There was more bad news. I'd somehow lost track of what day it was -- which was really easy to do in those days -- and realized Sherry wouldn't be coming in from Houston for yet another day. The next morning was Friday, May 1st 1981. I picked Sherry up at DFW airport at 12:08pm and brought her back to the apartment. I had to leave her there (alone with Ricky) while I went over and did the Mayfest show. She wanted to lay out by the pool so she changed into a bikini just before I left. I really didn't know her well enough to predict what would happen leaving her and Ricky alone together. If she ended up putting moves on him, how could I blame him for that?  I trusted Ricky enough to know he wouldn't initiate anything, but she did look amazing in that bikini! (Years later I tried to get Ricky to tell me if anything happened while I was at Mayfest that day, but he never fessed up to it if it did.) Friday night, Sherry went to Savvy's for the first time. Savvy's was like a rock and roll Peyton Place, and it didn't take long for all the regulars to notice the "new girl."  From the stage I could see claws coming out; they sparkled in the light of the disco mirror ball.  I could also see all the males swarming around her, like moths to a porch light, offering to buy her drinks and trying to figure out who she was. I was comforted by the old rule of the trade that said, "the only thing that matters is who she leaves with at the end of the night."

The next morning Sherry and I went to Mayfest, where we ran into Johnny Barber, Troy Lee, Robert Chandler, Penny Poyner, Marcy, and Allison. Then we went shopping at Ridgmar Mall, and ended up at Savvy's for a big Saturday night blast. On Sunday, after getting the Mayfest  gig out of the way, we went to a barbeque at Jimmy Murray's house. (Jimmy was an old friend from school.) From there we went to visit my parents. Wow! Her first time in town and she was meeting the parents? It was no big thing. Just chicken and conversation, and then it was back to the airport for her. Exhausted from a weekend of working two jobs, partying, and playing activity director, I couldn't wait for things to get back to normal.

In those days, it was nice to consider breaking attendance records at the Agora as being "NORMAL" for us. So that's what we did. That week, a band called RED opened for us. During our nights off I partied with the Molly Maguire Band as they played Savvy's in our absence. They got me up to sit in on "Too Far Gone." I'd been working to get the song I'd written for mom recorded so I could give it to her on Mother's Day. I had a few more days to finish it. The starter on my Volare' screwed up. (I'd never realized how much trouble I had with that car until I started writing these journals.) Lawrence Domingez, guitarist from the Molly Maguires dropped by the apartment after the gig one night. 

Back at the Agora for a three night run, we decided to have an afternoon  rehearse there one day. After rehearsal, I went to Magicland in Dallas and bought $105 worth of magic tricks and props to spruce up the McDonald's gigs. I billed it to the Dallas ad agency which handled the McDonald's account. That night after the Agora show, a big shot from EMI Records visited us in the dressing room to tell us we were "stronger" than three bands he'd recently signed. We were ecstatic. It was the biggest news and closest we'd come to something really happening -- but of course he didn't sign us. We had to accept the possibility that he might have been an imposter screwing with us. Who knew? But the following night we knew who Charlie Strobel was. He was with Capital Records. Strobel, along with Ross and Mel from the Agora, and legendary agent Hal Lazereth (Chris Cross, Heart, etc.) stopped by the dressing room after the show. They hung out with us and talked about the ins and outs of the music business. Someone told stories about particular famous artists they'd worked with who had wasted away from doing too many drugs. Mel told us that he can always tell when Savvy has played the Agora by looking at the books! Charlie Strobel promised to do everything he could to help us along. It was moments like those in the dressing rooms of many different clubs that kept us going. It fueled the fire and the passion and gave us hope. These were the people who were in the business of making or breaking bands. We'd made an impression on them and they definitely knew who we were. We'd proven ourselves at the regional level. The question would be, would we have what it would take to go REALLY BIG TIME... 

