Stage Clothes...
As far back as I can recall, I always wore clothing suited for the performance I did as a musician.The very first band we played poolside on hotels along Miami Beach. All dressed alike, our costumes were bell bottom pants and striped pullover shirts. If we had to a night gig at a hotel it's was clam digger pants and puffy sleeve shirts... something Tom Jones would perform in.
These were clothes we didn't wear on the street.
As music changed so did our clothing. Nehru jackets wide belt low-rise pants.
When psychedelic music came along it was knitted pullover and tie-dyed shirts.
Music changed to rock and I had some slacks made from a shimmering material that reflected stage lighting along with some striped pants.
My dad managed one of the early bands and would help us move equipment and wardrobe.
He bought one of the puffy sleeved shirts for me that had lots of bright colors. He called it "The multi-shirt" and it was okay for a short time, but as the music grew harder and louder, I refused to wear the multi-shirt despite his pleas that it would show off better from a stage.
"No dad, that's not the style anymore" No more multi-shirt.
I remember he would place it on a hanger in front of all the other garments we wore for the night. I avoided that shirt like the plague. Somewhere along the way, I think one of the other band member made that shirt disappear. My dad was pissed on that subject.
Around the time of Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes, I had a few custom made jump suits.
Probably started by The Rolling Stones, all 'band clothes' became street clothes, with the exception of leather pants and silk shirts the the unbuttoned front. It became impossible to differentiate a musician/entertainer from someone looking to bum a cigarette from you.
I retired from music to attend college, but I was lured back after passing an audition for a touring band. We played the nightclub circuit and had two tuxedo jackets and 4 shirts so it was necessary to hand wash clothes in the hotel room ready for then next gig.
Now, band clothes are shredded T-shirts with silkscreen images of other famous musicians.
I still have nightmares about the multi-shirt!
Comments (12)
Is that where the expression 'dressed to kill' comes from?
Yeah, dressed to kill...
Thanks. I fixed it.
That's what I get for not proof reading.
It is easy shopping for my granddaughter, if it is tie-dyed she will love it.
I have even tie-dyed things with her...
She thinks it is so cool that it was in when I was her age.
Nice blog of nice memories.
My custom made suede platform shoes never made it to a stage.
Who would have thought...
Well I should have guessed cause I remember you putting up some good music blogs.
What do you play?
I had only heard a few of these people play..I was blown away.
My father bought a Wollensak reel-to-reel tape recorder early on... probably 1963 or 1964.
Having a brother 5 years older than me got exposure to early rock & roll.
He borrowed stacks of 45's from friends and made one long tape 60 minute tape, sort of a 'party mix' by today's standards so they didn't have to keep loading the record player.
Somewhere around then we were listening to guitarist Chet Atkins who was so talented he could play 2 parts at the same time. Although amazing, this turned me off as I had no desire to listen to that style of music.
Around the same time, I studied oboe in the school concert band. Little known to me at the time there weren't many oboists and had I continued a musical scholarship could have been in my future.
I bypassed folk music and surfing music. Popular mid 60's music like the Young Rascals was what my audiences wanted to hear. That was the time we were busking (playing for donations) poolside. With 15 guitarists in the neighborhood I learned to play keyboards for the busking gigs.
The British invasion came along and so did psychedelic music. Iron Butterfly, etc.
Hendrix? Zeppelin? GO DIRECTLY TO ROCK MUSIC, COLLECT $200.
By then I switched to bass guitar and stayed with that for a while. Tinnitus was affecting my hearing and I left music (as a source of income) not long after.
In the late 1990's I heard the Riverdance show and was captivated by the sound of the Uilleann Pipes. There wasn't much information to be found on the internet, but I got some tutorial tapes and purchased some hand made pipes. I was in the right place at the right time to get some prized sets, including a vintage set from one of the best makers who left Ireland and settled in Australia.
It's an extremely difficult instrument to master and understanding Traditional Irish Music is essential. After 5 years of slow progression, I sold my sets at a profit and again left music for a while.
How did I get into construction and project management?
My college studies involved drafting and engineering. One band member's wife got me an interview at a cabinet manufacturer and I started off as a draftsman. One thing leads to another and I've always been in manufacturing of some sort, including custom furniture for 5 years. Always being lured back to cabinetry.
Yeah, music started with me more than 55 years ago...
My ex played music and use to say that to him, and he 'd look at me like I had 3 heads...lol I really just was on my way to talking him into getting a piano, I wanted to learn how to play. We got the piano and I never learned how to play anything that was good. Him on the other could play anything on it. He started out playing the accordion, his mom made him take lessons, he hated it so then when he went into the Air force he taught himself how to play guitar.
Loud bands can mess up your ears for sure.
My son n law started out making furniture, cedar chest and things like that for gifts just as a hobby. He was police officer for several years, then my ex and him got together and started remodeling houses for people. My ex could build anything too. They worked together for about 12 yrs then my ex retired and my son n law has a construction contracting business. He has built him and my daughter 3 new houses since they been married and his sister 2. Right now he's doing more remodeling than building.