It was back in 1981 and I usually skip over "the show"Austin City Limits", but this day there was a group on a trio turned quartet when an Keyboard player was added, and I have played guitars since my dad brough us home an Harmony Auditorium Archback, "F" holes and blonde in color, and I thought , at the age of 9 or so my fingers would lose their tips, but I kept hanging until until I could play Honkey tonks, and Guitar Boogie Shuffle better than most 17 and 18 year olders by time I reached 15,,, I wanted to be good,...damn good, as I added all sorts of extra chords and "hammer-ons" rather than just the chords:"E"-"A"&B; or "C-"F"-"G" and the rest of the octave trios used many times in blues and R&B,( but for that music style it is appropriate and accepted,) even if you throw in a few 7th's and 6th's and minors.

      This young man and his older brother were knocking them into the aisles as no one could keep their feet still..blues and R & B and hard Rock is like that, your feets have got to move..they start off tapping then your'e making a fool out of yourself like you never have! It remains that way as I still play Guitars, Basses, Long and short scale Basses, Mandolins, Octave mandolins, and I am thinking Sitar now, like Ravi Shankar and George Harrison played back in the 1970's.

   But, that day I was sitting at the edge of my seat as it has been ages since I had seen the likes of these two guys and their backups, a Bass, and drums. I wanted to make a fool of myself and dance ...anywhere would do! I picked a spot......right there! Then On went my Ampeg Bass Amp B-15-N with it's B-15 Cabinet companion along with my Fender Acoustic Bass , short scale, I was a dancin' fool again after 40 years...which put me in bed for a few days!LOLOL

    These guys , I found out were Stevie Ray Vaughan and his Brother Jimmie Lee Vaughan! God has blessed many people with many talents, but as for players such as these two, was beyond belief, and I told my friends and company, these guys are going up and they are the best Blues/rock players I had seen since Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Gene vincent & Bluecaps, Buddy Holly, Fats Domino! I'll stop there as I do go on, ask anyone!

  But, the productions of the Younger Brother Stevie Ray Vaughan, had the voice, sound, and damn!,the fastest hands for playing chords and melodies at the same tuime, this is why he played with a trio fior a while, I did because when I joined a band as a converted Bass Player, I played chords, I broke them up and used the chords as runs , I slapped that new KENT double cutaway, "F" holed, hollow guitar made in Japan at the time and I had myself a rolling Ampeg Portaflex in which the head is unclamped from the cabined and inverted and placed from the nicely tucking inside withthis huge 72 oz magnet  and stood on top , was reclamped and no opened back was it's design as the sound exited only one way through the speaker forwards. I digress, a little!

    Well this man now from that 1981 day on Austin City Limits to when he met his ultra terrible death in a helicopter crash in which Eric Claptot yelled to him that he'll be along later ( a good thing for ".Eric', as now Stevie Ray is, like Elvis, is being priced out of his dignity and death and I recall the Austin Ckity Limits, and I feel sick to my stomach as everything sold for such rediculous prices!

for Fender Stratocasters, a nice sounding Blues Guitar, but Stevie had a floor and amps full of effects and "WAH-WAH Pedal"to help get the sound that helped make him greater than his already great guitar playing self. I read tonight where he started playing on a "SREDVNKKUTRBN" guitar..I exaggerate of course, because, it had not even a name like KENT( which is the poor Bass that took 42 years of slapping popping, thumbing, picking, chord playing, and running every octave that I discovered while I was playing, and dancing (like a fool, on stage).

  But going through places that sell products , especially dress products , sell very heavy "STEVIE RAY STRASTOCASTER" tremolo covers, picks, hats, dolls, posters (I can see that for a music room as he deserves a place there next to guys like "B.B.King" and "Muddy Waters", but a tremolo cover that costs about $4.00 I have see go for $40.00 alongside pearlite and many wonderful colors of pickguards and tremolo covers and the 4" wide guitar straps with 1/4 notes coming down the middle of the strap..why, because "SRV", as he is referred to(esp. if you mention his name often)...I saw one on eBay one night and quickly downloaded it as it was advertised as a "SRV Tremolo cover." Well, I agreed as I examined the image (I say image because the person who either image lifted the picture onto the cover-plate or  or fine sprayed it on was great as Stevie was standing against a wall in a glow, and his image was so vague that I really did not admit it was Stevie until the third large pic. of him and he had his signature hat on with th I think a "ciggie"dangling out of his lips(not good for kids to see) , but, he had a guitar in his hand and was looking like he was "ready to cook",(can you dig it?, I knew you could!) well with about 30 seconds I downloaded the image and bidding history and no one had bid for quite a while, so I put a REAL GOOD price on it, real Good as I have three Strats at home as I like to collect guits., Mandos, and Basses, amps..I'm nutty a s a loon as I rebuild what I get if need be, even for sellers if their product doesn't work when it gets to me, as rather than send ing three times I'd rather do it , if I can and I asked and the seller said yeah fix it and I'll give to a $30 to do so, (well I went out bought about $100.00 in tools as I sold all of my mechanic's and Machinist's tools when I became disabled) and fixed it, my reward,: he ,the seller, decided to ^block me from his store^, and I still scratch my head on that one! Says I'm too exacting as a customer..I demand my contract to be filled, I guess!

