Today was a horrible day. Horrible.
It was Wednesday morning over here in Melbourne, Australia. We're 16 hours ahead of East Coast Time, 17 ahead of Chicago, so it was Tuesday night in Chicago.
I got an email from an old friend in Chicago. It was Jerie, one of my three Chicago "daughters" (more on that below). The subject line was simply "evie" and Jerie asked that I call her. Said it was important.
I went into a bit of a panic. I thought maybe Evie had been in an accident. When I got Jerie on the phone, she told me that Evie had been hospitalized last Tuesday. She was given a CT scan for a persistent pain in her arm and shoulder and the resulting diagnosis was leukemia. The doctors put her on an aggressive chemo program, and today her brain had begun to hemorrhage. It looked as though she would not live much longer.
I immediately called our mutual friend Abby Franklin, who is also very close to Evie. After speaking with me, Abby called the hospital room, spoke with someone there, then emailed me that Evie couldn't open her eyes and can't talk, but could hear. She asked the person in the room to please tell Evie that both Abby and I love her and that we want to see her really soon.
About 30 minutes later, I got an urgent email from Abby to call her. She told me that she had booked a flight for Chicago, and then called for an update and was told that Evie had died 20 minutes earlier.
I am heartbroken at the loss of such a dear person as Evie Carrano. I cannot believe that she was in reasonable health last week and in little more than a week, she is gone.
I love you, Evie. Rest in peace, little one.
********************************
A Tale Of Three Daughters
I was working for the band Disturbed in 2001. They're from Chicago, so naturally I spent a bit of time there. Three cute young ladies were always hanging around, and I found out that they were friends of the band. Evie, Jerie, and Kim. Not groupies, friends. I enjoyed their company and we got along great.
Ozzfest that summer started out in Chicago (the band's hometown) and by then the three girls had taken to calling me Dad, or Dad Davis. I thought of them as my daughters, and they even told people that they were. They came out to a bunch of shows over the summer. It was kinda funny – next thing you know, half the people out on Ozzfest (including our bus drivers) thought that they were my kids. We didn't tell anyone any different because we all thought it was cute. I kinda enjoyed having them call me Dad.
The roadies from the other bands got word pretty quickly not to put the moves on these 3 girls or there would be hell to pay from me. I really loved that. I'd see some green-haired techie dude in catering and he'd be all "How are you today, sir?" Yeah, right, dude! None the wiser, you are.
So, eventually I left the Disturbed camp, but kept in touch with the girls. Within a year or two, it seemed that Evie was the only one I stayed in contact with. Jerie got married and Kim just kind of drifted away, always so busy with work and whatnot.
Evie was such an angel, always coming to see me if I came through Chicago. We would go to lunch or dinner, go clubbing, sometimes just hang out and do nothing. And I had more than a little crush on her.
She would also come to Milwaukee, a couple of hours away, even if only to hang out for a few hours and watch me work. And she always wanted to help. With anything. That's the way she was. Eager to learn.
She worked her way into the business by doing massage. She'd work shows all over the Chicago-Metro and Milwaukee area and it seemed to make her happy. What she really wanted to do, though, was go out on the road in some capacity. Her persistence finally paid off and she started to get entry-level gigs with a few metal bands, doing massage, merch, band assistant, or some combination thereof.
She was earning her chops, paying her dues, call it what you want. She was learning the road from the ground up and doing a great job all along the way. She was smart, and more importantly, she had passion. Passion to do her job, more than a lot of people have. She wanted to help the bands, wanted their tours to run smoothly, wanted them to be happy. And what she really wanted was to be a tour manager.
After a tour doing merch with the Deftones (a band I worked for a few years ago, too), she finally got her shot. Chino, the singer from the Deftones, has a side project called Team Sleep, and they asked her if she would be their tour manager. Of course, she said yes. She was ecstatic! She knew it would be hard work, but she would give it everything she had.
I was so proud of her. And happy that she was living HER dream.
She called me a few times during the tour, sometimes seeking advice on accounting, other times just needing some input on whether she had handled certain situations the right way, which of course, she had. She was Evie, she was the Tour Manager!
One of the last times I spoke to her was as her tour was wrapping up. I was in Chicago doing R. Kelly rehearsals, and she was finishing up in Sacramento, where Team Sleep is based. She was trying to get home in time to see me before my camp rolled down to Georgia that weekend to start our tour.
She flew into Chicago pretty late on the night before I had to leave, so we didn't connect. We talked by phone a few times over the next week or so, and said we'd see each other the next time around.
I guess it just wasn't to be.
Damn, I miss her so much…
********************************
I know I wrote about this a couple of months ago when David Enloe died, but please, please, please…always tell those people close to you how much you love them and how much they mean to you. Do it today and do it again tomorrow. You may never get the chance to see them again and it's important to let them know how you feel about them.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Day Off in Melbourne, Australia
I woke up feeling like shit! It felt like I had 5 pounds of that dust imbedded in my throat and nasal passages. I just know it's gonna make me sick.
And talk about an underachieving day. This was it for me. I didn't get around to anything fun at all. I finally left the room around 3:30 to go to the laundromat. While I was there, I popped into the little shop next door and bought some fresh macadamia nuts and dried figs. This place has the best figs I've ever eaten. The owner told me that they're from Iran of all places. They're sun-dried and far different from the dried figs you can buy in the States.
Got a phone call about going to a steakhouse with some guys, but I was hell-bent on Chinese tonight.
Met Sooner and Robert Long in the lobby around 7 for a couple of beers, then headed off. Had a couple of rounds at Spleen. They were finally open following the long holiday weekend. Met some interesting folks hanging out at the bar.
