posted 22 March 2001 08:54 PM         

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-b0b- quasar@b0b.com
-System Administrator

[This message was edited by b0b on 22 March 2001 at 08:58 PM.]

posted 23 March 2001 04:52 AM         

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[This message was edited by HowardR on 23 March 2001 at 04:53 AM.]

posted 23 March 2001 06:41 AM         

I agree with you,,,,why didnt CBS have a photographer for that session with Dylan??
I know that the arrangements were made up by a couple of the A&R men at Columbia records & I was "johnny on the spot" to bring much equipment to the studio for hime to take a picture with.

Dont know what posessed him to act as he did,maybe he felt like he was being"used" I have never disliked him after that incident it was his perogative to do as he wished.

He is not the only person I have met that refused to be invloved with promting a product.

Buddy Rich who was a great & famous drummer used and played Rogers drums and endorsed them for years in exchange for a the use of drum equipment,,,took on a different attiude towards Rogers drums shortly after Rogers was purchased by CBS.

I had an expierience with Buddy also,,,,but it was not of a negative nature,,,he was very kind to me,,,,,but filled my ears with his feeling regarding the large corporates with no understanding of musicians temperaments etc and he out and out to me where to tell CBS to go,,,,,, He did contunue to endorse Rogers drums ,,,solely because of his friendship with a man by the name of Ben Strauss,,,,Ben came along with the deal when CBS purchased Rogers Drums.

I had the good fortune of personally seeing to it that Buddy always had his "marine whit pearl drum set" at his disposal whenever he came east.

He got tired of CBS's attitude,,,and asked me for a few dozen pr of sticks,,,,,they had his name on them,,,,the powers to be told me if he wants the sticks ,,,he must buy them from a local dealer,,,or that I (me) should give him the sticks "gratis"

The CBS exec that told me this refused to patronize Buddy,,,and said to me,,,,

Does he think he is god????? I answered him ...Yes I do,,,,because he is the GOD among GREAT drummers,,,,we lost Buddy after that,,,,funny thing he said to me one night at a club in NY where he was appearing with his big band,,"Basin Street" he said tell those A....H......s they have a good guy representing them ( he meant me) but tell them where to put their sticks.

After that,,,he used a "generic drum set" on stage and I saw him on the Tonight show when Johnny Carson was still on TV and he used some drum set without any name.

Ed Shaughnessy another Rogers endorser was a very understanding guy,,,,and he too went along with the punches,,,but he continued to play Rogers drums....he had a buddy in New York who was one of my best Rogers acccounts and a nice guy,,,Henry Adler Music,,,all the top drummers made their headquarters there,and I learned much from them just listening to their feedback re products etc,,,they also agreed that no one should have screwed around with Buddy unless they knew how to handle him...

"handle with care" was not one of CBS's attributes,,,I know that for certain.....they taught me one thing during the years I worked for fender Rogers & Rhodes
MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING ...hope you get the "humor' intended ,,,too many accountants and people who knew ZERO about the music business....

Not to bore you,,,but iam happy you wrote your reply,,,,,I can understand your point.Thanks again,,,if you ever see Dylan.tell him Im still a fan,,,,,
"Copyright(c)2001 by Jody Carver "All Rights Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 01:58 PM.]

posted 23 March 2001 07:42 AM         

One of the reasons I worked the NY area was because of my involvement with musicians over the years as being a studio musician myself, Don Randall had to see CBS on the idea of having "a liason" man represent the Musical Instrument division,,,,,there was no additional monetary benifits ,,, I was paid a straight commision for sales of the products I sold ,,Fender, Rogers, Rhodes etc.

There were times I would work all day as a sales rep,,,then had to be a "roadie" by night,,,I didnt mind this either,,,I always enjoyed being around musicians etc,,,.

Thanks for your reply,,,,I cannot for the life of me explain why Bob Dylan chose to pose for the picture with a Jazz Bass.

Maybe it was his way of showing his "protesting" and felt he was being used.
He is not alone,,,,there were many times CBS would ask me to "try to get" a certain musician to endorse the products,,,it was a very uncomfortable situation for me to be put in.

Im against people playing and endorsing a product that they do for the sake of getting a "freebie",,,,that's not what it is all about.

As I stated earlier,,, I played a fender steel guitar because I liked the instrument and since I worked for the company for many years,,,never paid for any of my guitars or amps,,,,I paid a large sum of money for a guitar that I always received "gratis" this was only a month or so ago,,,,,that very same guitar I bought,,,had a dealer cost of app $135.00 back when,,,,I paid almost 20 times that price,,,,WHY???? because I always felt to me ,,,,Fender was the Best For Me,,and although I couldnt carry Buddy Emmons guitar case or many other great players,,,it worked for me,,,,thanks again.
The expression they use when an artist plays an instrument he would'nt pay for if it were not for the fact he or she was getting it "gratis" that is called (pardon me ) prosituting one's self,,,,you must excuse the typo's I can say those words but cant really spell them,,,Im really illiterate with this PC,,,wonder if any PC manufacturer or distributor would want me to endorse for them ?,,,,I DONT THINK SO.....thanks
"Copyright(c)2001 by Jody Carver "All Rights
Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:00 PM.]

posted 23 March 2001 11:05 AM         

I dont know what you refer to as a "sell out" I was happy to be able to be at that session,,,but as things turned out,,after the photo was taken ,,,I packed up the gear and left.

I was questioned by my advertising fellow on the west coast as to why ,,,Dylan posed with the Jazz Bass,,,I didnt know why,,,I thought along with his attitude he was just having "one of those days" musicians are entitled to that.

I think looking at it in a positive way,,,maybe people thought it was all that was available for him to pose with,,,but I did get called down for letting that happen.

I hope I have offered my I feeling is my only explanation to his actions,,,,being around people all my life,,,I couldn't get into his head I had my own head things going on .....

I cannot fault anyone including CBS,,,,I look at it this way. When CBS aqquired Fender,,,there was much excitement at CBS ,,,how ever there was much "gloom" of the part of dealers and employee"s as a whole,no one knew what CBS had planned re distibution policys ,,,personell changes etc,,,it was a nervous time for all,,,CBS on the other hand had a new baby and I look at it this way.

