Fanzine:8/16/07 Guitar Center Appearance
Get up around 6:30 am the day of the event. Could not find the charger to my videocamera, but my brother-in-law said I could borrow his. However, I learn that his camera has no memory stick so I got to stop by Walmart (the only place open) to get one. Sets my schedule back a little. Pack my Leroy Coolbreeze shirt to put on later as well as an extra pair of tube socks. Before leaving the house, my wife asks me why I'm going so early. "It's not like its Sting." She loves to tease me.
I pick up the memory stick, some snacks, and some colored Sharpies at Walmart. Needed a silver one as I decided that I want him to sign my Klerk Kant cd. Also pack along three bottles of water in a little personal cooler with my daughter's name on it that she used to use as a lunch box.
I hate driving in SoCal and it's rush hour. I have directions from MapQuest AND YahooMaps AND my car has a navigation system. Despite this, I still manage to get lost, perpetuating an old Asian stereotype. I get onto Sunset and my navigation system tells me that the store should be right in front of me so I am confused as the street address are nowhere near where I should be. Demo Girl calls me while I am looking for the place already asking for an update since it is already 10 am (time of the store's opening). I find the store like ten blocks west of where my nav system said it was. I find a nice free parking spot in the back but the lot is already almost full. Won't have to use any of the $30 in quarters I brought along.
I get in and ask where the Stewart Copeland event will be. I am told that someone is already here for it. I look around and see someone in a yellow pledge shirt. Doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is that other person. It's Irish Rose. She tells me she was the one here the day before at 9 am and that she drove 11 hrs from New Mexico for the event. She has a big poster board of fan art that she wants Stewart to sign. It has the Anthology cover art side by side with, I think, a pic of SC from a Tama ad. I seem to recall there is a little print of one "frame" of Sockii's "flags" avatar. I think she wanted to print out each frame of the avatar and post them at the bottom of the board but she said her printer ran out of ink. The poster also had flag references and a quote from DM. I will try to post my pic of here with this poster some time next week. She is also wearing the same green tube socks as me but is too embarrassed so she is wearing jeans.
Talked to her the most of the day. She really helped the day FLY by. We talked about everything, Police-wise and otherwise. She had some SC Vater sticks that she put green rings on the end to make them tube sock like (mainly so the store would know she had brought them; the store was big on checking for things like that). I learned she is a frustrated drummer because an arm injury prevents her from gripping the stick right. Really sad.
Anyways, Laz stops by not long after. He's wearing the Fan Club show shirt, making it obvious he's one of us. He's looks like the guy from Anthrax if that guy had hair or the guitarist for Stone Temple Pilots if Laz just had longer hair. Super cool guy.
So we go upstairs where the event will be. The normal SC drum kit display in back is taken down. There is the table where the autographs will be and behind that is a riser with an about 30 inch Paiste gong. There are also boxes marked "For Stewart Copeland" that obviously contain drums. We become excited about the possibility of SC playing a little.
DemoGal occasionally calls/texts me to get updates. She one of those girls who is so cool that you know it just from a text.
Looking around, disappointed that there are no SC signature snares. The SC Ride also had not been delivered yet.
There is a flat tv with dvd player playing a bootleg concert dvd from Hamburg 1980 and the 86 Amnesty show from Giants Stadium. The rest of the day, I recall seeing the Synch concert and Everyone Stares. During the signing, I realize Irish Rose has memorized the SC narration and the commentary. Until them, I didn't realize that I had as well. We could not hear the audio well during the signing, but Irish Rose did the dialogue for us.
Irish Rose and I take turns going to lunch. Laz does not eat this day. Maybe that's why Laz looks in shape and I'm a glob.
Things pick up when Fall Out Mike arrives. As said before, he's a great guy. Though he was busy setting up Stewart's drums, he talked to us the whole time, telling us some interesting things and stories.
We learn that the drums are the ones Stewart played at the Grammys and Whisky show. That SC decided to use a kit that was a darker blue because Les Claypool gave him shit about the color of the Grammys kit. The drums had been stored by Jeff Seitz, and at that time we learn that Jeff will be coming. You know you are an SC nut when you get excited about meeting Jeff Seitz. The hi hat is merely 12 inches. We get to tap the drum heads. Man are they tuned tight; they are on the verge of EXPLODING. Did not see the snare up close (was not out yet). Got pictures of the kit, us with the kit, and Mike with the kit. The Ride was not there at the time of the pics.
