| So I�m on my way to Orlando at 9am from Hollywood. I was so excited the entire way b/c I had no clue what was going to happen. When I stop for gas, I notice there is SMOKE coming out from under the hood. �Oh SHIT!� I jump out and ask for assistance, afraid as all hell that this would affect the concert in ANY WAY. But Mr. Citgo-man told me that when they changed my oil the last time (the day before), they didn�t put on the nylon washer to make the seal from the oil pan, so I was drippin� oil everywhere. (yeah, THANKS, asshole oil-changers) But he said, I'd be fine. And THAT�S all I needed to hear. So I get to the venue at around 11:45-12noon. I walk up to one of the entrances and I see Holly, I met her at St. Louis. She introduced me to her friends, who were all very cool. I was also waiting to meet up with Eric (Orlando-Guy). I chilled with Holly and her friends for a while before I decided to go back to the car and put on some make-up (b/c I looked like ASS) and get Tremonti�s Christmas Gift. You see, I figured if I couldn�t get backstage, I would throw that bad-boy on stage. I came back and �wrapped� up the gift. I then decided to check out the other entrance for other BB�ers. On my way there, I get a phone call (thank GOD for cell phones). Lo and behold, it is the guy that hooked me up at the West Palm Beach show. ( I intern for Creed�s major promoters.) �Hey, where are you?�, asks my friend..no, my BEST friend. HAHA! �I�m outside TD Waterhouse�, I reply. �ok, meet me outside the backstage area in 10 minutes� �ok, no prob� HOLY SHIT!!!!!! So I run back up the stairs where the girls are at, and grab my gift, say my �see you laters� and sprint my EXCITED ass to the backstage area. All these thoughts were going through my mind. I had no idea what to expect. So I called Eric and let him know that I wouldn�t QUITE be meeting him right then. But that we would meet up at the hotel around 2:45 so I could drop off my toy for the foundation. So I was walking backstage, looking at all the roadies going nuts pushing this here and that there. They all were looking at me like �umm..yeah..u REALLY belong here� My friend hooked me up with a production crew pass. Oh yeah, I was pooping all over myself inside. He looked at me and said �There you go. Don�t get into any trouble.� hehehe! So I asked him, �what are my limits? Like where can I go and can not go� He just shrugged �Go, find out� He directed me to where Catering was so I can get something to eat and drink. As I was walking down the hall, I run into Lejon (lead singer of Sevendust). He gives me a double-take like �hey, I know you�. (I met him at West Palm Beach). His hands were full with food. He actually sets one down to hug me and asks �hey! What are you doing here?� I say, �Here to catch the show, man...I intern for sfx� he says, �awesome! hey your office is right next to my dressing room, are you gonna be in there? b/c if you are, I'm gonna have to go in and bother you� I say, �ha! sure, that�s cool!� He hugs me again and is on his way to his dressing room. As I continue down the hallway, I KNOW this is the beginning of a WONDERFUL day. I go into the catering room and it had AWESOME food. YUM YUM! But since my nerves were going nuts, I just had an orange juice. haha! But the food SMELLED awesome. With my cup o� juice in hand, I start wandering the maze that is backstage. No sign of Creed but there is Finger 11 and Sevendust members coming out from everywhere. As I pass by each of them, I wish them an awesome show. They all smile and say �thank you very much�. Walking down the hall, I see flyers that read... �Creed Dressing Rooms� �VIP rooms� oh yes. This is going to be a SPECTACULAR day. Roaming around, I find the one entrance onto the floor of the arena. It�s where the band is going to get coming out of when the concert begins. I walk out and just take in the beauty of the empty arena while I slurp on some oj. I watch the riggers doing their jobs at ridiculous heights. They were all very cool. I looked at �my� spot. In front of Tremonti�s mic. oh yeah. That will be mine. In the midst of my daydreams, I realize the time and set out to my car to get the toy and to the hotel. On my way out, SpeedyLittleMe and Matt_sterbator roll up. I tell them where they should park. And on my way to the car, Eric finally finds me. Kind of easy , considering the bright orange shirt on. (The same one from the pictures) We then walk together with my toy in hand to the hotel. There I find Mo love with her male-friend (sorry, I forgot his name). I also find TornHumanClay (very cool), Bahama & daughter (very cool also) and Saidybell, who is the president of the official Creed fan club in Puerto Rico. So you know, how cool *I* though that was. Me and Eric had something to eat while I chatted it up with TornHumanClay (I'm sorry, man.I can�t remember names). Then I realized .. �yo, what the HELL am I doing outside?? I should be INSIDE!� b/c soundcheck was about to start. So I say my good-byes and Eric walks me back to the arena. (VERY cool guy) So I walk back in and chill at the office for a little bit before I start wandering again. When all of a sudden... I hear a guitar being played. And i�m like �nahhhh..that�s probably just one of the techs tuning someone�s guitar� Suddenly... I hear the opening notes to �Torn� or �Faceless Man�... Only one person can play it like "that". I can�t remember b/c I almost frickin blacked out, I ran so fast to the arena opening, where I was before. Of course, I started WALKING right before I made the turn. Don�t want to seem like a FREAK. And as I walked up slowly.... there they were... Mark Tremonti, Brett Hestla and Scottie Philips. Just jammin� away. Brett was in a dark shirt and pants that had like �embroidery� stitches� on them. He has an awesome voice. Tremonti was in a gray Late Show (David Letterman) t-shirt and black jeans (of course) on. Scottie had no shirt on. (Sorry Jacki, no pics) Needless to say, I was very happy. So i�m chillin on the �sidelines� for a bit. I recognized Tremonti�s brothers. Dude, how can you NOT recognize Dan. Mark and Dan look a LOT a like. Dan is taller. I took like 2-3 pictures from the sidelines.(pics will be posted later when I get them developed) I wasn�t about to make an ass of myself and run up to their face. |