Visualize a new mother having her first new born,,,all the family both sides in laws etc want to see the new baby,,,everyone wanted to get into the excitement,,,,some of the family got to see the new baby more than others and "bingo" hard feelings prevailed.

Fender was the new baby to CBS I was the "guy who delivered the baby,,,,they were knocking on my door,,,,I earned my livelyhood with my paychecks from CBS & other than some of the things that were a pain in the "butt" they acted as any large conglamorate would have I guess.

I have always admired Hartley Peavey for his philosophy etc ,,,I think he had much to do not only with a good product but keeping a "family" feeling among all his dealers.

I was not in that kind of a position,,, I was working under the watchful "eye" of CBS & there was much stress,,, i know a cardiogram a week was not unusual,,,my fault because i tried to satisfy everyone at the expense of my health....Im healthy but I tried too hard and took my job seriously,,,I was in the "big apple" where CBS had their headquarters,,,but I made many friends at CBS in spite of all of this,,and when I resigned to go elsewhere,,,I know there were many that were sorry to see me go,,,and Iam not bragging,,,,

I put my heart into that gig,,,thanks for your comment,,,still dont know what you refer to as a sell out,,,,,ttyl Jody PS Clue me ...would appreciate it....
"Copyright (c)2001 by Jody Carver "All Rights Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:03 PM.]

posted 23 March 2001 05:28 PM         

Wow ,,,that leo was ssomething else,,,,that must be that special Esquire you have now, I always knew leo looked far ahead,,,,but that was in 1953,,,,how's he know that that would be for you???? Leo was a Casey Stengel kind of character,,,Casey knew his baseball ,,,Leo knew his guitars,,,,,,

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 23 March 2001 at 05:30 PM.]

posted 23 March 2001 08:49 PM         

Thank you for extending a thread for me to tell my "ancient" history stories,,,I do appreciate it.

I received an e mail from a former Fender rep who lives out in Southern California,

posted 23 March 2001 09:46 PM         

Don't shorten anything; I haven't fallen asleep yet and enjoy your writings very much.

Thank you,

------------------
B#

posted 24 March 2001 06:14 AM         

Don't ever think that your posts are boring. I feel like I am taking a history lesson with you everytime I read your stories. I wish I could have been there.

Ever since you told me the animal (4-leg) story I now have a leash on my fender 3-8 just in case! You should share that with everone and post up some pictures.
Your friend,

Gary

posted 24 March 2001 07:13 PM         

The story is about a fellow we all thought alot of I as one always enjoyed knowing this person,,,and I think you may find this interesting,,,I will give Fender stories a rest for a while and tell you a new one as time allows......

It was 1968,,,,I received a phone call from a fellow Fender salesman "an original like myself" his name was Luke Morris,,,,he was from Alabama,,,,he was what I always thought a "country gentlemen" should be and he was every bit that and more.

Luke worked for Fender and covered the southern states for many many years,,,was one of the old guard.

He called me for a favor,,,,he had a close friend by the name of Ron Lashley,,,Luke and Ron were close friends ,and although Ron was not a Fender retail outlet,,,they were hunting buddies and fishing partners,,,I think Luke spoke a bit slower than Ron,,,"rest his soul"

If Ron spoke at a speed of 5 miles per hour Luke had not as yet put the key in the ignition..

Luke after a good half hour asked me if I could help Ron find a good outlet for Emmons guitars up here in New York City New Jersey etc,,,,,he explained that Ron did not have a rep and thought maybe I could help open a few doors.

I agreed to call Ron,,,,He was very nice to me and i told him I would be more than happy to take him around and introduce him to some of my Fender dealers......He added that would be fine Jody,,,,but only the one's that pay their bills and he was serious about that..

I explained whatever I could as this was not a great market for steel guitar at that time,,but there an interest starting to show up here with a few dealers buying Fender steel guitars which was was a small market.

I told Ron that whenever he was ready to come up ,,, I would make it my business to help in whatever way I could ,,,he was most appreciative....He called me a few days later and said he would like to come up,,,I said fine,,, I will lay some groundwork for you in the meantime..

I spoke with Henry Goldrich owner of Mannys Music and son of the late Manny Goldrich,,,,Henry was a good friend and he agreed to give Ron some time ,,,but didnt feel he wanted to get invloved with a steel guitar line as he had no one in his store who knew anything about steel guitar,,,and a store like Manny's dont have the time to spend with something that isnt already "pre sold" and would take someone with knowledge of the instrument to sell the product.

I made arrangements with Ron,,,and asked him what flight he would be taking ,,,so I could pick him up at the airport,,,I said Ron,,,Ron are you still there,,,he then said yeah Im here,,,Im just thinkin.

After he thought awhile about 10 minutes later he said,,,I think I will drive up to NY ,,,okay that was great,,,I gave him directions to the store on west 48th street in Manhattan,,,and made arrangements to meet him in the parking garage right next door to Mannys Music,,,,we set the time,and the day

I was at Mannys Music at 9am I waited in the garge for what was at least an hour,,,I kept checking with the store to see if anyone called,,,no calls from Ron.

My wife called and said Ron called and was lost somewhere downtown Manhattan,,,she told him to call Mannys Music,,,, I waited for the call,,,no call...

I walked up and down the block,,,I didnt even ask him what kind of car he was driving,
all at once I saw a Ford station wagon with a guy inside looking like he was lost,,,,I looked at the license plate and it had No,Carolina plates....Bingo,,,now I had never seen Ron before and I didnt know he was a big guy,,,,we hooked up grabbed a couple of his guitars and went into Manny's
I introduced Ron to most everyone and Ron was amazed at the traffic in the store so early in the day and was overwhelmed by the whole deal.

I told him to relax,,,,Henry the owner was very nice to Ron,,,,,I asked Ron to take his gear out and show the product to Henry and some of his sales people,,,,he had a D10 Black Mica 8 plus 4 knee's ,,,and a student model with a mica finish in rosewood with 10 strings and 2 knee levers.3 pedals

There was much dead air as Ron didnt know what to say,,,,his only question was directed at Henry and he said ...whadda ya think?? Henry said ,,,they look fine ,,,can I hear them? Ron asked me if I wanted to demo them,,, I never saw an Emmons guitar close up let alone play one,,,,so Ron sat down in the back of the store,, I plugged him into " guess what" yes a Fender Twin reverb amp..

