Nostalgia Is My Business, And Business Is Good

The exciting sequel to Megadeth: Smith Corona Days Revisited!

This video clip was recently posted on YouTube: Megadeth @ The Keystone Berkeley - April 1984 with Kerry King of Slayer on 2nd guitar.


In another classic Metal Geek outburst, the video caused an e-mail firestorm amongst Umlaut's Old Metal Bruthas:

UMLAUT: WOAHHH....... I was there...... I've NEVER seen this!! Megadeth - Berkeley 1984 with Kerry King.

BIG WAYNE: It's Keystone Berkeley for sure. Look at the stage pole!

UMLAUT: Look at all the headbanging! I have pics from the soundcheck before this gig.. Will dig 'em up.

(Pics by Umlaut)

TED: where are these master videos?

UMLAUT: I have no idea.... I never knew the show was even filmed until today!

BRAD: I have visions of Sean Smithson and his big friend, Mr. Cuevas and myself guzzling a bottle of Smirnoff Blue label on the grassy knoll of the hospital parking lot before the gig then badgering Brian for the guest list - which he was waiting for from someone else.. Lee, the drummer, was a 19-year old from Kansas City who broke a cast off of his fractured foot to play this gig. He was booted from the band a week or two later. Didn't a female fronted Sentinel Beast open this show?

No matter how many years go by, when I see the parking lot off of Shattuck behind the hospital I think of being horribly drunk on the worst tasting (IMO) 100 proof vodka in the world. (Yes, I did throw up at some point during the evening. Never drank blue label again.) I think this was the first time I was backstage before a band I came to see played. Being sozzled definitely helped mask my disappointment at the time.

UMLAUT: Once again Brad's amazing photographic memory comes through! I forget the time frame... but when was the time Megadeth played the Keystone Palo Alto? When they had that HUGE plywood drum riser (as seen in the YouTube vid) and the Keystone stage manager raised a stink about it. It was ridiculous... It weighed a TON (and a half).

Rattle your f*cking head.

STEVE: So drunk in fact that the headbangers in question almost started a fight with an innocent passerby (who probably woulda kicked all our asses). Cuevas and Smithson were so soused they traded jackets. Smithson got the (not all that cool) leather, Cuevas the denim. And I still say denim is more metal than leather (discuss amongst yourselves)...plus I could stash more recording equipment in the many pockets...

The Palo Alto gig: Kerry King was wearing gigantic black-metal spikes all over. He looked like he was in GWAR. It was a storming show though.

Mustaine got me and Brad in for free. I had written him a letter requesting a demo. He was so pleased with the positive message that he not only sent the demo of his "new band", but wrote a long drunken note about how appreciative he was of fans and how fucked Metallica was. Then said to look for him before the show in PA. We did, and he was and he did (He was wearing a sweater by the way). I lost the letter, pathetic archivist that I am. And the demo. But at least no one called us fags (at least not that night)

MICKI: I used to have the entire show on video!

DRUNK TED: Well if I remember from the bootleg tapes I had of those first shows, I believe it was 4/15/84. The first 2 shows were 2/17 and 2/19 of '84. Then they did 3 more (also with Kerry King) in April (I believe it was the 15, 16, & 17th)

Of course you guys would know more, being there and all that!

UMLAUT: The geeks shall inherit the Earth....

TOUR MANAGER DOUG: I have the entire April 15, 1984 Keystone Megadeth show on video. Twice. Two different cameras. I'll get it to Mr. Umlaut who will be responsible for copies.

From the Doug archives :

• 2/17/84 - Berkeley, CA - Ruthies: Megadeth / Trouble / Abattoir
• 2/19/84 -San Francisco, CA - The Stone: Megadeth / Abattoir / Brocus Helm / Recluse / Black Leather
• 3/09/84 - San Francisco, CA - On Broadway: G.B.H. / Crime +4
• 3/17/84 - Berkeley, CA - Ruthies: Slayer / Black Leather
• 3/19/84 - Santa Rosa, CA - Steele / Deadly Blessing
• 3/20/84 - Santa Rosa, CA - Veterans Memorial: Ted Nugent / Scanner
• 3/22/84 - San Francisco, CA - Kabuki: M.S.G.
• 3/30/84 - Berkeley, CA - Ruthies: Exodus / Vicious Rumors / Temptress
• 4/15/84 - San Francisco, CA - The Stone: Megadeth / Razors Edge / Empire
• 4/16/84 - Santa Rosa, CA - Veterans Memorial: Saxon / Accept
• 4/17/84 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater: Saxon / Accept
• 4/18/84 - San Jose, CA - Civic: Accept
• 4/18/84 - San Francisco, CA - The Stone: Megadeth / Steele +1

UMLAUT: Shite... I was at all of those except the Santa Rosa shows and GBH (with CRIME!? Doh..).. but Wayne and I saw GBH at around the same time with 7 Seconds at the Keystone Palo Alto.. We were so young and Metal: 4/18/84 - The legendary Metal Doubleheader day / night!

LAURALOHA: How come I was at all these shows and I didn't know any of you people???? I guess you didn't talk to chicks back then.... LOL. You guys are killing me with this thread.....

TOUR MANAGER DOUG: I was easy to spot, no other DEVO shirts within a mile.

TED: they didn't talk to chicks with feathered red mullets.

UMLAUT: METAL was my girlfriend... and it was a demanding beeotch... but it was HOT.

LAURALOHA: the mullet was blonde back then......my natural color, of course......and I did have the parachute pants thing going on.....so yes, perhaps you are right, they did not talk to large chicks in parachute pants with mullets.......i really need to dig up some of these pictures......the visuals are so much more exciting.....

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Fast forward to the 21st Century: Umlaut's friends know that I've come full circle with Megadeth via the power of "The Resume".. No matter where you go, there you are. Too fawkin' weird, man.

