Reid was born in a crossfire hurricane. The Dimeslots. Hollywood. Paris. Glouchester Sauce. Well, tropical storm. A joke so inside that even the writer doesn't get it.

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In the Fall of 1980 Reid, a standout W&M Track & Cross Country team member, made the fateful decision to live at Ed's townhouse out in Season's Trace. Not much to do way out there unless you had a bass guitar and a loud amplifier.  Reid did.

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Reid joined the Dimeslots' fun in the Fall of 1980 when the Dimeslots decided to "go electric".  An accomplished bass and guitar player Reid joined with Bill, Ed and Mike to mark the Dimeslots' first appearance at the iconic "Pub" on the W&M campus.  Sure, the first gig there was played on the tiny stage at the back of the room where everyone usually threw their coats, but it was a GREAT start!  Things went so well that the performance marked the start of a string of performances that continues to this day.

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Little-known fact about the time out in Season's Trace; Reid once brought a young Bill "Cuz" Cusmano out to the Trace, marking it HIS first time playing with members of the Slots. Cuz' would eventually re-join the guys in 2015.  Reid's lease at the Trace was eventually terminated when it was discovered the copious amount of okra he would eat and his bad habit of never leaving anything in the fridge that the other guys wanted to hose.

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While at W&M, Reid also played in the "Corner Street Blues Band" aka "the Big Dogs" with George Long (harmonica), as well as playing with the legendary Katson Blues Band.

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After College, Reid pursued a career in Stand-up Comedy which led to a career in writing.  You can read a little more about that in the "Stories" part of this website...

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Reid Harrison is an American screenwriter and television producer. He has written for television shows such as The PJs, George and Leo, Men Behaving Badly, Brother's Keeper, Gary & Mike, George of the Jungle, Pinky and the Brain, Duckman, Drawn Together, The Mullets, 3 South, Sonic Boom and Danger Mouse.

He was Supervising Producer on the Netflix show, "Disenchantment." He was also Story Editor for The Simpsons and wrote the season eight episode "The Springfield Files" and the season nineteen episode "Papa Don't Leech". 

 

Reid graduated from the College of William & Mary in 1982

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In Reid's own words:

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I came to William & Mary in the Fall of 1977, graduated 1982 (with one year spent abroad in Germany) with a B.S. in Geology.

 

My first band at W&M - the way I see it - was Dickie Betts and Great Southern. I played along with their albums in my dorm room, which thrilled my freshman roommate. But truly, my first band was The Dimeslots. This is where it gets hazy, though, because I don’t quite recall how it came about. 

 

When I came back to W&M in 1980 after a year in Heidelberg, I was living at Ed’s parents’ townhouse in Seasons Trace with Ed, Ira Myers, and eventually Danny Zaruba. Somewhere in there I must have heard about Bill Williams and Ed playing. I guess that also included Mike Shields and Brian Mount? Anyway, none of them played bass so I insinuated my way into the fold, flush with sloppy attempts at southern rock chops and a bass that was so insulted by my playing that it would cut out intermittently in protest. I would come to learn that The Dimeslots had two very skilled electricians who could fix anything with their Radio Shack soldering iron. But I didn’t know this before our first gig.

 

The first time I played with the band in public was at The Pub. We set up at the far end from the main stage in a kind of little alcove and went at it. I don’t remember how many songs but I’m figuring it must have included “Powderfinger.” I specifically recall spanking the volume knobs on my bass when it would cut out, throughout the entire performance, trying to get the pickups to work again. (Side note from that show: several of us were on the track team and Coach Roy Chernock came to see us. Afterwards he said, “Hey that was really good guys!” It was the most supportive words I ever heard him speak!)

 

Eventually Wright Deter joined on drums, then he and I left the band and joined up with Kevin Hopkins, George Long, Peter Bartlett, and Travis Slocumb in Corner Street Blues Band aka Big Dogs. But a few months after that I went to a party at Pi Lam where the Slots were playing and was just astonished at how good the band sounded. Gary Littlepage was on drums (Bill Grossman, too, right?) And Neil Sherman was absolutely wrecking the joint on bass. I watched him play and thought, “Ohhhhh! THAT’S how you play bass.” He inspired me to get my act together and really learn to play. And in more recent years I’ve listened to tapes for his ideas on some of the songs we still play now. Dude could rock.

 

The Dimeslots gigs we’ve been doing since college are what I most look forward to every year. Welcoming in new members over the years - that’s what the experience is all about. Deeme Katson - that was a total steal; she raises the band to a new level. Bill Cusmano - look, you just can’t have a band without three Bills, right? (Cus was part of an impromptu jam in 1980 at Ed’s, highlighted by a two-hour version of “Born on the Bayou.” There may have been illegal substances involved.) George Long - the harp man with the sweet soulful voice. Shep Williams (we WILL play Dixie Chicken some day, Shep!) and Brian Mount - lest we forget, one of the original members.

 

It’s just fun. The fact that we occasionally nail the ending to a song is just gravy. This is a band that one year thought it would be a goofy idea to be in the Homecoming parade and has made its mark on said procession. In many… many ways. 

 

After many years away from Virginia and dabbling with a few ragtag bands, I have largely returned to the area. I am living much of the year not far from W&M and, quite intentionally, not far from the folks I love playing music and enjoying life with.

 

And finally, let’s be honest: were it not for Eddie D and his indefatigable spirit, the continuing story of The Dimeslots would not be.