Then, off to Post-Mao, the place I'd eaten at back in October when I was here before. Again, the food was amazing. For some reason, the service was a bit slack. Back to the room at a decent time.
And talk about an underachieving day. This was it for me. I didn't get around to anything fun at all. I finally left the room around 3:30 to go to the laundromat. While I was there, I popped into the little shop next door and bought some fresh macadamia nuts and dried figs. This place has the best figs I've ever eaten. The owner told me that they're from Iran of all places. They're sun-dried and far different from the dried figs you can buy in the States.
Got a phone call about going to a steakhouse with some guys, but I was hell-bent on Chinese tonight.
Met Sooner and Robert Long in the lobby around 7 for a couple of beers, then headed off. Had a couple of rounds at Spleen. They were finally open following the long holiday weekend. Met some interesting folks hanging out at the bar.
Then, off to Post-Mao, the place I'd eaten at back in October when I was here before. Again, the food was amazing. For some reason, the service was a bit slack. Back to the room at a decent time.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Show Day in Melbourne
Welcome to the Dust Bowl. Melbourne is under Stage Four water restrictions due to drought. The drought here is even worse than the one back home in Raleigh. The show site is basically a giant dust bowl. As soon as Rage hit the stage, the moshing created a blinding cloud of dust and dirt that didn't let up until well after the show. I had to leave the stage after the second or third song because I couldn't breathe. How those guys finished the show I'll never know. The singer, Zack, must have been choking on that stuff.
Also, when the band started playing, the entire stage started shaking violently. I was standing next to Spragoo, the monitor engineer, at his console on stage left. It was unbelievable how much movement there was – it was like an earthquake. Spragoo told me to go find the 100 dumbasses who were jumping in unison somewhere onstage and make them stop. The problem was, no one on any part of the stage was jumping at all. It was the tens of thousands of fans out front who were literally making the earth move. I kept wondering when the stage was gonna collapse.
The kids had also climbed every available structure they could to get a better sightline of the stage. The trees out front had as many kids as could be held. They also climbed, en masse, all over the delay towers (PA towers located away from the stage to help project sound to the rear of the crowd). It was dangerous as hell, and it took event security some time to clear them from the towers. Across the way, there were about 40 punters (kids) on a CANVAS-roofed structure. I can't believe it didn't give way. Kids on rooftops across the way, too.
Attendance today was 47,295 and it seems they were all jumping. I got a couple of shots, but you can't really appreciate how thick the air was with the dust.
Here's a couple of shots of Tom Morello, Rage's guitarist, taken from stage left. These pictures would normally be crystal clear, but the dust was horrible when I took them. Gives them an eerie quality.
Back to the hotel after the show. A big gang of us went to the Elephant & Wheelbarrow, but we got there just as they were closing. Spleen was still closed for the holiday weekend. Spragoo, me and 3 of our "Large Black Men" (or LBM's, security guys) walked a couple of blocks to the official Big Day Out aftershow party. It totally sucked (as did the last one I went to). You're supposed to need your all-access laminate in order to get in, but I guaran-fucking-tee you that not one out of ten idiots in there were laminate-holders from the tour.
Our LBM's stayed, but me and Spragoo couldn't take it. Free drinks, sure, but not worth putting up with the bad music and overcrowding. We headed back to the hotel's lobby bar, where everyone else from the Rage crew camp was hanging out. That was fun for a few rounds, then off to bed for me.
Tomorrow's Clean Underoo Day (laundry)…
Also, when the band started playing, the entire stage started shaking violently. I was standing next to Spragoo, the monitor engineer, at his console on stage left. It was unbelievable how much movement there was – it was like an earthquake. Spragoo told me to go find the 100 dumbasses who were jumping in unison somewhere onstage and make them stop. The problem was, no one on any part of the stage was jumping at all. It was the tens of thousands of fans out front who were literally making the earth move. I kept wondering when the stage was gonna collapse.
The kids had also climbed every available structure they could to get a better sightline of the stage. The trees out front had as many kids as could be held. They also climbed, en masse, all over the delay towers (PA towers located away from the stage to help project sound to the rear of the crowd). It was dangerous as hell, and it took event security some time to clear them from the towers. Across the way, there were about 40 punters (kids) on a CANVAS-roofed structure. I can't believe it didn't give way. Kids on rooftops across the way, too.
Attendance today was 47,295 and it seems they were all jumping. I got a couple of shots, but you can't really appreciate how thick the air was with the dust.
Here's a couple of shots of Tom Morello, Rage's guitarist, taken from stage left. These pictures would normally be crystal clear, but the dust was horrible when I took them. Gives them an eerie quality.
Back to the hotel after the show. A big gang of us went to the Elephant & Wheelbarrow, but we got there just as they were closing. Spleen was still closed for the holiday weekend. Spragoo, me and 3 of our "Large Black Men" (or LBM's, security guys) walked a couple of blocks to the official Big Day Out aftershow party. It totally sucked (as did the last one I went to). You're supposed to need your all-access laminate in order to get in, but I guaran-fucking-tee you that not one out of ten idiots in there were laminate-holders from the tour.
Our LBM's stayed, but me and Spragoo couldn't take it. Free drinks, sure, but not worth putting up with the bad music and overcrowding. We headed back to the hotel's lobby bar, where everyone else from the Rage crew camp was hanging out. That was fun for a few rounds, then off to bed for me.
