| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Groovel76 |
Posted - 11/13/2001 : 9:53:54 PM
Hey Fluffy. You mentioned in the do you hate fred durst message topic that maybe the reason you don't work a 9-5 job is because you don't follow directions well. I gotta agree, you don't seem like the type of person to have a "normal" job. But how did you get started in the music biz.
Later Man.
P.S. Hopin to see a D.C. stop on the Tour Dates Page sometime.I'll drive long distances for a TR show but dammnit I'm poor and I have a shitty car so play some place close around here please.
Take Care All
Jason Brynarsky
jasonb@smart.net |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| muldercat |
Posted - 07/08/2009 : 11:57:52 PM
Fluffy,
I'm curious, what was Randy Rhoades like?
I also noticed you mentioned Dionne Warwick as someone whose music you enjoy. What do you think Of Dusty Springfield? Dusty was around recording a lot of the same songs! She also wanted to emulate Spector's Wall of Sound. I wish she'd had a guitarist like Tim playing for her. I'm quite sure she would have loved the way he plays.
Millissa |
| Zachmozach |
Posted - 01/23/2005 : 9:30:37 PM
That story about Motorhead is awesome. Our family had a cat named Lemmy, because as a kitten according to my sister sounded like him. |
| KevinLesko |
Posted - 01/23/2005 : 3:16:45 PM
That's awesome! What a cool read, and you know that you officially rule when someone wants to interview you. Thanks for posting that Mr. Fluffy |
| Fluffy |
Posted - 01/22/2005 : 10:24:40 AM
So it seems I had forgotten to post this. I was cleaning out my emails when I found this link to an interview I did back July or August of '04 while on the road with Fear Factory. I meant to post it, but I guess I never got around to it. So here it is:
ON THE ROAD
An Interview with Fluffy Centner
by Joy Sculnick
“If Limp Bizket called me and offered me a job tomorrow, I would say no. I wouldn’t even ask how much money they were paying. I wouldn’t care.” So asserts Fluffy Centner, the supremely loyal and dedicated tour manager of Tim Reynolds and Chris Whitley.
Over the last five years, Centner, a native of D.C, has worked tirelessly to ensure that Reynolds and Whitley’s tours run smoothly, ensuring that these artists have what they need to put on the shows that their fans so crave.
Shunning the hugeness of the music industry, Centner enjoys the smaller venues that Reynolds, a frequent collaborator of Dave Matthews, and Whitley cater to. He recalls accompanying Reynolds when he played with Matthews at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “I’m not such a big fan of that huge – the impersonalness of it. It’s not the part of the business that I like.
What Centner does adore is being able to help artists like Reynolds and Whitley flourish in smaller environments. “I’d rather work for somebody I want to see succeed, somebody I have faith in, somebody whose music I love,” he adds. For Centner, managing tours is not just a job “because I’m working for friends. I’m helping my friends. It’s a great thing to be able to get paid and do something that you enjoy, which is travel. And hang out with your friends and see incredible shows every night.”
Five years ago, Reynolds was embarking on his first solo outing following the Dave Matthews tour that resulted in the much lauded “Live at Luther College.” When Centner, a longtime sound technician, was first approached to join the Reynolds tour as the production manager, he had never even heard of Reynolds. “I was not a huge Dave Matthews fan. I was kind of reluctant at first.” But he was eager to travel and agreed to try the tour for a week.
Early on in the tour, Centner was asked to take over as tour manager because the original tour manager had to go home to deal with a family crisis. “I’ve never bothered to go back and look but whenever I tell this story I always say it was, like, two weeks into the tour because that’s what it feels like. I got a knock on my hotel door, about 8:30 in the morning and it was the tour manager and Tim. They were wondering if I would be willing to finish the tour as the tour manager. I said, ‘Well, you know, I’ve never really actually managed a real tour.’ It was a lot of work because Centner had to now co-ordinate Reynolds’ tour as well as continue being the production and merchandise manager. He says of that time, “It was kind of like being thrown into the fire. If you can get through that, you can get through anything.” Following that first tour together, Reynolds was so happy with Centner’s work that he asked him to stay on as tour manager. Their relationship has evolved quite a bit over the years. Says Centner, “Now I would say we’re friends and I work for a friend more than I think of myself as (Reynolds’) tour manager.”
