Skunk Baxter story mentions SD
Andelain
By DEBORAH ORIN
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May 14, 2001 -- WASHINGTON.
STUDIO musician Jeff "Skunk" Baxter started out strumming for Steely Dan,
then played funky guitar solos for the classic rockers The Doobie Brothers.
But now, the son of the '70s drug culture is advising the government on its
nuclear defense strategy.
Baxter is a self-taught missiles expert who heads to the Pentagon several
times a year to get briefed on Son of Star Wars, the defense plan backed by
President Bush.
"The guy is absolutely brilliant," says Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, spokesman for
the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, of the floppy-mustached,
52-year-old college dropout.
"You can get into a conversation with Jeff Baxter over the most arcane
scientific details of ballistic theory, intercept solutions, command and
control. I'm lost in the first five minutes."
Baxter, a studio musician who's backed the likes of Ringo Starr, Sting and
Barbra Streisand, joined the Star Wars civilian advisory board after writing
a paper on the subject in his spare time. The paper was passed on by a
friend, U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), whom he met at former
California Gov. Pete Wilson's inaugural while chatting about human rights in
Burma.
"The next thing I know, I'm advising members of Congress and the Ballistic
Missile Defense Organization at the Pentagon," Baxter says.
The rocker - who refuses to say why he got dubbed "Skunk" - says he had no
trouble teaching himself about Star Wars because "I've taken the time to
study it. There's different ways to learn. That's what I love about America.
"This country has been very good to me, and I think I owe it at least the
responsibility of being responsible. I've just picked missile defense
because the possible consequences of not dealing with it are frightening,"
Baxter told The Post from his home in Los Angeles.
THE civilian advisory panel's role is mostly to help educate the public
rather than to tell military folks how to build futuristic weapons, but
Lehner - an old Steely Dan fan - says Baxter brings something special to the
table as a rocker.
"His particular expertise seems to be in things like acoustics, electronics,
some advanced technology with regard to sound," Lehner says.
"Acoustics and sound may play a role in what we call discrimination - being
able to distinguish a warhead from a decoy - and also some advanced control
and command-type work."
Meanwhile, in the background, Baxter's other life is clamoring.
He's home for a few days between musical road trips, trying to find time to
do the laundry and juggling studio sessions.
Three impatient guys are demanding to know why he's holding up the recording
session. But still, he wants to talk about Star Wars.
"Israel is deploying an anti-ballistic system. India has leased one from
Russia. And so, if we're crazy to think about this, why are other people
doing it?" he says.
Baxter recalled how he explained Star Wars to The Washington Post recently.
"If you're in a room with two people aiming guns at each other, it's rather
easy to keep track of who has the guns. But if the room begins to fill up
with people holding guns, you might want to consider the possibility of
wearing a bulletproof vest," he said.
The Washington Post gossip column laughed that off as the kind of riffs
"that make the groupies swoon," adding: "We're not sure we understand, but
it has a good beat, and you can dance to it."
But Baxter, unruffled, says he meant that once upon a time, only the Soviet
Union and the United States had nuclear weapons, but now, lots of other
countries do, including rogue states, so a missile-defense shield is needed.
BAXTER doesn't want to talk about his own politics, but it's no surprise to
learn that he's a Republican. He even briefly hired a campaign consultant
last year to mull tossing his beret into the ring in a race for Congress,
following in Sonny Bono's footsteps.
After all, if Minnesota can elect a pro wrestler named "The Body" as
governor, why not a congressman named "Skunk"?
The consultant, Dale Neugebauer, told the Los Angeles Times that Skunk was a
natural because "the rock-star image plays to the younger voters, and he was
in a band that was very familiar to baby boomers."
At the missile-defense center, spokesman Lehner - who's known Baxter for
years - says he thinks a lot of people have trouble believing a rock star
could care about missile defense because it's not a liberal issue.
"Why is it deemed totally acceptable and rational for a rock star or movie
star to be very active in 'Save the Rainforest' and not active in missile
defense?" he asks.
"People think of something they might call a conservative cause being out of
sync with a celebrity. It's fine for Alec Baldwin to be in favor of the rain
forest, but it's somehow weird for Jeff Baxter to be for missile defense."
fretmeister
i should have known he was a war-freak, cause why would he wear a barret then!
hehe
AcKBaR[KAC]
>Baxter, a studio musician who's backed the likes of Ringo Starr, Sting and
>Barbra Streisand,
>
>
>
>learn that he's a Republican. He even briefly hired a campaign consultant
>last year to mull tossing his beret into the ring in a race for Congress,
>following in Sonny Bono's footsteps.
>
>
gig goodbye.
Poo
<eMbM6.5436$gc1.5...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>...
> ROCKER SCIENCE: EX-DOOBIE IS MISSILE DEFENSE ACE
>
>
> By DEBORAH ORIN
>
>
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> May 14, 2001 -- WASHINGTON.
>
> STUDIO musician Jeff "Skunk" Baxter started out strumming for Steely Dan,
> then played funky guitar solos for the classic rockers The Doobie
Brothers.
>
Just when I thought I heard everything in pops this piece of cultural dada,
or doodoo.
Following in the footsteps of Sonny Bono! Ohmygod... A republican from a
group called the doobies.
I guess he'll be selling minivans next.
Poo