Tomorrow's Clean Underoo Day (laundry)…
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Day Off - Travel to Melbourne
Off to the airport at noon for our 2pm flight. Land in Melbourne with no problems and make it to the hotel by about 4:30. Not nearly as hot here as I was expecting. Good thing, too, because the air conditioner in my room sucks. Not worth changing rooms, but not worth a shit, either.
I met up with some of the guys in the lobby and off we went to Spleen, my fave bar here. Oh, heartbreak, they were closed for the holiday weekend. Arrrrghhh!
Instead, we wound up at an outdoor table at the Elephant & Wheelbarrow, the pub on the corner. Various crew joined at various times – Robert, Molly, Sooner, Spragoo, Robert Collins, etc. I met some cool local folks – props to Emma and Melanie.
Around 10:30, Sooner (our LD) and I had had enough, so we went around the corner to the curry shop and got takeaway to take back to our rooms. I got the Aloo Gobi Masala, and it kicked my ass. Lights out around 1am. I get to sleep in until 8 in the morning.
I met up with some of the guys in the lobby and off we went to Spleen, my fave bar here. Oh, heartbreak, they were closed for the holiday weekend. Arrrrghhh!
Instead, we wound up at an outdoor table at the Elephant & Wheelbarrow, the pub on the corner. Various crew joined at various times – Robert, Molly, Sooner, Spragoo, Robert Collins, etc. I met some cool local folks – props to Emma and Melanie.
Around 10:30, Sooner (our LD) and I had had enough, so we went around the corner to the curry shop and got takeaway to take back to our rooms. I got the Aloo Gobi Masala, and it kicked my ass. Lights out around 1am. I get to sleep in until 8 in the morning.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Day Off in Sydney, Australia
Today is the big Australia Day celebration. From the website:
About Australia Day
Australia Day. Celebrate what's great.
Australia Day, January 26, is the biggest day of celebration in the country and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories.
On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation.
It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future.
****************************
So there ya go! What it means to me is an almost-Labor Day type weekend and gazillions of people everywhere. All the shops, restaurants and bars are crowded. The beaches are insane, the ferries all packed to the hilt. Drunken revelry at it's finest. A lot of the bars are staying open tonight until 4, 5, even 6am.
I didn't really get into too much today.
I grabbed dinner at Rossini, down by the docks at Sydney Harbour, only a block from the hotel. Sat outdoors and people-watched the crowd. So many people! The food was terrific. It was among the best fish & chips I've ever had, the best being a little chip shop in Nottingham, UK, that I've been to a few times.
After that, I ran into a bunch of crew folks in the hotel lobby and dragged them across the street to Jackson's for a few rounds.
Uncharacteristically, I split shortly thereafter and was back in my room, in bed by shortly after midnight.
About Australia Day
Australia Day. Celebrate what's great.
Australia Day, January 26, is the biggest day of celebration in the country and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories.
On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation.
It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future.
****************************
So there ya go! What it means to me is an almost-Labor Day type weekend and gazillions of people everywhere. All the shops, restaurants and bars are crowded. The beaches are insane, the ferries all packed to the hilt. Drunken revelry at it's finest. A lot of the bars are staying open tonight until 4, 5, even 6am.
I didn't really get into too much today.
I grabbed dinner at Rossini, down by the docks at Sydney Harbour, only a block from the hotel. Sat outdoors and people-watched the crowd. So many people! The food was terrific. It was among the best fish & chips I've ever had, the best being a little chip shop in Nottingham, UK, that I've been to a few times.
After that, I ran into a bunch of crew folks in the hotel lobby and dragged them across the street to Jackson's for a few rounds.
Uncharacteristically, I split shortly thereafter and was back in my room, in bed by shortly after midnight.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Show Day in Sydney, Australia
Can you say 56,863 crazy Aussie rock fans? Great show today here in Sydney!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Another Day Off in Sydney
Not much on the agenda today. Picked up my laundry from the fluff 'n fold a few blocks away, spent a little time at Starbucks, and hung out in my room catching up on stuff. Spragoo (the monitor engineer) called and asked if I wanted to go the Doyle's for dinner with him and a couple of other guys. Not the Doyle's here in the harbor area, but the original Doyle's At The Beach, over in Watson's Bay. It's about a 25-minute cab ride vs. a 5-minute walk, but it's the original.
I've never been before, but I've been told it's a bit of a roadie's paradise to hang out there during the day. Best seafood around, and they have lots of outdoor seating right on the beach. During the day, there are usually quite a few topless sunbathers right on the beach in front of the restaurant. And Lady Jane, Sydney's most popular nudist beach, is nearby.
You can find the menu for Doyle's At The Beach HERE.
The food was expensive, but terrific. Between the four of us – me, Spragoo, Robert (FOH Engineer) and Bob (audio tech) - we had several appetizers, 4 dinners, a cheese tray for dessert, lots of beer, 2 bottles of wine, and several glasses of port. The tab came to $528 AUD (about $465 USD) before tip. It was worth every cent.
A few photos shot from our table:
Back to the hotel around 10:00, with just enough time for a nightcap across the street at Jackson's.
I've never been before, but I've been told it's a bit of a roadie's paradise to hang out there during the day. Best seafood around, and they have lots of outdoor seating right on the beach. During the day, there are usually quite a few topless sunbathers right on the beach in front of the restaurant. And Lady Jane, Sydney's most popular nudist beach, is nearby.
You can find the menu for Doyle's At The Beach HERE.