One of the GC employees brought in a box of the Vater stick packs. Four packs of limited edition SC sticks and a cool Rythmatist t-shirt for $30 bucks. The shirt is really cool so if you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend getting it. The shirt is a Large, but a pretty big Large (seems like an XL really). Of course, Laz, Irish Rose and I all got a pack.
Fall Out Mike decided to get the formal line outside started at about 3 pm. Luckily, the first ten or so people in the line got the benefit of shade. Before long, they brought out some speakers and played Police related stuff for those waiting in line. I think some Rhythmatist and Gizmo was played first followed by the entire Oysterhead CD. I also remember them playing a live Murder By Numbers that sounded like it came from a soundboard. Anyone know where that came from? Friends. Etc. IrishRose commented that she knew her legs were going to be so bruised from drumming along with her Vaters on her leg.
In his post, Laz mentioned various autograph seekers in line. I think some elaboration is in order. Right behind us were a group of four professional autograph seekers. When I say professional, I don't mean they make a living doing this, just that they do this a lot. One guy in particular, James, really stood out. If you think Stewart speaks non stop, Stewart has nothing on James. It seemed like James had 823 shots of espresso before coming to the event. He talked nonstop. I'm not sure he ever took time to inhale. He spoke mainly to Laz or to the air if no one was really listening. He told us stories of everyone he has gotten signatures from and he has gotten sigs from EVERYONE over the last 25 yrs. Usually I hate autograph hounds, but he seemed to truly have a love for music and films. He also said he actually kept everything rather than sell his stuff, and call me gullible but I really believed him. It was tough for me to tell if Las was just being polite to James or really listening to any more than 30% what James was saying. However, a lot of what James had to say was pretty interesting, but there was just so much.
My favorite James story was a prior occasion where James met Stewart. Can't remember where it was but James was waiting somewhere for Stewart. Apparently Stew had a bit to drink and James had an index card in his hand which he wanted Stewart to sign. Stewart mistook James for a valet and gave James his valet ticket. When James explained to Stewart he was not a valet, Stewart was nice enough to sign the card. James said this story about three times.
Another pro in the line was a guy who flew in from Houston named Joe. I posted a long post at ThePolice.com about Joe because apparently there were some misunderstanding about him. Regardless, I will refer you to that post for the kind of full story on Joe. Joe was really, really nice and had a lot of great stories. He had read in Modern Drummer that his favorite LP was Big Swing Face by Buddy Rich (not sure if this is actually true). When Joe was 14, Joe had gotten Buddy Rich to sign a copy of that LP (Joe is now in his late forties, early fifties). The LP was still in mint condition. At the signing, Joe gave this signed LP to Stewart. Joe is a drummer and this was one of the jewels in Joe's collection.
I'm thinking it was about 6ish when Demo Gal came along. In other posts, people have said how attractive Stewart's assistant Ashley was. Ashley had nothing on DG. DG's pics don't do her justice. We chatted and had some photos taken in line.
Then I see a girl coming down the street wearing a Cha! shirt. Obviously one of us. Making it even easier, she has a "Hello My name is" sticker which IDs herself as OutlandosGirl. We talk. She asks if we saw Muse, who apparently had the Cha! bracelets sent by Dan (I'm fuzzy on this; is this right?). We find Muse shortly and soon we are all wearing Cha! bracelets.
Anyway, the people in line start to speculate. We wonder who might be coming. Taylor Hawkins lives in the area. Maybe he'll show. Someone heard that Andy Summers might show. Will he play something? Etc. A older man approaches Irish Rose and asks her what the line is for. She says Stewart Copeland is coming. He says he thought the line was for him, kiddingly. IR asks who he is. He explains that he played drums for the Neville Brothers. I'm pretty sure that he was not Willie Green, but I don't know the Neville Brothers well so it could have been someone else who drummed from them.
Mike comes back now dressed up in snazzy casual clothes. A little later Dave Rasner and the guitar player (sorry that I don't know his name) from Fall Out arrive and I say a quick hi to them as they enter.
The Tama rep comes out. I told him that I did not see any SC signature snares. He says he brought three of them with him along with some OCTOBANS. I begin contemplating buying the snare (which I have been thinking about for weeks). I have been wanting to get my daughter to learn how to play drums. I thought it would be cool in the future if someone asked my daughter how she started playing drums, and she could say she started right after her dad met Stewart Copeland and Stewart actually held the very drum that she was then playing. The cost is about $330 before tax. Joe then says that's not just the price of the drum. Its the price of a signed drum and your pic with Stewart holding it. The TAMA rep nods and says that's right. I then quickly call up Mrs. Equalizer. We are going on a trip soon, and so we have been holding off on most luxuries. Luckily, Mrs. EQ is cool and understanding and tells me I can go ahead and get the snare.
