AUTOGRAPH 1985 TOUR

The winter of 1985 I spent dry docked working in RJ’s office and living at his lakefront house. The house, situated on picturesque Lake Minnetonka was KILLER!  It was a beautiful place to live and allowed me a tranquil environment where I could think things out. Work wise, I quickly learned that I could easily adapt to working and running a business office, only not for someone else! I knew on the front end from past employers, office personnel make dick for pay and in my eyes this office job was going to be short lived.

All those negative thoughts I’d dealt with in 1984 about time issues kept trying to resurface and that was real fun! Worst of all, my road fever was starting to make me itch for a fix. I thanked god when I received Kip’s second phone call while on the up coming 1985 Autograph tour. That conversation finally smothered to death my situation about future time frame issues.

When spring arrived my lust for the road had me packed and ready to roll. The six weeks I spent working and traveling with the hair metal band I just mentioned named Autograph turned out to be a really good time for all. The band, crew and I traveled together on a single tour bus for the duration. That situation had its good points and bad. Good in the sense of traveling with the band and riding on the bus was big time fun. The bad part was being stuck night after night playing nothing but dive clubs.

Doing a club tour as a concert merchandiser is no doubt the bottom rung on the ladder and builds character, like it or not!

During the tour we pretty much lived on the bus and really didn’t stay at many hotels. All facets of touring were in excess while traveling directly with the band. The partying and the bartering were insane. Hair metal groupies were everywhere and total eye candy to look at. Being with the band certainly had its extra perks! The merchandise sales were horrible and RJ’s investment smelled and looked like the same fate bestowed on Orion the Hunter.

As I said in my book, concert merchandising is a real crap shoot. Let’s say, you put up a hundred thousand dollars to secure a band’s merchandise rights, then after six consecutive weeks of touring and losing more money in pursuit of your original investment you end up a total loser. This shit is not for the weak at heart or someone who doesn’t have a deep pocket. Luckily, RJ had both the gut and cash to persevere a few of these hits and kept the company going.

So, as the tour progressed I was flying high that my affirmation of going around the world in 1986 was going manifest and couldn’t wait. From that point on I instantly recaptured my love affair with touring and felt 1985 was going to be really special. I stayed focused in the here and now, and was operating at full bore every god damn day!  

Overall Autograph was a great bunch and the crew too. Unknowingly and to my surprise, months later I was thrilled to hear Autograph was going to be the support act on the upcoming 1985 Motley Crue Theater of Pain tour and request my presence. Meanwhile, my next gig was with the band REM and set to start right after Autograph’s tour finished.

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THE FIXX 1984 TOUR

The 1984 Fixx tour turned out to be one of the favorite gigs I’d do. As far as touring goes, those three and a half months spent engaged in motion were absolutely perfect. The band and crew had no airs about them and we all jelled into one big pack of road dogs. The pacing on The Fixx tour was rapid and that’s the way I always liked it. Every week we played three or four shows in a row and usually had one day off for a far- reaching drive. After four years of hands on experience, my job was never easier. As I mentioned in my book, Wonder turned out to be gold and confirmed my belief in second chances. He was my number two favorite road brother, Eric being first, and made traveling with someone 24/7 no problem. While on tour we played tons of secondary markets all across America and I saw parts of the US so unspoiled by development it was priceless to view. Women and cash were plentiful and all I knew was I was living life to the fullest.
However, my old cosmic buddy karma threw me a curve ball about future concerns pertaining to time issues and what I was willing to endure for attainment of my ultimate goal. I also had June’s parting words before I started the Fixx tour resonating in my private thoughts. This nagging stayed with me right until Kip’s call four months later on the matter of where I fit in the scheme of their business plan. That bit of news single handedly smothered the nag in my head and I was never so happy to be back on track! During this ordeal, all the techniques I’ve talked about in my book were put to the test and hands down perseverance was the work horse of the bunch for keeping me on course.
I have to tell you, the effect that time issue had on me started making me feel anhedonic. So, I told myself during this karma mind fuck that this might be my last gig and I should have as much fun possible while doing it. I was intent on staying focused on being in the here and now verses thinking about things to come.
Looking back, naive as it sounds, I truly thought I had all the time in the world to achieve what I wanted to. Then, one day I had what seemed to be an epiphany that we as humans have very short life spans compared to the age of earth itself. This thought made me think I needed to readjust the time frames of my future goals. Because, all of the sudden in my minds eye, time seemed to be fleeting.
My friends, I found out from this episode that the trick is to enjoy life’s journey no matter what is thrown at you and to make the best of the precious time allowed to us all. Trying to fight time is foolish and one lifetime on earth is enough if done right!
Despite those nagging thoughts, The Fixx tour was a high time for all involved. The road crew loved card games just like The Pretenders crew. These lads also liked wenching, burning and drinking all night long. We stayed at the same hotel as the band and crew and partied all across America and Canada.
Unfortunately, The Fixx were forced by the record label just like Men at Work to rush their follow up record and failed to deliver. As I explained in my book, thank God their manager had the talent to keep the band out on the road for the duration. Because, unlike Men at Work none of the gigs were sold out in advance and the tour could have easily turned into a financial disaster like Orion the Hunter had been for all involved. The Fixx ran into another major problem in that the trend in rock music was shifting from new wave to hair metal bands. The Fixx was pushed to the wayside and never really recovered. The rock business has no loyalty or code and will definitely turn its back on non superstar bands in a heart beat, aren’t they kind!
At the end of that tour I was offered three choices for my next gig and took a path I never saw coming. That situation allowed me time to sort things out and still receive a pay check.