Three Bands

ARMORED SAINT
Saint was just about the only other L.A. Metal band besides Slayer that Umlaut liked during the early-80's Metal Days. One of Metallica's 1st roadies, a guy named Dave Marrs, always raved about them to me (Does anyone know where Dave is now?? I haven't talked to him in almost 15 years..). The 1st time they played in S.F. I was down front and Dave was standing stage right watching for my reaction. When I looked over at him with METAL in my eyes he said "I told you!' Now, the concept of a Metal band taking the stage wearing armor definitely seemed as silly then as it does now... But Saint were such a great live band that you could forgive their costumes in the same way you forgave KISS for their costumes. Between 1983-85 I saw Saint at least 6x... Even after all these years, when I hear the opening riff of 'Can U Deliver' my head starts to bang involuntarily... Saint were also cool to me whenever I met them, which was always nice. I once sat with them in their band van after a show listening to a tape of the just completed gig. Guitarist Dave Prichard passed away in 1990 from cancer and John Bush (vocals) and Joey Vera (bass) both spent time in Anthrax after Armored Saint was laid to rest. I don't know what the other 2 guys are up to.. Saints Will Conquer! (Photo: The Keystone, Palo Alto, CA - 1983. Pic by Umlaut)


Metallica / Armored Saint - Kabuki Theater, S.F. - March 1985 (TEN BUCKS...)

SLEEP
It's hard for me to appreciate how legendary Sleep are because I've know Al for so long. I met Al in the late-80's when he worked at Tower Records in Mt. View, CA and before Sleep was born. Big Wayne and I would hang out in the stock room with our friend John, who worked at that Tower too. Al was "the kid" who always wanted to talk about Black Sabbath and who was gonna start a band. And fuck if Al didn't do just that in a massive way. Are Sleep the best band to ever come outta San Jose? Uh, YEAH.. I have no idea how many times I saw them, but it was definitely well into double digits. Their best shows were when they projected NASA archival video of astronauts in space on a screen behind them as they played. Stoner A/V Rules! Sleep's Holy Mountain is still one of my favorite albums - "I believe the signs of the reptile master..." I won't go into the story of Sleep's demise, but the guys did go on to form a pair of great bands: Om and High On Fire. I still have my glow in the dark Sleep 'Stoner Astronaut' shirt. (Photo: Al onstage circa 1992 - From Thora-Zine #5)


Grotus / Neurosis / Sleep - Kennel Club, S.F. - 5/27/92 (According to the review in Umlaut #5, I wore a new pair of glasses to this show...)

VUE
The thing I loved about the Vue was they had a confident swagger onstage that you don't see in many S.F. bands. They were one of those bands who translated better live than in the studio. When I visited Cleveland in June 2004 I met some cool Music Geek bruthas and to my surprise they were Vue fans too. After a stint with SubPop, they signed with RCA in 2003 and opened for the Rolling Stones in Holland. Things seemed on the verge of breaking for the Vue. Alas, it wasn't to be. One of the best albums no one will ever hear is the band's RCA recording Down For Whatever (produced by Davy Vain of the 80's S.F. Glam Rock band Vain). It was only released in France and Japan before RCA unceremoniously dropped the band and cancelled the U.S. release. Thankfully, Umlaut witnessed the Vue's final show (The Blank Club, San Jose, CA - 8/14/04). There were only around 30 people in the club, but it was still one of the best performances I saw all that year. Another great band that time will forget, but I won't. 3/5 of the Vue are now in the S.F. band Bellavista. I haven't seen 'em yet. (Photo: RCA Records Advance CD-R for Down For Whatever... The closest it got to a U.S. release..)


Vue - Great American Music Hall, S.F. - 7/29/04 (The drunk girl selling merch gave me free stuff...)

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ADDENDUM

Umlaut would like to apologize as yet another Old Metal Geekfest erupts in this space. Some people mark their youth by sporting events they saw.. Umlaut and his tribe gauge their Salad Days with METAL.

Submitted by John Marshall:

During the Ride The Lightning Tour, Armored Saint opened for Metallica and Wasp for most of the Summer across the U.S.. Saint were a great bunch of guys, and really fun to hang out with.

They were a really good live band, and held up well opening for Metallica (Metallica and Wasp were actually "co-headliners", alternating who went on last in different cities..... a fuckin' joke if you ask me). In fact, at the end of the tour Metallica and Saint did a few gigs without Wasp, and Saint actually headlined the show in L.A.. They were THAT big there at that time.

A couple of Saint's crew guys have since been pilfered for other gigs: Zach Harmon has been Metallica's bass tech and equipment manager for almost 20 years, and their only full time crew guy for almost that long. Neil Schaffer did sound for many other bands, including Metal Church.

It was a sad day to learn that Dave Prichard had died. He was one of the good guys.

Another tidbit that some people may not know: At one point John Bush was asked to join Metallica as their lead singer. He declined, because of his loyalty to Armored Saint, and because their future looked just as bright as Metallica's. Funny how the cards fall innit?

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Submitted by Lauraloha:

Lauraloha loved Armored Saint. One more rest stop on the Metal Highway that Umlaut and I were visiting together and no one knew.

I first saw Armored Saint at the Keystone Berkeley (loved that club! loved it!). It was the first time I had EVER witnessed moshing and it burnt a vision into my brain that I will never forget. The club was little and I remember the armor and the theatrics and I think John Bush even walked on some tables if I remember right. The crowd was moshing and I was off to the side sitting on a table or a bar or something... The opening to 'Can U Deliver' is amazing. Makes me want to pull out the CD right now...

Zach Harmon, the oldest Metallica roadie still in existence, was a roadie for Armored Saint. Zach grew up in Pasadena and there was a Metal connection there cuz Saint was from SoCal as well. Being a roadie for Armored Saint is how Zach hopped on the Metallica bandwagon. In the later years when I was one of Zach's runner girls, he would always tell us great stories about Armored Saint and the "Good 'Ol Days".

Anyway, I loved Armored Saint and saw them as many times as I could around The Bay. I wonder if Umlaut was in the mosh pit or hanging out in the back taking it all in like me. The coincidences around here are spooky.

Can U Deliver? I wonder.

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Umlaut's Addendum:

Dear Lauraloha: Umlaut was fucking DOWN FRONT at those Saint shows!! I took no shit in The Pit while getting classic blurry photos like this one.

Yes, I CAN deliver... "It's just the FEEVAH... Here's your chance to PLEEEEAAZZZE.."

This addendum is dedicated to the 4 readers (you know who you are) who are laughing out loud right now.

Umlaut drove down to San Jose today and listened to the March Of The Saints album the entire time... Nostalgia is a good driving companion sometimes, dyaknowwhatimean?

Oh, millionaire Rock Star and Art Collector Lars Ulrich was a big Armored Saint fan too, back when he was a Metalhead Geek like the rest of us:


Lars Saint Shirt - Keystone Palo Alto, Halloween 1983 (Pic by Umlaut)

"Inner voices scream: GLORY BOUND! GLORY BOUND!!"

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Added by Umlaut 1/17/06:

THANKS to Hayne for this one: Sleep is featured in the recent Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers AND they also appear on the soundtrack CD!!

