This was my second time seeing the great Steve Miller Band. It was quite a treat, as I remember. The year was 2008 and Steve Miller was right in the middle of a tour co-headlining with Joe Cocker when he made this 3-night stop in San Francisco’s Fillmore auditorium. It seemed like a quiet time for Miller. He hadn’t released a studio album in over almost 15 years. He did release a live album/DVD set from shows recorded in Chicago later in 2008. But, for the most part, Miller was enjoying the success of playing his popular catalog live all over the country.
He would soon start recording a new album at Skywalker Studios in Marin. The first album in many years. It was an album of covers called ‘Bingo’ and was released 2010. Funny story: During this 3-day run Miller brought in some friends to jam with. On our night, Al Jardine of Beach Boys fame came by and they sang ‘Help Me Rhonda’ – (this is a wonderful Official version from AL Jardine). On the other nights Joe Satriani, Sonny Charles and others graced the Fillmore stage alongside Miller. It was while jamming with these guys, that Miller had the idea for the Bingo album. Two years later it was released.
Buffalo
I was very excited to pay attention to one of the band members. In a unique move for the times, the Steve Miller Band had a harmonica player on stage. Not a guy who plays guitar and every once in a while will blow on the harp. No. This was a real dedicated harmonica player and he was a good one. Norton Buffalo (real name Phillip Jackson) was the son of a harmonica player and was born right here in the Bay Area, in Oakland. He was legendary as a session player and ran his own band, too. I found him by reading the backs of album covers. His unique name kept popping up on albums by the likes of the Doobie Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, and of course Steve Miller. Buffalo also appeared in several movies playing the role of, you guessed it, the harmonica player. He was a member of The Steve Miller Band for over 32 years. Buffalo passed away in 2009, a mere year after I saw him that night. BTW…Norton blows a mean harmonica! RIP!
The Sitar Guitar
Steve Miller will tell a good story during his shows. He has been around so long, seen and done everything in the music business that he has a lot of cool stories. One of them, he often tells, is the one about his Sitar guitar. Miller, like many guitar players, is a student and avid collector of the instrument that made him famous (his current collection is legendary). The Sitar was made by Danelectro Guitars. Who are still in business! Miller tells the story of his band’s first trip to NY in 1965 to play on the ‘Hullabaloo’ TV show (video below!) as a new band from Chicago. Each bandmate was paid $200 for the gig, HUGE money for Miller and the boys. Long story short, Miller spent his $200 at the famous Manny’s Music store on West 48th Street. However $200 in Manny’s didn’t get much in the way of a guitar. Miller could only afford something from the bargain bin. He tells a great story about pulling this groovy 60’s psychedelic guitar, with it’s 6 knobs and 19 strings, out of the bargain bin. He then launches into “Wild Mountain Honey” a hit song he wrote on that strange sounding Sitar-guitar. ( A version of the story is in the video below)
The Poster
Beautiful throwback poster by artist Scrojo. A mysterious kind of artist who has produced a plethora of unique and colorful concert posters not only for the Fillmore but many other venues around the country. His style can be considered a throwback to the late 60’s heyday of concert posters. Many of them feature psychedelic images and fonts. Like this poster, the colors are fantastic and the artwork is clean and crisp. I am very excited to have one of his posters hanging in my room!
Videos