He was doing really good,,,and I asked one of the fellow salesman at Mannys if they would play a little rythym backup for Ron.
Man ,,,it sounded real good ,,,he did a few things on the E9th and those New Yawk cats heard Ron's great guitar,,,,then came the questions man ,,,how'd ya do that??? how much is that thing??? how do you tune it etc etc,,,wow oh wow,,,, I knew Ron was in the door now,.

Ron was excited,,,but you would never know it he just sat there and asked what they would like to hear,,, I got a kick out of that,,,that was the first time anyone was ever able to do an in store demo during business hours,,,,.

Henry was so busy with customers etc,,so I took Ron for a walk up to Fifth Ave and we looked in all the store windows at Rolex watches etc,,,we even had a few gals ask us if we wanted to party,,,,Ron was having a ball,,,,we spent a good two hours walking around 5th and madison avenue's .

We went back to mannys after a quick pizza & Henry said hey ,,,where did you guys go?,,,I told him I took Ron to CBS which I did to show him "black rock" as they called it,
It was time to sell some guitars,,,I told Henry the guitars were without a doubt second to none and better than that,,,,probably the best on the market.

Only problem was ,,,Henry asked ,,,,how do I demo these???? no one plays steel guitar here and how would I keep one on display for customers to try out the guitar,,,Ron didnt know what to say,,, i jumped in and was the HERO,,,,I said Henry if you do take on Rons guitars I will personally come in as I always did anyway once a week and tune them etc and make certain they were in good working order.

That was agreeable to Henry...and then said to me,,,,why dont you rep Rons guitars,,,would fender object,??,,, I said oh no Henry,,,they would have me thrown down the elevator shaft at black rock and call it a "suicide" . It looked like a moment of indecisiveness on the part of Mannys taking on the guitar line...Henry said,,,,let me sleep on it,,,and could you come back tomorrow,??,,,,sure we agreed.

We left the store and I asked Ron where he was staying,,,,he paused and said "I dont know,,,,,where would you suggest? I knew the hotels in manhattan were expensive,,,,so i called home and told my wife Marilyn I was bringing Ron home with me,,,,she said Oh gosh what should I cook,?,,,what does he like? at this time we are in a phone booth on 6th Ave and 48th st and Ron is looking around at all the buildings and the characters walking up and down,,,he said man they look like they are all in a hurry said where are they going,,??? I said they are going to Mannys they heard you were in town.

He followed me home in his car and I lived about an hours drive from midtown,,, I knew Ron would not want to spend all that money on a hotel room and I didnt want him to be alone in the city,,,he followed me home,,,I kept looking for him in the rear view mirror to make certain he was behind....I didnt want to lose him" stress again just driving in manhattan....

After we arrived at my home,,he said 'man that was longer than the drive from No.Carolina,,,,he then told me he drove all night to meet me in New York that morning.

We went into the house,,,I had 2 daughters who were about 12 and 10 years old at that time and I had a big German shepard who took a fancy to Ron,,,,he kept poking Ron in that "sensitive spot",,,,,my wife made Ron feel at home,,,I had him rest awhile and while he was resting,,,my wife said quietly to me,,,,wow ,,,he looks like a big eater,,,it's a good thing Icooked as much as i did ,,,she made anough for an Army...we had a big dinner of Veal Parmigian ,,,spaghetti and about 500 meatballs,,, Ron said wow,,,Jody how come you are so "puny" when ya got all this food?
I told him I dont eat much....he said well what you dont I will and god bless him he ate a whole lot,,,all this time the German Shepard didnt take his eyes off of Ron,,we were finished eating but Ron wasn't I told him to take his time and just sat at the table with him,,,& the dog by Rons side,,,after a German Chocolate homemade cake for dessert,,,he just sat there all filled up.

After a while he thanked us for our hospitality and got up and asked me if he could get a room nearby,,,I said sure how about my family room.?...he said Oh no Jody you have done enough already,,,,we went out to the wagon and brought in the guitars and I had him playing and we were having a good time,,,talking and just hangin out,,,,he said to me ...man this new York is something else....how do you handle all this pressure,, i said Ron its easy,,,,I have a nervous breakdown every weekend,,,then iam "Back in The saddle" again on Monday ... I could see he was beat,,,so I showed him where he could sleep ,,,and he went to bed,,,my wife asked me where Duke the Shepard was,,,,I thought for a moment and looked around,,,,couldn't find him,,,,I went to where Ron was already sleeping out like a light and the dammed dog started "growling at me,,,,I closed the door quietly ,,,and waited a while,,,went back and the dammed dog growled again,,,,i said the heck with it.

The next morning Ron was up and calling me ,,,he said he couldnt get out of the room the dog wouldnt let him out,,,he told me he had to use the bathroom during the night but couldnt cause the dog would growl at him,,,he said what kind of a dog is that Jody,? I said a german shepard,,,he said is he trained to be a watch dog,,,??? I said yes Ron ,,,he was trained by CBS as an attack dog,,,I would take the dog to stores that didnt pay their bills and turn the dog loose,,,,that always worked,,,,,I called mannys from home and asked what time he would like us to return,,,,,he said dont bother,,,tell Ron to ship us whatever he thinks we should have ,,,,we will spend up to $7.000.00 and give it a try, tell Ron to use his own judgement,,,,but he said to me,,,you had better be in here once a week to help us with those things,,,I assured him I would,,,but to keep a job open for me if CBS finds out,,,I told Henry about the German Shepard keeping Ron hostage he said in jest,,,sure the dog must have thought Ron was jewish and you know those dammed German dogs hate jews.

I packed Ron up....gave him about 200 meatballs to take back home,,,and I always called this "The Meatball Marathon" Ron did well with Mannys Music,,,& finally got a sales rep who handled Ampeg amps to carry the Emmons guitar line,,,,funny thing,,,he too was an ex Fender rep,,,ya cant beat those Fender guys can ya??? I called Ron from time to time and he couldnt thank me enough for all my help,,, I did it because I liked him....he became a friend...I ordered a D 10 Black Mica Guitar from him 9 pedals and 6 knee levers ,,,he wanted me to have this "gratis" in exchange for my helping him.

