We are talking with Eric Blakeslee about his lifelong love of live music. You'll hear about how Rush influenced his desire to play guitar, and who in his family received the first-ever Rickenbacker 12-string guitar. Tune in!
We are talking with Eric Blakeslee about his lifelong love of live music. You'll hear about how Rush influenced his desire to play guitar, and who in his family received the first-ever Rickenbacker 12-string guitar. Tune in!
Welcome to the Rock-N-Roll Show podcast. I'm Alex Gadd, your host. And today we are here to share the thrill of experiencing live music together with strangers and with friends; to get to know our guests a little bit better through their concert experiences. Today, we'll be talking with someone who is both a personal and a professional friend. He's a huge music fan and a crackerjack musician in his own right. Eric Blakeslee, Eric and I have been coworkers for years and we've bonded over music as much as anything. Eric, thank you so much for joining us today.
Eric Blakeslee:I'm happy to be here. Let's kick it off.
Alex Gadd:All right. We always like to start with a general context for your, um, Experience overall with concerts and live music. About how many concerts have you seen? Now, I know this is a bit of a loaded question as you used to work at a rock club. If I remember correctly,
Eric Blakeslee:That's correct. It's in the hundreds. It's got to be in the hundreds and, uh, big shows are in the hundreds too. It's, it's all over the map.
Alex Gadd:And if you if you had one act that you could say you've seen the most times. Who would that be?
Track 1:It'd be, uh, the artist Billy Bragg. Um, probably seen him seven or eight times that I paid a ticket for. Now, when I worked at the club, that's a totally different thing because you have local acts that open and everything else. But where I'm actually shelling out cash, it would be Billy Bragg.
Alex Gadd:We used to do this as an icebreaker. You've done it with me. Um, when, when you first meet a new group of people and you're sitting around and it's a bit awkward, I always went for the"first concert" stories as a way to just get to know people, uh, people of different ages, obviously are going to have different experiences, but for you, first concert you ever saw. Who was it?
Eric Blakeslee:Rush at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, Illinois.
Alex Gadd:All right. Now were you, you were not born in Chicago, correct?
Eric Blakeslee:No, no, I wasn't. I was, we lived, my family lived there for about a year and then, uh, we migrated to North Carolina. But in that year, I got to see Rush. Yeah, that's my first show.
Alex Gadd:That's a pretty good way to start out. I have to say
Eric Blakeslee:It was, it was interesting cause I was a fledgling guitar player and you know, I liked, of course I liked Rush and my sister, there was no dragging me to the show. She was just like, we're going and got me a ticket. And thanks to my big sis, we, we had good seats.
Alex Gadd:that's amazing. Now, what year was that? Do you remember what tour it was?
Eric Blakeslee:It, uh, it was the Power Windows tour. So that had probably been around'85,'86. And, it was, you know, they played all the hits and I remember distinctly from that show leaving that I wanted to maybe be a drummer, of course.
Alex Gadd:Right. That's the natural reaction after seeing Rush.
Eric Blakeslee:I was playing air drums at the show. I was, I was very good. And, um, and also I, I, I realized that I wanted to do that. I wanted to play music a little bit more. Uh, it, it kind of piqued my interest to be amplified at that moment. I just had an acoustic guitar that I just kind of banged around in my room with, and it really motivated me to get a bass. I started as a bass player in my early music career. So I bought my first bass. It was a Telecaster bass, uh, Squire Telecaster bass. Yeah. And started playing punk bands and that's how I, you know, the rest is history as they say.
Alex Gadd:Well, give us, give us your age at the time of that show. So 1985, you are how old?
Eric Blakeslee:Oh, 12.
Alex Gadd:and where you are, you said you are, you had a guitar. Were you already playing music on that guitar or were you literally just like plunking around Greensleeves and all those basic, starting songs?
