Bipartisian Love - Georgia Legislature Honors Widespread Panic
By Shannon Kiss
“Hey Buddy!........Hey Buddy!” The wake-up call used for the ninth or tenth time in the hours after the 2/11/96 show in Steamboat - Sit 'n Ski, one of Widespread Panic's greatest (...in some opinions The Greatest) run to date. While the band was pretty accessible to fans during those early years, it was a huge deal to have the opportunity to hang out with them. For this reason, Stony McGill still can't believe that the night Michael Houser and Wayne Sawyer came to his hotel room after the show & hung out for hours, listening to his music & drinking his beer, he slept on the couch in the presence of his favorite guitar player.
The entire band and “one dude with a radio” had come to Stony's room earlier during the show's intermission because they lost their key to the band's hospitality suite and were on a mission to find Budweiser. They were very loyal to Budweiser, after all it says “King of Beers” right on the label, and all they could find at the hotel bar was a bunch of beer they'd never even heard of in Georgia. Stony, a man who always goes out of his way to help a friend in need, was more than happy to open up his cooler to the boys. The guys hung for a while and were very grateful for the beers they enjoyed “in some random hotel room”, as the “other dude” radioed before corralling them back to the show for 2nd set.
After the show, Stony eventually made it back to his hotel room, especially beat from a long night after a full day of skiing. It wasn't long after collapsing on the bed that he heard a knock at the door. Mikey & Wayne had returned with great hopes that there was still some Budweiser in the cooler. We've all opened our hotel room doors in the wee hours of the morning to many friends looking for a cold beer, but not many of us can say Michael Houser's was the face we saw when we did.
Stony invited them in. They toasted with some icy buds and started talking music. The Dead happened to be playing at the time, and since it hadn’t been too long since Garcia had passed away, they started talking about potential replacements. Mikey gave Mark Knopfler his vote as the person best suited to take the lead.
Time passed and Stony found himself falling asleep on the couch. He couldn't believe it, of course. Mikey and Wayne in his room, ready to hang out, and he can't even keep his eyes open. At least they were kind enough to wake him up each time they wanted a fresh Bud with a “Hey Buddy!”, giving him the opportunity to at least see that Mikey really was there before kicking his own ass mentally as he drifted back to sleep.
Fast forward to December 2010, almost 25 years since the band officially started playing together. Stony and good friend, Dave Pratt, both now accomplished lobbyists, are hanging out at Fox Bros BBQ - where they're likely listening to Panic. Dave has been seeing the band since the Auburn Indoor Arena show in 1995, and with 193 shows under his belt, he will pass the 200 mark on New Year’s Eve ‘11-‘12. Stony couldn't begin to count how many he has seen, but he does know his first show was at the 40Watt in the 80's. He was a 17 year old kid - hot, stuck in the corner, having his mind blown. As he reflects on the '87 show at Carroll Farms and all that has happened in the years since, he can fully understand the band's need for a rest. It looks like the rumors of an impending “indefinite hiatus” are becoming a reality, and the 2 dedicated fans decide to act upon an idea Stony had in 2008 when Widespread Panic was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. ...So began the effort to honor the band as officially as Georgia can, with legislative Resolutions to be passed in the State House and Senate.
It was important to Stony and Dave that the legislation be proposed by people who represent Athens. They worked with House staff at the Capitol, as well as staff at Brown Cat. Dave asked BC/WP for information and ideas he could include in the body of text for the Resolutions. Initially, in typical fashion, the band & BC staff were modest, citing the very basic facts of 25 years, sell-out shows, Panic Fans for Food and Hannah's Buddies. After some prodding however, they finally dug a little deeper and allowed themselves to acknowledge the many other ways they have generously given back to the community that loves them so much.
Now armed with a breadth of information that adequately highlighted how committed Widespread Panic has been to the values that permeate their body of lyrics, Dave crafted a beautifully written & comprehensive document. The resolution embodied the spirit of the band, and it gave birth to a mood & experience of “Bipartisan Love” - something that few people can accomplish yet is an intrinsic part of Panic's magic.
In that spirit, in Februrary 2011, one Democrat, Rep. Keith Heard, and one Republican, Sen. Bill Cowsert, introduced the legislation, “recognizing and commending the band Widespread Panic”. Other legislators that participated in authoring and sponsoring the resolutions include Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benefield (Stuckey’s family) and Senator Jason Carter (President Carter’s grandson). Originally, the induction ceremony was to occur February 14, the day of the show at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. However, the Legislature decided not to hold Session that day, and it was moved to the 15th. Because many band members had flights scheduled, only 3 members were able to attend: John Bell, Todd Nance and Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz.
Capitol staff didn't believe they were really coming until they actually arrived, and then phones were blowing up all over the building. They appeared a little uncomfortable at the guard shack, all suited up for such official business. With his usual modest humor, JB said upon arrival, “Well, we're always about trying new things, so here we are!” As they climbed the Capitol steps, JB noted all the hippy kids who had gathered and said with a grin, “Look at all these future Congressmen running around.” During the ceremony, JB, with guitar in hand, performed the song 'May Your Glass Be Filled', a sentiment that embodies the spirit of generosity and altruism that is exactly what brought the band to this deserving space in time. Afterward, House members lined up to have their photo taken with the band, and they were in the anteroom for at least 45 minutes taking pictures before heading to the Governor's office. Many Representatives' kids are Spreadheads, and even Senator Cowsert has been known to attend shows. The Governor said that the Capitol staff was more excited to see these gentlemen than anyone who had visited during his tenure so far.
Copy of the Georgia State Resolution from the private collection of Site Archivist, Heather Nigro
I'm sure I'm not alone when I thank Stony and Dave for going to the effort to ensure the State of Georgia officially fill Widespread Panic's glass a little bit more full than it was. They've earned it, and in an arena like politics that can be so dirty, it was remarkable to see legislators get their shiny side up and come together in a rare motion of Bipartisan Love that was most assuredly "abundantly fitting and proper". That's the effect that Widespread Panic has on the world around them. They inspire the drive to care for those around us with a spirit of gratitude, and the people lucky enough to have the awareness & experience of their positive power are living a richer Life for it.
Widespread Panic isn't just a band that makes a living playing songs for fans. I'm pretty sure they never saw it coming when they got together to make music, but the combination of these men became the core of a community that has, in turn, become a Family ... a Family that has experienced the greatest glory and unprecedented loss. But, through it all, together we've learned not to give up and to help each other stay afloat, because where there is love there is hope.
