Letter about Wally
A few weeks ago I posted a couple thoughts on the death of a stagehand in Miami. As I said before I did not know him. However, I received a email from an old road buddy who lives in south Florida. He knew Wally very well. Here is the email.
Wally (Walter) was one of my union
brothers as well as being a very good friend of mine. As far as what
really happened it still isn't clear, he had the harness on but wasn't
clipped in, he unclipped to make the transaction into the seat, no one
really knows right now. What we do know is OSHA was around the first
couple of days but, as usual here in South Florida it seems to be just
going away which is shame because something like that will
happen again if not here somewhere else.
As for Wally was a great guy I met him in 1992 when I moved down here.
He was the kind of guy that would do anything for you, you just had to
ask and, he wouldn't take anything in repayment. I remember having
almost gotten into a fight with him to take gas money from me once when
he took me to the airport. He will be missed more than I can express in
words.
Anyway I just thought I'd give you a little feedback on the situation
and, if anything changes I'll let you know.
Peace,
Alan
Thanks Alan. He sounds like a genuinely good guy. Again my condolences to all those who knew him.
Two weeks
It's nice being home this weekend, the weather is amazing right now. Two weeks from today and it's back on the road. The tour will be covering some serious miles. We will cross the country twice in about a month. There some great shows on the tour. A couple festivals with some good bands. They are always fun, you never know who you will run into working for a band.
The guys have some tv in the next week.
May 31, 2004
The View (airs on ABC)
June 2, 2004
On-Air with Ryan Seacrest (performing "100 Years")
June 3, 2004
Soaptalk (performing "100 Years")
I will not be there however. I join up with them on the 12th, which also my birthday. Wow, another year older already. Dam I feel old.
Anyway, off to enjoy the rest of the day.
It's Friday...I think
Another week has gone by and it's a holiday weekend in the US. Our government is warning us of terror attacks in our country again. Could it happen this weekend? It would seem like a perfect time for it. Will it happen? I think not.
I was hanging out with some friends yesterday. A friend of mine asked if people in the touring industry were taking any extra precautions. I told him the only thing were are worried about is when the next pay check is coming in. I will say that I'm a bit leary of touring outside North America. Not because of terrorist, but just some crazy person with a gun.
This reminds me. It was the early 90's just after the first Iraq war. I was on tour in Europe. We had a couple days in Amsterdam. Normally, this is a great thing. We had been out on the town and we stopped at a McDonald's. I know...it was late and they were the only thing open near the hotel. We were getting a bunch of shit from a couple of middle eastern looking guys. They were saying how they hated Bush (senior of course). They just had a crazed look about them. One of the bands guys, who happened to be from Belgium (living in the US) and was drunk got into a shouting match with them. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal. Of course with things today that situation would be a bigger deal.
Looking back, I wonder if these guys were actually part of some group or just pissed off Europeans.
New Tour
So it is confirmed. After a two month hiatus. I will be hitting the road with Five For Fighting. I worked the 2002 tour also. You can find tour dates on my main site
http://home.earthlink.net/~kulgreen/
The latest CD has gone gold. Part of the tour are headlining dates. There are also some festivals.
I will try to post reports from the road.
Other roadies
I want to hear from other roadies out there. Voice your thoughts. How are things with you these days? What are your thoughts on the industry. Feel free to voice your opinion.
It's Friday...do you care?
Another week of our lives has gone by. What have I learned this week? Not a dam thing. Ok maybe a few things. I still don't know what the rest of the year will be like on the touring front. I'm really getting sick of the record labels. If half the people that work there had a clue, they would be in better financial shape.
What has become of the touring industry. There seems to be a lot of experienced techs out of work. I think the problem is too many 20 year olds get jobs because they are friends with the bands. Some techs will work for nearly nothing. It's getting out of hand.
I'm not going to beg for work, but things are getting a bit tough these days.
The good thing about being off the road at this time of year is my lawn looks great! Maybe I should go into landscaping. Yea right!
Stagehand accident
David Bowie cancelled a concert about a week and half ago in Miami. During the set change between the opening act Stereophonics and Bowie's performance, there was an accident. A local crew guy fell from a truss ladder. He did not survive. Wally Thomas was his name. He was a stagehand in Miami FL. I didn't know him. I have worked in the business as a touring crew person for 18+ years. I also worked as a stagehand when I was off the road during much of that time. I am saddened by his loss. My condelences go out to him and his family. It is unfortunate that this happened. I imagine he was doing a job he loved. Most of us in this business have a passion for it. The job is hard work and long hours. But it can be very rewarding and fun too.
It is one of the safest industries, but accidents can happen. On that rare occasion, something like this. I was on a tour several years ago where a security guard died at the end of our show. An unfortunate accident that I will not go into detail here.
As for Wally, I don't know the details. I'm guessing he wasn't wearing a safety harness. Whether or not, I cannot stress enough the importance of them when climbing a truss or rigging. OSHA will be all over this incident, as rightly they should. Hopefully we will not see a bunch of lawsuits and this getting dragged through the courts.
To anyone who knew Wally please send my condolences to his family and everyone in his local union. A fellow crew member is gone, but we continue to carry on his spirit in our daily duties.
world events
I have been reading a lot of message boards and news sites the last couple of days. What happened in the Iraqi prison is unfortunate. I think it shows the problems with our government and the pentagon. Don't get me wrong I love this country, but things haven't been right in Washington for decades. Everything is a cover up and no one will take responsibilty for their actions.
The military really needs to take a hard look at the people serving in it. There seem to be some people that just don't belong in a position of authority.
As for Nick Berg. No one deserves to die like that I don't care what country you come from. These killers are cowards. Killing an innocent person. All these terrorists are cowards. If they are such tough guys. I say put down the guns and knives. Come out and fight like men. You know a good old fashion fist fight.
No they would rather hide behind some religious belief, commiting acts like this.
Ok enough of my rant on this.
A couple thoughts
So my April and May tour went away. Long story. I actually had a couple things on the table. So now it looks like a June tour will happen. Fingers crossed. I may also be going to Cleveland first to help some old friends run a metal music festival. It is for four days and features bands from several countries. Very old school.
The June tour is a go except I don't know the salary numbers as of yet. I hate this waiting. It's been a really strange year so far.
So in the meantime I've been trying to stay busy working around the house. I wish I could do more but I've been trying to watch my money. You know saving for that rainy day.
Of course with the gas prices the rainy may be starting. I've actually been riding the bike quite a bit to get to places. Or even just walking.
The other thing about have so much free time. I watch and read way too much news. It really gets depressing after awhile. At least I'm informed.
First post
Ok so this is my first post. Why a blog? I don't know. I just felt like I needed a new place to put down my random thoughts.
