I realised I have no idea whether that’s an internationally-recognised term.
I was so disappointed the first time I used a ‘green room’. For one thing, it wasn’t green, nor could I find any other compelling reason for it to be named ‘green’. No cascade green in the fridge, nothing green in a bowl, no Granny Smiths. No bowling or golf putting It was also quite cluttered. I thought the ‘junk room’ or ‘janitor’s cupboard’ might have been a more suitable appellation.
But the one in which I met Juzzie was rather good. A nice big tent behind the truck bed stage, and equipped with a refrigerator which contained cold drinks, and a central table loaded with snacks. Seeing as how we were first act and Juzzie was a solo, no one had yet managed to raid all the goodies so I even managed to partake. The 3rd act was a 9 piece band plus guests and they made very short work of the refreshments
Only green room we've ever seen was the changing room at a transvestite bar in Little Rock. Fortunate that when we played- with a few other bands- there was no dressup show going! Jo and I did play on their patio the next summer and several times the dresser uppers would come out for a smoke or a breath of fresh air. Quite a hoot! This place, if you look up "dive bar" it's a picture of this place. ---------- Music and travel destroy prejudice.
My favorite Green Room experience was behind the main stage at an International Association of Jazz Education convention the year they partnered with National Endowment of the Arts to give living jazz legends recognition and big checks....so, I'm hanging out and sitting at a table with Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennet, the Heath Brothers, Quincy Jones, Dr. Billy Taylor, etc etc etc.
Well, now that I know what a green room is I too have a story. Back in 1981 some pals & I went to see Richard Hell & The Voidoids at a club in Pittsburgh. Being economical young men, of course we had a cooler of beer with us. And of course we tried to find a way to sneak in. One pal went around the back of the bar and up the fire escape - and found Richard & the band (Robert Quine, Ivan Julien and Marky Ramone) sitting around watching a Dodgers-Yankees World Series game in a crappy little room - which I don’t recall being green. My pal asked if we could come in? They asked if we had beer? Next thing ya know the NYC punks and the Pittsburgh suburbanites are drinking and watching the game and insulting the crap out of each other - in good spirits. We had a blast, then the band went on and ripped it up - incl. a cover of the Stones’ Ventilator blues. For one night we too got to be members of the blank generation. Oh to be young again.
Last Edited by Sundancer on Jan 27, 2019 8:35 PM