Eric Blakeslee:I was playing a little bit. I was playing a little bit. I was, I was trying to write songs because I wasn't a very good, yeah, I wasn't a very good guitar player. So it was more, you know, if you can't, learn somebody else's stuff, learn your own, you know, and kind of that's, that's been the moniker that I've stuck with for a while and, I found Johnny Marr around that time too. So it was, there was a lot of acoustic work that he did that really interested me. So it was, it was. The melding of Rush and The Smiths was really, uh, yeah,
Alex Gadd:Whoa. it works. It works. You know, two, uh, Alex Lifeson and Johnny Marr, two very, very good rhythm guitar players Yeah. Fantastic players. Fantastic. Now, can I ask, can I ask about your musical upbringing before that? Were you raised in a musical household?
Eric Blakeslee:No, my mom tried to play guitar. It was her guitar that I had. I think she got through, uh, Ohio by Neil Young before she put it down. And, it was my grandparents, my step mom's parents that were professional musicians. The claim to fame in the family is that my, it would be my great aunt, whose stage name is Souixsie Arden got the very first Rick and Bacher 12 string. She was doing a residency at the Mint Hotel in Las Vegas, and Rickenbacker was breaking into the country western scene, so they gave her the prototype of the 12 string as"go ahead and beat it up and see if it will hold up on stage every night." And George Harrison got number two and three, so she had very first one in her hands.
Alex Gadd:The Beatles and the Byrds thank your aunt then, or your very much so. Yeah. Yeah. And she's still with us and Oh, I'm her mandolin player. Yeah, I'm her mandolin player for the family bluegrass band. So I'm very happy when, when we get together and those sessions start, it's one of the few times I play mandolin is with her. I'm not very good at it, but I try. I bet you're pretty good. I've heard you play. Now, the opposite end of that, what's the most recent concert you've seen?
Track 1:Well, the most recent concert that was big was Elvis Costello. Here in Raleigh or actually in Durham, which is right next to Raleigh. And, uh, I saw a local act called the Backsliders, just on my own dime at a club. And those are the two shows I, I kind of. balance between the two because, you know, the touring acts, the big touring acts, I don't necessarily put into the smaller acts or the local acts because they're different. They're just different in my mind when you say concert.
Alex Gadd:So how were each of those two shows?
Eric Blakeslee:Elvis is great. He's, you know, a chatterbox. Just really, just telling stories, being funny. And it's interesting that he still has it, you know, the voice is there,, I would liken it to maybe Springsteen that it's not a, he never really had the voice of, of somebody like a Paul McCartney. And. So he still has it. I mean, he still sounds like Elvis Costello. So, and he can, and the thing that surprised me is that he can rip on guitar. And did play hits or did he play more of the, the more recent stuff, it was the hits. It was everything. He was all over the map. He sat down at the piano for a while, and it was It was a great, just a great show all around.
Alex Gadd:Tell us a little bit about the Backsliders
Eric Blakeslee:The Backsliders are a fun band. There's a,, a local guy by the name of Ricky Bacchus and Ricky was in a band called D Generation, a punk band from the early eighties, early nineties.
Alex Gadd:nineties from New York City.
Eric Blakeslee:Yeah. Early nineties. Yeah.
Alex Gadd:Jesse Malin's band.
Eric Blakeslee:Yes. And, uh, he was in a, unfortunately he was in a motorcycle accident. And so the Backsliders, uh, Chip Robinson's band and chip is a local songwriter. He's written, uh, he's probably a C writer in the Nashville, echelon, but still a writer in Nashville. You're still somebody.
Alex Gadd:Yeah. You're in the
Track 1:game.
Alex Gadd:Sure.
Eric Blakeslee:Yeah. And, he, uh, has a band called the Backsliders and they got together to do a set and they're just so much fun. They're just rocking, just bar rock and roll, just right in your face. It was fantastic.
Alex Gadd:Sounds great. I do like those bar bands. Bar bands for me have always been a joy because that's the kind of band I play in when I play in bands
Eric Blakeslee:Yeah. And there's no, I mean, they make you thirsty. That's what, being somebody who worked in a, uh, worked in a club for years, you find that. there are bands that are so serious that nobody drinks. And as a bartender, you're like, come on guys, give us a break. But the rock and rolly guys, you know, it's a Boilermaker. It's a PBR and a shot. I like it.
