Boom Boom Belville

by Russ Belville | May 31, 2012 1:37 pm

The two most important things in my life are M&Ms – not the candy, but “marijuana” and “music”.  For those who know me as a marijuana activist, it’s always fun to find out that in my 20th Century incarnation, I was a professional club musician, playing bass guitar and singing in various cover bands.  My musicianship dates back to 1979 when I first played orchestra bass* at Central School in Nampa, Idaho, and I’ve been playing ever since.

This is part of the reason why I continue to bring you the best podsafe independent music from the web from all genres in our Daily Toker Tunes.  If you’re looking for downloads of something you’ve heard from the show, you can find them through the Toker Tunes page[1].

  • 1982) Junior High Lab Band (Bass Guitar) and Concert Band (Bassoon) 1982) Junior High Lab Band (Bass Guitar) and Concert Band (Bassoon)
  • 1983) High School Marching Band (Sousaphone) 1983) High School Marching Band (Sousaphone)
  • 1984) High School Marching Band (Bass Guitar) 1984) High School Marching Band (Bass Guitar)
  • 1985) High School Marching Band (Drum Major) 1985) High School Marching Band (Drum Major)
  • 1986) PFC Russ Belville in the 25th Army Band 1986) PFC Russ Belville in the 25th Army Band
  • 1988) Class-X Promo 1988) Class-X Promo
  • 1990) Crossfire 1990) Crossfire
  • 1992) Russ performs with Dionysus at Boise River Festival 1992) Russ performs with Dionysus at Boise River Festival
  • 1993) The Neighbors 1993) The Neighbors
  • 1994) Wayward Three 1994) Wayward Three
  • 1995) King Friday 1995) King Friday
  • 1996) Performing with Big Dogs 1996) Performing with Big Dogs
  • 1997) Promo for Asha & Boi Izzy Blu 1997) Promo for Asha & Boi Izzy Blu
  • 1998) Performing with Six Cents 1998) Performing with Six Cents
  • 1999) Performing with Hoodoo Snake Doctors 1999) Performing with Hoodoo Snake Doctors
  • 2000) The Hoodoo Snake Doctors 2000) The Hoodoo Snake Doctors

* And thus the name “Boom Boom Belville”, my first nickname, dating back to seventh grade.  If you remember the 1970′s TV series “Welcome Back, Kotter”, there was a student in the fictional high school class named Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington.  In a scene with the teacher, Mr. Kotter, Freddie is asked why his nickname is “Boom Boom”.  Freddie then begin pantomiming playing a stand up bass like a jazz cat while he sings a bass line, “a-boom boom boom boom…”  Mr. Kotter asks, “Oh, so you play the bass?”  Freddie replies, “Naw, man, I just like going ‘a-boom boom boom boom…’”  My junior high jazz band teacher called me “Boom Boom Belville” once and it stuck, at least until I became “Radical” Russ in high school.

Endnotes:
  1. Toker Tunes page: http://radicalruss.com/daily-toker-tunes/

Source URL: http://radicalruss.com/why-radical/boom-boom-belville/

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