It was mid May in Texas, which meant bad hail storms rolling through the area. I did a McDonald's gig with Rick Shroeder (Dukes of Hazzard), John Chriswell (local news anchor), Don Gay (famous bull rider), and Miss Dallas. Saturday night was another big one for us at the Agora. There was a big party at the Anatole Hotel, given by Ricky's Longview friend Kevin. Kevin had a lot of money and couldn't seem to make up his mind which of his musician friends he wanted to bankroll. For a long while there was a rift between Kevin and Ricky after Kevin bought a huge semi truck, along with lot's of big time equipment for Joe City. But Joe City had broken up and those days were gone. I wondered if Kevin might be trying to court Ricky now that we were the undisputed darlings of the local rock scene. 

Sunday was Mother's Day. I gave mom a cassette tape of the song I'd written for her, along with a dozen red roses I'd made from balloons. These weren't the inflated kind. These were actually cut and glued to look like the real thing! They last a lot longer too. Mom kept those roses around for several years before they finally developed "latex rot." 

Sunday May 10th 1981, we had an incredible guest list of visitors in the dressing room after the gig at the Agora. Chris let me use his video camera and I have tape of this particular night. In attendance were; Drake Hall, Gary Shaw and wife Brenda, Randy Davis, Jamie Friar, comedian Alan Kaye, Chastity Fox, Chastity's daughter, Paul Matson, Bill, Rick, and Alan from the Agora staff, and many more. Even though we had opened for the phenomenal Eric Johnson that night, all the buzz was centered around Savvy. Everyone knew that we were ripe for something to happen. All the local DJ's were hanging around, the staff of Buddy Magazine had become good friends, representatives from all the major labels were coming and going, and the Agora treated us like family. It appeared that it would all come down to how well our album would be received. 

Frankly, the more powerbrokers of the industry who filed through, the more nervous I became. I'd come to know a lot of really great singers as personal friends and I knew what great singers sounded like. I just wasn't in that league and I knew it.  RJ once told me that I was the most "adequate" singer he'd ever known. He said it as a gag to get me riled, but I didn't let on how true the statement resonated in my soul. The bigger we got, the more I secretly questioned whether I really belonged there or not. Sure, I had GREAT hair, and I sounded good singing harmony with Ricky most of the time. I could sing lead on enough songs to give Ricky a break. I was a fairly intelligent person living a socially retarded existence, but I still knew that any producer worth their salt would make changes before signing Savvy to the big time. I thought I would likely be one of those changes. More to the point, I knew that if I had been producing Savvy for a major label, I would have probably done the same thing. 

I had the hair - no problem. But did I have the 
"PIPES" to make it in the big time? That was the 
question that secretly worried me now and then.

What I contributed to Savvy in our live club shows was one thing, but in the big time things have to be done efficiently. Who would want to share the gate of a stadium show with a guy singing harmonies and playing third guitar parts that weren't really needed? Would I even be important enough to ride on the bus with the rest of the guys?? I was starting to notice hairline cracks in the foundation of my confidence. Fortunately, they were covered by layers of muscle, skin tissue, and clothing. Nobody else ever knew I was having these thoughts and I needed to keep it that way.

[Since writing these stories I've had a number of friends in the business who give me a hard time about beating myself up so much about my singing. It is really very kind of them to say those things, but had I been a GOOD singer as opposed to an ADEQUATE one, I surely would have heard more compliments over the years;  I was constantly hearing people go on and on about Ricky's singing. I would've been more important to the process of recording our album. I wouldn't have cringed when I heard myself miss high notes when I listened to our tapes or watched our concerts on video. But I always tell them not to get me wrong. I had a wonderful time going along for the ride and I was pretty good at picking songs that I could do well - at least most of the time. I had a limited range though, and many nights my voice would suffer and my throat would ache because I'd already worn it out from talking all day during the McDonald's personal appearances. I had a good ear and knew my limitations. I was lucky to be where I was because being a rock singer was not my calling in life. I wouldn't trade those days for anything -- but it wasn't my calling. I wouldn't find out what that would be for quite a while longer. I wish I'd had a stronger,  more unique and versatile rock singing voice, but I managed to get pretty far along and enjoy quite a bit of local success with the "adequate" one God gave me. No matter how talented or gifted we are, we always tend to wish for more. I'm okay with how it went down. No regrets.]

