A Weekend with Steve Hackett |
Post Reply |
Author | |
Gyllir
Forum Newbie Joined: November 14 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 38 |
Topic: A Weekend with Steve Hackett Posted: December 03 2006 at 19:51 |
Thanks for the post mgallard. Great interview and cool photos. I hope Steve tours the states soon so I can see him. He seems like a cool guy.
|
|
When you're racing in the rapids. There's only one way, that's to ride.
|
|
mgallard
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 27 2005 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 155 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 13:18 |
It's been a bit over a year since that experience and we still remember it vividly and fondly. Since then Steve has published a new work, excellent and eclectic mix of rock and classical, and I believe more than trying to please the fans he does what he likes and enjoys and in the process hopes to expand the musical horizons his fans may have. I have to admit being quite wide in my tastes (considering the norm here on PA that is very chauvinistic towards anything not "prog") I listen from folk to pop to classical, jazz, hard rock, heavy metal, prog of course, etc., but I think for the most this has been the result of Genesis' work as a group and as solo artists, they've made so much music in so many different styles that they surely have expanded my musical horizons and that is just another reason Genesis has been such a great group and will always be my #1. Greetings Mogens |
|
Prog.Sylvie
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 12 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 449 |
Posted: September 27 2006 at 10:00 |
I also talked to Gary Green of Gentle Giant. This guy is nice and humble too. We are the ones who want to make a hero out of him, while he just considers himself a simple musician. He did not realise how much he and his gang of GG had a great influence in the music. He does not want to take the credit.
Mostly, those musicians are more interested to talk about you than to talk about them. While I wanted to talk about music to Carl Palmer, he wanted to know what kind of law that I practice.
|
|
C'est la vie
|
|
Prog.Sylvie
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 12 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 449 |
Posted: September 27 2006 at 09:55 |
At the prog.fest in Mtl, I had the chance to talk to the musicians of Hartfield and the North. Really humble persons, and interesting ones. Their keyboardist was speaking french too.
|
|
C'est la vie
|
|
Prog.Sylvie
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 12 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 449 |
Posted: September 27 2006 at 09:52 |
Great experience here Mogens. You and your friends were lucky here.
As you said at the end, when you are meeting your musicians hero in ordinary life ( breakfast), you realised that they are only human beeings like anyone else, and they have to cope with everyday life with their problems.
I had the chance to talk to Carl Palmer when he came in Mtl. I worked at his table and I met him several times during this special evening. I talked to him at least from 15 to 20 minutes, talking about his favorites sports, how he had to stop karate 17 years ago because it was too demanding " keep punching and drumming was too hard". How that many times ( almost always), his right harm is hurting after a show. How he needs to sleep at least 7 hour a night to be able to perform at his maximum. He talked a lot of his carpien tunnel syndrom and of the surgery that he got.
He also talked about practicing swords and how he won the bronze medal at the European championship for the masters. He talked about jogging and swimming. We did not have time to talk about music, but we talked about several pictures that I showed him, and about some Atomic Roosters musicians on one of the picture. He signed several pictures, CD, DVD and a poster.
I met again Carl on the 7 th of september in Boston ( Asia). He was in great shape as usual, always running and jumping around. His manager presented me again to him. Of course, he recognised me, the french canadian girl from Mtl. He signed me some pictures that my friend took during his show in Mtl. He liked them very much. He said that those pictures are great.
What I realised seeing Carl always on one feet and on another, is that touring is very demanding; performing everynight, meeting fans, the press, radio etc...this is a crazy life. Carl knows that. That is why after the show, there is not question for party,
just make sur that everything is ok for the next flight the next day, and go to sleep.
When he has the time, he is training; jogging, swimming...
Our musician heroes are human beings, not gods, not machines, just human beings doing their best to please the fan.
|
|
C'est la vie
|
|
-Radioswim-
Forum Senior Member Joined: December 15 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 331 |
Posted: September 15 2006 at 22:53 |
Excellent!
