Finally a good-paying gig so I could call in The Blainettes. Colleen Allen
couldn't do the gig (she played baritone last time) but I got Gene Hardy
(who actually played on my first album...and I just remembered he was the
only person I actually paid to play on that recording - everybody else was
so anxious to support and encourage me that they played for free...that
doesn't happen very often!) When I started complaining that this was about
the weirdest gig I'd ever played, Gene said "Well, we're not wearing mascot
costumes, are we?"
We had to play between races, we were set up on the
apron right next to the track and we would play between races. We had a
minder who would signal when we had to start and stop - and when she
signaled "stop", we had to stop right at that moment - sometimes right in
the middle of a line. Anyway, it was a good payday. My Fender amp took a big
fall but seems to have survived