There's a scene at a trashy ranch in the middle of nowhere. Lots of motorcycles parked outside. A Redneck guy is working on a car in a garage...and the Sleep song 'Dopesmoker' is blasting.

WOW. As Hayne said "Jarmusch always picks cool music." INDEED!

I hope Al & Co. got paid handsomely for that... Sleep: Gone but obviously not forgotten!!

Kaiser R.I.P.

The City of Oakland recently closed the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center. The complex includes the 91-year old Oakland Auditorium (renamed the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center / Arena in 1985). Umlaut saw a good number of shows at the 8,000 seat Kaiser over the years:

• Cheap Trick / Michael Schenker Group - 1980
• Judas Priest - 1981
• Blackfoot / Def Leppard - 1981
• Molly Hatchet - 1981
  
• Grateful Dead - 1989
• Black Sabbath - 1992
  
• Slayer - 1995
• Soundgarden / Rocket From The Crypt - 1996

Umlaut also missed a good number of Kaiser shows over the years as well, such as Van Halen (1979 Tour) and AC/DC (Highway To Hell Tour) to name a couple. Oh well...

On Oct. 20, 1991 Umlaut was getting ready to leave for the Public Enemy / Anthrax show at Kaiser when a friend in the East Bay called to tell me the Oakland Hills were engulfed in flames and burning debris had fallen on her car. She suggested I should avoid Oakland given the inferno. Good advice, but the show wasn't cancelled. If you weren't around the Bay Area on that day, click HERE and HERE.

The local press said Oakland's Main Library may move into the space. Lock 'N Loll.


Gung Hay Fat Choy: The Dead on Chinese New Year..

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ADDENDUMS ADDED 1/2/06

Umlaut was hoping the closing of the Oakland Auditorium would cause a ripple of nostalgia amongst The Old School! Cue MSG's 'Into The Arena'...

Submitted by Timo:


MTV Headbangers Ball Tour 1989 feat. Anthrax / Exodus / Helloween

While Umlaut was "experimenting" and seeing The Dead in 1989, Timo kept it real with the METAL. Timo is, and always has been, more METAL than Umlaut. Caught in a mosh of scarlet begonias.

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Submitted by Old Metal Erik:

Ahhhh, the Oakland Auditorium Arena. I remember some seriously good times there. A few that stand out are the aforementioned Cheap Trick/MSG show, the highlight of which was Cozy Powell coming out to the stage left pass gate and shaking all of our little teenage hands. Also mentioned by Umlaut was the Blackfoot/Def Lep show, which stands out in my mind as a classic. We were already huge Lep fans, having caught them opening for Pat Travers at The Warfield the year before. Monster show! Still a Blackfoot fan, but the Leps crushed 'em that night! Highlight was seeing Pete Willis of Def Leppard having his Gibson Explorer pulled into the crowd, and then jumping in after it. Classic.

A few Henry J. shows that I was surprised that Umlaut didn't mention are both Motorhead shows - one in 1985 and one in '86. Memories blur, but I remember crowd mayhem both nights, on a large scale.

The Cro-Mags show got particularly crazy. I vaguely remember smoking dust with Harley Flanagan, before launching ourselves into the pit for Motorhead, when that was still fun. After the show, the mob outside was unruly to say the least, and I saw a few bottles fly (one smashing against an Oakland motorcycle PD's helmet) before the same cops began throttling their bikes into the crowd. We headed for our beloved Bay Bridge, back to the City. Looking back, East Bay shows always had their own brand of excitement, and in the 5 years since I moved from SF to Oakland, I still get the same vibe - in the right club at the right time.

This past June, my son Danny graduated high school (Skyline - Oakland) from the stage at the Henry J. Kaiser. What a trip, imagining Lemmy, or Angus or Pete Willis or Cozy Powell up there as his name was called to receive his diploma. Time flies...and that is why Umlaut calls me ' Old Metal Erik'! Ha-HA!!

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ADDED 1/3/06

Submitted by Old Metal Erik:

Oh SHIT! The memories come a floodin' back. Here's a stub from the Motorhead / Exodus show.



And how could I forget THIS one??!! The Kinks and Angel City!! Doc Neeson and Ray Davies on the same bill!! Whew!



I thought of the Foghat / Blackfoot show, and realized that we lost Rod 'The Bottle' Price in 2005. Major bummer. Also had forgotten that I had seen Ricky Medlocke and crew twice at the Oakland Auditorium!

And finally, another Cheap Trick show. Jetboy opened, and I chased my future wife around like a drunk puppy.



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Submitted by Lauraloha:

EGADS! What the f**k? Why are they closing the Kaiser? Oh forgeddaboutit Umlaut, the Kaiser was not the house of Metal it was the house of the Grateful Dead!!!! How many great shows did I see in there....I mean great shows...... like Valentines Day into Chinese New Year right back into Mardi Gras all in a three day span..... Oh the memories....... I did see Nine Inch Nails there, but it wasn't near as good as the Good Ol' Grateful Dead.

I did a 12-day stint with the Rolling Stones there, practicing for Bridges To Babylon. Me, and about 5 other people witnessed 'Moonlite Mile'.

I think I will go into mourning.

Lauraloha

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ADDED 1/4/06

Submitted by Ted:

Lauraloha: Tell Umlaut about being on X under the bleachers and the Hippie group gropes. Only you can tell that story. Well, what you remember of it. LOL

What about the BGP volleyball games before the Dead shows? That shit simply does not happen anymore anywhere! Well honed BGP teams against teams of Hippies, and some really good teams at that. With prizes being tickets to the shows later in the run if your pickup team was skilled enough to beat the BGP ringers.

That fucking place sounded so great; the wood interior made for a real sweet resonance and when we would tape up front at Dead shows the results were fucking stunning - Some of the best indoor recordings we made. Coming from the East Coast it was hard to believe the goddamn Grateful Dead were playing a room that size. Yeah, our shows back home were full crank, East Coast energy, but damn, the intimacy of seeing them turn it out in the Kaiser... Whoa. That shit was mind blowing. Even when they sucked...but truthfully when they were playing there they hadn't begun to suck yet.