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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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Billy Idol 1984 Tour

Just coming off the 1983 Men at Work Tour and having the Billy Idol gig lined up was a real comfort compared to the previous winter I had spent nailing up siding.

During the entire Idol tour my focus bounced between past and future goals. Since Thanksgiving of 1980 most, if not, all of my affirmations had materialized and I was in awe of the power of self belief. While traveling in the fourteen foot cube van that the three of us drove for the duration, I visualized about things to come. All I kept telling myself was my goal of going around the world would manifest. As my minds eye wandered forward, Kip’s and Sal’s business model resonated that it was my ticket to attainment. So, I chose that vision as my future affirmation and saw myself working for them no matter what! However, I needed to hurry up and wait for another two years or so. Because, like it or not, things come in their own sweet time and perseverance is the best way to ride out time frame situations that require waiting.

Not being in charge of the concert merchandise on the Billy Idol tour wasn’t such a bad thing. It gave me plenty of free time and I loved watching him perform nightly. He and his band were so in the groove that every show was electrifying. Billy’s stage persona was just that! He was nothing like his image, unlike Joe Strummer of the Clash who I had also toured with in 1982 and every bit his! Billy was on tour to promote his new album Rebel Yell and looked to me to have a case of road fever. Some performers hate road travel and word spreads around a crew real quick about the performer’s mood. Because, if you’re traveling with a moody son of a bitch who hates the road, it can really suck big time! Happily as I mentioned, not the case with Billy, he was enjoying his moment in the sun to its fullest capacity! He was also the perfect superstar candidate for MTV which manifested in all of eight weeks. Billy Idol was the fastest rising rock star I’d ever toured with and he made it look cool as shit while doing it! Friends, Billy Idol was nobody’s fool and deserved all the fame and fortune afforded to him!

Billy had a wicked sense of humor and at some shows he’d send the female keyboard player, who was straight as an arrow, to score blow for him. For whatever reason the first and only place she’d come looking for coke was our merchandise table. She’d be all upset she’d been delegated that task and complained on our deaf ears, except for Hank. He thought he was going to bang her and listened intently to her rag on forever about how she knew Billy was outright just fucking with her for being straight. She played Hank like a fiddle and her paying attention to him actually made him tolerable to be around. As far as I was concerned, I made it my business to NEVER get drugs for her. I’d learned, as I mentioned in my book, my lesson really well on the 1982 Police tour about scoring for a band member and knew the ramifications that can come from it.

Hank was our crew chief and one of the most negative people I ever traveled with. If this asshole was an Indian his name would have been Chief Dark Cloud! He was the product of a sour load and a downbeat in every facet of his very being. I was thrilled that in about eight weeks we’d be parting ways forever. In my eyes, life’s too short for surrounding one self with such negativity.

During the second month of the tour we started performing in theaters and arenas and stopped playing just colleges. The tour was another fast paced experience and despite dick head Hank, a lot of fun to be on! I insulated myself from Hank and ratcheted into my work groove, and like I just said enjoyed every god damn day of that tour.

