I’m Not Much Of A Groupie

Mundane Celebrity


As most people already know, I’m not much of a fan of pop culture.

Some people might think that I’m gay or something because I can’t name a half dozen “super models” by name and couldn’t put faces with names if one of them offered to marry me and share their fortunes.

That said, I had my third ever contact with a famous musician this afternoon while hanging out down at Murphy’s—our local tavern.

The first time I ran into someone that was a big time artist was back about 1990 when I walked into a bar/restaurant in Marietta, Georgia and sat down to order a beer. When I looked at the man on my left and spoke to him, I realized that I was sitting next to the country singer Travis Tritt.

Being the smooth operator that I was, I introduced myself, shook his hand, and told him that I realized who he was but that I would not disturb him because I thought that it was cool that he was able to hide under a cowboy hat and try to go out in his native Marietta and act like a “normal person.”

His anonymous status lasted about another fifteen minutes as word of his presence spread and fawning little waitresses and other patrons bombarded him with greetings.

I left the room shortly after sharing a beer with him, but without an autograph—I’m not an autograph kind of guy.

This afternoon I managed to sit down beside a slightly less famous, but none-the-less talented guitar player named Stevie Holland. There were only three of us sitting there for about an hour (the bartender that had known him all his life, Stevie, and Me.)

For those of you that don’t remember, Steve Holland was one of the founding members of the southern rock group “Molly Hatchet.”

In college my friends and I probably saw them perform three or four times in Atlanta in the late 70’s and early 80’s, and Stevie has turned his life around after a nearly twenty year absence from the stage and has reassembled a group of former Molly Hatchet band members as a group called ”Gator Country.”

He’s a very down to earth guy. He answered my questions and told some great stories about traveling on the road and performing as the opening act for bands like “The Who” in Europe; and performing at London’s Albert Hall with Eric Clapton, Robert Plant (of Led Zepplin fame) and my fellow blogger and reader John Hooker.

What started out as a trip to grab a quick cold beer and talk to my friend Brad turned into a once in a lifetime experience with someone that lived and breathed good old Southern rock and roll in it’s infancy.

I once again left the building with a handshake, but no autograph.

(For those readers in the Orlando, Florida area, “Gator Country is making their public debut at Orland’s City Hall Plaza this coming weekend. If I didn’t already have plans to spend a long weekend in Savannah I’d have accepted Stevie’s invitation to come down and bring my harmonicas—can you say “BAD TIMING?”)