you and me

I met Alice Cooper today. And Burton Cummings.

Burton Cummings shared an elevator with me and a camera crew as we were heading up to meet Alice Cooper to do some interviews about his new album. He was friendly, asking us if we were heading to meet The Coop... they used to have the same management, and have known each other for 40 years and I'm sure this isn't the first time they've been routed through the same hotel over those years. I guess they're part of the 'icon' crew now, and since they've made it this far, all the trappings of the interviews and such that accompany the touring process are just PART of the process, and no longer a hindrance. At this point, I get the impression they've finally figured it out. They control it, manage it, do it, fufill it and get it done.

I should rephrase my beginnings here. I was actually bringing the camera crew up to the hotel room to do interviews, in my role as publicist... so it wasn't a surprise that I was there. It was scheduled, planned, and it was, in my life, what was happening on Monday afternoon as part of my job.

I've never been one to get stage fright. For the years that I spent in the theatre, I thought it was perhaps something that people just liked to talk about, building their little stories.... and like panic attacks, I couldn't believe that a mind could manifest physical symptoms and cause irritation in real people.

The only time I've ever gotten anxiety has been in this particular situation where I'm about to meet a rock n' roll legend whose legacy includes hits that were rocketing up the billboard charts before I was even a twinkle. I guess I'm just worried that an overtired manager would take a look at me, with my babyface and unobtrusive blonde locks, and blame anything that goes awry on my age and inexperience. Part of the worry lies in the artist feeling perhaps that a newbie has filled the role, that perhaps they are not being taken seriously in the industry. Of course, none of the above is ever the case. I've been doing this for a while now and have worked with people like Eric Burden (who I recall told stories about John Lennon re-meeting his father in a London bar one day and calling him a cunt) and Rob Halford (who after a day of exhausting interviews had a lovely chat about how much he loved holidaying in Blackpool near where my grandma lives.) I've also worked with the tiniest up and coming developing artists, Canadians, Europeans, DJs and more. I've spent the day with Margaret Atwood (I bought her a frutopia once and watched as the band I was working with taught her how to play the theremin) and taken actor Adam Beach through crowds of Aboriginal drum circles at the annual pow wow in Toronto.

So, really, I have no reason to get nervous. I know what I'm doing. Yet I do. And I think it's been made worse recently by the awkward work from home situation. Going to the office these days is about rolling downstairs, grinding my beans from ideal coffee, putting a pot on, gathering the three newspapers from outside my door, and then turning on the laptop in the living room. There's no watercooler, just me, my stereo (which today included a seeqpod playlist of hits from all of Alice Cooper's albums), and sometimes, visits from couriers and my superintendant.

This is what the music industry is these days. We are self-directed ships who promote, build, coordinate and talk. Some of us talk to whole countries and continents setting up tours, sending images, pitching ideas and updating our media lists about the latest about our many levels and genres of artists.

So, Monday for me was this scenario. The first real person I engaged with was actually the valet at the hotel, then the front desk clerk, then Alice Cooper's manager, a camera crew, and then Alice himself.

After an hour of interviews, we were done for the day. And I went home, to my home... uh, office. And didn't hang out at my watercooler, just continued to confirm interviews, and changed the laundry from the washer to the dryer.

Here's a little overview sampler of Alice Cooper for you... the current album, Along Came a Spider is his 25th!! He's put out records over 5 decades. He's been sober for 26 years and married for 32. His wife and daughter are both in his stage show and his current tour is his biggest Canadian tour he's ever done. He loves golf and has played with Tiger Woods. Reflected, the first track here, came out on his very first album and was rerecorded on a later album as Elected. School's Out and 18 are some of the most well known songs of his career. Frank Sinatra covered the last track on this list.... not necessarily what you think a guy who coined the term shock rock would release, but is one of the reasons he's a true artist deserving of his success. Versatility will get you everywhere.


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