I go back in the store and up to where the event will be held. About 12 members of the press are there. I see table with all sorts of great swag. Tama shirts. Paiste shirts. Paiste buttons shaped like symbols. Drumstick keychains. 50th Anniversary Remo shirts (unfortunately for me, in size small). Stickers. All for the taking by the attendees.
Back in line, the event is being hyped up. Shirts passed out in the line. A guy and girl camera crew is out there. I thought at first that this might be Stewart's boy but I learn that they are from Guitar Center. They interview people in line. They talk quite a bit to Irish Rose, asking her to air drum for them, which she does.
We see a black SUV that we think has Stewart in it. It pulls up to the front of the store but there is a truck that won't move. So the SUV then pulls to the back. We fantasize that it would be cool if Stewart had gotten out, ran down the line giving quick high fives, and then sprintied his way inside. We can dream, right?
The event nears. Demo Gal passes us with Stewart's manager Derek (SOOOOO lucky) and goes inside. Then security is radioed with the rules. People will be let in 20 at a time. After getting the autograph, we have to leave, and if we then want to shop, we have to reenter. People will be given the CD and allowed one signature. There is confusion whether this means he will sign the CD for the first 100 then another item or just one item for all. People wonder if the CD is pre-signed. Then the big announcement. NO PHOTOGRAPHY. Everyone is VERY disappointed. I wasted time getting a memory card for my video camera but worse, was told that if I got the snare I could get my pic with Stewart holding it. I talk to the security and the Tama rep. They tell me that they did not know of the restriction but assured me that they believed that it would be negotiable. Another guy working the event tells me he think they will allow me to get a pic.
It's time. The first 20 are let in. Everyone must get their bags checked first and check in any items, which slows things down. Upstairs, Stewart enters. I won't bother really describing him because there are photos on the net already. One thing that the photos don't show is that he is wearing really f@#$%king cool shoes. I think they are mainly green. Maybe Puma. He walks to his drum kit and strike his poses. You can tell he has done this only 80,000,000,000,000 times before. The only playing is a few quick pumps of the bass drum pedals and then he poses with the CD. Stewart has done very little thus far but has managed to be utterly charming regardless.
NOW THE EVENT BEGINS. Irish Rose had been tearing up for the last half hour or so. I hope that she does not pass out. The rest of the line is kept maybe 15 feet from the table so I feel like there was a good sense of privacy with each patron. I can't really hear what's being said but Irish Rose doesn't pass out. You see that they get to chat. Even without hearing what Stewart is saying, you can see that he is again really nice, warm, and charming.
MY TURN. OH MY F@#$%KING SH#T! MY TURN. F@#$%K. As I waited in line, I wondered what I would say and would do. I was really disappointed in not being able to take pics and video. Everyone seemed to think that I could talk Stewart into allowing me to get a pic with him after what the Tama rep said. And I was the only guy in tubesocks let alone a Coolbreeze shirt. But then I thought about it.
Sure this was supposed to be to advertise his CD. But, call me naive, I think that this event was to give a bit back to his fans. So I really did not want to do anything to make Stewart think, "Sheesh, why do I do things" and maybe discourage him from doing these things in the future. As a true fan, so I really want to harass him, make a grueling event even a little bit more unpleasant. Also, I was one of the first in line. I did not want to set a bad precedent. Everyone would ask for a pic if they saw that he bent the no pics policy right out of the chute. So I decide to bite it and not even ask Stewart for a pic. There were a dozen people taking pics anyways. Hopefully one with me in it would surface. Given that the way I was dressed and the item being signed was kind of interesting, I thought there was a pretty good chance. As an aside, I had written up a sign that said, "YO! to all at SC.net" that I was hoping to have Stewart hold up when I took his picture. Oh well.
So I approach Stewart. Honestly, I ABSOLUTELY have no recollection if I ever ended up shaking his hand. I think it is about 55% probable that I did. Anyway, I think the first thing either of us said was by Stewart. He says, "You found the shirt." He then starts talking about the details of my Coolbreeze shirt. I then present the snare. He says "this is a really good drum." I then tell him that I wanted to get my daughter to start playing. Stewart replied, "Don't. Tell her to get behind the mike. That's where the money is." I then walk off and it's Laz's turn. More was actually said, but I honestly was to stunned to comprehend his words.
