Illinois Entertainer October 2019 | Page 8

I think that laughter goes along with music, as well, because I say with this show that I do that, I take the music very seriously, but the laughter is like an antidote to the seri- ousness. And I enjoy that because you just can’t be unhappy if you’re laughing. Rick IE: When did you first discover you had this twisted sense of humor? RICK WAKEMAN: When I was a kid at school, really. Invariably, I’d never get my IE: What’s the tightest situation your wit ever squeaked you out of? RW: Well, it would have had to do with school. There was one incident in particular, where we had half-term holidays, which are holidays that come up in the middle of the term, and they normally run for three days. But — for whatever reason — I decided that three days wasn’t long enough, and I took three weeks. So I turned up back at school, homework done because I lived quite a long way from school. And by the time I got home and did my piano practice, it was too late to do any homework. So I’d go back to school, and I found one way of avoiding being caned — they used to give me the cane st school — I found out that if I could make the teachers laugh, you avoided being caned. You just got told off. And I found that laughter covered a multitude of things for you, and you could get away with absolute murder, almost. And also, I love laughing. Life makes me laugh, and every- thing that happens in life can be funny. And to the wrath of the teachers and the head- master, who said, “Where have you been for three weeks?” And I replied that I was on my three-week half term, but they said, “You’ve been at this school for seven years, so there’s been 21 half terms, and they’ve all been three days. When did it suddenly become three weeks?” So I said I was told it was, they asked by who, and I mentioned a teacher from another student. “And he said they have three weeks, so I presumed that I would get three weeks, too.” And they just started laughing, going, “Where did you come up with this shit? Just go away. Go Continued from Page 6 Rick Wakeman 10•2019 Continued on page 14 545 Penny Road • South Barrington IL • (847) 428-0562 • corner of Old Sutton & Penny Rd • www.pennyroadpub.com • Open until 4AM OCT 4 Coming Soon: SPECIALS $2 Domestic Drafts SAT OCT 12 Hard Rock Three Days Grace Tribute illinoisentertainer.com october Stollen Enterprise with Onix Price plus Steady Ahead and Spark the Forest Divine Era with Special Guests Bulletproof Jäger Stage 21+ Hip-Hop Show Beer Garden Bethany Anne Ritter FRI OCT 18 SAT OCT 19 FRI OCT 25 SAT OCT 26 Hard Rock Rock HALLOWEEN PARTY HALLOWEEN PARTY Lost Generation Main Level Bookings Contact Kelly Boldt 847-754-6003 [email protected] 8 FRI OCT 11 Dago Red $3 Pabst Blue Ribbon 16 oz cans $4 Beck Cans ARMAGEDDON FEST Rock All Ages Stage with Esculis SLAMMIN' SATURDAYS NOV 2 SAT OCT 5 Hell Patrol $2 Domestic Bottles LOST GENERATION Hard Rock and TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS OCT 18 FRI OCT 4 Stunt Double Hip-Hop Show, Armageddon Fest, The Marcatos, Painted Canyon, The Sheaks, Eleven, National, Four Stroke Baron, Stellar Circuit, Blind the Sun, Extinguish the Sun, A Year Ago Today, No Loss No Re- gret, Edin, Force It, Bad Motor Scooter, Wrath, Leaving Scarlet, Superbig, The Relevant, Unconsti- tutional, Whiskey Kitten, Fern, Ravens, Black Wednesday, Toy Drive. SUNDAY THRU WED DAGO RED and Watchtower The Straight Jacket Crooked Hooks Romance with with Backlash Full Tilt Boneshaker with Corium PENNY ROAD PUB - ALL AGES BOOKINGS: contact Aary Boone @ [email protected] or 773-230-3668 2019