The food was expensive, but terrific. Between the four of us – me, Spragoo, Robert (FOH Engineer) and Bob (audio tech) - we had several appetizers, 4 dinners, a cheese tray for dessert, lots of beer, 2 bottles of wine, and several glasses of port. The tab came to $528 AUD (about $465 USD) before tip. It was worth every cent.
A few photos shot from our table:
Back to the hotel around 10:00, with just enough time for a nightcap across the street at Jackson's.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Day Off in Sydney, Australia
Happy Half-Birthday to me!!!!!!
I'm forty-nine and a half today. Six months to go, gonna be the Big 5-0. Gonna get my AARP card and start flaunting it.
In the meantime, I've got today and tomorrow off in Sydney. What's not to like about that?
--------------------------------------------
In case you were wondering:
fletcher \FLETCH-er\ noun
: a maker of arrows
Example sentence:
The fletcher presented the village’s archery champion with his most recent design, an arrow crafted to travel in a steady course through any headwind.
See a map of "fletcher" in the Visual Thesaurus.
Did you know?
“Fletcher” is one of a number of English words that once commonly referred to occupations but are now better known as surnames. “Fletcher” came to English from the Anglo-French noun “fleche,” meaning “arrow”; our verb “to fletch” can mean “to furnish (an arrow) with a feather.” Other names for occupations that are now commonly used as surnames include “cooper” (a person who makes or repairs wooden casks or tubs), “collier” (a coal miner), “chandler” (a person who make candles), “sawyer” (a person who saws wood), and “wainwright” (a person who makes wagons). And, of course, there are names such as Baker, Carpenter, and Miller whose origins are more or less self-explanatory.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
--------------------------------------------
Home early tonight. Hope to make a couple of phone calls to the US before bedtime…
I'm forty-nine and a half today. Six months to go, gonna be the Big 5-0. Gonna get my AARP card and start flaunting it.
In the meantime, I've got today and tomorrow off in Sydney. What's not to like about that?
--------------------------------------------
In case you were wondering:
fletcher \FLETCH-er\ noun
: a maker of arrows
Example sentence:
The fletcher presented the village’s archery champion with his most recent design, an arrow crafted to travel in a steady course through any headwind.
See a map of "fletcher" in the Visual Thesaurus.
Did you know?
“Fletcher” is one of a number of English words that once commonly referred to occupations but are now better known as surnames. “Fletcher” came to English from the Anglo-French noun “fleche,” meaning “arrow”; our verb “to fletch” can mean “to furnish (an arrow) with a feather.” Other names for occupations that are now commonly used as surnames include “cooper” (a person who makes or repairs wooden casks or tubs), “collier” (a coal miner), “chandler” (a person who make candles), “sawyer” (a person who saws wood), and “wainwright” (a person who makes wagons). And, of course, there are names such as Baker, Carpenter, and Miller whose origins are more or less self-explanatory.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
--------------------------------------------
Home early tonight. Hope to make a couple of phone calls to the US before bedtime…
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Show Day in Sydney, Australia
Tonight was one of the 2 "one-off" shows we're doing here in Australia. Meaning that they're not Big Day Out Festival shows - just Rage Against The Machine and an opening act.
We're playing the Sydney Entertainment Center, or SEC for short. Not too large of an arena, but the point of the show was to do something a bit more intimate for the fans than a gigantic 55,000-plus show like the one we're doing here on Friday.
Still, we sold out the 10,850 seats in just a few minutes the day the show went onsale. Poof, gone just like that.
I watched the first 3-4 songs tonight and took a few photos.
Came back out and watched the last song of the set, and then the 2-song encore. I tell ya what, I have never been to or seen a show where not one single person left before the band came out to play the encore. I was out at the front of house mix position and could see the entire crowd from there. No one, I mean no one, came walking down from their seats to exit the building. I was speechless.
It's amazing to watch the crowd when Rage is onstage. The last song of the night is "Killing In The Name" and it's just in-fucking-sane. Tonight, while they were playing it, I got goose bumps head-to-toe for the first time in my life. I mean, ever. It was intense!
After we all got back to the hotel following the show, we (a bunch of crew folks and one bandmember) all went across the street to Jackson's, our adopted bar for the week. We're staying at the Four Season's Hotel right by Sydney Harbour, practically in the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Jackson's door is maybe 80 feet from the hotel entrance.
I met a whole bunch of interesting people tonight, and had a great time. The lights finally came on and we pretty much got tossed out around 4am.
We're playing the Sydney Entertainment Center, or SEC for short. Not too large of an arena, but the point of the show was to do something a bit more intimate for the fans than a gigantic 55,000-plus show like the one we're doing here on Friday.
Still, we sold out the 10,850 seats in just a few minutes the day the show went onsale. Poof, gone just like that.
I watched the first 3-4 songs tonight and took a few photos.
Came back out and watched the last song of the set, and then the 2-song encore. I tell ya what, I have never been to or seen a show where not one single person left before the band came out to play the encore. I was out at the front of house mix position and could see the entire crowd from there. No one, I mean no one, came walking down from their seats to exit the building. I was speechless.
It's amazing to watch the crowd when Rage is onstage. The last song of the night is "Killing In The Name" and it's just in-fucking-sane. Tonight, while they were playing it, I got goose bumps head-to-toe for the first time in my life. I mean, ever. It was intense!
After we all got back to the hotel following the show, we (a bunch of crew folks and one bandmember) all went across the street to Jackson's, our adopted bar for the week. We're staying at the Four Season's Hotel right by Sydney Harbour, practically in the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Jackson's door is maybe 80 feet from the hotel entrance.