I said no,,,,,then you will want me for an endorser and CBS will have that CBS eye on me and I will have to sell the guitar and sell it to another friend who may not pay me for it.

The guitar is great,,,it was made for me by Fred Trogden another beautiful guy,,,I felt very upset when Ron passed away ,,,Fred Trogden passed away years before Ron,,,I spoke with Ron;s son Tony some years back..so although this is not a Fender related story,,,if I was not a Fender rep I would have never had the good fortune of knowing Ron,,, My only regret is that I forgot to let that German Shepard out of Rons room that night.

I have told this story to Buddy E.. Iam sure he remembers the famous "Meatball Marathon".

My theory is ,,,,,the German Shepard stayed with Ron all night because he thought Ron had those 500 meatballs stashed away...I will be back when my fingers heal.And I guess the German shepard was partial to German Chocolate cake ,Ron always asked me how the CBS dog was,,,,when the dog died I told Ron,,,,the dog died while watching Channel "2" the CBS Channel here in NY .ole dogs never die they go to that CBS Eye in the Sky........Give ya'll a rest for a week or so,,,,Hope im still around CBS is watching me.Copyright(c) 2001 by Jody Carver
All Rights Reserved

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 24 March 2001 at 07:38 PM.]

posted 25 March 2001 07:51 AM         

Although it may or not be important to many
I would like to acknowledge the people who
made the helped make the Fender success story
what it is today.
These are the fellows who were there from day
one,,,and of the group ,,,only two are still
with us.
Dave Driver Sr (deceased)
Charlie Hayes (deceased)
Dale Hyatt
Tom Walker
Don Patton (deceased)
Mike Cole (deceased)
Bob Dayton (deceased)
Art bates (no known whereabouts)

I wanted to acknowledge these eight people as
they were truly the pioneers who had the insight and confidence to help make Fender
what it is today. Many of them worked close to the bone to survive those early days.

I may make reference to them in future posts and wanted them to be acknowledged,,,,they were all my friends. I have not seen any
reference to them other than in the book re
Fender history,,,Fender The Sound Heard Round
The World" and wanted to make certain they get acknowledged,,,they were the BEST OF
FENDER.....Copyright(c) 2001 by Jody Carver
"All Rights Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:08 PM.]

posted 25 March 2001 11:54 AM         

Jody,
Thanks ever so much. I really am enjoying your stories. Keep 'em comin...

posted 25 March 2001 01:14 PM         

My wife said that I should be accused of
ABUSE" after putting all of you through these
LONG LONG,,,,and most of all "BORING" stories

posted 25 March 2001 06:17 PM         

I was afraid to overdo it,,,,and thought you may ex-comunicate me from the Forum.

I dont want to offend anyone,,I would only speak about people I thought a lot of. Any others ,,,,I wouldnt waste your valuable space,,,,besides I never met a guy i didnt like,,,oh maybe one or two,,,thanks for the time and patience.

Hope CBS doesnt come after me,,,,they owned the rights to the CBS Dog I had ,,,,,Thanks again ,,,the dog died ,,he choked to death trying to "chew up" and fender tremolo foot switch,,, it was the reverb switch that was the official cause of death,,,everytime he tried to bark near the end,,,the reverb was overpowering the tremolo,,,his digital delay was also his problem,,,his barks kept repeating themselves,,,,this is " off the record" gotta go and get my medication now.
Copyright(c) 2001 by Jody Carver "All Rights
Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:18 PM.]

posted 25 March 2001 06:35 PM         

Feel free to type as much as you can, I don't think you'll see too many complaining about length here.

posted 25 March 2001 07:46 PM         

THE STORY YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS TRUE,,,,,,
ONLY THE NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT
THE GUILTY"
THIS CONTAINS "EXPLICIT MATERIAL"
PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED".

The time 1975,,,,the place Anaheim California
The NAMM SHOW....

This was the very first Namm show that Leo Fender's new MusicMan company was to make their debut.

There was a lot of excitement throughout,,,leo was returning after a 10 yr absence from the music industry,,,this was exciting.

Music Man had a booth right across from the Fender booth and it was a funny feeling for me to be on the "other side" for the first time in my life,,, I didnt know anything else but Fender and here I was with 4 other former Fender reps standing on the other side of the fence.

I can still recall the excitment,,,it was both exciting for me as well as emotional as I felt uncomfortable seeing my old team right across the aisle.

There were well wishers as well as people who offered me their "condolences" for resigning from a winning team "The World Champions Fender.

I had mixed emnotions beleive me,,,I was not sure I made the right decision. I think you can understand that.

Okay ,,,as the day wore on,,,outr Music Man booth was jammed,,,everyone looking for Leo Fender to appear....it was a traumatic time,imagine LEO FENDER across the aisle from his old Fender company,,,,man what drama
and Im not kidding either.

Dealers and other manufacturer's came by,,,wheres Leo??? wheres Leo??? thats all ya heard,,,he was the man of the "hour" and rightfully so,.

There were four of us original fender reps in the Music man booth and although I had many friends on the other side of the aisle it was different now,,,like two baseball teams playing each other with a newly aqquired player from the other team.

Our intent WAS NOT TO COMPETE with Fender,,how could anyone,??,,,its just that Leo got tired of sitting at home and wanted to get back in the business he loved after a ten(10) year absence and the four of us had had enough of CBS and the corporate structure we had been CBS'sd to death.

There was Bud Driver sales rep for many years
Bud looked axactly like Leon McAuliife and Leon McAuliffe looked exactly like Bud Driver.,,,it was like "twins you were seeing.

There was Luke Morris The south's utmost gentlemen,,,John Chelkowski a NY guy who lived and worked the midwest for Fender for years and years,,,myself who was standing there wondering if i made the right decision to leave.

It was a very emotional time,,,Tom Walker president was there as was Forrest White VP
but we were all former fender guys.

The first day there were many Japanese people with camera's waiting for Leo to appear,,,,everyone was waiting for Leo,,,For some reason Leo didnt appear although there were rumors that leo did appear and then left
,,,that was not true,,,,.

