“If he saw us out on the town, he’d buy us dinner and drinks,” Jeff said.

The next band Bon Jovi opened for was The Scorpions, and Jeff said that’s when everything started happening. Bon Jovi’s record Slippery When Wet went No. 1, and the band went out on its own. They did a European tour, traveling to 13 countries. Jeff said it was better because they often played three nights in one place, so they didn’t have to travel as much. They performed on Pop Rock TV shows in Europe, the same ones stars like Jimi Hendrix appeared on.

Bon Jovi changed merchandising companies. Jeff said the band was burnt out after traveling and playing together for two years on the New Jersey tour and on the verge of breaking up. They eventually did break up but have since gotten back together, Jeff said, minus the original bass player, Alex John Such. After Bon Jovi, Jeff worked with Aerosmith for several months. He said they were a fun band to work for. He sold a lot of merchandise.

“They were all characters,” he said.

After Aerosmith, Jeff went to work for Jethro Tull, led by flutist Ian Anderson. They traveled all over the United States, from the East Coast to the West Coast and everything in between. Jeff said Tull was one of the best bands he ever worked for.

“You have to remember, they were already getting up there in age,” Jeff said. “They didn’t have to do a lot of running around on stage because they were just pure musicians.”

But Ian Anderson was another rock musician who wasn't very nice, Jeff said. He walked around smoking a pipe, just like an old man, Jeff said. He frequently passed Jeff coming on and off stage, within a few feet, but just kept smoking his pipe and went right on by. Jeff finally mentioned to a friend and co-worker that Anderson never so much as said hello. When his friend brought the lack of courtesy to Anderson’s attention some time later, he wrote Jeff a note. It read: “To Jeff, Hello,” followed by his signature, “Ian Anderson.”

After 11 years on the road, Jeff had enough and returned to Valdosta. He went from the bright lights and adoring women to working at Green World, where he stood under a chute with a plastic bag while it dumped dirt on him all day and got in his clothes, or stray pieces of bark ricocheted off his head. He continued selling merchandise on the side, closer to home, for artists such as BB King and Loretta Lynn. He sold coffee for 13 years, which is when I met him.

Asked whether his years on the road with some of rock’s most famous bands changed his guitar playing, he said that, other than picking up a few minor things, it hadn’t. He has his own style and is happy with it.