there have been lots of stories about him in the local media, including today's Denver Post. In addition to his concert promotion business, Barry nearly single-handedly saved the Denver Symphony and was the driving force behind Denver getting major league baseball.. Described as having 'a heart the size of a beachball and a mouth like a flamethrower', I can recall his mercurial moods, going from a nice guy having fun, to throwing a tamtrum and cussing out everyone in sight, for some minor infraction. He loved the power that came from being in charge and having everyone kiss his ass so he wouldn't 'explode'. In keeping with the local theme, I'm gonna reach way back and recall some of my favorite 'Barry stories', over the next few days. As I've said before, for some reason Barry kinda liked me, and treated me better than a lot of his security guys. I always got to 'work the stage' while some of the guys hardly ever did. After a couple of incidents, esp at Red Rocks, Barry's contracts with various venues specifically barred uniformed police past the entrances, so he got to depend on on his 'goon squad' security guys, and we were quite an eclectic crew. I think my relationship started with the softball games, organized by Barry, where we'd play against the roadies when we were on tour, as a way of keeping guys occupied during the 'down time' between shows. I ended up pitching for both teams, cuz the game was no fun if someone couldn't toss strikes. He loved watching the games and being the umpire. It was part of his 'control' thing. Anyway, after watching a rerun of 'Studio 12', a local TV special, where Barry was interviewed about his 'Backstage Past' book, I was reminded of a few times where I got some special 'Barry time', that was always memorable. AND, it'll keep me from watching and reacting to the Repubs, as they do everything in their power to mess up our govt and economy. Time to clear away the fog, and make a list of 'Barry stories' before I forget them forever....
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