I moved
to Vancouver in late 1992 and easily discovered the most used hotels, and the
backstage access numbers for most venues, and continued on with my conquesting
of concerts in my new home city.
Def
Leppard had just entered the touring world again after a lengthy hiatus and
they were particular favourites of mine so I worked extra hard to secure an
inside track with them. My band in Moncton had been called Savage, loosely
named after Def Leppard’s bassist, Rick Savage. We covered a lot of Leppard
songs and I loved their style, arrangements and general nice English-lad
demeanour which had also drawn me once upon a time to Duran Duran.
I had
seen the Leps in concert in Moncton in 1988, but that was before I had really
sunk my teeth into my more detailed methods of gaining backstage access with
ease. They were so amazing on stage, had so much energy with the most uplifting
and powerful hooks and melodies. I was absolutely in awe of them and had more
than a little crush on singer Joe Elliot. I was bound and determined to meet
these guys as soon as I had the chance.
So in
late 1992, when Def Leppard played Vancouver, I found myself speaking to their
tour manager, Marty, and being surprisingly honest for a change.
“Seriously,
I am their biggest fan, please can you help me meet them?” I wanted this one so
much and I hoped this man would be sympathetic to that.
“How did
you say you found my name and hotel?” he sounded friendly but definitely was
giving me the third degree. “And why should you get to meet them over someone
else? They have a lot of fans.”
“Well,
my band was named after Rick Savage, and I would love to be able to tell him
that. And I went to a lot of trouble to track you down, took a lot of time and
effort to find you so I am really hoping it is worth it. Oh please, it would
mean so much to me!”
I was
reduced to common begging when faced with my favourite band but I could hear in
his voice, he was just making me sing for my supper. He was impressed that I
had found him and was actually just quite chatty and seemed to enjoy keeping me
in suspense. So when at last he agreed to give me two tickets and passes, I was
thrilled to bits. I didn’t have many friends in Vancouver at that time so I was
taking my boss from the record store I worked in. She was definitely impressed
by my ability to work this kind of magic but my aim with this one had not been
to impress. I just wanted to meet the Leps and enjoy every moment of their
show. Which is exactly what I did.
Hands
down, they were the nicest rock stars I have ever met. Sometimes when you meet
famous people that you really love, and they turn out to be less than you hoped
for in personality or charm (like Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden), it is a
huge letdown and you never see them the same way as you once did. But for me,
with Def Leppard, they lived up to every expectation I had, for which I will
always be grateful and will always love them best.
They
were all so down to earth, charming and open to chat and did not come across as
the stereotypical “rock stars” I so often had met before. They just seemed
absolutely normal; I would have loved to jam with them!
I made
sure to tell Rick Savage I had named my band Savage after him and our love of
the Leps and he nicely said, “Oh, I bet you played the songs much better than
we do! Good for you!” It made my whole night!
I made
sure to find Marty too. I shook his hand, and thanked him profusely for
allowing me this wonderful evening with the Leps. He then said the magic words
to cement my place in all future Def Leppard backstages: “Any time!”
I took
him up on that offer time and time again, and the boys never disappointed me. It
was in fact, a Def Leppard concert in Toronto in 1996 that became my final
concert and backstage experience as I entered real adulthood at the age of 26.
While
creating a life for myself in Vancouver and working as a travel agent, my
concert attending and partying was slowly dropping further and further away
from my life. I was finding new priorities and felt quite satisfied with all
the wonderful shows I had seen and all the backstages I had conquered. I had
impressed many friends, and I had outsmarted many people throughout the music
industry. I had so many cherished memories and it was actually becoming more of
a pain in the ass than an exciting pleasure to score my way into the shows any
longer. I guess I was growing up and growing away from the need to show off to
my friends. The people in my life who counted knew who I was and what I was
capable of. I was more content listening to music or singing at home and pretending
to wow huge audiences in my mind than actually see the performers live any
more. I just had lost the drive to be the backstage queen and my life was about
other things now.
I
enjoyed every moment of that final Def Leppard show in Toronto in the summer of
96. My friends had gone backstage while the Leps were on, to party with the
openers Tripping Daisy, as one of my girlfriends was dating a band member. All
I wanted to do was soak in the music, and dance on my seat. I had flown to
Toronto for the concert specifically and it was a great one. I sort of felt it
might be the last one. Maybe not forever, but it was the last one I would
probably work so hard for. We had a fantastic night backstage, drinking the
Leps beer and I drunkenly almost left with a 6 pack before my friend stopped me
and scolded me! I was just having such a fun time and I didn’t want it to end.
My memories never would though.
Flash
forward to 2003. I was pregnant with my first baby, and my 12 year old niece
was obsessed with Avril Lavigne. Years had passed since that final Def Leppard
backstage in 1996, and I hadn’t thought about concerts in a long time. I wasn’t
even living near to a venue and I certainly didn’t have any plans to travel somewhere
for a concert. But my niece loved hearing my stories and wished so much I could
make that same magic happen for her first concert. She wanted to meet Avril so
much. After some thought on the matter, I decided to contact a couple of my old
groupie friends. Some of them were still active on the scene and I had one
girlfriend who had dated the roommate of Avril’s drummer. It could be a good
lead and I wanted to help my niece, so I checked it out.
