Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2013 2:02:39 GMT -5
This is the story of how I got in to the back of the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood Los Angeles and the "Tull Ready Room"on February 8th 1975 using only a pencil.
Warning this could very well bore you to tears, so theres the warning.
The Forum is an 18,900 seat arena that my friends and I saw some of the best shows of the seventies for not a helluva lot of money!. Depending on where you sat it could be great oooor you could've done better watching the show from a helicopter. We learned early to always try for best seats.
I might add that back in the "good old days" there weren't "meet and greets" as they are now, I think you had to be with Chrysalis or a radio station or something that was commercially connected. I never heard of any fan meetings. So I was kind of taking a shot in the dark here. I didn't know anyone who knew anyone.
In July of 1973 I was 17 and the way I got through high school was by being able to draw and paint fairly well so I somehow ended up having four art classes my senior year and the others….. I ditched. (Such pride!) One of the art classes I had was printmaking (etchings and lithographs) So in 73 I did an etching of Ian that came out pretty well. The Etching below: has had a title added that wasn't part of the original artwork.
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Later in the year at the Passion Play show some connections were made with the projectionist, Bill Cardinell, (He showed the Hare film) it was put to him that I had this print to give Ian and he very openly directed us to his own hotel room at the International Hotel after the show. Wow, we thought.
My girlfriend, Dorothea and I had to go home (30 min) get the print and head back to the International, so when we finally got there and met Bill at his room (by then it was 12:30am) he said Ian and the guys had already gone to bed so I left the print with him, he promised to give it to Ian in the morning. Adding that he thought this was really nice and that Ian would really appreciate it. Soooo with that Dorothea and I went on home. On the way home I was naturally feeling a bit let down but Dorothea, ever the optimist, says "Wow, that was amazing, you know if we had started a little earlier than the night of the concert, we could've actually pulled it off and gotten in to see Ian". So that was it! That was what I was going to do....next time.
Below: Dorothea and myself, she and I used to play with the camera quite a bit. (All g rated!) She was a great Tull fan, we went to many shows together starting with APP. She is still a great friend of ours, and a wonderful person. We actually participated in each others weddings later on in life. We were together for about 5 years.
So in late 74 the album Warchild came out and I picked it up immediately and started pouring over the visuals on front and rear cover and now instead of his usual tartan coat (which I thought was really cool) Ian now had a "space age" minstrel suit on. In search of subject matter to draw from, the front cover was the negative image but there was a little picture of him on the back in the pose presenting all the people that represented the songs on the album and I thought, that's it. That will be the main figure. That would be in color and, since I was so into all the different looks Ian had and how much he had changed from the tramp to the Jester, from 68 till 75, I'd do all the other Ian's in blue/grays like ghosts of Ian's past. So I started drawing this thing about at about at about 22" x 15" in early November 74. When it was done and matted it was 26" x 19" Late that month I picked up a Melody Maker and wow, look who's up front! NOTE: Now for any of you belonging to a "newer" generation I might remind you (and myself once in a while) that we did not have the internet in 74 and the only images and information we had of the band were on album covers or magazine articles maybe the odd poster, or maybe a newspaper article, but nothing like today where we have a GLUT of images and info at our finger tips. There was a great revue of the Rainbow show in London, very good review I was eating it up. And cool pic of him on the cover…. but whats this outfit? and I thought I had it all figured out and look at this. I might've done this one had I seen it first, except what the hell is that giant shield on his crotch!? What has Ian gone and done this time?.
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I always liked Ian in ripped up pants and when he changed I excepted the black tights look and was a little queazy when he went to the lighter tights which accented and showed off the black crotch cloth which again I got used to and was ok with but you couldn't get around this thing! it was a full on codpiece!. Dorothea and all her friends by-the-way, just thought Ian's legs and hindquarters were the sexiest darn look he could possibly have.
So I kept at this drawing in my spare time and worked on that thing up until the last minute in at the end of January 75. The ad came out advertising 3 nights at the Forum and a bit later another 2 nights were added, which ended up being an attendance record for Tull and the Forum. They really were the biggest band in the world at that point. I don't remember when we got our tickets, but Dorothea, and I got one pair thru the mail for the first night Feb. 3rd and other nights of the 5 with different combinations of friends.
I had started calling the LA Chrysalis offices to find out how to get into see Ian with my "present". Everyone I talked to kept suggesting that I just leave it with various Chrysalis people who would be at the Forum and that just wasn't going to happen this time. One of the names I was given was Simon Brogan. He came in handy later.
