Have Gun - Will Travel, is Coyote's Favorite TV Show
Last month, Coyote stumbled on a television marathon of the black and white episodes of HAVE GUN -- WILL TRAVEL, featuring the character, Paladin, played by Richard Boone. Coyote was astonished to realize that this television series, more than any other, had shaped his character as an elementary school youth.
"I didn't use Paladin as a role model, when I was younger, because somehow I thought he was a 'bad guy.' He rode a black horse. Paladin wore black cowboy clothes, and even wore a black hat. As if that wasn't confusing enough for a young John Wayne wannabe, Paladin even wore the traditional BLACK HAT reserved for bad guys. Oh yeah, they even put the evil "Snidely Whiplash" moustache on him. I felt guilty appreciating and respecting him as a kid, but somehow, I really idolized his cool James Bond manner, his well-read intelligent mind, and his love of books, poetry, and women."
"So, although I looked up to him, Paladin was only a subconscious role model, not a chosen one--until now."
"Now, as I watch those old black and white westerns again, I realize that Paladin and I are very similar in many ways. We are more similar than any other western character I've seen recently. I used to watch THE RIFLEMAN, starring Chuck Connors, also back in the fifties and early sixties, but none of the channels are airing those old episodes. I'm curious to see if I turned out like him also."
"Voraciously, I have strived to catch as many episodes as possible and each day try to be at my television for the afternoon replay of those black and white episodes on "The Western Channel."
"With my newfound respect for William Shakespeare, and my newfound ability to see that Paladin is never a bad guy, I am embracing Paladin as this year's role model. Appropriately, I will create NEW BUSINESS CARDS that will read, "Have Guitar -- Will Travel."
January 28, 2010: The Hippy Coyote of American Zen performed THE SMELL nightclub in downtown Los Angeles. He was called the day before as a replacement for a cancelled act that evening. When Coyote arrived, the other artists asked him to be, "the headliner," instead of the opening act. Coyote agreed and went onstage that night as the headline act.
Unprepared to be performing, and with his amplifiers and equipment in storage, Coyote called his friends and arranged to borrow an amp that night. Having recently pulled his electric guitar out, after losing his acoustic guitar, Coyote didn't have a guitar strap either. The guitar strap he'd had on the 1984 Fender Stratocaster, was the same one he'd been wearing in the 1980s when the cover photo was taken for the LEVEL 1 = PEACE OF MIND album. However, it was so old it was tearing apart and breaking in half. So, Coyote autographed the strap and put the old strap in a box for storage. "Maybe someday it will be of great value to collectors," Coyote smiles.
With a long green shoestring from the dollar store, Coyote started working on his new SOLO ELECTRIC COYOTE SHOW. The shoestring bit into his shoulder--so he took a shoulder pad off a backpack and strung the string through it. But as Coyote got ready on the day of the show, he realized how cheezy or unprofessional this looked. Unable to buy another strap (no car or money), Coyote noticed a rope in his closet. He replaced the shoestring with the white braided rope and decided that was the best he could do.
Oddly, not one person commented on his guitar strap. It seemed that everyone thought it was intentional. Wearing his cowboy trenchcoat and cowboy hat, Coyote took the stage about 11:45PM. Befored he had finished his first song, he broke his "A" string on his guitar. Without a car, he'd been driven to the gig by two of his Kung Fu Disciples, Shawn Whitson, and Jessica Isaacs. His roadie for the evening was his daughter, Caitlin O'Connor. But none of these friends were capable of changing his guitar string or helping onstage, so Coyote played the entire set with only five strings on his Fender Strat. "It was dreadful trying to play without the fifth string," states Coyote. "Without that string, my chords were often difficult to create and on one song, I sang the notes of that "A" string, which made the audience laugh."
Still, the gig was a success. The audience had a great time and gave him thunderous applauses after each song. Through it all, Coyote chatted with the audience and enjoyed himself as much as he could also. So, with only five strings, a borrowed amplifier, and a rope on his shoulder, Coyote has begun his new solo career as THE KUNG FU COWBOY.
