Three Meltdown Facts
From time to time I’ll drop some Meltdown facts that you may or may not know about me. Feel free to share with me some, about you.
1 – I was the first radio DJ to play Jackyl’s “Lumberjack” song. When the record came out, 30 years ago, there was a huge buzz about the band. We had played “I Stand Alone” for a few weeks and it was doing great. One day, as the boss was leaving, he tossed me the cd and told me to play something else off of it. Well, of course I had to play a song with a chainsaw it in, right? The phones went crazy! The band played a free show for us about a month later and you couldn’t squeeze another person into the venue.
Years later, Jesse James Dupree would tell me that they were going to release some other singles first, but because I started playing that song, their strategy changed. I’m still friends with Jesse to this day…great guy!
2 – I hate weddings and rarely go to them. So much so that I was married in Las Vegas, just her and I. Oh, and I’m such a patriot, we tied the knot on July 4, 2000. We were married at the Graceland Chapel, but not by Elvis. 😉
3 – I interviewed one rock star twice in the same day. Right after the death of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, “Head” from KORN was tore apart for a comment that appeared in the middle of a beautiful tribute to his friend on his Instagram. Here’s what he said: Honestly, Chester’s an old friend who we’ve hung with many times, and I have friends who are extremely close to him, but this is truly pissing me off! How can these guys send this message to their kids and fans?! I’m sick of this suicide s—t! I’ve battled depression/mental illness, and I’m trying to be sympathetic, but it’s hard when you’re pissed! Enough is enough! Giving up on your kids, fans, and life is the cowardly way out!!!
I’m sorry, I know meds and/or alcohol may have been involved, I’m just processing like all of us and I know we are all having some of the same thoughts/feelings.
Lord, take Chester in your arms and please re-unite him with his family and all of us one day. Be with his wife and kids with your grace during this difficult time.
The following week they came and played Pine Knob. I think I might’ve been scheduled to talk with someone else in the band, but it changed at the last minute. We did the interview around 4pm after KORN had finished their Meet and Greet obligations. Afterwards, Head asked me where the interview was going to go. I told him on my Talkin’ Rock podcast and on the WRIF site. I said that it would probably be picked up by outside sources as rock news. He looked at me and asked if he could listen to it and that if he didn’t like it “Could we do it again?” I agreed, and Head proceeded to walk around the backstage area for twenty minutes listening. He came back and asked if we could do it again, because he’d just woken up and didn’t sound awake enough.
I obliged, asked him again about Chester, then asked him a bunch of other questions. I cut out the Chester part in the first interview (where he felt he didn’t sound upbeat enough) edited it together with all the other stuff, and created a killer 35/40 minute interview. Yes, a lot of rock websites picked it up and used it as news.
-Meltdown-