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So Feb 3rd comes and Dorothea and I are ready, I was still getting the run around from Chrysalis LA but the band was going to be here for over a week. So the first night I got 3 (?) rolls of super 8mm film for my movie camera. Each ran only 5 minutes if I remember correctly, hid the film cassettes in the lining of my coat. I was now set. But then how do you get a big ol ol super 8mm camera past the security? With Dorothea's full and enthusiastic support, I duct taped the thing to the inside of her bare thigh....and she wore a long peasant dress and some tall cork clogs. What a couple of Hippies! She was walking kind of funny and she had to cover her mouth when I pulled the tape off at our seats. So we were there! and it is documented, HERE:
(yes I know you've all seen it, but I'm including all the bits here for posterity!!)
It remained silent for something like 30 years and finally added sound via the magic of computers.
That night I did go up to the stage before Tull came on to ask for Simon Brogan, he came to the side of the heavily guarded stage and said "well give me the picture and I'll make sure Ian gets it" He didn't "get it", I didn't have it in my pocket, it was big (!) not something you just walked in and sat in your seat with. I was going to hand it over myself. I passed on his offer and it sat in the car that night.
The next night the 4th we went with different set of friends, This concert was like going to the circus, just a fantastic show, mind blowing and funny, great jokes, Ian was the ringmaster and all the other guys were a show all to themselves, Jeffrey was all over the stage.
Each night I'd get there a little early and try and talk to Simon or others without much luck. Trouble was once you used your ticket to get in, you couldn't go back out, (too get "the picture") I went again with different friends on the 8th and 9th.
Below: Tom, Rick & Myself (being kicked out of the Renaissance Faire, Rick fell into and collapsed the Tarot Card tent) we and some others went one of the nights and this pic was at around the same time as the concert, I think I actually was wearing the same clothes when I met Ian. Impressive huh?
The other picture is later in 77 of my friend Mike and I. Mike didn't take no for an answer very often.
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So Now It Starts Getting Good
We'd gotten a set of 6 of tickets for the 8th. That was with an especially adventurous couple of friends along with Dorothea. My buddy Mike (part of this group) and I were hanging out early that day, we'd had of couple beers and about 3:00 he said "Screw this! lets just go there now with the picture and go on in!", well shit why not. So we headed out across town. We get to the Forum, parked around back grabbed the drawing and headed down the giant loading ramp (just like a scene in the movie "Almost Famous" except it was daylight) There was a big roll up door that was closed up and a small entry door to the left of it, closed also. No one was around.
We knocked, and knocked some more. No answer. BUT we could hear the band playing the song Warchild, just the band without Ian, running through the soundcheck. I wasn't a huge fan of the new album, and not much a fan of that song, but standing there listening to it with Martin really turned up and no vocals or sax, it was really great, not that I think Ian spoiled it in any way it just sounded great, hearing it in a different way with Martin's searing guitar out front.
The sound got really loud...... when the door swung open!
There was a great big (american) guy with a clipboard. We lied like thieves dropping the names of the various Chrysalis people that I'd talked to at various times that week, Simon Brogan this and Simon Brogan that... and being able to show "the picture" was another plus, but mainly scrambling like weasels to gain some traction with this guy. Something worked because the he finally said "OK hold on" and went back in and pretty quickly came back with ....Andy Truman! Tour Manager (later when the 20th Anniversary set came out I was studying the Pete Frame Family Tree and low and behold I find Andy Truman as a keyboard player in an early band connected with Tull! I heard later also that I should never mention his name to Ian!....) He was a big english guy with a great big smile, looked us over, looked at the picture and said "So you want to see ole Elvoe ehh?" I knew that name from the playbill in APP and knew it applied to Ian, I quickly said "YES!" He said that Ian was going to be busy with the soundcheck for another hour so we should come back at 6:30 and he'd come back down and get us.......
Woa Shit! OK! So we dash back home, change, pick up Dorothea and Mikes girlfriend, Tanya and another couple and zip back to the Forum, a 30 minute drive each way and I think we did it in 20. By now it's 6:30, dark, and the situation at the back door had changed....getting back to the back door is a little more of a challenge, cause now the "others" have arrived.....Probably 25 or 30 of the, of course, "undeserving fans" are now in MY way. The nerve of some people! The six of us muscle our way to as close to the small door as we can. Once again "The picture" is useful, people would see it and showing it around to those in our way while we cleverly inch our way in front of them......hahaha yes were getting there...Whoever was up front at the door was constantly knocking on it. So when it finally opened that "big american guy with the clipboard" stepped out, and he was pissed, and yelled "Back Up!!! Like I said before if your name is not on the list, get away from the door and the loading ramp all together RIGHT NOW!!!" butbutbutbut..."NOW!!!" I couldn't believe it after the huge score we made earlier, now spoiled by the many....
