REM 1985 TOUR

Until the 1985 REM Tour, my favorite gig was the 1984 Fixx tour. That changed while both Donnie and I rode on one of the two REM crew buses handling merchandise sales. This was a tour I’d pushed RJ into letting me take, and I was really excited about doing it. I’d been a big fan of the band and REM was the largest tour we had. Gig wise, REM and crew were of the same fabric as the Fixx. Day in and day out, REM made being on the road a pleasure! Two major differences between the tours were that REM’s new record was a hit and so were their merchandise sales. The groove of the tour was a fast pace. We’d do three or four shows in a row and the merchandise sales kept ratcheting higher and higher. That gig was a winner for all involved. The first leg of the tour we played a string of shows on the west coast and down south. This time around while riding on the bus it was the right combination of people to be surrounded by 24/7, which can sometimes be tricky! Night after night we drank, smoked and slept in comfort while traveling across country.

Another difference worth mentioning about the two tours was there were no women hanging out with band members. As curious as I was, I never questioned why. Years later I found out why, but, in 1985 Michael Stipe’s façade as a straight front man was bullet proof and not a word was ever mentioned that he was gay. A lot of the crew were friends of the band and if they knew about Michael, their mouths were wired shut. The few times I was around him I didn’t get the vibe he was gay. I found him to be nothing but upbeat and friendly. Management successfully kept that bit of personal info about Michael under lock and key and wasn’t looking to fuck with the up draft momentum the band was experiencing. So, it was a stag tour of sorts for chicks and really no big deal, just different. Every chance I could, I called a lady friend who lived in a city we played and invited her to come and enjoy the show. Most concerts were in four or five thousand seat venues and sold out. A lot of these places I’d played on previous tours and knew what to expect.

 I was thrilled to work with Donnie; unbeknownst to him, he was very instrumental in my quest of attaining my goal and never knew how important he was to me. I’ll always be grateful for meeting him while on the 1982 Police tour. Donnie and I looked at life through the same set of priorities and I know he too enjoyed himself everyway possible while on the road. During that REM tour I told myself it doesn’t get any better than this as far as concert merchandising goes. As I mentioned, riding on the bus and not having to drive show after show was sweet. Being paid extra money to vend nightly, extra sweet! I was making a fat mattress salary and traveling with a band I dug. My friends, I was as high as a kite on life and loving every minute of it.

So, as I mentioned in my book, when Donnie and I were abruptly yanked off the tour and sent in separate directions I was bumming big time. All I kept thinking was this was another round of karma fucking with me. But, to my pleasant surprise karma did me a solid gold favor. I was going to be spending the remainder of 1985 doing merchandising for two different acts slated at separate times to be the support band on the upcoming Motley Crue Theater of Pain tour. That Motley tour, turned out to be an orgy of the things that make touring magical, and I was never so ready for the challenge of partying my ass off!

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