My brother-in-law Troy, whom I love very much even though we've had our differences a few times over the years, is the drummer for a band named Tesla. They first popped onto the mainstream scene in the mid-1980's; I had even heard some of their songs, while sequestered at the top of a mountain in Healdsburg, CA, where radios and TV were forbidden and rock music was definitely frowned upon by my boarding school's strict administration. They were probably at the peak of their popularity in 1989, when an epic song called "Love Song" was getting airplay on the mainstream rock stations. I really did like that song, but I didn't know the name of the band that played it.
And then I met Mike. That story will have to come at another time.
Since then, I've had many opportunities to attend Tesla concerts and meet a few people. It's usually fun, and sometimes pretty boring. Sadly, I don't have much more than passes to show for it all because management companies and venues were extremely strict about not allowing cameras into concerts. With the advent of photo-capable phones, that rule has fallen by the wayside.
I had the opportunity this last Sunday to go to a Tesla concert being held at UCLA. They were opening for Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison. Usually Tesla headlines, but this was a benefit concert for diabetes awareness and prevention, something Bret is championing as a man with diabetes. I grabbed my friend Jenifer and we headed out on the highway to go see our "boys".
Now, I've taken Jen backstage to a concert before. We watched the show, sang our hearts out, then headed backstage where we just kind of stood around and waited to meet the guys and say "hi" to Troy. We got a few hugs and a couple of pictures with our phones.
All pictures can be seen enlarged by clicking:
Not the best pictures, but they were in a parking lot at night, so what can you expect?
We left mid-morning, planning to be there mid-afternoon, which we were. Troy called me while I was on the freeway passing through Burbank and said to park as close as possible to the backstage and let them know that I was expected. And so the adventure began...
Finding the campus was easy. Finding the venue was not so easy. Finally we spotted some men in yellow jackets labeled "Security" and we knew we were onto something. I pulled into a small driveway and asked for help. These very helpful men called a young man on a golf cart and had him take us to the parking garage. It was very gray and overcast, which was unusual for LA, and Jen was wearing white shorts. She decided it would be prudent to change clothes BEFORE we rode on the 2-seated golf cart (it had a flat bed). Climbing into the back seat to change, she requested I not drive by any trucks. She was safe. On the way to the garage, she said that she hoped she could drive the golf cart as she's never driven one before, an option we both thought wouldn't be available. When we stepped out of the car, he asked, "Which one of you wants to drive?" And that's how Jen got to drive her first golf cart.
He directed us back up the little driveway we had been in before, through a very narrow gate, and right up to the backstage door. We got out, asked around, and discovered that Troy was on stage, setting up his drum kit. I didn't have my backstage pass out because I didn't know if I needed a different one for this show and Jen didn't have one at all; we were strictly going by my ID and last name at this point, I can't believe they let us through so easily; so they let us up on a balcony to watch him. He eventually spotted us from the stage and called me over. That's when he told me to take out my pass and we went to the dressing room and got one for Jen. We now both have All Access for the entire tour. Here's what we saw next door to Tesla's dressing room:
Bret's dressing room.
We went into the room and sat around and waited. The band, according to the schedule, was on lunch. There was a full sandwich bar with chips and candy, etc., set up. One by one, the members straggled through the door and started getting ready for the evening. Brian came in with his two Jack Russel terriers, Bonnie and Clyde, and his wife Monique. Jeff came in alone and Frank came in with his 12 year old son Alex, who greatly resembles his dad. Dave came in later and had his wife and a couple of friends with him.
Jeff was in top form. He was in a story-telling mood, and boy, can that man weave a story! Soon enough, it was time for sound check. Troy grabbed me and Jen and I followed him out to the stage. We opted to sit in the chairs while they worked sound check. Troy did his bit, then Brian, then Frank. Alex played a few bars of "Crazy Train" and "Rock Me Like a Hurricane" on his dad's guitars. Dave checked his, and Jeff just kind of bounced around the stage. At this point, it started raining, something we had been told wouldn't happen.
