Now I face a heavy schedule of re-organization, accounting catch-up (I have yet to deal with my '07 taxes) and pushing forward with book/photography business including preparation for a bunch of exciting events coming up in June (more on those later).
In the meantime, I fell short on celebrating Papa John Creach's birthday with you last Thursday - May 8th. As it happened, things got a little out of hand last week because Cucumber Rob dropped in from the UK. Being concerned for the citizens of Los Angeles county, I took it upon myself to shuttle Cucumber Rob around town - I can't even imagine the carnage that he would have left in his wake if I'd turned him loose on the streets in his faux PT Cruiser rent-a-car.
How does Cucumber Rob relate to PJC you ask? Well, one of his meetings I crashed was on Friday with a very cool dude named Michael. Michael has been and is involved on a management and production level with many of the major 60s and 70s Bay Area bands. I don't have to name them for you, do I? Just pick one and assume he was there.
If you've read my book, you know how much I loved shooting Papa and how I was taken with his warmth and elegance. After looking through my book, Michael told me a little story about Papa John that really reflects the beauty of the man. One time they were heading overseas for some tour dates - Papa John's first time out of the U.S. When they were asked to show their passports at the airport, Papa pulled out a xerox copy of his. Michael asked him where his real passport was and Papa told him he'd left it at home where it would be safe. He said his original passport was just too important of a document to be carrying around.
Papa John Creach would have turned 91 on May 8th.
This is one of my many favorite photos of Papa:
And Papa John playing live with Hot Tuna:
No comments:
Post a Comment