Hey, life’s short, enjoy the journey before you can’t!

We played a bunch of venues I’d already been at on past tours and no karma surprises came my way, to which I was very grateful for. Overall the Billy Idol tour was one of my favorite tours for watching a band night after night! Again, they truly were an electrifying live act and Billy was a perfect front man!

The last week of the tour I was hot to trot about immediately going back to work for RJ and starting the 1984 John Cougar Mellencamp Tour. I was a big fan and couldn’t wait to hit the road doing his concert merchandise. The tour was going to be about two months long and I was ready to part the Idol gig for greener pastures of opportunity!

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Men at Work 1983 Tour

On the flight to Minneapolis I couldn’t stop thinking how my life was in constant flux. As I’ve stated, two years ago, I was nailing aluminum siding and doing other things on the side to subsist. Then, I was a chunk of raw steel being pulled along by the magnet of life. Now, I was shining stainless steel gliding and rising smoothly in the magnetic pool of existence! 

As I've written in previous blogs, self believe is one of the best mind sets used to succeed in the world in which we live. The knowledge that you can manifest your thoughts and be triumphant is really strong stuff. I owed all this positive mental hopscotch I’d been experiencing to my mentor Eric. By taking me under his wing he turned my world into this wonderment odyssey. The man was a brilliant mentor and a great friend. However, as mentioned in my book, I betrayed our bond on the 1982 Police Tour and always regretted it. Though, I learned a great lesson from the dissolution of our friendship; put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Then, think about the actions you’re engaging in with that person and the consequences!

Halfway through the flight my train of thought turned in the direction of things to come. Here I was going on this 3 month plus tour totally prepared and ready to take care of business. My self belief was never stronger! The reality that I was in line to make some serious cash had me floating on cloud nine. Something that I’m sure would have never happened if I’d still been working for Guy. From the first night selling Men At Work merchandise, which also turned out to be another karma ass kicking of sorts for my dirty deed I bestowed onto Larue, we made nothing but money! More often than not, I was being paid a considerable percentage to vend at shows. My salary plus perdiem was at a level that a couple years ago was inconceivable. The icing on the cake was the hefty bonus afforded to me from being part of that very profitable 1983 Men at Work Tour. We did eighty some odd gigs in the USA alone and the vibe of the tour was fast paced and upbeat. Men at Work were professionally peaking and all those sold out concerts made the tour a win win situation, everyday. The large amounts of money being generated nightly from merchandise sales forced me to buy an over sized duffle bag to carry all the loot.

My friends, I must tell you it was mad fun for the duration. I didn’t barter with jail bait which made up the lion’s share of the audience. But, I did invite lady friends from past tours to come hang out and enjoy the concert. The amount of blow snorted on that tour was staggering! Just like the Police Tour, everybody was into coke and in 1983 it was the drug of choice in America.  Damn, the road crew from OZ LOVED their cocaine, more so than the Brits I’d traveled with!

The three nights we stayed in LA at the Hyatt (RIOT) House on Sunset was one of the best three day benders I’d ever been on. My invisible banner that said Sex Drugs & Rock & Roll waved wildly over my head. Those were three burn a brain cell days.

Colin Hay was the leader of the group Men At Work. For the most part he came off very cocky and I got the vibe he looked at Americans as real YANKS, like in, Yank This!!! As far as front men go, he was the polar opposite of watching Sting who radiated on stage. Most nights while performing, Colin looked uninterested in giving the audience their money’s worth of a show. Don’t get me wrong, he sang well and the band was tight. I just think touring didn’t work for him.
Colin had what looked like a lazy eye and the few times I was around him, I caught myself gawking at it. All I kept thinking was don’t stare at his dallying eye ball, and made it a point to not make eye contact with him. Happily, the band split 9 out of 10 times after the show and that was fine by me. I really wasn’t looking to derail my come back. The opening act INXS was the pure essence of a great Rock & Roll group, they were an energetic live act. They were fun to be around and we were also selling their merchandise.