I also remember being in the Priority Line all night which was essentially a BGP invention to prevent gate crashing (yeah even Hippies would get super anxious to get a great spot and freak out and run for the doors all Who Cincy '79 style)... But all Priority Line meant was getting in line to get a number which entitled you to come back at around 4:00 or 5:00 that afternoon to get in line again, but in an orderly NorCal mellow type of fashion. However being a Beast from the East, we still found ways to scam all that stuff... Since we were taping with the state of the art gear it wasn't too long before peeps would be volunteering to get in line for us - They got to hang with us in the "sweet spot", they got to smoke the kind bud (not mine as I was off by that time) and they got to get copies right after the show as we'd go back to our Diamond Heights crashpad and crank up the tape and wake the neighbors!

And what about the Hippie Market in that little park out front; serious commerce... but before the Troll Village had taken over and became more the attraction than the music... and before the people pissing and sleeping in the surrounding neighborhoods gave the band a black eye and lost them the ability to play a venue in any type of neighborhood. It wasn't long after that the only places to see the GD play were enormo-shitholes with big parking lots - boo hoo.

Also my memory of the Slayer / Biohazard show is that it was raining so hard everyone was hellof (see I can even type NorCal!) soaked by the time we got in the place...

I was also on my way to that Public Enemy / Anthrax show when the Oakland Hills were on fire.. But being a stranger to California disasters, I freaked out and turned around and went back home.

I think that's it.. Sure wish I'd seen the Rick James show there, which got by even us hardcore music junkies as they simply didn't advertise it anywhere where Whitey would've seen it. That was a bummer for me. That near miss, and the recent Gangster Rap SOS Concert - Katrina Benefit at the Kaiser with a bunch of Oakland 'hood artists (EA-Ski, Too Short returning home from the ATL, Keak da Sneak, San Quinn, B-Legit) being so poorly organized that most of the rappers didn't perform (they were only scheduled from Noon to 4:00PM and then the evening was all older Soul and Blues artists to stave off any trouble)... Anyway, those are my Kaiser memories for now.

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Submitted by Shannon:

I was at that Public Enemy show after flying in to Oaktown from SD and being swarmed by a blanket of suffocating heat (from the Oakland Hills Fire) when the plane landed. After getting home and finding out people I knew and loved were OK, but almost half of the people who went to my high school could be in trouble. I went to Skyline High, you can imagine the worry. BUT, could I miss Chuck D? I don't think so! It was amazing and I actually saw Bill Graham outside the building since we were late getting there with everything going down and I remember waving and him waving back with that huge smile of his... It was awesome. It was so weird to find out that he had died just a few days later... And the show kicked ass of course!

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Lauraloha remembers:

The Oakland Auditorium (aka Henry J Kaiser) was the site of the FIRST concert I have ever been to. It was '77 or 1978 and Peter Frampton was returning to the Bay Area to say Thank You for the huge success of Frampton Comes Alive. My older sister took me. She bought some marijuana from somebody and I remember freaking out cuz she was doing "drugs".....

The next concert I went to was KISS at the Cow Palace and after that the heat was ON! I never stopped going to concerts for the rest of my life until today when I live on a deserted island.

Anybody remember seeing TRIUMPH at the Kaiser? Oh the memories..... Ted had it right. The wooden floors were sweet and the Shakedown Street in the little park across the street was the best in the world.

Lauraloha

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Umlaut's Addendum:

(From the Umlaut Archives)

The above coupon was attached to a promo Priest EP that local Rock radio station 98.5 KOME (R.I.P.) gave away at a local Tower Records to promote the gig. I coulda saved a whole dollar, but I had already bought my ticket.

My most vivid Oakland Auditorium memory is waiting for hours in pouring rain for the Cheap Trick / Michael Schenker Group show in December 1980. Hours. In the rain. My cousin and I were stupid teenagers, but we HAD to be up front for MSG. Once inside we were up front and steam was rising from the crowd due to the heat of packed bodies and wet clothes. It was medieval. The houselights went down and Gary Barden announced "Oakland! MSG.. Armed and Ready!!" and Schenker & Co. launched into that song. Fookin' gleat. My cousin and I had been Cheap Trick fanatics early on, but my fandom was on the wane at that point... but I still had fun despite waiting in line for hours... Hours in the RAIN. I think whenever it rains hard I have a 'Nam-like flashback to that day.

Oh... There's also the 1992 Black Sabbath show on the Dehumanizer reunion tour with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Hometown heroes Exodus were supporting and they were supposed to bring former singer Paul Baloff onstage at Kaiser for a couple of songs... but in classic Baloff fashion he arrived late and it didn't happen. Someone told me Baloff had heard I was at the show and he was looking for me (NOT to beat me up - He just wanted an Old Metal reunion..). I hadn't seen or talked to 'Loff in years and I spotted him fucked up and weaving through the crowd. I wasn't in the mood to talk to him in that condition so I avoided him as he careened near me. Ten years later when Baloff passed away I felt bad that I had purposely avoided him that night. Dio and Sabbath were in top form (Note: Umlaut believes that Dio Sabbath trumps Ozzy Sabbath..) - It was like a time machine back to 1980-82. Fookin' gleat.

Trivia: The Kaiser show was the final time Dio performed with Sabbath to date. He left the band a couple of days later before the tour ended. Rob Halford sang with Sabbath for the final 2 shows in L.A... and, after 7 years, a full-blown Sabbath 4-song reunion set with Ozzy and Bill Ward happened on the final night. So now you know.

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Submitted by Rich Hellhound:

Not only did I attend several memorable shows at the H.J.K., my band HELLHOUND also played there once. After supporting SLAYER at Ruthie's Inn on New Year's Eve 1984, we (along with several other Bay Area bands) were approached by Big Daddy Spencer, who was Wes Robinson's partner in crime (perhaps literally, for all I know!).

Big Daddy looked and talked like a stereotype from a 70's black exploitation movie (pimp hat, cane and the whole nine), and he somehow booked the Kaiser for a "Heavy Metal Festival", as he called it. Each of the bands were given a stack of Bass Tickets (just like a real band!), and expected to sell them all. Big Daddy must have blown his wad on the venue, because he spent nothing on promo or advertising. It was up to us seasoned "pros" (in my band half were still in high school) to get out there and fill the joint.

Needless to say none of the bands were able to come through in this regard, and it was truly amusing to see a place that big that empty. Still, it remains the largest venue I've ever played, and I had many a geek moment that day ("I'm standing in the same place as KK Downing!" Or, "This is the same dressing room JUDAS PRIEST used! Dude, Rob Halford pissed in this toilet!"). The Super Special Surprise Guests Big Daddy kept promising turned out to be HEXX (we were originally led to believe it might be SLAYER). We laughed and didn't stick around to watch.