After the day was over and the "ice was broken" we were all emotionally spent,,,Bud Driver and John and Luke were realaxing in the hotel bar,,,,as was everyone else from the show,,,we were all friends Gibson reps Peavey reps fender reps etc....

I was sitting with a dealer friend a few tables away from the Music Man reps,,,they had a couple of japanese fellows with them I think they were Music Man disributors,,,and they were all having a ball,,,laughing out loud etc,,I just sat with my friend having my usual "diet coke" and wondering again & again "man what did I do????

The Music Man reps kept looking at me and laughing like hell,,,,the two japanese fellows were looking at me and laughing too.
I started to feel a bit weird and uncomfortable,,,,why were they laughing,,Oh I know Im funny sometimes,,,but not that funny.

I walked over to their table and said Hi guys whats happening????They laughed harder & then they introduced me to the two Japanese fellows who very extremly polite & had a lot of class,,,,they even did a customary "bow to me: like I was the "emperor
I didnt sit down with them,,,I excused myself and left to go to dinner with my friend (he was a drummer) but I went in spite of that.

The next morning in the coffee shop,,,these two Japanese guys were looking at me,,,I felt unconfortable,,,hey guys I had nothing to do with the bombing of "Hiroshima" whats the deal????

I went to the show again ,,,met dealers ,showed the products etc,,,everyone was still waiting for Leo,,,the lines were starting to get long,,,,,is he here yet?? is he here yet??? thats all we heard,,,and back came the two Japanese guys....camera's and all that,,,looking at me ,,,looking at me,,,I noticed Bud Driver getting a kick out of this,,,he was trying to aviod me seeing him laughing at me,,,every so often he would go over to the Japanese fellows.

I dont know what he said to them,,,,they couldn't speak english,,,what the hell were they laughing and stareing at me for,,,I looked at my trousers,,,my fly wasn't open I had no rip in my trousers,,,i didnt need a haircut,,I took a shower,,,what the hell is this all about.

I walked over to John Chelkowski and said John,,,what the hell is going on,,,John said Jody ,,,meet me at the refreshment stand in a few minutes....

I waited for not to make it look obvious & walked to the refreshment stand to meet John.
He told me that these two Japanese guys were serious Leo Fanatics,,,and that the night they were in the hotel bar,,,Bud Driver told them this story,,,but it was told to them via their interpreter.

It seems here is the story,,,,,Leo Fender saw me in the Hotel waiting for a room,,,and somehow the room was not held for me someone goofed up my reservation,,,along came Leo according to Bud Driver and saw me,,and said hey Jody,,,,whats the problem,,,I said according to the story,,,, I have no room,,,leo replied c'mon "bunk in with me" and in the morning we will settle this.

I was supposed to have slept on the sofa in Leo' room,,,this was supposed to have happened a few years back ,,,,and the next day I got my room settled,

When i got back to NY,,,my wife was unpacking my bag and she said ,,,who's underwear is this??? I said what underwear?? she said to me,,,,this underwear,,,it was apair of boxer underwear size 38,,, I wear a size 32.......they told these two Japs this story and that I had leo's underwear...

John said ,,,,man dont sweat it,,,maybe they want to buy the underwear from you,,,I said man you guys are &^)*&%$^*&(&^% CRAZY
when we got back to the booth,,, I pretended I knew nothing,,,,,the Japanese interpretor came over with the two "gigglin japanese guys and asked me if I had anything I wanted to sell,,,,,I said Yeah Music Man amps.

I often wondered what i could have got for the underwear that leo was supposedly mixed in with mine,,,,I really could have gave them the business,,,all i had to do was go out and buy a pair of Boxer underwear size 38 and say they belonged to leo,,,what the hell did they know? whether he wore "Hanes" or "Jockey" I could have sold underwear at the show and made more than i did selling amps,,,,,.

I told this story to Leo a few years later & he laughed,,,and said to me,,,,if you tell people that story,,,I will tell them about your "middle leg" which he always remembered since that happened back in 1952,,,Smiley Roberts,,,,keep that underwear,,,dont let anyone kid you,,,,they may be worth big bucks some day,,,,you could always say they belonged to Bill Clinton"

I wonder if i really had that pair of underwear that were supposed to have belonged to leo if ,,,I could have made a deal straight up for that Bigsby some Jap bought for a reportedly $9000.00 I would have thrown in the undershirt too. This is a TRUE story,,,,,Bud passed away 5 years ago at age 67,,,John passed away 2 years ago at age 60 Luke passed away 12 years ago at age 52 and Leo is gone,,,but the memories linger on,,,,,am I sorry I left Fender CBS,,,yeah many times,,,I had a lot of friends there,,they were and still are a great company,,,but if this happened while we were at CBS ,,,it would have meant a jail sentence at Black Rock on 52nd St Manhattan,
Another one out of the way,,,,gotta run,,,here comes my wife,,,,,see ya PS
The difference between MusicMan & Fender CBS was like going froma large "cathedral" to a small " country church" either way it was still a good place to be,,,,,but I think I liked the "acoustics" better in the ,,,you guess?????? which one ,,,,,you will never guess or maybe you will,,,,Copyright (c) 2001
by Jody Carver "All Rights Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:12 PM.]

posted 25 March 2001 08:55 PM         

Keep them coming! This is great.

A friend of mine (Chris Wilkinson, the fantastic string arranger and violist in Nashville) took me to meet Wade Ray in Nashville in the mid 70's. What was Wade's role with Fender?

posted 25 March 2001 09:33 PM         

He had a way with people and was very good with the sales reps,,,he added something that CBS Musical Instruments needed (aka) Fender,,,he brought back some of the real type people and we tried to make less of that (pre CBS) syndrome,,,,Wade had a lot of friends,,,and why not,,,,he was a great guy,you should have heard his stories,,,man he was everywhere.

There should have been more like him at CBS Fender,,,,we had Eddie Miller as a sales rep in Nashville for awhile ,,,,as you know Eddie wrote "Please Release me)" I told Eddy one time not to sing that song for the CBS brass,,,they used to "release" people left and right.

