I've been fortunate to have met Mike many times. We've been e-mailing since 1995 and I consider him a friend. I'm a HUGE fan of his and it's always a thrill when we get together! He's been very generous towards me and my wife over the years and I will forever be grateful for everything he's done for us.
Picture 1 - Mike Zeck, me (Toronto, August 24th 1996)
Picture 2 - Mike Zeck, me (Connecticut, September 21st 2001)
KISS came to Montreal for their official Convention tour in 1995. What a rush! They are one of the biggest influences in my life. It was a very full day that started at noon and ended at midnight. We were treated to a KISS museum, videos, contests... everything KISS! They had original costumes from the 70s on display. Being a graphic designer, I really enjoyed the original artwork for the Unmasked album as well as the painting of the Love Gun cover and the comic book art. At 4pm, a tribute band called Alive! came out in the 1975 costumes and gave us a hell of a show. I was sitting a few feet from the stage and felt like I was back in the 70s. I was only a kid when I first started listening to KISS, so I never had the chance to see the original band live (until the reunion tour in 1996). At 6pm, the band came out for a Q&A session that was awesome. We could ask any question we wanted.
About an hour later, they picked up their instruments and treated us to all the classics... unplugged! We could shout out song titles and they would try to play them. After about 2 hours of that, the autograph session started. Paul Stanley and Bruce Kulick were paired off on one side of the room while Gene Simmons and Eric Singer were on the other side. They were all standing behind road cases and had a bodyguard present at all times. I met Paul and Bruce first... I was so nervous that I forgot to shake their hands! Paul asked me if I had enjoyed the day. He was very friendly and chuckled when I pulled out a reprint copy of the 1970s KISS comic book for him to sign. I didn't talk to Bruce because I didn't know what to say (what a doofus I am). Next, my friend and I went over to Gene and Eric's side. By the time we got to meet them, it was almost midnight. Gene was very cool... he shook my hand while saying in french "Hi there! How are you? Doing well?". I also shook Eric's hand and told him how much I liked his playing. My friend and I left VERY tired but also VERY happy. The 2 hour drive home seemed very short as we talked about all the stuff we saw and did that day.
Picture 1 - Me, Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick (signing my comic book)
Picture 2 - Spiro breathing fire like Gene during Alive!'s set.
Picture 3 - KISS playing unplugged at the Château Champlain in Montréal
I got to meet one of my all-time favorite bands on a fluke. I found out a few days before their concert on November 25th that they were doing an in-store appearance on the 24th. I got to Freeson Rock about one hour early. I hung out in the store, looking at all the great CDs they had for sale when, for some reason, I felt I had to turn around. Tuomas walked in and gave me a nod as he was going into the back room. Right behind him was Tarja who gave me one of the most beautiful smiles I had ever seen! About 10 minutes later, Tarja, Tuomas and Emppu came out to a crowd of about 60 people. They were seated at a table and we were asked to form a line to get our stuff autographed. About 30 minutes later, Jukka and Sami finally came in and joined the fun (they were at the movies watching The Grinch!). After that was a short Q&A where we could also win some prizes. The evening ended with the band posing for pictures with us and some chatting. I was amazed at how easy it was to walk up to them and strike up a conversation. It's a night I will always remember.
Picture 1 - Emppu Vuorinen, TarjaTurunen, me, Tuomas Holopainen (I'm holding Tarja's waist... she's quite a tiny woman!)
Picture 2 - Emppu Vuorinen, TarjaTurunen
Picture 3 - Jukka Nevalainen, Sami Vänskä (signing autographs)
Picture 4 - TarjaTurunen, Tuomas Holopainen, Jukka Nevalainen (enjoying some canadian beer)
Picture 5 - Jukka Nevalainen, Sami Vänskä
Picture 7 - TarjaTurunen, Tuomas Holopainen, Jukka Nevalainen, Sami Vänskä
Another one of my all-time favorite bands. This was a bunch of chance encounters that made for an awesome day. Myself and 4 other friends went early to the concert venue because it was beautiful day. We were standing in line in the late afternoon when my friend Steven said "I'm gonna go to the back of the building and take a picture of their tour bus". He comes back and says that he saw Gian talking to some people. We were all freaking out when one of my pals said "You're bilingual, go back there and get some pics!". Steven and I went back there... Gian was gone but Adrian was signing autographs. I mustered up all the courage I had, walked up to him while he was finishing up and asked if we could take some pictures. He said "Of course, mate"... what you will see below are those 2 pics. I asked him how the tour was going and shook his hand. He was very cool even though he seemed to be a little rushed.
Later, Steven and I broke away from the crowd for about 20 minutes to grab a quick dinner. When we came back, we heard that Gian was outside again talking to some people in line. We were bummed! Once we got inside, we rushed to find a table. Once we got situated, I went to the t-shirt stand to check out the loot. The hall was still pretty empty so I was not surprised to find Sarah Jezebel at the t-shirt stand talking to a roadie. Again, I mustered up the courage to walk up to her and ask how she was doing. We ended up talking for about 10 minutes, which I thought was very cool. She told me about the tour and how they were looking forward for it to end. I shook her hand and wished her luck for the rest of the tour... she left immediatly because a crowd was starting to form around us.
Later, while one of the local opening bands was playing (Kralizec), I felt a presence on my left. I turned and saw Martin standing behind my friend! He was checking out the concert. Someone came up with a camera and snapped a quick picture. Martin left right away because he was drawing too much attention.
It was amazing to me that I saw half of the band just wandering around the venue. These guys are the top black metal band and they still mingle. I noticed that all the fans were respectful and were not mugging them. I think it's in the culture of french canadians to be like that which I think is very appreciated by the celebrities.
Picture 1 - Me, Adrian Erlandsson
Picture 2 - Steven, Adrian Erlandsson
