9/11

Never forget. 
Born to Lose. 
Live to Win.

1981

Lived To Win

A year ago today. The teenage me will never be able to quite comprehend that I was invited to attend Lemmy's funeral and service. The adult me still can't quite believe they served guests shots of Jack Daniels in the lobby in Lemmy memorial cups.

Don't Sweat It. Get It Back To You.

It's taken me awhile to realize that Lemmy's death affected me more than I realized.  This week will mark 6 months to the day that he left this mortal coil.. and it's still very weird that he and his band no longer roam the Earth.  Things seem boring now.  Trivia: The "Motörhead Delivers" design is from the final tour last year and was based on a sketch that Lemmy did himself.

I attended Lemmy's 70th birthday party in December.  I attended his funeral in January.  The emotional swing and magnitude of both events was obviously profound.  To be invited to both events celebrating someone who had been my hero since I was a teenager was mind blowing and I did not, and never will, take the honor for granted.  His funeral and the private reception afterwards was a sad, surreal, and amazing experience.  I honestly can't imagine ever visiting The Rainbow again.

Ironically, both Lemmy events coincided with the first "career" change I've experienced in almost a decade.  However, The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways, and as one door closed another one opened for me.  I'm now in a different (but also not that different) part of the "entertainment" industry.  Thankfully it is one that is more rational and stress free than my recent past professional life.  I'd like to think my Karma Bank deposits over the years finally paid off... and my colleagues now include such badass dudes as Yeti Wing Kong.

All of this being said, nothing has been inspiring me this year.  Yes, I've still been hitting gigs fairly regularly.. but I've also passed on a good number as well. For the record I've been at these shows so far in 2016:

January:

• Rancid / OFF! / The Interrupters - The Warfield
• Metal Allegiance - The Whiskey, Los Angeles, California
• Mastodon - The Chapel
• Venom Inc. - DNA Lounge

February:

• Metallica  - AT&T Park
• Black Sabbath / Rival Sons - SAP Center, San Jose, California
• The Mummies - Elbo Room (27th Anniversary Show)
• Megadeth / Suicidal Tendencies / Children Of Bodom - The Warfield

March:

• Neurosis / Sleep / Vhol - The Regency
• Melvins / Dusted Angel - The Ritz, San Jose, California (Pre-tour warm up show)
• Slayer / Testament / Carcass - The Warfield (2 nights)
• Satan / Night Demon / Hellfire - Elbo Room
• Abbath / High On Fire / Skeletonwitch / Tribulation - The Regency (Decibel Tour)
• Iggy Pop - The Masonic

April:

• Metallica - Rasputin's Records, Berkeley, California (Record Store Day) 
• Saviours / Ides Of Gemini / War Cloud - The Chapel

May:

• Napalm Death / Melvins / Melt Banana - Slim's
• The Cure - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California

June:

• Armored Saint / Metal  Church - DNA Lounge

I haven't been a recluse, but I also haven't been motivated to write about much.  I had the epiphany that posting on my personal social media has marginalized the "creativity" I used to channel into this space.  Cutting back on that white noise posting chatter needs to happen I guess.  There were definitely events that I should have captured here.. THE major one was Record Store Day 2016 that featured Metallica performing live at Rasputin's in Berkeley and immediately afterward hosting a private party for invited guests at 3132 Carlson Blvd.. aka The Metallica Mansion.

The party was to thank those old friends and associates who helped the band with the massive reissues of Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning.  At some point I intend to document my involvement in this project, which began with me sitting at a kitchen table with Jaymz and Larz over a year earlier and them revealing their reissue plans and basically hiring me to be a consultant on them.  Full circle.  Anyway, until I do that they say a picture is worth 1,000 words... so here's 4,000 words to hold you over about this.

Top photo by the teenage me:  December 28, 1982.  Bottom photo by the adult me:  April 16, 2016:

 
Two Motörhead fans recreating that photo from Summer 1983 taken in that exact same spot:

If you really need to know what happened on that magical day and night right now, click HERE for what the band posted about it. I'll get around to documenting the profoundly full circle experience of being involved with the reissues.. even though it's already old news.

 

Truth be told, baseball is the only thing I really give a shit about at the moment... and I'm annually obsessed with the San Francisco Giants at this time of the year anyway but I'm more ratcheted up this season because it's also the 30th Anniversary of the amazing 1986 team.  That 1986 team is my favorite Giants team ever.

