Post by Dan the G-Man on Dec 4, 2003 15:00:07 GMT -5
Road Report Five For 98
New York Media Blitz
(or 2 days in hell)
Thursday, October 29
4:15 AM, The bus pulls into Manhattan and we stagger from our bunks into The Doral....I’m immediately impressed with the size of my room, as there is actually enough space for me to open “The Pig,” my 85 pound hard-shell suitcase. I’m too wired to sleep, so I sign on and check my emails...it’s been hard keeping up with everyone lately, so trying to be a bit more disciplined, I answer as many as possible....
6:25 Am, I turn out and lights and try for some shut eye....the bed is unusually comfy, which we will all remark on the next day...
9:30 AM, the phone jars me to reality and I pick it up, only to realize I’m “live on the air” with a radio station in Providence....my voice is a bit craggy, but I manage to shake out the cobwebs and deliver some amusing stories from the tour....
9:50 AM, I take a speed shower, throw on my clothes and race downstairs in search of coffee....I manage to score a Starbucks iced mocha in the deli across the street....
10:00, we pile into a rental van and head over to David Letterman for rehearsal....everyone is tired and grumpy....
10:30, we start running thru Special... Dave keeps the studio around 50 degrees, but at least by playing the song over and over, I manage to warm up a bit...Dave is nowhere to be seen, but I climb up on Black Sabbath’s drum kit (they are taping the show after us) and Todd (my drum tech) takes my picture...Ozzy is nowhere to be seen....
11:30, rehearsal is over, I hop in a cab and head uptown in search of a pair of boots....on my way back to the hotel, I grab a sandwich from a deli on 38th and 3rd, and grab another Starbucks.....
1:18 PM, I go down to Duke’s room, where I get my haircut from Colleen Creighton, who is our makeup/stylist expert for our media blitz in NYC...I have been in need of a cut for a while now, cuz my hair is really buggin’ me when we are onstage....
2:00 PM, I sign onto AOL and check my email...
2:35, I head downstairs to the front desk to pick up a CD master of Trick is to Keep Breathing and You Look So Fine, which have been edited at Masterdisk for radio...my room has a CD/clock, which is a nice touch, so I listen to the various versions....everything sounds fine.......
4:00 PM, we pile into the van and head back to Letterman....there are a lot of fans outside the theatre, but most of them seem to be there for Black Sabbath...Hunter Thompson is on the show, and he is seen rambling around the hallways with a tumbler full of Chivas Regal....the scene backstage is a bit crazy, lots of people from the record company, and our publicist, crew, and lots of photographers....
5:10 PM, we get our cue, and head onstage for our performance....I’m too tired to be nervous, but it seems to be even colder than before (I can see my breath) and I am not ready to rock...almost the second we take the stage, Dave says “Ladies and Gentleman, Garbage”....we bash through Special, and it’s over before I can break a sweat....Shirley looks good, sings great, and we play pretty well...Dave even surprises us by coming over and shaking our hands...Hunter spies us in the hall on the way to the dressing room and says we sounded “zippy”....
5:35 PM, we grab our stuff, pile into the van and head back to the Doral, while our crew heads over to Howard Stern to soundcheck for tommorrow....
6:30 PM we pile back into the van and head uptown to a chi chi restaurant called JO JO’s with our publicist to have dinner with Rolling Stone....the dinner turns out to be great...lots of taste treats and some yummy red wine, and we engage in some wild conversation (lots of gossip, which I can’t tell you about!).....
11:30 PM, pile back into the van and head downtown to a bar next to the hotel to watch Letterman....looks pretty good, but I think the guitars were mixed too low (typical of a TV mix)....
2:15 AM, I turn out the light and basically pass out...:
6:45 AM, the alarm screams in my ear and I stagger into the shower....
7::30, we pile into the van and head off to Howard Stern.....everyone looks grumpy.....
8:30, we shuffle into Howard’s studio and settle in...we check our instruments (we’re playing an unplugged version of #1 Crush, it’s one of Howard’s favorites) and I can’t help but notice the dwarf with S+M bondage gear wandering around the room???....Howard turns out to be very funny, and even though we are dead tired, Shirley holds her own with him...lots of talk about sex, but he is very disarming, and is a big fan of the band....#1 Crush sounds pretty good for never having performed an “unplugged” version before....
9:35 AM, we pile into the van and head out to Long Island, where we are doing a radio interview and meet n greet...on the way there, we sign 150 posters to be given away, which is kinda hard to do in a bumpy van...
