I admit, I have hung out with some pretty cool people. I never got starstruck except when I met JFK Jr. I was so surprised to see him standing there! I had green hair and he looked at me ,as we were both checking into a hotel, and said "far out!" Roxanne was with me, so I know I wasn't dreaming. But, that's another blog....
On a tour for Soufly 1, we happened to be staying in the Iwo Jima Best Western in Washington DC. We stayed there often, when Soulfly performed in the area, because the price was much better than the city center hotels, and it had a quite good, and reasonable, restaurant. I was outside our room, on the balcony when another tour bus pulled up. I watched as all these cool looking grey haired people came out and headed in. They looked awesome....men with long hair and beards, cool looking ladies with their grey locks streaming. They were all dressed casual, and I wondered who they were.
Kendog came to me and said "did you see Willie Nelson just pulled up?" I was like "wow, this is cool!" He said, "his family works for him and his crew is the same for years." It was at that moment I decided I wanted the same....a loyal crew. One that we walked with on our journey together. I wanted that loyalty, that comfort, that vibe. I wanted to see my crew grow older, have families, stay with us and be happy! I wanted them to feel the same about us.
After a short time, someone knocked on our hotel door. It was Wille's tour manager, asking if I wanted to go visit a bit with Willie!!!! After a couple woohoos, I regained my senses and went down. Maybe someone had told him we were staying there, or God knows how he knew of us, I really don't know. Max was cool with it, so off I went. I may have been floating as I walked down.
I entered his private bus and there he was, looking just like Willie Nelson! Long braids running parallel down his chest, those warm all-knowing eyes, yes, it was Willie frikken Nelson!!! He took me on a short tour through his bus. Just past the living room, he had a little alcove for a computer and bench. I was really impressed, since the big, boxy computers were the norm, and here was one in a bus! I never even knew you could have wifi in a bus back then! Going further back, he had a comfy woolen Western type blanket on the double bed. The back room was set up like a bedroom in a house. I swear I could smell the country smells of Texas in that bus!!
After my bus tour, we went up front and chilled. Yes, he had a bowl of magic snacks on the table. I mean, heck, he was Willie Nelson! We talked about a TV channel he wanted to make and I told him about a few shows I had planned. He was the perfect gentleman and definitely had a magic aura surrounding him. When I left, he said he knew we would see each other again and you know what? I think in the next year or two, that will be a reality!! You will be the first to know!!!
Class dismissed.......