Christine and I are home safe and sound from our
11 hour drive from NYC. I don't post to this list often (maybe once every 18
years or so) but it would be a shame not to share our experiences on
March 10th. This is our (long) story...
Back in November I re-subscribed to this list and
was excited to hear about the HOF ceremony. Many of you were talking about
what it meant to be a true fan. It sparked many up close and personal Police
and Sting stories which touched me deeply. Jeremy told the story of how Deb
didn't have a ticket for the Tuscany show but managed to get in anyway. I was
inspired by that story because Deb followed her dream and it all worked out.
After Monday March 10th I can truly say that luck is mostly hard
work.
Since November Christine and I furiously tried to
work our meagre music and press connections to get tix to the ceremony. March
rolled around and we still didn't have any luck but kept our reservations at
the Waldorf. We could have easily thrown in the proverbial (and expensive
I might add) towel. Instead we stayed positive and optimistic and pressed on
to NYC on March 8th. We kept our expectations to a bare minimum.
About a week previous, Jeremy and Deb graciously
invited us and other list members to their room at the Waldorf for celebratory
drinks. We heard many Sumner tales and even contributed a few of our own.
Although I had never seen the Police play live, Christine has a few times.
Gert showed us the book he wrote about Sting and the Police which had a lot of
wonderful and exclusive photos.
Much later that Sunday evening Deb, Christine,
Jeremy and I were sitting in a pub when Deb's Stewdar went off. Her eagle eyes
spotted Stew and his wife walking by. We jumped up from the table and ran
after him. Jer and I caught up with him in the elevator but quickly realized
once inside that we risked the old Dana Carvey/Sting SNL skit. I refrained
from humming Away From Home and we returned to our dates and a waiter who
surely thought we were skipping out on the tab. That was the closest I'll ever
get to seeing The Police I thought to myself and even though it wasn't the
right moment to talk to Stewart, I was just happy to be there. Timing is
everything right? I went to bed that evening a happy camper. My expectations
were already exceeded.
To get in the game you have to look the part. I
rented a tux the morning of March 10th and Christine had already bought a
gorgeous black dress... just in case. Believe it or not it would've been more
expensive to have rented the tux for 4 days in my home town than 1 day in NYC.
Well worth the price of admission anyway. I remember the guy at the tux store
saying, "He's going to the HOF show tonight- he's a really lucky man!!!" If he
only knew I didn't even have a ticket to the ceremony. Seemed crazy to even
rent a tux but what the hell, we're staying at the freakin Waldorf and we're
spending a crap load of money so if I didn't look the part, I'll never get in
and worse... ruin Christine's chances. All dressed up and nowhere to go kept
echoing in my head.
Christine and I did manage to get into the
rehearsals after the crew lunch break. We knew the production schedule and
when the Police would go on. We tried to blend in as much as possible and not
make asses of ourselves in the Ballroom. We saw AC/DC kick ass with Steven
Tyler. We sat up at the front near the stage with about a dozen other lucky
bastards. There were of course a lot of crew and "VIPs" hanging around as
well. As soon as AC/DC was done, the crew along with original Police crew
began setting up for the Police and Christine and I were freaking out (on the
inside).
Stewart came into the Ballroom first with his 2
boys and Andy came in shortly after with his family. Ian and Miles were there
as well. You could feel security tighten its grip as many of the hotel staff
and balcony on-lookers were asked to leave. I was really nervous that we too
would be dead meat. Sting was late to the rehersal and I didn't see any
of his family with him. For a second I wondered if
he would show up at all- just like the '86 rehersals. History
teaching us everything! Christine and I used the lull to speak with Stewart
and Andy and get their autographs. When Sting arrived
we approached him as well before he got on stage. It was the
thrill of a lifetime for us to meet all three in the same ballroom.
What came next made us pee our pants- Stew started drumming on the high hat and Sting
started playing the bass line to When the World is Running Down. The jam
sounded amazing and I was transported back in time for a few hours. They
soon launched into Roxanne, then Message and finished with EBYT. They
waited for the crew in the truck to get their shit together and did all three
songs again. Sting asked if it was okay that he not sing Roxanne the second
time around but did sing a bit at the end. Why there were 2 backing vocalists
I'll never know. Sting's idea I'm sure. They weren't even Janice or
Dolette!!