They would come and go,,,some were good,,,Wade Ray as they called him"pudge" was a fine man,,,,,a good musician too. I wished Speedy could tell some stories on the Forum,,,he's a walking "encylopedia" thanks Jody Copyright(c)2001 by Jody Carver "
All Rights Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:15 PM.]

posted 25 March 2001 10:22 PM         

But whenever I was out there,,it was never enough time to meet everyone,,,so I may have met Al at one time but he was an asset to Fender,,,Forrest White was high on Al Petty.

As for Gene Fields?? Gene designed what should have been a winner of a pedal steel guitar,,,keyless,, and neck changing mechanism ,,, I was sent a very early sample to check out,,,I found it to be excellent but and I hate "buts" Bob Campbell then president of the Fender Rogers Rhodes division wanted me to give an immediate overall opinion of Gene's guitar,,,,they wanted to know how many I thought I could sell,,, I told Bob Campbell,,,I knew of one guy who would buy it,,,ME,,,I dont think I should say ,I know that gene was not given the time nor opportunity to prove his talent and worthiness to Fender,,,we were dealing with "quota's here,,production schedules etc
CBS had to know yesterday what would sell and how many,,,,they had BPI disease.

Do you know what that is??? Ill tell you ..one time a CBS financial accountant came to NY (everybody came to NY) I met him at the airport JFK,,, I could tell he was an accountant,,,,he had an accountants suit,haircut,wingtip shoes and those attache cases with all the information.

He said to me ,,,,as soon as we had a chance to sit down to get to know each other and what his mission was,,,,he said to me in the coffee shop at JFK....Jody you have a high BPI,,,,I said how could that be,?,,I had my blood pressure taken last week and it was normal,,,,no sense of humor,,,he said I mean BPI is "buying power index" if there were 8 million people in NYC he had figured how many people should be buying fender guitars.

I told him to have the company make a guitar out of chocolate,,,if the dealer couldnt sell it ,,,he could eat it,,, numbers quotas
projections,,,what about the customers with the warped necks? how about the guys with amp problems and parts were difficult to get for replacement,,,he said ,,,,thats not my department,,, I told him to get someone from that department and forget about the numbers The numbers were there,,,They wanted more.

Listen to this,,,,he mentioned another company that was a competitor,,,he said,,,what do we do about them?? I said we do nothing,,,we look after our own business there is room for everyone,,,his excact words were ,,,"how do we blow them out of the water" I said easy,,,,get an Atomic Bomb more powerful than the one they dropped on Hiroshima and you can give it a try.

His report back to the brass was that I had a bad attitude,,, I got a D on my report card

He next went to travel with Dale Hyatt ,,,Dale was a big texan and I mean BIG
he had a brother who also was a fender rep Harold Hyatt,,,,these two guys were 14 feet tall and about 9 feet wide put together they looked like what youwould expect to see in a western movie,,,two guys riding into town and everyone scatters,,,,This accountant went to travel with dale and gave him the BPI deal,,,,Dale stopped the car and told the guy to get out,,,now thats what I call a cowboy,,,Dale was Fenders first sales rep & later became head of G&L and let me tell ya mister,,,,when he blew into town it wasn't a tornado,,,that would be a cinch...it was Big Dale,,,PS the accountant left CBS about two weeks later,,,the reason??? to pursue other interests,,,that was a stock line,,,everyone left to pursue other interests,,,I wonder what they were? Man all you asked me was about Gene Fields & Al Petty,,,,dont ask me anymore,,,must be this caffeine.
Copyright(c) 2001 by Jody Carver "All Rights Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:21 PM.]

posted 25 March 2001 10:30 PM         

No I didnt watch the "academy awards" but Im happy to hear than Dylan took my advice and chose the stratocaster over the Jazz Bass,,,the strat looks better on him...I will
forward something to you on your e mail,,it is a real co incidence something I just learned about a mural that is in Fenders original parking lot,,,and at the Fender museum,,,,,there are pics of fender players over the years,,,,,guess who is pictured next to Dylan ?? I will e mail you Jody
Copyright(c)2001 by Jody Carver "AllRights Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:25 PM.]

posted 26 March 2001 02:20 PM         

I have read my long winded "sometime's" boring stories,,,,,so as not to make a fool of myself,,,,Please tell me when ENOUGH is ENOUGH,,,, I will take that criitisism in a
contructive manner,,and would appreciate not letting me go overboard....

posted 26 March 2001 04:39 PM         

Stop apoligising about your stories!

We love them! Anyone who disagrees has long ago gone to another post.

You've really proved yourself to be a gentleman by not mentioning names of those who've wronged you.

Now what's with the Chick Corea Rhodes piano endorsement that you briefly mentioned a while back??

j0e

[This message was edited by Joey Ace on 26 March 2001 at 04:44 PM.]

posted 26 March 2001 05:43 PM         

The story re Chick Corea invloves Chick,Harold Rhodes (inventor of the Rhodes Piano) and me,,,Im always in some kind of a thing,,,,its not too long of a story but it is pretty cool ,,,get to it as soon as i can
Jody Thanks for asking,,,,,

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 26 March 2001 at 05:54 PM.]

posted 26 March 2001 08:06 PM         

Best wishes,

posted 26 March 2001 08:08 PM         

They use crates for training,,,,too bad they never thought of that before,,,I know people who could use crate training,,,Oh lets go.

Harold Rhodes,,,was a good friend of mine since he first joined Fender back in 1955,his first venture was the Fender-Rhodes Piano Bass,,,,32 key unit which simulated the bass upright but more so an electric Pre Bass something like that,,,,the ideas was for the guitar player or another member of the band to be able to use this if there was no bass in the group.

Although it was a keen idea,,it was not really a popular selling item,,,Leo Fender did not get invloved with Harold on the project, in fact Leo was really not sold on the idea so Harold became more and more frustrated with his failure to get fender to give him support R&D with the Piano bass. I sold quite a few,,,but there were "bugs" in them etc.

It was not until CBS bought Fender that harold had finally got Leo to support him on his new 73 key suitcase piano,,,,this was the real deal,,,it had a solid state amp that put out about 100 RMS and the enclosure containing the speakers was the bottom of the piano where the sustain pedal was located
it was a two (2) piece unit and weighed about 200 LBS or better when it was weighed out for shipping.