Entertaining the whole way through! **pondering the thought... 23 year olds wrote "selling england by the pound"**... Edited by -Radioswim- - September 15 2006 at 22:53 |
|
Dust in the Kitchen |
|
Fishy
Prog Reviewer Joined: November 26 2004 Location: Belgium Status: Offline Points: 257 |
Posted: September 10 2006 at 17:27 |
original approach for an interview, contains lots of info as well, great !!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
|
Guillermo
Prog Reviewer Joined: November 28 2004 Location: Mexico Status: Offline Points: 814 |
Posted: July 15 2006 at 00:47 |
A very good narration and interview! I think that Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel are the most humble persons from Genesis. But I can`t think the same about the other three (Collins/Banks/Rutherford), but maybe I`m wrong! Collins didn`t look very happy to play in Mexico City again when he was asked about it by TV Azteca in 1996. He said that: "my family, particularly my wife, doesn`t want me to be far from home for a long time, so I asked to my Manager: "Which are the places to which I have to go to play and which are the places to which I don`t have to go to play?", he said "You don`t have to play in...", and so in this tour, I`m not going to play in Mexico. Sorry, maybe next year" (in 1997). No comment required! Banks and Rutherford never came to play here with or without Collins!
|
|
AcostaFulano
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 16 2005 Location: Peru Status: Offline Points: 189 |
Posted: June 23 2006 at 13:43 |
Buenas fotos mogens! Eres un pinche suertudo! :D
/ Nice pics mogens, you are damn lucky :D |
|
cscrutinizer
Forum Newbie Joined: June 13 2006 Status: Offline Points: 14 |
Posted: June 22 2006 at 17:39 |
I would have to agree with Mr. Hackett on SEBTP being the best Genesis album. I like it better than LLDOB. I'll even take ATOTT over LLDOB.
LLDOB is too clinical and effect driven. It seems to have less of a focus on composition, and more of a focus on "weird noises" (Eno's contribution). I like many of the songs -- LLDOB, NYC, Carpet Crawlers, Lillywhite, etc. But as an album, it's tough to listen to in one sitting without forwarding through some (what I consider to be) tiresome material. Don't get me wrong, it is excellent, but I don't regard it as their best.
SEBTP is something I can listen to from start to end, over and over, and it still keeps me riveted. And Hacket's famous fingertapping on Moonlit Knight is what I hear in my head whenever I think of Steve Hackett.
|
|
mgallard
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 27 2005 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 155 |
Posted: June 22 2006 at 12:40 |
Good idea, I uploaded an album with the photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mogensgallardo/SteveHackettTrioInMexicoCity You can see we had a great time. Greetings Mogens Edited by mgallard - June 22 2006 at 12:41 |
|
AcostaFulano
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 16 2005 Location: Peru Status: Offline Points: 189 |
Posted: June 22 2006 at 00:16 |
Upload some pics of u with HACKETT :D:D
|
|
Ounamahl
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 13 2005 Location: Finland Status: Offline Points: 245 |
Posted: June 18 2006 at 17:33 |
Brilliant! brought tears to my eyes ;)
|
|
This is an electrified fairytale
|
|
Intruder
Forum Senior Member Joined: May 13 2005 Status: Offline Points: 2201 |
Posted: June 17 2006 at 11:39 |
Hackett in Mex City....wow! Too bad he didn't have a chance to travel more around the country. Beautiful place.....viva Mexico! |
|
I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....
|
|
Fritha
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 10 2005 Location: Finland Status: Offline Points: 471 |
Posted: June 16 2006 at 16:15 |
http://hit.demonhosting.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi/
Hi Mogens, above is the link to the Genesis Talking Shop forum, the main Genesis forum as far as I know. And if you look at the index you will notice that there is a section for each (former) member of the band, too :) Those, who visit the Hackett-section (very dedicated fans of Steve) would be especially delighted with your story, believe me! EDIT: ah, I see you already found it by yourself and posted the story, lol. Good for you! Edited by Fritha - June 16 2006 at 16:18 |
|
I was made to love magic
|
|
mgallard
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 27 2005 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 155 |
Posted: June 16 2006 at 11:44 |
Thanks YYZed, yes, very lucky indeed as there was a ritzier hotel closer to the venue, but Mr. Hackett didn't like it, from what I heard, wanted something less fancy... so he chose the hotel we had chosen due to economical concerns, good but not too expensive.