Anyway, that's basically where my head has been this year so far.  I needed a reset... and I'm not sure I've gotten one yet.  On the way back to the blog, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  This space has been running since 2004... 12 (twelve!) fucking years of ranting about shit.  There are some major things in the works.. some happening soon.. others happening further down the road.  All are pretty fucking cool.

Eventually I'll remember how to put words together in an interesting way again.  Hopefully sooner than later.  To quote Motörhead:  "Don't sweat it.  Get it back to you."

The Only Way To Feel The Noise Is When It's Good And Loud

This live photo (by Wayne Vanderkuil) is from The Stone in San Francisco on August 13, 1983 which was the first time I "met" Lemmy. On that tour 'Overkill' was not included in the setlist, so my friends dared me to go up to Lemmy at the bar and ask him why the band wasn't playing 'Overkill'.

So I did.

Instead of punching me Lemmy said they'd forgotten how to play it...

Fast forward to this weekend and I attended his funeral after having worked with Motörhead and their management for the past 8 years. I'm not religious but the Metal Godz work in mysterious ways. 

Instead of flying back today, I opted to ride back with an old Bay Area Metal friend who had driven down and attended the services with me. We listened to Motörhead via my iPod the entire 6 hour drive back and, with the battery almost dead, ironically 'Overkill' from the No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith album was playing as we turned onto my street.  The song literally ended as we stopped in front of my house. 

No joke. 

Born To Lose - Live To Win Forever. 

Thank you and peace in rest, Lemmy and Motörhead.

Damage Case

As soon as I get my head around it I'll probably post a longer, more emo rant about what Lemmy meant to me. There's a lot for me to think about. However, for right now..

Random Lemmy memory: Boston - March 2011. I was visiting a business partner and planned the trip around the Motörhead show at the House Of Blues. All day my Boston colleague asked "Do you think you can get Tom into the show?" I had no idea who "Tom" was and didn't really respond.. Then as we were literally getting into the car to go to the show I realized "Tom" was Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith (my colleague also worked with them).

Long story short, Tom got into the sold out show and afterwards met with Lemmy. It was trippy watching the 2 bass legends chat about this and that. Then Tom asked to see Lemmy's gear so we went back to the stage. Tom admired Lemm's carved Rickenbacker in its case so Lemm handed it to him to check out. It was funny watching a Rock Star geek out..

Then Tom turned to me and asked if I could take a photo of him and Lemmy with my camera because he didn't have one.

I almost asked Tom to play the bass line from 'Sweet Emotion' but I chickened out.. On another note: Tom's son was with him and he was a legit Metalhead with an Amebix back patch on his denim vest. It was also literally sold out to the rafters in Boston that night..

Good times. Anyway... More thoughts on my hero soon.  Peace in rest, Lemmy.

Live To Win

As soon as I get my head around it I'll probably post a longer, more emo rant about what Lemmy meant to me.  There's a lot for me to think about.  However, for right now..

Random Lemmy memory: For almost a decade I've been fortunate to have worked for the companies responsible for Motörhead and their merchandise.  Lemmy sketched things all the time.. including band shirt ideas.

This is a tee he did for the 2007 Australia / New Zealand Motörhead Tour.. He wanted the tour dates on the back upside down because it was "Down Under".. Geddit!? It was classic Lemmy humor but the printer (and some fans) thought the shirt was printed wrong.

[From the Umlaut Archives]

Most people only focus on how much Lemmy drank blah blah but since I was a kid I've always loved his sense of humor and how knowledgeable he was about many subjects.. including the stars on the national flags of Australia and New Zealand in this case.

Anyway... More thoughts on my hero soon.  Peace in rest, Lemmy.

The Golden Years

Now playing back in Umlaut's early-1980's teenage Metalhead bedroom:

Fast forward to Umlaut's 21st Century adult Metalhead reality:

Lemmy's 70th Birthday Party
The Whisky A-Go-Go, Hollywood, California
December 13, 2015

One thing led to another and on a blustery Sunday afternoon I found myself on Southwest Flight 5872 flying down to Hollywood to celebrate my Capricorn hero's 70th birthday that night.  If you had told the Teenage Me I would find myself at this event I would not have believed you.