Alex Gadd:Right. You want people singing along and dancing so that they need more to drink, for sure.
Eric Blakeslee:Absolutely.
Alex Gadd:All right, have you ever, do you know what the longest concert you've ever seen is?
Eric Blakeslee:Um, yeah, well, I've seen Phish, um, Those shows do go long.
Alex Gadd:I mean, they have an intermission, but they definitely are longer shows altogether. Widespread Panic, felt like the longest show I've ever seen. I would say Phish, um, three hours. Uh, McCartney was three hours, two hours, two, uh, two and a McCartney was like Yeah, though. yeah, I saw him on Flowers in the Dirt back in the day. Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was, it was good, yeah. And he played all the hits and on comes out and he's the showman. But it's the same set every night, whereas, you know, as most bands I mean, it's. And you know, the, the jam bands are, are unusual. And Bruce used to do all different sets every night. He has now stopped doing that, which is bizarre to watch, but, most bands do the same set every night. Minus one or two songs.
Eric Blakeslee:Mm hmm,
Alex Gadd:Now what's the shortest concert you've ever seen?
Eric Blakeslee:mm hmm. Okay, I saw And again, this goes, he just recently passed, but it was the Flat Duo Jets, Dexter Romweber, who just recently passed in the last couple of weeks, uh, was playing, playing a show. And there was a guy that came up to the monitor and back in the days before the in ear monitors, but you actually had wedges on the stage. And for those who are out there, those are the speakers that let the musician hear what's going on on stage. And he came up and he put his beer on And so Dex kicked it off,'cause that's just the kind of guy he is. And the guy got up on stage and started yelling at Dex and Dex took off his guitar and hit him with it.
Alex Gadd:Oh
Eric Blakeslee:End of show. And we were about three songs in. And, uh, there was some bedlam a little bit, but. You know, everybody lived to tell the tale. So, there you have it, but it songs then.
Alex Gadd:I've seen a show that's as short as three songs as well. Not, not fun. Uh, of all, and this can be answered any way you want, but do you a favorite concert? Interpret that any way you will, but do you have a favorite concert?
Eric Blakeslee:Um, the first time I saw Billy Bragg was spiritual, you know, cause I just love his songwriting, love it, love his humor, that British dry wit. and I just caught him on a night where he was just very introspective a bit. So, um, I think he was maybe going through some personal trauma in his life. So just very, you just kind of get the vibe from the, from the artists. And you can just feel it and it's palpable in the audience. And it was one of those shows. And I just always remember that as just being just amazing.
Alex Gadd:And obviously it got you to go back at time and again,
Eric Blakeslee:Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It's not like, some bands where you're just kind of... The Replacements maybe I will, I will say The Replacements because I had heard that I had heard the hijinks I saw them and they were good and then I never saw them again where they were good and, but you did see them but, uh, Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Even after they were bad. Hoping that I would see the good again, you know, because you just never knew it was, but yeah, yeah, I would say Billy Bragg, definitely.
Alex Gadd:Now what's the best live act you've ever seen? Is that the same as your favorite show or have you ever seen a band that just is dominating on stage? Whether or not, like you described Billy Bragg as a, as a spiritual thing, which doesn't mean he's the best live performer. It means you had a special connection or he had a special connection with his audience that night. What's the best live act you've ever seen?
Eric Blakeslee:Ooh, that's a tough one. Um, that, that's, that could go a lot of different ways. Um, can it depends on the day. It really does. Uh, I saw a band from Chicago called In Tall Buildings that's just 10 people in the audience. There should, it should have been packed and they just played their hearts out. Um, best live show. It's a tough, that's a tough one, Alex.
Alex Gadd:It sure is. No. Unless you've seen Prince or Springsteen and you think that they're up there.