Whereas Centner had never heard of Reynolds until he was asked to work for him, the tour manager’s relationship with Whitley dates back ten years, when they would meet at Whitley’s shows. Centner, a true fan of Whitley, enjoyed seeing him in performance and saw his shows frequently. As a result, the two got to know each other well.
Following the experience that Centner gained with Tim Reynolds, he offered his services to Whitley. When Whitley set out to promote his 2001 release “Rocket House,” Centner was initially hired on as tour manager, but then completed the tour as production manager. (Whitley’s original tour manager had briefly left then rejoined the tour.)
Not long after Whitley’s promotional tour ended, his relationship with ATO (the label that released ‘Rocket House’) deteriorated and he eventually left that company to record again for the independent Messenger Records. (Whitley’s last original album prior to ‘Rocket House’ was 1998’s Dirt Floor, which was distributed by Messenger.)
Since re-joining Messenger, Whitley has continued to employ Centner as his tour manager. Being on a small label, it is necessary for Whitley to minimize touring expenses. To achieve that end, Centner acts in many capacities, handling Whitley’s stage needs, security, merchandising, and even van driving. But you will never hear Centner complain. He truly loves what he does. “Chris and Tim are to me just the most amazing people as far as where they come from and where their music comes from. It’s so not contrived. It’s so untouched and unfettered by the industry.”
Perhaps Centner will never become rich from managing Whitley or Reynolds’ tours. But he is surely making a profound contribution to the success of these artists as he helps bring their music to the world.
Posted on August 20, 2004
Links:
www.geocities.com/maeve_gael/chris_whitley.html
www.timreynolds.com
www.cbc.ca
Source:
http://www.geocities.com/tour_managing/fluffy_centner.html
The person who interviewed me for this also wrote one of the best stories I have ever read about Chris Whitley and it is posted that story is posted in the following link:
http://www.timreynolds.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4124
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| PJK |
Posted - 12/07/2002 : 07:43:54 AM
Awe.....how cute! |
| Fluffy |
Posted - 12/07/2002 : 06:14:33 AM
PJK said: quote:
my son, like you had fluffy wisps of blond hair.
I had tufts of BLACK hair. HEHE |
| PJK |
Posted - 12/06/2002 : 06:35:35 AM
Awe! I was wondering if that was it. When my babies were born I would love to just hold them close and smell their fluffy hair. My daughter had tons of dark hair when she was born, my son, like you had fluffy wisps of blond hair.
We used my maiden name for my son's middle name as well because my brother had no sons and I didn't want the name to die out. He hates it though and it gives him the initials WAK....oh well!
I really do think Fluffy Hayes sounds kewl! |
| Fluffy |
Posted - 12/06/2002 : 05:25:58 AM
I was born with little fluffy tufts of hair on my head, and my mom was named after her hair, Brunetta, brunette with an A, so VOILA!!
