Aerosmith 1984 Tour

For the next six weeks my gig was with the band named Orion the Hunter an off shoot of the group Boston. We were the support act on the 1984 Aerosmith reunion tour called BACK IN THE SADDLE. The treatment we received being in the support spot wasn’t like the usual; we were accepted as a part of the Aerosmith crew, which wasn’t the case when I toured with U2 in 1982 opening for the J Giels Band. To give you an idea of how like gold we were, Aerosmith gave us all access laminates to wear and total freedom to move about back stage with no issues. Which isn’t the norm on most tours. This gig was the very first time I saw a production office filled with computers and people going crazy over phone lines for modems to hook up to. Before this tour, computers were nowhere to be found on the road. I can only imagine the landscape in today’s world of devices and present day touring.

If the internet, cell phone cameras and You Tube were present in the eighties my story would have probably been visually documented, which I’m glad it’s not. Personally, I like flying under the radar and not drawing attention to myself.

Anyway, that tour gave me the time I needed to heal from the road thrashing I’d just experienced on the John Cougar tour. Plus, being the support act I had little responsibility which allowed me to reflect on things to come. RJ gave me the green light; I was going to be Donnie’s wing man on the Prince gig. It would start at the end of this tour and was set to perform well over one hundred shows. I also thought about Kip and Sal’s business plan and if they would succeed in finding it a home. Again, I was banking on those guys to help me attain my goal of going around the world doing concert merchandising. My friends, things couldn’t have been finer and I never felt so blessed to be alive. So, when I found out RJ’s company had lost the Prince gig I was blown away.

 Meanwhile, back on the tour, I had the privilege of watching night after night one the hardest working AMERICAN Rock & Roll bands play their music with skill and precision. During each performance, Tyler would introduce to the audience “On guitar, Mr. Mother fuckin Joe Perry!!!” and how right he was. The dude serves up some of the tastiest licks in rock and plays lead with the best of them.

City after city cash and chicks were plentiful. Working and traveling with the merchandisers for Aerosmith turned out to be an okay situation. Some days they busted my balls, other days they didn’t, and such is life. The only minor catch of that tour was no open drug use. The very mention of drugs was cause to fire you immediately. Keeping Tyler clean was a tough job for his handlers and for the most part they succeeded. My favorite Steven Tyler moment of the tour was at the last gig’s after show party. A lot of Aerosmith’s family members were present and enjoying the occasion. Tyler, who for a month and a half was 24/7 moody, did his best Eddie Haskell impersonation from the TV show Leave It to Beaver. I wish I had a video camera to show you the total contrast in his character; it was so Jekyll and Hyde like, that it was scary.

 Aerosmith’s manager, Tim Collins was top shelf in every way possible. Without the right management a rock band has little chance of making it to the big time. The rock business likes to eat its young and shows no mercy to weak rock & roll outfits. The casualty rate is staggering and there’s an endless supply of fresh meat for replacements. Under Tim Collins watchful eye, he single handily took Aerosmith to the top of their game and never veered to the left or right of his goal. He truly was a GREAT manager.

I was relieved to hear from the office that they had another gig set to hit the highway for three and a half months and it was mine. The band’s name was the Fixx, an English new wave act, whose last record had scored them a hit single named “One thing leads to another”. We’d be playing colleges and small theaters all across the US and Canada.

PS, HELLO TO ALL my blogger friends in Russia, South America, Ireland, UK, Germany and Canada. Thank You for following my blog. I hope you enjoy the journey it takes you on.

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John Cougar Mellencamp 1984 Tour

As we drove from Minnesota to Alabama to start the 1984 John Cougar Mellencamp tour, my focus was on what a great time merchandising this gig was going to be. I was a fan of his music which was the opposite of all the other tours I’d been on. Don’t get me wrong, I dug all the bands I worked for, but didn’t own any of their albums, Cougar I did.

As I mentioned in my book, the first night of the tour set the mood for the duration. John Cougar Mellencamp was a total dick 24/7 and a bummer to be around while not performing. I’d been on the road for a few years and knew road protocol, and this tour had none of that. It was a road crew walking on egg shells around a temperamental rock artist looking to tear someone a new ass at will. He was so nasty, that on a future tour drummer Kenny Aronoff asked John if he could sell his drum video at the merchandise stands during concerts and Cougar immediately said no. His chip on the shoulder attitude spared no one from his viciousness. The nights his wife came out to visit he seemed to be even more wicked than usual. She stopped him from bitch hunting for cute blondes which he liked very much and maybe that pissed him off.

However, as a performer John Mellencamp kicked ass and gave concert goers their money’s worth every night. His stage presence had a James Brown rhythm to it and made him electrifying to watch live. His band always fired on eight cylinders and was a lot more than just a back up band.

The audience was an older crowd and very loyal. Merchandise sold well but not great due to not having a young fan base. Though, we vended almost every night and that tour turned out to be the single best money making tour I’d do. We did thirteen shows in a row and blow was required to keep up with the six weeks of grueling nonstop motion.

This tour was a first for me. I met John Mellencamp’s mother and farther who were lovely people to be around, and I scratched my head why their little Johnny Boy was such a terror.

The fourteen foot cube van the three of us traveled in worked out well and that size van became my choice mode of transportation any chance I got. Donnie’s friend JO was the biggest poser I ever met. This jerk off bought penny loafers just like the kind John Mellencamp wore nightly on stage to fit a Cougar like image. Cool shoes on Cougar, on JO, not so cool. JO was a poser personified and I couldn’t wait to part ways with this joke. Looking back, it was a real challenge to teach someone the ropes when you didn’t like them. I remember reminding myself I was being paid a large sum of money to do a job, and like it or not I showed both of them the correct way to be a proficient concert merchandiser.

At the end of that tour I was so road weary that when the office told me my next gig was ready to roll and I’d get no down time, I gave less than a fuck. My addiction to road fever made me instantly reply no problem and the rush of chemicals in my mind instantly reenergized me to a state of pure bliss.

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 I'm thrilled & proud to announce that the The Golden Notebook Bookstore| 29 Tinker Street | Woodstock, NY 12498 | 845-679-8000 is now selling the paperback version of my book ROCK MY WORLD