Like many real drummers and wannabe drummers (like me) from my generation and a little beyond, there were three great musical influences in my early life- John Bonham, Peter Criss and Ringo Star. Seeing them all in person was a far fetched dream for years…
I had it all planned out to go see Led Zeppelin in 1980. John Bonham was a larger than life legend, though he hid behind the huge personality of Robert Plant and the more spotlight oriented Jimmy Page. My plan was to visit my brother at SUNY Sttonybrook in Long Island and catch them at Nassau Coliseum. At just 15 years of age, I’m not sure exactly how I was going to do it, but I was pretty determined to see one of the greatest rock drummers in the world. Sadly, my plans and hopes were crushed when my first drum hero lost his life to the bottle. The band immediately dissolved along with my dream of seeing him. Led Zeppelin was done and the members went their separate ways.
Like most people, I have always loved The Beatles, but didn’t fully appreciate Ringo’s drumming until I was much older. A lefty playing right handed. He somehow led with his left hand on a right handed kit. Many drummers never sound quite right playing his parts because of this. I had always wanted to see him play in person and I clearly remember that beautiful summer day in June when I was driving away from the evil building that hosted divorce court. A solid year of nightmarish battles that almost put me out of commission, ended with me losing just about everything. Part of me was just happy it was over- little did I know, my court battles with my ex would go on for years…anyway, as I’m wallowing in my sorrow while temporarily escaping the clutches of the most corrupt court system in the country, I’m listening to the radio. Most likely WPDH. Ringo Star and his All Star Band are visiting Bethel Woods- the sight of the infamous 1969 Woodstock festival. The DJ announces that they are giving away tickets to the fifth caller. What the hell…I call in and the voice on the phone says, “Congratulations- you’re caller five. You win!” I win? After losing so much, I win. I ltold him I just got out of divorce court and lost almost everything, but maybe this is a sign that things are turning around! I’m going to see a Beatle! June 21, 2008- that is until the day of the show. While I was driving down 17B on my hour and a half trip, just a few miles before the hallowed grounds of Woodstock, I got a call from a friend telling me that he heard the show has been canceled. Yeah right I nervously chuckled. A couple of miles further, a large sign confirmed it. No show. No Ringo . Years later, my quest for Ringo continued when I bought tickets to try to see him again and Covid put an end to that plan. The show was canceled and rescheduled…and then canceled again. I eventually got to see him in New York City..finally, my first Beatle. A great show with Steve Lukather, Colin Haye and Greg Bissonette. I was happy, but little did I know what the future held.
The third of my first favorite drummers was Peter Criss. I had seen Kiss several times with and without Peter. I never had the opportunity to meet him. When I heard he was performing at Rick Allen’s charity show at the Cutting Room in New York City, I immediately bought tickets. It was cool to see Peter in a small setting, but it would be really cool to meet him. I noticed the band’s green room was conveniently located downstairs, right across from the men’s room. A pretty large crowd was gathering and there was no real security there. After years of working music venue security, it’s difficult for me to not be “on guard” in most situations. I had been talking to Peter’s people whenever they walked by and generously decided to provide my services for free and help get him work his way through the crowd and get out to his limo. I got to speak to him very briefly and had my hand on his shoulder as he got into his car. My ten to sixteen year old self would have died.
Now back to the modern day. Yes, I already covered my top three drummers, but we just had the last show of the season at Bethel Woods- and it was Ringo and his All Star Band. Another chance to see a Beetle- my second one after seeing Paul. Yes, at this point, I had seen two Beatles. More than enough to be happy about, but I never dreamed i would meet one. My job at Bethel includes managing security for the entire lower half of the venue, from the top of the pavilion to the backstage parking lot and everything in between, with my former Marine/retired police officer, Ron. I do not normally approach any artists unless it’s required, but since my job includes the back of house, I have occasionally bumped into a few…and almost literally bumped into a couple. When Randi and I got to the employee tent early at 2:30, I could hear the sound check happening. I told her I wanted to walk down to the pavilion to see some of it. We had a little time before the general security meeting. Unfortunately, as we reached the peak of the hill, soundcheck was over. Oh well. I checked out the stage setup, because i barely get a chance to look at it during the show. Back to the tent. We had our meeting and headed back back to the pavilion. The backstage security briefing with Ringo’s tour manager took place at 4:00 and he said the band will do soundcheck at 5:00. Apparently what I thought was the soundcheck, was just the crew setting up. After the briefing, I was standing with a few of the security guys when two large black vehicles pull up. A parade of band members and crew head towards the dressing rooms- led by. Greg Bissonette, drummer extraordinaire and the beat behind David Lee Roth’s first two solo albums says hello to me. Behind him, a thin, much shorter than I expected, Richard Starkey walks up the steps and says “good morning” to one of the guards. He gets to the top of the stairs and looks at me. I nervously say, “Good morning….uhhh, I mean good afternoon!” His head spins back as he walks by and he said, “Yes, a good afternoon to you!” in that familiar, unmistakable Ringo voice that I remembered so well from the Beatles cartoons I watched as a kid. Ringo Star spoke to me. Ringo. Star. A Beatle.
Later when walking from the copy room backstage, Ringo popped out of a doorway and I had to quickly hit the brakes! He moves pretty damn good for an 86 year old! On my way back to the pavilion, Steve Lukather was coming toward me and I said, “Welcome back Mr. Lukather!” He looked at me kind of confused and then took his hand and grabbed my shoulder and shook me with more force than I expected and said, “that’s right! I was here a couple of months ago!” He was there with his main band, Toto.
I know it may seem silly or petty to care about being near or meeting some of these artists and musicians, but these are people who have been a pretty huge part of my life since I was a kid. In a world full of negativity, music has always lifted me up and while I never made it behind my drums in the big stage, it’s pretty cool to be just a little bit involved in bringing some of that music into the lives of others and it will always be pretty cool to have my Ringo story come full circle.
I love my job.
