Tagged: Geoff Nicholls
My fondest moments in metal
I was inspired by a friend to remember some of my fondest metal moments. Those that truly put a smile on my face when I think back on them.
A lot of those memories have to do with mutual appreciation. No matter where we are in life and what our roles are in the music biz, we all started out as fans. You can play cool and pretend that you don’t care, but I’m not kidding myself. If it’s an artist that I’ve admired since I was a kid, he or she will still make me feel like a star struck teenager to some degree.
So…. These are some of those “smile”-moments. :D
1. DAVID COVERDALE
David always puts a smile on my face. I consider the interview I did with him on the “Farewell tour” the best interview I have ever done. The circumstances were perfect. When it comes to David Coverdale, I was a fan first and foremost, and I always will be.
I was the last person on his interview schedule that day, so there was no stress. He was in a great mood, very open and incredibly easy to talk to. We talked about everything: Serious things, funny things, deep things…
The interview took place in a luxurious suite at the Sheraton in Stockholm. It didn’t feel like an actual interview. It felt like a conversation with a friend. Looking back on that today makes me feel so privileged and it was a day I will never forget.
But even apart from that interview (and a few other conversations with him), David always makes me smile. There has not been ONE single gig or press conference where he hasn’t spotted me within minutes, smiled up to his ears and adressed me by name. Or from the stage in front of thousands of people (several times through the years. Sometimes he’s had little dialogs with me from the stage, the last one being at the Graspop festival a few years ago, and of COURSE I had turned off my camera just minutes before…).
At press conferences he’s sometimes treated me like I was the only journalist present, or explained to the others, while pointing at me: “SHE will know, cause she’s followed my work for a long time…“.
I’m sure he does what with other, select people worldwide too, he’s just that type of person, but from my perspective it’s pretty darn fantastic because I’ve always looked up to David Coverdale.
So – he’s my #1 source for smiles in the metal world. :D
2. ROB HALFORD
A few years ago, I had been assigned to write the Judas Priest cover story for Sweden Rock Magazine. Since it was an in-depth piece, I ended up calling Rob several times that year (and also speaking with K.K and Glenn). In the end, he started joking and talking to me like we were the best of friends.
He’s always been one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met, but particularly after those conversations things have been very relaxed and down-to-earth with Rob.
When I went to London earlier this year for an exclusive interview with Rob at Sony Music‘s offices, I was the only reporter who was privileged enough to get a one-to-one interview with The Metal God that day. And he was happy to see me. I’m no longer some anonymous nobody, he knows me by name.
Yes I’m like a kid. Judas Priest is the reason I’m even here in this rock’n’roll circus, Rob has a huge part in who I am today and the kind of life I’ve had. I’ve got a million Priest-stories from hanging out with the band through the years, but it’s enough to just say that every single one of those occasions makes me smile and feel incredibly lucky!
3. SEBASTIAN BACH
Baz is not an “idol” like that. It started out that way, when I was a big fan of the energetic, amazing Skid Row. But he and I are the same generation and had a lot in common (especially our love for Priest!) so we became friends. There are many “smile on my face” memories from the Skid Row-days but one of the more recent ones (even if it was a few years ago) was when Sebastian returned to Sweden to play at Sweden Rock Festival back in 2005. He hadn’t been in Sweden since the Subhuman Race Tour in 1995. I was really looking forward to seeing him again.
So, a few friends of mine and I were at the hotel Ronneby Brunn, hanging out, having a few drinks, when the band started coming in through the main entrance. I went over to Metal Mike, who I’d met with Halford, a really cool guy, and he said that Sebastian was outside collecting his bags, he’d be in soon.
I didn’t want to just stand there like an idiot so I went aside, figured that I’d let him check in in peace and quiet.
Well…
When Sebastian walked in – it was in the middle of the night, maybe 2 am, he looked tired and he was carrying a shitload of bags. One suitcase in each hand, bags on top of those and more bags hanging from each shoulder. At first he was just scanning the place with no particular goal or focus, but the minute his eyes landed on me, his reaction was so priceless that I’ll never forget it.
He screamed, in his typical Sebastian manner: “DANIELA!!!” and literally just dropped both those cabin bags so they just landed on the lobby floor, then dropped the bags hanging from his shoulders, so it was all in one big PILE right there on the floor, in the middle of the main hotel lobby – and with two steps he walked over to me, hugged me so hard that I thought he’d break my ribs.