Hays was my mothers maiden name. SIMPLE
Centner is my dads last name. SIMPLE AGAIN
I always thought if I was to suddenly become unlucky enuf to get famous I would use Fluffy Haze and let everyone talk about that silly made up name. HEHE |
| PJK |
Posted - 12/04/2002 : 06:49:53 AM
What is the story behind your name? When you say your full name I think it sounds really kewl! |
| Fluffy |
Posted - 12/02/2002 : 10:22:01 PM
My name is Fluffy Hays Centner. I own a mansion and a yacht! I have one sister, Teri. She lives in LA at the moment. She is a major in the Air Force. We are all very proud of her. My parents are Rick and Brunetta and they live in TX. They are thinking about leaving TX and moving back to DC to finish out my dads govt work so he can retire. They would love to retire in Colorado or Utah. I have lived over 30 different places all over the country. It has been nice visiting old haunts while on tour with Tim. Hooking up with Tim was really good for me cause I really was starting to stagnate in DC. I really like it there but it is nice to taste other places from time to time. Helps you appreciate the place you are more, I think. You also get to see places you would never have gone on your own. I have really discovered some beautiful places touring with Tim that I probably never would have know about. Places like Humboldt Co. CA, Burlington VT and Newport RI just to name a few faves. I have always loved traveling and meeting new people, so this job is really a godsend. When I am not on the road with Tim I have a number of jobs in DC. I work at a vinyl record store called Orpheus, I am the head of security at the fabulous Nightclub 9:30, and I have a band, Albert Strange, and recording studio with my best friend Frank. Frank and his wife Margaret are by best friends and we have many exciting adventures together. I live in an old stone masons warehouse type building with 2 other great friends, Ed and Chad. They both work at 9:30 Club as well. Ed is the night manager and Chad does everything! We call the 9:30 Club, "The Club that Chad built". I also work for a local promoter in DC doing merch for larger shows. I work with my other best friend Brady when I do those shows. You can find pics of Brady on the photos page from the last show in C-ville. He came down and hung out with us for the last few days of the last tour. It was great. T'n't really were happy to meet him. I have 2 cats, Troll and Sidewinder and one 3 legged pitbull named Cyrc, a name I am responsible for. They are really Eds animals but I treat them as my own. It is hard for me to have pets as I am gone so much out of the year. It would not be fair to the animals or my roomies. My cat lives in TX with my parents and their 3 cats. My cats name is Tasha. She is adorable and is nearing the Guinness records book for oldest cat. She is over 21 years old and to my knowledge the oldest cat on record is 23 years. I am hoping she can hold out. My mom says she is doing great and runs the house. When I got her she was the runt of the litter and still people ask my parents how old their kitten is. She is a long hair Calico persian. Sorry I seem to have rambled a bit. I also enjoy movies, music and books. I also enjoy biking when the weather is nice. I go for long rides up the C+O canal. The furtherest I have traveled is 25 miles up and of course, 25 miles back. I hope to one day ride all the way to Harpers Ferry. It would probably be a 2 day trip. 1 day up and of course, 1 day back. There is a big list of my fave things at:
http://www.timreynolds.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=93
This was a post about getting to know the people on the message board post. Maybe somebody should add their personal info to it and bring it back to the top of the list. We have alot of new members since that topic was being bandied about. Love to find out more about you guys. So that is me in a nutshell. |
| Fluffy |
Posted - 12/02/2002 : 03:01:13 AM
Posted - 09/09/2001 : 05:26:54 AM
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I discovered Tim completely by accident! I am sure you all are real happy to learn this. I got a call from a friend who was tour managing Tim and he asked if I could go on the road with him as the stage manager(grunt) and merch guy. I said who with, and he said Tim Reynolds.(RU all sitting down?) I said "Who is that?" He told me he played for DMB but this would be a little different than that. It was the Puke Matrix tour. I had no idea what to expect, but not being one to turn down a free trip and tour, I said what the hell. Tim picked me up at the train station. I was expecting some hippy dippy jam band kinda guy, not really at all being familiar with DMB's albums or music. Here comes Tim walking at me, long black hair, hemp cowboy hat and a Ramones t-shirt. I was like "Whoa" not at all what I was expecting. I had only signed on for one week as i was not sure I could take the strains of DMBish music for much longer than that and I did not know if I would even get along with these guys. Cut to the next night and our first show. BOOOM!!!! Boy was I blown away. Leather pants, silk gloves, feather boas, and ROCK! I mean hard rock, grab you by the groin and not let go. Tim, Johnny, and Houston rocked my world live for the 1st and happily not the last time. I was blown away. Luckily I got along with everyone and they asked me back and the rest is history. Peace and Keep the Faith Fluffy
POSTED FROM THE THREAD:How I got into TIM
http://www.timreynolds.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=78
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| Fluffy |
Posted - 12/02/2002 : 02:57:22 AM
Fluffy
Tim's Tour manager and head of security at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC where I also live and work in a record store called Orpheus.