Eric Blakeslee:I've seen Prince. I have seen Prince three times. Never seen Springsteen. Prince is probably the best musician I've ever seen,
Alex Gadd:Yeah,
Eric Blakeslee:you know, where you're greatest musician I think I'll ever be in a room with, you know. Yeah. For me,
Alex Gadd:he and Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder are the greatest all around musicians in the rock and pop world of all time to me. And so having seen Prince play one song at the David Letterman show and seeing Paul McCartney, I got two of the three in, and I think that's pretty good for me. you saw Prince on Letterman? Yeah, it was very the theater? Wow. the theater. Yeah, it was very weird. It was, it was during the period when he was rebelling against Warner Brothers records. And so he was writing"slave" on his face and he was performing under the symbol and he wasn't using his name and he played the song and two-thirds of the way through the song when the lyrics were over. He shoots himself in the head with his fingers. And, you know, falls to the floor. And his wife at the time was his background dancer. And she ran over and, grabbed him and had blood on her hands. And then his, one of his bodyguards came and dragged him off the stage. And David Letterman didn't know what to make of it and was so freaked out. And he was asking everyone, is he okay? But of course it was just, it was just an act. And he didn't, I guess he didn't want to talk to Letterman after his song was over. So he devised a way out. Doesn't shock me. No, doesn't shock me. Um, when I saw, I saw Prince at the Aladdin theater in Vegas Yeah. and it was all the hits Mm and, but it was like, it was like a montage of them though. So he was just cutting really quick into each song and. It was, he was a big Jehovah's Witness at the time. I think he was up until the time of his death, I think. I do, too. I'm not sure, but that's my understanding as well. But he would, he would talk about Jehovah, and then play Darling Nikki. Ha ha. And you're kind of like, oh, or Cream, and you're like, What, what is this, this? You're, you're, you're, yeah. This is, this, this is, this is interesting. I'm in for the ride here. Yeah, for sure. He was so good. Now, have you ever seen a concert that you walked away from just disappointed that expectations were high and the reality was less than fulfilling?
Eric Blakeslee:Cracker. Absolutely. 100 percent Cracker. Huge Camper Van Beethoven fan. Uh, Dave Lowery, I thought was just a great, great songwriter and Camper Van. And, uh, when Cracker formed, I think it was even before the album came out, they started touring just to get some traction. And, I witnessed that and left going, God, that was crap. I want to go back actually. I want to go back. I saw Jeff Buckley for free at a coffee shop here. Um,
Alex Gadd:That must have been early in his career. As short as his career was it must have been early still.
Eric Blakeslee:It was right after Grace came out and he was, I think doing a promotional tour to get it out to the college. I live in Raleigh, and so Raleigh is, uh, NC State, but also University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is 20 miles away. Duke is 20 miles away. So there's a lot of free flow of music and clubs and attendance at those clubs going back and forth. And, uh, He played for free for, he played a set. I mean, it was an hour 20, everything with the full band in this tiny little room at this coffee shop. And it just blew my mind. It just, it literally blew my mind. I couldn't, I walked away from that going. A) the Telecaster. I have not made a mistake on buying a Telecaster. I remember thinking that. And that I need to play a lot better. Because it just, he was just so good. Like, very much like Prince, where it, you just there's some people that are, that in the moment can transcend the music and they become something that is above, above the, the entire room. And Buckley could do that, um, with both with his voice and with his playing. So, I mean, I think anybody that's ever heard the song, Hallelujah, kind of gets an idea of it. But, I'll, I'll never forget, um, from that show, actually, he was playing a song called Mojo Pin, and, there's, there's a moment in the song where he hits this falsetto note with the drums on the snare just doing a roll. And he, at the end of that, the whole room is just quiet. And then all you heard was the, the steamer from the, um, cappuccino machine
Alex Gadd:Ha ha.
Eric Blakeslee:broke the, broke the, and it sounded, that could have been a gunshot, Alex. Yeah, It was like, was part of the performance. it was kind of part of the performance. It was so everybody was so in to what Buckley was doing that it just kind of pulled you out of it. It was cool.
Alex Gadd:Well, it sounds amazing. Now let me ask a follow up there. Did you know his music or who he was before you went to see him?