10:30 AM, we pile out of the van and head into a Sam Ash music store....lots of people everywhere, and the scenario seems kinda loose and noisy...as we attempt the interview, we have to suffer with heavy metal guitar riffs being played at stun volume in the background...but all goes well, the staff is enthusiastic and the fans are excited but polite, and after signing several hundred autographs we’re finished....
12:15 PM, climb back into the van and race back to the city, trying to avoid any roadblocks from President Clinton’s impending visit....
12:55 PM, back at the hotel...head off in search of coffee and a sandwich...I go back to the deli on 3rd and 38th, pick up my lunch and head back to the hotel....
1:35 PM, sign on and check my email...call management to discuss our press schedule for the next several weeks...
2:00 PM, head downstairs to meet our publicist and two journalists from Spin, as Shirley and I are doing a “commentary” on the “alternative rock hits” of 1998...as we don’t really listen to the radio, we don’t recognize most of the songs, and assume each playback is Matchbox 20....best moment: when Shirley screams “Take it off, take it off!” after hearing 1.5 seconds of Bare Naked Ladies....
3:55 PM, we pile into the van and head off to Roseland, which Harald tells us is sold out for tonight’s show...
4:20 PM, Todd escorts us thru a gauntlet of fans, and we head into the venue...soundcheck goes smoothly... we play a metal/polka version of Push It, and a Black Sabbath cover (it is Halloween at midnight!)...
6:15 PM, the guest list is massive, and Harald is dealing with dozens of last minute requests....Duke, Steve, and I decide it’s time for a cocktail, so we mix up some Sea Breezes....
7:00 PM, Harald and Todd gather us up and we head off to the official meet n greet, which is about 60 people tonight....we sign posters and photos, and have our pictures taken with fans, contest winners, and radio and record company employees....
7:45 PM, the record company posse from Mushroom has flown in from the UK and Australia, and they come backstage to say hi and chat for a few minutes...it's good to see them in full support tonight, and we decide to go out after the show.
8:15 PM, Girls Against Boys have taken the stage, and we have 45 minutes to get ready for the show....we mix another batch of cocktails, pump up the Prodigy to stun volume on our boombox, and I start stretching exercises....
8:55 PM, Brian, our monitor mixer, enters the dressing room, signaling us to start putting in our ear monitors....
9:05PM, we head to the stage, and blast off....the crowd is great tonight ... noisy and very energized....90 minutes later, it’s all over, and we pump Frank Sinatra up in the dressing room...it was a great show, our best ever in NYC, and now it’s time to blow off some steam....I jump in the shower ASAP, and we get ready to leave quickly....
11:15 PM, there are several hundred fans near our bus, but security whisks Shirley into a waiting van, and she races off...we normally stick around and sign autographs for all the fans, but tonight we have a big posse of journalists, friends, and people from Almo and Mushroom meeting us at Bar 9 for a party, and security recommends we bypass any aftershow signings...I sneak out a side door with my friend Amy, and start running down the street, but not before a bunch of fans give chase, and I end up signing autographs for about 50 kids on the corner of 52nd and 8th...
12:05 AM, the party at lunch....order a BLT and mashed taters...yum.
6:35 AM...hop in a cab and head uptown for some schluff.... I need to sleep a few hours, as we leave for Asbury Park at11:00 AM...needless to say, I am exhausted, but relieved the blitz is over. Bar 9 is absolutely jammed, mostly with people who I do not know...I squeeze into a booth with some journalists and Alexis, the drummer from GVSB....we order martinis and the gossip starts to flow...
3:10 AM, a small posse decide to head to another part in Soho, so we pile into cabs and head downtown...the cabs drop us off at a new “hot spot”, and even though there is a velvet rope and a huge line of people trying to get in, Amy talks to the doorman, who lets us slide in a side door...it is packed with the beautiful people...lots of schveetnicks, with heavy techno pumping thru the speakers....the owner comes up and escorts us to a private table, where we order more cocktails...
5:30 AM, I’ve had enough, so Amy and I wander a few blocks over to 6th and Spring, and head into a Diner for some breakfast, where we run into Daniel and his friends, who are eating some fine lookin’ mashed taters....probably a good idea, as I have not eaten since my sandwich at lunch...
6:35, pile into a cab and head back to the Doral, where I hope to catch 3 or 4 hours of sleep before we head off to Asbury Park for a Halloween show. I’m exhausted...the entire stay in New York has been a whirlwind, but finally, our NYC trance has been enhanced!
