State Fair Entertainment, Drummer Needed?

My cousin Brent, who pretty much introduced me to a lot of the "great" music I listened to in Jr. High and High School as a result of riding in the back of his light blue Citation on the way to school, posted a reply to LivingOnLiquid yesterday informing me that Ted Nugent is coming to the South Dakota State Fair. Now of course this isn't 1979 Ted Nugent it's 2007 Ted Nugent, but hey, it's the Motor City Madman in HURON???

For those who don't know, when I moved to Huron as a youngster my father was the State Fair manager, and since then the Fair has had a special place in our family's heart. My sister still gets giddy at the mention of the ride known as the "Scrambler" and she is still addicted to cotton candy, my mom and Aunt Glo were nurses at the first aid trailer for years, and I enjoyed the benefits of being the manager's son, with free reign over all the Midway rides, and shuttle buses at my front door when ever I needed them...OK, so our house was on the regular route...but it was a fun place to grow up, and the week of the fair was like a big party on our yard, as we lived right on the fairgrounds.

Even after he resigned, the Fair hired my dad as the Entertainment Stage Manager. This also turned into the family business of "fair week". Eric, Mari, Aaron, Sally, Mom, Scooter and countless other "friends of Bob" would "work" the catering trailer or "runner" duties for the week of the fair, or for just the night of the show they wanted to attend. All in search of the "backstage pass".

I have a few backstage passes, guitar picks and mementos in a scrapbook somewhere, and have had the chance to rub elbows with, drive around, and watch eat the likes of...REO Speedwagon, Rick Springfield, a bunch of WWF superstars, New Kids on the Block, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Chris LeDoux, Loverboy, Barbara Mandrell, Charlie Daniels Band, Tiffany, Vanilla Ice, Color Me Badd, The Beach Boys, John Waite, Tiny Tim, Charlie Pride, John Denver...and the list goes on. As I look back it was pretty big time stuff to be involved on the inside of that operation.

As a drummer I would always figure out who the drummer of the group, or better yet who the drum technician was and I would hang around them, trying to pick up anything, hints, pointers, drumsticks, or drumheads. In fact, I once got a full set of Remo LiquidHeads from the drum tech for some country group. They were worn out for him, but to this day they are still on the set I used to play, that somehow ended up, and still is, in the back room at Bethel Church. My dream was every year, that the drummer for a group would come up sick or missing and they would need someone to sit in for the concert...I was confident I could have played for anybody back then. To the benifet of each artist that dream never came true.

I did sit in for Kyle Evans and the Company Cowboys for a few songs one night, and also played for his son Dustin Evans before he became the regional act he is now. My other night of drumming stardom was at my cousin Kent's wedding dance...he sang and I ripped the drums with the band, doing Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places". My cousin Jon and I also tried to jam in my parents basement one time...him on the trumpet and me on the trap set, but there wasn't much music we could play with a 2 person "pep band".

Now I play in church, on the steering wheel, on my desk and occasionally on Maxim's tummy full of milk...but if Ted Nugent shows up to Huron without a drummer...I am ready. Ted it's up to you???