Sailor
around 1980
George Pappanastos (bass guitar and vocals)
Tim McDaniel (drums and vocals)
Alan Hinds (sizzlin' guitar, vocals)
Jack Fitzpatrick (keyboards, arranger,
vocals)
Tim Jackson
(rhythm guitar and vocals)
me
HISTORY / COMMENTARY: I have some poor quality tapes of 'Sailor'
but I won't use them because this band was just too good to represent poorly. I am looking for
good tapes of 'Sailor' and I am very much looking forward to hearing them again. Our vocals
were 4 and 5 voice strong and we did a Beatles set that was killer. Bob Shultz, from the Pavillion,
recognized all the talent in 'Sailor' and wound up opening Brautigan's night club using our band
for the 'grand opening' and cornerstone for his live music line-up. Alan Hinds
is a limitless
guitar player. Jack Fitzpatrick
has
disappeared from my view, although I guess he is still somewhere and
I'd like to know where. UPDATE: Jimbo says Jack is a math professor
at Auburn University - and I believe it. Jack was about
the most talented and peculiar fellow I ever played with, and I
enjoyed him a lot. He could
hear every little thing in a song and show me how to correct it without making me feel like a dummy.
Jack was like a mad scientist who was thinking on a different level and humoring the rest of us, in
the gentlest of ways, at the same time. Just sitting back and watching it happen - and he
enjoyed the band, too.
Tim McDaniel was one of the main
reasons our vocals were so good and he was a
good steady drummer who loved the music.Sailor began playing a lot at a huge place
in Destin called 'Night Town'. We were so well received
that they remodeled part of the place to
accommodate our being there regularly while they still had a band
in the 'dance' part of the club for that kind
of music. Tim
never came back to Montgomery, or at least
he decided to move down there and that's where he has built a life.
Later we had a personnel change and David Clark joined us on
keys.
PERSONAL
comments: George Pappanastos
died recently from cancer. One of the main reasons I really enjoyed this band was because of
George and his attitude. He was just good to work with because he seemed to enjoy it so much.
We rehearsed
a lot in his mom's garage and he was a hard worker (which is unusual among musicians). George was
dedicated to being good at 'rock musician'. I talked to his wife, who seems very sweet, and they
just had their first child, a boy, not long before George died. They
live in California, where he moved to chase the music success dream. I talked to George a few times after he found out he had a brain tumor
and he was very hopeful, but he only lived less than a month after that. The tumor was already
affecting his speech and thought process and he was childlike in the best of ways. The overall
effect was that
his natural kindness was magnified. I was sad because he was so sick but I enjoyed talking to him.
George Pappanastos was easy to love.
Tim McDaniel died today, December 18, 2005, at his home in Opp,
Alabama. His heart stopped in his sleep. Tim had an excellent sense
of humor. He was as spiritually aware as anybody and he really
wanted to know God. He went with me to a Promise Keepers meeting in
Atlanta and when we came back that's all he could talk about and he
really tried hard to overcome his weaknesses. The memory of the
meeting wore off and he fell back into some of our old ways. He had
the same problem with drugs as I did although in the last year he
found a way to stop - God in the form of Alcoholics Anonymous. Tim
had been playing with one of his sons, Martin, for the past few
months and he loved it. He called me to brag about Martin. He also
loved his other two sons, Logan and Wright, just as much. They had a
good time together. His funeral is tomorrow in Opp and Liz asked me
to sing. I will miss Tim.
Tim McDaniel died, December 18, 2005, at his home in Opp,
Alabama. His heart stopped in his sleep. Tim had an excellent sense
of humor. He was as spiritually aware as anybody and he really
wanted to know God. He went with me to a Promise Keepers meeting in
Atlanta a long time ago and when we came back that's all he could
talk about and he really tried hard to overcome his weaknesses. The
memory of the meeting wore off and he fell back into some of our old
ways. He had the same problem with drugs as I did although during the
last year he found a way to stop - God, in the form of Alcoholics
Anonymous. Tim had been playing drums and singing with one of his sons, Martin,
who plays guitar and sings, for
the past few months and he loved it. He called me to brag about
Martin. He also loved his other two sons, Logan and Wright, just as
much. They had a good time together. His funeral was the 19th in Opp
and Liz asked me to sing. I will miss Tim. He loved to play music.
Although we played together many times,
Sailor
was our main group together.
return to band links
is a limitless
guitar player. Jack Fitzpatrick
has
disappeared from my view, although I guess he is still somewhere and
I'd like to know where. UPDATE: Jimbo says Jack is a math professor
at Auburn University - and I believe it. Jack was about
the most talented and peculiar fellow I ever played with, and I
enjoyed him a lot. He could
hear every little thing in a song and show me how to correct it without making me feel like a dummy.
Jack was like a mad scientist who was thinking on a different level and humoring the rest of us, in
the gentlest of ways, at the same time. Just sitting back and watching it happen - and he
enjoyed the band, too.
