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 Q:
What is your musical background? |
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 Scott:
Well, I moved to LA in 1980 from the northwest. I’m a native of the
northwest and I went to school in Oregon and Washington. I had started
writing songs and singing in high school, and before that I had played
french horn and clarinet in the band and orchestra since I was 7 years
old, I was always really musical. While I was in college, I starting
performing my own material at the coffee houses, you know, the coffee
house scene in the late 70’s was in full bloom. It was a really fun
time, and you were really popular on a college campus if you could play
James Taylor songs, or Jackson Brown! I also threw in a lot of my own
material, a lot of it, and I figured that popularity would easily
translate into a record deal in Los Angeles. Of course that wasn’t
necessarily the case, but it didn’t deter me from making a move to LA in
1980. As a songwriter I had some close calls with success, I brushed up
against it as often as I could without having it rub off on me! I had
some songs got published or were placed on other people’s albums. There
was a song called “Ariana” that was on the “Kazi Matsui Project” in 1984
that probably very few people had ever heard of, it got played in lots
of R&B and jazz markets in the US. |
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Q:
How did you come to work with Lynda? |
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Scott:
I had lived in Los Angeles for two years and was a member of the band
“Main Sail”. We were performing at a place called “Jason’s” at Toluca
Lake, and there was a keyboard player that used to play with us who had
worked with Johnny Harris, Lynda’s musical director. Lynda was looking
for a self-contained rhythm section rather than a bunch of “hired guns”
that were studio players, which is what she had used previously. There
were three of us that sang and played, all guys, and there was a
drummer, and she hired the four of us. She already had a pianist, an
accompanist that was playing with her named Andy Michelin. So she hired
the four of us–there was me, bass player/vocalist Joe Bierek, lead
guitarist/vocalist was Kendall Lee, and the drummer Rich Sumner. We were
given some tapes of Lynda’s material that we learned over a week or two,
then we went to a rehearsal studio in North Hollywood called “The Alley”
to audition, and met Lynda for the first time, which you know was a
thrill! I hadn’t met a lot of celebrities, even though I had lived in
Hollywood for two years. She was fun to meet without a doubt, she was
always such a pleasure to be around, and was so friendly. So we went to
“The Alley” and we negotiated a contract, and we rehearsed for…seems
like a couple of weeks at least, before we headed out to Las Vegas. That
was in the summer of 1982. We played in a double bill with Rich Little
at the old MGM Grand Hotel, which is now another hotel entirely. But
that was great fun. The four of us found working for Lynda such a
welcome respite from the grind that we had done in LA, you know, playing
a gig for $50 bucks a night in a smoky bar with everyone drinking
“Kamikazis”! Going from that to playing in a beautiful room at the MGM
Grand, with great lighting and sound was wonderful. Johnny put on such a
great show, and Lynda had wonderful sound and lighting folks rounding
out the crew. We had a great time working late at night, then hanging
out at the pool in the afternoon. |
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Q:
What was your role in the stage band? |
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Scott:
When she hired the ensemble “Main Sail”, I played rhythm acoustic and
electric guitar, and sang background and lead vocals. Kendall and Joe
also sang background vocals, and sometimes lead vocals. When we
performed by ourselves, we did original material, mostly mine, so I
mostly sang lead vocals, but we were a band that also often closed out
our shows with the “B” side of “Abbey Road”. Everybody would sing parts
of that. But when we worked for Lynda, we all sang background vocals,
and occasionally I would sing a lead vocal. At one part in the show, I
remember when we were at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas with the Smothers
Brothers, part of the act included “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by
the Righteous Brothers, and I sang the lead vocals when she was doing a
costume change. She was not on stage at that point, and I sang a lead to
give Lynda a break to change costumes. |
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Q:
Between her television specials from 1981 onwards, where did the show
go? |
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Scott:
The places I remember that we performed with Lynda, let’s see… in 1982
