(01-14-2014, 04:30 PM)RobinsonsHeave link Wrote:[quote author=SUBuddha link=topic=9386.msg81686#msg81686 date=1389734301]
[quote author=Mick link=topic=9386.msg81679#msg81679 date=1389729326]
Spring, 1982, sophomore at SCU. A coincidence; SCU at the time did not have classes on Wednesdays, so they had a surplus of really good bands seeking decent paydays (they could be had cheap) for Tuesday night concerts. At the same time, my roommate's best friend was the student body social VP, so he got to pick the bands and the students who worked stage crew.
That's how I was sitting on the back of the stage one night when a local band that had been bouncing around Bay Area clubs for a few years appeared. They had just had their first hit, but they'd never played before a crowd of more than a few hundred before. But that night, our little gym was packed with about 5,500 people. The band? Huey Lewis & the News. The song? "Workin for a Livin."
They received a warm reception (more than polite, less than crazed...call it "enthused" but when they went into "Workin for a Livin" the place erupted. At the instrumental portion, Lewis turned around and looked at his drummer and yelled "can you fxxxing believe this!?!?" Sheer delight on his face, and his band mates' faces. A band that was about to make it. You could feel it.Â
Also got to work Starship. Grace Slick on my list of Top Ten People to Avoid At All Costs.
Mick of the shows I have worked I would say my top 3 avoid at all costs are Ted Nugent, Darius Rucker and Vince Neil. I loved working for Metallica (James is a great guy) Sammy Hagar is a hoot, ICE-T was very fun to work for and finally I will work for Joan Jett any time she is in town.
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I'm actually a big fan of Darius Rucker. He's always seemed like a genuinely nice guy. What did he do to rub you wrong?
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Keep in mind that this was at the end of the Hooty stage of his career. His personal guard handed all duties to me upon arrival, at which point I witnessed him using things that I will not put in writing, yelling at my staff about the green room (they were playing a small bar in Tucson for F sake) and he then berated my staff regarding how awful our town was. I mean Tucson is a dirty city, but you agreed to play here.
In contrast, at the same club I did personal protection for RATT on 9/11. Their plane was grounded in NM and they rented vans to drive to the show so as to not miss playing at our hokey little dive bar in AZ. That, to me, was putting it out there for the fans. They even brought my GM up on stage on his birthday that day to do the chorus of Round -n- Round.
I second the what happened to Hulk's account!