“It’s been ten years!” he said and was sincerely happy to see a familiar face. I’ve honestly never felt more longed for or appreciated in my life. :) That was just such a sincere, happy reaction and I’m still smiling when I think about those bags just lying there in one huge pile on the marble floor.
There have been many similar occasions though. In New York, when he was performing with Steve Stevens at the jazz club Iridium, he dedicated a song to me which I never even noticed, and asked me backstage afterwards if I had heard his dedication. Basically, he can be the most appreciative person on the planet, then again, sometimes he barely notices one’s existence, it all depends, but all in all, this guy knows how to make me smile for the most part! :)
4. LITA FORD
That was a meeting I never thought would even take place. Lita has been my #1 female rolemodel since I first got the Out for Blood-album. I missed her when she played in Sweden or Denmark a few times either because shows were cancelled (she was supposed to come here with Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow but the show was cancelled because the venue was too small for Rainbow’s…uh, rainbow-prop. :)).
Second time she was here with Bon Jovi I couldn’t go cause I had a gig of my own with my band. Then she disappeared to a desert island, literally, with her family for years and I guess we all thought that was it. Lita Ford, as we knew her, was gone.
However, last year she got on a plane and toured Europe. When Sweden Rock asked if I wanted to do an interview with her, I danced around the apartment like an idiot. FINALLY!
When I got to KB in Malmo, my home town (yeah, even THAT!) she was sound checking and I waited for her to finish. She came over, said we could go upstairs to the backstage area and do the interview. It was a hot day in July and we were DYING up there, it was unbearably hot. But, it was the most relaxing, unpretentious meeting I’ve ever had with an artist. Lita was down to earth, open, funny and very easy to talk to.
There were moments where I even forgot that I was sitting there with an artist that I’ve admired since I was a teenager. It was a great chemistry and she didn’t hesitate to speak about difficult or personal things. Much like with David Coverdale, it wasn’t one of those usual “come in, get out after 20 minutes“-type of interviews. We sat there for over an hour and she was in no hurry at all. On the contrary. Even after the cameras had been switched off (it was a video interview as well – still not fully edited…) she kept talking.
One thing you’re always worried about when you meet an artist you grew up with, is if they’re going to disappoint you IRL. She didn’t. Fantastic meeting, great person and a really good interview situation. And I got those old vinyls signed too (better late than never!)
5. TONY MARTIN (Black Sabbath)
I got to know Tony Martin when he was touring with Black Sabbath all over Europe. To this day I think he’s the best heavy metal vocalist ever, and the most underrated one for sure.
When Sabbath came to Copenhagen, I headed over to their hotel to get a chance to hang out a bit with Tony. I remember Tony Iommi and Geoff Nicholls (keyboards) coming out of the elevator with big smiles, letting me know that Tony was on his way (then we kept passing Tony and Geoff on the pedestrian street Stroget a few times, later on that day).
Tony came down and pretty much needed a guide to show him where he could buy a new leather jacket and he also needed to find an exchange office. So, off we went. It was a slightly chilly and cloudy day, so I remember telling him that if he wanted to walk into HMV to check if they had Sabbath’s latest album, he might want to take his sunglasses off if he just wanted to blend in. :) Luckily for HMV, they had all the Tony Martin-Sabbath albums. ;)
He visited a few leather-shops but couldn’t find what he was looking for. It was just nice walking through Copenhagen talking. I was a huge fan of his voice, and I thought he was a cool person to hang out with so that day is stuck in my mind to this day.
He was starving so we went to this Italian restaurant. I hadn’t counted on that, so my wallet was pretty much empty. Oh, well, I thought I could always find whatever was cheapest on the menu. Us Swedes aren’t used to the guy paying unless it’s a date, and this wasn’t a date. So I assumed that I would be paying for my own food and drinks.
I got a glass of cheap wine that tasted horrible. Tony immediately noticed my expression and asked if the wine was ok. I lied and said that it was fine, but he didn’t buy it. So he called the waitress and went “the lady doesn’t like her wine. Do you have anything else?” I was panicking because whatever else they had was out of my price range that particular day.