When sound check was done, we went back to the dressing room, which was really starting to fill up. Jeff continued to come out from the back and tell us stories and Bonnie and Clyde kept looking for love and attention. There was a couple with their 3 and 7 year-olds, Devon and Maya, and they were so sweet and cute! We ended up watching the kids, Alex included, eat far too much sugar and start bouncing off the walls.
Soon, it was time for the Meet and Greet. Jen and I were swept along across some tennis courts and into a tent with tall tables and food. We ended up walking in with Jeff and Dave, who were telling Jen that Bret owes her $30 for a canceled concert in 1989, or at least she could give him a swift kick to a sensitive area. Once inside, a local radio host did a quick interview with the guys and let the audience ask them a few questions. Jeff, already being hyper and having eaten a bunch of junk, was dancing all over the stage and then fell off the back into the tent. What a goof!
Once the M&G was done, it was time to go to the dressing room - again. This time the guys really were concerned about getting ready for the show, taking showers, changing clothes, etc. Monique came in and said that the Bret M&G was a madhouse and she left it because you couldn't even move. Alex confessed to me that he had already had 2 Mountain Dews and about a dozen mini Snickers. Maya and Devon played Phineas and Ferb songs on their mom Jackie's iPod. Jeff entertained us some more and then - out of the blue - shows up with a big cup of coffee.
Now, I had been looking for coffee and could not find it. I was resigned to the fact that there just wasn't any. Naturally, I jumped all over this. "Jeff! Where did you get coffee?!" "It's upstairs." "What?!" "Grab your cup, put in some creamer, put the lid on, and follow me." Jen and I did as told and followed Jeff upstairs.
Upstairs was more food, catered, and coffee. A couple of members from Bret's band were finishing dinner and Jeff stopped to talk to them. I started to pour my coffee when Jeff yelled, "You're doing it wrong!" and proceeded to tell me how it just HAD to be done so that I could get the full effect. As we laughed and joked about how to make and not make a cup of coffee, I was missing my chance downstairs, in the room I had been in most of the day...
When we walked back into the dressing room, Jackie said, "You just missed Bret. He just came through." That would have been my only chance at getting a picture with him that night. Darn that Jeff.
Before we knew it, it was show time. Now, watching a show from backstage is nothing like watching a show from the audience. First we went up into the wings on the stage, but Jen and I are such big fans that that wasn't good enough for us. We wanted to be in front, right in front of the speakers.
The rain was really starting to come down so we headed backstage to listen. Tesla finished their set and Troy once again grabbed us and dragged us to the dressing room while Bret's band set up. We heard them start, but still stayed put until Troy announced that he really wanted to go listen. Backstage we went again. I tried to get as many pictures as I could for my friend Aurora, who is crazy about Bret.
Again, Jen and I wanted to be up front. Unfortunately, security wasn't honoring our All Access passes and wouldn't let me stand in the front where I didn't have an assigned seat (what?!), but I managed to get one shot from the front.
Bored with standing in the middle, Jen and I wandered around the backstage and back to the dressing room for awhile. Troy found us and asked us to go out with him again, so we headed to the sound booth with him and his friend Ryan to finish watching the show.
The show over, we once again headed to the dressing rooms. Outside, we ran into some of Bret's band, but no Bret. Troy and Bret's drummer met and traded numbers. I have to admit, the guy was awesome.
While standing there, I saw Dave just sort of hanging around. I said that I'd never had a picture with him, so Troy took one of us. Unfortunately, Troy isn't the best photographer. We got one of Jen with him, too. All we have left to get is Brian, and I have no idea why I didn't ask this time.
I really tried to postpone my leaving so that we could get a picture with Bret, but Troy and Ryan insisted on walking us to our car. And that is what the VIP treatment is like, backstage at a Tesla show.
No comments:
Post a Comment