. I told them that I would drive them around if they wanted. I have a brand new Impala convertible, and it´s going to be a beautiful sunny day tomorrow. P&G said, Yea, that sounds like fun.

Since my band had nothing scheduled this week I devoted my time to helping them. This would be a great opportunity to meet new people in the music business and at the same time be a spokesperson for my band. Since I was constantly around them, I will try to get my band in with them if they are going to be performing live somewhere. The day went off without a hitch. We were able to successfully meet the schedule for the day.

The next day, they were scheduled to perform on the T.V. show, Hullabaloo, which was being videotaped in Brooklyn not to far from my house. As a spokesperson for the band I asked if my band could perform with them. They told me that they would be singing to the record, but they told me that I could come along if I wanted. Of course I told them I would. Peter then proceeded to give me the studios name, address, and what time to meet there.

The next day I arrived at the shooting of Hullabaloo, which would air the following Saturday night. I learned that the group, The Animals is also there to perform on the show. I met and chatted with The Animals, specifically their keyboardist Chaz Chandler, and we became good friends. He and I talked for a long while. I then watched their performance of, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, a great song. Hullabaloo set designers made a great weird backdrop set with smoke, and it looked fantastic. After their performance, Chaz came to me and asked me for my phone number. He told me that when he would arrive in town, he would give me a call. I met many people through Peter & Gordon, but it proved to be worthless in the long run. Then it was P&G´s turn to be videotaped. I watched in great frustration, because I wanted my band to perform also. Unlike the Animals backdrop, P&G´s backdrop is very dull. It would have been livelier if my band was standing and playing behind them. However, their mimicking of their record went well. After the performance, they returned to their hotel and I was again invited to join them, which I did.

At their hotel, I learned that they were appearing at Murray the K´s
Brooklyn Fox on Friday night. When I heard this, I freaked! The Brooklyn Fox and Murray the K! This is where it all began for me. This is where I developed my inspiration to perform. I remembered years earlier when I went to see
The Ronnettes . This is where all the stars perform. This is the place to be. I quickly said to Peter, You´ve got to get The Van-Dells to perform with you. Murray the K has a great band, but they are mostly R&B. You don´t need a big band to perform with you. You wouldn´t sound right. The Van-Dells would make you sound just like the record. Peter replied, You´re right, that´s a good idea! Is your band available? I told him that we had the weekend off. Peter then said, Call the band and put them on hold. We will need to arrange for your band to perform with us. I won´t be able to do it until we talk with the people at the Brooklyn Fox. Therefore, have your band ready. I´ll call them right now, I replied with excitement. I quickly called Joey on the hotel phone and gave him the good news. Joey would contact Aldo to keep the band on hold. I told Joey that it would be a last minute thing and that I needed everyone in the band to be at the Brooklyn Fox within twenty minutes when I called to give them the OK. I´m so excited. I can´t believe that we are going to play the Brooklyn Fox. This is really my dream come true.

It´s Friday night, and Peter and Gordon are appearing at the Brooklyn Fox with The Animals and The Moody Blues. I arrived at the stage entrance at 7:00pm. The show starts at 9:00pm. I was immediately halted by stage security. I told them I was with P&G. A few of the guards then walked me through these dark narrow hallways that passed many opened dressing rooms. I could see all the stars hanging out in their rooms as I passed. I saw The Animals in one room and quickly said hello to my friend keyboardist, Chaz. Chaz was happy to see me there. I then passed the
Moody Blues and said a brief hello and asked how they were doing, but they didn't know who I was so I told them that I was with Peter and Gordon and then they said oh OK! Then as I followed the security people, they led me to P&G dressing room and one of the guards asked Peter, Do you know this person? Peter replied, Yes, he´s a member of our band. They then gave me a security sticker, which I wore around my neck, and I was in! What a great experience! I cannot believe that I have finally made it into the Brooklyn Fox.

I immediately asked Peter, Did you talk with the correct people about The Van-Dells backing you? Peter replied that he did, and he was waiting for a reply. I asked, What do you think. Are you going to have any problems getting us in? Peter replied, I don´t think so. I told them that it would be better for us to use our own band. Then he asked, Is your band ready? I replied, There waiting by the phone for my call. They will be here within twenty minutes as promised. I had access to the entire backstage so I decided to walk around a bit to take a look at everything.

