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Summer Of 1969
I was in 200 Motels for about four seconds. One of the hotel scenes toward the beginning. I was 14 years old and Frank chose a handful of people in the lobby of the Cambridge Holiday Inn in Massachusetts. We all went up in the elevator to Ansley Dunbar's room with George Duke and Frank with his 16mm camera on his shoulder. In the elevator he said, "We're making a moving tonight, boys and girls." In the hotel room, he passed out coat hangers and rolls of toilet paper and instructed us to get creative with it. One girl took the toilet paper and wrapped it around each of the people sitting on the beds much to Frank's dismay. "That's boring! Do something interesting," Frank shouted. So I got off the bed, took off my shirt, and walked toward the camera with my mouth wide open in an attempt to swallow the lens. "Ah! I see we have a nonconformist in our group!" Frank announced to the others but they didn't get the hint.Soon after two of the less inhibited girls went into the bathroom with
Frank to demonstrate their camera induced lesbian tendencies. No one saw what went on behind the bathroom door but the audio was incredible.
After that Frank invited me and the girls up to Ruth's room and Ruth just wasn't in the mood to play integrate the fans with the band on film game but told Frank to come back later that night alone which prompted a nervous chuckle out of George Duke.
So, I was in the movie for four seconds, big deal! But I was there and got to see him filming part of it! That's a priceless memory!
1st response: My lie detector is buzzing. Wait, no, it's humming. Sorry.
2nd response: MINE IS SREAMING 200 MOTELS WAS FILMED IN LONDON ! EVERY BIT OF IT AND ON VIDEO TAPE
3rd response: Actually, no, it wasn't -- check the film segments during the opening credits and the "She Painted Up Her Face" suite. Bits of actual film "on-the-road" footage are cut into the video. I don't buy this story cause I would think the film stuff is much older -- probably pre-Aynsley and George and POSITIVELY before Ruth -- maybe from the same time as some of the film from UNCLE MEAT (in particular the "Mother People" montage).
4th response: What would he gain by lying about it?
5th response: 15 minutes of Internet fame.
6th response: Are you the Robert Williams who played drums in Captain Beefhearts Magic Band?
Robert Williams replied: Yes, I played drums for Captain Beefheart.
I'm not lying about 200 Motels! It happened after his concert at The Boston Tea Party.
During the show I heard Flo and Eddie mention in their mud shark bit that they were staying at the Cambridge Holiday Inn, room 222. Back then there was a TV show call Room 222 so not many took them seriously.
During the concert I sat on the stage right in front of Frank's monitor wedge and bummed a Winston cigarette from him which he gladly gave me. I hitch hiked a ride home from Boston and as the guy was driving past the Cambridge Holiday Inn I saw a small crowd gathering so I asked the guy to drop me off there. Flo and Eddie were waving to the crowd from their hotel window. I went into the lobby and after Frank arrived he chose me as well as a handful of people to come up in the elevator with him.
You people that don't believe me can kiss my ass!
Besides, I saw myself in the film (even though I had to press pause on the video to confirm it).
In fact, I had breakfast with Frank and Ruth the next morning in the Holiday Inn restaurant.
I invited George, Ainsley, Paul Hoff (roadie), and a few other members to a party some hippies were throwing for them the night after the concert. They all attended, except Frank..
There was a drum set in the house and the owner of the set let me play, then Ainsley came in and took over. That was fun to watch. He was a little drunk and played kind of sloppy but you could see he was a great drummer.
At the party I became friends with George Duke and from that time on George would always put me on the guest list.
Years later George called me to tell me that Jean Luc was auditioning drummers. I packed up all my belongings and drove a U-Haul to LA where I still live today. I didn't get the Jean Luc gig but he hired me as a roadie which I took because I didn't have a job being new to LA.
I have been backstage with Frank many times after meeting him in Cambridge.
Once I was hanging out with him back stage at the Philadelphia Spectrum. (They were the support act for The Mahavishnu Orchestra). He let me play his Gibson SG through a Pignose as he and a groupie looked on in amusement (I'm no guitarist). After I gave him the guitar back he said, "Let me play you a new song I'm working on," and he went through Cosmic Debris. "Whattya think?" he said. I told him it was great of course.
I landed the Beefheart gig because Ed Mann called to tell me about it. Right Ed?
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