December's child the only one,
What I do is what I've done,
I realise I get so cold,
When I was young I was already old,
My life.. My heart.. Black night.. Dark star,
Capricorn


Here in the 21st Century, the Sunset Strip is a mere ghost of its former glory with so many places gone and others being replaced by hotels due to redevelopment.  The steady march towards the area becoming an anonymous massive strip mall is on profound fast forward these days.  Upon arriving in L.A. I chilled for a bit before walking down to Book Soup... and across the street was this example of how time travel does exist.. at least on the outside:

It was extremely surreal to see the Tower colors flying on that iconic space again.  However, it's only temporary as the paint job had been done for the premiere of the Tower Records documentary.  It's still empty, cold, and vacant inside the space.. just like the record industry now.  Anyway, after trying unsuccessfully to get served at a crowded bar showing 3 NFL games at once (Is it baseball yet?!), I found a relatively empty bar a block away to have a beer(s) and wait for my colleague friend to text me so we could meet at The Whisky.. and it wasn't long before that text arrived.

As I approached The Whisky I could hear the soundcheck going on and, to my surprise, the front door was wide open and I just walked right in.  Donde está security? Stepping inside of The Whisky is still like stepping into a time machine.  I've only seen a few shows there but the walls really do ooze Lock 'N Loll history.  Given the magnitude of the evening's event I was shocked how mellow things were.. but it was very cool of course.  After taking a quick look around the room I realized who was soundchecking:

That would be Billy Duffy, Billy Idol, Matt Sorum, Duff McKagan, and Steve Jones.. Star power! Crazy, right?!

It was pretty damn amazing to be able to witness the soundcheck for this once in a lifetime event.  In between jams I also ran into several people who I knew (crew guys.. band guys.. industry guys..)... and it always surprises me when I see shows in L.A. that I actually know people there.  I forget.. One of them was the guy who took the band photos in Appetite For Destruction who was filming the show tonight.  Another cool jam featured 1/2 of Anthrax, Slash, Robert from Metallica, and the guy who sings in Ugly Kid Joe (currently residing in the "Where are they now" file..):

After this round of "check one two" was completed my friend and I popped out to get dinner and to catch up since we hadn't seen each other in awhile.  Upon our return we found the entrance closed and a Will Call line forming as the night became a bit rainy.  Thankfully we easily killed time when my friend Rob came over to chat with us.  It was good to catch up with him and hear how his film project and his up-and-coming band are doing.  At one point the Whisky's photographer asked to take his photo for their website as I was standing directly to his left.

I'm sure it was a big thrill for Rob to have his image posted!  Hopefully it will help generate interest in his band and give them some juice to make it to the next level.  Anyway, there was absolutely no Will Call drama and it wasn't long before we were back inside the dry confines of The Whisky.

Tonight was a private, invite only event and the guest list was limited to several hundred "friends" and associates of Lemmy.  It obviously wasn't public knowledge since there was no mob scene or paparazzi out front.. and it was funny that The Whisky's marquee listed a random battle of the bands-type event during the day.

The vibe of the event with the doors open continued to be very mellow and surprisingly not that L.A.-style douchbag at all.  I was surprised.. Maybe it was because those in attendance all understood the magnitude of being invited... especially with Lemmy himself holding court from the front of the balcony overlooking the main floor.  It was one of those classic L.A. events that was entirely a "V.I.P." audience but the upstairs area was an additional level of "V.I.P." area that required you to have a silver sticker on your laminate to enter.  Thankfully Umlaut rated the silver sticker so it was upstairs I went.

Upstairs featured a bar that was giving away beer for free for awhile and food catered by The Rainbow down the street.  Also on display next to the bar was a magnificent birthday cake:

I was surprised that no one accidentally fell into it after too many Jager shots.. but it was a Sunday school night so maybe folks were holding back.  Anyway, in this "V.I.P. V.I.P." area Umlaut rubbed shoulders with the likes of 1/2 of Metallica (the rhythm section..), 1/2 of Anthrax (the 2 members with beards..), Sebastian Bach, Ross Halfin, Dave Lombardo, other various band people whose bands I can't stand, as well as various record label types, band managers, and recording professionals.. and the guys who host That Metal Show.. among others.  Trivia:  Steve Vai is not as tall as I would have expected.

