I’ve had the thrill of hanging out with various affable weirdo geniuses from the Magic Band over the decades, but the strangest meet-up was a dozen years ago with Elliot Ingber.
Guitarist pal Henry Kaiser was visiting L.A., and he invited me to tag along for a super-secret clandestine rendezvous with Winged Eel Fingerling himself. (Henry had first seen Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band perform in 1971, and Elliot’s searing guitar solos were so galvanizing that the next day Henry bought his first guitar and changed his life. You can hear Henry’s band Monster Island play “Alice in Blunderland” on a 1976 7-incher.)
According to Henry, Elliot insisted on meeting after dark in a secluded corner down on Level Five of the underground parking garage at the Hollywood & Highland Center. Elliott had a reputation for shyness bordering on reclusivity bordering on paranoia, and Henry wasn’t completely sure if he’d show up. But suddenly there was Elliott, skinny and bearded, ambling over from a nearby stairwell. He was friendly enough, very happy to see Henry, but he really lit up when Henry surprised him by popping open the car trunk and gifting Elliot a guitar in honor of his years of musical inspiration.
All I added to the conversation was “I really dug you on The Spotlight Kid album.” And that was pretty much my brush with strangeness and greatness.
Winged Elliot Fingerling, you will be missed.
I just remembered “Wispy Paisley Skies” by Fraternity of Man where Winged Elliot plays the shortest neatest guitar solo ever. CBM sez checkitout.