Butch
New York Media Blitz
(or 2 days in hell)
Thursday, October 29
4:15 AM, The bus pulls into Manhattan and we stagger from our bunks into The Doral....I’m immediately impressed with the size of my room, as there is actually enough space for me to open “The Pig,” my 85 pound hard-shell suitcase. I’m too wired to sleep, so I sign on and check my emails...it’s been hard keeping up with everyone lately, so trying to be a bit more disciplined, I answer as many as possible....
6:25 Am, I turn out and lights and try for some shut eye....the bed is unusually comfy, which we will all remark on the next day...
9:30 AM, the phone jars me to reality and I pick it up, only to realize I’m “live on the air” with a radio station in Providence....my voice is a bit craggy, but I manage to shake out the cobwebs and deliver some amusing stories from the tour....
9:50 AM, I take a speed shower, throw on my clothes and race downstairs in search of coffee....I manage to score a Starbucks iced mocha in the deli across the street....
10:00, we pile into a rental van and head over to David Letterman for rehearsal....everyone is tired and grumpy....
10:30, we start running thru Special... Dave keeps the studio around 50 degrees, but at least by playing the song over and over, I manage to warm up a bit...Dave is nowhere to be seen, but I climb up on Black Sabbath’s drum kit (they are taping the show after us) and Todd (my drum tech) takes my picture...Ozzy is nowhere to be seen....
11:30, rehearsal is over, I hop in a cab and head uptown in search of a pair of boots....on my way back to the hotel, I grab a sandwich from a deli on 38th and 3rd, and grab another Starbucks.....
1:18 PM, I go down to Duke’s room, where I get my haircut from Colleen Creighton, who is our makeup/stylist expert for our media blitz in NYC...I have been in need of a cut for a while now, cuz my hair is really buggin’ me when we are onstage....
2:00 PM, I sign onto AOL and check my email...
2:35, I head downstairs to the front desk to pick up a CD master of Trick is to Keep Breathing and You Look So Fine, which have been edited at Masterdisk for radio...my room has a CD/clock, which is a nice touch, so I listen to the various versions....everything sounds fine.......
4:00 PM, we pile into the van and head back to Letterman....there are a lot of fans outside the theatre, but most of them seem to be there for Black Sabbath...Hunter Thompson is on the show, and he is seen rambling around the hallways with a tumbler full of Chivas Regal....the scene backstage is a bit crazy, lots of people from the record company, and our publicist, crew, and lots of photographers....
5:10 PM, we get our cue, and head onstage for our performance....I’m too tired to be nervous, but it seems to be even colder than before (I can see my breath) and I am not ready to rock...almost the second we take the stage, Dave says “Ladies and Gentleman, Garbage”....we bash through Special, and it’s over before I can break a sweat....Shirley looks good, sings great, and we play pretty well...Dave even surprises us by coming over and shaking our hands...Hunter spies us in the hall on the way to the dressing room and says we sounded “zippy”....
5:35 PM, we grab our stuff, pile into the van and head back to the Doral, while our crew heads over to Howard Stern to soundcheck for tommorrow....
6:30 PM we pile back into the van and head uptown to a chi chi restaurant called JO JO’s with our publicist to have dinner with Rolling Stone....the dinner turns out to be great...lots of taste treats and some yummy red wine, and we engage in some wild conversation (lots of gossip, which I can’t tell you about!).....
11:30 PM, pile back into the van and head downtown to a bar next to the hotel to watch Letterman....looks pretty good, but I think the guitars were mixed too low (typical of a TV mix)....
2:15 AM, I turn out the light and basically pass out...:
6:45 AM, the alarm screams in my ear and I stagger into the shower....
7::30, we pile into the van and head off to Howard Stern.....everyone looks grumpy.....
8:30, we shuffle into Howard’s studio and settle in...we check our instruments (we’re playing an unplugged version of #1 Crush, it’s one of Howard’s favorites) and I can’t help but notice the dwarf with S+M bondage gear wandering around the room???....Howard turns out to be very funny, and even though we are dead tired, Shirley holds her own with him...lots of talk about sex, but he is very disarming, and is a big fan of the band....#1 Crush sounds pretty good for never having performed an “unplugged” version before....
9:35 AM, we pile into the van and head out to Long Island, where we are doing a radio interview and meet n greet...on the way there, we sign 150 posters to be given away, which is kinda hard to do in a bumpy van...
