The David Crosby Story

I think I am safe in assuming that most people know who David Crosby is. But, just in case, he is best known as a musician, a member of Crosby Stills Nash & Young. He has also made headlines after he received a liver transplant & was the sperm donor to Melissa Ethridge.

Back in the mid 90s, I was working at a Marriott as the Guest Service Manager. This hotel was the nicest, reasonably close hotel to a local outdoor amphitheatre, so a lot of the bands would stay with us. I had a lot of contact with the bands in my position. My job was to make sure they were happy and had a lot of leeway in accomplishing this.

So, Crosby Stills and Nash check in to the hotel. Shortly after I had the bellmen deliver the bags, I get a call, it is David Crosby. He wants to know if there is a computer store nearby where he could get one of those new mapping programs (yes, they were new back then) written for MAC. I make a few calls; the only one I can find for MAC is all the way down in Greentree. He comes down and asks for a cab. I tell him that I can take him down in my car, if he likes, that way he won’t have to worry about a cab back, because of the time he had to leave for the show. He said that would be cool. So, David Crosby jumps in my Honda Civic and we take off. He was really cool, not stuck-up at all.

We get to the CompUSA and he buys the program. He asks if I have time for lunch… there was a Chi Chi’s right there and he was sick of hotel food. So, we had lunch. Then he wants to walk around the mall a while. We go to the bookstore and he picks up a few paperbacks for on the bus. We go in the music store… he signs a few autographs. There is a musical instrument store that we go in. He picks up a guitar and plays a song. People are all around now and it is getting late. I tell him we better get going or he’ll miss the bus to the venue.

As we are driving back, I put in a CSN cd… Suite Judy Blue Eyes… we are singing it in the car. We are really running late. As we get near the hotel, we can see the busses pulling out. He calls the road manager on his cell phone, who is pissed. David asks if I can just drive him to the venue, I say “sure.” We follow the busses out the show. The busses go through the gate and we pull up. The guard asks to see my pass. I say “I don’t have one, but I have him.” David leans over so the guard can see him, we are let through.

We go around back. He gives me a back stage pass & a seat down front. I hang out back there with the road crew actually playing basketball. There is a big spread of food and a well stocked bar. After I hang out a while and the band has started, I go out, find my seat and watch most of the show. I did venture back stage again, to hit the bar, but it was getting late, I was getting buzzed and I had a long drive home. Time to bolt.

So, that is my David Crosby story. I hung out with him for an afternoon… and even sang a song with him in my little Honda Civic.