My friend Mike who is about 6'7" grabbed "the picture" and held it up and said "wer'e here to see Andy Truman!"...then 4 or 5 others hearing our "magic name" said "Yeah, were here to see Andy Truman too!" .....DAMN. But "the big american guy" remembered us and "the picture" from earlier so he stopped yelling at us, but shoed many others away. He then quickly dealt with a few of the people who really were on the list, let them in, (I always wondered who the people were that were on those lists, I found out years later but thats another story) then he told us to stay right here at the door he'd be right back.........it was now getting late and I was starting to get, well shit! I already was shaking in my boots.
The reality of meeting Ian Anderson was almost just out of the scope. I hadn't even considered what to say. Again this was not the internet age.... there wasn't a plethora of interviews, pictures, blogs or forums...The guy I thought was cool and trying to meet was a total fucking mystery! There were all kinds of stories in the early seventies ranging from Anderson the wild man to total recluse that did not speak to other people until hitting the stage. So all this, getting in to see this guy was a little looney. And of coarse I'd heard from various crew members and others that actually did know, that he was a completely normal nice guy. I guess I was going to see.
Suddenly Andy Truman swings the door open and all the animals start barking again "here! here! me! ME! its me fucking pandemonium and he reaches toward Mike who is holding "the picture" and Mike says "No he's the guy" handing me "the picture" So Andy reaches over and pulls me in the door and I only have time to turn around and see Dorothea with a "wow oh shit" look on her face, which was probably on mine as well and I started to say "hey what about my..." and he cut me off and was already yelling/talking to some one else as we walked down the gigantic loading tunnel.... I was looking back at her and she made a face and a gesture like "go ahead, go!"...but I already felt like crap, they should all have been with me but Dorothea most of all.
Now It Gets Really Good
OK, I'm walking down the big tunnel with Andy Truman carrying "the picture" past forklifts and giant containers huge cables lots of people working on one thing or another, left me thinking "what do all these people have to do with a concert?" Tons of noise, people yelling, The tunnel (wasn't really a tunnel, the ceiling was 50 feet high) ended at a T junction some giant black curtains all the way to the ceiling, and partly open. Through them I could see the inside of the gigantic, empty……Forum. The curtains were the back of the stage and as we came closer I could hear single notes on a piano , ping ping ping. And a piano tuner was talking to the guy at the keyboard saying "Ok now the D" and it was John Evan! Suddenly were turning left into a regular sized hallway behind the stage, of course I was still craning my neck to see the stage....so on down this hall there are doors at regular intervals with the names of the Lakers painted on the doors, (The Forum was the home of the Lakers basketball team) then past a door with a paper sign on it that read "Carmen" and the industrial noises were now being replaced by music and party noises as the hallway turned left again, the door straight ahead was open and it was a full on party complete with a bar, people dancing and ......something new, arcade video games! But I made the left turn with Andy who was always talking to people as we passed, we went 2 doors down on the right to a room with a paper sign on it that said "Anderson" I noticed other signs belonging to the other Tull members......he knocks and opens Anderson's door and other people are in there and they say "no, over there" pointing behind us......so we turn to the other side of the hallway to a door with the sign reading "Tull Ready Room" and I'm just floating at this point, just thinking back on it I believe I was completely slack jawed. I must've looked like the rag-a-muffin idiot in tow. But...... I was pretty excited.
So Andy knocks on the door and pops his head in and I could just hear muffled voices and the party going on in the room now behind me. He turns and says wait here and here disappears inside and the door shuts.
So meanwhile this guy in "expensive" blue denim pants and shirt with and tan leather vest nice leather boots to match, real seventies stuff but nice you could tell he did well for himself, so he sees "the picture" and he stops to talk, takes a long look at it and asks me where I'm going to school? I replied that I'm not really.....but he had a lot of nice things to say, he was an art director at Chrysalis and said I should be an illustrator..... just very complimentary. But I'm here to give this shit away! .. He goes on in to the party. Then the door to the "Tull Ready Room" opens again.......
and Andy ushers me in. Its about a 20'x20' cinderblock room with wooden gym benches mounted to the floor running along the walls and sitting there straight across the far wall looking right at me was Martin Barre, back against the wall cradling his Les Paul in his lap, dressed in a "rainbow striped" jacket, he just politely smiled at me. There seemed to be other people in the room talk talking away. But down the bench to my left about 10 feet away was him himself, dressed in black jeans, a black t shirt with the sleeves ripped off and black biker boots. Kind of leaning back into the corner. He had three acoustic guitars all in various states of unstrungedness arrayed around him and he with handfuls of guitar strings. He looked just like the MU poster that I hadn't seen yet. Below: the 3 of them were all dressed as in this photo.
