Written by Virginia Tech insider and award-winning writer Chris Colston, the HokieFootball Annual 2012 is “The Book of Tech.” Colston presents 11 information-packed chapters on the past, present and future of the Hokie football program. We challenge you to find a single more comprehensive piece of literature about Virginia Tech football. At just $9.99, it’s a no-brainer for any Tech fan. Here’s one excerpt from the book, a follow-up to an in-depth profile of Bud Foster in Chapter Three.
HOKIEFOOTBALL ANNUAL: What is it about you that might surprise some people?
BUD FOSTER: I’m a huge music buff. I’ve got 4,100 of my favorite songs sorted on my computer. I tried ranking them, but the list always changes.
HFA: So if anyone wants to get you a gift, an iTunes gift card works.
BF: That would be the best gift anybody could give me.
HFA: What kind of music do you like?
BF: I like classic rock, old R&B, some of the older rap. I like the blues. Not the cryin’ blues but the Stevie Ray Vaughan kind of blues. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, guitar rock.
I love Eric Clapton. He’s an innovator, a creator. I like the Allman Brothers. Marshall Tucker was one of my favorites from back in the day. A new guy I like is Eric Lindell, He’s kind of a jazzy-bluesy, San Francisco-sound kind of guy. He’s got a unique voice. I’m getting into a lot of good contemporary artists. I don’t know if music is what it once was, but that’s the beauty of iTunes. You can find one artist you like, and it branches you out. My kids (Grant, 25, and Hillary, 23, and Amy, 32) turn me on to a lot of stuff.
HFA: You into Springsteen at all?
BF: Bruce Springsteen, I like him a lot. Bruce is one of those, you can really like him or you can really, you know…there are some of his songs I really like and some…but he’s Bruce Springsteen though. I just downloaded a concert he played in London a couple of years ago. It’s got Clarence Clemons and all that stuff on there.
HFA: What’s this I heard about you squawking like a chicken up at your house on Claytor Lake?
BF: That’s “Chicken Train” by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Growing up I was a big southern rock fan. These guys I hang with at the lake, they play music. I can play the shaker and some stuff. I can keep a beat. I’m the human metronome. At the end of the night, outside at the lake house around the fire, we’ll crank it up and play that song. When that chicken part comes in, yeah, we’ll squawk.
About every other year we’ll have a band for the Fourth of July. Last year was a bluegrass band. My buddies had their band, and they joined together and played “Chicken Train.” I think we get better and better every time we do it. I tell you what, you know we’re having a big time when we get into “Chicken Train.”
HFA: So what’s your favorite meal?
BF: I’m a steak and potato man. Grill out a steak, vegetables on the grill, onions and peppers. I have some good friends down there at the lake who are there all summer long and we’ll cook with each other.
HFA: Dessert?
BF: I’ve always been a cheesecake guy. My mom made a great cherry cheesecake.
HFA: Up at the lake, you have a fishing boat and a wakeboarding boat.
BF: The wakeboarding boat is a 22-foot Centurion. I used to wakeboard, but not anymore. One time I face-planted so hard it flipped my eyelids up. So I quit that. I’ve gotten into this surfing now. That’s the older man’s sport.
HFA: Surfing? On Claytor Lake?
BF: The boat has ballasts, called “fat sacks.” You fill them up with water to push one side of the boat down to create a bigger wake, a bigger curl. If you put four or five guys on that one side, it sets down even more.
HFA: So then what?
BF: You get on the surfboard, hold to the rope, and the boat pulls you up. Once you get going you fling away the rope. It took me a week to learn how to balance. You just have to do it a lot. It’s fun. The younger kids will get out there and spin around, but I just get up and ride it.
TO READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS plus much more, don’t miss the HOKIEFOOTBALL ANNUAL 2012.
Print
That might have only been a ‘snippet’, but I appreciated it. It’s refreshing to see something other than the caricatures of the coaches we see on the sidelines. So now we know that Bud Foster isn’t Spartacus 24/7/365, he actually has balance in his life. It is interesting to learn how he maintains that balance.