My
friend was happy to give me a good cover story since she had recently had a
nasty break up with this roommate of Avril’s drummer, and she had no problem
giving me lots of inside scoop. Once well-armed with all the information I
needed, I decided to see if my old ways still retained some charm. I began by
calling the venue in Edmonton where Avril was playing that night. A girl who
sounded about fourteen answered the phone! I soon realized, that it was just
that I was now so much older…a fact that continues to catch me off guard! This
would be a piece of cake, I thought with my usual arrogance.
“Hi,
this is Rebecca from CKNC radio in Northern B.C. (completely made up off the
top of my head, not that this “kid” receptionist would know!) and I need to get
in touch with production for tonight’s show.”
“I am
sorry, that line is private, maybe I can take a message?” Damn, this little
“kid” was good! She almost caught me off guard but I recovered quickly.
“No. I
need to reach road tour management right away but if you can’t help me, I will
just have to go back to my office and get the number. Charles in head office
said for me just to try the box office rather than me having to drive all the
way back to get it! I would forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on!” I tried to
sound frustrated and self-effacing both at the same time.
“Well…hold
on a moment, I will see if I can put you through, but I can’t give out the
number..,one moment.” She was waffling! I was pleased with myself but not
through the gate yet. After what seemed like an eternity, she returned to the
line.
“Ok
ma’am (Ooh how I hate being called that!), I will put you through, hold one
moment.”
“Thanks
so much for your help.” I breathed a sigh of relief and prepared myself for the
acting job ahead of me as the backstage line rang and rang.
A gruff
male voice answered after a few minutes and, going on the assumption this was
not the drummer named Matt that I was looking for, I blurted out my
radio-personnel story and gave him the tour manager’s name, explaining I needed
to confer with him right away. The gruff sounding grunt told me the man I was
looking for was back at the hotel and not due to arrive for another hour. I
bluffed and said I would try him at the hotel, trying to sound very
knowledgeable. But before he hung up, I boldly asked, “Is this the only
production line back there? Or are there several extensions?” He told me that
was the only one and my luck was with me, as he confirmed the number back to me
quite happily, even if still with a rough-edge to his tone. Now that I had the
number to the backstage line, I could call back again at my leisure. But I also
had the information that the entourage was staying at a local hotel. It wasn’t
long before I had found the hotel I needed and was on the line with Avril’s
tour manager. He sounded easy-going and as I explained to him my story that
linked me to Avril’s drummer Matt, it made enough sense to him to be believable.
I had some great facts and details from my groupie friend, and the tour manager
took down my number and said he would have Matt call me as soon as possible.
Waiting
for the phone call drove me crazy! I waited for awhile but I am not very
patient when it comes to concerts and arrangements for backstages, so after a
few hours I called directly to the backstage line that I nicely had secured,
and within moments I had Matt on the other end of the phone!
“Hi
Matt! I spoke to James (the tour manager) earlier in his hotel room. I wasn’t
sure the best way to get in touch with you….but I am a good friend of Jennie’s!
You may not remember but we partied together at New Year last year in Toronto,
you were pretty hammered and, well…we all were!” I giggled for good effect and
I heard him laugh too. My story checked out with him, Jennie was his
ex-girlfriend, she’d filled me in on how drunk he was at the big New Year’s
bash and how many girls had been all over him. In his booze-clouded memories, I
would hopefully just be one of those girls.
We
chatted back and forth a bit more, like old friends almost! He was perfectly
relaxed talking to me, feeling secure that he had “partied” with me previously
and I was linked to Jennie. I explained finally about wanting to get my niece
into the show and sweetly added how great it would be to see him again and
“catch up”. Oh how I hoped my baby didn’t start crying at that crucial moment!
He was
so obliging and took down my name (I gave him my sister’s name since I
obviously wouldn’t be going myself!) and said he would leave three tickets and
passes and looked forward to seeing me later. I felt so triumphant! I still had
the power! I still could work the backstage magic! Just like riding a horse, I
thought. Even if you fall off, you just get back on and it all comes back to
you. I would always be able to do this, no matter how much time passed, no
matter who the performers were. I felt confident that if I wanted it to happen,
I would always be able to make it happen.
My niece
had a fantastic time at the concert. Matt had come through like he promised and
her first concert experience is one she will never forget. I passed his name
out to other young family members and gave lots of advice on how to make the
backstage access happen, but still not too many seem able to grab the phone and
put on the right performance that I perfected in my own special way.
I am so
proud of all the memories I have made and can make again, should I ever choose
to, or should anyone need my help. But the only backstage access my life holds
these days is for something kid-friendly. My life is all about my children
these days and although it was fun while it lasted, my days of making backstage
magic are now behind me. And has made some great bedtime stories for the next
generation of concert goers that I am raising! I am teaching my children to
always go after what you want, using their own power, inner magic, and a whole
lot of rock and roll!