A couple of friends and I managed to snag a prime table next to the soundboard and watched the beginning of the entertainment from there.  Things kicked off with a couple of bands who I honestly didn't catch the names of.. but one did originals fronted by a kid who took his shirt off for their set and the other a cover band fronted by a girl who, in all fairness, knows how to front a band.  However, the beer(s) in my hand held my attention more... as did the party favors:

Onstage Matt Sorum acted as MC for the night.. which was a nice surprise since I'm sure everybody expected Dave Grohl to be there.. and I'm glad he wasn't because when was he ever really Metal?  Honesty is my only excuse.  I was told prior to the night that the setlist would not be all Motörhead songs because that's understandably the last thing Lemmy would want to hear.. so the setlist was made up of songs and bands that Lemmy loves.. as it should be since it was his party!

The proper celebration featuring Lemmy's band friends kicked off with a combo featuring Sorum, his wife on vocals, Gilby Clarke on guitar, and I can't remember who else doing Zeppelin and Stones songs.  The rotating list of guest musicians moved on to include Sebastian Bach for a song or two and also Steve Vai and Nuno Bettencourt doing passable Hendrix covers.  Everybody knows that Lemmy famously roadied for Hendrix, right?

The combo of Zakk Wylde on vocals / guitar, Sorum on drums, and Blasko on bass did a surprisingly excellent blast of Sabbath's 'Fairies Wear Boots'.  I say surprising because I've never been a fan of Zakk Wylde.. but he won me over at least for tonight.  The only Motörhead song performed was '(We Are) The Road Crew' sung by the guy from Ugly Kid Joe (random... but evidently he's a longtime friend of Lemmy's..) with Scott Ian and Slash on guitars, Charlie Benante on drums, and Robert of Metallica on bass. Quite good.

Midway though the proceedings a screen dropped in front of the stage and a really nice video slideshow honoring Lemmy was shown.  It featured vintage photos of the Birthday Boy with audio and video testimonials from some of his famous friends and kindred spirits.

I actually got a bit misty-eyed watching it since it gave a perspective on Lemmy and his life of music, hellraising, and his sense of humor.  My Hero.  Your Hero.  Right?  At this point I also moved downstairs to watch the rest of show from the less crowded floor and in the sweet spot for sound.  However, the night hit a brief awkward snag when they announced the Birthday Boy would be taking the stage and his tech set up his Murder One rig and his Rickenbacker was brought out... However there was an obvious change of plans because the screen dropped again and Murder One removed from the stage.. but Lemmy still watched over his party comfortably from the balcony.

The party eventually closed with the best guest combo of the night featuring Billy Duffy, Billy Idol, Sorum on drums, Duff McKagan, and Steve Jones smoking through 3 oldies to bring the entertainment to a really fantastic end.  'Shaking All Over' into 'Something Else' into 'God Save The Queen' were perfect.

To be honest the end of the party was a bit anti-climatic but given that it was meant to be a party for Lemmy and not a public event the understated way it played out really was perfect.  I imagine Lemmy does not like being the center of attention all of the time.  My hero.  Your hero. Right?

As the party was officially announced as being over I mingled a bit... said goodbye to a couple of people.. met a couple of people who I'd only known via online interaction.. and then made my way back out into the rainy Hollywood night.  Before heading back to where I was staying I stopped at Mel's Drive-In for a late night meal.. and the waitress thought the Lemmy mask I had was of some pro wrestler whose name I can't remember.

Happy 70th Birthday to Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister!  It was an honor to have been there to celebrate it in such an epic way.  A really fun night.. obviously.  On the way back to The Bay Area, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  Sorry to now get Emo, but I'm at the point in life where the heroes who inspired me in my salad days are gone or slowly fading away.  Thankfully Lemmy is still here, hanging in there, and doing what he's always been doing as best he can given the march of time.  The Golden Years are whenever and whatever you make them, my friends.  To quote Ronnie James Dio: Live for today.  Tomorrow never comes.

Lemmy.  My hero.  Your hero.  Right?!!

Photos courtesy of Umlaut's iPhone.

Another Perfect Day

Since my last post was criminally NOT Metal I feel obligated to compensate for it.  I believe this will make up for my transgression:

On this date in 1983: Motörhead played the first of 3 Bay Area shows on the Another Perfect Day Tour. The Keystone Palo Alto on August 11th.. The Keystone Berkeley on the 12th.. and The Stone in San Francisco on the 13th. 

 

Umlaut was at the Palo Alto and San Francisco shows.  In S.F. my friends dared me to go up to Lemmy at the bar and ask him why the band wasn't playing 'Overkill' on the tour.  Instead of punching me Lemmy said they'd forgotten how to play it... 

