Behind the Scenes

This was the day Stevie gave me a beautiful and rare old P-Bass. He carved the words "SOUL TO SOUL" with a wood burner on the pick guard. This bass is very precious to me. I also like the way Stevie looks. Check out his pipe. He was as happy giving me this bass as I was receiving it. The picture on the wall behind us was a dear friend of ours; his name was Stubbs. This is a Polaroid that Stevie etched "Soul to Soul" into with a pen. It's the same as what he carved onto the bass he gave me. Stevie with his double neck guitar. Me and "Greasy Wino" ... uh, I mean Reese Wynans. Photo Credit: Sky Kaly Photographer comment: I took this picture at the 1985 JVC Jazz Festival in Newport, R. I. Here Stevie is, riding Whipper’s scooter all over the neighborhood - around the block, up and down the street. The neighbors started recognizing him. People were standing outside, scratching their heads. What the hell is Stevie Ray Vaughan doing here, riding all over the place on a scooter??! Can you imagine walking out your front door and seeing this? Wouldn’t that seem a little strange? Kind of surreal. I just stood there laughing my ass off. This was taken in the studio during the Soul to Soul sessions. Stevie was a great drummer! He could play a shuffle as good as anyone. He had a hard time finishing the song, because he didn’t play everyday.
Stevie taking a break in the studio. I love this photo so much. This is Stevie with my cat, George Jones. Stevie and I named him, because we both loved George Jones the singer. George was a gift from Keith Ferguson. Keith was one of my best friends. He’s gone now. Keith was absolutely the coolest guy in the world. Showing off our bellies. The look on Stevie’s face means he has turned into "Bwaydy" -- a totally different guy! We all had our fun alter-egos offstage; in fact, we had several. (You don’t even want to know some of our nicknames!) We had a lot of secrets. This is definitely Bwaydy! This part of him you never saw on stage. I loved them both. Another "Bwaydy" photo... I have never seen this guy before in my whole life.
This is us dancing. I am doing the Rat Dance, one of my favorites. Stevie had many dances too. This photo shows our depth of being, and is a deep insight into the artistic side of our nature. It reflects the struggle toward perfection. As you can undoubtedly see, there is great beauty and gracefulness flowing through our bodies, the culmination of a lifetime of hard work and devotion. Come dance with us. This is what I looked like every morning while on tour. A real look at us. All in the family. Love this photo. The face I am making at Whipper (Chris) shows the kind of humor him and I had. always picking on each other. It was fun. We wrote songs about each other that you wouldn’t believe. Hopefully you will never hear them. Here we are, goofing off again! Stevie trying to become the ping pong master. Passing the time...
Me taking a picture of Stevie while he's taking a picture of me. I think this picture of us was taken in Finland. I like this photo a lot. Me and the P Bass. Photo credit: Jimmy Stratton Photographer comment: Taken at night at the hotel during Soul to Soul Sessions, Tommy is sitting in a window. Stevie and I smoked pipes for a while; this was obviously taken in some hotel room from that period. This is me playing the P Bass Stevie gave me. It plays like a dream. This bass is so dear to me. I keep it locked away.