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Spot-Check Billy's Biograph:
It was the summer of my 20th year when I met Disco Danny or as he was called then - Danno, Dee-Bird or just plain D. Like D, when I returned to the world after the 'Nam, I was a lost soul. My scheme to stay in Bangkok after my tour peddling Rolex's (or Bolex's as the knock-offs were labeled) turned bust. I found myself barely a man with a full lifetime of experiences and no direction.I picked up work as a long haul lead/follow car driver. When large machinery or mobile homes are transferred, a car must lead and follow the shipment to insure its safety. A lot of windshield time, but I could just zone out to endless runs on the (8)-track.
Fast-forward to me taking a pit-stop at a raunchy gas station at the Broadway/Mauzy exit of I-81 in Virginia. As I sat on The Can, I passed the time with my usual hand drumming on the stall walls. Do-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na-na-naÂ? … Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na--na-naÂ? Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na-na-naÂ? Na-na-na-na-na-na-na - NA-NA-NA-NA-NA , DigiDiga-DigiDiga- DigiDiga-DigiDiga-DigiDiga-DigiDiga and so on. I was minding my own business, groovin' to my jam, when a rap on the stall was accompanied by a velvet cool voice saying "That's Wipe-out Man" . Huh ? Well…er… I was in fact doin' Wipe-out, but gimmemme a break- the bathroom stall at a Gulf Station is a private domain.
I finished "the paperwork" and stepped out to a stoned-out Danny laughin' and saying "Dude, that was a mean Wipe-out". Not accustom to such immediate reviews of my stall sessions, I came back with "Well - uh - thanks, you oughta hear my Johnny/Edgar Winters' Frankenstein". We talked music shit for about fifteen minutes and he scratched the words on a brown paper towel "HVB - Coffee Pot - Fri at 9".
Since we were bedding down in Roanoke that night, I headed over to the classic music joint The Coffee Pot to check out the "Hot Velvet Boogies" show. Now, if I was no fan of Disco, Southwest Virginia in the early 80's was certainly not ready to forgive. My most vivid memory is Danny being pelted with a 'Minner-cheese" sandwich and fouling up the fret-board on his SG. I nearly dropped my Malt Duck, when he tried to strum though "Dance-with the Boogie Get Down". With a wink and a thumbs-up for trying, we parted ways.
Five years passed and I was getting things straightened out. I developed deep interest in wicker, wicker-craft and its origins. I opened up a small shop called "All Things Wicker" next to "Books, Strings and Things" in Blacksburg, VA. I had settled down, and with my small child in tow, was strolling through the Children's Album section at BS&T when I stumbled across "Righteous D and the Flying V" sings KIDZONGS. As I reached for the album, who taps my shoulder by the Dee-Bird himself ? "You gotta check out "Wheels-on-the-Bus" man, it really goes Round and Round". We soon became fast friends and I actually picked up work with his touring act as the hotel scope-man. I would arrive an hour before the band and check out the Super 8, Hotel 6 or Scottish Inn to check for the degree of Naugahyde, Formica, Cigarette-pocked Crusty Bedspreads, Matted Shag Carpets and smoke-incrusted Draperies. I remember Danny's watchwords - No Orange Loveseats or Concrete Balconies that overlook the highway… and check thhe sound of the Ice Machine, man they can be loud. Oh, and make sure the Vending Machine has Moonpies, and they gotta have those pastries that look like cow-patties with the 1/2-Dollar sized scab in the middle.
From that point on, I have followed Danny through his dark years, the in-between years and am proud to be front and center for every Strangelove's show. Retro Disco Zen is not just a musical way, It's a Way of Life.
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