I met a whole bunch of interesting people tonight, and had a great time. The lights finally came on and we pretty much got tossed out around 4am.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Travel Day to Australia
Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep -- 5:45am was a wee bit early today. Flying to Brisbane, Australia, then we'll travel 45-50 minutes by car to the Gold Coast area.
The Gold Coast is Australia's leading tourist destination, and has a variety of exciting activities that make it the country's holiday playground. It has over 30 miles of golden sandy beaches, as well as the World Heritage Rainforest just a short drive away.
The Big Day Out site is only about 15 minutes from where we're staying, which is the Marriott Resort.
The view in one direction, taken from my balcony on the 10th floor:
The other direction:
I’m only a block or so from the beach, but I probably won't make it there today.
Wound up working in my room for most of the afternoon. Got out around 7:00 and walked around for about an hour. I was kinda surprised how little there was, near the hotel, in the way of bars and restaurants. Wound up back at the hotel, in the bar. Only had a couple of beers, then headed back to the room to finish catching up on the blog. Ordered a small cheese and fruit plate from room service for dinner around 10.
I'm actually gonna get some sleep tonight, as my call time isn't until 8:45 tomorrow morning.
--------------------------------
Neglected to mention that Serj Tankian, the singer from System Of A Down, came to our show in Auckland yesterday. He and Tom Morello (Rage's guitarist) are old friends, so he came to hang out. I worked for System for 4 years and hadn't seen Serj in awhile. Got to sit down with him for about half an hour and get caught up on stuff. Turns out he owns a house in New Zealand these days, so he didn't have too far to travel. Showed me some photos of it - beautiful house, right on the shore.
The Gold Coast is Australia's leading tourist destination, and has a variety of exciting activities that make it the country's holiday playground. It has over 30 miles of golden sandy beaches, as well as the World Heritage Rainforest just a short drive away.
The Big Day Out site is only about 15 minutes from where we're staying, which is the Marriott Resort.
The view in one direction, taken from my balcony on the 10th floor:
The other direction:
I’m only a block or so from the beach, but I probably won't make it there today.
Wound up working in my room for most of the afternoon. Got out around 7:00 and walked around for about an hour. I was kinda surprised how little there was, near the hotel, in the way of bars and restaurants. Wound up back at the hotel, in the bar. Only had a couple of beers, then headed back to the room to finish catching up on the blog. Ordered a small cheese and fruit plate from room service for dinner around 10.
I'm actually gonna get some sleep tonight, as my call time isn't until 8:45 tomorrow morning.
--------------------------------
Neglected to mention that Serj Tankian, the singer from System Of A Down, came to our show in Auckland yesterday. He and Tom Morello (Rage's guitarist) are old friends, so he came to hang out. I worked for System for 4 years and hadn't seen Serj in awhile. Got to sit down with him for about half an hour and get caught up on stuff. Turns out he owns a house in New Zealand these days, so he didn't have too far to travel. Showed me some photos of it - beautiful house, right on the shore.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Show Day in Auckland, New Zealand
First Big Day Out show today. I did quite a bit of walking, checking out the entry gates and perimeters. On the advice of fellow tour accountant Chris Risner (Tool, Nine Inch Nails), I bought that big, floppy sun hat the other day. And you better believe it came in handy.
The crowd was over 47,000 strong today. This is what the stadium looked like from the far end. What you see here is a dual-stage main stage area inside the stadium. A total of 13 acts played these 2 stages, alternating on the Orange Stage and the Blue Stage, starting at 11am, with Rage Against The Machine on from 9:20 to 10:30pm.
Click on any of these photos to enlarge them:
The "main stage", as seen from the far end of the stadium.
From behind the main stage. Click on the photo to zoom in and you'll see the Super Loop on the stadium floor. There were more carnival rides spread throughout the festival grounds.
In addition, there were 5 other stages spread out across the festival site, including 2 which were set up inside gigantic tents. Fifty-eight other acts played on those stages throughout the day.
It really is a Big Day Out for these kids.
I watched the first 3 songs by Rage, but went back to my trailer after that. I've got plenty of time to see the whole show.
Back to the hotel by about 1am. Have to get up at 5:45am to fly to Brisbane, Australia.
The crowd was over 47,000 strong today. This is what the stadium looked like from the far end. What you see here is a dual-stage main stage area inside the stadium. A total of 13 acts played these 2 stages, alternating on the Orange Stage and the Blue Stage, starting at 11am, with Rage Against The Machine on from 9:20 to 10:30pm.
Click on any of these photos to enlarge them:
The "main stage", as seen from the far end of the stadium.
From behind the main stage. Click on the photo to zoom in and you'll see the Super Loop on the stadium floor. There were more carnival rides spread throughout the festival grounds.
In addition, there were 5 other stages spread out across the festival site, including 2 which were set up inside gigantic tents. Fifty-eight other acts played on those stages throughout the day.
It really is a Big Day Out for these kids.
I watched the first 3 songs by Rage, but went back to my trailer after that. I've got plenty of time to see the whole show.
Back to the hotel by about 1am. Have to get up at 5:45am to fly to Brisbane, Australia.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Rehearsal Day in Auckland, New Zealand
OK, here's something I neglected to mention – and with my twisted brain, I think this is the coolest thing I've seen here so far…
At all of the intersections here (at least the intersections in the downtown area), the traffic from ALL 4 directions gets a red light at the same time to allow ALL pedestrians to cross streets in any direction, even diagonally. It lasts for 30 seconds, which is more than enough time to cross. It's so smart, yet looks so funny. There are people going every which-a-way, including crossing in a big X through the center. Yeah, I know, I should get out more…
Today, we loaded into a building on the festival grounds and set up the band's (HUGE) monitor rig for them to come in late afternoon and rehearse for about 90 minutes.
