Rock My World: August 2011

Friday, August 19, 2011

The Police 1982 Tour #2

With The Clash gig under my belt, my boss, Guy, asked me to assist him on The Police Tour which was set to roll immediately. We’d be on the road for month and a half and the majority of the concerts were at outdoor venues. While flying to Virginia to start the tour I reflected on how I’d managed to climb to the number one spot and go beyond all the other merchandisers who were labeled Guy’s golden boys. Unlike them, I knew what Guy was seeking in an employee. Which was, a loyal solider who never questioned the tasks he was asked to perform and delivered results.

In 1982 I was twenty five years old and finally comfortable in my own skin. I felt like anything was possible. With that in mind, I set a new goal that I would hook up with some rock outfit and go around the world with them as their merchandiser. I’d reached all the earlier goals I set and knew I'd found the right path to succeeding in life. As the jet touched down I was thrilled to be back on the road. That first leg of The Police Tour was still resonating in my head and had me buzzing! I mentioned in my book I was dumbfounded when Guy cut me loose after the very last concert date. I wasn’t aware I'd fucked up until I was on the jet flight heading home with a bad gut feeling about my future. All my goals were in question and my career had just hit a brick wall at full speed and I never saw it coming!

On the other hand, I met two people on that gig who'd be critical in me succeeding at my new goal. Separately, I instantly bonded with both of them, but the key parts they played in the progression of my journey didn’t ratchet into effect until later.

So, back to the tour! From day one, it was mad fun. I knew everyone on the road crew and my job inside and out. Guy was paying me a nice tidy sum of money for being his right hand man. Everyday, I was thinking, I was going to indefinitely be a concert merchandiser. My boss and I are solid! I’m focusing on the future, that I’ll be put back on The Clash Tour or some new act Guy was bidding on. SHIT, I’m firing on all eight cylinders! All of The Police concerts where at union run facilities which left plenty of time to barter and enjoy the freedom of being on the road. Those outdoor venues were always such fun and had a great vibe!

For me, the road had become my home and when I was stationary it’s wasn’t cool! I'd been mobile for a year and a half and seduced by the lifestyle.

Imagine, whatever you fancy yourself being and then find yourself doing it. What an incredible feeling, right, that’s what I was experiencing day after day!

The tour took me to parts of Canada and the US I’d never seen. We played some stadium gigs and a three day rock festival in California named The US festival. Looking back, I enjoyed every glorious day of that six week journey! Near the last week of the tour I had a moment to reflect on my odyssey and never felt so blessed to be alive. Life’s about the journey, at least for me it is, and this was one inconceivable jaunt! All my perseverance pertaining to succeeding was paying off. I reconfirmed my new affirmation and went about my daily routine!

On this leg of the tour, I'd wised up and stayed away from any of the previous run-ins I had with the band like on the first leg. Guy and I spent a lot of time together and he’d tell me great stories of past tours he’d been on and how he got started in the concert merchandise business. Despite Guy being a crook, he really was a brilliant merchandiser. Though, he was his own worst enemy. If he wasn’t ripping you off, he wasn’t satisfied. Guy was masterfully cunning at deception and used it to his advantage 24/7!

The Police loved Guy! He was always invited to fly with the band night after night. Guy was tremendously entertaining to be around and added extra flavor to the cast of characters that flew on the band’s plane! It was said in my book, Guy was slick as ice and I second that nomination!!! The one great skill set of his that rubbed off on me was being able to read people. Guy was incredible at it! He’d watch a person's body mannerisms, eye contact and tone of voice and have them sized up in no time!

It’s funny how the words "what comes around goes around" apply to this tale. Because of all the dirty sneaky rat bastard things I’d done on behalf of Guy, I was about to receive a reality check, and then some. Being in cahoots with him allowed me to flourish in the concert merchandise business, but, his requests and my executing them said it was time for my karma payback. When that tour ended and I got back home it wasn't cool!

Talk to you in two weeks!

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Friday, August 5, 2011

The Clash 1982 Tour

A few days before I started The Clash Tour I reflected on how the last twelve months had been a whirl wind. I couldn't believe I was going to be running my very own tour. Over the last year I had watched and learned from all the people I was surrounded by and now I felt so ready. From that point on I was as serious as a heart attack about achieving my goal of being the best at my job. Like clock work, I had manifested into a proficient concert merchandiser as I sharpened my people skills while dealing with the band's management pertaining to concert merchandise. After that couple month journey I was golden running my own show and I saw nothing but a bright future. I soon found out as the lead person; you're so busy, that you have little time for anything but your job and the perks of it!

The first leg of the Combat Rock Tour was set at a brake neck pace compared to any previous tour I'd done. Just like U2, The Clash was driving two station wagons, one for the band and the other for the crew. We'd do a few shows in a row and then have some really long overnight drives which extended into the next day, week after week.

Everywhere we played the merchandise sold like I'd never seen and Guy was flying in and out of gigs, grabbing money left and right. As I've mentioned in my book concert merchandise can be a monster money maker and The Clash fit the bill. Almost every night we sold stacks of Clash shirts to all those loyal fans.

Two blogs ago I remarked that when I first met U2 they didn't reek of super stardom, but, The Clash sure did. In particular, Joe Stummer's supreme arrogance said ROCK STAR with an attitude everywhere he went! Joe never veered to the left or right of that aura, and out of all the rock outfits I'd worked for he was the real deal. When he walked into a room full of individuals he owned it. People were mesmerized by his presence. One night that rings out, was in Austin, Texas while hanging around the hotel's bar with the band and crew. The collective conversation was about the next day's video shoot for the song Rock the Casbah. It was cool to watch Joe express his point of view in a very artistic way to the video's director and get his message across.

Back to concert merchandise, it's a huge instant cash generator and bands are not so quick in sharing the profits that are created. I know from being on the road that groups like the Ramones would not include new members in any of the merchandise royalties. The Rolling Stones didn't give Ron Wood a piece of the merchandise for many years. If you're on the road and not selling out venues, the nightly concert merchandise sales can be a godsend. We as humans get funny when it comes to money, and it doesn't matter if they're your band mates or not!

Today, the concert merchandise business is pretty much corporate run and they want all the instant cash flow for themselves. In the Eighties there was nothing but independent companies providing this service and that's gone forever. Corporations have such a strong hold that a person like Guy wouldn't be able to steal a dime, let alone, get a chance to! The only way to describe the vibe of this business in the early Eighties was like a Wild West frontier. It had no rules, no boundaries and an every person for himself attitude. It really was an open range of opportunity. Again, today it's so structured, that it might not be as much fun as it was then to be a concert merchandiser. But, I'm sure the perks haven't changed!

In my book I talked about key words that helped to propel me through out my five and a half year odyssey. That Clash Tour is where they all flourished into reality. I know it sounds like BS or the choir preaching, but, self belief mixed with some key words really works. This tour was a major achievement in my professional life. A couple years earlier I wasn't seeing things the way I saw them now. I fully understood LOUD& CLEAR the power of those influential words and I'm thankful to them over and over.