B-day: Sept 22
Fave Music: Beatles, Beach Boys, Ron Wood, Flaming Lips, Monster Magnet, Rod Stewart & the Faces, Albert Strange, Fear Factory, Chris Whitley, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Britney Spears(thanx to Eura), Kyuss, the Dead(prior to '70), King Crimson, Hank Williams Sr, The Orb, Psychic TV, Throbbing Gristle, KK Null & Zeni Geva, Kiss, Motorhead, Deep Purple, Marilyn Manson, NIN, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Francis Dunnery, Sonia & Disappear Fear, Milla, Einsturzende Neubauten, John Oswald & Plunderphonics, Simon & Garfunkel, Black Crowes, Soundgarden, Public Enemy, Al Green, Robert Johnson, Johnny Cash, Dionne Warwick, Woody & Arlo Guthrie, Fugazi, Minor Threat, The Meatmen, Hanoi Rocks, Sweet, Lords of the New Church, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Janes Addiction, The Who, and on and on and on!!
Fave Movies: Natural Born Killers(anything by Oliver Stone), Spinal Tap, Wizards, Restless Natives, Gregorys Girl, anything by Peter Greenaway(Zed & 2 Naughts, Baby of Macon, Drowning by Numbers) Clockwork Orange, 2001 a Space Odyssey, The Shining and anything else by Stanley Kubrick, The Incident, Barfly, In Cold Blood, Incident at Oglala, City of Lost Children, Delicatessen, Fight Club, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Pow Wow Highway, The Phantom Tollbooth, Memento, Monty Python & the Holy Grail, What about Bob?, Stripes, Say Anything, Smoke Signals, Career Opportunities, Heavy Metal, The Wall, Closetland, Trainspotting, Vanishing Point, Bank Shot, all Planet of the Apes movies, Harold & Maude, Soapdish, Love & A .45, Funny Face, Great Rock N Roll Swindle, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Army of Darkness, Spawn, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, The Commitments, Altered States, Body Double, and films by Ken Russell, the Coen Bros, John Waters, & John Hughes which are to numerous to name.
Fave Writers: Hunter S Thompson, Alexie Sherman, Charles Bukowski, Ayn Rand, Kurt Vonnegut
Fave Artist: Mark Rothko, Dali
For more details on MY LIFE, I have answered another post with alot more info for those interested.
http://www.timreynolds.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=326
THIS POST FROM ANOTHER TOPIC, HERE IS THE LINK:
Getting to know you
http://www.timreynolds.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=93
The above link is a great source of info about alot of the members on the board. |
| Fluffy |
Posted - 12/02/2002 : 02:30:29 AM
Posted - 11/16/2001 : 08:41:59 AM
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My dad is awesome! I grew up listening to Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Hollies, Cheech and Chong, Moody Blues, Guess Who, basically all the stuff my dad listened to. Also lots of 60's groups like Dave Clark Five and Beau Brummels. He was a DJ on top 40 stations all thru the 70s so I was exposed to lots of music thru him. I am quite thankful for it. I remember in my younger daze going record shopping with my dad. He even got me into collecting vinyl. I had quite a collection by the time i ventured out and discovered my first music on my own. The first album I bought without my dad turning me on to it was probably Alice Cooper "Billion Dollar Babies" and from there I was hooked. I have about 15,000 albums and about 5,000 CDs. Imagine what a rich man i would be if it had not been for my dad. Thanx to my dad i am Richer musically. And to me that is much more important. I LOVE YA, Dad!!!!
http://www.timreynolds.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=578 |
| Fluffy |
Posted - 12/28/2001 : 10:34:08 PM
One of the truly bizarre things he used to do was, as soon as the show was over he would run to the dressing room b4 anyone could talk to him and take eyeliner and rub it all over his thumbs and index fingers and then smear it in his eyes, so he had like these big black eyes. Then he would come out and talk to people and sign autographs. I always thought that was so weird. To each his own. What ever floats your boat. That is true about the bat. He did not know it was real and it was too late by the time he had begun freaking everyone in the room out. It takes a certain amount of kewl to keep your composure under those circumstances. I would have loved to have been there when he did it. LEGENDARY!!
Peace & Keep the Faith
Fluffy          |
| enthuTIMsiast |
Posted - 12/27/2001 : 6:12:55 PM
teri, I'm glad you brought this back up....
Fluffy, I would love to hear some of your Ozzy stories. I heard that when he bit the head off that bat long ago, he thought it was a fake bat. And then he bit its head off to find a warm juicy surprise....
which resulted in his getting a tetnus shot and all kinds of stuff.
Anyway, share one if you have time.