There were many problems with the piano as well as the amp,,,,so the project was put aside,,, Harold had told me many times ,he wanted out of Fender ,he felt he was getting no support from their amplifier R&D and guitars and amps were Fender primary big sellers.

When CBS bought the company,,,beleive it or not what they really took a fancy to was harold Rhodes 73 key "suitcase" piano,,,immediatly after the takeover CBS gave Harold full control with his baby,,,he was given a staff (2) fellows who would work with Harold in R&D.

This was Harolds dream come true,,,but you would have to have known Harold,,,he was a beautiful guy,,,worked like a dog day and night and I meant that literally,,,,there was nothing as important as his piano,,,he had this in his mind for years and years,,,he was extremely an anxious kind of guy and a perfectionist to say the least.

I think he couldnt help himeself,,,,this was it for him do or die,,,he worked like heck with the piano development,,,I dont think there was a piano built that had the same components as the next or the last ,,,he was constantly upgrading features,,, I had a few shipped into my area that caused many headaches for the dealers,,,and when the dealer gets a headache,,,he dont take aspirin
he calls me or he calls Harold out on the west coast.

Harold would call me at two and three in the morning eastern time and tell me exactly what to and what not to do to help whatever the problem was & I was the furthese thing from being handy,,,althought we were (salesman) put through a seminar workshop) deal to help on the spot problems with the piano

CBS had a request that Chick Corea wanted to try a Fender Rhodes piano ,,,Harold called me and asked me to be available as he was flying to NY and bringing a piano with him from the west coast,,, I could have got one from Mannys Music in Manhattan,,,but Harold wanted that piano to be built with his own 2 hands,,,,there was too much riding on this .

We had had many problems before eith CB radios etc being picked up by radio frequencies and being transmitted through the amp,,,so Harold flew into NY with his piano,,,,we went to his hotel room and he checked it out to be certain that the airline did not rough it up in any way,,,it seemed to be in good working order.

We had to go to Greenwich Village where Chick
Corea was playing,,,we went in early and harold set up the piano,,,Chick came in a real nice guy,,,and was really so appreciate that Harold Rhodes was the guy who was there for him,,,it was a great thing for someone who would take all that trouble to fly to NY and personally see to it that the piano was 100% I wished I had a doctor like that.

We set up the piano,,,Chick had played on one a few times as he borrowed a few from Mannys Music so he was familiar with the piano.

Okay we are sitting there,,,harold as I have always known him looked like a pilot with his aircraft in distress,,,the tension was in his face,,,but he kept his cool,,,Chick started playing the piano and all of a sudden
the amp starts to cut out,then in ,and out again,,,Chick looks over in our direction for help although ,,,this is a pro Chick Corea was a very cool guy,,,they took a break and Dr.Rhodes went to work right there on the bandstand,,,it was "valium time" the other group was doing their gig and harold had the piano apart on the bandstand.

Did you ever see a heart transplant done on a sidewalk??? No and you never will,,,,this was not the case,,,harold was sweating bullets and i stood by handing him his tools as he went through the piano and the amp to determine where the problem was,,,,I was like Frankensteins assistant "Igor" I was frozen and just handed the tools to Harold,he finally got it back together and we waited with our hearts in our mouths,,,so far so good the group was swingin and the piano sounded good,,,,,then once more something happened,,,a few of the keys were hanging up,,,,,man how could this be happening??? Harold did this thing himself before he left for the coast,,,,back to the tool box ,,,which he always carried,,,,got the broken "tines" which were like the strings on the piano and replaced them,,,one more time,,,and by this time harold was "out of his mind" no matter what happened the rest of the night,,,,Harold was embarrased and furious and chick was so understanding but that didnt console Harold,,,he was burned out.

Chick was finally able to get through the gig and spent the entire night entertaining Harold and I and expressing his appreciation for everything Harold and "Igor" had done,,Harold explained to Chick that he was NOT going to leave that Piano with Chick but would get another one to him asap,,,we packed up it was like three in the morning and snowing like hell,,,,it always snows on these critical times in my life.

We packed up the piano and jumped in my Chevy station wagon and headed for the airport,,,he had another heart transplant to do in Chicago in the morning,,,,we got to the midtown tunnel in manhattan and he screams STOP THE CAR,,,my head almost blew off,,,he said i forgot my tool box and my trench coat and my plane tickets are in the coat with my wallet,,,Oh Man,,,,another valium please,,,we headed back to Greenwich Village,,,the club was closed,,,we were walking up and down and he was saying &%^$^%*^%$%&*^ and he never used that language before,,,he was a basket case,,,,we waqlked up and down the street,,,,,

All at once help came,,,the police arrived
trouble was they asked us who we were and what we were doing outside the club at that time of the morning,,,Officer,,,This is Harold Rhodes I said,,,he invented the piano
( Ill never forget this) the cop says "WHAT" he invented what????? I said the piano,,,he had another cop with him who was observing us
we explained to him that Harold was the harold rhodes who invented the Rhodes piano and told him that we had brought the piano to the club for Chick to use and explained to him the whole story,,,harold was a handsome dignified man who made a great appearance,,,he had his usual california style lightweight clothes on etc,,,the cop says Okay open up the back of the wagon,,,Harold says officer I have to catch a plane to chicago and I forgot my coat inside the club and my wallet in is in the coat,,,he had no ID he got P........d at me when i said ,,,why did you leave your wallet in your coat and not your pants Harold,?,,the cop says OK enough of this,,,he had called for backup and rwo more police cars came with the lights flashing,,,,,they told me to get in my wagon,,,,they were following us to the station house.Harold was in the police car & I drove my wagon one police car in front of me and Harold and the police car in back of my wagon.

The cops were wise guys,,,,they brought us in the station house and there were a bunch of creeps and druggies and bums all over the place and this wise guy cop says ,,THESE GUYS INVENTED THE PIANO,,,,,well that is when harold lost it,,,,,I said Harold,,,the hell with it,,,lets try to call Henry Goldrich at home,,,asked him do you know Chicks hotel phone number,,,he said no I think its in the coat,,,, I was p.....d off and said did you .leave your lunch in the coat too??.

