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A couple of my buddies attended a Cinderella show last night and it got me to thinking about the time I met the band members back in the late 1980s.
My ex-wife worked for Hilton Hotels as the catering manager, so she was all time getting tickets to concerts, sports events, etc. Boy, did she ever have a surprise for us one evening! Cinderella was staying at the Hilton and were playing a show the following evening. The boys and their road crew were bored and since you can only spend so much time in tit clubs, they contacted the catering manager and she suggested a quiet evening dining on our famous cajun foods. They agreed, however, they also wanted to catch the premier showing of Batman. So, she contacted the local theatre and made the arrangements for a private showing. Then she got me on the phone and told me that we (the family) were also invited and that they'd love for us to come early and ride with them on the tour bus.
My son was about 8 or 9 at the time, but he was beeming with excitement. When we arrived at the hotel, we were immediately taken to the main tour bus. Cinderella's tour manager was a short, robust British chap, and he promptly greeted us at the bus. We climbed aboard and patiently awaited the band's arrival. First to arrive was Tom and Eric followed closely by Jeff and the drummer (can't remember his name).
After introductions, the tour manager asked my son what he wanted to do when he grew up and Mark replied in a thick British voice "play heavy meht al!" The bus erupted with laughter and the band treated us like they had known us forever. The bus driver closed the door and we were off to the theatre. Needless to say, there wasn't a serious bone in the band's body. They cut up throughout the movie, even tossing jelly beans at each other. Of course, there were the general comments about "boning" the movie's co-star, but that was to be expected.
I had noticed that Eric was overly quiet and he informed me in a raspy voice that he was about to lose his voice due to a sore throat. I asked him if he had ever had a "hot toddy" and he replied no. When we arrived at the resturant, I went to the owner (an old buddy) and asked him to make a hot toddy with Jim Beam, water, lemon, and sugar and bring it to the table. Eric sipped on the toddy and halfway through dinner, he was finally able to talk and felt much better. More than likely, he was just drunk! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
After dinner, we headed back towards the hotel with a brief stop at a local store for more toddy ingredients. Eric, feeling better, took Mark II on a tour of the bus showing the Nintendos in each bunk. He then sat down and signed a few shirts and picks for him.
As the evening started to wind down, we exited the bus and Eric told Mark II to keep an eye on the mailbox because he might be getting a surprise. Sure enough, about a month later, we received a thank you note from the band along with numerous signed glossies, drumsticks, t-shirts, and guitar picks.
All in all, it was a splendid evening, one my son will never forget. The guys were class acts, both on and off the stage.
Mr G
My ex-wife worked for Hilton Hotels as the catering manager, so she was all time getting tickets to concerts, sports events, etc. Boy, did she ever have a surprise for us one evening! Cinderella was staying at the Hilton and were playing a show the following evening. The boys and their road crew were bored and since you can only spend so much time in tit clubs, they contacted the catering manager and she suggested a quiet evening dining on our famous cajun foods. They agreed, however, they also wanted to catch the premier showing of Batman. So, she contacted the local theatre and made the arrangements for a private showing. Then she got me on the phone and told me that we (the family) were also invited and that they'd love for us to come early and ride with them on the tour bus.
My son was about 8 or 9 at the time, but he was beeming with excitement. When we arrived at the hotel, we were immediately taken to the main tour bus. Cinderella's tour manager was a short, robust British chap, and he promptly greeted us at the bus. We climbed aboard and patiently awaited the band's arrival. First to arrive was Tom and Eric followed closely by Jeff and the drummer (can't remember his name).
After introductions, the tour manager asked my son what he wanted to do when he grew up and Mark replied in a thick British voice "play heavy meht al!" The bus erupted with laughter and the band treated us like they had known us forever. The bus driver closed the door and we were off to the theatre. Needless to say, there wasn't a serious bone in the band's body. They cut up throughout the movie, even tossing jelly beans at each other. Of course, there were the general comments about "boning" the movie's co-star, but that was to be expected.
I had noticed that Eric was overly quiet and he informed me in a raspy voice that he was about to lose his voice due to a sore throat. I asked him if he had ever had a "hot toddy" and he replied no. When we arrived at the resturant, I went to the owner (an old buddy) and asked him to make a hot toddy with Jim Beam, water, lemon, and sugar and bring it to the table. Eric sipped on the toddy and halfway through dinner, he was finally able to talk and felt much better. More than likely, he was just drunk! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
After dinner, we headed back towards the hotel with a brief stop at a local store for more toddy ingredients. Eric, feeling better, took Mark II on a tour of the bus showing the Nintendos in each bunk. He then sat down and signed a few shirts and picks for him.
As the evening started to wind down, we exited the bus and Eric told Mark II to keep an eye on the mailbox because he might be getting a surprise. Sure enough, about a month later, we received a thank you note from the band along with numerous signed glossies, drumsticks, t-shirts, and guitar picks.
All in all, it was a splendid evening, one my son will never forget. The guys were class acts, both on and off the stage.
Mr G
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