Eric Blakeslee:No, nothing. Nothing at all. And, the coffee shop is called Cup O Joe and they would get bands. Um, the owner's brother. managed a bunch of bands on T. V. T. So he worked with The Replacements and he worked with, Dinosaur Jr., I think, but you get the idea. He was, he was wired in, so he was able to get acts to come through. So when there was a band, I would check it out cause I like music. And when they were setting up, it wasn't the normal, Oh. It's haphazard and whatever. These guys were professional and they knew what they were doing. And that's when you kind of stop and scratch your head for a second. Say, okay, I'm going to, I'm going to witness something here. This is the first band too, that played there that had their own, um, sound man. They had a little eight, eight channels, uh, board with the sound man behind it. So I was like, Oh, these guys, these guys are doing this. This is, this is professional. Yeah,
Alex Gadd:That's great. Wow. What is what a special experience. You just don't get to see that a lot.
Eric Blakeslee:No, you really don't. And I, I was really hoping my niece is at Carolina right now. And I keep telling her to go to the local coffee shops and find the local musicians. And she's a little more introverted than I am. And so she's, she's kind of doing it. But I hope that, cause you just never know who's around the corner,
Alex Gadd:You
Eric Blakeslee:you know, so much good music is around the corner to come yet. It's just some kid that's writing it now. Yeah.
Alex Gadd:Yeah, I hope that's true. Who is your favorite unannounced guest performer? Have you ever been in a show where someone comes out that you weren't expecting that isn't on the bill and just blows you away? Do you have any experiences like that?
Eric Blakeslee:Warren Haynes does a show every year called the Christmas jam in Asheville, North Carolina, and he does it. It's a benefit show for Habitat for Humanity of Asheville. And, uh, he gets a pretty cool for
Alex Gadd:Asheville. That's a pretty big pull for
Eric Blakeslee:I mean, Dave Grohl's played it. Last year Slash played it. Yeah, I mean, he just gets all Dinosaur Jr. to, uh, the year that I'm talking about, I'm about to talk about, uh, Greg Allman in his band was playing, not the Allman Brothers, but the Greg Greg Allman Band. Yeah, So Warren Haynes is out playing just an acoustic guitar in between the set break, and out walks Greg Allman with an acoustic guitar and they did Needle and the Damage Done. And to hear Greg Allman sing that, that was, I get chills thinking about that. I can only imagine. I'd love to hear that. Love to hear Yeah. Yeah. Great story. All right, let's switch to the venues that you've seen concert at. What's your favorite concert venue? Um, the Cat's Cradle here in, it's in, it's in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Um,
Alex Gadd:I assume a club.
Eric Blakeslee:about 900.
Alex Gadd:Oh, wow. Okay. That's a pretty good size club.
Eric Blakeslee:It's a decent sized club. The owner. Invested in the sound system and they invested on how to make the room. It's when I say a dead room, what I mean is that there aren't a lot of hard surfaces in the room to reflect sound waves off. So there's carpets, there's whatever. The only thing that's a hard surface is the floor and for those at home when people are standing on it, that absorbs the sound. So you don't have a lot of ricochet of sounds. It doesn't sound muddled. It's a very clean sounding room. It's a very good sounding room. That or I would say just, you know, for, for fun's sake, there's a bar called Slim's that I've taken you to Alex, Yeah, I've been there. Uh, uh, which is a shotgun of a bar with a stage that's six inches tall. But I like that because, you know, people just get up off that stage and rip it. So that's fun.
Alex Gadd:What's the most powerful show you've ever seen at the Cat's Cradle?
Eric Blakeslee:That's where I saw Bragg, Billy Bragg.
Alex Gadd:Ah, got it. Perfect. The opposite end of that is your least favorite concert venue. Everyone's got one. We all do. What's yours?
Eric Blakeslee:well, it's an outdoor venue, uh, called Coco Booth in the neighboring town to Raleigh, which is Cary. It's Coco Booth Amphitheater, it's in the neighborhood and the neighbors drive by with sound meters to make sure that the, yeah, so you can have a. A normal conversation, 10 feet from the stage. There is no rocking it out there. And you know, I've seen Wilco there and, you got Nils Cline on the stage ripping it up, and how do they get, how do they
Alex Gadd:Get away with it? If the neighbors are policing the show?
