*The Most Memorable Night Of My First & Only Job As A Club - TopicsExpress

*The Most Memorable Night Of My First & Only Job As A Club DJ* ~With a special guest appearance by Captain Beefheart.~ In the 70s, long before DJs became celebrities, I had my first and only job as a club DJ. With a few years of college radio behind me, I was ready for the big time - DJing at Red Creek Inn, Rochester New Yorks premier venue to see live music [1]. With artists like Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, David Crosby, Roomful of Blues, and, before they made it big, the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the stage, and visitors like Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa, why did the club need a DJ? Well, for one, the DJ served as a warm up act. I would show up at the club at 6pm and start spinning tunes to ease people out of their work day frame of mind. Around 8, I would begin to play more up-tempo music. By 9, the crowd was fired up for the live entertainment. My job after that was to keep the energy going during the bands breaks, and finally, play music to ease people out the door at closing time. There were many interesting nights at the club. I remember the guy who asked to hear the Rolling Stones Sympathy For The Devil. When the song was done and the band back on stage, I headed to the mens room and ran into the Stones fan. He thanked me for playing the song he requested and informed me that he had been seeing devils all day -- without the help of hallucinogens. Hey, I did my best to entertain crazy people. I also had to entertain some angry people -- like the guy who didnt like a song I was playing. He reached into the DJ booth and dumped his beer on the turntables. I made sure he never heard that song at the club again. I had him tossed out and banned from the club for life. I wasnt working the night Captain Beefheart played at the Inn, but was there to see his performance on stage and, afterwards, his performance out in the parking lot. *The Circumstances Around a Spontaneous Performance of Circumstances by Captain Beefheart in the parking lot of the Red Creek Inn, Rochester NY, 1977.* Beefhearts show on the stage of the Red Creek Inn is documented on the music album Railroadism: Live In The US 72-81 [1]. The performance of Beefheart in the parking lot after the show has not yet been documented...until now. Some people think musicians have a special understanding of their life. Perhaps its because they make music that, at its best, touches peoples hearts, or write songs that give voice to a listeners thoughts and feelings. So I was not surprised when, after the show, one of Beefhearts fans started telling a story about the circumstances of his own life while Beefheart was chatting with fans about his music. However, I was surprised, and delighted, when Beefheart interrupted the mans story by howling out this song... [1] Whatever Happened To ... Red Creek Inn? democratandchronicle/story/news/2014/05/31/whatever-happened-red-creek-inn/9783329/ [2] Railroadism: Live In The US 72-81 Captain Beefheart & His Magic Bands amazon/gp/product/B0019C9BXU/ref=dm_sp_alb