there was the MGM Grand in Las Vegas… that summer we also did the New
York, Long Island theatre in the round that was very similar to the
Valley Forge Music Fair. We also went to the Chicago area and performed
at the Rockford Performance Center. That was big place. I had been
performing for many years, and that was in the center of a basketball
arena! It was a pretty place and it was brand new, and it was full of
people. I think it held 10 or 12 thousand folks, and Lynda was opening
for Bob Hope. I remember getting introduced onstage, and doing a little
solo like we all did, and I remember my adrenaline was pumping and I was
shaky. But it was really fun. Then we went to Valley Forge, and then
Atlantic City. |
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Q:
How many years did you perform with Lynda? |
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Scott:
Well, 1982 was when it started, and then it might have been as late as
1985-86. There were a couple of summers when we did isolated dates, I
remember when we went to Reno and performed at Harrah’s, then we did
Tahoe one summer. There’s a funny story I can tell about that. I was a
rock-climber, and my wife and I made the mistake of going to a place
called “Lover’s Leap” which is right near Tahoe, about 30 minutes away,
and we had gone out one morning to go climbing and I had a show that
night. I basically misjudged how long it was going to take, and in the
late afternoon I suddenly realized that we weren’t going to make the top
of the climb in time, so we had to rappel off the cliff several times to
get down, then get back to the car and race back to Tahoe. I threw on my
tux and walked onstage with my guitar and got in front of the microphone
just in time as Johnny started the show! I got a lot of dirty looks from
the band, because everyone was either worried that I was dead, or was
going to get fired, or both. But anyway, as far as the last gig that we
did, I would have to compare notes with Joe, Kendall and Rich.
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Q:
Did you ever go overseas to perform? |
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Scott:
Yes, we went to the Philippines and Monte Carlo in 1983. I remember that
Lynda performed in the Philippines over New Year at a brand new
performing arts center that had been built by Imelda Marcos, and we
performed there and we stayed at the Manila Hotel, which was a
remarkable place. McArthur had had his headquarters in the hotel. One
thing that I remember about Manila was that over New Years’ is that they
set off fireworks and grenades at night, and it was dangerous walking
through the park. Several people were killed or injured by grenades, but
it was a fascinating trip. |
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Q:
How was she received in both of those countries? Was the audience
reception good? |
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Scott:
It’s funny, the reception in the Philippines was overwhelming, they were
just wild about having Lynda there. At that point and time, with the way
world politics were, Americans were always looked on favorably by the
average person in the Philippines, even though that was the beginning of
some questionable times for the Marcos Regime. Lynda was extremely well
received in Manila, no doubt about it. Now, Monte Carlo was another
story, and I think it wasn’t Lynda specifically, but it was the weirdest
crowd to play for in Monte Carlo. Almost nothing elicited much of a
response. I mean, it wasn’t as if they didn’t applaud, but they were
reserved and almost….cold! But I was told backstage by people that
that’s how they were to virtually everyone. It was a kind of a private
club that prominent Monte Carlans, if that’s what you call them,
belonged to. It was a beautiful place, right on the ocean, and the stage
was in the round, actually semi-circular, with the ocean behind, and at
the end of the show, they pulled the roof back and shot fireworks in the
sky over the audience. That was not a terribly friendly venue, but Monte
Carlo in general was a very friendly place to go. It was a beautiful
place to spend your time during the afternoon, with the beautiful blue
water that was so clear you could see the bottom. |
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Q:
When you went to Monte Carlo, was that when Robert Altman proposed to
Lynda? |
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Scott:
Well, when we went to Monte Carlo, Lynda was no longer with Ron Samuels,
and I don’t think that she had met Robert yet. I forgot to mention to
you – when Lynda hired us I negotiated with Ron Samuels for our
contract. I didn’t know at the time, but that was near the end of their
relationship. When we went to Monte Carlo, which I can’t remember if
that was in 1982 or 1983, I am quite sure that she wasn’t with Ron
anymore. I don’t think that she had met Robert yet, however, I’m pretty