Anyway, as we were waiting for that wine, I said that one of my favorite songs, where I really loved his vocals, was a song from the album Eternal Idol, the title track. Next thing I know, he starts singing it, right there, a capella in the restaurant…
“No one said it had to be this way
Why are we the victims of their
Final word
Dying world is killing us so slowly
I believe no god may save us now
Can’t you see what I see
Sinners say your prayers tonite
Your judgement day is here”
I was in seventh heaven. Having your favorite singer in the world singing especially for you like that was beyond any expectation. Will never forget that. What an amazing moment that was.
[There’s no actual video to that particular song – but listen to this, this is amazing!]
6. OZZY
This was pretty recent, but still one of those things I know I will look back on in a few years and think of with a big smile.
I was in Seoul, Korea for that one-off Ozzy show and had spent almost an hour trying to get my backstage pass that Gus G had asked the tour manager to leave for me in the VIP booth (apparently I was the only guest too. I’m guessing they didn’t know anyone in Korea. :) ).
That whole “going backstage“-thing seemed unthinkable to most of the security people I spoke to. Their attitude was “you can’t just go back there and meet the band?!?!“.
Yes I can, that’s what this pass is for – and if you show me where to go. :)
It took forever, involved a whole bunch of people and so finally I was escorted through a private steel elevator by two security guys on segways – one in front of me and one behind me (in case I would try to…run away??). Through doors and more security – I was finally let in to the backstage area and they went to go find Gus. I was so incredibly happy and relieved when I finally saw him – a familiar, friendly face in a far away land. :D
After watching the Korean superstar Psy, we went to the dressing room (Blasko, Tommy Clufetos, Billy Morrison, Adam Wakeman, Gus and me) and just sat there, talking while Gus was warming up. Ozzy was on his way and it was a little bit as if the president was coming, the crew very anxious to make sure he would be pleased with everything.
But Ozzy is a simple guy. :) Instead of sitting alone in his own dressing room, he suddenly showed up in the doorway of the band’s dressing room with this HUGE boyish smile that we all know and love, and immediately cracked a joke that had everybody laughing.
I was sitting on this 2-seat couch and he just crashed right beside me, going “You’re Gus’ manager, right?” I tried to explain that I was just a friend but he was already on the next subject (I’m smiling even as I’m writing this right now).
It was totally relaxed and simple. It didn’t really dawn on me until afterwards, that I was sitting backstage in Korea (of all places!) with Ozzy and his band, being the only guest there. I never expected that, cause I was there to see Gus.
People pay big bucks for those meet & greets with Ozzy, so I had ruled out the possibility of bumping into Ozzy at all.
The smile-factor was simply that it was so normal and so “every day-ish”. No big deal, no cameras, autographs, selfies, people running around adoring anyone. Just a bunch of people relaxing, cracking jokes. You can never plan that, when it happens it happens. And I cherish those moments more than anything.
Lost Forever (Part III – last chapter)
I took the airboat from Malmo to Copenhagen early that Saturday – October 21, 1995.
It was rather cloudy but not too cold. I couldn’t really afford the trip over, cause I was pretty much broke, which I usually am a few days before I get my salary (in Sweden, it’s normally on the 25th each month), but I had to go.
The hotel wasn’t far from the dock, so I walked there, passing Nyhavn with all the coffeehouses, there were plenty of people out that day.
I felt really small when I walked through the hotel entrance, it was one of those fancy first class hotels where everything was huge and you really feel like you don’t belong there.
I had told Tony when I would be at the hotel, approximately, so I sat in one of the two chairs right across from the elevator.
Back in those days, there were no cellphones. Most of us didn’t have one anyway.
Tony Iommi and Geoff Nicholls walked out of one of the elevators and Tony smiled behind his sunglasses.
“Hello! Are you waiting for Tony? I think he’ll be down in a minute. Nice to see you! Will you be at the show tonight?”
So we went out for a stroll. He needed to find an exchange office and a new leather jacket. I knew Copenhagen very well, so my job was to be his guide. He changed some money, went to a few leather/fur shops but couldn’t find anything that he liked. We just kept walking down “Stroget”, which is like this pedestrian street in the heart of Copenhagen. We passed Tony Iommi and Geoff Nicholls a few times going in the opposite direction, waving and smiling.