Fritha, initially I took some notes after the event, so I wouldn't forget. Then I chose to write it all down as a way to maintain the quality of the memory, not really thinking I could post it anywhere else than on my site for my friends and family. Yesterday I noticed there was this section (had kept myself in the Prog Lounge all along) and thought it'd be a good idea to post it here. Genesis Message Board, is that like this one? I'll go and search for the Genesis site, haven't visited it in 6 months or so, hadn't noticed they had a forum, if you are around send me a link please, if not I guess I'll google it and see what appears. Thanks for the comments guys Mogens |
|
Fritha
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 10 2005 Location: Finland Status: Offline Points: 471 |
Posted: June 16 2006 at 02:45 |
What a lovely story, thanks for sharing! I had a bit of a "fixation" with Mr. Hackett and his music myself last year, after having read a couple of really wonderful interviews with the man. He truly does come across as a person, who lives and breaths music... as well as being, just like you said (now from personal experience, lucky you!) a good-hearted human being in general. You really ought to post this writing of yours on the Genesis message board, too, in case you already haven't, of course.
|
|
I was made to love magic
|
|
YYZed
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 03 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 282 |
Posted: June 15 2006 at 20:26 |
Excellent post and a great story! Thank you for sharing your interesting and lucky encounter w/ Mr. Hackett.
|
|
|
|
mgallard
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 27 2005 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 155 |
Posted: June 15 2006 at 19:48 |
Weekend with Mr. Steve
Hackett and John Hackett too
In October
2005, Steve Hackett Trio scheduled a visit to Mexico City. A group of 6
friends, fans of Progressive music immediately started to plan and organize the
trip to Mexico City from our home city, Guadalajara (8 hours away by car). We booked
two triple rooms at a reasonable hotel located relatively close to the event
location (in Mexico City this is very important as distances can really be
huge!) and organized the trip by van to the city a day before the event so it
wouldn’t all be too hasty. We arrived
in Mexico City on Friday October 28th around 4PM, we were to go out to dinner
around 7 or 8PM, but it got postponed it once and again and we were finally
leaving the hotel to eat at around 10PM. On the way out of the hotel to the
van, suddenly Benjamin, after glancing sideways into the hotel restaurant,
turns around violently , startling us, saying something like “Wake me up! I can't believe
it!” (surprised looks and reactions from everyone, is the van wrecked, stolen,
did he lose his wallet?!) “You won’t believe who’s in the hotel restaurant!”
(Questioning looks from us all), “Steve Hackett!!” Ha ha, yeah sure! we all
think… A surreptitious glance proves he’s completely and utterly correct! Steve
Hackett and all his team are there starting off their dinner!! Incredulous,
muffled chuckles, we try to understand what’s going on and get a grip on the
incredible luck we’ve had… More nervous
laughs and muted comments are exchanged. We of course completely forgot our
empty stomachs and returned to "stalk" Mr. Hackett. I, as the one
that has an acceptable grasp of English was chosen to start off the
conversation, cold sweat, rubbery knees, nervously I try to imagine (without
any success) what I’d say to Mr. Hackett, an idol since I was 13 years old… Mr.