sure of that. I remember Robert coming to Atlantic City to either the
Sands, or Harrah’s Marina or the Trump Plaza. I think that the first
time I met Robert was in Atlantic City. I remember liking Robert a whole
lot, he was then, and I’m sure still is, an approachable, fun guy to be
around. |
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Q:
Can you remember any times when things went wrong during the act? |
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Scott:
Well, Lynda’s show was very scripted. In comparing her to other
performers I had worked with, and had a friend who worked with, like,
Suzanne Somers, everybody knows that Lynda is not a comedian, she’s a
singer. And comedians have it over all of us, as you know, when funny or
unexpected things happen during their acts, they laugh it off. And
though no fault of Lynda, there were some times when she got in trouble
because of the pre-recorded supplementary music. I can remember a good
example that illustrated that which happened at the Desert Inn at Las
Vegas. There was number that she would always do, at that time, she’d
find a guy, an older guy with no hair, and bring him up on the stage and
sit in his lap and sing “Makin Whoopee”. One evening she picked a guy
who was with a woman who had had waaaay too much to drink, and while
Lynda was singing “Makin Whoopee” to this guy while sitting in his lap
on stage, the woman crawled off her chair and up the steps of the stage
and started pulling on Lynda’s leg. I can’t think of very many people
that that wouldn’t unnerve! |
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Q:
Was the woman actually attacking Lynda? |
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Scott:
It seems like she was trying to pull Lynda off of her friends’ lap, as
if she was suffering a sudden attack of uncontrollable jealousy. |
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Q:
Did the woman strike at Lynda? |
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Scott:
No, no she was just pulling on her foot, but that was dangerous enough,
because if she pulled Lynda off the stage it would have been a big drop.
This story reminds me…when we did a show in Reno one year I was able to
arrange for my great uncle to be picked without him knowing. He had a
really bald head, and it was easy to point him out to Lynda, and she
knew I was going to point someone out to her surreptitiously from the
stage, so she brought him up, and that was really fun. Being from the
west coast, my parents and several sets of aunts and uncles were there,
and it was always fun to have family come to the show, because for me,
coming from a small town in Oregon and suddenly performing with Lynda on
the “Tonight Show” and these specials and in Las Vegas, to my family,
you know, I might have been running for president! But it was really fun
to arrange that with my uncle. He got the special treatment, and I
remember he had very little to say afterwards. You know a lot of people
have never been on stage in front of 3000 people, let alone having Lynda
Carter lean across your lap while they were sitting on a stool, while
she’d sing to you! |
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Q:
What happened afterwards? |
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Scott:
Lynda finished the song, and the security came and got the woman off and
Lynda kept her composure, but the next number was from a musical. It was
a medley of song and dance numbers that had a pre-recorded orchestral
accompaniment, and also the dancing that Lynda did with the dancer,
whose name was Blaine Savage, the dancing was really demanding, and the
singing Lynda was also pre-recorded and Lynda would lipsync it as she
danced. Almost anyone would have to do that, because the dancing was so
physically demanding, and Lynda always did a fabulous job with Blaine,
and even lipsyncing along with would have been a challenge. But this
time she was unnerved by what had happened with the woman, and Lynda
forgot to sing along, and so her voice is coming out of the speakers and
her lips are not moving in synch, and every single one of wanted to help
her, but there was no way, since our singing along would have been
ridiculous. |
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Q:
It must have been very hard for her at the time. |
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Scott:
Yes, but fortunately the very next number was one that I sang lead on
while she went offstage to change, and I remember seeing the entourage
in her booth empty out. The people out front, her manager and the others
came back stage to give her a pep talk while she was changing costume.
As I recall, I not only did the one solo, but I was asked to do another
one, and fortunately my vocal range was almost identical to Lynda’s. I
could do pretty much anything she sang; Lynda’s an alto and I’m a tenor.
