iggy mogo

the gas station band live from chicago.

the other night when i first arrived into chicago i made a stop at a gas station. this was a little after 11pm. i walk in to pay and i see this guy at the self serve coffee station counter setting up his electric guitar. he sees me and he walks over to the cash register and i hand him my credit card. i ask him if he plays and he responds back by asking me if i play. i said a little and we walk over to the coffee station counter and he hands me his brand new fender, he just got it today he says. and it’s plugged into a brand new boss gt-10 multi-effects pedal board. i strum a few barre chords and wow nice axe i say and immediately hand it back to him. and that’s when the fun starts. first he warms up by playing a few riffs/solos, one i recognize as the one from the eagle’s hotel california… then he proceeds to play through other riffs and solos all from the canon of classic rock, western music he says. and at each transition he looks over to me and i nod in recognition of the particular riff or solo. and this guy is good, absolutely amazing! he knows them all. you know i used to work here many many years ago when i was in college, this same station, this same graveyard shift. and i tell him i used to spend my nights here reading and writing, mostly poetry. but he doesn’t seem to understand me. in response he tells me that this is his last week here. he spent a year here working this graveyard shift and now he’s going to back home to India soon. oh no, i say, i just got here, you can’t leave now. i then ask him about Indian music and the sitar, you know how to play that? yes, Eastern music he says and he starts to adjust the knobs on his fender, strums and picks at the guitar testing it out makes some more adjustments and then goes for it. and he really goes for it and i’m just in total complete awe. thinking, this guy is some sort of shankar/hendrix hybrid incarnate somehow playing the sitar on and out of this electric guitar…

well anyway, last night i went to visit him again and this time a friend was there with him with his electric bass guitar. and they jammed. and i recorded them. and i apologize in advance for the crappy video and sound quality.

his name is Sabu, and the bass player’s name is Ragash (sp?) and the world needs to know them now.