Of all the episodes of meeting Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones � 22 altogether � our time spent with Jimmy Page in Kansas City, Mo. on June 6, 1998 was the culmination of a week�s worth of planning and persistence. Although our first brush with Jimmy consisted of a private meeting in his personal dressing room backstage before the Hartford �95 show, it was a similar intimate setting three later that in my opinion trumps the 11 meetings with Robert, the eight with J.P.J. and the other two with Jimmy we�ve had over the years. Although, spending an hour in the bar with Robert in Oklahoma City just a week ago as I write this is a very close second.
Like the success we had in �95, it all came down to dealing with Jimmy�s personal assistant, Mark �Rangi� Williamson. This time, it resulted in a private meeting with Jimmy in his hotel suite at the Westin Hotel in Kansas City.
We were lucky in the sense that the road crew and management on the Walking into Clarksdale tour were almost identical to that of the No Quarter tour. Knowing who Rangi was, and that he was essentially Jimmy�s very protective keeper, we knew he held the key that allowed us access to Jimmy.
After being kicked out from backstage by assistant tour manager Richard Davies and the security staff at the Birmingham Civic Center, we figured any future chances we had of getting backstage to meet the band had disappeared. It was time to think of a new plan and head in a new, more mature direction.
After the show in Birmingham, we headed to Nashville, site of the next gig. We didn�t even attempt to get backstage and decided to just enjoy the show without the extracurricular stress that usually accompanied our alternative agendas. The morning after the gig, we drove around the city in search of the hotel the boys were staying at. Relatively close to the Nashville Arena where they had played the prior evening stood the Renaissance Hotel. A few tour busses outside tipped us off and we entered the lobby.
A dozen or so fans clutching Led Zeppelin albums and tour programs were milling about the lobby so we figured we had the right place. Mike and I took a seat on some chairs near the elevator figuring if Jimmy or Robert were here, coming or going, they�d have to pass us.
As we waited, we noticed a man sitting to our left holding some Zeppelin memorabilia. We politely struck up a conversation with him and learned that his name was Brett Burns. He was the son of Bert Burns.
Now for the history lesson�Bert Burns was a noteworthy record producer in the 60�s who had either written or produced some famous songs including Twist and Shout, Baby Please Don�t Go and Brown-Eyed Girl. In fact, the outtake on Led Zeppelin�s second boxed set released in 1993 titled Baby Come on Home is subtitled A Tribute to Bert Burns.
And there we were, sitting with Bert Burns� son Brett. Brett was waiting to re-introduce himself to Jimmy. 20-odd years ago - when Bert was a toddler � he often times stayed at Jimmy�s house with his father.
The three of us sat and waited. Now to set the stage for our complicated plan, Mike was working on his master�s degree in Ethnomusicology at Arizona State University. That is the study of ethnic influences on the music of other cultures. For his thesis, he wanted to write about the eastern and Arabic influences in western pop music including the music of Led Zeppelin. With the 1972 Bombay sessions, Jimmy�s notable work with sitar master Ravi Shankar, the obvious eastern influences in Plant�s solo projects, and the �95 Unledded/No Quarter endeavor, there was a good bit to reference on Led Zeppelin�s catalog alone.
Quotes from Jimmy and Robert for Mike to use in his thesis would obviously lend a sense of legitimacy to the project, so our goal was to ask Jimmy and Robert for 15-20 minutes of their time for a one-on-one interview in support of the thesis. We figured this was a long shot given their busy schedule and long list of press obligations and interviews with more reputable interviewers, but the only way to ensure failure was to not even try�
As Rangi attended to business at the front desk, Bert snapped a photo of Mike and I with Jimmy. Mike then told him about the master�s thesis and his desire to interview him for the project. Jimmy seemed interested so we mentioned that we would be seeing the next four shows and would be available to conduct the interview anytime in the next week or so. He told us to talk to Rangi about it.
We politely agreed and explained to him a little more about what we intended to achieve.
�Well, we might be able to find the time. Will you be in Kansas City?� he asked.
We told him we�d be seeing Oklahoma City, Kansas City, St. Louis and Indianapolis yet before heading home.
�We�re staying at the Westin in Kansas City,� Rangi told us. �Why don�t you give me your phone number and I can call you after I speak to Jimmy about it.�
We gave Rangi my cell phone number and hoped that he was being serious and not just blowing us off. The entourage was traveling to Oklahoma City that afternoon for a gig the next evening and then had an off day which they were spending in Kansas City. So logistically and theoretically a meeting in Kansas City seemed to be the best for Jimmy. That sort of planning told us that Rangi just might be serious. Also, we remembered back to our meeting with Rangi backstage in Hartford who made good on a promise then, giving us a few minutes with Jimmy in his dressing room.
Still wanting to meet Robert, we were feeling confident and decided to hang around a little longer. Later that afternoon, Robert made an appearance in the lobby and we managed to each get a couple of autographs and snap a photo with him.