-Jason-
I am a servant of the power behind the nothing. |
| jsoldo |
Posted - 12/27/2001 : 3:54:34 PM
Trick question... Lemmy is God!
Peace On Earth
Jon 
"Behold, the power of cheese"  |
| tericee |
Posted - 12/27/2001 : 3:18:24 PM
quote:
Lemmy kept calling me his first american fan. He had me autograph my banner and give it to him and get my pic taken with him. It was so fucking kewl!
In a fight between Lemmy and God, who would win?
teri 
http://www.honolulumarathon.org (I ran under that sign!) |
| Fluffy |
Posted - 11/15/2001 : 05:58:41 AM
Ok, I will try and keep this short but it is a pretty sordid story. First, I grew up around alot of music. Thanx to my dad. He was a guitar player in a fairly famous(on the west coast)surf band. He was asked by Frank Zappa to try out for his band he was putting together called The Mothers of Invention. He tried out and got the job and turned it down. DOAH! My dad is an amazing guitarist as well, that is one of the reasons I never took up the guitar, to much competition. I knew I could never be as good as him. I did take a few lessons but was quickly disillusioned. My dad then became a DJ and more music was in my future. I have always been a huge music fan and always loved going to concerts. I even tried my hand at playing in some bands in high school but never really felt comfortable performing. So I moved into helping out friends bands. I started managing a friends band in high school, they were called Submissive Products. Lots of Clash and Sex Pistols covers and some great orignials. I guess you could say that is where i broke into the business. My first taste of touring and "being with the band" came from my fave band in high school, Motorhead. I went and saw them open up for Ozzy way back when. I think it was Motorheads first tour of America. Everyone there was there to see Ozzy except for me and my 2 friends. I had made a banner that said MOTORHEAD and I had 2nd row tix. After they were done, I managed to sneak backstage and as they came down the hallway they grabbed me and drug me into their dressing room with them. I told them I was their "biggest fan"(which should sound familiar to alot of you) and that I was the guy with the banner. Lemmy told me to go get it cause he wanted it. So I ran and got my banner and my 2 friends and they were in shock. They were like you got backstage? I was like a god to them. When we got backstage, Lemmy kept calling me his first american fan. He had me autograph my banner and give it to him and get my pic taken with him. It was so fucking kewl! I knew then and there I wanted to work with bands. I learned that night that some bands can be as excited to meet the fans as I was to meet them. They ended up taking me on the road for the next few shows and i was hooked. It was so awesome hanging with Motorhead and Ozzy. That was the Randy Rhodes period, he was such a nice guy. Ozzy was really weird. I have all kinds of weird stories from that tour. Later I moved to England with a girlfriend and because of my status in that country, I could not get a real job. So I had to work under the table. I started going to see some of my fave english bands and hooked up with them and they ended up taking me on the road. It was very easy to work under the table when you are working for bands. Then I came back to the states and all the bands I had worked for in England hired me when they toured over here because it was cheaper than bringing over english crew. After a stint with a bunch of glam rock bands, I got a call from my old friend from Submissive Products. He had just been asked to join Glen Danzigs new band Samhain. He wanted me to be his drum tech. We had a few practices but things did not work out with Glen and the entire band quit and joined Tesco Vee to become the new Meatmen. I spent the next two years working for the Meatmen and that was great. After the Meatmen, I decided there was no way to make a career out of grunt work and I needed to get a technical job. That is where the money was at. So I went back to DC and located a friends ska band and offered my services as a soundman. They were a 10 piece ska band, what better place to learn to do sound. After that doing a rock band was a breeze. We had quite a big local following and even pretty good exposure up and down the east coast. Others would come to see the band and be quite impressed with my soundman abilities and I started getting lots of job offers from local DC bands. I ended up taking one of them as The Now fell apart, and that is how I met Frank. Frank and I started working together and started a recording studio together and still work together to this day. Then about 3 years ago, I got a call from a friend who worked for TR and asked if I wanted a job touring. It had been so long that I had been stuck in DC, I decided to take it and see what happened. The rest is history! (for more details on the TR hookup story see this thread: http://www.timreynolds.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=78
Peace & Keep the Faith
Fluffy   ( <>..<> ) |
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