Hackett suddenly came out of the restaurant out to the hotel lobby sofa,
talking on his cellphone… Wow!... We awaited expectantly (me nervous as hell)
the end of his call, when he finally hung up, he came over to us! That was quite
unexpected, to say the least, later on we’d notice this is just how he is, very
down-to-earth and a humble, kind person. We had a short chat, we explained we
were from Guadalajara and would be going to his concert the next day, I told
him I had listened to his music since the early eighties and had seen all the
Genesis members in concert, except him (later on I figured that had been a stupid
thing to say, which I regretted, like if I were collecting “them” in some sick
way). We took a photo with him, which he was kind enough to oblige to and he
signed all our concert tickets (minus one, which he later all too kindly signed
too, even though we interrupted his dinner). We left the hotel happy, with
wide grins to eat our midnight supper, hardly believing our luck and the chance
to talk to Mr. Hackett! We were all pumped up and enjoyed a good dinner at the
ad hoc Mexico City Hard Rock Café. During the
night, I restlessly dreamt of record collections and related musical subjects,
waking up at 7AM (5 hours after falling asleep) feeling quite annoyed at my
comments the night before to Mr. Hackett… I hadn’t told him how important his
music was, and still is, in my life and how much I value it and that I hope he
will continue making such great music a long time more… I roll around in
my bed not able to fall asleep again. I figure, maybe I can meet him down in
the restaurant and have a chance to tell him that in person! Not thinking I
wouldn’t actually have the courage to do so… So I shower, dress and rush down
to the hotel restaurant. No luck though, no Mr. Hackett, I can only see a
person that looks like a foreigner, but can’t actually recognize (he turned out
to be the tour manager). While I was half way through my breakfast Mr. Hackett
walked into the restaurant and sat with the manager, that was the moment I
found out he was related to the Steve Hackett tour. At a certain point while
I was getting some bread, the manager walked over to get some bread of his own
too, I noticed he picked up two pieces of “pan de muertos”, bread of the “day
of the dead”, which is a traditional sweet bread made in the month prior to the
Day of the Dead, a celebration held in the first days of November to celebrate
and remember the deceased. I grabbed the opportunity of telling him so, without
enough time to dispell a certain discomfort in him… day of the dead, bread of
the dead… hmmm… scary, gloomy, gross… Here in Mexico, this acceptance and
almost lack of respect for death is actually quite interesting, makes me think
of Monty Python and many of their sketches which would at times have a good
hearty laugh on this subject, not really taking it seriously either. Well, not
having the courage to go up to their table I took off to the supermarket to
fetch a razorblade and some shaving cream which I had forgotten in Guadalajara. When I
entered the supermarket round the corner from the hotel I noticed lots of items
related to the Day of the Dead, I immediately figured it’d be great to give
them a few items as a gift and that would also give me an excuse to barge in on
their breakfast. So I bought a small chocolate and a sugar skull as a gift for
them. Upon
returning to the restaurant I gathered some courage and stepped over to their
table, while I was gone a new member had appeared at the table, Mr. John
Hackett, whom I could not recognize without a flute in his hand… Stuttering,
shaky knees and short of breath I offered them the skulls… can you imagine the
first impression in their mind… “voodoo” a “hex”… who’s this wacko! But they
politely listened to my breathless explanation and even more politely asked me a few
questions to help me along (I guess). I chatted a bit asking about their stay
and if they had any sidetrips planned. It turned out to be a very tight
schedule and no sightseeing at all. I invited them to visit Guadalajara, citing
a considerable audience for Prog music, a recent sold out concert for Jethro
Tull and one by Alan Parsons, they were particularly interested in Jethro’s
sold-out concert. I took the advantage and finally had the chance to tell him
how much his music had meant for me in my life and got that off my chest. A few
other comments were shared and I thanked them for their time and kindness,
wished them a great concert and left feeling just as nervous as when I
approached them, but elated as I had finally been able to tell him what I
really wanted to tell him and even had the chance to talk a bit with his
brother, what incredible luck! Little did I know we’d have more chances to talk
and in an even more relaxed settings. I hurried
up to tell the guys, who by now were almost all awake, about my lucky
encounter. They, of course, were pissed off at me going down to talk with them
without having woken them up (I'm sure they wouldn't have appreciated me waking
them at 7AM...), but they were glad that I had had that opportunity. They all