Years later, I would have a similar experience with METALLICA (well, just the part about laughing and not sticking around to watch). On the way back to the parking lot some pimply-faced kids called us fags, and we beat the living shit out of them. Metal!

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Submitted by Brad:

Henry J. Kaiser memories are many and varied. Never thought much of the venue's layout, but the performances there always seemed better than usual.

Summer 1990 saw Exodus opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The sauna-like conditions led to an impossibly slippery floor. Saw two different kids carried out of The Pit with legs dangling in the wrong direction: one knee, one displaced fracture of the tibia ala Joe Theisman.

July 1987 saw LL Cool J, Whodini, Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy and Too Short. Helluva show. LL fucked a teddy bear on a couch during his hit 'I Need Love'. Maybe no one told him Prince had been doing that for years. Not knowing what to wear to a Hip Hop show, I went with black jeans and my DRI t-shirt. I was going to look out of place no matter what I did, so might as well look like the dork I was rather than one I wasn't.

Saw at least 3 Motorhead shows in the mid-80's where they played as a 4-piece with Wurzell and Phillip Campbell on guitar. They played nearly the same set every time despite having released the rather good Orgasmatron album in 1986. Have some odd memory of Lemmy doing a jig while power was being restored to the amps, though that might've been at The Warfield.

The following photo is Dave Mustaine and Megadeth onstage at Henry J. opening for Motorhead 1986 with me looking at the camera while in The Pit (the red eye reduction pre-flash must've caught my eye):

(Pic by Ron Quintana)

Ron gave me a copy of this about 10 years after the fact. I shamelessly treasure it despite the moronic look on my face.

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Submitted by Tour Manager Doug:

In 1986 I was working for Ron Boutwell selling shirts for Yngwie J. Malmsteen (not one of those other Yngwie's). KJ had gotten me the job, but by this point I think he had quit and gone on to a real life.

The Yngwie / Saxon / Black 'N Blue tour played the Kaiser on 12/19/86. It was the 11th show of the 12 date tour, but the last Saxon show. It seems that Salinas was not way up on their list of places to go, so they were bailing on the last show.

Saxon had a 30 or 35 minute set each night, not nearly enough to play all the hits, especially when they wasted time playing the crap new material. Every day they got a soundcheck, which is kind of weird, in that usually the middle band of a 3 band bill doesn't get a soundcheck. Must of been something in their contract that guaranteed one.

Anyway, everyday they played a different classic song during the check and they sometimes varied their set to include a different hit, but they never played 'Dallas 1 PM'. I asked Biff about playing 'Dallas' one day in catering. He smiled and said, "Oh, you know that one do you". But still they didn't play it.

Every day I made sure I mentioned it to him, and every day they didn't play it. 'Motorcycle Man', 'Denim and Leather', 'Heavy Metal Thunder', 'Strong Arm of the Law', '20,000 Feet', 'Wheels of Steel', 'Machine Gun' - They played them all, at least during soundcheck, and there I was enjoying every minute, but 'Dallas' they avoided.

I got the idea that they (Biff) were fucking with me. "Haven't we played that one yet?" he said with a grin one day. The day of the Oakland show I had to run over to the airport to pick up a shipment of shirts from air cargo. I got back to the venue just after Saxon finished playing. As I walked into the front lobby, I ran into Ron Quintana who told me how great 'Dallas' had been that night. Of course, I had missed it.

I went into the dressing room area backstage and when Biff saw me he asked what I had thought of the show. I felt like a dork telling him that I had missed it. When I suggested that they would have to go to Salinas to play 'Dallas', he grinned from ear to ear and said, "Looks like you're shit out of luck, mate."

===
More From Timo:

Blackfoot @ Kaiser - 8/22/80 (supporting Foghat)

Michael Schenker @ Kaiser - 12/21/80 (supporting Cheap Trick)

1981 - Ranger = Early incarnation of Night Ranger I think

KISS / Queensryche - 1985

Alice Cooper / Megadeth - 1987

Slayer / Testament - 1991

===
ADDED 1/5/06

Submitted by Jim:

Bummer--I saw many many shows in that room, but, like Laura, they were mostly Dead shows rather than Metal. The one run that always comes to my mind is the five nights they did there in early '86 that encompassed Chinese New Years, Mardi Gras and Valentines Day in a single swoop. The Mardi Gras shows particularly were raging--the Neville Brothers opened both and sat in with the Dead to varying extents on both nights. In fact, the second set of the Feb 11 show was one the most amazing performances I ever saw by that band--truly guided by a higher spirit. (And it wasn't even close to sold out--anyone who took a mind to could have been there.)

Another Dead-related memory of the old Oakland Aud is of the bar they used to open in a room in the basement, underneath the lobby. The line to get in would queue up on the ramp that led to the balcony, and we'd race back there as soon as the set was done so as to not have to spend too much of the break in line. We'd down 2 or 3 beers as quickly as we could, until the strains of the band tuning up upstairs meant it was time to run to the loo and then reclaim a spot on Phil's side (Jerry's was always too jam-packed, because it was Jerry's side, natch. But you could see him just fine from the audience-left side of the room, and have more room to dance to boot.)

I was at that Kinks / Angel City show that someone else recollected, but surprised that no one mentioned the show Keith Richards did there in December 1988 with the X-Pensive Winos -- Steve Jordan, Ivan Neville and Charley Drayton. Was so cool to see Keith out front, fronting a killer band and out of Mick's shadow. He did 'I Wanna Be Your Man' -- the Stones' first single, I think, penned by a couple of other British dudes.

And finally, Kaiser was the only place I ever got to see a true show biz legend -- Bob Hope. When he produced something like 3 or 4 shows on one day in November 1989 as a benefit for Loma Prieta Earthquake Relief, Bill Graham cajoled Hope into flying up and appearing at the Kaiser and Cow Palace shows. I was at the former and got to witness Hope, never the most liberal of thinkers, flip off a heckler who was getting on him about his ultra-conservative affiliation with Reagan.

And the place always had a very distinctive smell--it was sort of a comforting scent, kind of like the eucalyptus at the Greek. No hall ever smelled the same way. I'll miss that, even though I haven't been there in years. Wonder if the library that goes into the space will carry on the olfactory tradition?

Earthshaker

At one time Y&T were a fucking GREAT Rock band. They were local heroes from Oakland and I spent much of 1981-83 fanatically seeing them in clubs and halls around Northern California. I probably saw them at least 20 times.

