The Cafe Shockedelica: Bob Bogle, RIP

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Bob Bogle, RIP

Bob Bogle died. I won't be mad if you ask, "Who?" His was not a household name, generally. He was the bassist for the legendary instrumental band, The Ventures. He was 75. He died of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Cancer.

I went to see The Ventures once, back in the late 90's. Mel Taylor, the original drummer, had already passed on and his son, Leon, had taken his place. That was one of the great shows I'll always cherish attending. That the Ventures toured America was a rarity at that time, but to have come to Pittsburgh, well that was extra special. The venue was set up as a nightclub, with tables dotting the dance floor. I sat up front and was blown away at the musicianship. They played 2 sets broken up with a 15 minute intermission. At the end of the first set, everyone stood up and gave a standing ovation. As the Ventures left the stage, they passed right by my table. I was smiling and applauding. Bob Bogle looked at me, smiled, and extended his hand. I shook his hand and said, "Nice to meet you". He firmed up his handshake and gave a small smile in return. A moment later, I looked at my friend Randy and it had dawned on me: I just met a Rock Legend; Nay, a Rock God!

After the show, We all got autographs and had our pictures taken with the band... except for Bob. We searched for him, but he had already retired to the tour bus with his beautiful wife, Yumi. I wasn't sad, though. That handshake and smile was worth a million pictures. RIP Bob, I'll always remember that night.

Here's a photo from that show. It's Leon Taylor and Bob Bogle during "Caravan". Leon is drumming on the Bass Strings while Bob manipulates the fret board. It was magic.