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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 17, 2005 - 11:26pm PT
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I remember this guy.
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 18, 2005 - 12:49am PT
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A trip down the memory lane ……for anyone who even cares ………
David Lee Roth hired Ron Kauk and me to help Galen Rowell do this album cover. His production people got him a horse to ride to half dome along with all of the other equipment for this shoot. David decided he wanted to walk and not ride his horse so I asked if I could ride it. “Sure go ahead” he says, “I want to walk”. Cool, I hop on and away we go.
Now Kauk was lagging behind somewhere else during this time sorting out his last minute details telling me earlier he’ll catch up to us. He catches up to the crew and asks where I am? They tell him I’m riding David’s horse. He jogs up the mist trail and catches up to me at the top of Nevada Falls. Ron tells me I’m not riding that thing by myself and he then hops on too. Shit! Two of us on that thing now. We approach towards the saddle the horse became more and more tired, somehow it made it. We make camp at the saddle for tomorrows shoot.
The next day we all troop up to the top for the cover shot shoot.
Galen is running around with his camera trying to figure out the best location. He spots his ace in the hole and tells Ron and me to set up David at the spot you see on that cover. Now we didn’t even have a bolt kit with us, and Galen wants David out in some no mans land with very little features for anything that’ll hold worth sh-it. I go WTF Galen there’s nothing out there and he tells us to do the best we can. Ok man, whatever.
Kauk goes down and places a bunch of A4 sh-it. The final piton where David is supposed to hang off is this pin Kuak puts in (a long med. Lost arrow) sticking more than ¾ of the way out. Ron tells me he hopes it holds David’s ass. Ha ha ha ha
Ron tells me to go to David’s position and set him up when he gets there. I’m on a separate rope and David rappels down to the last pin Ron placed. He takes one look at that thing and says “fu-ck! I’m not hanging off that thing, It’ll pull out and I’ll die”. He is now visibly shaking real bad and scared shitless.
I tell David that I’m the rigger and that he has to have faith in the rigger and the rigger will never lie to you. Now David has probably heard every bullshit line but then he’s never really aid climbed. I tell him that piton is one foot long! And that 7” of that sucker he’s looking at is buried in that horizontal crack to his total disbelief. Ron hears the whole dialog and starts to roll his eyes and hint to me keep it going all while Galen is starting to get impatient with our scared mans delay. Finally after more bullshit lines David buys them and gently as hell gets on that thing shaking like sh-it until Galen shoots the camera.
The shoot is on! David does his Hollywood mode. smiles and all in between bouts of shakes and deep breaths. Galen shoots off his 20 or so rolls in record time and David gets his rope back from above and jugs out. I clean the piton he was on with one jerk of my hand. Kauks eyes roll again and we’re out of there after cleaning the rest of that sh-ity mess.
And David Lee Roth becomes the “Skyscraper”
He gave me and Ron a gold plated carabinier engraved "Diamond Dave" on it, after the shoot. Sorry Ammon, ha ha ha ha
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 18, 2005 - 01:08am PT
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Yea, we did that one too. Breashears was the camera man in that one and some guy in Roths crew knocked a rock off over by the west buttress and almost took Breashears head off.
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golsen
Social climber
kennewick, wa
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Jun 18, 2005 - 07:41am PT
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Werner, I have been around the block a couple times, and when I started coming to this site and saw people urging you to write a book I didnt get it at first. I hope you will take the urgings seriously. You have a lot of history to share with Yos climbing (not callin you old dude!) that people would love to hear.
Thanks for sharing bro!
Gary
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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Jun 18, 2005 - 10:22pm PT
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One more vote Werner, Write the book!
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Watusi
Social climber
Joshua Tree, CA
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Jun 19, 2005 - 12:54pm PT
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Yeah "Diamond Dave" was lurking around here in Josh also. He's was a bit out there!!
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JuanDeFuca
Big Wall climber
Chatsworth
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Jun 19, 2005 - 01:15pm PT
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I saw him at Stoney a few times. I think with Largo.
Juan
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maculated
Trad climber
San Luis Obispo, CA
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Jun 19, 2005 - 01:15pm PT
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That was awesome. You made the poor guy hang out, ropeless, on one crummy piton? Bad bad bad.
That's okay, that CD really sucks anyhow. My friend bought it sheerly because of the cover.
