were times when Bill got provoked. But he obviously loved the band. As you know he had the Brothers close the last Fillmore shows. He and I never had any screaming fights with each other, but I know he had some negotia- tions that got crazy. There was one show in Kansas City when the band was a little late getting started and it got a little hectic but we had a great relationship. Bill always took care of the band.
Bill Graham.
WP Well at first you hear about him as the legend and then you meet him. At the Fill- more East he wasn't always there. He would go back and forth from the Fillmore East to the Fillmore West. You know when I finally did meet him I found that the legend was larger than the kind of guy he was in life. He was tough, though. Phil Walden was a tough negotiator from the artist's side, and Bill Gra- ham was tough in negotiating from the pro- moter's side. He would scratch things out on our contract rider and we would scratch things out on his rider but he always treated the band great and he loved the music. He loved what it was all about as well. Anybody that really saw what the Brothers were about back then that had any kind of soul at all in them couldn't help but identify with it. There
JW What were the light shows like back in the early 70's? WP They were incredible and a lot of them were at the Fillmore shows when we would play all night. They had a two-show policy. The second show always went until at least two or three in the morning and then on some occasions it would go even later. There was one time during an all-nighter at the Fillmore East that we had a bomb scare. They had to evacuate the theater so the show ended up running late. The bomb scare occurred either before the first show or between the two shows. We didn't start the second show till much later than normal so that's why it ended up being an all-nighter. There were some magic nights in there. I can specifically re- member opening the stage door at like six o'- clock in the morning with the sunlight coming in. We were staying at the Chelsea Hotel, which was located nearby. It was Sun- day morning and people we going to church and we were coming home from work.
JW What was it like to know Berry Oakley? How would you contrast his style from other bass players on the scene back then as well as today? WP Of course everybody knows that Berry was from Chicago. He had been involved with some southern bands. He had that Allman Brothers bottom end. He and Lamar had dif- ferent styles, and they came from different
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