An hour quickly passed. I returned to P&G´s dressing room and I asked Peter if he heard anything. Peter said that he was told that the person in charge had not arrived yet. I told Peter that it was 8:00pm and that we are going to cut it close. Peter said that the person in charge should be arriving soon. Shortly thereafter, the promoter arrived in P&G´s dressing room. The promoter said to P&G as I looked on, So what is it. You want to perform with your back-up band. Peter replied, Yes, we will sound better with our group. The promoter replied, We have the arrangements to your songs. I´m sure your going to like the big band. Peter said, It would be better with our own group. The promoter came back, I don´t think it would be good to change the format. The format is set. It would be best if you left things as they are. We would have to re-mike the stage for your band and that will offset our time schedule. It would create problems that we do not need right now. Stay with the format. You are going to like the big band. I looked on in shock. Gordon jumped into the conversation and said, No problem. We will perform with the big band. We will stay with the format. And that was that! I can´t believe it. I was very furious with Gordon, but I said nothing. Peter seen that my heart fell in my hand and said to me that he had tried. I told Peter and Gordon that all they had to do was insist, and we would be in. You guys are going to sound very weird with a big band. The Animals have there own band and The Moody blues have there own band, but you guy´s are going to perform with a big band. It´s that crazy! You´re not even going to sound like yourselves. Peter replied, I don´t know? We might like it. It´ll be different. I then told them that I needed to cancel my bands standby as I exited their dressing room.

I went to the nearest stage telephone and called Joey with the bad news. Joey was not disappointed and replied that he would contact Aldo. I guess my band didn´t care very much about this gig. This was my thing. It was I that wanted to perform here very badly. I tried very hard and desperately to make this dream come true.

As soon as I hung-up the telephone with Joey, Peter, with his guitar in hand said, Chuck, I have a little time now so come with me, I want to show you something. So I followed him through this door and up this staircase to a very quiet area and we both sat down. Peter said that while he was in England, Paul McCartney called him up and told him that he was doing something very different musically with strings. McCartney asked Peter to come to the studio to watch. Peter described it with detail explaining that he was watching Paul with a string quartet recording this beautiful song. Then Peter put his guitar on his lap, and began playing and singing the song titled Yesterday. I listened as Peter began singing the song. He fumbled the words at times so it was difficult to get the full picture. When Peter finished singing it, he asked me what I thought. I replied that the song was very nice and kind of different. Peter told me that Paul was doing the entire album with strings. It was not until the record came out that I realized the profoundness of that moment with Peter. Peter was trying to cheer me up, because he knew how disappointed I was not performing at the Brooklyn Fox, and how much it meant to me. However, I was feeling much better now that Peter sang that song to me and shared the story.... It will always be a special wonderful moment that happened in my life. We then returned downstairs, because the show was about to begin. Peter returned to the dressing and I roamed around to find a spot where I could watch the show.

Suddenly, Murray the K walked passed me to enter the stage and begin the show. I became very depressed again that I almost began to cry. I didn´t want to return to P&G´s dressing room in this state that I was in. I began strolling about backstage looking for a quiet spot to watch the show as the energy began building. Then Murray the K introduced The Animals. I found a lonely spot on the left side of the stage in-between two black curtains. I was so close to the stage that it was almost as if I was performing. I then broke out in tears as I watched The Animals perform. I cried for about ten minutes. I was alone and no one could hear or see me. I had to let it all out. Eventually, I regained my composure as I thought how I had tried so hard, and that I gave it my best effort. I was so close, and I almost had it and after a few moments, I said to myself yes but I'm here.. Then a few moments later I thought again aaandaid, No. I was almost here. Then Murray the K announced Peter & Gordon. The curtain then opened to expose the big R&B band and P&G walked out on stage. The big band began playing, A World Without Love, and it sounded ridiculous. P&G began singing as if they were into the music, but I could see that they were not. It all sounded so bad. Not even like the record. They were wearing their acoustic guitars, but nowhere could you hear the sound of an acoustic guitar. The guitars weren't amplified. I was totally ridiculous.

After their performance, I returned to P&G´s dressing room. I thanked them for everything and said goodbye, because they were leaving to return back to England the following morning. In one moment, I cherished all the wonderful times I had with them, and in another moment, I felt so sad that I could not capitalize on being with them. I did in a way. I gained a great friendship with them and hey took me many places such as here. They always invited me everywhere they went. So there is a great positive side of it. It's just the frustration of almost being there that always hurts so much. We shook hands and gave each other strong hugs. They thanked me for all my help, and for making them feel more at home in New York. I thanked their road manager Keith, and then I returned the security pass. As I walked down the passageway passed the dressing rooms to the stage door, everyone was happy and partying. I felt left out... alone...not apart of all of it! I then reluctantly exited out the stage door. To my surprise, there was a red carpet leading to the street with people ropped-off on both sides waiting to catch a glimpse of the musical stars and they left the theatre. Everyone looked and stared at me. I knew that they were wondering who I was. As I proceeded down this isle of red carpet to the street, I thought, I´m a talented nobody right now, but tomorrow will be another day.