I remember the very first time I had ever heard the name Clay Babb.  It was from a childhood friend of mine named Karl Reiche.  Karl and I have been friends ever since we were youngsters back in Orlando Florida, and I actually taught Karl to play bass guitar for the sole purpose that he and I form a band together back when we were about 13 years of age.

Karl had left for California with his dad back in “75″ and then in “80″ came back to Orlando to play music with me again, and it was then that Karl brought back stories of the Bay Area music scene, how exciting, cutting edge and vibrant it was, and also about this particular guitarist who could play the most monstrous guitar and chord progressions… And that person whom Karl was referring to was Mr. Clay Babb.

I left Orlando in April of “80″, along with Karl, for sunny San Jose, California and for the lure of stardom which it had to offer, and I finally got to meet Clay.  At that time he was involved with a very innovative space/metal project, and boy let me tell you that Karl was right in that Clay was surely a monster guitarist and simply a wonderful artist period!  Clay and I hit it off immediately, and although he and I most surely had music and playing the guitar in common, it would not be until nearly 30 years later that I would learn just how much he and I actually did have in common.

I was recently talking to a mutual friend (and also one of my very best, old friends) James Bohn.  Jimmy is one of the finest drummers that I know, and incidentally his dad Wally was the one who urged me to get back into hunting all those years ago.  “Go get yourself a shotgun” Wally said, “That will be the best meat gun you could ever buy.”

Wally was an old Okie directly from Oklahoma and he knew all about subsistence hunting.  This whole exchange between Wally and I began one day when I casually mentioned something to him about getting back into hunting so that I might be able to feed a group of “Starving Musicians”!

But, I digress; I can save all of the ensuing tales concerning me getting back into hunting for another campfire story.

So back to my story,  also just like Clay, I had stopped hunting for a few years in order to pursue other wild game such as long legged Girls, who generally did not like such things as killing animals.  And as James and I were conversing about those old times, I had asked him about Clay and how he was doing these days.   “That guy is a huge rock star over in Japan, and you can find him on My Space,” stated Jimmy!  
 
Well, I looked on My Space and there Clay was, onstage over in Japan and rockin’ out with his new band named “SnatchMaster“.  I sent Clay an e-mail and when he wrote back, that is when I learned a few things about Mr. Babb that I never knew.

First, he is of Native American decent (like myself) and not just any old tribe either… Choctaw ! (like myself) and he had also gotten divorced and remarried to a beautiful Asian lady, 12 years his junior (again, like myself). Also we both had fathered children at the ripe young age of 48 years !  The only difference being that I have two young children, a son and a daughter whereas Clay currently has one son.  I would be willing to bet that his wife is placing slight pressure on him to have another baby just like my wife did, and is still doing right now.

Clay also (ever since I have known him) has been into re-vamping old Harleys, and that is an art within itself and you can check out some of his artistic talents concerning his motorcycle crafts at his shop in Fukuoka Japan, Old School Iron.

But putting all of that aside, not really aside but, in order to feature the most exciting thing which I discovered about Clay is the fact that (like myself) he grew up in a hunting family. Right here in San Jose, California, back in the ‘50s, Clay’s uncle and a few friends had leased a large tract of land strictly for their passion for the sport of hunting. This was also, coincidentally, right about the time when the pursuit of wild boar was starting to become very popular here in California, and back when the wild boar were considered by the State to be nothing more than varmints, as tags were not required to shoot them back then.

Clay then began to regale me with some very rich and colorful tales about his early days spent with his Uncle out in the California and Nevada wilderness from “64″ through “77″ pursuing the ever elusive wild boar, deer, pheasant, duck, goose and more.

So to those of you who believe that Ted Nugent is the god father of  “Rock N Roll Hunter’s”  I am here to set the record straight. Clay and I were doing it all long before Uncle Ted ever even thought about it!  No disrespect towards Mr. Nugent meant at all, just that he got very famous for it.  Ol’ Uncle Ted is a great artist, and he really has been a wonderful advocate for hunting and outdoor sports people all over the world!

So, if there are any other Hunter/Rockers or Hunter/Musicians out there reading this I would love to receive a hunting yarn or two from you so that we might publish your story for us to read around the campfire. I can’t guarantee you fame and fortune by doing so, but it sure would be nice to give a little recognition to others who have traveled the same, sometimes rocky, road of being a hunter while working in the entertainment business… an industry which is filled with misinformed individuals concerning the sport of hunting.  And also I am sure that other outdoor person’s would enjoy an exciting tale from someone who simply just loves to play music as well as enjoying the thrill of the hunt.