On their 1974 US tour
Steely Dan had hired a truck driver cum
emcee called
Jerome Aniton. He was a character quite unlike his employers with an unquenchable thirst for
alcohol and a
devil-may-care attitude that, perversely, Becker and Fagan admired too no end. His fondness for
alcohol did wonders for his
introductions, and on more than one occasion he
crashed the
equipment truck. At the prestigious
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington DC, where at the time
Steely Dan were the only "
rock 'n' roll" group permitted to play, Aniton did thousands of dollars' worth of
damage driving their equipment truck out of the building, smashing a massive hole in one trailer which housed most of Dinky Dawson's
personal possessions. It was raining torrents as
Steely Dan's crew drove to their next gig in
Boston so someone had crawl up on to the top of the trailer and try to patch the hole over before the gear inside was ruined.
On another occasion Aniton drove from Baltimore to Washington at night without headlights accompanied by two fifteen-year-old girls in the front seat. He was accident prone and incessantly intoxicated, and ought not to have been allowed to continue with such responsibility, but Becker and Fagan had taken a shine to him and insisted he be retained in some capacity.
So Aniton became the comedian of the party, sending the band into paroxysms of laughter with unconventional behavior he considered normal. Aniton was given the responsibility of introducing the band on stage and his introductions were exaggerated interpretations of what an emcee might say at black soul reviews. Aniton was a truck driver doing his take on a black emcee while under the influence of alcohol and presenting a white band... but it worked a treat. He gave some memorable and hilarious introductions, and even became something of a favorite among fans who relished yet another unexpected quirk of Steely Dan. The first time he introduced them, the band enjoyed it so much they played the opening song better than ever before.
Part of the fun was that Aniton didn't even understand Steely Dan... he actually thought Donald Fagan's name was Stevie Dan. On one occasion, ever unsteady on his feet, Aniton stumbled into Fagan's grand piano on stage and said to one of the other players, "I bumped into Stevie's piano."
His introductions varied nightly from "Stevie Dan" to "Mr. Stevie Dan and Whatever." The more Aniton drank, the more hilarious his introductions became so everyone encouraged him to partake as much as possible. Aniton might go on and do a rambling two-minute-plus introduction replete with expletives while the band members laughed aloud behind him, encouraging him with audible asides. At a gig in Cleveland, Aniton's geography deserted him and he referred to the city as being on the east coast.
--From Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years by Brian Sweet