Cliff Bastien: For a short while I was the manager of the band, I started off going to New Orleans with the band for the 1973 Jazz Festival. We hung out at Johny White's Bar and drank Dixie beer which we called Treefrog. I got to meet Jazz greats like Louis Nelson and band leader Kid Thomas which was a real honour.
Kid Bastien knew everybody and we played gigs at Heritage Hall and couple of other bars I found. Hotel rooms were at a premium and I had 2 buddies traveling with me Gord Jones and Krash Radcliff. http://photosbykrash.blogspot.ca/
We ended up with an Attic room in an old slave quarters with one bed and we slept in shifts. Which wasn't a real problem since New Orleans swung 24 hours a day. I got to meet Dejean's Olympia Band which was much like the band in Treme. We partied and played with them and later that year they all came to Toronto where we got them a good paying gig and partied and played some more. Kid played 2 times at the Jazz Festival and I must sadly admit I never made it to either performance and I actually tryed to. New Orleans was like that.I was responsible for breaking up 'The Camelia Band' I made a deal for a them to play all week with a huge contract and Cliff turned it down, he was happy making signs and playing Grossman's.The rest of the band wanted to play full time and most move on including me.
Kid Bastien also introduced me to Fats Domino. We sat in the dressing room at the el Macombo. It seems Fats uncle had taught Kid to play the banjo and Cliff had lived with him for a while. As Kid ran down the names. Fats turned to me and said "wow man he knows more about my family than I do."
A side note: I gave the derby mute to Cliff it had belonged to a great Uxbridge jazzman Bruce Gould (Glenn Gould's Uncle)
False but funny as Cliff struggled to learn the cornet Donny Walsh meanly said That Kid Bastien was the only horn player he knew that only played with one lip. mean but funny
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