Hi all, Greetings from Lurkdom! I have enjoyed reading the various posts on the Bruce Hornsby thread (thanks Marian et.al.). Ive only got one of his CDs, "The Way It Is", but after reading recent recommendations I must chase up a few more, though I rarely see them on sale here and hardly ever hear his name spoken. His association with the Grateful Dead has been mentioned and, co-incidentally, Ive just finished reading Blair Jacksons excellent biography of Jerry Garcia. In this Hornsby is quoted about his call-up to the Dead following Brent Mydlands untimely death. I thought Marian and others might be interested in reading what he said: "I think they wanted me to actually join the band. And if theyd caught me in 1984, before I got my own career going, I probably would have lived happily ever after as a Grateful Dead piano player I think that would have been great. But they caught me in 1990. I had three records out, Id sold a couple of million records and I didnt feel like I could give that up completely." Jackson goes on to describe the first concert he played with the Dead at Madison Square Garden: "Sitting animatedly at a concert grand piano directly to Garcias left, Hornsby instantly became Garcias main foil. Here was a really top-drawer pianist, with a style as distinctive as Garcias, ready and eager to jump into the musical fray with ten fingers blazing. He says he knew about a quarter of the Deads songs when he hooked up with the band, yet he went out onstage the first night with no rehearsal. But it was apparent from the first minute that he understood the Deads music and had internalized their approach to playing. He seemed to be overflowing with confidence yet not at all arrogant. He and Garcia traded grins and musical licks all night. Bruce was definitely a star in the best sense of the word charismatic and talented." So, given another time and circumstance, Hornsby might have ended up a permanent traveler on the long strange trip. Cheers, John (in Sydney). PS. I also thoroughly enjoyed the thread on the identity of Coyote. I had no idea it was Sam S. but Im now convinced. Ive got a copy of his "Motel Chronicles" a kind of heijira account of his own. __________________________________________________________________ Get your free Australian email account at http://www.start.com.au