 Lemmy at The Stone, San Francisco - August 13, 1983

[Photo by Wayne VanderKuil]

Umlaut friend Teri adds:

"I went to all three shows.  I hung out with the band behind The Keystone Palo Alto for a bit and the only thing I had for them to sign was a Scorpions Lovedrive album that was in my car. I am the proud owner of probably the only Scorpions album in the world signed by Motörhead."

NO WIMPS!  

Over The Top

The exciting sequel to No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn, Random Rock Star Moment: Bon Scott, and Welcome To Hell!

A million years ago back in The Old Metal Days I was penpals with a Metalhead in St. Louis named Trace Rayfield. Besides the usual penpal activities such as tape trading, Trace also contributed to my fanzine Whiplash. Of course, Motörhead was one of the bands that Trace and I bonded over. So sit back and enjoy Trace's memories of meeting and hanging out with Lemmy and the boys back in those ancient times!

OVER THE TOP BACKSTAGE ADVENTURES WITH MOTÖRHEAD
ON THE ACE OF SPADES AND IRON FIST TOURS

My love affair with Motörhead’s music began early in 1980 when my best friend Wade Brooks and I first discovered the Overkill album while searching for the next great underground Metal band. We had developed a thirst for new music that we had to feed and were constantly digging for the next big thing. It was the cover to Overkill that caught our attention while thumbing through the import bin at Wuxtry Records in the hip “central west end” neighborhood of St. Louis.

Trace's autographed copy of Overkill

It was a short time later that we realized the band had other albums out. In fact, Bomber was already on the shelf the next time we made it back to the import bin at Wuxtry Records. We were hooked! It was also around this time that we were getting a sniff of some new music coming out of England which went on to be known as the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” (NWOBHM). We started buying the British music paper Sounds about this time and discovered that we were already far behind.

Wade decided he wanted to see this thing first hand so he booked a flight to England and posted a classified ad in Sounds requesting “penbangers” that could bring us up to speed on this new musical scene. We could never have expected what was to follow over the next couple of weeks. Wade’s mailbox began to overflow with letters, tapes, patches, badges and other assorted NWOBHM tidbits. Wow, we were blown away!

It was around this time that we also discovered the Motörhead fan club Motörheadbangers. One of the people running it was Helen Taylor, none other than the sister of Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor. During the ensuing correspondence that followed Wade received several offers to put him up while in England, one of which was from Helen Taylor and one from Metal Forces magazine legend Bernard Doe.

Fast forward to 1981 and me sleeping on a cold sidewalk in suburban St. Louis outside a record store, which also doubled as a concert ticket outlet. We had heard the announcement several days earlier that Ozzy was finally bringing his Blizzard of Ozz to St. Louis for his debut solo tour appearance on May 21st. Of course we were fans of Black Sabbath and Ozzy, but would I spend the night on a cold sidewalk for tickets to see them? Probably not, but the opening band for this tour happened to be none other than Motörhead, who had recently released the heaviest album of all time, Ace of Spades! Any thoughts that Motörhead wasn’t our favorite band were quickly extinguished when that monster hit the turntable.

Trace's autographed copy of AOS

We knew we had to get good seats for this show, so I volunteered to spend the night waiting for the tickets to go onsale, which was what you had to do back in the days before the Internet and StubHub. I found myself 3rd in line, but was that good enough to secure seats in the first three rows? This show was at the “big house” in St. Louis, The Arena, which held 18,000 and was typically the hardest venue to get good seats due to the demand.

Local radio spots for Ace Of Spades and the Ozzy / Motörhead Tour

St. Louis - May 1981
(From the Trace Rayfield Archives)

As the night progressed and the diehards in line started to bond over a beer or two, I began to wonder what sort of barter would secure me the coveted first position in line. After some discussion, I came up with a rare piece of vinyl (a Budgie import if my memory serves) that the first guy in line would kill for. Bingo! As the doors opened and the tickets were unveiled, I could not have been more pleased when I saw the first tickets on the stack: "Floor-Section B - Row 1”.

When the day finally arrived we were too excited to wait around for showtime. We wanted to meet our new favorite band at any costs. We drove around some of the downtown hotels looking for tour buses that might be parked outside. This didn't always work but this time we got lucky. Wade and I sat patiently in the lobby of the posh riverfront hotel watching for any signs of our heavy metal heroes Motörhead.