Driving in a twenty six foot Ryder truck compared to a luxury tour bus was quit a contrast. The three of us rode squeezed shut in that truck’s cab and became brothers of the road really quick! I had to pinch myself when I morphed into Eric’s role of the mentor while on that tour. I never thought I’d be wearing those shoes, but that’s part of the mind-boggling surprises self belief has in store for you. You’re capable of anything under the sun, and in charge of your own life. Looking back, twenty four years old never looked so sweet!!!!

As the Men at Work tour started to wind down I knew RJ had no tours set to roll and kept the belief a gig would appear. To my pleasant surprise it would be the 1984 Billy Idol tour and I’d be working for one of RJ’s competitors.

So, when the jet touched down in Minneapolis, Minnesota I stopped day dreaming, which had been the entire flight and departed. Donnie greeted me at the airport’s baggage claim area and I got the feeling I was in the right spot at the right time. The next two years I spent living and working in Minnesota was like a home away from home. From day one, Donnie and RJ treated me as an equal, not just some worker bee. I never felt so blessed for the second chance I’d received and silently thanked the gods of the universe. 

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Kenny Loggins 1983 Tour

While riding back to LA from the US Festival in Kip and Sal’s rented motor home I focused my thoughts on the Kenny Loggins gig that I was about to begin. In my minds eye, it was looking to be one of the best tours I’d do. I thought working with Larue was going to be a breeze. HOLY SHIT, how wrong was I. As I detailed in my book our friendship imploded and it really wasn’t cool. Larue was someone I looked up to, again, he got me into this line of work and we were tight friends. In the past when we toured together he was always fun to be around and girls just loved him. He radiated charm and never went ugly early, if you know what I MEAN! I was totally prepared for going back on the road and doing my job to the best of my ability. When we arrived in LA Kip said “I’ll keep you in the loop!” and we parted ways.

Unfortunately, from day one of the Loggins Tour, Larue saw me in a business light of the old version of what I was, verses the current state of mind I now occupied. Things just kept getting shittier by the minute. It’s funny, and not in a Ha Ha way, what rage can make you do in certain situations. A few weeks into the tour when Donnie called unexpectedly and asked if I could help him out of a pickle he was in, I didn’t hesitate. I said I would in fact assist him by taking the tour he was offering and decided to immediately leave the Loggins tour. In retrospect, I don’t know if I would have jumped ship or thought about leaving the Loggins Tour if it wasn’t for meeting Donnie. No one was looking to hire me and I was still internally reeling from my recent karma ass kicking.

As I previously stated, my bond with Donnie stemmed from a simple good deed I’d done for him while on the 1982 Police Tour a year earlier. My

business friendship with him lasted a little over two years and they were the very best of times during my odyssey!

After the dust settled from the Loggins blowout, two years later, Larue and I reconnected. Hell, how many true friends do you really have?

A little side note, just about ten years ago when my loving mother passed away and friends were telling other friends of my loss, one of the first calls I received was from Larue. He was living in Hawaii on the north shore in a beach front house and insisted that I come visit him and clear my head. After we followed my mother’s wishes I caught a flight to Hawaii and took heed in his words of wisdom. I reflected for two weeks on how much I missed my mother and still do. That’s the kind of friend Larue was and is, and I LOVE him for it!

The Kenny Loggins Tour was like most, only this time I was riding on the crew bus and what a joy it was. You could party your ass off, get whacked out of your mind on whatever poison of choice and not have a care in the world until you reached the next destination. What a great escape!!! Kenny’s audience was largely made up of women and there was plenty of bartering in every city we played. The crew chief of the bus I was riding on was a real dick and ran things that created situations reminiscent of the petty crap of high school days. Things like, who’s in with the right click! Who’s being picked on and talked about behind his back. Big Paulie was a first class ass wipe with his bus etiquette, but, ran a tight crew. Though, he really didn’t bother me as much as he did others, he was a big bully with a bad attitude. Honestly, if Larue wasn’t such a dick the tour would have been a blast. The tour was set to roll till early fall and I was making great money. Kenny’s manager was very laid back. He gave me plenty of space to do my job and we had no problems. Again my only reason for bailing was Larue’s unfair treatment and I’d made a promise to never let anyone manipulate me. So, as I stated in my book, I flew off the handle and abruptly departed the tour. Needless to say Larue wasn’t too thrilled that I left him holding the bag. Hey, karma can be a cold hearted bitch! On the jet flight to start the 1983 Men At Work tour I felt bullet proof and never looked back!

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