Well, I digress(again)!... The point I am making is this, I bought this beautiful image on a tremolo cover and dropped down to the next pearl white one and won that one in the same manner...well a lot of money nevertheless as I put what I received, the pearl white on my wife's White Strat! and instead of getting my "SRV" which the seller told me:" yeah I had won," but wasn't getting it..some how he doctored up a trem. cover and an ad from the Guitar Master , added 2 bids after mine, and I know how it was done, as a drafter and editor of drafting, I noticed the two additions were thicker, blacker, and [the times] that were on there were after the auction was over.

  So a quarrel ensued, as I had this paper trail which I showed my wife and showed her what the seller passed through my printer(slick of him) and he tried to convince me that I paid over $25.00..($27.45 exactly), and the picture was changed from a "SRV" imagry to a black plate which I would not place over a patch on a '56 Buick!

  So, after a while I reasoned: well, If this is his game then I have the 1-1/2" PACKET full of the real download along with his every statement saying that I had won, and his with the two names right after mine...that's when I noticed the download he sent me wasnt his, but a good friend of mine now.

    The thing and point is, is this how we are going to honor our talented dead?? It sickens me to see the so-called (as the seller said was a  $2000.00 "SRV"tremolo cover...I always wondered what made a black patch a $2000.00 TREM., COVER!. 

I had nothing black so it went nowhere, I later bought a real "SRV Tremolo Cover" for my "Fender Strat." for about $12-$15 from someone, who lifts images and that's the easy part..it'd like a photographer, you cut a pic you want to transfer, put it in a flat pan with a weight on it for about 2 hours and later, if you have picked the correct products as shelving paper goes on top of the image to be lifted, as it must get adhesive on the image and you peel it and by GOD you be an artist!

    ***I read that when I used to oil paint flowers and mountains and lonely spots out in the forest. so, noone was fooled and there are no "SRV items" ...the price for Stevies death is way too high, dignity has fallen, prices with a "SRV" image, or picture or initials is out of sight and spits on the grave of this kid i saw in 1981 on the "Austin City Limits"..I have a beautiful show that he put on in 1982 nd then 1985 in Montreaux France..and that Is the only price I will pay, for his honor....I now refuse to build up the coffers of the Elvis collectors, and now a beautiful humble guitar player  from Austin , Texas....this gangly, blues player is correct when he sang :"The SKY is CRYING"!

      Recognize the dealers in death, control your emotions, SRV played and recorded many wonderful songs, honor him by buying a CD and listen or a DVD and see what I have seen as "Stevie ray Vaughn" grew from a great kid on "Austin City"to the greater, faster, more accurate, and I am happy to have seen a concert with my wife in 1982 in Providence , R.I. 

  Let Stevie, Jimi, Janis, and the all too many greats that have passed our way have their dignity...put your money or CreditCard back and honor his or their greatness ,and oh yes "SR Vaughan" did NOT always plat a ^STRAT^, but I am not putting Fender down,,,as it has it's own tonality and sound depending on how many pedals you can control at once...I have three:, two blue and whites and my wife's pure with (with the white pearlite" cove in back.

  No, Stevie started on that "Whatzit" and became great on it....probabaly the greatest blues/rock player in history as I have heard thousands, my God , HE gave him the talent..

  But, now I know the a 4"X 6" plastic cover is not worth $30.00 , so "what price dear Eurich!??"

  This is an opinio that is based only on my thoughts and forty two years of pulling those strings! It is mine and mine only!

So??  What price death???

"BassBoss1946" ~~~Rick~~~