In this footageof a Byrds concert from 1971, there is a strange guy on stage sometimes playing some percussion like the tambourine or the cowbell, but not having a full-fledged percussion set (he also randomly hits one of Parson’s cymbals).
Now the guy doesn’t act like a professional musician, more like a roadie who was allowed to join the band (for whatever reason, his contribution certainly isn’t crucial to the performance).
Can anybody identify him, and as a bonus, can elaborate why he was on stage at that time?
Without looking at the footage, my guess is that it’s Carlos Bernal, who indeed was a roadie who sometimes joined the latter-period Byrds onstage in this manner. I believe there were even instances toward the very end of their run when he may have assumed the drum throne itself in the absence of Gene Parsons.
This is all from memory; my expertise lies more with the era of the original Byrds’ first five albums. I’m not as great a fan of the post-Notorious Byrd Brothers era.
Thanks for the suggestions so far, both would make sense. I tried to find pictures of both of them to no avail, so maybe if one of you know what these guys looked like, you could check the linked footage (Warning: historical video quality, the sound is ok).
(Btw., it shows what a good live outfit this last incarnation of the group was, and the brilliance of Clarence White anyway)