So I don't remember if Andy Truman introduced me or he just kind of nudged me toward Ian and I did shake his hand and said hello nice to meet you.... but I remember lamely holding out "The Picture" to him. It had a clear plastic saran wrap type of cover over it and he propped it up on his knee looking at it and then he runs his finger down the face of the central color figure and says "ehhh I look a bit jewish here now don't I" and kind of chuckled. I guess he (in the illustration) did have more of a Hasidic look than the tiny picture I took it from. About then I felt someones chin on my right shoulder and I turned my head only to be nose to nose with Jeffery Hammond and for the life of me I didn't register who it was for a brief second. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in the land of Oz right now and all of the people I really DID want to meet were right here in the fucking room with me!!!
So I say hello to Jeffery with the giant grin, and big eyes, who seems much more interested in "the Picture" than Ian, I didn't know at this time that he was the artist that he is, "very very nice" he says and asks where did I go to school and I must've looked like I didn't know what they meant cause then Ian clarified "have you gone to art school?" and then, like an idiot, realizing they weren't asking about Downey High School that I had graduated from 1 years before, I quickly blurted out "Oh No..... I haven't gone to Art school...... I just kind of do it on my own" and with that Jeffery and Ian had a laugh and said "yes I guess we all know what thats like don't we?" and I guessed they were talking about not being formally trained musicians. I then got real brave and asked Ian if he played all three of those guitars on stage....He quickly shot back "not all at once, that would be a great trick" hahahahaha (my first lesson in how not to leave an opening!) Next Ian asks me if I've done Jeffery's cross word puzzle from the TAAB newspaper, theres a big surprise for anyone the completes it and sends it in....ahhh no I"d never heard this, and I'd been stumped by it to be honest. Ian did take a long look at the picture ran his fingers over it again looked at me and smiled and nodded with seeming approval which was very satisfying to see.
Ian then looked to Andy, behind me, and did a a "chin up" kind of gesture "like it's time for him to go" and I was saying goodbye to all and with that it was like I was whisked to the back door at 100 mph. I have no memory of walking back until I hit the door and suddenly my friends were all over me and I was apologizing that I didn't get any of them in, and all they kept saying was "what happened?!!" "what was he like!!?" The first thing that came out of my mouth was "Wow that guy is soooo pale!" and he was veerry pale, but what was really was remarkable was he didn't look like the larger than life guy I knew from up on the stage. But in a little bit, there he was again.....
So there it is ..... every one was very forgiving and supportive, slapping me on the back.......It was Miller time and other things too. The show that night was the best of the bunch so far.
Looking back on it I think it actually kind of embarrassed him a little. I wanted to say a million things about my learning all his lines on the flute, about what some lyrics were about here or there, a musical phrase I was curious about, and a million others. Just like we were buddies. I said maybe three or four things…."Duh" was one of them I believe.
But I think I realized much more…… that he is just a guy, a very talented guy, but like anybody you might meet, that you don't really know, you have to actually go through the process of getting to know someone. You may feel like you know him because you've listened to his very deep thoughts put forth in song. But you don't and he doesn't know you.....its quite a leap to expect him to be as friendly as he actually is. You or I wouldn't want someone coming at you like that and what an uncomfortable thing to have to put up with. People who believe you owe it to them to get to know them, why? because they like you! You already know the two of you share nothing and have absolutely nothing in common. Yet he is as friendly as he can be and then has to find a graceful way out of the situation. Remember "your way in is my way out." When I heard that line from One White Duck I immediately recognized it as meaning "That dressing room door you came in is my way out, so try and keep it clear" or something like that. I decided to never bother him again.
Saw Tull again on the 9th and it was good, but by now I knew all the jokes, all the songs, cause "every night his acts the same" but it's sure was a great one.
OHH One last post script. Last October (2012) Ian was appearing right down the street to do the TAAB show. Five minutes away. I drove by the backstage driveway in that morning and I suddenly started getting "feverish". They were right down that driveway! Long story short (Finally) I contacted a Board related friend who contacted "Tull management" who in turn contacted Chris Archer, Tour Manager, (Again just down the street!) who was to meet me at the front door before the show and take an envelope from me and have Ian sign the contents for me. He did and it was waiting for me with Tom Lynch at the Merch desk. The internet age is crazy fantastic. Can't thank them enough. Below: I bothered Ian again after 37 years!
Thank you again Board related friend!!
Darin E. Cody
Warning this could very well bore you to tears, so theres the warning.
The Forum is an 18,900 seat arena that my friends and I saw some of the best shows of the seventies for not a helluva lot of money!. Depending on where you sat it could be great oooor you could've done better watching the show from a helicopter. We learned early to always try for best seats.
I might add that back in the "good old days" there weren't "meet and greets" as they are now, I think you had to be with Chrysalis or a radio station or something that was commercially connected. I never heard of any fan meetings. So I was kind of taking a shot in the dark here. I didn't know anyone who knew anyone.
In July of 1973 I was 17 and the way I got through high school was by being able to draw and paint fairly well so I somehow ended up having four art classes my senior year and the others….. I ditched. (Such pride!) One of the art classes I had was printmaking (etchings and lithographs) So in 73 I did an etching of Ian that came out pretty well. The Etching below: has had a title added that wasn't part of the original artwork.
, Later in the year at the Passion Play show some connections were made with the projectionist, Bill Cardinell, (He showed the Hare film) it was put to him that I had this print to give Ian and he very openly directed us to his own hotel room at the International Hotel after the show. Wow, we thought.
My girlfriend, Dorothea and I had to go home (30 min) get the print and head back to the International, so when we finally got there and met Bill at his room (by then it was 12:30am) he said Ian and the guys had already gone to bed so I left the print with him, he promised to give it to Ian in the morning. Adding that he thought this was really nice and that Ian would really appreciate it. Soooo with that Dorothea and I went on home. On the way home I was naturally feeling a bit let down but Dorothea, ever the optimist, says "Wow, that was amazing, you know if we had started a little earlier than the night of the concert, we could've actually pulled it off and gotten in to see Ian". So that was it! That was what I was going to do....next time.
Below: Dorothea and myself, she and I used to play with the camera quite a bit. (All g rated!) She was a great Tull fan, we went to many shows together starting with APP. She is still a great friend of ours, and a wonderful person. We actually participated in each others weddings later on in life. We were together for about 5 years.
So in late 74 the album Warchild came out and I picked it up immediately and started pouring over the visuals on front and rear cover and now instead of his usual tartan coat (which I thought was really cool) Ian now had a "space age" minstrel suit on. In search of subject matter to draw from, the front cover was the negative image but there was a little picture of him on the back in the pose presenting all the people that represented the songs on the album and I thought, that's it. That will be the main figure. That would be in color and, since I was so into all the different looks Ian had and how much he had changed from the tramp to the Jester, from 68 till 75, I'd do all the other Ian's in blue/grays like ghosts of Ian's past. So I started drawing this thing about at about at about 22" x 15" in early November 74. When it was done and matted it was 26" x 19" Late that month I picked up a Melody Maker and wow, look who's up front! NOTE: Now for any of you belonging to a "newer" generation I might remind you (and myself once in a while) that we did not have the internet in 74 and the only images and information we had of the band were on album covers or magazine articles maybe the odd poster, or maybe a newspaper article, but nothing like today where we have a GLUT of images and info at our finger tips. There was a great revue of the Rainbow show in London, very good review I was eating it up. And cool pic of him on the cover…. but whats this outfit? and I thought I had it all figured out and look at this. I might've done this one had I seen it first, except what the hell is that giant shield on his crotch!? What has Ian gone and done this time?.
, I always liked Ian in ripped up pants and when he changed I excepted the black tights look and was a little queazy when he went to the lighter tights which accented and showed off the black crotch cloth which again I got used to and was ok with but you couldn't get around this thing! it was a full on codpiece!. Dorothea and all her friends by-the-way, just thought Ian's legs and hindquarters were the sexiest darn look he could possibly have.
So I kept at this drawing in my spare time and worked on that thing up until the last minute in at the end of January 75. The ad came out advertising 3 nights at the Forum and a bit later another 2 nights were added, which ended up being an attendance record for Tull and the Forum. They really were the biggest band in the world at that point. I don't remember when we got our tickets, but Dorothea, and I got one pair thru the mail for the first night Feb. 3rd and other nights of the 5 with different combinations of friends.
I had started calling the LA Chrysalis offices to find out how to get into see Ian with my "present". Everyone I talked to kept suggesting that I just leave it with various Chrysalis people who would be at the Forum and that just wasn't going to happen this time. One of the names I was given was Simon Brogan. He came in handy later.