After maybe an hour or so, 3 figures approached the hotel entrance on foot from the direction of the St. Louis landmark “Arch”, the symbol of the gateway to the west. It was quite surreal as Lemmy, Fast Eddie, and Philthy Phil all strolled into the hotel in typical Motörhead attire. A little out of breath, Lemmy approached us to declare, “You have a beautiful city!” after having just viewed the region from the 630-foot high observation deck of the Arch. The band had no doubt that we were serious Motörhead fans as we stood out like a sore thumb amongst the well-dressed hotel guests surrounding us. Our Motörhead t-shirts and a stack of albums made our enthusiasm more than obvious.

We quickly shook hands and introduced ourselves as huge fans trying to get a head start on the evening’s festivities. The band obliged our autograph request and listened curiously as Wade described his upcoming trip to England and his correspondence with Phil’s sister Helen. In fact, Wade had to reschedule his original travel dates because of tonight’s concert and would now be leaving in the morning! Well, that sealed our fate for the evening as Lemmy announced that they had to finish packing but we should follow them to the venue. We were on Cloud 9 already as we went to get our car, not having any idea where our adventure would take us next.

We pulled up behind their tour bus and waited for the band to return. After following the bus to the Arena, we parked adjacent to the venue “load in” entrance. We quickly mingled with band and crew in order to blend in before sliding in backstage. Now, we knew this was a long shot and our euphoria could be dashed any second by an over zealous security guard, but what happened next even surprised us. Fast Eddie suggested we hide out in their dressing room with strict orders to not be noticed until proper passes could be obtained. They were really paranoid about Ozzy’s crew because they didn’t want any trouble on this important debut tour for the band. After all, this was the Ozzy and Randy Rhoads show. To be honest, that was the farthest thing from our minds. Of course we had no idea that this would be the one and only time we would witness Mr. Rhoads guitar acrobatics. However, tonight was all about our favorite band: Motörhead!

Lemmy, Eddie and Phil with Wade and Trace

Fast Eddie and Phil seemed to be the most interested in some pre-show partying with their new found fans. And party we did. Eddie started to get pretty wasted with us before they even did their sound check. Some time later before the band went out to play, Eddie turned to us and said, “If I mess up tonight, I’ll never talk to you guys again”. Wade and I laughed but when we looked back at Eddie, he was kinda serious. Oops! We forgot we weren’t gonna be the ones performing in front of 18,000 people in an hour. Now when the band asked us to come along for the sound check, we figured we would be neatly tucked away in the wings. Forget about it. They let us stand on the stage inches from them, headbanging away as they pounded out a couple test numbers. We could have left right then and there and been totally satisfied with the days experience, but we pointed out to Lemmy and Eddie our first row seats and asked them to keep an eye out for us.

We had time to retreat backstage for one more cold one before the venue quickly filled up with Ozzy fans. Man, it was cool walking out from the side of the stage to head to our first row seats. Even the security guard was confused, but by that time we felt like we owned the place. Lights go out and BAMM!!, Motörhead was galloping through their first couple of songs before we knew what hit us. When the band finally stopped to catch their breath, we sat back for a second and realized the Midwest crowd had no idea what they were witnessing. We were headbanging our asses off and this huge crowd behind us was sitting on their hands; I've never seen anything like that before or since. However, Eddie had no problem spotting and acknowledging his new buddies who had gotten him a little red eyed before the show!

We had to cut watching Ozzy’s show a little short to make sure we had time to see Lemmy and company off to their next destination. We went so far as to follow the boys out to their bus for one last photo op before we said our farewells. We had no idea that the member of the band who we had bonded with the most would be out of the band the next time we saw them. We shook hands with Eddie for the last time.

The band in front of their tour bus

To commemorate the return of Motörhead to North American soil the next year for the Iron Fist Tour, we planned a road trip like never before. It would be 3 shows in 3 nights. We would begin in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 20th to see Iron Maiden and their new singer Bruce Dickinson open for .38 Special and Rainbow (a strange line up for sure!). Then on to Detroit and Chicago for Motörhead’s Iron Fist shows. However, less than a week before we hit the road, I got the disturbing news from a NYC friend that Fast Eddie Clarke had quit Motörhead, this time for good. She had just seen the band the night before at the Palladium in New York on May 14th. Things didn’t seem right that night and it was confirmed the next day that Eddie was indeed out of the band. Now what to do?!

