working

FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASEApril 30 2011

The Bo Porter Good Friday incident: Harley meets deer- Bo meets Fitzhugh Road

Bo Porter is alive and well, and has been dubbed a charmed man.

For those of us on the Facebook Bo Porter Fan Page, we were well aware that Bo got banged up on the bike that Good Friday, April 22, 2011 only three days after returning to us after several weeks on a European tour. The status updates concerning the wreck were mild. We were told he was okay. There were jokes made back and forth between Bo and friends/ fans…, that is until the photo of the helmet he was wearing was revealed. With all the white marks contrasting the solid green ‘brain bucket’ it looked as if Bo had left the thing under a pigeon roost. *gasp* One friend/fan from The Netherlands writes a comment on Facebook, “Gee Bo, because everyone was making jokes, I had no idea it was that bad.” I think Ms. Jolanda Kuijpers spoke for all of us on that one. The Porters are the antitheses of alarmists it seems, so here is the skinny on the whole back story.

Bo Porter was headed out for a wedding gig in the Fredericksburg area when he hit a deer on the motorcycle (if you know Bo, he comically refers to the beloved bike as “the motorsickle”). He then landed on his head, shoulder and left side while the bike landed on his hip and they both slid for the ‘short’ (his word) distance of 15-20 feet right into a gully off Fitzhugh Rd at just about the Blanco County Line. What happened then was nothing short of amazing. Bo called his bass player, Huck Johnson, who turned his truck around to pick him up for the gig. That’s right, the wedding gig. An earnest Bo says, “I couldn’t let the lady down. I was playing her wedding and she was so excited. Besides, if I quit there are three other guys out of work.” That’s our Bo Porter.

Pinky’s towing was called to pick up the bike, and Bo was mighty grateful to Paula for helping him out. Sadly, the bike had to be towed to Cowboy Harley Davidson for repair. “They picked up the bike, and I couldn’t be there. I had to get to my show,” Bo lamented. After the scheduled performance Bo limped down to Luckenbach, Texas, and pitched a well -deserved drunk. He then played 3 more shows that weekend.

Thanks to HAAM, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, Bo was able to receive some medical treatment and x-rays once he took care of his entertainment obligations. The doctor treated Bo Porter for some busted ribs, a severe hematoma on his left side, and some superficial scraping. The doctor was quite amazed that Bo Porter walked away with relatively minor injuries after the ‘slip n slide act’ on the hard pavement ordeal, which brings me to the subject of motorcycle helmets. According to Bo’s wife, Andrea,” Bo made the decision to wear a helmet that day for the first time in months, due to losing a friend just the prior week to a bike accident resulting in a fatal head injury. I am sure this decision mitigated what could have been deadly consequences for Bo as well.” When asked how the two handled such a close call so calmly, Andrea joked “Oh this is just an addition to a long list of bazaar accidents Bo Porter has survived in a lifetime. Besides the Good Friday deer, there was a flying tire incident, a collision with a load of llamas, he was once crushed between a load and a crane, polar bears in Alaska, he hit a moose on a motorcycle back in the 80s, and there is an irrigation canal and a utility pole somewhere in California…, and I’m pretty darned sure I haven’t listed them all.” When you ask Bo about playing four shows immediately after wrecking his motorcycle, and busting himself up, he will tell you it’s about respecting his audience and having integrity.

“I don’t want to be ‘no show Bo’, --I don’t want to be that guy. If people are going to spend their hard earned money on a night out for a Bo Porter show, they should get their money’s worth.”

Yes Indeed. We always get our money’s worth at a Bo Porter show.

Was it a Good Friday for Bo Porter? It seems to have been closer to “Divine”.

D.J. Ringstaff

###

for more information

www.BoPorter.com

bookingboporter@yahoo.com

Bo Porter & Company

PO Box 342666 Austin, TX 78734 Telephone 512-653-2065