Big band musicians, all know about the late Buddy Rich, the guy Johnny Carson referred to as "Mister Warmth." If you have been around bands for a while you have heard the infamous "Bus Tape." That's the one where Buddy chews out the entire band for... "CLAMS, I pay you guys good money and what do I get CLAMS !!" ...along with a few less choice words. That was a side of Buddy Rich we all heard about. This was the guy who coded his book numbers into riffs, and God help the sideman who pulled up the wrong chart! Then there was the Buddy Rich who, into his 70's, was the musical equal of anyone who played with him...the instinctive swing-your-ass-off-drummer who could play the same tune six times and never repeat an idea...yeah that Buddy Rich. My encounter with Buddy was innocuous enough. He was playing a concert in a bad hall. Not his first in Atlanta nor his first in a bad hall. His band always sounded good, even in acoustic barns, such as high school gyms. There had to be a trick, and I was there to find out how it was done. The guy hosting the show was a friend so I got myself let in as Buddy's guys were setting up the band. I had planned to just watch the sound man set up, take a few notes and get the hell out before anyone thought me too curious. I was quietly wandering around, having chatted briefly with the sound guy and trying to stay discreetly out of the way, when I heard a distinctive New York voice behind me say "WHO is THIS?" Did you ever have that feeling that you are standing in an open elevator door and there isn't any elevator? That tape started echoing through my mind, the part where Buddy mentioned his karate expertise and what might happen to anyone who crossed him. I turned around and introduced myself and told him how much I admired his band. I asked him how they managed to sound so good in barns like the one in which he was about to perform. I explained that I had hoped to talk to his sound man and discover how the set-up worked. There was a brief moment of gut-twisting silence... then Mr. Warmth himself shook my hand and said, "Talk to anybody you want. Hey guys, tell him how the sound works!" He could not have been nicer and forever in my mind, Buddy Rich, nice guy is right there with Buddy Rich, the drummer's drummer. To this day, Sentimental Journey uses the same sound set-up, and people ask us how we manage to sound so good in bad rooms. Thanks Mr. Warmth, you hit a lick for show business and for the brotherhood of big band musicians that day. Return to Story Archive Menu Send this SJO page to a friend! HISTORY | THE MUSICIANS | OUR MUSIC | PAST CLIENTS | MEMBERSHIP LISTS & LINKS | ANECDOTES | CONTACT US | PHOTO GALLERY SCHEDULE | BOOKING | SOUND FILES | RESOURCES | ANECDOTE ARCHIVE COPYRIGHT© 2003 SJO, INC.