, So Feb 3rd comes and Dorothea and I are ready, I was still getting the run around from Chrysalis LA but the band was going to be here for over a week. So the first night I got 3 (?) rolls of super 8mm film for my movie camera. Each ran only 5 minutes if I remember correctly, hid the film cassettes in the lining of my coat. I was now set. But then how do you get a big ol ol super 8mm camera past the security? With Dorothea's full and enthusiastic support, I duct taped the thing to the inside of her bare thigh....and she wore a long peasant dress and some tall cork clogs. What a couple of Hippies! She was walking kind of funny and she had to cover her mouth when I pulled the tape off at our seats. So we were there! and it is documented, HERE:
(yes I know you've all seen it, but I'm including all the bits here for posterity!!)
It remained silent for something like 30 years and finally added sound via the magic of computers.
That night I did go up to the stage before Tull came on to ask for Simon Brogan, he came to the side of the heavily guarded stage and said "well give me the picture and I'll make sure Ian gets it" He didn't "get it", I didn't have it in my pocket, it was big (!) not something you just walked in and sat in your seat with. I was going to hand it over myself. I passed on his offer and it sat in the car that night.
The next night the 4th we went with different set of friends, This concert was like going to the circus, just a fantastic show, mind blowing and funny, great jokes, Ian was the ringmaster and all the other guys were a show all to themselves, Jeffrey was all over the stage.
Each night I'd get there a little early and try and talk to Simon or others without much luck. Trouble was once you used your ticket to get in, you couldn't go back out, (too get "the picture") I went again with different friends on the 8th and 9th.
Below: Tom, Rick & Myself (being kicked out of the Renaissance Faire, Rick fell into and collapsed the Tarot Card tent) we and some others went one of the nights and this pic was at around the same time as the concert, I think I actually was wearing the same clothes when I met Ian. Impressive huh?
The other picture is later in 77 of my friend Mike and I. Mike didn't take no for an answer very often.
, , So Now It Starts Getting Good
We'd gotten a set of 6 of tickets for the 8th. That was with an especially adventurous couple of friends along with Dorothea. My buddy Mike (part of this group) and I were hanging out early that day, we'd had of couple beers and about 3:00 he said "Screw this! lets just go there now with the picture and go on in!", well shit why not. So we headed out across town. We get to the Forum, parked around back grabbed the drawing and headed down the giant loading ramp (just like a scene in the movie "Almost Famous" except it was daylight) There was a big roll up door that was closed up and a small entry door to the left of it, closed also. No one was around.
We knocked, and knocked some more. No answer. BUT we could hear the band playing the song Warchild, just the band without Ian, running through the soundcheck. I wasn't a huge fan of the new album, and not much a fan of that song, but standing there listening to it with Martin really turned up and no vocals or sax, it was really great, not that I think Ian spoiled it in any way it just sounded great, hearing it in a different way with Martin's searing guitar out front.
The sound got really loud...... when the door swung open!
There was a great big (american) guy with a clipboard. We lied like thieves dropping the names of the various Chrysalis people that I'd talked to at various times that week, Simon Brogan this and Simon Brogan that... and being able to show "the picture" was another plus, but mainly scrambling like weasels to gain some traction with this guy. Something worked because the he finally said "OK hold on" and went back in and pretty quickly came back with ....Andy Truman! Tour Manager (later when the 20th Anniversary set came out I was studying the Pete Frame Family Tree and low and behold I find Andy Truman as a keyboard player in an early band connected with Tull! I heard later also that I should never mention his name to Ian!....) He was a big english guy with a great big smile, looked us over, looked at the picture and said "So you want to see ole Elvoe ehh?" I knew that name from the playbill in APP and knew it applied to Ian, I quickly said "YES!" He said that Ian was going to be busy with the soundcheck for another hour so we should come back at 6:30 and he'd come back down and get us.......
Woa Shit! OK! So we dash back home, change, pick up Dorothea and Mikes girlfriend, Tanya and another couple and zip back to the Forum, a 30 minute drive each way and I think we did it in 20. By now it's 6:30, dark, and the situation at the back door had changed....getting back to the back door is a little more of a challenge, cause now the "others" have arrived.....Probably 25 or 30 of the, of course, "undeserving fans" are now in MY way. The nerve of some people! The six of us muscle our way to as close to the small door as we can. Once again "The picture" is useful, people would see it and showing it around to those in our way while we cleverly inch our way in front of them......hahaha yes were getting there...Whoever was up front at the door was constantly knocking on it. So when it finally opened that "big american guy with the clipboard" stepped out, and he was pissed, and yelled "Back Up!!! Like I said before if your name is not on the list, get away from the door and the loading ramp all together RIGHT NOW!!!" butbutbutbut..."NOW!!!" I couldn't believe it after the huge score we made earlier, now spoiled by the many....
My friend Mike who is about 6'7" grabbed "the picture" and held it up and said "wer'e here to see Andy Truman!"...then 4 or 5 others hearing our "magic name" said "Yeah, were here to see Andy Truman too!" .....DAMN. But "the big american guy" remembered us and "the picture" from earlier so he stopped yelling at us, but shoed many others away. He then quickly dealt with a few of the people who really were on the list, let them in, (I always wondered who the people were that were on those lists, I found out years later but thats another story) then he told us to stay right here at the door he'd be right back.........it was now getting late and I was starting to get, well shit! I already was shaking in my boots.
The reality of meeting Ian Anderson was almost just out of the scope. I hadn't even considered what to say. Again this was not the internet age.... there wasn't a plethora of interviews, pictures, blogs or forums...The guy I thought was cool and trying to meet was a total fucking mystery! There were all kinds of stories in the early seventies ranging from Anderson the wild man to total recluse that did not speak to other people until hitting the stage. So all this, getting in to see this guy was a little looney. And of coarse I'd heard from various crew members and others that actually did know, that he was a completely normal nice guy. I guess I was going to see.
Suddenly Andy Truman swings the door open and all the animals start barking again "here! here! me! ME! its me fucking pandemonium and he reaches toward Mike who is holding "the picture" and Mike says "No he's the guy" handing me "the picture" So Andy reaches over and pulls me in the door and I only have time to turn around and see Dorothea with a "wow oh shit" look on her face, which was probably on mine as well and I started to say "hey what about my..." and he cut me off and was already yelling/talking to some one else as we walked down the gigantic loading tunnel.... I was looking back at her and she made a face and a gesture like "go ahead, go!"...but I already felt like crap, they should all have been with me but Dorothea most of all.
Now It Gets Really Good
OK, I'm walking down the big tunnel with Andy Truman carrying "the picture" past forklifts and giant containers huge cables lots of people working on one thing or another, left me thinking "what do all these people have to do with a concert?" Tons of noise, people yelling, The tunnel (wasn't really a tunnel, the ceiling was 50 feet high) ended at a T junction some giant black curtains all the way to the ceiling, and partly open. Through them I could see the inside of the gigantic, empty……Forum. The curtains were the back of the stage and as we came closer I could hear single notes on a piano , ping ping ping. And a piano tuner was talking to the guy at the keyboard saying "Ok now the D" and it was John Evan! Suddenly were turning left into a regular sized hallway behind the stage, of course I was still craning my neck to see the stage....so on down this hall there are doors at regular intervals with the names of the Lakers painted on the doors, (The Forum was the home of the Lakers basketball team) then past a door with a paper sign on it that read "Carmen" and the industrial noises were now being replaced by music and party noises as the hallway turned left again, the door straight ahead was open and it was a full on party complete with a bar, people dancing and ......something new, arcade video games! But I made the left turn with Andy who was always talking to people as we passed, we went 2 doors down on the right to a room with a paper sign on it that said "Anderson" I noticed other signs belonging to the other Tull members......he knocks and opens Anderson's door and other people are in there and they say "no, over there" pointing behind us......so we turn to the other side of the hallway to a door with the sign reading "Tull Ready Room" and I'm just floating at this point, just thinking back on it I believe I was completely slack jawed. I must've looked like the rag-a-muffin idiot in tow. But...... I was pretty excited.
So Andy knocks on the door and pops his head in and I could just hear muffled voices and the party going on in the room now behind me. He turns and says wait here and here disappears inside and the door shuts.
So meanwhile this guy in "expensive" blue denim pants and shirt with and tan leather vest nice leather boots to match, real seventies stuff but nice you could tell he did well for himself, so he sees "the picture" and he stops to talk, takes a long look at it and asks me where I'm going to school? I replied that I'm not really.....but he had a lot of nice things to say, he was an art director at Chrysalis and said I should be an illustrator..... just very complimentary. But I'm here to give this shit away! .. He goes on in to the party. Then the door to the "Tull Ready Room" opens again.......
and Andy ushers me in. Its about a 20'x20' cinderblock room with wooden gym benches mounted to the floor running along the walls and sitting there straight across the far wall looking right at me was Martin Barre, back against the wall cradling his Les Paul in his lap, dressed in a "rainbow striped" jacket, he just politely smiled at me. There seemed to be other people in the room talk talking away. But down the bench to my left about 10 feet away was him himself, dressed in black jeans, a black t shirt with the sleeves ripped off and black biker boots. Kind of leaning back into the corner. He had three acoustic guitars all in various states of unstrungedness arrayed around him and he with handfuls of guitar strings. He looked just like the MU poster that I hadn't seen yet. Below: the 3 of them were all dressed as in this photo.
