Bossy’s grandfather Walt is fifth from the left—he’s sitting next to the female crooner—and this is the wildly popular Larry Fotine Orchestra. In the background you can see the packed house for the grand Auto Show and boy is that crowd ready to swing. Luckily this big band can deliver, with four sax players, three trumpets, ‘bone, piano, bass, guitar, and Walt on drums.
Gone are the local yokel jobs; this outfit requires a big stage and more money. They’re pulling crowds all over New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Colleges, hotels, ballrooms—it is some scene.
Anyhow. One night—this is a kick—they’re playing a job at a certain ballroom. Naturally the drummer sits up high on a platform above the others—the standard setup is three levels. But at this particular ballroom Walt has an especially high and small platform, and after intermission he doesn’t notice that his drum stool is that close to the back edge. So here he is sitting down ready to play and—crack—the stool legs drop off the back of the platform and ass over head Walt goes, with a drop of about four feet. As he bit the dust his feet kick his drums off the front of the platform—cymbals and all, right into the brass section! What a crash, man, and what a laugh.
Leave a Reply