Then she came back on and finished the show. Another funny incident
happened when we were at the Trump Towers, I think, in Atlantic City. We
were doing two shows a night, and the pre-record supplementary music was
at that time on a reel to reel tape, and because we did two shows, to
simplify the operation for the sound engineer, they had two versions of
the same song with about 10 seconds in between a blank space, so what
the engineer was supposed to do was to let it play for the first one,
turn it off, and then not turn it on again until the next show, when at
the same point and time it would already be cued up. Well, one night it
was not stopped at the end of the song, and that song ended, and Lynda
stepped into a pool of light onstage for a quiet moment to share
something with the crowd before the next number, and suddenly this
whirlwind of orchestral music started coming out of the speakers.
Believe me, the engineer probably got a talking to after the show. Those
are the dangers that technology can wreak upon a show if you’re
depending on it! |
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Q:
Later there was another part of Lynda’s act where she asked a member of
the audience for a hankerchief or napkin to wipe her face... |
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Scott:
and everything else! |
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Q:
Yes, and everything else, but was there ever a time when that kind of
audience participation got out of hand, like her choosing the bald man
and his girlfriend getting out of hand? |
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Scott:
You know, Lynda always kept it…she only let it go so far. I really don’t
remember any racy moments getting out of hand with the crowd. There was
plenty of innuendo in that kind of moment, but it was never too
explicit. I think that Lynda’s shows for the most part were safe for any
twelve-year old to come to with their parents. |
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Q:
Can you recall any favorite songs that Lynda liked to sing, or did she
ever change her style of music? |
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Scott:
I kind of remember “Rain or Shine”as being one that she really liked,
but then I may be projecting my own assumptions on her. Lynda was very
enthusiastic about everything she sang, and whether that was theatrical
or heartfelt, it certainly came across as heartfelt. She really enjoyed
“The Boy From New York City” or “I’m All Right” and the ballads, like
“Rain or Shine” were always…she consistently was very enthusiastic and
emotive in all of them. There certainly song changes between ’82 and
’83. There were some things that stayed the same, maybe because those
were favorites of hers. I’d have to go over a song list with you, I
don’t know what was common between the two summers. Some things might
change because we wanted to update the material. I remember there was a
“Toto” ballad that we did, which might have been in ’82 or ’83. But
Lynda appeared to thoroughly enjoy performing everything, I think that
she just loved being onstage. That was just such a high for her, and she
always had wanted to be a professional musician. Every actor I’ve ever
known wanted to be a musician, and every musician wanted to be an actor.
And for Lynda just being onstage, performing, was fun. And you know, we
did have fun, there’s just no question about it, its’ a great way to
make a living. I remember talking with the crew several times. The
soundman had worked with “Aerosmith” and some other famous rock bands
and talking about…we all wanted to make it, so to speak, we all wanted
our own record deal, we wanted to perform in front of audiences, and he
said, “you know, compared to most musicians in the world, you guys have
made it, you’re doing Las Vegas with Lynda Carter, for God’s sake!”
Thinking back on it now, it’s true you often don’t know what you have
until it’s passed, and both on and off stage we all had nothing but a
lot of fun great experiences, it was really great being Lynda’s friend
and being professionally associated with her. |
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Q:
Was the show always very scripted? |
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Scott:
The show was very scripted. I don’t remember there ever being any
audibles, so to speak, or changing the show on the fly. Now that’s not
to say it never happened, because there might have been nights when
Lynda was having to be careful with her voice, or something, where
Johnny might have helped her. We all had plenty more material worked up
than we would do every night, and any of us could easily do different
numbers, but as a general rule, it was pretty much straight through the
same list every time. |
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Q:
Who were the other members of the group, the dancers who performed with
Lynda in the musical numbers, the technical people? |
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Scott:
At one point there were two dancers, Blaine Savage and Joey Sheck, and
they were at the MGM Grand with us in 1982, and the next year it was
just Blaine, I believe, they cut back from two dancers to one, and the
soundman that did sound for us those two years was Michael George, and
he was the guy that had formerly done sound for “Aerosmith” and other
bands, and Michael ended up being a stockbroker a few years later!