Y&T's 1981 Earthshaker was an album that changed my life. Seriously. At the time, Y&T were still a local club band. It was an epiphany to my 17-year old Music Geek mind that there was a kick ass Rock band who I didn't have see in an arena or stadium. Y&T shows were at local clubs where I could be against the stage and watch from up close. I could reach out my hand and the guitarist would hand me one of his pics because he recognized me from other shows. I could even meet and talk to the band members after a show. WOW.

Y&T were the first band I ever saw in a club. They were the first Rock Stars I ever met. Y&T were the first band I ever waited after a show to meet. They were the first Rock Stars I ever asked for autographs. Y&T were the first band I ever photographed. A Y&T shot was the first photo I ever had published:

Umlaut's original shot and Northwest Metal #1 - Fall 1982


Phil Kennemore & Dave Meniketti - Sept. 1982

Here's my "Happy Birthday Jesus" gift to the 4 or 5 of you reading this who cared about Y&T as much as Umlaut did back in The Day:

Christmas 1982 (From the Umlaut Attic)

In 1982 Y&T were still just regular dudes. The band's Christmas card that year reflected it. It featured their manager in a Santa suit flanked by the band's 2 roadies. The photo is cheesy, but down to Earth. I like how guitarist Joey Alves (2nd from left - Alves was always the most Rocker member of the band) is wearing his Rock Star white leather vest. Dave Meniketti's sweater (far left) is dubious, but I was willing to cut him slack since he was such a Guitar God.

Christmas 1983 (From the Umlaut Attic)

Now, check out the 1983 Christmas card. Slick Rock Marketing has taken charge of the band photo. These people will take everything we love about music and strangle it. Within 2 years, Y&T would be wearing silken stage clothes and adopt a robot mascot named Rock (a very misguided attempt to duplicate Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie). Their songs would lose their edge. They would become LAME. However, before they derailed themselves in a bid for mainstream success, Y&T were one of the best fucking bands Umlaut has ever seen.

The last time Umlaut saw Y&T was at a 1985 Oakland Stadium show. It was the first time Metallica ever played a stadium in the U.S. and it was literally 10 minutes from where they lived. Metallica came on and blew every other band away. In contrast, Y&T were also playing in their hometown but at one point they had backup singers onstage. Y&T were the first band to let me down in a very profound way.

However, for a moment in time Y&T was a band Umlaut was 101% invested in and who I fanatically supported. On the eve of their 1982 European Tour I wrote a letter to Kerrang! magazine raving about them. The letter was printed with my address and as a result I received a huge amount of letters from Metal / Rock fans in the U.S. and Europe. A few of those people read this blog. I suppose I have Y&T to thank for these friendships.

If you're hungry for Rock, listen to Y&T's first 4 albums - Yesterday & Today (1976), Struck Down (1978), Earthshaker (1981), and Black Tiger (1983) - and you might appreciate what a fucking great band they were back then. Earthshaker is still one of Umlaut's All-Time favorite albums.

Y&T are still around in one form or another (the original lineup is actually playing a local reunion show this New Year's Eve), but they're a band I simply can't revisit. They meant so much to me at one time and I don't want to spoil the memories.

Anyway, I took ALOT of Y&T photos back in The Day:

The Keystone - Palo Alto, CA - 1982

The Keystone - Palo Alto, CA - 1982

The Keystone - Palo Alto, CA - 1982

The Keystone - Palo Alto, CA - 1982 (This one's for Lauraloha)


Civic Auditorium - Petaluma, CA - 1982

Sherwood Hall - Salinas, CA - Dec. 29, 1982

"It's a hurricane... and it's comin' down on you."

===
Submitted by Lauraloha:

Ahhh yes, Y&T. Once again Lauraloha and Umlaut meet on the Rock and Roll highway of memories, sipping coffee at the same truck stop.

I LOVED Y&T. More importantly, I LOVED PHIL KENNEMORE. Phil Kennemore was my first rock groupie obsession. Looking back at those pictures, I cannot tell you why. Why? I think growing up in Antioch screwed my mind up a little. But anyway......

I drove a 1978 Firebird Formula 405 with white interior. I was the ultimate mulleted Rock Chick. On the back of my car were license plates that read "2LITEUP" and a Y&T bumper sticker. Now, if I had access to my archives (safely stored in Antioch) I would have Umlaut insert a picture here for the full effect. I drove my Firebird up and down the California Coast following Y&T everywhere. Back then, not too many people did this. Later on in life, when I became a disciple of Jerry Garcia, I would join the travelling circus once again. This was my practice run - in 1983.

In high school we had shop classes that we had to take in addition to regular learning. Woodshop, Plastics, Mechanics, etc. In Plastics we would construct plastic rolling trays, bongs and elaborately lathed roach clips. One time we had a special class where we learned how to do glass etching or frosting as it was called. Well, I whipped out my Earthshaker album and created the most kick ass Y&T mirror ever. We all know why I needed a mirror, right? Yes, I went to rehab in 1984, but that's another story.

That mirror stuck around for years, it was my pride and joy. Even when I got sober I couldn't part with it. Years later, as I fell off the wagon with a thud, I picked the mirror back up and it became my sidekick until that fateful night in 1992 when my tweaker attempts at chemistry shattered it into tiny bits. Still a sad moment in time. LOL

Y&T was the first band where I actually became an obsessed groupie. It was the first band that I loved like that and it became part of the catalyst which eventually led me to Bill Graham Presents in 1988 looking for a job. All I wanted to be when I grew up was a roadie. Groupies were fun, but roadies were in the fire and got paid too!

Not that long ago I was listening to the radio while visiting The Mainland. A Y&T hit came on the radio and I knew every single word without even thinking about it. I hadn't heard that song in almost 20 years. And yet, it was still there just like yesterday.

Leonard Haze is now a stagehand at Shoreline Amphitheater. They hired him cuz we were all big Y&T fans. My friend Darcey Lewis, who is the Backstage Coordinator at Shoreline still goes and see Y&T wherever they play. She's 42 and still the most ultimate of all Rocker Chicks. Dave Maniketti has a pretty elaborate website where you can follow him around. Phil Kennemore probably looks like an aged pedophile and I am not in love with him anymore.

Now I love Robbie Williams.

Thanks Umlaut. You keep me young at heart with all your Rock and Roll highway stories. See you at the next truck stop!