I go and pick up my free Swag (it's all really nice). I notice that Stewart has a box of nice legal size photos of himself that he is handing out if you need something to be signed. I am annoyed that I walked away without picking one up (I ended up getting one after the event). It should be noted that the CDs were not pre-signed. I also did not bother to ask him to sign the CD and the drum. Turns out I should have, as he had no problem signing Laz's CD and shirt.
I have heard some people describe the event as being like the Soup Nazi episode. I really did not feel that at all. I had no sense of being rushed. I did not think I was really limited other than the rules stated at the beginning. I felt he was willing to briefly talk about any reasonably intelligent subject brought up by a fan. I am not really sure what Stewart could have done in this kind of event given the amount of people that showed up. Sure he could chat, but there were a lot of people in line, and I think out of courtesy to them he could not spend forever with each person. I think the fans were treated generously in comparison to some events.
I really can't remember everything that happened after I met Stewart. I spoke with the Tama rep and he mentioned that I could try to see if I could get a pic with Stewart at the end of the event. So I go back to my car drop off everything but the snare. I then call Irish Rose on my cell to see where she and Laz are, and she tells me that they went back up to the event room. So I head back up too. Laz and Irish Rose are at the back where the conga drums/bongos are. I note that security does not really let anyone else hang out inside after meeting Stewart or come back up other than us. Security leaves us alone though others are escorted out. The only real exception is OutlandosGirl and the some of the other Police.com people. Maybe its because they appear to be with us. The Cha! shirt does not hurt. Some of the Police.commers were able to covertly take some pics from the back while Laz displayed his impressive percussion skills. I tried to see if I could get some covert photos as well, but my cameras do not have that kind of range.
Irish Rose is still shaken. She says Stewart talked about the shirt. I already posted about the Colorado thing. Laz had told me that he would ask Stewart for drum lessons and he did. Laz already posted about Stewart's response and there is a pic out there showing his response. Laz then told me that when I walked from the table, Stewart mentioned my socks. Thus caused Laz to ask him if he was aware of the tube sock thing on this forum. SC then acknowledged that he reads this forum!!! When was talking to him about my shirt, the context was such that it seemed like he was aware of the discussion on the forum about his shirt.
I now remember something else I said when I was with him. This was said after the shirt discussion and before I presented the snare. I told him, "I want to thank you, the passion of your playing and your humor has inspired me for years." He said thank you and did not look at me like a COMPLETE freak, so I feel only like half a douche for that bit of fan fawning.
I was in the back shortly after seeing Stewart and I talk to Laz about what we said to Stewart. I told him that I could not remember if I shook Stewart's hand. Then Laz says, "I think after I was done, I stepped back and bowed to him" (or words to that effect) and then he showed me the little bow he did to Stewart. IT WAS HILARIOUS. Being in the presence of Stewart can really make you do odd things.
I was there until the very end. By my estimate, at least 200 people appeared. The Paiste rep seemed to be in agreement. Did not see LueAnne. However, I saw a young lady in a black and white outfit who apparently mistook a belt for a skirt. Near the end, it was clear that Stewart's wrist was sore.
As the event came close to an end, I tried to see if I could use Fall Out Mike's or DemoGal's juice to get me a photo with Stewart but it was not to be. Feel kind of bad for pestering them there at the end. Spoke with the Tama rep about the possibility of getting in line at the end for possibly getting a pic, but that was not to be either. Stewart leaves and it is over. Apparently this is where he is interviewed by Mike.
So Laz and I go back to the drumset as it is taken apart. This is the first time I get to see the new ride. Did not have a chance to strike it, but it looks sweet. Laz, IR, and I all got out pics with it along side the Paiste rep.
I'm exhausted and had a considerable drive back to my mother-in-law's house. So I regretfully decline IR's invite for drinks at the Backstage Cafe and head home. As I go to my car, I see Stewart and his crowd enter the parking lot. I try to see if I could at least video Stewart leaving, but it is too dark.
That is the story of the day I met Stewart Copeland. Cool.
EPILOGUE:
(Dear lord, EQ! Stop Already! Get a Life! No More Vacations for You!)
So I go home and my daughter goes through all the stuff I brought home. Immediately takes out a pair of the Vater sticks and starts drumming everywhere. I tell her I got her a drum and will let her begin to play it and she is SOOOOOO excited. By the way, the snare is built like a tank. Heavier than I thought it would be. Solid. So well made. Highly recommend it to anyone.
I'll stop now (it's almost 2:30 am). I promise. Really.
