|
He has also fished in Fiji, New Zealand, Mexico, Alaska and just about everywhere else he has stopped for any length of time. ESPN cameras were rolling when he reeled in a 650-pound blue marlin off the coast of Costa Rica, but he isn't one for telling tales about the big ones he has caught. Instead, what stands out is one he missed. Every couple years, he went to a fishing tournament with Gene Price, a machinist from South Los Angeles, on a banged-up boat called the Gene Machine. One year, Taj Mahal's then-manager pushed him to add some dates in the fall, so he missed the tournament. "The one year I don't go, the water was hot from El Nino, and the fish that ended up winning was 375 pounds," Taj Mahal says. "Gene pulled it in, sitting in the chair I would've been in, and got $700,000 for it." Even if he landed that prize, Taj Mahal says he would turn 70 just the same, between shows in Kansas City and Colorado this May, on a tour that will take him around the United States, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. His gravelly voice has yet to turn rocky like many musicians his age. He has mastered 60-plus instruments and anyone expecting him to sail into the sunset or sink into retirement should probably think again. "I'm always cracking up when I hear what people think I should be doing," he says. "I'm doing exactly what I always wanted to do, and I still like what I can do musically. I'm doing exactly what I should be doing, every day on the road." Along for his Alaska tour is The Taj Mahal Trio, which heads to Homer on Sunday, Anchorage on Tuesday, Fairbanks on Thursday and Juneau next Friday. All of the shows have nearly sold out.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor