So…we played the Fillmore. The LEGENDARY Fillmore. What could possibly top that??
If you had asked me that right after the show, I would have not had an answer for you. Because in my mind, nothing could top that.
We stayed through Kings X set-which I have to say, I really am starting to dig. As in dig to the point where I’d go back and listen to their catalog. I like their sound.
So, we watched them. And then headed out to our bus. Only our bus wasn’t there. It had a flat. So we waited and chatted with some locals who were waiting for their bus (as in public transit). Presumably their bus did not have a flat.
After a while we headed to where we thought our bus was waiting for us. It wasn’t.
The Counselors’ Bus (AKA ROCK FORCE 1) was there. But ours was nowhere to be found.
Apparently we weren’t in the best of neighborhoods because Rick had us get on the bus with the RockGods.
THIS was the fantasy. Right? Surely this ‘breakdown’ was a clever scheme hatched by Fishof and Co. to give us the full-on life on the road moment. And something a chance to hang out.
On a tour bus with the rock stars.
Up front with us mere mortals was Mark Slaughter, Chris Slade, and Mark Hudson. Elliot and Kip and the others had gone off to other parts of the bus. Slade hands beers all ’round.
And then it begins.
The usual chit chat about ‘how is camp going, blah blah’ gives way to the real Rock Fantasy.
The stories.
Dude…listening to Mark Hudson and Mark Slaughter swap Ozzy stories was LEGENDARY. And Slade throwing in his pips about the Black Sabbath stories, which Hudson picks right up on.
I will never forget those stories as long as I live (because I’m writing this shit down somewhere-they were classic).
And if you say you know someone other than Hudson or Slaughter who can do a better Ozzy impersonation-we’re gonna have to fight. Because there’s no way.
Today I caught myself saying ‘Double It! Double It!’ after something happened and I started laughing. My wife thought I’d gone crazy. Something about trying to adjust back into normal society, but then I told her the story about the bus and the stories we heard on the bus (but not all of them), and then about how Ozzy is the best double tracker in the biz.
David…if you do this ‘On Tour’ Thing again….and you have VIPs….PLEASE let them spend 30minutes or 60 minutes on the bus with the rock stars. The spontaneous stories that come from those unscripted moments are the things that your campers are going to cherish.
I, for one, will never look at cottage cheese or blueberries the same way ever again.
Unfortunately our bus got fixed all too soon and we had to hop on it to head out to LA for the camp the next day.
But that’s a post for tomorrow.
Double It! Double It!
Todd Skaggs Writes 