My review of the Globalfreak get together Aug 10, 11, & 12

I'm very happy to say that this get-together was a big success! And I'm proud of my fellow well-behaved potamuses from all over the planet... nobody broke anything or stole anything or made a big scene...HQ was left completely in tact (as far as I know at least). I knew nothing like that would happen cuz most of us fans are completely harmless, but I'm sure Blackie (Anthony's father) was a little nervous about having all of us there at once. I was also a little surprised at first that Blacks actually agreed to have the big get-together cuz he's probably had more than enough of us through email and regular mail!..He has about 9,000 and more members so you can imagine! But our Head Honcho came through for us and together we all made it work. He's a sweetie and very cool! I can see where Anthony gets his devilish charisma from :) When I arrived at the hotel the first day I saw a few Rockinfreaks hanging around as I went to my room. I was with my parents (they came too but did their own thing while I was with the fanclub) in their room and the phone rang and it was Blackie! I went back up to my room. Blackie came up to the room with Stefanie, Elfi, Desiree, and his son James and I was so delighted to finally be seeing them in person! I had met Stefanie earlier in the week at the airport. We decided to switch rooms with my parents and got settled. We were hungry so we gathered a few more members lurking around the hotel and went to eat. Then we went to some shops with funky clothes and wigs and psychedelic things that were really cool..I would have bought something if I had money! When we came back we hung out in the hotel room for a while then went downstairs for the 6pm meeting and everyone gathered and introduced themselves. Then Stefanie and I helped Blackie hand out laminates, packets, a picture of the Chili Peppers taken when Blackie was in L.A. a couple weeks before the get-together, and autographed pictures of Anthony in his car that he was so gracious to sign for all of us. Then we changed clothes and headed to TGI Friday's for dinner (table for 40 or more) and had some good food and laughs. We made a toast to Blackie for being the best dog-gone Head Honcho any fanclub ever had for doing the get-together with us :) After that the group split up, the over 21s going to trendy club 1894 and us under 21s going to another club with Blackie where they had live bands. That was pretty cool and it probably would have been even better if I could keep my eyes open I was so tired! The next morning we got on a bus and in a couple cars and headed out on a tour of historical Anthony Kiedis sights. Anthony's dear old mom Peggy is a very loving and sweet women-We stopped by her house on the tour. She has a lovely golden retriever and an adorable cat. She has a bunch of pictures and framed albums on her walls and lots of pictures on her refrigerator. She also has an MTV award and 2 moon men on her staircase! His mom was such a doll she made us cookies and calls her son her "Little Tony Boy"...Awwwww...hehe :) It was cool to ride in the big tour bus and see where Anthony grew up and the houses he used to live in. Even though I've never met him, reading his lyrics and understanding them fully I've always felt close to "Tony" somehow, like I know where he's coming from. Now after Globalfreakapotamus, I feel a stronger connection to him. I've always known this, but the tour reminded me that Anthony is "just like me, a human being". We stopped by his sister Julie's house, too, who has a bundle of joy on the way real soon and lives on a beautiful lake in a house that Anthony bought. I hear her adorable son Jackson Diego has a special bond with his uncle Tony :) The last stop- Fanclub Headquarters- was absolutely awsome!! There are bazillions of pictures of people and framed albums and movie posters on the wall...and a couple moon men and mtv awards...I died and went to Chili heaven. There's a nice lake in back. HQ housed a couple adorable puppies, the little Chihauha "Dirt", and the big dog Howlin Wolf. Blackie's lovely friend Chanda (who reminds me of my sister) and her friends made some snacks for us to munch on. We hung out there, took lots of pictures, watched a video of the wolves and a video of John's solo show at the Roxy last March (which I was at and was delighted to see). We also had a Chili Pepper trivia contest- it had some hard questions, but somebody could always answer something someone else didn't know. It also showed that being a fan isn't all about knowing every single little thing about the band (like what kind and color car does Chad drive? What was Anthony's first concert?), but it's more about enjoying the music the band has to offer with other fans. That night when we were back at the hotel we all assembled in room 204 and partied for a while, sharing stories of wining RHCP concert tickets and meeting the band members. It got really loud so Stef, Michelle, Desiree, Michelle T, her husband Morgan, and I went to our room and looked at some pictures I brought from Yugoslavia, some of the video Desiree shot, and talked and hung out. The next day we went to the SPCA and saw the beautiful wolves, deer, horses, goats, cats, the gorgeous statuesque big African cat, coyotes, dogs, and KITTENS that were in the garage that I couldn't get away from... I have 2 weaknesses- baby animals and and human babies. Once they come into my sight I am gone! Then we said our goodbyes and gave hugs and Stefanie and I (with my parents) headed to my place just outside of Chicago where we got pictures developed and ran around the city visiting various sites. All in all I had an awsome weekend and I know lots of us will be staying in touch for a long time to come. Maybe next get-together we can go visit where Flea or one of the other members grew up! Without the internet I don't think the get-together would've even happened or been such a success. Never before have I met a nicer, cooler group of music lovers full of love for each other and the band that brought us together. Thank you to all that were involved and came for their cooperation! You guys are wonderful!!!!!


