My interview with David Gist

On Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, I traveled to the big "little town" of Hornersville, Mo., to do an interview with David Gist (BTW...if you haven't read the article, click HERE to do so).

David is the transportation coordinator for country music superstar Clint Black. He drives an 18-wheeler across the nation carting Clint's equipment from show to show (Sounds like fun, huh?). He also routes the trips for the other trucks and tour busses.

David has been doing this kind of work for more than 30 years! He's spent the last 15 years with Clint and before that, he worked with several other music groups including: Journey, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, .38 Special, The Black Crowes, Wynonna, Tina Turner, Aaron Tippon, Willie Nelson, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, The Doobie Brothers, Kiss, Prince, Tom Petty, Mitch Ryder, New Kids on the Block, Gloria Estefan, Paul McCartney, Judas Priest, The Who, Steve Miller, Def Leopard, The Grateful Dead, and many more (That's one heck of a line up).

So I get to Hornersville at approximately 2:40 p.m. (Just guessing here) and set forth on my mission to find Gist's home (It's Hornersville...how hard can it be?).

I find his house and as I pull up, he's standing outside in a 1993 "No Time to Kill" tour jacket (vintage!) with his "kid," a snow white cat named Smarty.

As I get out of my car, he greets me and we exchange pleasantries (That's hello, name exchanges, and such). He tells me about a few more cats that he has acquired over the past couple of months (Apparently, while he was on his last trip, a momma cat had four kittens in his shed). We then proceed inside his house.

We enter through the kitchen and then continue to the living room, stopping halfway as he shows me a marble top table that Smarty has staked his claim to (If I bought a marble top table, there's no way a cat would claim it). The original intention for the table was for his phone, but Smarty had other ideas.

As we enter the living room, he tells me to make myself at home and I take a seat in one of the reclining seats of his sectional.

As we began to shoot the breeze, he tells me to follow him and he would show me some memorabilia.

We went into his spare bedroom where the walls were plastered with autographed photos of the different bands he had worked for. He had a picture of himself with Tina Turner. He even had a plaque of Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet" album with the record and a photo of the crew (Impressive.....most impressive).

He then opened this cardboard box. The box consisted of hundreds of back stage passes from the various tours he had worked. It was quite impressive (Have I said impressive yet?).

After talking for a little bit about the different bands and such, I followed him to another room where he had stuff from his career with Clint. He had a candid snapshot of Clint and Lisa, a toy of the diesel he drove during the "No Time to Kill" tour, and various other things.

We then journeyed back to the living room where I took my seat on the couch. Smarty then decides to come and lay behind my head, to which Davis responded, "He must like you. He's never done that to anyone before." (Guess I have a way with animals).

After petting Smarty for a second, I began my interview with David.

He tells me about life on the road (Including how autographed merchandise can help you beat speeding tickets). How he's never been married. The differences between driving for rock-and-roll groups versus country groups.

About half way through the interview, David got a call from a friend of his in Michigan (FYI...That's where I was born). The friend wanted to know if David was going to be up that way anytime soon because he usually brings his friend some fresh pecans and takes home a live Christmas tree.

David told him he wouldn't be able to make it this year.

After hanging up the phone, David tells me about the blue spruce he got last year. He said they had to cut it three times before they could get it to fit in his house, which has 10 foot ceilings (Must've been a big tree). He says there is nothing like having a real tree for Christmas.

After concluding the interview, we venture outside to have a look at his diesel.

He unlocks the door and tells me to hop up in the driver seat. I feel like a kid again as I look out the front glass of the impressive machine (I think I'm setting a record for the amount of times the word "impressive" is used in a blog).

David comes around to the passenger side and opens the door and starts to tell me a little about the truck.

The truck has a set of bunks in it, which Smarty has laid claim to the top, a mini refrigerator, a TV, and a very impressive (There it is again) stereo system with satellite radio (I could live with that).

The truck was originally ordered for country group Brooks and Dunn, but they changed their minds after the truck came in (I do that all the time...this one time, I ordered a stretch Hummer with a 65" Plasma screen...it came in and I was like, 'You know what...I think I'll just go with a Ford Fusion.')

David has a friend at Peterbuilt who then called him and told him to come check it out.

The interior is black and chrome. David has been customizing the dash panel by adding chrome accents and ruby tipped knobs.

On the inside driver door panel, David has attached a Clint Black nameplate from one of Clint's dressing rooms.

In keeping with the black and chrome theme, the outside of the truck is black with silver lettering and a custom steel grate flame decal (Need I say...impressive).

I hop out of the truck and snap a couple pictures of David standing beside it. He then starts the engine and I take a few more shots.

I glance at my watch and realize I have to get back to Kennett to pick my wife up from work (I had fifteen minutes to make a 30 minute trip...I made it).

Before I leave, David hands me two 8x10's of Clint Black and a handful of guitar picks. He apologizes for the photos not being autographed (I said...well that's not good enough and kicked him in the shin....j/k). I tell him thanks and start towards my car. He tells me to come back or call anytime and even said he would have Clint give me a call (If that happens, I'll let you know).

I tell him to have a safe trip on his upcoming venture (He's heading to Vegas the day after Christmas and will be there on New Year's) and get in my car to head home. Before I leave town, I snap a few shots of the diesel's trailer, which is sitting near the gin.

My interview with David was an experience I'll never forget. David, if you're reading this, it was a pleasure meeting you.