On the ensuing 670 mile drive from Nashville to Oklahoma City we couldn�t contain ourselves. We were fraught with excitement while contemplating the possibility that lay ahead.
A rather uneventful day in Oklahoma City followed, mostly because we were blown from the long commute. Immediately after another fantastic show, this time sitting one row in front of the soundboard, we left for Kansas City not wanting to lose any time.
It was early afternoon on their off-day, so we thought they must be out and about, shopping, sightseeing, checking out the venue, etc... They could have been doing any number of things. Figuring if we waited long enough we�d catch them either coming or going, we took a couple of seats in the lobby and began our now customary waiting game.
Par for the course, Robert appeared, his hair tied back and a backpack slung over his shoulder with a tennis racket sticking out, he was off to workout with Richard Davies. I quickly grabbed my Walking into Clarksdale C.D. cover and the photo of him from Nashville.
A little flustered given the quick turn of events, we approached Robert and asked him for a couple of autographs.
Tipped off by the tennis racket, I asked �Going to play tennis?�
�No, I�m going to macram� class,� Robert responded sarcastically.
Since the photo from Nashville sucked, we asked him if we could have another and he graciously obliged us. This time smiling, Robert gave the photographer a thumbs-up as the picture was snapped.
Thinking that a hotel staffer noticed the unattended bag and turned it in to lost and found, we went to the front desk to inquire. The receptionist made a few calls, but nothing had been turned in. I was pissed.
Since the hotel was on a busy street and attached to a shopping mall and movie theater, there was no way we were going to find the culprit. Ten minutes had elapsed since I left my bag unattended and it was likely long gone. But before I deemed it a total loss, I convinced Mike to help me look for someone carrying a blue computer bag with a �USA Triathlon� logo on it. Surely it was the only one of its kind in the vicinity.
We headed into the mall, Mike went up the escalator and I covered the ground floor. As we walked from one end to the other, carefully looking at what each and every person was carrying, we about gave up thinking our efforts were futile. We had made it to the far end of the mall and there was place to go but outside.
As Mike looked down from above, I walked outside. In disbelief, I immediately saw a man with my bag slung around his shoulder walking towards a bus stop about a half block away. Fueled by rage and adrenaline, I headed towards the bus stop to reclaim my belongings. By the time I got to him, he had taken a seat next to a few other people inside one of those small glass bus shelters.
The strap still around his shoulder and the bag on his lap, I walked into the bus shelter and ripped it from his hands, punching him in the chest as I grabbed it and called him an asshole. The other patrons looked on in disbelief as the thief was stunned. Not wanting to wait around to get my ass kicked, I ran back inside the mall with my bag and all of its contents. Score one for the good guys.
It was now the day of the show. Tired of waiting and wanting to take our minds off something that was no longer in our control we went and caught the movie Deep Impact at the movie theater that was attached to the Westin.
Rangi asked us if we knew where the Westin was. We responded by telling him that we were actually in the hotel.
He informed us that they were heading out to the sound check at 4:00pm and that Jimmy would give us 15 minutes after he had returned if that worked for us. Indeed, it did.
Shortly before 4:00pm we headed to the lobby and sat down. Sure enough, 4:00 came and Robert and Jimmy appeared in the lobby, got in their van and headed off to the Kemper Arena for a sound check.
A little after 5:15pm, the vans returned to the hotel. Rangi and Jimmy walked in the doors and headed towards the elevator. A few fans crowded Jimmy, but Mike and I kept our distance. Rangi saw us and then approached us.
�Room 1315 in five minutes,� he whispered softly.
We were in. It was a done deal. This was really going to happen.
A few minutes later, Mike and I got in the elevator and headed up to the top floor. We made our way to Jimmy�s room and gently knocked on the door. Rangi answered and asked us to come in and take a seat.
We sat on the living room couch and Rangi said that Jimmy would be out in a moment. Notepads and tape recorder at the ready, Jimmy emerged from his bedroom, hair mussed looking like he had just awoken from a nap. He shook our hands as he greeted us and took a seat on a chair across from the couch Mike and I were sitting on.
Mike explained the reason for his interview and asked permission to record it. Jimmy obliged us and Mike began. Jimmy�s elaborate answers allowed Mike to ask only three or four questions before our time was up.
Rangi interrupted and thanked us for coming.
As we stood up, we took out our photos from Nashville and Jimmy scribbled them with �best wishes, Jimmy Page�, personalizing both of them.
Our 15 minutes of Jimmy Page�s fame had expired. We thanked him and Rangi and exited his suite.
To this day, almost seven years later, I still can�t believe we pulled that off. Jimmy is traditionally a hard man to meet � very shy and reserved in public. And now, we had spent a total of 20 minutes with him � five in his dressing room backstage in Hartford and 15 in his hotel suite. Both times, the only people in the room were me, Mike, Rangi and Jimmy Page.
I wonder what lies ahead.
Thanks for Reading,
-A.L./M.T.
