In the mid to late 70’s I lived in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, in an area called Encino Park, north of Ventura Blvd. At the time, the “real” part of Encino hated to even call us Encino. Some went as far as calling us Reseda instead. It was an interesting neighborhood, built in the late 40’s with nothing but 800 square foot homes. One of the houses, 4 doors down and across the street, belonged to Mike Campbell, Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s great guitarist. Through people, I got to know Mike; and then to meethimself. TP was very nice, just your average guy starting to taste success. Of course, TP lived “South of the Blvd.), but when he wrote in Free Fallin’:

It’s a long day, livin’ in Reseda

There’s a freeway, runnin’ through the yard

we all knew where he really meant. The US-101 highway ran through the area, bringing one of the most heavily trafficked freeways only 3 blocks south of us. By that time, TP was doing pretty good and he had purchased one of those homes in Encino south of Ventura Blvd., where I visited a few times and set up his audio system for him. He was always nice and a pleasure to talk to—-a real guy. Even after I moved and no longer had contact with him, I remembered those times, hanging in the living room, just chatting. And I continued to enjoy his music, both old and new. But most of all, I just remembered TP as a nice guy. I hope he’ll be happy playing in that big band in the sky. RIP, Tom.

http://www.tompetty.com