Eric Blakeslee:They just, they just never turn it up. They never turn it up. It sound, rock and roll
Alex Gadd:the least rock-n-roll thing I've ever heard.
Eric Blakeslee:It sounds like they're playing in the parking lot. Alex It really does. You could just be, yeah.
Alex Gadd:I don't want to hear anymore. Don't ever take me there when I come to visit.
Eric Blakeslee:Don't worry, I don't
Alex Gadd:good. Now the venue that you've seen the most shows at is?? Um, Motorco where I used to work excellent. Tell more about Motorco. Motorco was a, it was a Lincoln dealership. And so, now it's part restaurant part music venue. But the, the showroom where the dealership was is the concert venue. So if you can imagine, a 1950s, like nine. Or 10'50's style Lincolns on a floor. That's how big the floor is. Yeah, that's a I, in my head, I'm thinking we should all go out and start rock clubs in abandoned car dealerships.
Eric Blakeslee:yeah, it really
Alex Gadd:perfect space for, for a concert venue. It really was. I mean, the acoustics are because there's a lot of you can figure that out. Right. But you can figure that out. Yeah. But yeah., Motorco And what did you do there?
Eric Blakeslee:I was the, I started as a bartender then moved to bar manager and then I just managed, you know, the day to day bar stuff.
Alex Gadd:Good memories. I'm sure.
Eric Blakeslee:Oh yeah, yeah. Got to meet a lot of, I met Jesse Malin actually there from, the other end of D Generation. And, A lot of, I've met a lot of acts through there. It was fun. It was, I look back on that very fondly. It's a great, great, great period.
Alex Gadd:Oh, it sounds great. I agree. I generally like to know, although it kind of sounds like you, you already have kind of told us, but I I'm interested in, in our guests, what type of shows they like the most? Are they festival people? Do they like stadium shows, arena shows, theater shows, club shows, outdoor amphitheater shows? What? It sounds like you're a club show guy.
Eric Blakeslee:I am, I mean, it's kind of the genre of music that I like the most anyway. I've never been to a music festival, ever. like a Bonnaroo or anything like that. I've never been.
Alex Gadd:Yeah, I've only been to one, and it was in 1993, so I haven't been to one in many, many years. yeah. I, you know, I've, I did go to the first Lollapalooza, that's
Eric Blakeslee:that was just like a. No, it's not. I mean, that's just like a day long concert, that's a festival, look at a festival where you have to like You know, buy a tent, you No. Festivals are any show where you're seeing more than one act an act in an opening act is, you know A show like you're going to see the Rolling Stones and they have an opening act and it's whomever but a festival is where you have seven, eight, nine, ten bands on the bill and you go and see all of them from noon to midnight. then I have been to a festival. I went and saw Lollapalooza.
Alex Gadd:The first one.
Eric Blakeslee:First one. Who
Alex Gadd:was at the first Lollapalooza? Remind
Eric Blakeslee:Red Hot Chili Peppers for the Red Hot where Red Hot Chili Peppers. Uh huh. Nine Inch Nails. Oh, fantastic. I have to look it up. I think maybe Souixsie and the Banshees. That's when I saw Souixsie and the Banshees.
Alex Gadd:Wow.
Eric Blakeslee:yeah. Body Count was on that tour with Ice T. Yeah.
Alex Gadd:Ice T playing the thrash metal. Love it.
Eric Blakeslee:Yeah, I know. Talking about killing cops and then now he's on, uh, SVU for 15
Alex Gadd:years or whatever, right? How the, the irony drips.
Eric Blakeslee:I know.,
Alex Gadd:So for recorded music, what's your favorite live song? Do you have a favorite live song or a couple of songs that were recorded live that you keep going back to or every time you hear them you really, makes you smile? my son is getting into the Grateful Dead. Um, so we've been listening to Is that happening? Sorry to interrupt. Are you, is that happening at his preschool or are you helping him to find the Grateful Dead?