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Q:
Did you often play double bills with performers? |
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Scott:
Yes, and I remember a couple of the people that I really enjoyed sharing
the bill with were the Smothers Brothers. We did a double bill with them
at the Desert Inn one summer, but that was the only act I would show up
for every night to see their show before us, because it was so funny.
Tommy didn’t do a scripted act, and there was always something different
every night. We opened for George Burns at Caesars Place, and one summer
Arsenio Hall opened for us, before anybody knew who he was. For Rich
Little at the time we were an opener, too, early in Lynda’s brief Las
Vegas career, because he was established. So in that case we would have
done two shows every night, and preceded Rich Little in every show. And
in Atlantic City in 1982 Joel Grey opened for us, since he had just made
the film “Cabaret”. If there was a comedian before or after us, there
was basically two solid hours of entertainment back to back! But most of
them were always over by midnight or one o’clock in the morning.
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Q:
Did you keep in touch with Lynda in the years after she stopped touring? |
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Scott:
I’ve fallen out of touch with Lynda for no good reason. It’s been quite
a number of years since I talked with her, but you know, she was so
genuinely friendly with all of us, without reservations I can say we
were all good friends. I can’t remember what year it was, but not only
did we attend and play music at her wedding to Robert, but Lynda and I
sang together at her sister Pam’s wedding. It was an outdoor ceremony
held at her Malibu Canyon ranch. Lynda and I sang a duet, and for the
life of me I can’t remember what it we sang, but I played guitar and she
and I sang together. But after she moved to Washington and I left LA, we
just didn’t stay in touch. I certainly wouldn’t mind talking with her at
some point, but everybody gets busy with life and does their own thing,
of course. |
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Q:
Lynda has mentioned in several interviews that once her children have
grown, she might go back to singing on the stage. Would you like to
perform with her again? |
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Scott:
That would be great fun, I certainly would! I had never even entertained
the thought. It certainly would be in the realm of possibility but I
wouldn’t have guessed that she would do that. I haven’t talked to Lynda
in so long, but if it could fit in with all of our schedules……all of the
guys in the band except Kendall have families with kids now, so it would
take a little bit more arrangement to make that happen, but it would be
great fun. I know that all of us, to one degree or another, have kept on
performing or recording or writing. I know that Rich the drummer still
plays pretty regularly in LA and also teaches multi-media at Long Beach
State College. Joe and his wife Rose live in La Quinta and they have a
lounge act, they still perform light music. Kendall lives in Oregon, he
actually drives for FedEx now, but he had a band for a long time that
played up there. As for me, I left Los Angeles after twelve years and
moved to Colorado in 1992 and months after I was there I was signed to
an independent label called “Rough Rider Records” out of LA and they
flew me back and forth to record an album that was produced by Bob Mann,
who has been a guitarist for James Taylor. But that album never got
released, so after two years with “Rough Rider” and never having
anything come out, I put a studio together at home and started working
on putting something together on my own. It wasn’t too long after that
that I started a family, and then of course the brakes went on. I still
have a studio at home and I still write, and this last summer I edited a
documentary movie called “Edge Dancing” and scored the music for it. It
was actually a finalist at the Bamff Mountain Film Festival in Alberta.
To make a living I do multi-media and video work for various clients, a
lot of work for law firms. I still write music, but my main major
audience is my six and three-year old. |
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Q:
We’d like to thank you very much for sharing your great memories of
being on the road with Lynda and her show. |
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Scott:
The pleasure was all mine. Have a great evening! |
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Special
Thanks to SCOTT
MARTIN. |
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