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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1981)
ational TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1981 ac flush buses newest status^ symbols^ itibemta” escribed long, red, ling betwetjli It is desi , flexible nffte' ail, andsln eeds on wb : say. id depictioi resemble irontosaunij 'e become years Entertainers take to the road in style United Press International [NASHVILLE, Term. —A tear- \Tammy Wynette passed crisp )0 bills to the crew and then nned the wheel to drive her ,v $250,000 touring bus out of he garage. It was Wynette’s second cus- with an app om-made bus — complete with a >w on theri bur-poster brass bed. ^Climbing airline fares — parti- larly on short-haul flights — ye caused more and more enter- Iners to take to the road again. The cash-rich entertainers ride style. Their homes away from |me are luxurious. The “Black Beauty,” a custom uece < ged in 7(1 just sold for use in the Rolling an said, me, there oes, it would Vrthur) toes tour, boasts a remote- [ntrol color television-videotape lokup complete with tapes of Jst-run movies, a microwave len, a trash compactor, a mobile i WorldV Jiephone, a $13,000 stereo sys- s.” Em and a computer bar that doles It shots of bourbon, gin, whis- |y, vodka and scotch. It sleeps up 12 and there is a “state room” B-the group’s star, Mick Jagger. “We want you to be as comfort- S|ljle in one of our buses as you ■mid be sitting in your own me,” said Jerry Messier, a for- cabinet maker who left Cali- v 0■iliafour years ago to build buses ^ WH tfe Music City Manufacturing of Nashville. “We use any aterials we can to make the bus ormation, 1 :ct in 1971J more plush. Expense, of course, is usually not a consideration.” Burt Reynolds just accepted de livery of his $400,000 custom mas terpiece, but unlike most enter tainers, Reynolds plans to use it as a dressing room on the set of his new movie, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” “Burt’s like a kid with a new toy, ” Wayne Charleton, the firm’s business manager, said. The company, owned by David Jackson, was formed in 1962 to make the most popular version of the pedal steel guitar — Sho-Bud. The guitar company was purch ased in 1979 by Baldwin Piano Co., forcing Jackson to look to other ways to use his expertise in metal fabrication and cabinetry. He turned to custom buses. Wynette, Reynolds, John Con- lee and T.G. Shepherd have pur chased buses. The firm has leased buses to other stars, including Kim Carnes, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Paycheck, Loretta Lynn and Mel Tillis. Reynolds’ bus is the most ex pensive bus ever made by Charle ton and his crew. It only sleeps one, has a dressing room and makeup room, hand-laid stone tile, a brass sink and air brush artwork covering every piece of wood. Messier said Reynolds decided to get the bus after seeing one owned by Dolly Parton. “It’s a status symbol for many of these entertainers,” he said. “Burt saw Dolly Parton’s bus and loved it. She planned to use her bus on the set of the movie ‘The Best Lit tle Whorehouse in Texas.’ Univer sal Studios was just going to give Burt a trailer. “He said, ‘Wait a minute, I’m the star,’ and decided to get us to build him a bigger bus.” “Reynolds wanted a jacuzzi or a hot tub in his bus, but we talked him out of it. That might present a problem with the floor collapsing or the bus shifting weight sud denly. “Burt didn’t want to be cramped in his bathroom. He wanted to make sure his knees didn’t touch his chin.” Charleton said Reynold’s show piece bus already has brought the firm more clients. “The Robert Redfords — they’re not going to let Burt Reynolds get ahead of them,” Messier said. Charleton said his firm is cur rently working on a voice- activated computer that, on verbal command, would start the engine, turn on the lights or crank up the stereo. The price of the computer is about $20,000, he said. The company’s sales depend on word of mouth. “We have no vast sales organization,” Charleton said. “The only sales we do is answer the telephone.” The buses are purchased from American Eagle Manufacturing Co. in Texas for about $130,000 and then brought to the garage in Nashville for renovation. Messier said: “(The bus) comes with the engine and driver’s seat. Then we customize.” It takes six to seven weeks to turn an empty 40-foot-by-7-foot shell into a plush bus. Depending on the job and the depth of the entertainer’s pocketbook, interior designers, artists and other advis ers may be called in. tainers to buses.” There’s another reason that is especially attractive for entertain ers who have a problem making ends meet with the Internal Re venue Service. Messier said: “It’s very profit able for entertainers and us as far as a tax writeoflp. It’s the only way to go and be comfortable and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than renting a plane.” Battalion Classifieds Call 845-2611 “I won’t build a formica-type bus and my boss won’t either,” Messier said. Charleton said airplane fare hikes, the gasoline crisis, the dis continuation of Amtrak rail service in the Southeast and the air con trollers strike helped “sway enter- irs later, [year, h produce.! barrels of c s him thous id result)'))] K) barrekd rm is enerr pt for annually rady makes return Vhite House visit United Press International WASHINGTON — A mistv- oil and gas 'ed James Brady, with President :agan at his side, returned to the :ingsystemlfliite House press room in a system isMheelehair Monday and, display- |ghis customary wit and warmth, reporters: “I miss most of The presidential press secret ary was on hand for the formal dedication of the newly refur bished press room. dispute v inure res asfe methane a ket for salel ihasystemil Brady gave the thumbs-up sign as he was wheeled in and said: “It’s nice to be back. Hello, good friends. ” nethane BE 1 ' His return to his former baili- Jick was the first official visit rady has made to the White louse since being shot in the [arch 30 attempt on Reagan’s Reagan told the gathering: “Jim Brady is my press secretary.” Turning to Brady, he said, “Jim, we re all waiting for the day when you are back for good.” lure of!)ii| Society of Petroleum Engineers Meeting Howard H. Hinson Chairman of the Board Texas Pacific Oil Company to speak on “Oil Companies in the ’80’s” Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m. 102 Zachry WHAT'S FOR DINNER? fl^PASTA'S PIZZA OF TEXAS TUESDAY NIGHT PIZZA • FRIED CHICKEN • SALAD Only $rz.99 There's no Pizza like Pasta's Pizza! 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