BBC Radio Three ran a very long audio documentary on Ra and his music.
One of the topics covered was his discipline of the band whilst on the
road. The worst you could get was 'The Treatment'. Ra would not let you
live with the band, but instead would put you up in the very best
hotels, get taxied to the gigs, but just not let you play. I think it
was Gilmore who recalled this story.
When some other band members heard it they seemed incredulous that Ra
would ever out /anyone/ up in a hotel other than some place where you
had to share bed space with rats.
I remember visiting at Grandma's. If you were naughty, you had to sleep on a cot in the same room with her and Grandpa. Together, their snoring was like some evil locomotive slowly chugging its way through the peaks and valleys of hell.
There weren't enough pillows that you could wrap your head with to keep that vile sound away. It's a wonder apnea didn't kill them both. They lived well into their 80s to torture their descendants.
I think Ra stayed for days on end at their place, learning to make music that would torture us all. Gramps was a monster Bass Fiddle player.
Frank