2024 – Lately, It Feels A Bit Like 1984
…………………………………………….(ignore April 30, 3017 publish date – this was published on February 1, 2024)
Two reasons for that title statement: one’s a little Country and the other’s a tiny bit of Comedy (actually, a comedy bit).
COUNTRY
As I wrote for the video: “This is the moment that Willie Nelson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Dave Matthews on November 3, 2023 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. I wasn’t there, but my 1984 picture of Willie was, looming large above and behind him and on both corners of the stage.”
And here IS that 24-second video:
How did this all come about?
Each year, I’m contacted by the Hall to submit pictures of Inductees for use in the Ceremony’s program or perhaps during the Ceremony itself.
Three weeks before the Ceremony, I was informed that the Hall wanted one of my 1984 Willie shots from a Radio City Music Hall show in Manhattan. Then, three DAYS before the Ceremony, they asked for a second image of him from the same show and their need was obviously pretty immediate. Fortunately, I already had scanned that image, so I was able to get it to them within the hour.
Good thing.
The result was in the opening image of this post: quite large behind and above Willie AND on both front corners of the stage, with the one on the right side of the stage reversed – I’m guessing for the sake of symmetry, but it made Willie a lefty guitarist.
As you may have seen in the video’s initial thumbnail image, that reversed image loomed large over Willie the moment Dave Matthews inducted him. And here is that moment, as Dave and Willie both have a hand on the prize:
Since I wasn’t at the Ceremony and since they involve my photos, I was able to get these images from the January 1, 2024 3-hour broadcast on ABC-TV. Besides, I had to make sure my tiny, whizzing-right-by-you photo credit was there (3rd row, 3rd name):
And what about that original image that the Hall asked for? It was shown as the very last picture at the end of the entire 3-hour TV show:
Giving you the Willies – a nice way to start the New Year!
COMEDY
“High School Bowl” was a local cable TV game show that pitted the smartest and brightest students of local high schools against each other. However, this being the Uncle Floyd Show, the result here was quite the opposite. Need I say more?
Yeah – that’s me in the video thumbnail looking super alert. My school – Piney H.S. – would expect nothing less. BTW – Piney is an historically derogatory term for the inhabitants of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
This 1984 bit aired on a recent episode of “This Was The Uncle Floyd Show” on StageIt.com. It’s shown once and that’s it. It’s not available anywhere for sale, so if you don’t get it now, you never will.
Back to the show: We were supposed to look tired…..and DUMB. You can see parts of a chat on the right side. Someone posted that she saw someone she recognized. Then I said, “I see me”. Someone else mentioned a version of my email name. I included all of that for historical purposes.
You’ll notice that I missed part of the beginning. I had no idea it was going to come on.
I have a still shot of this taping on my site. I had given my camera to someone to take a picture because you could count on one hand how many bits I’ve been in (and you’d still have enough fingers left over to pick your nose in both nostrils simultaneously).
Here’s that shot from my site (of the bit – not the snot):
I’m fortunate that I was able to get at least one video of a bit I was in on this wonderful and hilarious show that I had the pleasure of shooting for a few years. The bit’s ending isn’t very funny, but it was still fun to be asked to do it with no preparation whatsoever.
That’s acting (or should I say “acting”).
SO – both of these events came to me in the first 9 days of this year. Now you understand the title.
Interesting mixture.
Awesome to know that your shots were used for Willie’s induction.
Hope you made some serious money for that 😀.
Great way to start off the New Year! Love the Willie shots. When my sister and I were in Nashville a few years ago to see my bucket list item The Who in concert, opening for them was Lucas Nelson …really liked the performance and would have happily gone to his show the next night if it had not been sold out.
Hope this is just the start of a lot of interesting opportunities for you!
Interesting and cool as usual , thanks.