I could tell that Stewart had been waiting for
this moment for a long time. The look on his face while he drummed was
priceless as he was so happy to play the old songs. Andy looked much more
intense and the guitars he chose were ones I didn't recognize as Police
guitars although they were definitely his gear. I'm not sure Sting was
impressed with Andy's playing as he winced and made some funny faces during
the beginning of Roxanne. Sting even asked Danny Q to fiddle with Andy's gear
(pedals/amps) while he was playing to which Andy walked over to Sting's amp
and turned it down. It was a classic Police moment!! Sting got a good laugh
out of that one. Sting also joked around with Stew at one point and ended the
conversation with a pointed, "You're FIRED!!" - to which there was dead
silence. Even Stew didn't have a comeback for that one. Stewart did tell Sting
to "jump around and shit like you used to" and joke about his age. I would say
that Roxanne was better at the ceremony but Message and EBYT were better at
the sound check. I was totally surprised (i don't know why now) how little
interaction there were between the 3 of them before and after the rehersal-
although I hope VH1 will show the cool rehersal banter- if they're smart they
will anyway. This leads me to safely and sadly report that this was the last
time the Police will play live. I'm not saying this because I was there and
want to make you jealous but because I saw the way they acted towards each
other. We consider ourselves blessed to have seen the First Last and the Last
Last times they played together.
Christine was thrilled to have Steven Tyler sit
in front of us listening to the Police rehersals. They even got to chatting
for a bit. The best was when Stewart plopped himself down in front of us after
the rehersal while we were talking to his boys. Stew said, "well at least you
finally got to see us play". Very cool moment for us. The grand
finale was supposed to be I Fought the Law with the Police, Gwen,
the Edge, Steve Tyler etc. I overheard someone mention that Sting
did not want to do it so it was never rehearsed. There may have been other
reasons but it wasn't very clear. In any event, I figured it maybe done
spontaneously at the end of the ceremony. I was wrong.
We were clearly on a high after the rehersals but
still wanted to try to get into the ceremony. Security was now code red and
our chances of getting in were slim to none. I didn't care since we just saw
them play. Nevertheless we got dressed and tried to put a plan together. Most
of the floors that had access to the ballroom were now blocked off the
elevators. Instead of revealing all the juicy details of how we got in, I will
sum it up like this- we did not beg, borrow, rob a bank, or do anything
illegal or of a sexual nature to get in. Instead we were friendly, charming
and used our wits- in short- we looked as if we belonged and lady luck
was on our side for once. It took brass balls but when we laser focus on
things they have a way of working out. Where there is a will there is a
ceremony and all that crap! We got to see the show from the beginning after
cocktails and dinner and got ourselves in photos with lots of
celebs including Sting, Stew and Andy who recognized us both from the
rehersals. Sting gave Christine the ultimate compliment by telling her she was
a beautiful woman which made her melt. Christine realized later she had
forced Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello to take our picture with Sting.
The look on his face was pretty funny. He managed to take a great
pic as it turned out so maybe he can always fall back on that. She later
apologized for turning him into papparazzi at the post ceremony party and he
was totally cool about it.
Jeremy pretty much summed up the whole ceremony
so I won't repeat that part. I will add that Stewart broke one
of his drum skins during EBYT as he was drumming like a maniac. I
had the pleasure of getting my pic with the broken skin at
the party afterwards. They told me it's definitely going into
the HOF in Cleveland. While trying to hunt down an extra program for
Andrea and Fred, Christine managed to again pour on the charm and snag
6 invitations to the post ceremony party where we again rubbed shoulders
with Andy and Stewart (no Sting) and Ian who was so generous with his time and
stories. Ian is a real gentleman so if you ever get a chance to visit him at
the Backstage Cafe- definitely talk to him. We also got to meet Miles who was,
well... Miles.
This is where I'm gonna get a bit preachy so you
can skip this paragraph if you want.... Nice people don't always finish last.
We are tenacious but never rude to anyone. I'm writing this email to encourage
all of you to follow your heart and dreams no matter what. Check the
negativity at the door, have faith, hope and never give up no matter what. We
made our dreams come true because we believed in our heart that we might have
a shot. We are certainly not Joe and Joanne Millionaire (or thousandaire for
that matter). We saved up as much as we could, jumped in the car and winged
it. Meeting up with Jeremy, Deb and the others encouraged and inspired us
further. Putting ourselves in the right place at the right time (and in the
right clothes) worked. I don't care if Jeremy has said it to all of you a
thousand times- he's absolutely right and we're living proof that anything
could happen... and boy did it happen that night!!!
It was a magical day and evening for us and one
we will never forget. The next morning we met up with our new Clash fan friend
Keith (who did exactly what we did and had great results as well) and had
breakfast with him and Terry Chimes (Clash drummer). We soon had to check out,
say good-bye to all our new and fast Police friends (Deb and Jer- hope to join
you on a tour soon- you guys were great) and drive home. It all still seems
like a dream- a re-curring dream that I
had for years is now reality. It was hard work and a tad bit stressful but
worth it. If you have any questions feel free to email me
directly.
Follow your bliss and doors will open
where there were no doors before.
--Joseph Campbell
All the best,
Chris and Christine