Hash Howard- Nat Weiss and John and Paul
by Woody Lifton
(the-Beatles-History.com)
Nat Weis with partner Brian Epstein
Hash Howard was a semi-mythological actor and drummer in the late Sixties. Living and working in New York City, Hash played in a number of rock groups. Most notably, the Observation Balloon, a basic hard rock and blues band. Some of his fabled heroics include playing drums with many legendary Rock Stars. Sessions would take place almost anywhere there were amps and drums. One of these happened when Hash jammed with Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix - at the Same Time! Also included here is a recounting of the night Hash spent a couple of hours with John Lennon and Paul McCartney
It was late - after 1 AM - and I was in the disco, Salvation, which was located at Number 1 Sheridan Square, in the West Village of New York City.
I was in my usual location, the back room, where there was a panoramic view of everything in the club, with tables and booths; it was generally more comfortable than being down in the dance area, which was always packed wall to wall with people.
And, as usual, I'd had a few tokes and was feeling pretty good, just watching the crowd.
Then someone came walking through the back room, saying, "John Lennon and Paul McCartney are coming to the Club!" When I asked, they said they heard they were coming with Brian Epstein's NY partner, Nat Weiss, along with a couple of musicians from a lesser-known Epstein group, the Circle (their only hit, Red Rubber Ball).
I then left, hurrying to my apartment - only a few blocks away - to get a little stash in an old, aluminum film container; I hurried right back.
About ten minutes later I was again in the back room, and there was a stir coming from the main room. Walking into the back room were Nat Weiss, John and Paul, a couple of the guys from the Circle, and two of the Beatles' roadies - one named Neil Aspinal - who were more than just roadies, they were confidants, friends, what have you.
Since I had met Brian and Nat a while before this date, and was known by Nat to be ?okay,? I was introduced to The Lads and the others, and we all sat down to have drinks and rap for a while.
I handed the film container to John, who was already pretty stoned. He said to Neil Aspinal, "Neil, do you feel like holding?" and giggled in the way that only John Lennon could giggle. Then John turned to me and repeated my name: "Hash Howard!" And, curled up in the corner of the booth, he giggled again. He was pretty wasted.
Along with the pot I brought, I also brought a little notebook I used to write lyrics. Paul McCartney and I started working our way through the words I'd written.
We got to a set of lyrics I'd written to one of the Beatles' only instrumentals, called Flying. Paul and I went over them and he said that he liked what I'd written. The last word of those lyrics was "be" and Paul remarked that those were Brian Epstein's initials. He then drew a dotted line circle around the word "Be," in my notebook. We seemed to get along very well. Then Paul brought out this tiny little vial, and?
During our conversation, Paul kept repeating the same thing, ?Remember, we?re just like you!? I?ll never forget that; the Beatles? lives were no longer their own, as they were followed by groupies, teenyboppers, and photographers everywhere they went.
A couple of hours later, it was now around 3 or 4 AM, and we all left. Paul and John asked me to come visit them at Nat Weiss' apartment, gave me the address on Third Avenue, and we parted company.
The next day, I showed up at Nat Weiss' apartment building. Somehow, word had leaked out that the Lads were staying there, and there was a crowd of about twenty teenyboppers waiting for a glimpse of John or Paul. I walked up to the doorman, and said "I'm Hash Howard, and Paul McCartney has invited me up."
The doorman called up to Nat's apartment, and I could tell that he was getting the okay to send me up.
Suddenly, there was a loud argument coming from the front door area. There was Linda Eastman (soon to be McCartney), a very pretty blonde woman, with cameras around her neck arguing that she had an appointment with Paul McCartney.
To make a long story short, I got to see the Lads long enough for them to shake my hand, and for Paul to tell me to record my drumming and have Nat Weiss send it to them in England. We shook hands all around, and Paul apologized for the confusion, and said we'd get together sometime in the future.
And with them went my hopes of ever spending any more time with two of the most popular, most loved people of their era, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