When we got to HMV he wanted to go and check if they had the latest Black Sabbath albums, but he didn’t want to be recognized. So he put on his sunglasses. Errrmmmm… NOBODY walks around with sunglasses on a cloudy October afternoon here in Scandinavia. So I told him he might blend in better if he ditched the sunglasses. He did. :-)
They had the latest album, which was “Forbidden” at the time, and he was pleased to see that.
I went to check if they had his solo-album, “Back Where I Belong” but they didn’t. He said that not even he had a copy of it. When he first recorded it, he got a few promo-copies from the record company, which he gave to friends and fans, thinking he would get more later. But when he re-joined Sabbath, the solo-album was suspended by the record company so it was only released in very few copies and never reprinted. A rarity, in other words. I found it shortly thereafter, but not even Tony himself had it, unless he found it later, I don’t know.
He wanted to find a place to get something to eat, and we walked away from the main pedestrian street and into one of the smaller streets where he spotted an Italian restaurant in this old-fashioned building. The restaurant was down in the cellar and so we went inside.
I suddenly realized that I had no money and discreetly made a quick inventory of the contents in my wallet. I could maybe afford the cheapest pasta and the absolutely cheapest wine they had. So I ordered that.
When I got my wine I took a sip and it tasted horrible! It was like vinegar, definitely one of those “you get what you pay for”-kind of wines. If you were trying to get a cheap buzz, it would do, but if you actually wanted to enjoy your wine, it was NOT what you would want to order. Tony immediately noticed my expression, I suppose I wasn’t good at hiding my spontaneous reaction. He asked if the wine was okay. I just said that suuuure, it was no problem, but I failed to convince him
Next thing I know, he’s waving for the waitress and I hear him go:
– The lady doesn’t like her wine. Do you have anything else?
I thought to myself “nooo!” because I knew that there was nothing on that list that I could afford. But of course I didn’t want to say that. I said that water would be better, so if they could bring me a glass of ice-water, it was all good. Phew, got out of THAT embarrassing situation quickly.
We were talking and enjoying the food, was really nice. At some point, I don’t remember what had been said before that, but I think he asked me what some of my favorite Sabbath-songs were and i mentioned a few from Eternal Idol.
He started singing the first lines of the title track “Eternal Idol”:
No one said it had to be this way
Why are we the victims of their final word Dying world is killing us so slowly
I believe no god may save us now
I could have sworn I had died and gone to heaven. There I was, in an Italian restaurant with one of my absolute favorite vocalists of all time, and he was singing for me. My god, that’s one of those things that you just don’t experience every day.
I don’t know how long we were sitting there, but it was a very relaxed and nice dinner that I can remember as clearly as if it happened yesterday. When the waitress brought the bill, I took out my wallet and Tony looked at me with this wondering expression on his face.
– Put that away, I’ll take care of this! he said.
That never even crossed my mind. In Sweden, we are so used to that everyone pays for their own food/drinks, unless it’s a date, and I wouldn’t exactly consider this a date. We were just hungry after all the walking.
I showed him the way back to the hotel and said I would see them all later. I had my backstage passes, tickets and everything, so I was all set.
I saw a bunch of shows on that tour, a little here and there. The one in Stockholm was interesting because I remember calling in sick that day – from the hotel! Thank god they couldn’t see where you were calling from back in 1995. So there I was in my fancy hotel room at Sheraton in Stockholm, calling the office saying I had the flu. I don’t like lying but people just don’t understand this obsession for music. I don’t expect them to either, so I just do what I need to do.
Skid Row and Black Sabbath were playing two days in a row, which was perfect cause I knew both bands. The Skids were good friends of mine, and they wanted to meet Sabbath. So I introduced them to eachother down in the bar later that evening, after the Skids had finished their show at Gino’s. I think it was Scotti, Rachel and Snake saying hi to Bobby Rondinelli, Geoff Nicholls and one more of the Sabbath guys that I honestly can’t remember anymore. If it was one of the Tony’s or Neil Murray, I wouldn’t know.
Neil (Murray) was the one who kept me company that first day in Stockholm. He came downstairs pretty early in the afternoon. Tony (Martin) was meeting with someone he knew in Stockholm so I knew I wouldn’t be seeing him that day. But Neil joined me and talked for a while. I really liked him. Such a kind, quiet, and nice man. To this day, I still try to get together with him when he visits Sweden. The last time was last year I think, when he was here with the Queen-musical.
