front&center Jerry Fitzpatrick

LITTLE ROCK — He's been on more than 100 musical tours, saw Courtney Love tackle Marilyn Manson on stage after a "tiff " and calls musicians like Aerosmith's Brad Whitford friend.

He's not a famous rock 'n' roller, but Jerry Fitzpatrick is constantly surrounded by those who are as he fills the role of what he jokingly calls "personnel relocation specialist."

Fitzpatrick, a resident of the Benton/Bryant area, has served as the tour bus driver for countless musicians over the years including The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, The Grateful Dead and Milli Vanilli. He's now in his eighth summer of driving for Dave Matthews.

"I'm just happy to be here," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm very grateful and very lucky to have this job. The way it works with most bands, they lease their buses. They don't own them. Because Dave owns this bus, he needs someone to take care of it all the time."

Fitzpatrick was "just in the right place at the right time" when he got the job working for Matthews. He auditioned along with several others for the position. Fitzpatrick said when he backed the bus into BostonGarden with very little clearance for a show, a feat he had done several times before, Matthews was impressed.

"I guess he liked my style. He said, 'I've never seen anyone drive like that before,'" Fitzpatrick said.

While he has a steady gig now with Matthews, Fitzpatrick still drives for other performers when Matthews is not on tour. In recent years, he drove the Jonas brothers for a friend when the friend's mother had a heart attack and also drove for Sarah Brightman, who performed as the original Christine in The Phantom of the Opera.

"I look forward to going to work every day. It's fun to be in a business where what I call 'happy, shiny people' are. It's definitely a plus in my life," Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick is part of a team of 80-plus members who travel with Matthews.

"To me, a tour is just like a business, and to take this business on the road with a dozen semis and a dozen buses takes a whole team, and this is the best team there is," he said. "I can't say enough about the people I work with. I've found my niche. We smile, laugh and joke with each other every day. It's also neat to be a part of something people will never for-get. People always remember concerts."

Fitzpatrick recently coordinated a guitar raff le for Saline County Habitat for Humanity, of which he is an active part when his schedule allows. While Matthews and the band were recording their latest album, Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King, in New Orleans, Fitzpatrick shipped him a guitar, which he autographed and decorated with original artwork.

"He was doing all the artwork for the album, and the artwork on the guitar follows that theme," Fitzpatrick said. "I had talked with Dave about doing this some time back and he agreed. Stan from Guitar Center donated the guitar to us. We originally had plans to auction it off online, but while we were in the process of discussing what to do, the band announced the show here (in Little Rock), so the kids with Youth United decided to rafflethe guitar off at the show."

Youth United is for children and young adults ages 5-25 who want to be involved with Habitat for Humanity. The group meets at 5:30 p.m. every second Monday at the First United Methodist Church in Benton.

Fitzpatrick's involvement with Habitat came from his admiration of Jimmy Carter and his work with the organization.

"I really admire Jimmy Carter, and the image of him on a rooftop swinging a hammer is just a real inspiration to me," he said.

Fitzpatrick added that he felt the Dave Matthews Bandwas such a good fit for him because he shares the same ideals as the band members concerning the environment, healthy eating and supporting the troops. Their actions are a testament to their values. The band and crew members spent a day in Houston helping to frame a dozen new homes for Habitat for Humanity, and Fitzpatrick recalled Matthews asking him to pull over so he could get out and speak with troops that had stopped with a military convoy.

"Dave is a genuine person," Fitzpatrick said. "What he speaks about in public is what he really feels in his heart. It's the real Dave."

Of course being on the road with the stars comes with its share of quirky events as well, such as seeing the looks on customers' faces when Matthews gets a Starbucks craving and asks Fitzpatrick to find one of the coffee houses so he can go in and get his coffee fix. One of Fitzpatrick's more humorous tales is how a woman wound up with his cell phone number tattooed on the back of her neck.

"We were on the road and a car with five women pulls up beside us. They saw Dave on the bus, so they start honking and shouting. One of them writes her number on a piece of paper and puts it up in thewindow. So I call the number on my cell phone and hand it to Dave, and they talk for a while.

"That was in August. Some time in January, I'm sitting at home when my phone rings and a girl says, 'Hey Dave. Whatcha doin' ? ' It took a while to convince her that she wasn't talking to Dave Matthews, but when I did, she told me she had had that number tattooed on her neck because she thought it was Dave Matthews' cell-phone number," Fitzpatrick said. "So there's a girl out there somewhere with my cell phone number on the back of her neck."

Fitzpatrick himself is musically inclined, having played drums for several local bands in the '70s, the most notable being a band called Light Foot. It was while he was playing for the band that he got his first job as a roadie and had tomake the decision to be a musician or work behind the scenes. He started out with a company called Concert Staging Services and then worked for others such as MP Productions and Bill Harrell.

He said he wouldn't say that he "plays" any other instruments but that he "strums on guitars and bangs on pianos." He also enjoys f lying kites, biking, baseball and NASCAR. Fitzpatrick has three children - two daughters and a son.

- hburney@ arkansasonline.commatter of factBirthday: Dec. 5, 1957 Occupation: Tour bus driver for Dave Matthews Family consists of: Two daughters and a son Hobbies: Music, NASCAR, baseball, biking and flying kites I can't live without: Music When I was younger I wanted: To be a jet fighter pilot. My dad was in the Air Force.

What makes me mad: Bad drivers The people I admire most: Jimmy Carter My favorite memories: They're all of my children My goals for the future: To keep smiling and be happy

Tri-Lakes, Pages 132, 133 on 10/04/2009