Eric Blakeslee:I, we had, he found the song Truckin' on the radio one day and he really liked it. So I encourage it. I just, we're just going and I'm not a huge Dead fan. But if that's what he wants to hear. So the song that's bringing the most grin to my face right now is a song called China Cat Sunflower. By the, the Dead and uh, Ronan knows all the, my son, Ronan knows all the words and he just bops along and goes. And for Maeve, she is, we've been listening to Live at the BBC, by the Beatles,
Alex Gadd:Nice. She's
Eric Blakeslee:All over the map with the Beatles right now. Good. That's a good, that's good basis for any kids musical education. That's just good. It's a good place to start. Start at the beginning. Now, as a manager of a club, especially, I imagine that there are some weird or funny or interesting stories of things that you've seen at concerts that are not normal. Do you have any that you can share with us? yes. I won't say artists.
Alex Gadd:Oh, that's fine.
Eric Blakeslee:I won't say artists. You sure? Uh, yes. OK But there was an artist that was kind of big that played Motorco that insisted, that we find him some companionship and I said that I didn't do that and he was very put off by that I think he did find companionship. There was, there was, there was definitely some whatever. But when the staff went to go clean the green room, they found a inflatable donkey, like small donkey, that was, you know. For purposes.
Alex Gadd:Oh dear.
Eric Blakeslee:Oh dear indeed.
Alex Gadd:Was that the companionship he found?
Eric Blakeslee:Maybe. I don't know. I mean, but you know, To each his own, Alex.. To each his own. Yeah,
Alex Gadd:Yeah right on. No judgments, No judgments. Now, who the coolest musician you've ever met hmm. or most interesting musician you've ever met? I'm sure you've met a number of them at Motorco, Yeah. but you also know people just from being around
Eric Blakeslee:know, cause he's top of mind Dex. Dexter Romweber. Um,
Alex Gadd:RIP. And
Eric Blakeslee:R. I. P. He was so good. And just a really big heart and would play for anybody. I mean, just an artist, a true artist. And now that we no longer have him, it's sad to think that how hard he worked and struggled for his art, you know, that there are so many of us that are like weekend warriors. And I include myself in that. Dex had, issues with mental health and he had issues, just issues. And I don't think he could have ever held a job to be honest with you. His job is his art and he suffered through that in order to put on a product that was in my view, excellent. Every time I saw him, I never said,"well, that was a bad Dex show," he just, he just attacked it.
Alex Gadd:That he was in flat duo jets. Is that right?
Eric Blakeslee:He was in the Flat Duo Jets and also, uh, the Dexter Romweber duo with his sister, Sarah, who was the drummer for Let's Active, from the 1980s.
Alex Gadd:Right. Let's go through your bucket list. If you could see anyone perform living or dead who you haven't seen yet. Who would it be and why?
Eric Blakeslee:Robert Johnson started, start at the beginning. I would love to be sitting somewhere in the Mississippi Delta with, what can only be described as corn liquor in a coffee mug, listening to Robert Johnson play the guitar. I would, I think that that would be just the coolest thing. I think you could hang it up after that.
Alex Gadd:Yeah, I think so too, that's pretty amazing. I don't think all that many people did see him play, so that would
Eric Blakeslee:that. That the other part of it. Yeah.
Alex Gadd:And if you could go to any concert venue that you haven't been to yet, which one would be at the top of your list?
Eric Blakeslee:Um, there's a couple. Yeah. If you don't mind,
Alex Gadd:no,
Eric Blakeslee:outdoor, outdoor. I'd like to go to Red Rocks in Colorado.
Alex Gadd:Me too.
Track 1:it just looks beautiful. Uh, indoor, uh, the Fillmore, Fillmore West.
Alex Gadd:Right on.
Eric Blakeslee:I think so much of rock and roll history has happened there that I've seen a cool show there would be cool. Yeah,
Alex Gadd:Bay Area Rock and Roll, that was the epicenter for sure. I
Eric Blakeslee:yeah,
Alex Gadd:mean, were other places, Cow Palace and lots of other places in and around San Francisco and the Bay, but the Fillmore was where it was happening for sure.