They realized we were telling the truth & I offered to leave the piano there till the next day if they let us go,,,they agreed,,,we then sped to JFK for his flight too late,,,he missed the plane,,,,I gave him my coat even though it didnt fit ,,,it was cold as hell,,,we got to JFK and i took a wrong turn,,,,we were driving on what appeared to be a baseball field it was swide open,,, he screamed You A,,,,,,hole you are on the field,,, I guess he could tell as the signs said RUNWAY B we saw a big Jet behind us,,,The bright lights were on us I was on the runway,,,dont know how I did that A security car came speeding toward us and flashed his lights and said hey MORON I said who me???? he said what the hell are you doing here,,, I said im trying to catch a plane for my friend ...He invented The Piano

I am laughing as I tell this story they followed us off the field got us to the terminal,,,harold had NO COAT I gave him mine) no wallet,,, I paid for his ticket and loaned him my American Express card,,,wheter he like it or not he would have to be me until i got back to the club in the afternoon.
Harold was almost in tears,,,he hugged me and kissed me on the cheek and said you s.o,b I love you,,,,,I went home and my wife was sick she thought something happened to us
when I told her the story,,,she said OH BOY

Harold called me from Chicago,,,he called the club and they were going to get the wallet to him asap,,,he got to Chicago but ya know what???? He was two days early,,he had his dates screwed up.....This story has been all through the Fender Company for years
Harold told everyone i was the only guy that had a Chevrolet Estate wagon with landing lights and "flap's on the fenders...
When I resigned from Fender, Harold was the most upset over than as anyone I knew at fender,,,after I left he wopuld stop by the Music man booth and say ,,,c'mon back Jody,,I know they will take you back with open arms,,,said i really miss you,,,I said sure Harold,,,,who else would you get to pass the tools to you,,,he would hug me in front of anyone.

I had terrble news about 5 weeks ago,,,Harold had passed away in January at a rest home in Anaheim calif,,,his wife who was 47 years old passed away about 10 years ago,,,,I know that Harold has many coats he left behind,,,,he was known for that,,,he was such a good man I wished I knew who found those coats ,,,I would tell them that
they belonged to the GUY WHO INVENTED THE PIANO,,,,Harold Rhodes My Friend....gotta go the dogs are chewing again Thanks for listening,,I enjoy telling about it,,,but i will find it difficult to sleep tonight ,,,Its on my mind,,,,,,Jody,,,,Fender today is a great company always will be but one thing they dont have ,,,,and that is a HAROLD RHODES.,

Copyright(c)2001 by Jody Carver "All Rights
Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 16 May 2001 at 02:28 PM.]

posted 27 March 2001 07:26 AM         

I have to be careful I do not in any way say a negative thing about CBS,,,they were really a great company to work for,,, I met fine people who were CBS executives etc,,,its just that the Music business as we have known it was not done justice by the big conglamorates,,,such as CBS,, and others Baldwin etc,,,but in their own way they tried.

One man I have the utmost respect for and always will ,,,and if it were not for him,,,well I dont know how my life would have turned out,,,he is my idol,,,my friend,my pal,,and have loved him as much as my own father,,,and that man is
DONALD D. RANDALL ,,,and I thank god that he is alive and well and still playing golf in Palm Springs California, and played a major role in my life.

I will post some more stories about my days at CBS,,,and in no way do I put this company down,,,they did sign my paycheck for many years...

I have much respect and admiration for William (Bill) Schultz CEO of the present Fender Musical Instrument Co,,, I have never met Mr. Schultz,,,but give him all the credit in the world for re-storing a great name like Fender,,,for a while back then the great name of Fender was being "laughed at" the corporate image of Pre CBS was over shadowing the great things that Leo Fender & Don Randall accompolished over the years,,,Mr. Schultz has brought that respect back to Fender where it belongs.There are many who deserve credit,,,for doing their all for the music industry and they were not only people with Fender.

I want to acknowledge that "man from Mississippi" Hartley Peavey,,,he has done much for the music industry,,and has shown the world the way to do it,,,,without having a large corporation help him. He has been innovative ,,,manufactured a great product & remains the sole owner of Peavey,,,I know that Mr. Peavey is still able to answer the phone to speak one on one with a customer or a musician,,,you dont have to go through a "board of directors" you can get Mr.Peavey.
"live"
These are my kind of people,,, I wanted to acknowledge them not that they need it,,,but just because they DESERVE IT..
I always worked for Fender ,,,,then Music Man and in the final days of my working days it was Don Randall who once again pulled me out of "deep water" and gave me a job with Randall amplifiers when Music Man was sold.

So you see,,,I was always within the same family since I was a teenager,,,

Leo Fender ,,Don Randall at Fender,,,then after my resigning from Fender CBS on to Music Man & Leo Fender,,,then after that was sold,,,,I was un-employed until Don Randall remembered an old friend and gave me a job.

If I ever worked for anyone else,,,it would have been my choice to have had a few "at bats" with Hartley Peavey,,,he is from the same mold as Leo ,Don etc....cu later, I do these things in between "walkin the dog" who recorded that tune?? walkin the dog,,?? maybe Gene Jones remembers ,,, I will have to write him,,,,I will be back thats a promise not a "threat" J.stay well,,,,keep those steel guitars goin....and as a " musician would say,,,,"later" Copyright(c)
2001 by Jody Carver "All Rights Reserved"

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 27 March 2001 at 07:32 AM.]

posted 27 March 2001 09:03 AM         

I often wondered why such a sucessful band didn't use a bass player live.

I believe they used Harvey Brooks in the studio.

What kind of puppies are those anyway?

Best regards,

posted 27 March 2001 10:16 AM         

Judging by something you said a while back, I don't think you worked in the south. But if you did, I used to deal with Roger Filiberto's music store in New Orleans. What a great store and great staff he had. He'd turn us budding musicians loose with any instrument or amp of our choice upstairs in his store, and let us jam. Of course he sold a lot of stuff that way.

I bought a lot of stuff from him. I've still got a 50's triple 8 Stringmaster from then and literally wore out a Fender ProAmp I got there; hard to do, but I wasn't the smartest human being at that time.

Anyway if any of your stories involve him or his shop, I'd love to hear about it. I have nice memories of him and that time.

Thanks for all the time you're spending with this - I really like you for it.