Poncho: ‘My Gut Tells Me This Is the Last Tour’
Crazy Horse Guitarist Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro: ‘My Gut Tells Me This Is the Last Tour’
An in-depth discussion about Sampedro’s 40-year history playing alongside Neil Young
Frank “Poncho” Sampedro and Neil Young perform in New York City.
By Andy Greene
April 17, 2013 2:15 PM ET
Crazy Horse guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro has been playing with Neil Young for 40 years, but he’s worried their current world tour might be the last one. “I just think once it stops it’s going to be kind of hard to get it rolling again,” he says on the phone from his home in Hawaii. “My gut tells me this is really the last tour. I hate saying their ages, but I’m 64 and I’m the baby of the band. I love playing and we’re playing as good as we ever did, but at any time something could go down with any one of us.”
Young and Crazy Horse have been touring heavily since last August, playing gigs that sometimes stretch beyond two-and-a-half hours. “Our shows are physical,” says Poncho. “It takes a lot of energy to play that much. It just seems at some point something is going to break. I already had an operation on my thumb. Neil’s wrist bugs him, and he has to tape it when he plays. You can’t fool time. You can’t count on this happening again in five years.”
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