Afterwards, the monitor rig, along with the backline gear, was moved to the main stage. During which time, we relocated our production office to the trailer compound backstage that we'll be using tomorrow for show day.
Got back to the hotel around 10:30pm and everyone was too pooped to party. I went around the corner to the Queen's Ferry Pub alone for a couple of quick pints of Monteith's Golden. At least I had the (smokin' hot and very nice) bartender to chat with…
At all of the intersections here (at least the intersections in the downtown area), the traffic from ALL 4 directions gets a red light at the same time to allow ALL pedestrians to cross streets in any direction, even diagonally. It lasts for 30 seconds, which is more than enough time to cross. It's so smart, yet looks so funny. There are people going every which-a-way, including crossing in a big X through the center. Yeah, I know, I should get out more…
Today, we loaded into a building on the festival grounds and set up the band's (HUGE) monitor rig for them to come in late afternoon and rehearse for about 90 minutes.
Afterwards, the monitor rig, along with the backline gear, was moved to the main stage. During which time, we relocated our production office to the trailer compound backstage that we'll be using tomorrow for show day.
Got back to the hotel around 10:30pm and everyone was too pooped to party. I went around the corner to the Queen's Ferry Pub alone for a couple of quick pints of Monteith's Golden. At least I had the (smokin' hot and very nice) bartender to chat with…
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Day Off in Auckland, New Zealand
While walking through the terminal at LAX on the way to the security checkpoint on Monday night, a couple of photographers sprinted by me and started snapping shots of 2 girls who were walking about 20 feet in front of me. I figured they must be somebody because those guys were just shooting and shooting. I wound up right behind them at the X-ray machine and it turned out to be Michelle Rodriguez, one of the hotties from the TV show "Lost." She was also in the first "Resident Evil" movie, which is in my all-time Top 10 movie list, as well as "The Fast And The Furious", "Blue Crush", "S.W.A.T." and bunch of other stuff. See if these shots ring a bell…
So, anyway, she was with another gorgeous babe, and it was taking them forever to get all of their shit out of their bags & pockets, and get their shoes off to put through the machine. Michelle was trying to hold her 17" Apple MacBookPro in one hand and pull her friend's boot off with the other and having a hell of a hard time doing so, so I grabbed her laptop and held it for her so she could use both hands to pull off the boot. She thanked me, and a minute later, started chatting while we were standing there.
Turned out the she and her friend Alex (Alexandra) were on their way to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and were on the same flight I was. I saw them in the first-class lounge, and they were both friendly and chatty, so I wound up talking to them about all kinds of stuff, and I invited them to come to the show on Friday. Don't know if they'll show up, but I'll sure hook 'em up if they do. It's not everyday you get to meet a famous actress and she turns out to be a nice person.
So we didn't have anything to do today. We'll load in to the gig tomorrow. I spent a couple of hours wandering around the shopping district near the hotel. Bought some chewable vitamin C and a big floppy hat at the Billabong store. Baseball hats just won't cut it here with all the walking around I'll be doing at all the festival sites. Need more coverage and protection from the sun.
On the way back to the hotel, I ran into Yvonne, the band's masseuse, and she asked if I'd like to join her for a drink and an early dinner. Sounded good to me, so I tossed my stuff into my room and off we went. She wanted to go to the nearby alleyway, which is where we found an outdoor table at the Queen's Ferry Hotel Pub.
What a great place. We got a fruit and cheese platter – amazing local cheeses.
Eventually, a bunch of other crew folks joined us. Much revelry ensued, many pints of Monteith's Golden Lager were downed, and local folks became friends.
Made it back to my room around midnight…
So, anyway, she was with another gorgeous babe, and it was taking them forever to get all of their shit out of their bags & pockets, and get their shoes off to put through the machine. Michelle was trying to hold her 17" Apple MacBookPro in one hand and pull her friend's boot off with the other and having a hell of a hard time doing so, so I grabbed her laptop and held it for her so she could use both hands to pull off the boot. She thanked me, and a minute later, started chatting while we were standing there.Turned out the she and her friend Alex (Alexandra) were on their way to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and were on the same flight I was. I saw them in the first-class lounge, and they were both friendly and chatty, so I wound up talking to them about all kinds of stuff, and I invited them to come to the show on Friday. Don't know if they'll show up, but I'll sure hook 'em up if they do. It's not everyday you get to meet a famous actress and she turns out to be a nice person.
So we didn't have anything to do today. We'll load in to the gig tomorrow. I spent a couple of hours wandering around the shopping district near the hotel. Bought some chewable vitamin C and a big floppy hat at the Billabong store. Baseball hats just won't cut it here with all the walking around I'll be doing at all the festival sites. Need more coverage and protection from the sun.
On the way back to the hotel, I ran into Yvonne, the band's masseuse, and she asked if I'd like to join her for a drink and an early dinner. Sounded good to me, so I tossed my stuff into my room and off we went. She wanted to go to the nearby alleyway, which is where we found an outdoor table at the Queen's Ferry Hotel Pub.
What a great place. We got a fruit and cheese platter – amazing local cheeses.Eventually, a bunch of other crew folks joined us. Much revelry ensued, many pints of Monteith's Golden Lager were downed, and local folks became friends.
Made it back to my room around midnight…
Monday, January 14, 2008
Travel Day to New Zealand
I've been insanely busy lately. I actually stayed out on the R. Kelly tour right up to the end, splitting at 5pm on the day of the last show, which was in Richmond on Friday the 11th.
