Shaun meets Luke

[Casper]

I would have posted this sooner, but have been on the road a bit. As some of you know, TOTO is touring the US briefly, doing small venues in support of the new CD "Falling in Between". They came to Richmond last week and me and a BOATLOAD of musicians were front and center. My friend who owns Richmond Music Center suprised me by giving me his backstage pass halfway through the show. Needless to say, I FREAKED! :eek: I watched the rest of the show from stage right with a cold beer and 10 feet from my guitar hero LUKE. It seemed like I was the only one backstage after the show for some reason, one by one they came out of the trailer, and I spent at least 10 minutes rapping with them. Mike Porcaro, Bobby Kimball Tony Spinner and the new keyboardist Greg Philliganes..all were just as cool as could be.

BUT...the highlight of my career as a guitarist was when Luke walked out.
Just me and him for what must have been 30 minutes!!! He was cooler and more laid back than I imagined. He was just gracious...., shared stories about session work, his rig,(Would you believe he plays 9g.strings!) his family..just made me feel like I was more than just a fan. He gave me his pick and I gave him one of mine!, (He really thought it was cool )(I had no pen, no camera) :mad: . He even got me a beer out of the bus!! I felt like a 16 year old again...I mean what do you say when you unexpectedly get a chance to meet one of your heroes?! After we talked a bit more, he introduced me to BOB BRADSHAW who's ampteching for him this tour..Bob was great too. When I could tell it was time to move on, I thanked him profusely and he gave me a great big hug goodbye and seemed genuinely pleased to have met me and spend time with a fan. I could gush a bit more, but I wanted to share with everyone a memory I will never forget! PS, The show was KILLER! If they come to your area, DO NOT MISS THEM. http://www.toto99.com
Shaun

[guitarzan]

i just got "falling in between" a couple of days ago and have been pretty pleased with it so far - especially the 2nd half. I think they're back in L.A. in September.

That's way cool about Luke. He's been on radio shows at the local classic rock station here and always seems to be pretty gracious. However, the last time I saw Toto (House of Blues, Sunset Strip - where I met Eddie Van Halen in the bathroom), they were awesome and Luke was burning- it was hard for me to picture him as a nice guy based on his on-the-mic demeanor. He had choice words for any newspaper folks who might've been there to review the show.

Glad it was a cool hang - those are the moments that make life grand, no?

[Casper]

I can imagine Luke being grumpy like anyone can be. For me, the experience was suprising. I met Chicago about 14 years ago. I used to worship that band, followed them to over 40 shows up and down the east coast for most of my youth. It was heartbreaking to me when one of the band members wouldn't sign my t-shirt after I drove 3 hours to meet and see them. I got madder when I thought about the money I had invested in them over the years. The coolest member of that band was Dawayne Bailey (another hero of mine). For Toto, the meeting was a suprise and I was nervous I would be put off/disappointed by a tired road strung band, but they all seemed genuinely pleased to meet me and hang out. I guess that made me all the more intimidated that Luke, who's inspired countless guitar players and played with everybody would spend time with a local gunslinger who has to play Brickhouse and Girl from Ipanema for a living...But in reality, they put on their pants the same way we all do. I thought the new album could be a bit more melodic, but you can definitely tell Luke and EVH are hanging out...

[dannopelli]

Now I am REALLY pissed that I moved from Richmond to Philly!

[Casper]

Danno-they were in Philly on Saturday :o
I should have e-mailed you....sorry. I was on the road the day after the show and all weekend..thats why this post is so late.
Shaun

[tmihm]

Good story, Casper. :)