Eric Blakeslee:yeah. And I mean, you just think the people that walked across that stage, my good friend, Chris used to work for a, company that did the food and beverage for the Fillmore, so he got to go backstage and he said that just the whole place is nothing but show pictures. posters
Alex Gadd:I would hope so.
Eric Blakeslee:And, but he was like, the ones that they have displayed are like Jefferson Airplane with, with Janice, but in the back, they've got, the MC5 with, you know, whoever, whoever, and he's like, this is, this is cool, you know? Yeah, Right on.
Alex Gadd:And if you could meet any musician, just meet them, not hear him play, but just meet him. Who do you think the most interesting musician to talk to would be?
Eric Blakeslee:I would have liked to have met George Harrison. I think that, in terms of fame, I think it would be interesting to hear the Beatle. I mean, I wouldn't be interested in the Beatle stories. That kind of stuff that I'm not interested in. I can read about that in books. Um, but I think that he really embraced stuff like Monty Python. I mean, you know, he's the reason why that happened. And,
Alex Gadd:Well, he's the reason they got movies made.
Eric Blakeslee:Right. With his own money. Yeah. And, he drove Formula One cars and just did stuff. And that interests me. Uh, you know, I, I think that it's easy to kind of live in a bubble and I don't think that he did. So I think he really lived and his spirituality really interests me too. So maybe George Harrison. That's a great answer.
Alex Gadd:All right. The only thing left to do is, is look forward. Do you have any tickets to upcoming shows right now? What are you looking forward to seeing this year?
Eric Blakeslee:Let me think. Well, Social Distortion With You.
Alex Gadd:Oh, I'm counting on it.
Eric Blakeslee:October.
Alex Gadd:I'll be there.
Eric Blakeslee:I'm going to see The Circle Jerks coming up. Ryan Adams is playing here, some people are trying to get me to go, those are the big ones coming up. But there's some shows I think that I could be coaxed into at the last minute. Well, I hope so. That's,
Alex Gadd:that's always fun. If you're in the mood and you got nothing else going on, it's great to not think about it and just roll out to a show. Finally, I want to hear about your current music playing. Tell us what you're doing with your guitar playing
Eric Blakeslee:Well, I, I, I'm playing in a punk band
Alex Gadd:as it should be. Start there, end there.
Eric Blakeslee:As it should be. And, it's fun. It's getting me out of the house about three or four times a month. We'll, I don't know if we'll ever gig, but we're going to record. Right on. Well, look,
Alex Gadd:recording leads to gigging. If it's good, if the recording's good, you're going to get asked to play.
Eric Blakeslee:See, that's the thing is that I don't know if we're ever going to gig just simply because we're all old farts that just want to do it. We have a little bit of disposable income to be able to go and say. What is it to spend 200 bucks a piece to get a couple songs made, right?
Alex Gadd:Hell, I'll produce you and you don't have to pay me anything.
Track 1:but you'd have to, we'd have to get up there.
Alex Gadd:I'll figure it out. I'll come to you. Hey, you're the lead guitar player now too. Starting off from, I wasn't very good at guitar. You're now playing lead in this punk band.
Eric Blakeslee:Yeah. Well, I don't know,
Alex Gadd:if lead in a punk band is actually a sign of great guitarmanship, but, uh,
Track 1:it really isn't Alex
Alex Gadd:but you're a really good player. I know you are. I
Eric Blakeslee:low bar. Yeah.
Alex Gadd:Well, I wish you all the best. I hope that I hear some output from those sessions soon. And Eric, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. It really is a pleasure always getting to talk to you, but getting to talk to you about live music is an extra special treat. So thank you for your time today.
Eric Blakeslee:I enjoyed every minute of it. Alex, you take care.
Alex Gadd:All right. You as well. And folks, that's it for today's conversation. Thank you for joining us. We'll be back next Tuesday. And if you like what you heard today, I'd appreciate it if you'd like and subscribe or follow to make sure you get notified about every new episode. Also we want to know what you think. So please leave us a comment and we'll try to respond to every one of them. The Rock N Roll Show podcast is a World Highway Media production. I'm your host, Alex Gadd. And until next time, take care of yourself and each other.