SPRINGFIELD – Curtis Salgado recalled one of the first times he hung out with John Belushi – and he quickly put to rest any rumors about the late comedian’s wild-and-crazy guy persona that many fans saw and grew to love on “Saturday Night Live.”
“That was all just a character that he played,” Salgado said after Friday night’s bedazzling blues show at the Wildish Community Theater – the 6th annual Springfield Mayor’s Revue celebration.
“Let me tell you about one of the first times we met here in Eugene. He invited me to come to his place and bring my records, and he was watching ‘Gunsmoke.’ He was looking at all of the small character actors and he would mimic all of them – ‘Mail call for Mr. Dillon, mail call for Mr. Dillon.’ – He even did Miss Kitty.
“He mimics every person on television – that’s how actors become actors. I knew since I did acting in high school that he was riffing. He was practicing his craft. He was serious as a heart attack. Those guys are all like that.
“I was in a room with Dan Aykroyd. He popped open an anvil case, and said, ‘See these things.’ It was strange because I think he was kind of telling me to get my (act) together. It was full of scripts. ‘This is a ghost movie. This is a spy movie.’ And there it was. There was “Ghostbusters,” “Spies Like Us,” “Doctor Detroit” – he wrote all of that with Harold Landis. Those guys are writers and producers. Dan Aykroyd wrote ‘Ghostbusters,’ he wrote ‘Neighbors,’ and he wrote ‘Spies Like Us,’ and he’s into the supernatural. These guys are not just a bunch of goofy guys. They’re brilliant people.”
Salgado, 70, is an Oregon blues legend. He grew up in Eugene, is a 1972 Willamette High School grad, and has been based out of Portland for most of his adult life. He’s won 11 Blues Music Awards, but many people relate to him because he helped create “The Blues Brothers.”
Next year – 2025 – will be the 45th anniversary of the epic movie that Salgado played a huge role in – mostly behind the scenes.
At first, though, he had no idea what he was getting into.”
“I lived with Richard Cousins, the bass player for Robert Cray, and I was in a band called The Nighthawks, and Richard tells me that he had auditioned for a part in a movie they were making in town, and Robert wound up getting the part in this movie called ‘Animal House’,” said Salgado, who has been showcasing songs from his new album, “Fine By Me.”
“So it was about two weeks later – we didn’t have a TV and we didn’t know what “Saturday Night Live” was and I didn’t give a (crap) about any of that anyway – and we were playing a double show at The Eugene Hotel. So on Friday night Robert played first and I headlined, and on Saturday night I played first and Robert headlined.
“That day Robert was filming a scene for the movie. So at that gig, as I was on stage opening up, this cocaine dealer, who was a college kid, comes up and says, ‘Hey, guess what, Belushi wants to meet you.’ I didn’t know who Belushi is. Then I get offstage and this guy comes up and shakes my hand and says, ‘I like your music. I have a friend who plays harmonica too whose name is Dan Aykroyd’. I just look at him, and I’m thinking I don’t give a crap, and he says ‘I’m in the movie that’s in town.’
“Knowing that Robert is in the movie, I didn’t know he was the headliner of the movie, I say, ‘Yeah, Robert Cray is in that movie.’
“He didn’t drop a beat, and he said, ‘Yeah, I saw Robert today, he taught us how to dance.’ I said, ‘Really?’
“Long story short, he said, ‘Let’s go smoke a joint.’ And about five days later, out of the blue, he calls me up and I started telling him about music and what I do. He was really into it. Somehow, he found my phone number and he said his wife, Judi, was cooking dinner, so he said come on up and bring your records. And they ended up dedicating their record to me.
“It’s a loonnnng story.”
Salgado said he loves venturing back to his old stomping grounds.
“I feel like I know everybody here,” he said. “The community is the community, it’s my home. But then I’m going to be on another stage tomorrow, so it all kind of blends together. I’ve always said Eugene-Springfield was a great place to raise your kids, though.”
***
None of the final numbers are in, but this year’s Mayor’s Revue was deemed a financial success.
Springfield Rotary chose Willamalane’s Tiny Ducks Preschool Playground renovation as its signature project this year. There will be a grand opening and open house on Thursday, Nov. 21 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Bob Keefer Center.
Funds were also raised to benefit the Emerald Art Center, which hosts such programs as the Springfield Mayor’s Art Show, the National Juried Painting Competition Spring Exhibition, and the monthly 2nd Friday Art Walk. The Art Center hosted a reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before Friday night’s concert.