Lauraloha
Maui

===
Submitted by Rich Hellhound:

Wow, seeing those photos really takes me back. Umlaut and I "cut our teeth" at those Keystone Palo Alto Y&T shows. The energy was incredible. Y&T ROCKED, plain and simple. I still remember Umlaut and I driving back from those shows, usually on weeknights, ears so numb we could hardly hear, having to go to school the next day!

There was also the time Dave Meniketti spoke during Career Day at a local high school; Umlaut and I snuck in claiming to be Journalism students.

Then, they sold out. James Hetfield started mocking us for liking Y&T ("Y&Pee, Y&Pee!"). It was over. The 'Summertime Girls' video, with the lame robot at the end, completely destroyed their credibility. It was time for bigger and heavier things, like Metallica, who ironically would take a similar path further down the line, though without a lame robot.

Yes, yet another, sad example of the downside of hero worship. Funny how everything with Umlaut somehow ends up with Metallica!

===
Umlaut had forgotten about Meniketti's Career Day appearance! It was at a friend's high school in San Jose. Pretty hilarious, innit?! A Rock Star at Career Day!! Unfortunately, Umlaut didn't have his camera with him that day, but there are photos of the event out there. If anyone knows where Rob Sample is these days have him get in touch with me. Trivia: Metallica supported Y&T 3x.. In 1982 (Anaheim) and 1985 (Oakland and Sacramento).

===
Submitted by Teri:

I just read your Y&T page. What a fucking riot. I, too, did the Y&T thing back then. The first time I saw them was at Memorial Hall in Hayward and I paid $2. I think that was 1981. Keystone PA was my second home - I even worked there for awhile. Phil Kennemore was my dream god, and I used to hang with his brother Paul at the shows. I attended EVERY show between 1981 and when the lameness ensued after the Earthshaker album.

Thanks for the laugh.

Umlaut says: "Well I ain't foolish.. You better go away with your tricks.. Struck down!"

Sweet Savage

Only around 5 or 6 readers will appreciate this post... However, what I'm about to tell you is a quintessential Music Geek incident that spans almost 25 years.

A quick history lesson: Vivian Campbell has been guitarist with Def Leppard since 1992 (long after they began to suck), but Old Metalheads still respect him for his 3 year stint with Dio in 1983-86 and for his first band Sweet Savage, who were part of the NWOBHM... What's that... Oh...oh yeah.. Click HERE to find out what the fuck Umlaut is talking about.

Sweet Savage only released one 7" single with Campbell before he left the band (the single featured the song Killing Time, which Metallica covered as a b-side in 1991). Old Metalheads also had the band's demo featuring Campbell, which included a song called Eye Of The Storm. The song was also featured on a 1981 BBC Records compilation album. Long story short, despite a very limited amount of recordings, Campbell was an underground Guitar God back in The Old Metal Days.

The Friday Rock Show compilation album (BBC Records REH426) featuring Vivian Campbell with Sweet Savage:

It's been in the Umlaut Archives since 1982...

Submitted by Tour Manager Doug (TMD):

Green Day went to the VH1 Big In 2005 show last night to win an award. As they were walking down the backstage stairs, Def Leppard were walking up.

Somebody off to the side asked the Leppard guys what they were going to play. Vivian Campbell kiddingly answered that he didn't know but he hoped somebody told him soon.

I told him they should play a Sweet Savage song, maybe Eye Of The Storm.

The look on his face was amazing. Complete shock. He went, "Oh wow! That's a good one" and pointed at me. Full on groupie moment. WE MADE EYE CONTACT. It reminded me of when he came out to the line in Antioch to sign autographs and was bombarded with Sweet Savage questions.

They looked pretty good. I don't know what they played, but I'm confident that it wasn't Eye Of The Storm.

===
Umlaut screamed like a little school girl upon reading about this Old Metal close encounter. I live vicariously through TMD's Rock 'N Roll Lifestyle.

The "Antioch" TMD referred to is the Dio show on July 23, 1983 in Antioch, CA. It was the very first show Dio ever played:

Vivian Campbell with Dio @ The Concert Barn
(From the Umlaut Archives)

In a 2003 interview, Ronnie James Dio recalled the Antioch show:

"The first show was at a place called the Concert Barn in Antioch, California," says Ronnie. "I had no idea what to expect. We got there, and it was actually a barn with a dirt floor where they would store cattle. We thought, ‘Oh my God, this is gonna be a nightmare, isn’t it?’ I think the place held 3,000 people and we put 5,000 people in it, broke all their records. It was almost a matter of, ‘So this is going to work.’ That was the first one, and it just went up from there."

Umlaut can name at least 5 or 6 regular readers of this blog who were at The Concert Barn with him, which makes TMD's close encounter with Vivian Campbell all the more awesome. Twenty-three years melted away for a split second there, didn't they? Oh.. sorry.. the rest of you can ignore us while we geek out.

"Reach out your hand, touch me if you can.. I'm running from the eye of the storm..."

===
Only around 5 or 6 readers will appreciate all of this babbling about "Vivian Campbell" and "Sweet Savage". Dio's world debut in Antioch was one of those watershed events for Umlaut and many of his friends and the camaraderie that exists is profound.. in a strangely Music Geek way. I love it.

10 bucks
(From the Umlaut Archives)

"No sign of the morning coming, you've been left on your own... like a rainbow in the dark."

Submitted by John Marshall:

Trivia meaningless to anyone but me: Not only was I at the Antioch shows, I was a stagehand there for that whole Summer. So were my two good friends Dan Watson and Bill Peterson, who somehow got their band Paradox to open the Dio and Quiet Riot shows. (Paradox were hard rock with a chick singer, sort of like Pat Benatar. The band is no more, morphing into the thrash band Hexx,then to the rockabilly band The Tombstones.)

If you see an old Metal Church photo, you might see me playing a black Gibson Les Paul. I bought it new in about 1990. The first thing I did when I bought it was remove the pick guard and the chrome pickup covers. Now look at the picture of Vivian Campbell at the Antioch concert.

'Nuff said.

Submitted by Tour Manager Doug:

You're right, 23 years did melt away for a minute (a day?) or two. Closer to 22, actually, but who's counting.

The thing about my little encounter that I enjoy the most, is a parallel to our encounter in Antioch in July 1983. By 'our' I mean Vivian and those of us in the front of the Concert Barn line, a few of whom read Umlaut.

Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain who, along with Vivian Campbell, formed the band we were waiting for on that incredibly hot July day (remember the corrugated metal walls?) had more rock experience in their previous month than Vivian Campbell had in his whole life. After 20+ years of touring I think I now know exactly how it was in the dressing room for Vivian. He was completely the odd man out, as Dio, Appice and Bain sat around the deli tray bitching about the craziness of Richie Blackmore, Vivian thought better than to interject his stories about Raymond Haller. As far as the other 3 were concerned, Vivian was about a half a step above a crew guy, and they probably all spent more time drinking with their soundman and monitor guy.

The crew were probably even worse. Many of them being failed musicians who had many years of touring under their belts, not to mention that I'll bet at least a few of them had more music released on vinyl than the 19 or 20-year old guitar player.

So, Vivian wandered out to the line. Nobody in a big time Rock band does that. Maybe after the show, but NEVER before the show.

Remember the look on his face when he got asked about Sweet Savage? It was the same as last night. He lit up. He swaggered backstage in Antioch completely unable to share his experience with anybody, because none of them would have cared. He probably woke up his dad or his girlfriend back in Ireland from the pay phone (because Old Metal predates mobile phones) with a great big grin on his face.

Last night was similar for him, I'll bet. He's no longer the odd man out, completely. He is the new guy, in the same way that Jason Newsted was and Brian Johnson is and will be. His bandmates may, or may not, have heard Sweet Savage stories from him last night. Probably not. But I'll bet he told his wife when he got home, maybe even called her on the mobile. For just a minute, 22 or 23 years melted away for one of our guitar heroes, and that's why I'm grinning as I type this.

By the way, I know there was a pay phone backstage in Antioch because I leaned on it after the show for about an hour when I snuck back there trying to get Dio to sign my 'World Premier' poster, but that's a completely different story. And I'm sure all you Old Metal guys have similar stories.

Submitted by Lauraloha:

HOLD IT ONE MINUTE UMLAUT! Who can rightfully say that they were not only at the Concert Barn in Antioch, but were also born and raised in fucking shithole Antioch and even went on to work for our favorite Umlaut band, METALLICA. That's right baby - Lauraloha that's who. Now the coincidence quotient is getting out of hand here buddy. How many shows did we actually attend together but we had no idea the other existed?

For many years after the Antioch concert, this little ol' redneck metal head actually bragged about being from Antioch. I would actually run around asking people "Do you know the first place Dio every played solo?" just so I could tell them Antioch. Vivian Campbell was a babe, we Antioch girls LOVED him. But then again, we loved Rudy Sarzo. and Phil Kennemore. so who's to say....

Anyway, it's 20 years later and you'd be hard pressed to get the truth out of me anymore, I will not admit I'm from Antioch to just anyone. I say I'm a native San Franciscan. It fits me better. But when you start talking Dio at the Concert Barn, my heart belongs to the Delta.....

Waaaaay back then there was a feathered mullet and some parachute pants with my name on them. Not to mention the Firebird Formula 405.

They closed the Concert Barn not long after that because the drive up Deer Valley Road was a killer. Especially when you were drunk or tripping on acid.

Today Lauraloha lives on an island in the sea and she was visited this very evening by her good friend who wipes Ozzy Osbourne's ass. She makes a good living at it and she is here with the Eagles. The Eagles have never played Antioch, but I bet ya Ozzy would have.

Long live 94509!

Vivian Campbell & Jimmy Bain @ The Concert Barn
(Pic by Big Wayne)

Trivia: Jimmy Bain was in Rainbow and Dio with Ronnie James Dio. In 1978, Bain was also in a sideband with the members of Thin Lizzy and Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols called The Greedy Bastards (also called The Greedies). They played 1 or 2 shows and recorded a great Christmas song called A Merry Jingle. The song is available on the Rhino Records compilation Punk Rock Xmas.

===
Submitted by K.J.

It's amazing how these coincidences occur. But while you're on the subject of SWEET SAVAGE, I can't resist sending a pic of what I found in my garage "Metal Stash" earlier this week.

K.J.'s Sweet Savage 7" single autographed by Vivian Campbell in 1983!

===
Umlaut sent the 1983 photo to Vivian Campbell's web site and asked for his reaction to the encounter with Tour Manager Doug. Amazingly, Vivian responded!

VIVIAN: It certainly took me by surprise - not only did he mention Sweet Savage, but this guy actually knew the songs, too! It's an interesting picture of me with my original Les Paul, #72987537. I'm very flattered that people remember Sweet Savage after all these years.

Click HERE to visit Vivian's site and click on the "Ask Viv" section and scroll down. Very cool, innit?!!

You should now listen to Vivian's solo in Dio's Rainbow In The Dark and bang your head.

===
Submitted by Anthony.

Back around '90-'91(?) Vivian was in the awful band called Riverdogs. They were playing at Slims. Vivian was signing things for a bunch of fans that were lined up for him... a lot of Dio & Riverdogs stuff. As it was my turn, I shook his hand and told him I had something a little more interesting I wanted him to sign. I pulled out my Sweet Savage single and he went through the roof! He was so stoked! He ran around showing his bandmates "LOOK! I WAS ONLY 17". We ended up talking for awhile.

Vivian & Me with my homemade Angel Witch shirt

He kept saying that it sounded like Metallica, what he meant was, he heard they did a recording of a Sweet Savage song around '82 but he never heard it. As I had a copy of it, I told him I would send him one.

I bumped into Vivian again about a month later and he told me Metallica had asked permission to use a Sweet Savage song as a b-side (Umlaut Music Geek Note: Metallica recorded the Sweet Savage song 'Killing Time'..).

In '99 I got word that Sweet Savage, Blitzkrieg, Raven and others would be playing in New Jersey for the March Metal Meltdown show. I couldn't miss that so I flew out for the show. Sam Kress had given me a letter to give to Brian Ross (Blitzkrieg). Brian was very happy to read it. I bumped into Dave & Ray (Sweet Savage) with Jess Cox (Tygers Of Pan Tang) a short time later. We all ended up hanging out for the next two days. I was in NWOBHM heaven! Hanging out with my Metal heroes!!!

The last night of the show we were in Blitzkrieg's hotel room, I went down the hall to hang with Ray. I knocked on the door and it opened slightly, Ray reaches out, grabs me by my shirt, pulls me into the room and slams & locks the door behind me. I'm standing there looking at him going "WHAT THE HELL???"

He says "Sorry about that, we have food in here" and proceeds to dish me out a plate (It was impossible to find any food to eat nearby, so food was like gold).

L. to R.: Dave, Simon (Sweet Savage), Jess Cox, Ray Haller, and Me

So now, not only was I hanging with my Metal heroes... I was getting fed by them too!