Left the wrap-up in the very capable hands of my friend Janet Taylor. She can handle the accounting aspects of it with her eyes closed. No way I could stay and finish because I was previously committed to another tour.
So, anyway…
Got home Friday night and met Paige & Greg, Jeff & Kim, and Ossie for dinner at Bonefish Grill. Afterwards, I hit Northside, my neighborhood old man bar, to catch up on neighborhood scuttlebutt.
Saturday, I was up and running by 7:30. Had a million errands to run, then had a 6pm show to go to – Mike Farris, who was amazing – then ran downtown to see the Nevers at Slim's.
Sunday was crazy busy, too. Got done with everything just in time for Paige to pick me up and drive me to the airport. Flew to LA, where I'm still sitting in my room. I'm at the Radisson LAX as I write this, but I'm leaving to go to the terminal momentarily.
We've got an 8:30pm flight to Auckland, New Zealand to start the tour. I'm going out with Rage Against The Machine for a month.
What I really want is some time at home. One day off between tours just isn't enough time. The good news is that I have 4 weeks off when I return in mid-February.
I'll try to get back to some regular blogging while I'm Down Under. And some good photos, too.
Check back soon!
Left the wrap-up in the very capable hands of my friend Janet Taylor. She can handle the accounting aspects of it with her eyes closed. No way I could stay and finish because I was previously committed to another tour.
So, anyway…
Got home Friday night and met Paige & Greg, Jeff & Kim, and Ossie for dinner at Bonefish Grill. Afterwards, I hit Northside, my neighborhood old man bar, to catch up on neighborhood scuttlebutt.
Saturday, I was up and running by 7:30. Had a million errands to run, then had a 6pm show to go to – Mike Farris, who was amazing – then ran downtown to see the Nevers at Slim's.
Sunday was crazy busy, too. Got done with everything just in time for Paige to pick me up and drive me to the airport. Flew to LA, where I'm still sitting in my room. I'm at the Radisson LAX as I write this, but I'm leaving to go to the terminal momentarily.
We've got an 8:30pm flight to Auckland, New Zealand to start the tour. I'm going out with Rage Against The Machine for a month.
What I really want is some time at home. One day off between tours just isn't enough time. The good news is that I have 4 weeks off when I return in mid-February.
I'll try to get back to some regular blogging while I'm Down Under. And some good photos, too.
Check back soon!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Day Off in Savannah
Up and at 'em at 8:30 because I've got a big workday today. All the stuff I blew off yesterday had to get done today. I even ordered room service (which I never do) so I wouldn't have to leave the room.
Every 20 minutes, I'd look out the window to see these monster freighters going by. They were huge. I just had to stare at them. Some had 9 story towers on top of the decks. I counted the sea containers on one as it went by. It held like 1300-plus of them. Amazing.
Each one of those sea containers you see stacked on the back of this ship is as big as the 53-foot trailer on an 18-wheel truck. By my count, there are 106 of them on just the back row:
Click any photo to enlarge.
Got sick of the room around 7 and called Janet to see if she wanted to grab dinner. We found a sushi joint a couple of blocks away. Interesting place. A bunch of slacker art-school college students working and dining there. The food was decent and cheap.
At one point, as things there were winding down for the night, our waiter was sweeping under the table of the booth directly behind me. Suddenly he swept out a pair of black panties. From under the table? WTF? A different kind of sushi, indeed…
Went to bed early – 5:30's coming much too early tomorrow.
Every 20 minutes, I'd look out the window to see these monster freighters going by. They were huge. I just had to stare at them. Some had 9 story towers on top of the decks. I counted the sea containers on one as it went by. It held like 1300-plus of them. Amazing.
Each one of those sea containers you see stacked on the back of this ship is as big as the 53-foot trailer on an 18-wheel truck. By my count, there are 106 of them on just the back row:
Click any photo to enlarge.Got sick of the room around 7 and called Janet to see if she wanted to grab dinner. We found a sushi joint a couple of blocks away. Interesting place. A bunch of slacker art-school college students working and dining there. The food was decent and cheap.
At one point, as things there were winding down for the night, our waiter was sweeping under the table of the booth directly behind me. Suddenly he swept out a pair of black panties. From under the table? WTF? A different kind of sushi, indeed…
Went to bed early – 5:30's coming much too early tomorrow.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Day Off in Savannah
Damn, it seemed like that bus ride was gonna go on forever. By the time we got to the hotel at 4pm, I just wanted to get the hell away from everybody on the bus. It ain't no fun sometimes, taking an 800-mile drive with 9 other people jammed into a 45-foot submarine.
Dashed up to my room and got online to deal with some work stuff. I'm working on pieces of 3 different tours at this point. Still finishing off some Josh stuff from Australia, in full swing out here on the R. Kelly tour, and doing advance work for my upcoming tour of New Zealand, Australia and Japan with Rage Against The Machine. Of course, being a day off, I don't want to do too much, especially this late in the day.
Grabbed a shower and called Janet to see if she wanted to go to dinner. Yep, the lovely Janet Taylor, who I've worked with for years. We've done several tours together over the last 5 years, so I trust her to come in here and take over for me on the last few shows. Her tour with Mannheim Steamroller just ended, and she lives in St. Louis, so it was pretty easy for her to just come to the show there yesterday, and then jump on the bus last night.
We spent 20 minutes or so walking around down by the river checking out menus. Wound up grabbing a drink at some joint. For whatever reason, they only had 3 kinds of beer there – Michelob Light, Mich Ultra, and Miller Lite. Huh? No Bud?
