November 1978. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band.
Driving between Atlanta & New Orleans on the tour bus, Don and I discovered our deep fascination with art supply stores. The bus driver would get off the interstate to track down a store. No simple feat in those days prior to Google and the internet. You had to find a phone book. Yeah, I’m that old.
It was an endless and joyful treasure hunt. We’d separate and conquer opposite sides of the store and then excitedly raise our arms high, prize discovery in hand.
At one of those nameless, long-forgotten stores, he bought me a set of Rapidograh pens and two bottles of ink – one black, one white – and a stack of rough paper in bold dark colors. Back on the bus, he skilled me in filling the pens and making that first mark on the expensive paper.
I still have the pens and a few of the sheets of paper.
Moving house recently, I rabbit-holed down a few lost hours sorting through my old portfolio and setting aside artwork, photos, and other memorabilia for framing. This one has long begged for a frame. Oh, if I only still had even one of the few sketches the “Captain” gave me that he drew while on that bus ride through the South.
SHUFFLING ACROSS THE SOUTH
Zig Zag Wanderer – Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
Debra Kadabra – Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
simmer2sizzle 