May 8, 1999
I rushed down front and grabbed a 5th row seat and settled in for what I hoped would be an incredible evening. If you happened to see the web cast of this, you'll know you didn't miss all that much really. The whole thing could have been tremendous had Bowie and Wayne Shorter got up to do Black Tie White Noise (which I kept praying for), but it was not to be. Instead, we got two hours of Bowie karaoke from the cast of Fame. Not to be unkind, but to listen to these Berklee students sing these songs with the man sitting right there (!) was, to say the least, frustrating. Some of the numbers were OK; BTWN, Fame, were good, but had he got up and sang even one number it would have been unbelievable.
The upside to all this was that as we were waiting for the show to begin, I turned around to see all these people with cameras in the aisle, as in came David and Iman, who took their seats five rows behind me! Boy, if there's a better looking couple on the planet, I haven't seen them. That was exciting, and I spent a good part of the show looking behind me. David was all smiles and seemed to really be enjoying himself. He was dressed sharply in a dark jacket, and looked great. They introduced him at one point, and he stood up to large applause from the capacity audience. Again, it was fun, but a disappointment that he didn't join in on stage.
After the show, I tried to get over to him for an autograph, but he was quickly led out the side door and despite hanging around afterward, it was apparent that Mr. Bowie had left the building. Oh well, there's always tomorrow for dreams to come true.
Finally the music began, and the procession of cloaked Berklee scholars marched down the aisle, and the dignitaries continued up to the stage, and then THERE HE IS - David Bowie in cap and gown, standing, and smiling and taking the whole thing in. I started filming on videocam and taking pictures at the same time (no easy feat).
The highlight of the proceedings was certainly David's speech, with his reference to "Rockers, Jazzers, Samplers" (alluding to a past video presentation about the student experience presented by two of the Berklee students). I believe the Berklee website has the complete text of his speech. He remarked comically on Reeves Gabrels ("I haven't forgotten that $900 I owe from my last semester"), spoke of Eno's calling himself a "non-musician", did a joke on "How does a tuba player answer the telephone? Hello, Domino's." He joked that any advice he gives to musicians usually ends with "If it itches, go and see a doctor." In all he was his usual witty charming self, flashing the occasional killer smile, and it was just really cool. His remarks on John Lennon were very heartfelt, as was his bit about how he still to this day will go and turn up the volume on the ending of a song so he can catch those last few notes. His continued love of music was the one theme he tried to get across.
A bit after Wayne Shorter's very moving speech, they presented Shorter and Bowie with their doctorate degrees, and there were photo opportunties. There was lots of press and cameras all vying for position. It was a pretty big deal, and very special. Then came the handing out of the diplomas, where the Berklee president, Shorter and several others handed each and every diploma down the line, as the 600+ graduating students marched up to get their diploma, plus a handshake and a smile, from The Man Who Sold the World himself.
I filmed part of this, and then decided I had to try again to get an autograph. I figured my best bet was to see him leaving the building. I knew David had to stay until the end of the ceremony at 1:00, so a bit after noon I went outside and saw the two black cars you could tell were on the call. I was told by someone that Iman had just left. So, along with the woman from England and the other guy, we hung around for over an hour, anxiously awaiting Dr. Bowie's exit, Sharpies and paraphernalia hopefully in hand.
Finally, around 1:20, I looked inside the doors, and saw a group of people coming out of the elevator. There was about 25' between the doors of the Hynes and the cars. And once again, in a sharp looking suit, there's Bowie, walking toward the doors with about 6 people surrounding him. I knew I would have to play it cool. I walked gently over and though they tried to block my way I got as close as I could without being obnoxious about it, and said, "Please David, just a quick signature" and handed him my graduation invitation and marker. He went out of his way to grab it, gave a quick "BO__99", handed it back to me and said "Here you go mate." YESSSS! I was so ecstatic. "Thank you Dr. Bowie!" Meanwhile, the woman from England and the other guy just stood back, and I wanted them to get an autograph so bad, after all this woman had flown from England, and the other guy was obviously a huge fan as well.
David walked along and I think stopped for one more autograph before getting into the car. I shouted "We love you David!" and off he went. I went home, proudly clutching my signed invitation, to watch the video which despite some jumpy moments came out great. All in all, a very exciting couple of days and a very unique opportunity. - David Emerson
