Story one: Confessions of a Roadie
They say the average shelf life of a model is 5 years, 7 if you are lucky and the shelf life of a rock singer is not that much better. The average is usually 10 years, 12 on the outside. Roadies on the other hand, have a very limited shelf life. The lucky ones are around 3-5 years later and then usually either move on to a different band or find some more productive line of work.
Occasionally, some of us get lucky and have a great career which spans the life of the band we travel with or are lucky enough to move up in the entertainment field into the production aspect of it and carve out a pretty good stable life for ourselves and if fate shines down on us become well off.
Why am I starting this story off by telling you this, well believe it or not that is what happened to me. I was a roadie who had a great career and at the end when the gravy train dried up, was lucky enough to move up and carve up quite a life for myself and enjoy the fruits of my labor.
It all started in the late 80's during the rise of what is known as "glam rock." During this time, there were a number of all girl bands making it big, some bigger than others. Some were young while others were older and still had good runs. I just happened to have the fortune to be in the right place at the right time and hook on to one of the best who was older but whose career would span almost 10 years.
I was 23 at the time and had just finished college and she was a 35 year old glam rock singer. I had graduated in computers and engineering with a minor in Business Administration(Finance) .While in school I took odd jobs to earn money. After finishing school, I kept the last one which was working for an entertainment company as a set up person and equipment engineer while I looked for a regular full time job.
It paid fairly good money and I was one of many who would set up the stage for the big acts that would be playing, monitor the equipment then tear it down at the end of the night. I was doing okay for myself but I wasn't getting rich off this job.
However, the pay wasn't why I kept it, it was the "fringe benefits" or perks that came with the job… the chance to meet all the cool rock stars and other famous entertainers. The chance to meet the stars was far more important to me than money, at least at that time.
This particular evening was like any other on the surface except it would become a big one for me for various reasons. First of all, my favorite glam rock band was playing and as a back stage equipment person, I would be able to watch the show from the side of the stage and if I was lucky enough, be able to get close enough to sneak a peek at my idol, Mystic Eden.
However my luck would be much better than I ever imagined. Not only would I get to see the show and actually sneak a peek at her, but I would actually be able to meet her, talk to her and do what every fan would give their soul to do… be granted a personal and private back stage audience with her.
Anyhow, here is how it all unfolds. It was a few hours before the show was to began and I was just finishing setting up and was making some last minute adjustments when the sound engineer for the band asked me if I could stay and help load up Mystic Eden's personal equipment and I said sure so I spent the next 30 minutes doing that and helping out with the instruments and actually got to hold the very guitar she uses and the very mic she sings into.
It was about 45 minutes before the building was about to open to the public( which would have been about 2 hours before the show) when "she" came out on stage dressed quite differently than what she normally did on stage. Usually Mystic Eden came dressed in black spandex leotards with leg warmers and a brown leopard skin top with black spots. This time, however, she was dressed in a red and white halter top that tied in front, light blue tight cut off denim shorts and sandals.
The outfit showed off every succulent inch of her sumptuous, voluptuous, 5'6" 38DD-28-38 body. Her brownish red hair wasn't "big" and teased like it normally was but it was normal length and straight. Her hair came down to between her shoulder blades and even though it was straight you could tell it had natural curls in it.
Mystic Eden came out to make sure the equipment was in order, picked up the guitar and checked out the mic to make sure it was the right height. As she did, she came by me and seeing that there was equipment and wires all over stage didn't have much room to move and accidentally bumped into me.
She was facing one way and I was facing the other while we were walking towards each other not paying attention to what we were doing. As we collided her left shoulder bumped into my right and we both turned and said oops at the same time.
We were just about to apologize for bumping into each other however, just as we turned towards each other, our eyes met and we were both speechless and breath taken. I was speechless for obvious reasons… there was my idol, the woman of my dreams. She was speechless for different reasons and I would come to find out that she was just as smitten by me as I was her.
I was also scared because I had heard about some of the temperaments these musicians had. I was expecting her to bite my head off but instead of being angry, she was quite pleasant. "I am so sorry sweetie," she said with a soft voice putting her hand on my arm. "I must not have been watching where I was going."
Her crystal ice blue eyes were sparking and her smile was oh so sweet. I could tell she was taken by me and that there was definitely a mutual attraction there. She would break the ice and introduce herself. "My name is Christina but my friends call me Crystal," she said with a soft voice. "What's your name honey?" I introduced myself as Jason and she said "Nice to meet ya Jason."
"You're new here aren't ya sugar," Crystal said pulling back her hair and having a seat on one of the amps that was sitting on the stage. "Come on baby, have a seat next to me," Crystal said patting the top of the amp as she scooted over. "I promise I won't bite," and then she smiled and with a naughty wink and a grin added "not unless you want me too that is."
I took her up on her offer and sat down next to her on the amp. It was a tight fit but we both managed to squeeze on there. Her halter top was made of a red and white checked material and was tied in front and showed off an ample amount of cleavage. From where I was sitting I could tell she wasn't wearing a bra and got a good peek at her sumptuous breasts.
What Crystal did next would take me by surprise… she pulled out a cigarette, lit it and then offered me one. "How strange is that," you may be asking yourselves. "Lots of Rock stars smoke and they occasionally are nice enough to offer cigarettes to strangers they may not know." Well that is true, however how many do you know will casually have them stuck in their shirt and then sit there with a perfect stranger with their shirt now open and shoot the breeze like it was no big deal.
We sat and talked and I told her that I had just graduated college and confessed that this was the biggest day of my life, to actually meet the star of Mystic Eden. "Well honey," Crystal said with a big smile, "it's just about to get bigger. How would you like hang out with me and the band before the show and then have an exclusive back stage pass after the show just you and me?" I didn't know what to say and told her. "A simple nod will suffice sweetie" she said understandingly and I managed to get out a nod. "Well baby you just hang out here and I will have Dave give you a special security badge."
With that, Crystal gave me a kiss on the cheek and went over to Dave the head of Coliseum security and 10 minutes later he handed me an official badge that read "Mystic Eden Staff" the same ones the band members were wearing.
