Geno on stage with Scarlet Rivera, bringing down the house. |
Gene himself has a long affiliation with all things Dylan,
having been a friend of Bob Dylan’s high school pal Larry Kegan. Actually, the two of them sang together in a group they called the Merer Mortals. For a number of years Dylan began inviting
Kegan, who had become a quadriplegic due to a neck injury, to join him on the
road from time to time. Geno would go to assist Larry with his needs and had a
rare inside look at the singer/songwriter/icon from Hibbing. Here are some
stories from my visit with Geno (by phone) two weekends ago.
EN: What was your first meeting with Bob like?
Gene LaFond: I used to see him at The Scholar in
Dinkytown when I was in high school. I didn’t know him then. He was still Bob
Zimmerman at that time. Then I met him in 1975 on the Rolling Thunder tour with
Larry. It was amazing to meet somebody that I’d idolized all that time and then
to realize he’s just a human being. It
was a real eye opener. And it gave me a lot of confidence that I could write
songs, too. It was the start of my inspiration to write songs. I’d been playing
for years but not really doing a lot of original stuff.
At that time, the whole Rolling Thunder tour was amazing.
All those wonderful people, and I got to meet a lot of them; Joan Baez and Joni
Mitchell, Scarlet and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot.
Over a period of fifteen years Larry and I got to go out
and hang around with Bob on tour with him. Two or three times a year we’d go
out and go from town to town. I got to
meet all the different bands that he had over the years. It was quite incredible
for me as a songwriter.
EN: Your first time, who did the introduction? Where were
you and how did it happen?
GL: We were in Worcester, Massachusetts. We had just driven all night because Larry
said, “Come on, we’re going on this Rolling Thunder tour.” We didn’t know what
was going to happen or who it was. I mean, I knew it was Bob, but didn’t know
what to expect. We were at the hotel where they were all staying and went down
to breakfast and Alan Ginsburg was there. I sat down with him at breakfast. No
one knew who we were and he says, “Who the hell are you?” I said, “Oh I’m just a house painter.”
Then Larry introduced me to him.
EN: How many people and rigs did they have for the
Rolling Thunder Revue?
GL: I don’t think it was huge because people would come
and go all the time. Like Kinky Friedman would show up for a few days and some
other incredible musicians would show up for a few days. Ronnie Blakely, Joni
Mitchell… He just had his core band and different people would show up. That’s
where I met Ramblin’ Jack.
EN: What’s Ramblin’ Jack Elliott like?
GL: He’s just amazing. He’s like a living cartoon. You
don’t dare ask him a question because he just goes on and on and on. That’s
where he got his name Ramblin’ Jack.
He stayed here in my house last summer or the summer
before for seven or eight days. He’d come from Chicago and just won a Grammy
for an old blues album. So he took the train in and waited for his gigs to show
up. We had a ball, went sailing, went trout fishing. He’s just a marvelous guy.
He’s 78 and still performing. Lives in Marin County, California. I talk to him
every once in a while.
Bob shows up every once in a while, too. I don’t know if
you know Greg French, Nelson’s brother. He owns Bob’s house up in Hibbing. One
time he was looking out the window and there was this car outside idling. He
realized it was Bob, went out and said, “You’re welcome to come on in.” He gave
him (Dylan) a tour of the house and he was very friendly about it. Jack and I
got to go through it, too. Greg wasn’t home but said, “The door’s open. Go
ahead and go in.” Jack sat down and played his piano.
EN: What was it like performing with Scarlet in Hibbing
two years ago?
GL: To perform on that stage at the high school where Bob
started… I got to sing all those songs with Scarlet playing violin… that was a
thrill. We’ve played together several times since then.
GL: He was always good to me. I didn’t ask him for
anything. I was there to help Larry and be support for him. We used to sing
together. Larry couldn’t scratch his nose but he’d go out and sing for people.
But Bob was always very kind to me. He could always tell when someone was
trying to get something from him. He had great eyes for that.
EN: You guys played music together sometimes?
GL: There was one New Year’s Eve… he has a farm out here
west of the Cities… and we went out there and he wanted us to bring Tony Glover
and Spider John Koerner because he hadn’t seen them since college days, so we
rustled those guys up and took them out there. We sat in a circle and talked
and talked and talked about old times, and it was really fun. Then I got up the
nerve to get my guitar out and we sat and played music till three in the
morning. My feet didn’t touch the ground for days.
I saw Gene, Scarlet and Rambling Jack when they have performed in Hibbing in past Dylan Days and enjoyed it immensely and I am so looking forward to seeing Gene and Scarlet in Duluth.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much to Gene for sharing his memories of times with Dylan and Larry Kegan!
Thanks for the note. I know a lot of people are looking forward to the concert, including Gene and Scarlet.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat it's been meeting all you guys these last few months, from playing with Gene and Amy at Beaner's to the poetry gathering and singer-songwriter fest. Thanks for turning me on to your blog Ed. John
ReplyDeleteThanks for turning me on to your blog Ed... meeting you all these last few months, from playing with Gene and Amy at Beaner's, the poetry gathering, and the singer-songwriter contest at Dylan Fest. You all sure know how to throw a week long party. I'll be up there the whole week next year.
ReplyDelete