Twenty-five or so years ago,
Pennie and I were at a concert in Tulsa where
Thomas Steven “Moose” Smith was the warm-up act.
Moose did a 30-minute bit about the evolution of rock music
that made such a deep impression on me I've never forgotten it.
It was funny, accurate, and profound.
As he told you about each new new kind of music,
Moose performed a minute of it for you
and made you feel you had lived it yourself.
Strangely, I can't recall who headlined the concert.
Google led me to the photo of Moose at the top of this page.
Judging by his age, I'm betting it was taken recently.
When I saw him, Moose was in his mid-30s.
The guy who posted the photo, John Jackson,
recalled an encounter with Moose Smith
during the 1960s at a beach concert in South Carolina:
“…he was playing
the Hammond B-3 organ with his right hand,
playing the Rhodes Piano bass with his left hand,
controlling the organ volume with his right foot,
running the light show with his left foot,
changing to speed on his Leslie organ amplifier with his left knee,
and singing – all at the same time!
And if the band was playing a song where Moose didn't sing,
he could carry on a conversation with you while doing all of the above.
One more thing…. he was unexcelled at his talent on the organ and bass.
I daresay that there's neither bass player nor keyboard player
in your book who can honestly admit that they were better than Moose.
And Moose was playing both at the same time!!!
Thanks for listening to me rant and reminisce.”
Yes. John Jackson
definitely saw the same Moose Smith
that Pennie and I saw. I'd like to track him down
for a concert at Wizard Academy.
Anyone want to find
Thomas Steven “Moose” Smith for us?
Contact Tamara@WizardAcademy.org
if you'd like to carry the football.