I grew up in Montgomery and actually played a game of pick up football with Tommy Shaw. Just because he was not famous at the time and just because he was one of about 15 guys from the neighborhood and just because I really had no idea who he was other than his name and vice versa and just because I never saw or spoke to him again in my life and just because I only know this because a friend of mine told me several years later that the short dude playing football out there that day was Tommy Shaw.....does NOT mean that I'm not connected..big time.
I'll be available for pictures and autographs later today.
I cannot touch your greatness but here is my Tommy Shaw story...
I had just come back from the Philippines and had not yet reported to my next duty station in California. Was spending about a week around Montgomery with the family. One night my brother and I ended up at Kegler's Cove in front of Bama lanes having drinks and catching up on what you can get for 20 pesos. Mind you this place only has 15-20 tables. Apparently Tommy was buddies with the guy who owns the place and he steps up on the 15x15 stage with and acoustic guitar in hand. (I find out later that he used to play there before he landed with Styx)
Makes a couple of remarks about how he has a new album coming out in a couple of weeks that he worked on with some other musician buddies of his and he's gonna play some of the tracks off of it. he then proceeds to play basically the entire first album from Damn Yankees. he was just the nicest guy. Down to Earth. Spoke to each and every one of the 20 of us that were in there at the time. Even bought me a round when he found out I had just gotten back into country.