We each had a Crown Royal and ginger ale instead.
No atmosphere, so off we went. Eventually found a good place to have dinner. I got the scallops and oysters, Janet had crab legs and boiled shrimp. Waaaaay too much food. We staggered out of there, stuffed.
Went back to the hotel bar, where a bunch of crew folks and some of the dancers were hanging out. A couple of idiot crew guys were completely wasted, to the point of being embarrassing. One of them kept pissing off the staff by lighting up, even though it was a no-smoking bar. He was about to get his ass whipped when he finally quit that shit. I hate when crew guys act like morons, because they represent all of us. Six months from now, no one that works here will say "That guy from New Jersey was a jerk", they'll say "All those R. Kelly people were a bunch of assholes." That's one of the reasons I rarely hang out with crew people on the road – they just don't know how to behave and I don't want to be associated with them.
Made it back to my room around 1 and did a little websurfing…
Dashed up to my room and got online to deal with some work stuff. I'm working on pieces of 3 different tours at this point. Still finishing off some Josh stuff from Australia, in full swing out here on the R. Kelly tour, and doing advance work for my upcoming tour of New Zealand, Australia and Japan with Rage Against The Machine. Of course, being a day off, I don't want to do too much, especially this late in the day.
Grabbed a shower and called Janet to see if she wanted to go to dinner. Yep, the lovely Janet Taylor, who I've worked with for years. We've done several tours together over the last 5 years, so I trust her to come in here and take over for me on the last few shows. Her tour with Mannheim Steamroller just ended, and she lives in St. Louis, so it was pretty easy for her to just come to the show there yesterday, and then jump on the bus last night.
We spent 20 minutes or so walking around down by the river checking out menus. Wound up grabbing a drink at some joint. For whatever reason, they only had 3 kinds of beer there – Michelob Light, Mich Ultra, and Miller Lite. Huh? No Bud?
We each had a Crown Royal and ginger ale instead.
No atmosphere, so off we went. Eventually found a good place to have dinner. I got the scallops and oysters, Janet had crab legs and boiled shrimp. Waaaaay too much food. We staggered out of there, stuffed.
Went back to the hotel bar, where a bunch of crew folks and some of the dancers were hanging out. A couple of idiot crew guys were completely wasted, to the point of being embarrassing. One of them kept pissing off the staff by lighting up, even though it was a no-smoking bar. He was about to get his ass whipped when he finally quit that shit. I hate when crew guys act like morons, because they represent all of us. Six months from now, no one that works here will say "That guy from New Jersey was a jerk", they'll say "All those R. Kelly people were a bunch of assholes." That's one of the reasons I rarely hang out with crew people on the road – they just don't know how to behave and I don't want to be associated with them.
Made it back to my room around 1 and did a little websurfing…
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Show Day in Augusta, GA
I somehow managed to develop a head cold while I was at that bar Firehouse the other night. I woke up with that funny "scratchy" throat feeling yesterday and it's worse today. Whatever it is, I need to burn it off before the 13th when I get on a plane for New Zealand.
Today's show is at the James Brown Arena, part of the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center Complex. Check out the sign:
Note the "GFOS" under the microphone – you may have to click on the photo to enlarge it. I'm thinking that it should actually be "GOS" since it stands for Godfather of Soul. Maybe down here it's God Father.
Today's show is at the James Brown Arena, part of the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center Complex. Check out the sign:
Note the "GFOS" under the microphone – you may have to click on the photo to enlarge it. I'm thinking that it should actually be "GOS" since it stands for Godfather of Soul. Maybe down here it's God Father.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Day Off in Augusta
Happy Doggone New Year, Everybody! Damn, I'm gonna turn 50 this year. Gonna get my AARP card and everything. Cool.
We had a pretty long haul to Augusta, arriving mid-afternoon. The cold snap has the entire Southeast just freezing. It's gonna be in the low-20's here tonight. Even as far south as Key West, Florida, it'll be in the 40's. Sure wish I was sitting at home and it was snowing like hell.
The only bar open in downtown Augusta was a rock 'n roll dive bar called Firehouse. I wound up over there by about 7:30. There were only 3 customers when we first walked in. I had run into Kurtis, our head rigger, while walking around looking for someplace to eat, so he tagged along with me. They didn't have food, but after a few good tips on rounds of beers, I asked Amber, our lovely bartender, if it would be OK to order a couple of pizzas. No sweat. Pies were ordered and shared, much beer was consumed.
I finally left around 11:30 to head back to the hotel. Musta been about 20 degrees by then. That was one cold walk home. Maybe I should have packed long pants for this tour.
Nah…
We had a pretty long haul to Augusta, arriving mid-afternoon. The cold snap has the entire Southeast just freezing. It's gonna be in the low-20's here tonight. Even as far south as Key West, Florida, it'll be in the 40's. Sure wish I was sitting at home and it was snowing like hell.
The only bar open in downtown Augusta was a rock 'n roll dive bar called Firehouse. I wound up over there by about 7:30. There were only 3 customers when we first walked in. I had run into Kurtis, our head rigger, while walking around looking for someplace to eat, so he tagged along with me. They didn't have food, but after a few good tips on rounds of beers, I asked Amber, our lovely bartender, if it would be OK to order a couple of pizzas. No sweat. Pies were ordered and shared, much beer was consumed.
I finally left around 11:30 to head back to the hotel. Musta been about 20 degrees by then. That was one cold walk home. Maybe I should have packed long pants for this tour.
Nah…
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