Stunned, I passed the news along to Wade and our other friends who were road bound with us. We waited for news of the shows being rescheduled but it never came. At the last minute the band recruited ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson to fill in on the much-anticipated tour. Shook up and disappointed, we soldiered on just like Lemmy and Phil. More on the Iron Maiden leg of our road trip another time. We arrived in gritty Detroit at Harpo’s on May 21st to get back to some Motörhead.

We met the band outside behind Harpo’s several hours before the show was slated to begin. Lemmy and Phil acknowledged us but we had to make friends with their road manager to secure the backstage passes we cherished. It’s always a good idea to find common interest with people within the “inner circle” and use them to your advantage in times like these. In this case, we weren’t the only ones that liked to party!

Eventually we found ourselves with Lemmy backstage in the dressing room and he was in quite a serious mood. It was going to be the first show he would be playing without Eddie in 6 years. We talked about Eddie’s departure, being careful to not dwell on anything that might open old wounds. Ironically, one of the topics we discussed was the single that Lemmy did with Wendy O. Williams. As it turned out, the rift with Eddie began over this recording session. It seems, Eddie wanted no part in the recording and refused to participate. Of course, we were interested in any salacious details that Lemmy would give up about his time with Wendy O.! Lemmy assured us that he and Wendy became fast friends and he was very fond of her. He told us he woke up the next morning wrapped in plastic food wrap. Sounded like a good time for Lem!

We witnessed the soundcheck from the front of the house this time. Things were a little more serious, since Brian Robertson was still learning the songs. The show actually went off really well and sounded much better than you would expect with less than a week to prepare. If nothing else, we were there for an historic moment in Motörhead history.

Morning came and we are off to the Midwest Heavy Metal hotbed Chicago for the last leg of our journey. We arrived at the Aragon Ballroom by mid-afternoon after the 300 mile trip. This time we get access to the band's tour bus straightaway. Like I said, it's good to make friends with the road manager! We hung out with various band and crew members as show time approached. Things were much more relaxed today since the band survived the nerve-racking experience of Robbo’s debut gig the night before. By now our road manager buddy was handing us backstage passes like candy. I even had an extra to give to a local kid that we had befriended. Early access to the hall came in handy since this was a general admission free for all. We went straight for stage position this time.

Motörhead took the stage to huge fanfare, as this was one of their strongest markets in the U.S.. They didn’t disappoint, even though many in attendance wondered who the red headed guitarist was. It was a really tight set considering the infancy of the “new Motörhead”. We were able to spend some quality time with the band backstage after the show on this occasion.

Everybody seemed to be in an excellent mood after the success of the evening’s concert. They were happy to pose for photos and share some war stories. We noticed that Lemmy had been admiring Wade's chrome bullet belt as we were knocking back a few beers. Wade mentioned that he had always wanted the chrome version after seeing Lemmy sporting one in photos some years back. "Funny you mention that", Lemmy recalled because it had recently been nicked on tour and he was having trouble locating a replacement. Wade gladly took his belt off and handed it to Lemmy. Quite suprised, Lemmy asked "What can I give you for it?!" Wade just shrugged it off and said "Thanks for the memories!"

Another funny story from our evening of drinking with the band came when the beer was running low towards the end of the night and Wade’s girlfriend Polly warned Lemmy that he was about to drink from a half empty beer bottle that someone had discarded. Lemmy replied “I know, I just check it first for cigarette butts..” and chugged it down. Hilarious! No Rock Stars here!

We were blown away by the overall outcome of our 3 day odyssey. It gave us a little insight into the Rock ‘N Roll life on the road with the ever flowing alcohol, cheap motels, little sleep, and miles of blacktop. We arrived back home in St. Louis the next day with hangovers and memories to last a lifetime.

Wade with Phil, Lemmy, and Robbo

Time traveled 30 years and I found myself back at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom (now my home base) for the 2012 Gigantour featuring Megadeth and Motörhead on February 10th. I hadn’t met Lemmy again since we left this very same venue back in May of 1982. I printed out some 8x10 photos in hopes of giving them to Lemmy on this special night. Of course, since we left him all those years ago, he has gone on to become one of the most iconic figures in Hard Rock and Metal. A true legend in any Headbanger's handbook!

On this night 30 years later, I was able to meet Mikkey Dee but he explained that Lemmy was still on the tour bus and usually doesn’t come onto the scene until show time. I explained the meaning behind the photos and asked him if he would pass them along to his bandleader. He gladly accepted as he disappeared into the backstage corridors of the legendary Aragon.

"I swear it.. I can't get it. Completely... Over the top, over the top!"