said, maybe we’ll meet them down there again. We all went
down for breakfast (me too again), but as I expected Mr. Hackett, his brother
John and the manager were nowhere to be seen. A bit disappointed they all
started off their breakfast. While we were eating, Benjamin, one of the two
members of a progressive group in Guadalajara, Fuga, who had travelled to see
Steve Hackett Trio, said, isn’t that Steve’s brother John in the lobby? And it
was, he was chatting with a guy that we later found out was in charge of
transport and general well-being of the entourage. Later on Steve came down too
and sat together with them. So on the way out we greeted them, and while the
other 5 greeted them, I mentioned to Steve that Luigi and Benjamin had a
progressive rock group. He asked them what they played, both musically and
instruments. He was rather surprised to hear Luigi played the Stick, like Tony
Levin he said. A small conversation ensued and Steve Hackett kindly invited us
to sit down in the lobby chairs and talk a bit. The following is a loose
transcript of what we talked about, it was at times a bit like an interview, at
other times more of a chat. We had both John and Steve Hackett present during
the chat. Steve
Hackett mentioned that he thought the Chapman Stick was a difficult instrument
to play, with a good sound and great bass sound, he mentioned also that
Kajagoogoo has a stick player and upon my surprise to hear they still existed,
he mentioned they had recently reformed. – I missed an opportunity to talk a
bit more about the tapping technique actually having inspired the creation of a
whole new instrument, and if he’d ever tried one out… next time maybe. When
Luigi mentioned Trey Gunn as another stick player, he said he was very good too
and that he had had a chance to play with Pat Mastelotto in Japan. When asked
of musical inspirations he mentioned Piaf and some older artists (can't
remember now). When asked if he listened to modern progressive groups he didn’t
offer any names, but when we mentioned The Flower Kings he recognized them and asks
if Roine Stolte still plays guitar in the group. He jokingly mentions Eminem,
but clarifies that as a poet (only). He told us he is currently listening Jazz,
specifically Hungarian Jazz. When asked
for his ideal of music, he said he’d like a mix of rock, jazz and batucada
(laughing) and that he’s still trying to perfect the combination. He
mentioned as of late trying to alternate rock and classically inspired records
in his discography. When I mentioned Toto’s Dune record as one of the better
combinations of rock and classical I had heard, he said he’d never heard of it. I asked if
it was a problem working with classical orchestras, as I had read different
accounts of rock musicians having trouble, snobbish attitudes, lack of
enthusiasm, etc. when trying to get pieces done with classical musicians (I
recall one specifically with Jeff Lynne when he was leader of ELO). He said
that nowadays most members of classical orchestras have grown up with rock
around them and no longer have a prejudices. He's never had any issues either. When we
asked if the brother John mentioned in “The Lamb lies…” is his brother, they
say it’s just a coincidence. I mention that I recently read online that Peter
Gabriel composed both lyrics and music for the “Lamb” album, whereas I remember
having read elsewhere, that Peter had just done all the lyrics and storyline
and that the rest of the group had composed all the music. Steve corroborated
that it was the latter scenario, Peter lyrics and story and Phil, Mike, Peter
and he most of the music. When asked
for his favorite Genesis record, he said “Selling England by the Pound” as he
felt that he finally had more freedom and influence on that album in terms of
playing and getting ideas through. He added that creating music within Genesis
was quite complicated, mostly due to the strong personalities and the large
amount of good ideas everyone came with during the composition and recording
process. In part this was a reason for the separation with the group in 1977. I mentioned
having seen some live concert footage from the Trick of the Tail era where he
looked either bored or distant, he said that was surely just him making a
Charlie Watts impersonation (laughter). We talked
about the current strings of remasters of his work. He mentioned they had
excellent sound, many details have risen out of the mix, they were made from
recovered master tapes. He mentioned they had actually been lost (the master
tapes). John Hackett mentioned the new remasters sound as it sounded originally
in the studio. We asked
John Hackett regarding his flute, he told us of this new design by an
Englishman that helped him once again play flute after a car accident that left
him with a seemingly permanent neck injury. They were
both introduced to the world of music when their father brought them a guitar
after (or was it during) a work stay in Canada. Steve
mentioned that at a time he considered becoming a full-time harmonica player…
lucky for us he decided against it, but that explains his ability on the
instrument, that you can spot live in some DVDs. John