There are lots of sources for the technical analysis of game plans, etc. I liked seeing something different for a change. The cliches get really, really old after a few years.
Oh yeah, anyone who likes the Allman Brothers & Marshall Tucker? You KNOW they love Skynyrd, too.
Chris Colston knows Va. Tech better than anybody, Frank Beamer included. If you see any
copies of the HFA available anywhere, get a couple of em, give them to your friends. The
latest issue is Colston’s best work yet, it is a can’t put down, great Read! If you are a true Hokie, pick up some copies, read them on Vacation! Chris Colston bleeds Maroon and Orange, but his work is Subjective and Objective. The Hokie Football Annual is just great!
Cool interview. Get to know what makes Bud tick outside of football.
Great job !!!!! Loved reading it after a long day . With my job I deal with over 200 people a day in the club amenities busness , 198 of them are nice people who never complain about trivial problems… 2 of them can never be satisfied….. I see you have the same problem here…. good luck and great job !
Friends of ours have a lake house a couple feet away…these guys have a great time on the 4th. It’s All American fun. Bud has always been very gracious to us even on “his time”. You should see this old man surf Claytor Lake…it’s quite a sight and very impressive physically.
Bud aint that damn old, he’s a year younger than me!
Buds a Classic . Got to love that man and his passion for what he does.
Glad he is a Hokie.
I’ll have to check out chicken train.
According to some recent photos of Foster, perhaps he should slow down on mom’s cheesecake!
Actually, Bud and the rest of the staff have all lost weight. Frank in particular looks much thinner.
“To read more articles like this”???????
Nevermind.
It’s an excerpt from one small article. The whole publication is great, it’s well worth the money.
Hang in there, Chris.
Hard to believe people who subscribe and/or visit this site would be so d*mn serious.
Lighten up guys and gals – this site is supposed to be fun.
Yeah I’m baffled by the negative responses as well. Thought it was a fun read. Last thing I need is another blow by blow description of how we went from a wide-tackle-6 to a more traditional 4-3 yada yada.
I disagree.
I’d prefer more of what you called “…another blow by blow description of how we went from a wide-tackle-6 to a more traditional 4-3 yada yada.”
I’m not paying $9.99 just to see how Bud has “fun” — i’d want to be paying because I want to learn and understand more about VT football and their scheme.
Why would you pay money to learn how Bud has fun? Why would anyone pay money to hera that? Conversely, does anyone want to pay me money to hear how I have fun? Heck i’ll only charge you $3.00 a pop.
Yeah I know the publication isn’t all about Bud letting lose, but I think you get the point.
It certainly is. Great articles on T. Marshall, Frank, Blacksburg, not to mention lots of great stuff on the team, positions, recruiting, and on and on.
Not sure I give a fig about cheesecake. They should’ve just asked what his favorite color is. Are there many more useless snippets like this in the magazine? If so, I’ll pass. If not, I may consider buying it.
It’s full of great stuff and it’s priced very reasonable.
Outside of TSL, this is the meatiest publication you can find on Virginia Tech. Past, present, future, you won’t find anything like this.
I still can’t get over saying “you know what, i’m not going to do that anymore, it turns my eyelids up”
I’d imagine that is what he would look like to a player on his bad side!
who is really that interested in Bud Foster (or anyone outside family and good friends). Really?
U feeling a bit Hooish today HokieRIC?
That’s funny, right there, I don’t care who you are!
Hm — so if someone disagrees with you their a Hoo, huh? Sounds like McCarthyism to me.
You must be great at a party!
In case you can’t tell – that’s sarcasm. Not meant to be taken personally. It’s used to make a point. In this case, the point is – lighten up!
Please!
TBFY = This Bud’s For You
Without a doubt, Bud is the man.
Stevie Ray! H*ll yeah!
What? No Skynyrd? 4,100 songs? Gotta have some Skynyrd.
You gotta imagine Skynyrd would be. He pretty much hit all the others that would include them.