HOW I MET TODD SNIDER - Dave "Elvis" Hixx - 12/15/06

It was 90 degrees in Pontiac that day.
A five-band line up put on by the local radio station rocked the roof of an
enormous parking structure with a huge stage, vendors, and 2,500 people.  I
had weaseled a backstage all access pass from a buddy, who worked for the
company that rented the speakers.
    I went backstage, and the security man looked at me sideways.
I showed him my pass and kept walking."So far so good", I thought.
    My hippie boss at the coffee shop I worked at was in the audience
watching the show, so I walked back and forth, from the backstage to the
front of the audience.
    On my return trip I heard some guy on stage singing "My landlady treats
me like I don't pay my rent..."  .I remember thinking how cool that was….I
still think that’s pretty damn cool….
    I went backstage again, and the security guy didn't stop me but he
looked at me again. "Damn”, I thought " he's gonna bust me."I quickly
bee-lined across backstage, away from security dude, to the load out area.
    Once there I saw a few bands loading out.  I tried to talk to the DJ
from the radio station but she ignored me. I wanted to look busy in case the
guard saw me. I asked one of the guys I recognized from the band if he
needed a hand.  "Sure, if you want to", he said.
   We loaded out the gear, it took about 30 minutes, and I asked him if he
got high cause I had some good pot.  "Not me - but I know some guys who
would love it," he said,  " hang on".
  We walked over to where the rest of the bands were, and the first thing I
saw was a guy in a winter hat, winter coat, and dark sun glasses wandering
around the outside of the crowd .It was 90 degrees. I watched as he walked
up to the DJ from the  radio station.
  Christ, I thought, it is 90 degrees out here, when the guy I helped load
out, walked up to the winter coat dude, and whispered in his ear.
    The winter coat dude got a big grin, they looked at me, and they walked
away from the DJ over to where I was. I think she was still talking.
     The winter coat dude was Todd Snider. I recognized him then, as the
guy I saw onstage.
Todd and I walked over to a grassy area (on top of a parking structure!) to
roll a number. We were joined by one of Todd's crew, Shamus, and a radio
station intern.
     The wind was picking up, we sat down on the grass, and I pulled out
the stuff.
"Who are you working for?" the radio intern asked me,wondering  why I was in
the VIP area.
   "I'm just here", I said.
    Todd laughed.
     "Gonna be tough to roll that out here. Its windy as hell", Todd said.
       I looked him straight in the eye. " I can roll a joint on the head
of a pin in a hurricane. "
       Todd really laughed.
        We smoked the joint, and walked back to the band area. The sun beat
down, Somebody said something, and Shamus promptly passed out, falling on
the ground.
       "Wow", Todd said to one of his bandmates with a stoner grin, "Shamus
fell out..." the whole band laughed like hell.
         The paramedics were on the scene quickly. Shamus was rubbing his
head, wondering if it was the weed or the heat, or the holistic massage they
were giving out backstage, and which of his friends was laughing as he lay
on the ground.

         The security guard had finally had enough.

He approached the shaded table we had moved to. He wanted me to state my
business in the catered VIP area.
         "He's with us " Todd grinned.

           I went to the buffet line, for some free food, when I saw my
hippie boss talking to the security guard, arms flailing, through an opening
in the tent.
The guard wasn’t letting him backstage.
           A few minutes later a crewmember came up to me, as I was
sampling the catering, and said "your boss wants to see you".
       I weighed my options.
       The words almost said themselves.
      "I don’t have no boss", I said, as I moved on to the desert table.

         I still ain’t got no boss,bit I do have a cool job
And the desert table has lasted about 10 years now-
And tho I can still roll a J on the head of a pin in a hurricane, im usually
too busy setting up these damnTodd Snider shows….i gotta get my priorities
straight…

Viva elmo buzz
The reno flash
Beerrun walkin
The typsy gypsy…
Long may his freak flag fly
david(elvis)hixx the tour strangler
12/14/2006 8:41 PM