participated on the first solo Steve record, Voyage of the Acolyte, while still
studying Literature. They both agreed that it was Steve who brought John into
the music world, John laughingly stated Steve was a bad influence. But they
were always good brothers and had a positive relationship. Since
"Voyage", John has been in the music business, has recorded two solo
records, "the newest is very good" said Steve (I bought it there at the concert
and must say it is very good, calming music). When asked
how a group of 23-year olds could compose a masterpiece like "Selling
England by the Pound", he agreed it was unusual and that at the time he
was inspired by Bach and trying to play a piece like Tocatta & Fugue on a
guitar. He’d do his best to play it and developed his tapping technique to make
it more feasible. John insisted that they were all very talented. When
mentioning the technical aspects of guitar playing, Steve mentioned Stanley
Jordan. But we agreed that it can easily become a circus act, both technique
and feeling must go together to make music. We then
went on to talk about a Genesis reunion and his thoughts on the subject. I could
see had done quite a few efforts in that direction, I also noticed some
bitterness, I have a feeling all the rejections he seems to have received from
the members may be a reason, but the exact causes will need some more specific
questions. He mentioned having contacted them all but has not received a
response. He mentioned thinking that Tony Banks, even though he has recently
released an orchestral “rock” album, his ideal has always been to play in a
successful group. When asked
why he thought he had maintained such a clear and strong progressive vein in
his music. He believes that he’s more classically inspired and has always been
making music he likes and not just pop. He clearly stated that could never make
or play music he hated. He's actually very lucky in being able to decide,
looking at how things normally are managed in the music business. After our
conversation in the lobby we thanked Steve and John for their time and kindness
and hoped they’d have a great stay in Mexico and a great concert too. We could
all barely believe the opportunity we’d had, to talk almost one-on-one with
such an important musician… Tornillo, said “A legend of rock music, but even
more so, a gentleman.” And that is the impression we all had of him. A kind,
open, humble, gentle man that just enjoys music and having the liberty to make
the music he likes and share it with the world. We found
out that Steve wasn’t leaving the hotel to the concert venue until around 4pm
and he would be in the lobby before that. So we rushed off to the closest mall
and bought him a nice book with great photos of Mexico plus we raided the local
Music store and bought up most of the Hackett dvds and cds. We met up
with Steve at the hotel and gave him the present which he very much appreciated,
he kindly took the time to sign and comment on the cds and dvds we gave him. He
especially scowled over the one I had bought,
as the cover actually looked like a Yes rip-off, he wasn’t too thrilled
with that (called Horizons)… I felt sort of guilty having bought the “pirate”
DVD (I’ve since then found out it is a very good recording and concert, can
read more on it at allmusic.com). I felt it was a bit over the top all the
signing he was asked to do, so I felt it was enough with the ticket signature
(from the night before) and the signed DVD cover. We thanked him profusely, said
goodbye and wished him good luck with the concert. We stayed
around the hotel and prepared for the concert, we took off an hour and a half
before the concert to the hall, arrived there to a suprisingly empty venue
(little did we know…). We should have figured something was wrong… instead we
walked around nonchalantly, I went up to the merchandise table and started
buying a few cds (the new one by John and a Nearfest 2 cd set) a poster and the
tour booklet… I was then ushered in, when I suddenly noticed that Steve was
already playing!! WHAT!! I rush in and yes, there he is playing on stage… damn
it, I grumble to myself, and stumble up to my seat with Luigi close behind, all
the rest were in the bathroom and buying cds too or something like that… The
location was great, right behind the sound engineers and the sound was
therefore excellent. The rest arrived breathless to the rest of the seats. We were
treated to a fabulous concert, took some photos, some videos and enjoyed the
excellent renditions of all the great songs. Some sounded even more beautiful
than the original recordings, breathtaking! We left the concert very happy and
pondered over how all those fans there in the concert hall wouldn’t have
believed us if we had told them that we’d spent so much time with Steve and
John. By the way, after the concert I was a bit sad that we’d not had the time
to speak a bit with Roger King, excellent musician, excellent! We rode
back home with the car full of merchandise, posters, t-shirts and an excellent
concert experience despite missing the first 5 or 10 minutes of the concert…
