April 12, 2006 I was called to the Columbiahalle to massage a “very famous German duo” called Rosenstolz. I didn’t know who they were but was suprised how super friendly Peter was. Not my type of music but they were very kind, generous and polite. Peter was very grateful and happy about my sports massage to pep him up before his show.
“Rosenstolz was a German pop duo from Berlin that was active between 1991 and 2012 and had chart hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The duo consisted of singer AnNa R. and musician Peter Plate, who occasionally provided vocals. “
It’s embarrassing how much time has passed since I met and massaged Jeff Beck and I am just now blogging about it. I think it was 8 weeks ago? This show was July 15, 2006.
Nevertheless, he is fresh in my mind. Jeff is SO FUCKING FUNNY, he could just hang up the guitar and do comedy, but his main passion, I found out, is restoring old
cars, working on them, making them gorgeous… I think he LOVES music, but just does it still to support his car hobby 🙂
The man hasn’t an arrogant bone in his body, so polite and humble, so real, so fucking cool! I was in heaven that day, sun was shining, Jeff Beck on guitar, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, the band was amazing. Buddy guy opened and I could HEAR him play through the open window in the dressing room (it was an outside gig at little castle) but I couldn’t see him as I was busy massaging Jeff and Vinnie. I know Vinnie from his days with Zappa and then later, Sting. Vinnie is hysterical as well, so my face hurt from laughing the next day.
Jeff told me a lot of funny things that happened to him in his life and about his relationship with Roger Waters, who I had just massaged recently as well. Roger is a HUGE Jeff BECK fan and he “felt honored” to have Jeff play on his ‘Amused to Death’ album. A LOT of people want to hire Jeff, but he is simply too busy and sometimes can’t be bothered. He does what he wants and when he wants it, but is never arrogant about. I have heard first hand that he was chosen to be the next Rolling Stone after Brian Jones died; but Jeff just never hung around for the audition. He just didn’t give a shit. It’s an amazing balance he has, being that confident but not at all arrogant, one that I have seldom come across in show biz. I doubt he has any enemies, they all love him and want him to play with their band, but Jeff is hard to get, just naturally, not a calculated hard to get, if you know what I mean.
;;
;;
The show was predominately male (ladies, keep that in mind, if you want to meet COOL men with great taste in music, go see ANY Zappa tribute band, Steve Vai and/or
Jeff Beck in concert, you can have your pick!). Jeff’s show was only instrumental. He said sometimes he has some woman on tour with him singing (Beth Hart)
and she sounds ike Janis. Of course when I heard that I sang him a few bars of Bobby McGee and told him I am for hire (heh heh).
I stood in front of the stage watching him in awe and my friend was chatting a bit to me (not loudly) about something that had just happened in the crowd and a
Jeff Beck fan screamed “How the FUCK can you talk during a Jeff Beck guitar solo!????”. Nuff said.
“
Vinnie warming up backstage
Vinnie is So adorable, so fucking fun! Last time I saw him was when he was on tour with Sting, and I think that was 9 years ago. He and Terri Bozzio are the best drummers around (yes, I LOVE John Bonham, I am talking living drummers). Vinnie doesn’t even know how many fans he has. He just plays, He is so straight now, no booze, no smoking, just music and that’s it. Sooner or later the rockers realize they have to get and stay healthy if they want to remain in the strenuous rock and roll circus and that includes getting a massage whenever possible. They know when I am around, they are in for extreme deep tissue and they know I will make they cry like babies. They love it. My massage team is known for it’s brutal capabilities and we have been labeled the ‘Pit Bulls of Massage’. Music to my ears *sigh*.
If you want to hear Vinnie on a great Frank Zappa cd, just get “Joe’s Garage” and you will see why he is so sought after….
< when he toured with Sting
After the show, Jeff and I were standing in the production office and he was pouring very expensive champagne into my glass
and my friends glass too (Jeff is SUPER generous!). We were just shooting the breeze and telling jokes when a German security guard came up to
us and since she knows me (I am rather known here in Berlin) she looked and us both and said “well, there are many fans out side and they want to know
how long you will be back here” and before anyone had a chance to say anything I belted out “tell them I am busy and they will have to wait”.
Jeff and I both burst out laughing. That’s the kind of humor Jeff has, not stiff at all, he loves a good laugh. Love him!
^ Jeff’s reaction when he found out where the ‘Cosmopolitain’ drink was made famous
After the show my friend (male friend by the way) and I were invited by Jeff to join them all on the bus (don’t make a fuss, just get on the bus) for
some “special” drink that Jeff likes to make everyone. Of course we came along happily, it’s not every day, nor every year Jeff invites you for some bevy’s.
We were all cracking up and exchanging stories, and Jeff played bar tender. He was so excited to mix this drink for me, one he thought I had never heard of before.
He handed it to me and said “this, my dear, is called a “Cosmopolitan“. Now, any girl who was hooked on “Sex and the City” like I was has heard of that drink years ago.
I was like “uh, Jeff, that drink was made famous on Sex and the City”. He was like “eh?” . He had never seen it. I explained that it’s a show that had 4 women on it and they always talked about men and went out and drank that drink. He went “WOT!??? I’ve been making and drinking a GIRLS DRINK!???” The whole bus roared with laughter.