Kept texting back and forth all day to try set up a when and where and he finally found me in the lobby of the concert arena. I’m so glad to see him every time. Definitely one of those people I like very much.
So yeah that was one of the Black Sabbath shows. The other one was in London, it was bizarre. We went to the backstage door, when suddenly – ANOTHER very familiar face showed up in that narrow alley! Bill Wyman from Rolling Stones walked out the backdoor of the club next door. How’s that for a surprise. :)
This was the last show on the Black Sabbath 1995 European tour, and they all went home to their families srtaight after the show. The only one that had a hotel to go to was Bobby Rondinelli, so me and my two friends helped him carry his drums to his room. Then we all sat down in the bar chatting until late. But I never got to say anything to Tony that evening.
I left Sweden in 1996 to go live in Albany, New York and this is when the internet first started making an entrance in people’s homes. The family I was staying with had a PC with an 11-modem that took forever to get online, but it was perfect for emailing.
There weren’t that many graphics on the internet back in those days anyway. And there were no social network sites such as MySpace and Facebook and all those things. The only “social network” you had was through discussion groups that you joined, and then you got regular e-mails with the latest additions from us members.
And there were guestbooks. That was the closest you would get to a chatroom.
So anyway, I was in touch with Tony through e-mail during 1996 and with the help of a few guys who were also big fans of his, we set up a Tony Martin page where fans could communicate and ask him questions. He didn’t want to post directly cause that would disclose his email-address, which he wasn’t comfortable with, so he sent his answers to his fans through me.
That year I was the link between Tony Martin and his fans. He was no longer in Black Sabbath by the way, kicked out for the second time.
Now he was focusing on his solo-stuff.
I LOVED what he did with Misha Calvin for instance. One of the best CD’s in my collection!! Fantastic vocals…:
Tony was the best singer in the business back in those days, I used to listen to this Misha Calvin-CD over and over again in the car for months!
Fast forwarding to 1997. I came back to Sweden in June that year and the first thing I did was go buy a new Mac. It was a cool BLACK Mac with a 36-modem with was super-fast for those days. :) My friend Ozzie tought me how to use html-editor Dreamweaver, how to scan pics and how to upload a website.
I started experimenting with my own page, which has kind of gone classic by now. So many people AND artists have visited it since it was launched. I think it’s butt ugly and embarrassing today, but I can’t take it down beause the provider that hosted the page, doesn’t exist anymore. So – I can’t access those files and delete them. Guess I just have to live with them.
However I put a lot of time and effort on Tony’s page. That was his way of promoting his solo-career and he sent a bunch of exclusive material, private photos that nobody had ever seen, an extensive bio, music…
For the premiere of the opening of his page, he sent a cassette from his sessions with Italian super-guitarist Aldo Giuntini and it kicked ass! My job was to review it, so that the fans could get an idea of what he was doing and of course get them curious to get his solo-material. He called a few times to discuss the page, I even have one of the messages he left on the answering machine saved somewhere. I’m saving everything, I just wish I knew where the hell I keep all this stuff! :))
It went well, the page was up there, fans loved it. But… Two stubborn people with very particular ideas of what they want to do, didn’t work out that well in the long run. Tony and I got pissed off at eachother – I got mad at him for something I don’t even remember anymore, he thought whatever he thought about me (still have the very sarcastic letter that he sent, here somewhere, but I’m not posting that, feels like a private dispute that isn’t for the public eye anyway). And that was the end of it.
I couldn’t even listen to his music for a long time after that. I was probably to blame for not being more flexible but these things teach you a lot. I’m not the same person that I was back then. You grow older and wiser, and those things would never have happened today.
I enjoyed the time I was in touch with Tony, it’s great reading all the mails that were sent back and forth during 1996, because it was between two friends. He would talk about everyday things – his kids, his wife, his life, and for a while I even forgot that he was the same guy whose voice I could listen to for hours. I certainly never thought of him as a Black Sabbath-member during that time. After a while you just forget those things, and the person becomes “just a person”, which is what we all really are.
I’m not mad anymore because I don’t remember the details of that fight anyway. And to this day I think his voice was a gift from God. What a voice! And what a waste of talent to not hear as much about his career anymore. I can only hope that he finds his way back to the masses. He deserves it.
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 