I’ve still not figured completely what went wrong, my guess is that the concert
started one hour early... strange… Next
morning we expected not to meet any of them, specially being the last date of
their tour, we’d expect them to have a party and wake up late. We were to take
off more or less early as the trip back to Guadalajara would take up most of
the day and it’s not good to drive at night if you can avoid it. So there we
were in the hotel restaurant eating our breakfast, four in one table and
Tornillo and I at a second table when Mr. Steve Hackett walked through the
door! He looked a bit disoriented looking around the lobby restaurant not
spotting any members of the entourage… We greeted him and Tornillo asked him if
he would be so kind as to join us at our table, something I had not even
thought about, what an uneducated brute I am… He looked a bit hesitant and after
a few seconds thought he accepted, went off to get some tea and toasts and
returned to our table. By now, I was a bit unconfortable, as I did not know if
Steve would feel we were a bit of a nuisance or something like that, but I
tried to talk much less than earlier and let him eat breakfast as quietly as
possible. Details of the conversation elude me now, but it was much less tense,
he asked about the concert, what we thought of it, we mentioned we enjoyed it a
lot. He mentioned they had had last minute trouble with the setup and other
issues that they either barely resolved or did not solve (later viewing the DVD
of the same concert in Hungary I noticed the scenery was quite different and
that’s the trouble they had had in the Mexico City concert, setting it all up,
which they didn’t :-)) I remember asking him a bit about his family, he
mentioned his son, that studies in Europe, I think it was Germany. We chatted
of many things and nothing at all. I do remember asking him if he felt his life
had gone as he wanted it and he agreed, he felt as a realized person, something
I was very happy to hear as we all in a sense want that from life and to hear
that your heroe is happy with what he’s done in life as a musician and as a
human being is fabulous. He told us the team had all gone out to party the
night after the concert, but he had not, which explained why he found no
entourage faces when he arrived at the lobby restaurant (luckily for us). After some
20 minutes or so, John appeared too. He joined us at the table and we talked a
bit more about the concert and their lives. Tornillo rushed up to his room to
fetch some more items for Steve to sign… (I didn’t want to impose, so I did no
such thing). Steve and John all too kindly obliged to sign more cds, more posters
and even two t-shirts Tornillo had bought the night before. I don’t
remember for sure now, but I think they left the table before we did, we
thanked them profusely and wished them a nice trip back home and hoped they’d
come back to Mexico soon and that they had their home in Guadalajara should
they ever arrive there. I wasn’t able to tell them directly (so I take the
opportunity here, just in case) to thank them for just how kind and open they
had been to all our “abuse” and wish to enjoy another new record and many more
from them in the future. When we
drove back to Guadalajara, I felt a bit depressed. I don’t know how to express
it correctly, it was of course not in any way Steve or John’s fault, not at
all, but I now saw them as normal human beings, sure, with exceptional
abilities as musicians, but as mere mortals. They looked quite tired, pale, I
actually felt sorry for them, having to travel to strange places, stay in
hotels, have to play even though in pain (Steve mentioned John’s hand was having
issues too, related, it seems, to his neck injury), etc. All these issues that
you never think of when you are a fan from a distance. It’s a tough job, it
really is and now I could see it, they are mere humans, now I know it, it’s
obvious now and any reasonable person would have figured it out beforehand, but
it was necessary to meet them in person for me to really “grok” that. But on
the other hand, they are doing what they like, playing music, the music they
like, no compromises, they are truly blessed in that sense, plus I took comfort
in the fact Steve had said he felt realized as a musician and I understand that
for him that makes it all worthwhile. After all
this you must understand that the concert and the music took a backseat to
actually meeting and sharing so much with Steve and John, that is unavoidable
and I am very grateful it was that way, a once in a lifetime experience. I
pondered over that later on too, it was a mix of good luck and meeting the
right famous person, not all musicians are so accesible, kind, humble and
tolerant, so I have the feeling nothing like this will ever happen again in my
life, anyway I am glad I had the chance to have such an experience with my
heroe Steve and John. I can’t
thank you Steve and John enough. Thank you all for making this concert and
encounter such a memorable and enlightening experience. A lifelong fan Mogens
Edited by mgallard - June 12 2007 at 12:06 |
|
Post Reply | |
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |