THE BOOK I READ WHILE I AWAIT MY DESK!

Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones!

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Knowing that each of you just "burn with desire" (Come on, admit it!) to know what I must be reading (:D) I thought I'd give you a short post "With a Nod and a Wink"----yes, to coin a phrase from a Faces CD. But you know, it's odd when I stop and consider just how long I've listened to Rod Stewart and his kick-ass backup band without realizing "Woodie" was such a big part of that. This is his bio, of course. So, first I suppose it's best to set the record straight, that Ron became part of The Rolling Stones in 1974 and not 1975. Mick Jagger actually called him earlier after querying a friend. "Do you think Ronnie would be interested in playing with The Stones?" A missed phone call!

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This is a breezy conversational style book about the many lean (and I do mean "lean") years trying to sleep atop a pillow which itself, was stacked atop a stack of Fender Amps in a crowded van with the guys passing the worst farts and so forth. Eww! I suppose this is what they mean by "A captive audience", for sure. The Stones in "Shine A Light" have clearly returned to Fender, and amusingly--not to stir any one's ire--they use Mesa Boogie cabinets as mere platforms to stack and patch together Fender Twin Reverbs. But I digress, as always...

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The bottom line is that this so called "new boy" (who replaced a less than content, but very competent Mick Taylor, who filled in for the late Brian Jones) has been a member of the group now for more than 30 years! Yes, Scary, isn't it? He has performed with the likes of Eric Clapton and almost became a part of Led Zeppelin. By the way, for those of you facing, or know someone else who is about to lose their house (due to idiot Realtors and Banks here in the USA), Ronnie lost his home after he became well known and handsomely paid. Beyond his knack for artwork, It is really quite amazing to read how tightly-knit he and band mate Keith Richards are. They have been there for each other through drug abuse and marriages. Wood was actually part of an intervention team in Richard's life, with the exception of cigarettes. Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Who and many others are to Wood just ordinary friends despite such cult followings. My favorite story was his visit to Jim Marshall's store where he ordered a stack of Marshall cabinets, and in walks Pete Townsend of The Who who spots Wood and realizes he has beat him to the idea of stacking big speaker cabinets in the 1970's and merely says "Bastard". A bit of Bwa-ha-ha! Ah, yes. Sweet victory among peers, I guess. Very much like winning a card game with friendly camaraderie. This is really a down to earth guy who is quite the raconteur with cool stories of early rock and roll. He recounts awful rip offs from dubious managers (especially with the band, "The Birds"--no, not "The Byrds"--see how tangled this can get?) Ronnie finds some semblance of balance with marriage and parenthood. He is, in fact the most stable of The Stones who literally comes alive with any opportunity to play a live gig! You will love this book as either a musician or a Stones fan. As a matter of fact, if Saturday night is as boring as last week, I'll be at The IMAX Theatre to catch the Scorsese flick "Shine A Light" again.

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Hey! I mean , face it. How many times have I mentioned Kate Hudson here? Right? Okay, now go read this and as The Raspberries song says: PLAY ON!

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Post Script: My new Cool and Groovy desk and chair arrives on the 17th--God Willing! And it's being delivered, thank you! :D)