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rocco tuna
Social climber
slo, ca
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Jun 20, 2005 - 11:40am PT
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awesome story.
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burp
Trad climber
Salt Lake City
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Jun 20, 2005 - 03:26pm PT
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Klaus ...
Looks like Flakes of Wrath (5.9) on the potash road near Moab.
Enjoy!
burp
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Ammon
Big Wall climber
Lake Arrowhead
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Jun 22, 2005 - 12:45am PT
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That is a GREAT story Werner. I was riveted!
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Jun 22, 2005 - 02:41am PT
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Mad dog, cat wall?
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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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Jun 22, 2005 - 03:55am PT
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”With bass wizard Billy Sheehan already gone to form Mr. Big and guitar hero Steve Vai…”
I’ve never heard Bill Russell sing, but…
Mr. Big is a killer band (if you dig 90’s progressive rock/metal, etc.). Paul Gilbert, the original guitarist, is one of my favorites. Talk about shredders… Office Depot can’t even come close!
And Billy Sheehan… Sick! Fat, fat, fat… Base with a punch and plenty of noodles to keep things busy.
Steve Vai… played for Frank Zappa… incredible shredder with a unique style… I recognized his playing the first time that my housemate fired up Halo 2 on his Xbox. Same dude that provided the wicked bizarre guitar riffs and tones for Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. (although I have to say that Satriani is a step up in my book…)
Ok, time for some music…!
“The Audience is Listening”
“Now Stevie, now don’t be nervous honey, ok? I’m gonna go in, and I’m gonna introduce you, and then you’re gonna come in, with your guitar, and you’re gonna play that nice, nice music you were telling me about, and while you’re doing that, I’ll be sitting in the back of the room. We’ll have such as good time, so don’t you be nervous honey. It’ll relax everybody and we’ll be so happy… I’m gonna go now, I’ll introduce you, ok?
HEADS UP! Now, you kids you, all of you. Calm down. That’s good. Ok? Everyone, in your own seats. That’s good. Ok. Now, little Stevie Vai is going to play a composition on the guitar. He wrote it all by himself. Ok, Stevie, bring your three friends up, they can play with you. That Steve Vai, What a nice little boy.
I wrote this song for all my friends. When I grow up, I’m gonna be a famous rock ‘n roll guitar player!
Love it! Eh he he… Go ahead.
And this is my whammy bar and it’s gonna be loud.
Don’t you think that’s a bit loud? Boys!!! It’s getting too loud! You’re getting out of control. Boys, Stevie, now calm down class, calm down. Mr. Vai, you’ve gotta turn it down.
What did you say? You want me to turn it down? You mean down like this…!
Boys, what happened to that nice music? That sounds like noise Mr. Vai. And I want it stopped. You all got detention!
Uh, oh, here comes trouble.
Ayy, Vai, are you outta your mind? You guys, ya don’t back off, Ya must be crazy! I’m gonna flip-out. I’m tellin’ you. If this is my final flip-out, you guys are gonna go with me!
Ah, shut up.
Will you two stop dancin’ like that. Frankie, leave that girl alone! We’re not gonna have another incident like Mildred. Come here to me Vai, don’t you hear me? Come here you little snit. Wait till I get my hands on… don’t you run away. Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, Vai. Knock it off! Get off my desk!
Hey Andrea, check this out!
Oh Stevie, you promised me you’d play nice music; people out of control, dancin’ on the desks, playin’ with the girls. That awful noise just makes people go wild. You gotta turn that music down Stevie, please…"
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Rhodo-Router
Trad climber
Otto, NC
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Jun 23, 2005 - 01:38am PT
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Don't you boys know any Nice Songs? We have children sleeping in here...
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Bump- I found this using MisterE's scrolling method.
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couchmaster
climber
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Great 2nd read 4 years later. Awesome Werner.
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murcy
climber
San Fran Cisco
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nice post and bump. werner can spin the tale when he wants to.
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Guernica
climber
s x sw
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Great yarn Werner, missed it the first time around. I hope you do write a book.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
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WBraun, spinner of fireside dreams .... spin a little dream of any kind fo' us all. Smiles and Peace, Lynne
Edit: Yesterday was the 16th month to the day Dan flew this planet....so a story from any story teller out there would be so very cool. Any kinda story or parable ....whatevah'. :}
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there werner... say, someone bumped your ol' story here...
thanks for the neat share...
whewwwwwwwww....
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