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Another Wal cover and still not enough room for the whole story. How I met the Wal continued: I had the bright idea to join the “Wal Bass Owners of the World Unite” group on Facebook, thinking that one might filter through there first before hitting the market. Within a week or so I woke to find a feeler ad announcing that this particular bass would be up for sale in the near future. I was crushed to see that a couple of people had already responded to the ad with “PM sent” messages. I decided to do something which was pretty out of character for me. I sent a note introducing myself and explaining my intentions for the bass should I be given the opportunity to buy it. I told him what a big Rush fan I was and how I’d covered 126 of their songs on my YouTube channel (I sent a link to that playlist as well). I went on to tell the seller how I had no intention of flipping the bass and that, on the off chance I should ever decide to sell it, I would give him first option to buy it back from me. It turned out that the seller was Sean Sammon, former bassist and founding member of the band “Puddle of Mudd”. He said he was familiar with my videos and would sometimes watch them while traveling on a tour bus with another band he played with. Wow, was that a surreal thing to hear. He went on to say that the bass was mine if I wanted it. I should also say that his asking price was well below market value for its worth. He said he was working out a deal for a vintage Jazz bass and only wanted enough out of the Wal to cover that deal and that he really wanted to see the bass go to the right person. So, to recap - the guy from the band that sold over 7 million albums and who watched my Rush covers on the tour bus was offering me a beautiful Wal MK2 for a song? As a card carrying pessimist, I was skeptical to say the least. In the past, I’ve only bought through sites like Reverb and liked the sense of protection I got from them. Since this was a private sale, what would stop Sean (if that was his real name) from sending me a damaged instrument or just keeping my money altogether? I hate to sound paranoid and melodramatic, but that is just the sort of thing that I’d expect to happen to me. It was at this point that Sean mentioned his reluctance to ship the bass and asked if I’d consider flying down from NY to Florida to pick the bass up. Well that would solve the problem of receiving a bum bass or no bass at all wouldn’t it? It would, but it would also open up another potential set of problems. At this point, Sean and I were talking on the phone and he came across as a genuine, straight-up guy so I felt a little awkward when I confided in him that I had this sinking feeling that I was going to wind up duct taped to a chair. I just wanted to put it out there and clear the air. He said, “Dude, I’m not going to duct tape you to a chair.” That was good enough for my gullible self and I booked my flight. Did I mention that the last time I flew was in 2001? Man, a lot has changed since then. Lynn dropped me off at JFK early Saturday afternoon and I landed in Jacksonville, Fl at 6:30pm. Lynn and I had a call system worked out with code words and everything, just in case things went south, but as soon as I met Sean at the hotel, I felt completely at ease and more than a little bit ashamed of myself for being so distrustful. In fact, I was so at ease that I forgot to call Lynn who, after a time, gave me a frantic call, yelling, “Is everything alright?…We had a plan!…You didn’t stick to the plan!” If you must know, the codeword was “Mr. Butter.” Sean and I talked for a few hours and he told me how he had planned on bringing a friend with him who was going to be sitting in the back of the van with rope and a roll of duct tape but had decided against it and I thanked him for that. I ate a great meal in an empty restaurant, went up to my room, played for a bit, and went to sleep for a few hours. After spending 11 hours in Florida, I had a 6:00am flight back to NY. I had brought a gig bag with me with the intention of carrying the bass on the plane. The Jet Blue stewards were not at all accommodating and I wound up having to stow the bass in the overhead compartment. It was either that or gate check it…and that wasn’t going to happen. I had upgraded my ticket to take advantage of pre-boarding privileges so I was able to place the bass in the compartment and cherry-pick passengers who looked like they had light, soft bags. As they walked by, I would ask them if they’d mind allowing me to pack their carry-ons around the bass. I got a few strange looks, but most people I asked were agreeable and the bass made it back safely. Lynn picked me up at the airport and we headed for home. For a hardcore homebody like me, it was an exhausting and nerve wracking weekend. Mayor of Simpleton by XTC off the Oranges and Lemons album, released in 1989. Bass by Colin Moulding.