	Fan Reviews \| home My review of the Globalfreak get together Aug 10, 11, & 12 \| My experience at John Frusciate's solo show at the Roxy 2001 \| Signe's Review of John's To Record Only Water \| Stevie's review of "Off the Map" DVD \| Secret London show ________________________________________________________________________ GLOBALFREAKAPOTAMUS 2001 August 10, 11, and 12, 2001 I'm very happy to say that this get-together was a big success! And I'm proud of my fellow well-behaved potamuses from all over the planet... nobody broke anything or stole anything or made a big scene...HQ was left completely in tact (as far as I know at least). I knew nothing like that would happen cuz most of us fans are completely harmless, but I'm sure Blackie (Anthony's father) was a little nervous about having all of us there at once. I was also a little surprised at first that Blacks actually agreed to have the big get-together cuz he's probably had more than enough of us through email and regular mail!..He has about 9,000 and more members so you can imagine! But our Head Honcho came through for us and together we all made it work. He's a sweetie and very cool! I can see where Anthony gets his devilish charisma from :) When I arrived at the hotel the first day I saw a few Rockinfreaks hanging around as I went to my room. I was with my parents (they came too but did their own thing while I was with the fanclub) in their room and the phone rang and it was Blackie! I went back up to my room. Blackie came up to the room with Stefanie, Elfi, Desiree, and his son James and I was so delighted to finally be seeing them in person! I had met Stefanie earlier in the week at the airport. We decided to switch rooms with my parents and got settled. We were hungry so we gathered a few more members lurking around the hotel and went to eat. Then we went to some shops with funky clothes and wigs and psychedelic things that were really cool..I would have bought something if I had money! When we came back we hung out in the hotel room for a while then went downstairs for the 6pm meeting and everyone gathered and introduced themselves. Then Stefanie and I helped Blackie hand out laminates, packets, a picture of the Chili Peppers taken when Blackie was in L.A. a couple weeks before the get-together, and autographed pictures of Anthony in his car that he was so gracious to sign for all of us. Then we changed clothes and headed to TGI Friday's for dinner (table for 40 or more) and had some good food and laughs. We made a toast to Blackie for being the best dog-gone Head Honcho any fanclub ever had for doing the get-together with us :) After that the group split up, the over 21s going to trendy club 1894 and us under 21s going to another club with Blackie where they had live bands. That was pretty cool and it probably would have been even better if I could keep my eyes open I was so tired! The next morning we got on a bus and in a couple cars and headed out on a tour of historical Anthony Kiedis sights. Anthony's dear old mom Peggy is a very loving and sweet women-We stopped by her house on the tour. She has a lovely golden retriever and an adorable cat. She has a bunch of pictures and framed albums on her walls and lots of pictures on her refrigerator. She also has an MTV award and 2 moon men on her staircase! His mom was such a doll she made us cookies and calls her son her "Little Tony Boy"...Awwwww...hehe :) It was cool to ride in the big tour bus and see where Anthony grew up and the houses he used to live in. Even though I've never met him, reading his lyrics and understanding them fully I've always felt close to "Tony" somehow, like I know where he's coming from. Now after Globalfreakapotamus, I feel a stronger connection to him. I've always known this, but the tour reminded me that Anthony is "just like me, a human being". We stopped by his sister Julie's house, too, who has a bundle of joy on the way real soon and lives on a beautiful lake in a house that Anthony bought. I hear her adorable son Jackson Diego has a special bond with his uncle Tony :) The last stop- Fanclub Headquarters- was absolutely awsome!! There are bazillions of pictures of people and framed albums and movie posters on the wall...and a couple moon men and mtv awards...I died and went to Chili heaven. There's a nice lake in back. HQ housed a couple adorable puppies, the little Chihauha "Dirt", and the big dog Howlin Wolf. Blackie's lovely friend Chanda (who reminds me of my sister) and her friends made some snacks for us to munch on. We hung out there, took lots of pictures, watched a video of the wolves and a video of John's solo show at the Roxy last March (which I was at and was delighted to see). We also had a Chili Pepper trivia contest- it had some hard questions, but somebody could always answer something someone else didn't know. It also showed that being a fan isn't all about knowing every single little thing about the band (like what kind and color car does Chad drive? What was Anthony's first concert?), but it's more about enjoying the music the band has to offer with other fans. That night when we were back at the hotel we all assembled in room 204 and partied for a while, sharing stories of wining RHCP concert tickets and meeting the band members. It got really loud so Stef, Michelle, Desiree, Michelle T, her husband Morgan, and I went to our room and looked at some pictures I brought from Yugoslavia, some of the video Desiree shot, and talked and hung out. The next day we went to the SPCA and saw the beautiful wolves, deer, horses, goats, cats, the gorgeous statuesque big African cat, coyotes, dogs, and KITTENS that were in the garage that I couldn't get away from... I have 2 weaknesses- baby animals and and human babies. Once they come into my sight I am gone! Then we said our goodbyes and gave hugs and Stefanie and I (with my parents) headed to my place just outside of Chicago where we got pictures developed and ran around the city visiting various sites. All in all I had an awsome weekend and I know lots of us will be staying in touch for a long time to come. Maybe next get-together we can go visit where Flea or one of the other members grew up! Without the internet I don't think the get-together would've even happened or been such a success. Never before have I met a nicer, cooler group of music lovers full of love for each other and the band that brought us together. Thank you to all that were involved and came for their cooperation! You guys are wonderful!!!!! Maria#2942