So I don't remember if Andy Truman introduced me or he just kind of nudged me toward Ian and I did shake his hand and said hello nice to meet you.... but I remember lamely holding out "The Picture" to him. It had a clear plastic saran wrap type of cover over it and he propped it up on his knee looking at it and then he runs his finger down the face of the central color figure and says "ehhh I look a bit jewish here now don't I" and kind of chuckled. I guess he (in the illustration) did have more of a Hasidic look than the tiny picture I took it from. About then I felt someones chin on my right shoulder and I turned my head only to be nose to nose with Jeffery Hammond and for the life of me I didn't register who it was for a brief second. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in the land of Oz right now and all of the people I really DID want to meet were right here in the fucking room with me!!!
So I say hello to Jeffery with the giant grin, and big eyes, who seems much more interested in "the Picture" than Ian, I didn't know at this time that he was the artist that he is, "very very nice" he says and asks where did I go to school and I must've looked like I didn't know what they meant cause then Ian clarified "have you gone to art school?" and then, like an idiot, realizing they weren't asking about Downey High School that I had graduated from 1 years before, I quickly blurted out "Oh No..... I haven't gone to Art school...... I just kind of do it on my own" and with that Jeffery and Ian had a laugh and said "yes I guess we all know what thats like don't we?" and I guessed they were talking about not being formally trained musicians. I then got real brave and asked Ian if he played all three of those guitars on stage....He quickly shot back "not all at once, that would be a great trick" hahahahaha (my first lesson in how not to leave an opening!) Next Ian asks me if I've done Jeffery's cross word puzzle from the TAAB newspaper, theres a big surprise for anyone the completes it and sends it in....ahhh no I"d never heard this, and I'd been stumped by it to be honest. Ian did take a long look at the picture ran his fingers over it again looked at me and smiled and nodded with seeming approval which was very satisfying to see.
Ian then looked to Andy, behind me, and did a a "chin up" kind of gesture "like it's time for him to go" and I was saying goodbye to all and with that it was like I was whisked to the back door at 100 mph. I have no memory of walking back until I hit the door and suddenly my friends were all over me and I was apologizing that I didn't get any of them in, and all they kept saying was "what happened?!!" "what was he like!!?" The first thing that came out of my mouth was "Wow that guy is soooo pale!" and he was veerry pale, but what was really was remarkable was he didn't look like the larger than life guy I knew from up on the stage. But in a little bit, there he was again.....
So there it is ..... every one was very forgiving and supportive, slapping me on the back.......It was Miller time and other things too. The show that night was the best of the bunch so far.
Looking back on it I think it actually kind of embarrassed him a little. I wanted to say a million things about my learning all his lines on the flute, about what some lyrics were about here or there, a musical phrase I was curious about, and a million others. Just like we were buddies. I said maybe three or four things…."Duh" was one of them I believe.
But I think I realized much more…… that he is just a guy, a very talented guy, but like anybody you might meet, that you don't really know, you have to actually go through the process of getting to know someone. You may feel like you know him because you've listened to his very deep thoughts put forth in song. But you don't and he doesn't know you.....its quite a leap to expect him to be as friendly as he actually is. You or I wouldn't want someone coming at you like that and what an uncomfortable thing to have to put up with. People who believe you owe it to them to get to know them, why? because they like you! You already know the two of you share nothing and have absolutely nothing in common. Yet he is as friendly as he can be and then has to find a graceful way out of the situation. Remember "your way in is my way out." When I heard that line from One White Duck I immediately recognized it as meaning "That dressing room door you came in is my way out, so try and keep it clear" or something like that. I decided to never bother him again.
Saw Tull again on the 9th and it was good, but by now I knew all the jokes, all the songs, cause "every night his acts the same" but it's sure was a great one.
OHH One last post script. Last October (2012) Ian was appearing right down the street to do the TAAB show. Five minutes away. I drove by the backstage driveway in that morning and I suddenly started getting "feverish". They were right down that driveway! Long story short (Finally) I contacted a Board related friend who contacted "Tull management" who in turn contacted Chris Archer, Tour Manager, (Again just down the street!) who was to meet me at the front door before the show and take an envelope from me and have Ian sign the contents for me. He did and it was waiting for me with Tom Lynch at the Merch desk. The internet age is crazy fantastic. Can't thank them enough. Below: I bothered Ian again after 37 years!
Thank you again Board related friend!!
Darin E. Cody
