BURNED - Living Through the 80s and 90s as a Rock Guitarist by Bobby DeVito

Author:Bobby DeVito
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: self
Published: 2010-07-04T04:00:00+00:00

FroM 20,000 To 20

Once again single, I plunged into the Tampa nightlife with a renewed vigor. Tampa is a great town to be an alcoholic, and I could drink nearly anywhere I wanted for literally no money. My local stature had risen quite a bit since all the press for LVX Nova and for all my international touring. And Tampa had a vibrant drinking scene of which I partook in gratuitously. Most of the poor artist types used to hang out at The Hub in downtown Tampa, the kind of bar that had been there for 50 years, served the strongest drinks in town, and had the best jukebox.The Castle had Goth Mondays, which were always the best party in town. And the Oak Barrel and New World Brewery were in full swing as well. I had decided, after seeing Sherman play solo acoustic in that small Italian club, that I was going to do the same thing. Although I still played in bands when I got calls for gigs, I began to play a little Irish Pub in Ybor City that would change my life – The James Joyce Irish Pub. Situated directly on 7th Ave in Ybor, the pub was upstairs on the second floor above a horrible little fratboy bar called The Green Iguana. Most of the redneck weekenders that visited Ybor from the surrounding towns like Lakeland and Ocala had no idea the James Joyce even existed. And we liked it that way. The Joyce was an exclusive little place, owned by a pixie-ish little Irish guy from Dublin named Richard. He had imported much for the wood for the bar straight from the old country, and had his Guinness taps set up with the proper blender for the gases. We were a favorite hangout for the US Guinness reps, and had one of the best selections of imported beer in town. It was a perfect place for me to perfect my drinking lifestyle.

After having seen nearly everything in my life turn to crap in a couple of years was unsettling, to say the least. I had lost my gig with Sherman, lost two wives, lost my record deal, and lost a great deal of selfconfidence. I began to drink with an intensity that I had never known. In the past, I would have 4 or 5 beers in an evening over the course of a four hour gig. I did indeed get really drunk occasionally back then, but it was not a nightly occurrence. At the Joyce, I started really drinking to excess. I had carte blanche to drink as much as I wanted, and even began to bartend on my off nights to make extra money and drink more. Richard was very forgiving to me, and was concerned. He asked me one time “Bobby, are you OK, son? I have been doing the math, and you drink a keg of Guinness by yourself every ten days. It’s not the money I’m worried about, it’s

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