Last night I finally got my hands on the Dropkick Murphys. I showed up at the venue around 5pm and it was nice and sunny out, everyone was in the backstage parking lot chatting away….Once I sat my massage table down and started talking, some of the guys were like “where the hell are you from?”. If you didn’t catch it, I am in Berlin, Germany until the end of May (I have a flat here as well as NYC). ANYHOO, there were 3 bands playing, first band to go on was Far From Finished (from Boston), then Less than Jake (from FLA) and of course, the Dropkick Murphys (from Boston, IRISH and dam well proud of it).
^ You know a band loves you when you get a laminate Set List I “found” in backstage area^
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Anna, a girlfriend of mine works backstage at this venue, told me early on in the day that she put my daughter, Jasmine on the guest list plus two. Thanks again Anna 🙂
Anna and I ^
In the dressing room next to my massage room were a band from Boston called Far From Finished. One of them asked me if I was the real Dr. Dot or just a German version. lol. They were in the same issue of Fat City magazine that I was on the cover of, so they have heard about me before and knew they were in for a beating. heh heh. First on the slab was Chris, the guitarist of Less Than Jake. I massaged those guys a few years back on the Warped tour, but forgot their names (I never forget a face, but you basically have to have your name tatto0ed onto your fucking forehead if you want me to remember it as my mind just deletes names within 20 minutes of hearing them..wtf!) Anyhow, I asked Chris where they got the name Less Than Jake from. He said their drummer’s old Bulldog was named Jake and when they practiced at his house, the dog would sometimes whine and moan because he didn’t like the music, so his parents would tell him that practice would have to stop because it was upsetting their precious Jake. SOOOO, they figured it out that they were worth LESS THAN JAKE.. ROTFLMFA!! Now that is unique. Chris was so impressed with my massage, he went around to all the musicians ranting and raving about my Vulcan death grip massage and I didn’t even have to ask anyone if they wanted a rub down for the rest of the day/night, he was a walking ad for me, thanks Chris! (Chris came back for seconds after their gig and we traded. I massaged him and since he is also a Chiropractor, he gave me an adjustment). His autograph is very flattering:
< I always write who it is and what band the person is in on the autograph so I don’t forget (sometimes you can’t read their shit and years later you’re like WHO THE FUCK WROTE THIS?
Mark, the guitarist of the Dropkick Murphys got a wicked long massage (it was his FIRST EVER MASSAGE) and I noticed the Stones tattoo on his right arm, and he told me he was a MASSIVE Stones fan. Normally I clam up during a massage, hold my tongue you know? But when the client wants to chat, we chat. I guess since they have been on the road in East Block Countries lately, they were happy to meet someone who spoke fluent English.. Mark and I talked up a storm about the Stones, after all, I used to be a HUGE Stones fan (I still love them, but not nearly as much as Zappa, Beatles, Floyd, Led Zepp, etc..) But I do know my Stones trivia, so when you meet me, bring it on, test me, test me…So Mark is a Stones fanatic and their rhythm guitarist, James is probably the biggest Ramones fan I have ever met. Oh, he didn’t get a massage, says he doesn’t like them, good thing for him, as I doubt I could have behaved, the man is FUCKING GORGEOUS!!! *sigh* . No, seriously, he is sexy and it seems he doesn’t even know it, you know the type. Reminded me of a very young Mick Jagger or Tim Curry, with a touch of Brian Jones thrown in..ok, ok, moving right along..schwing!
Finally I got to massage Ken (there are 7 band members in Dropkick Murphys, hello!). Ken is the ONLY original member. Ken is the bass player and it seemed to me, the big cheese, the big honcho, the fucking BOSS. Normally someone with all that power tends to be a prat, a snotty fuck, but Ken is so cool, you will think I was paid to write all this, but one thing about me you should know, I don’t kiss ass, ever. Ken cracked me up from the first moment I started massaging him. I told him not to talk, just to breath and enjoy the massage. He said “Good luck with the no talking part, I just drank 5 cups of German coffee” lol. German coffee eats right through the fucking cup it’s so strong. So I had the pleasure of a full hour of his undivided attention and funny stories. If you’ve never heard their music, I would describe it as energetic punk with a heavy Irish flare to it, like a whirlwind of aggressive punk rock, but much more complicated.. I know bands hate to be compared, but for your sake, they could be a mix of the Ramones and the Pouges with a touch of Madness..Speaking of the Pogues, I know for a fact that when they toured with them this past Christmas, Shane, the singer of the Pogues was always unfriendly to the Dropkicks because they were American, which I think is fucking ignorant. No one can choose where their mom spits them out her body cavity now can they? Lighten up Shane…and do us all a favor and floss ok?
Outside of the venue, there were massive fights, almost a riot, I guess loads of skin heads showed up or something, not sure why they were fighting but there were LOADS of German police around…it was in the papers the next day and all.. The Dropkick Murphys dropkicked Berlin.. heh heh. I actually watched most of the show, which I hardly ever do anymore.. I have seen well over 3,000 concerts so it takes a lot to get me to watch. The whole venue seemed to know all the words, the place was heaving. Hot, wet and heaving. Hmmm, sounds familiar. I spotted my daughter in the crowd with her two gal pals. She was wearing my old Stones shirt, and I do mean OLD. I got it in 1981 at their Hampton Virgina show…wore it for pajamas for years, now she has ressurrected it and wears it religiously
Jasmine , Lina and Zara in the crowd…^
(note: Jasmine makes her hair red, it’s not naturally like that. It’s a Berliner trend.. dread locks died red. Like Side Show Bob..(?). She is my pride and joy, love her to bits..
Ken was so nice to the girls, he got them passes and loads of t-shirts, cds, Dropkick Murphys hair clips, the works. What a fucking doll he is. One thing I also noticed about the bands, none of them did drugs, drank much or had groupies, they are all work-o-holics and enjoy their private time back stage.
The singer taking a breather ^ Kilted dude from the band (told you I’m bad with names)
Mark and Ken goin’ for it ^ (my camera BITES)
Finally, I get a massage.. Ken giving it his best ^
< Ken with the girls..
Steve, the singer of Far From Finished and I.. he is so sweet, words can’t describe….Oh, it was his first ever massage. I love poppin’ those massage cherries…
Steve with the girls ^
^ Ken, me and SCHWING, um, James..
Ken gave me so many Dropkick Murphys shirts, I won’t have to do laundry for weeks. I will wear them proudly.
Blatant PR for the band ^ 😎
Well, the sun has risen here in Germany, it’s 6am and I need to get my ass in bed..
xo