Rick Miller's brother Stan asked if I would mind shooting video tape of him playing in the Colonial Golf Tournament. I used Chris' camera, but the batteries didn't hold up. I got part of the event taped before the camera went dead. I left and drove all over town trying to find another battery, and finally located one. I made it back to the Colonial in time to catch a little more of Stan golfing as he was teamed up with Rudy Gatlin from Gatlin Brothers fame. 

Stan Miller -- Rick Miller's brother, and 
part owner of Savvy's Nightclub. 

A guy named Jeff Cook came to Savvy's. He claimed to have written songs with Tommy Bolin. By that point we just played along with claims people made, no matter how outrageous. We usually assumed they were full of crap unless proven otherwise. My brother Ray finished 4 years of college. Our noisy upstairs neighbors moved out. Plans were to tear down the wall between Savvy's and the hardware store to make one big club the following week. The Texas Jam was coming up soon and we were trying to get psyched up for that big show. It was difficult because we all had that nagging feeling reminding us that we'd been burned before, so we proceeded with caution and guarded enthusiasm.

I accepted an invitation to go fishing at Grapevine Lake with Q102's Drake Hall and A&R man Ed Climie. Drake's girlfriend Chelsea came along too. We had a good time. I was hoping to get a chance to schmooze with Ed more, but we ended up just fishing and leaving shop talk out of it. The next day I took mom fishing at Marine Creek Lake, but it was too windy and we bailed out. I bought a new rod and reel and started going fishing after the gig at Lake Arlington every chance I got. It was very relaxing and helped me wind down after 5 hours of loud music. It became my private getaway. If I ever invited anyone else along, it was family or close friends.

We found ourselves on pins and needles waiting for one of the big record companies to call us. It felt like a calm before the storm, and we assumed that as soon as the album came out the phones would start ringing off the wall. During this time I met Colleen. She didn't seem to be all that impressed with my chatty personality and I felt like I'd bombed with her. This was a little depressing because I really liked her. Comedian Alan Kaye did his comedy show at Savvy's. After the gig, Alan, and a few other folks from the club came over. I invited Colleen, hoping to make a better impression than before. But putting two clowns together like Alan and myself didn't set the mood for Colleen that night either. We ended up running a few of our infamous re-dubbed videos for Alan; "Homo Cowboy" and "Liberty Valenci". Colleen seemed less than impressed. Oh well. So it goes sometimes. 

Comedian and Savvy friend Alan Kaye.

I had to get up at 5:30 am the following morning to go do a clown gig. As I stepped over sleeping bodies from the night before, I couldn't help wondering what I must've been doing to my health. I rarely slept anymore.  Alan Kaye's green touring jacket was hanging on the back of a kitchen chair and he was asleep on the couch. Everyone was sound asleep and the TV was blaring full blast. It would probably have seemed just as strange to them that I was able to get up that early and go to work -- as it seemed to me that they could sleep with the TV blaring like that. 

The next night Colleen went with me to a party given by one of the regulars at the club. It was at an apartment in Woodhaven, and the place was wall to wall with people I either knew, or had seen at Savvy's. Then out of the blue some redneck troublemaker started making sarcastic comments aimed at me from across the room. He was drunk and probably a little envious of my situation. He said things like, "You really must think you're hot stuff just because you're in a band." I totally ignored him, but he was relentless. I was worried that the outbursts might have been the last straw for Colleen, but she surprised me. With the calm and skill of a professional trial lawyer, she berated the guy with logic and insults combined. She made him look like a complete fool to the point that several partygoers actually applauded. We left shortly after that and got along great from that point on. It turned out that Colleen had enjoyed all of our dates, but she was simply one of those people who stayed low key. Once I picked up on that I found it very sexy. I don't really have a moral for that story other than to say that sometimes true friendship comes together when you least expect it.

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CHAPTER 20:  THE BIG SAVVY'S NIGHTCLUB EXPANSION

SAVVY STORY INDEX

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