10:30 AM, we pile out of the van and head into a Sam Ash music store....lots of people everywhere, and the scenario seems kinda loose and noisy...as we attempt the interview, we have to suffer with heavy metal guitar riffs being played at stun volume in the background...but all goes well, the staff is enthusiastic and the fans are excited but polite, and after signing several hundred autographs we’re finished....
12:15 PM, climb back into the van and race back to the city, trying to avoid any roadblocks from President Clinton’s impending visit....
12:55 PM, back at the hotel...head off in search of coffee and a sandwich...I go back to the deli on 3rd and 38th, pick up my lunch and head back to the hotel....
1:35 PM, sign on and check my email...call management to discuss our press schedule for the next several weeks...
2:00 PM, head downstairs to meet our publicist and two journalists from Spin, as Shirley and I are doing a “commentary” on the “alternative rock hits” of 1998...as we don’t really listen to the radio, we don’t recognize most of the songs, and assume each playback is Matchbox 20....best moment: when Shirley screams “Take it off, take it off!” after hearing 1.5 seconds of Bare Naked Ladies....
3:55 PM, we pile into the van and head off to Roseland, which Harald tells us is sold out for tonight’s show...
4:20 PM, Todd escorts us thru a gauntlet of fans, and we head into the venue...soundcheck goes smoothly... we play a metal/polka version of Push It, and a Black Sabbath cover (it is Halloween at midnight!)...
6:15 PM, the guest list is massive, and Harald is dealing with dozens of last minute requests....Duke, Steve, and I decide it’s time for a cocktail, so we mix up some Sea Breezes....
7:00 PM, Harald and Todd gather us up and we head off to the official meet n greet, which is about 60 people tonight....we sign posters and photos, and have our pictures taken with fans, contest winners, and radio and record company employees....
7:45 PM, the record company posse from Mushroom has flown in from the UK and Australia, and they come backstage to say hi and chat for a few minutes...it's good to see them in full support tonight, and we decide to go out after the show.
8:15 PM, Girls Against Boys have taken the stage, and we have 45 minutes to get ready for the show....we mix another batch of cocktails, pump up the Prodigy to stun volume on our boombox, and I start stretching exercises....
8:55 PM, Brian, our monitor mixer, enters the dressing room, signaling us to start putting in our ear monitors....
9:05PM, we head to the stage, and blast off....the crowd is great tonight ... noisy and very energized....90 minutes later, it’s all over, and we pump Frank Sinatra up in the dressing room...it was a great show, our best ever in NYC, and now it’s time to blow off some steam....I jump in the shower ASAP, and we get ready to leave quickly....
11:15 PM, there are several hundred fans near our bus, but security whisks Shirley into a waiting van, and she races off...we normally stick around and sign autographs for all the fans, but tonight we have a big posse of journalists, friends, and people from Almo and Mushroom meeting us at Bar 9 for a party, and security recommends we bypass any aftershow signings...I sneak out a side door with my friend Amy, and start running down the street, but not before a bunch of fans give chase, and I end up signing autographs for about 50 kids on the corner of 52nd and 8th...
12:05 AM, the party at lunch....order a BLT and mashed taters...yum.
6:35 AM...hop in a cab and head uptown for some schluff.... I need to sleep a few hours, as we leave for Asbury Park at11:00 AM...needless to say, I am exhausted, but relieved the blitz is over. Bar 9 is absolutely jammed, mostly with people who I do not know...I squeeze into a booth with some journalists and Alexis, the drummer from GVSB....we order martinis and the gossip starts to flow...
3:10 AM, a small posse decide to head to another part in Soho, so we pile into cabs and head downtown...the cabs drop us off at a new “hot spot”, and even though there is a velvet rope and a huge line of people trying to get in, Amy talks to the doorman, who lets us slide in a side door...it is packed with the beautiful people...lots of schveetnicks, with heavy techno pumping thru the speakers....the owner comes up and escorts us to a private table, where we order more cocktails...
5:30 AM, I’ve had enough, so Amy and I wander a few blocks over to 6th and Spring, and head into a Diner for some breakfast, where we run into Daniel and his friends, who are eating some fine lookin’ mashed taters....probably a good idea, as I have not eaten since my sandwich at lunch...
6:35, pile into a cab and head back to the Doral, where I hope to catch 3 or 4 hours of sleep before we head off to Asbury Park for a Halloween show. I’m exhausted...the entire stay in New York has been a whirlwind, but finally, our NYC trance has been enhanced!
Butch