European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine so View doubt Trombu by Deedee Arrington Doke staff writer t s said that life s Only certainties Are taxes and death. Add a third certainty Rock n rollers on tour will be late for their sound checks. Blues Rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band double trouble held True to form when they were expected at a 4 . Sound Check at the Tus Halle in Neinkirchen West Germany. It was close to 5 . When a second shift of roadies ambled on stage and started to fool around with the instruments. A Guy in a Green shirt took a serious interest in a guitar set close to the stage front. But suddenly the Roadie began to stir up awfully Fine music with the beige toned guitar. Going hatless had rendered Vaughan a Man who never appears without a hat As he Stokes up fiery batches of musical voodoo Chile unrecognizable until the Cool blues master s playing left no mistake As to his identity. It s kind of like a growth off the top of my head said the Austin Texas native who has a Large hat collection that includes a red White and Blue feathered american Indian headdress. I m startin1 to lose my feathers up Here Vaughan added grinning and pointing to his receding hairline so i tend to Wear hats a lot More now than i used to. Maybe i la have a wig hat next  an animated talker Vaughan grinned big and often in one on one conversation during a backstage interview regularly letting Loose with a burst of ironic laughter when something amused him. He recently quit smoking and claimed several times during the 45-minute talk that he sounded like a Gripe  but an unpretentious Basic Good nature was evident along with a pronounced Texas drawl and a Strong resemblance to brother Jimmie of the Austin based band the fabulous thunderbird. Vaughan first picked up a guitar when he was about eight years old and formed his first band at age 12. Two years later he was playing in his first real club with alcohol served playing music he said is the one thing he s always wanted to do. With his three Man band double trouble Vaughan has four albums to his credit including the live alive tour album. Vaughan last visited Europe in 1986 on a tour that marked a traumatic turning Point in his professional and personal life Courtesy of habits less benign than his custom of wearing hats an especially bad problem with alcohol and drug dependencies. I thought it was Cool Vaughan recalled. And after it quit being Cool i thought it was of. And then when it stopped being of i thought i was Tough because i could keep going. And then when it got to where it was no More fun and it was something that was real hard to Deal with then i hid  his excessive drinking and drug use coupled with an exhaustive tour schedule and other personal problems turned out to be More than Vaughan 33, could handle. I almost died Here in Germany about two years ago Vaughan said. All those things together i collapsed had a nervous breakdown the whole bit y know. I found myself in the Hospital with the doctor Ginyou d better get some help and i  joined by double trouble bassist Tommy Shannon Vaughan went through detoxification in London and later through a drug and alcohol program in Georgia. I was Only in there a month Vaughan said. They wanted me to be in there for longer and i probably should have been. However i could t have stayed in because we were booked.  Vaughan turned Earnest when he talked about the is Lynda w. Sparks blues Rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan has conquered a drug and alcohol problem that nearly killed him. Mixed blessings and curses of the music business in general and a Breakneck tour schedule schedules that used to allow As Little As 31/2 hours of sleep on a bus per night while requiring Vaughan to play 16 straight Days of concerts with no Days off. But he s one of the few bandmaster who pays his employees whether he s on the Road or not. So the Journeyman guitarist stays on the Road in part to pay the Bills for himself and his extended musical family. The bigger you get the More Money you spend to make More Money or then you get More Money and less Money s not enough. So you got to make More. And then someone else wants a bigger piece and you hire More people to take care of your Money. And those people want a bigger Cut so they have to hire somebody. It s ridiculous Vaughan said. Overbooked concert Tours have been a Staple of that life on the Road. Vaughan claims he s learning to say no to those who would overextend him. It was like a lot of people in this business Don t have any idea about what the human Side of it is anymore Vaughan said. It s like we re racehorses and we re supposed to be out there on the track. And granted you have to run every once in a while and granted you have to take your exercise and take some walks. But he continued there comes a Point where there Are things that human beings need to Deal with and when you re on the Road you Don t have time to think about those kinds of things. You stuff Emback somewhere in the Back of your head and you forget about it. Or you drink and you forget about it. Or get High and you forget about it. As a result the family Falls apart Bills Don t get paid Friday july 22,1988 nobody takes care of themselves and then somebody gets angry lonely hungry and tired and they take it out All kinds of  armed with a resolve to steer completely Clear of alcohol and drugs Vaughan said the Quality of his life has improved since his world came close to falling apart two years ago. It s slower in some ways which i m thankful for. Slower in other ways which i m scared about Vaughan admitted with an embarrassed laugh. One slowdown that he s not entirely pleased about affected his ability to write music. But it s getting stronger Vaughan said. The truth of the matter is there were Many years spent where i was literally awake Long periods of time. Therefore i had lots More time to come up with More ideas. Now i go to sleep every Day. I m not running my Mouth All the time and my brain s not frying so it s not wide open All the time. So it s slower to write of but that s of he said resolutely. I believe the Quality of what i write s Gonna come up As  when Vaughan returns to the United states this month hell Lay the groundwork for a new album and prepare for a new leg of his tour. He s currently making his Home in Dallas partly to change playgrounds and some of my playmates and partly to be closer to his Mother who now lives there. And he s willing to grit his Teeth and either figure out or accept the distasteful business Side of music " cause i like to play music he said. And i d rather play guitar and have the problems i guess than not play guitar and wish i had. It s a merry go round. But the music s still  the stars and stripes Page 13