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I'm not absolutely sure, but that just MIGHT be me in the third photo from the top. It's not terribly clear, but I was at that show (assuming the photos really are from the show Don and Orbison did in Atlanta) - my hair was short and curly at the time, and the shirt looks like the one I was wearing that night (long-sleeved and white, with gold threads running through it). Hmmmm... After Don's set, we sat out in the audience off to the right of the stage (facing it) to watch Orbison's set. I'm guessing that might be where the photo was taken, although it could have been backstage. It also looks like my profile to me. If it is from that show, it was at some huge club (I can't remember the name of it, though, but it was something to do with a cowboy theme).

Maybe nobody cares, but what the hell...

The show was in the fall of 1983 and I went (on 2 days notice) with my friend, Sheila, who was the president of Roy's fan club - I can be pretty persuasive (not that she needed a LOT of persuading), but I TOLD her she was going, rather than asked - hee hee. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to see Don and Roy together, and I was determined that neither of us was going to miss it. The only problem was that she was scheduled to work for the next couple of days (my employers were more understanding of such things, since I worked in a record store and we all had our various musical obsessions that had to be catered to - those were the days...). I told her not to worry, that I'd take care of THAT, and I did by impersonating her sister and calling her in sick from a few hundred miles up the road the morning of the show, saying she had some sort of horrible flu and would likely be out at least a couple of days. They fell for it with no problem at all - God, I'm good (I really deserve a few Academy Awards, but unfortunately, my performances have never been captured on film).

One of the nicest things I remember about that night is meeting Roy's brother, Sam, who was a VERY nice guy - he gave me a Roy tour shirt that I wore until it fell apart and a pin with Roy's signature on it that I promptly put on (you can see it in that other photo Bill was talking about). Marty, if you're reading this, maybe you could work your magic and post that other photo here so people can see why I think the one posted above is me.

Some pretty hilarious things happened that night back at the hotel after the show. Most of my friends here have already heard the story, but I've never actually posted it before. It's really fairly tame, so maybe I'll just go for it, and if Jim thinks it's not appropriate, he can delete it.

Once Don's and Roy's sets were over, there wasn't much going on at the venue (and I was rather annoyed with Don, for reasons I won't go into here), so I decided to go back to the hotel. Of course, Sheila came with me because she's legally blind and can't drive, but I asked around if anyone else wanted a ride and Rick Mullen, Don's bass player, said he'd come along, too. About halfway back to the hotel, Rick casually remarked, "Gee, I hope we don't have to play another set." I said, "WHAT? I didn't know you were supposed to play another set! Why did you leave if that's the case?" Rick said, "Well, we probably won't have to, but there's a slim chance." I was freaking out all the way back to the hotel, thinking Don was going to murder me for absconding with Rick if they DID have to play another set.

The three of us ended up in my hotel room, watching TV, and after we had been there about 10 minutes, the phone rang, and it was Don. He asked for Rick and said that they DID have to play another set and that, basically, we were dead. Then, after stringing Rick along for a few minutes and getting me in a total panic, he admitted that he was joking. Ha ha, very funny.

Then, about 5 minutes later, the phone rang AGAIN, and it was Don, and he asked what we were doing. I was in a trouble-making mood by this point, so I told him that we had Rick tied up on the bed and that if he was a VERY good boy, we might untie him in an hour or so, then I hung up.

It got comical in the extreme, with Don repeatedly calling, practically begging to come over, and me spitefully saying, "NO, go find your OWN fun!" and hanging up. On our end, we thought this was pretty funny, but God only knows what Don was thinking was really going on in my room, not that I cared at that point. All we were doing was watching TV and BSing around.

Anyway, Don finally gave up, and we finally called it a night. I never did see Don before we all left the next morning, so I have no idea what he ended up thinking had happened in my room, or what Rick ever told him.

Oh yeah, that wasn't the only funny thing that happened that night... Backstage, before the show, someone asked Don if he and Roy were going to sing together. I knew there was no way that was going to happen (don't ask me how - just my amazing psychic powers at work again, I guess), and immediately piped up with, "Yeah, they're going to sing 'Crying' to each other, while holding hands and gazing deeply into each other's eyes.'" I'm such an incurable smart-ass... By the way, they DIDN'T sing together, just did their individual sets.

Well, I'm really clogging up this thread, but I wanted to post a belated thank you to Mellotroniac for posting these photos in the first place. I'm curious about all of the double/triple exposures - I don't know much about photography, but how did your mom take those (if you know)? I know I probably seem way too excited about actually being in one of the photos, but it's only the second photo I know of in existence that shows Don and me together (I never brought my camera to his shows, which in hindsight was probably a mistake - at the time, I felt it would have appeared intrusive). Anyway, thanks for the memories your photos stirred up.

Now, I have to ask (since I'm way too lazy to actually look it up or do research) - what is a mellotroniac?

Hmmmmm, this is getting us off on a bit of a(nother) tangent, here, but who cares? I live for tangents!

When you described the mellotron, Mellontroniac, it immediately made me think of an instrument used in a song called "Eyes of the World," from Neil and Tim Finn's (first) album (as a duo) called "Finn" in Oz and NZ, and "Finn Brothers" everywhere else. It may have been used in at least one other song on that album, but I'm almost certain it's in THAT one. The production is quite creative and they played all of the instruments themselves (Tim had a ball as a drummer). Unfortunately, that album is out of print, as far as I know, but it's EXCELLENT (as is everything else from those guys, particularly Neil - Tim is a bit more inconsistent, although I love him dearly). If anyone is looking for some really good music, I also recommend their second album together called, "Everyone Is Here," as well as ANYTHING by Crowded House. With the Internet and e-Bay (not to mention - cough, cough - downloads), the "Finn" album being officially out of print shouldn't pose any real problem to anyone who really wants to find it.

And we thought Don was obscure - HA (well, aside from that pastry-themed dittysaurus)...

You mean you're not going to run out and buy/obsessively hunt down that Finn Brothers album, Mellontroniac? Hmmmm, maybe you're not REALLY a mellontronMANIAC after all! (I'll do anything to keep a thread going.)