Here's a new page that my friend Chris Wood suggested..it's a collection of true stories from my early days to today. I will try to add to it regularly. I call it my Road Diary. As the spirit moves me..I will try to share some tales.

The Juke Joints Of Asbury Park

Upstage Club
People talk about the Upstage Club in Asbury Park like the Cave in Liverpool. It was the wellspring for rock & roll in Asbury in the early days. An old sailor Tom Potter started it and ran it with his wife Margaret. It was a day-glow music club, perched above a shoe store...with amplifiers and speakers built into the walls. ..a glimpse of what the promise of rock & roll held. Big Danny and Tiny were the doormen. Each weighted over 300 lbs and wore tuxedo suit jackets. I remember feeling like a twig next to them.

The music started around 9:00PM and ended at dawn. It was a jam club...people would agree to play together and different musicians would perform….of course the repertoire included Sam & Dave, Hendrix, etc. The walls shook! Big Bob Williams, the drummer who replaced Vini in our band, would tape his drum sticks to his hand and play all night. Bobby was 300 lbs of thunder. What he lacked in finesse he made up for in brute strength. Buoyed up on crystal meth, his headband held back the sea of perspration. We were loud and played hard. On a given night, you might see Bruce or little Steven..or Southside or David Sancious and myself. I still have Johnney' Lyon’s Elmore James album that he lent me.

Tom had a bottle of scotch and a shotgun in a guitar case. At dawn, Margaret and I would go striper fishing on the beach. I never caught anything. I'm still a terrible fisherman. The Upstage gave us an opportunity to hone our craft and play with our peers. We were brothers in arms really...a community of musicians in a decaying resort town overflowing with nightclubs. Tom and Margaret are gone but the Upstage remains...at least in our memories. it was the place that in our innocence, we came together to make music... believing that rock & roll could change the world. It was the 60’s.

The Stone Pony Club
The Stone Pony was the place to perform. All of us, on our way up or down, played the Pony. It was owned by Jack & Butch. They looked like a tag team from pro-wrestling. Jack was 6ft 6 and Butch made up for in muscle what jack had in height. If they liked you, they loved you.. if not, you were in trouble. Many the night, I can remember a head suddenly opening a door.

The Pony was on Ocean Ave and down the street from a biker bar. One night 3-4 bikers were looking for trouble and Jack asked everyone to " clear the dance floor ". It was over quickly. You did not mess with these guys. This was their kingdom. They ruled!

My friend and piano player, Harry King, from Maine and I were having a drink next door when Jack and a female friend challenged us to a game of pool. Harry, considering himself a pool shark, agreed against my better judgement. The loser had to drink a tumbler of whatever rot-gut concoction that the winner poured. Anyway, we played...she was a pro and Harry and I ended up with our heads in the porcelain bowl. Thank God, we went on at Midnight... At 12:00, the club would be packed with 800+ people..We performed a breakneck-no-hold-barred show until 3 or soo. The girls were beautiful in their spandex and the town was in love with music. We had a new album on the radio and we were back at the shore. .

The Pony. even with new owners, has endured... so far, it has managed to escape the wrecking ball. ... but I miss the dynamic duo that ran it...they always watched your back!

Bill

ecrecord@maine.rr.com