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Tales from
the Tour Bus
“They really think they’re rock ‘n’ roll
guys in some of these younger bands,
and it’s funny to see the young guys
going out there and learning how to
vomit for the first time.”
– Steve Byam
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continued from page 29
the country music legend. Not knowing who
the man was, Foote passed along the request
to Jennings. “I told Waylon that a guy
up there named Mack Vickery really wants
to see you,” recalls Foote, “and he said, ‘Mack
Vickery? Well, tell him to f#*^@ himself.’”
Foote complied with the request,
and upon hearing the message that Jennings
passed on, the famous songwriter
stormed off. When Foote returned to the
bus, Jennings was surprised that Vickery
had not come on, until the driver revealed
that he did as he was instructed.
“Waylon starts laughing,” recalls Foote,
“and said, ‘Hoss, you gotta understand
when I mean something as a joke. He’s
an old friend of mine, and I really would
have liked to have seen him.’ It probably
took two weeks before Waylon made
contact with that man again. Waylon told
the story to Johnny Cash and a few others
when we were doing the Highwaymen
tour, and they seemed to get a kick out of
it, but every time he told it I felt stupid.”
The Craziest Job You’ll
Ever Love
In spite of some of such moments,
Foote, Garcia, and Byam talk appreciatively
of the bonds they’ve formed with
band and crew members on their tours
of duty, not to mention some nice fringe
benefits. Garcia got to drive all the Pussycat
Dolls around for their recent twomonth
tour with the Black Eyed Peas,
no doubt making him the envy of the
Dolls’ male followers. He feels fortunate
to have driven many of the bands he has
been with, from the Dropkick Murphys to
Live. Byam was offered to tour with H.I.M.
in Europe as a roadie. And Foote was able
to introduce his family to the late Waylon
Jennings at the artist’s home on the day
after Christmas.
Family is a word that the men can use
to describe the people they spend weeks
of their lives with. “Lynyrd Skynyrd is not
just a road family, they become your personal
family, like your brothers and sisters,”
says Foote. “I love them to death.
They’re the greatest people I’ve ever
worked for in this business. They have
tremendous hearts and souls, and they
care about you.”
At the end of the day, the spirit of the
road and the spirit of friendship keeps
these road dogs happy and satisfied,
even if their working conditions can get
a little crazy. “I’m actually doing what I
want to do,” declares Garcia. “I had a lot of
great other jobs, but I couldn’t hold on to
them. To do this you have to have a free
spirit. You have to live like a gypsy, going
from town to town each day. I might go
into the same town or cities five or six
times, but it’s always exciting.”
30 PLSN AUGUST 2006
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