Vinnie wanted a foot massage on the bus, so I gave him one. He made faces and noises like I’ve never seen before. I said “you sound like me the first time I had anal sex”
Again, the bus was hysterical. I am telling you this lot knows how to laugh, even the bus driver was hilarious. If you see Jeff Beck heading to a town near you,
it will be worth every penny to go see him, he is the BOMB!!!!
Moving right along. I got a new camera, as you can see and I am trying out the video options as often as possible.
This is a view from my favorite town in the USA, Hoboken. Hoboken is better than NYC because it is only 5 minutes away from NYC
yet still clean, safe, cheaper, friendlier, etc. I just LOVE that place… I walk down the street and I seem to know everyone and vice versa.
I love that small town feeling, but I have to have the big city at hand, and as you can see from that video, it’s REALLY at hand..
ps. Flying back and forth is killing me. You can’t bring any lip stick, lotion, powder, tooth paste, you can’t bring FUCK ALL on the plane anymore, which makes my Pet Peeve, flying, even worse now. They do sell, however, expensive as FUCK lotion etc, on board, how convenient, those wankers! Yeah, you Hetro men won’t have a clue what I’m on about but us ladies/queers know, we need lotion and chap stick at least or we dry up like raisins. I put some lotion into a condom, tied it into a knot and crammed it up my, yeah, there. You have to be smarter than the average bear to make things happen. So I had my lotion! heh heh.
I didn’t have much time to play recently in NYC but I did manage to see some of my friends….
This was our official 2nd show as BITCHFEST. What pissed me off is the FUCKING FOG. Here it’s not too bad
but at some points I couldn’t (1) Breath (2) see the audience or my band. WTF!??????
For me the BEST part of the show was watching Jasmine climb up on stage and then crowd surf. Then, during
Back in Black, I did as well. This was my first time crowd surfing and it was fucking FUN! I will do this from now
on. How often does one see a daughter, then the Mom crowd surf at the same show? It was fucking hilarious.
I had to have a word with the German crowd though, as at first the crowd surfing didn’t work. Jasmine and her friends
were just let down, as in, dropped. I was like “hello, you’re supposed to catch and carry the bodies, not stand there and sip
your drinks and laugh”. They finally got the hang of it and it was marvelous. The sound man made a crappy video and sound
recording and when I figure out how to up load it, i will post it. You can see Jasmine surf and then me for a bit too).
From left to right, Vitri (back up vocals, Chrisi (drummers girlfriend, me and Danielle, back up vocals ^
Dr. Cock likes to draw cartoons, this one is of He and I ^ My friend Martin^ (Aussi) and some unknown dude backstage
Um, after the show, we had fun with my camera… don’t ask.^
Communication Breakdown
Tush
Move over
Dot welcomes audience
Black Dog
You really Got me < Back up singers come on stage
Heart Breaker < Back up singers
Dirty Deeds < Back up Singers (leave stage After Dirty Deeds)
American Woman
Dot introduces band
Highway to hell
Helter Skelter
*Back up singers come back on stage, Dot introduces them
Piece of my Heart < Back up singers
Back in Black < Back up Singers
BAND LEAVES STAGE
ENOCRE:
SANSI (drummer) COMES BACK ALONE FIRST AND DOES:
Moby Dick
(whole band comes out now)
Whole Lotta Love
Twist and Shout < Back up singers come and sing and twist/dance
Our set list ^
I have known “Fricky” since 1992. He is really strange, an artist. He let me draw the Zappa stache on him, yes! ^
Danielle, me and Sarah (she is from Sweden) partied ALL night after the BITCHFEST show…..
THIMO my guitarist will cheat on us this Wednesday 🙂 ^
Check him out, he ROCKS!!!!!
< The newspaper the next day, after the BITCHFEST show….itvch
< BB is the KING!
I saw BB KING live this past Thursday. It was one of the best show’s I have ever seen. He almost had me in tears
when he told the crowd he would never be passing through this town again, as he is “80, almost 81 years old” and his health
isn’t the greatest. I had to literally swallow my tears. He was so charming and funny how he told the crowd so many tiny stories and
his voice, Jesus, even if he didn’t play a mean guitar, I would pay to just hear the man sing. BB, I LOVE YOU!!!!!
Sometimes it’s hard for me to express in words the excitement of touching certain people. This doesn’t happen often. Last week, June 8th and 9th to be exact I was in heaven and it has taken me a few days to get my feet back on the ground. For some it may be hard to grasp being so excited about a musician, but I could tell you, it would be the same for a boxer to win a match, a soccer team to win the world cup, you get my drift.
I have met Roger Waters several times over the years and each time I am over the moon with glee. He has always been an object of my desire since the first time I heard his music. The fondness grew stronger when I first laid eyes on him in the film the Wall when I was in the 7th grade. Such a talented mastermind and so attractive and on top of that, he is the coolest. If you have any doubts, please watch the film “Pink Floyd: LIVE AT POMPEII” and after you watch it, think of me saying “I told you so”.
It may sound odd to some but for me, Roger is the UK version of Zappa, but probably just to me. His lyrics are so deep, so meaningful, they teach. Waters and Zappa wrote lyrics that I studied more than any subject in school. Ditto with the Beatles, but Waters (as well as Zappa) did many concept albums and they are not just entertaining, they really changed my way of looking at life. Animals, Dark Side of the Moon and The Pro’s and Cons of Hitchhiking are 3 albums I could not live without. I know, sounds obsessive, but we all have our cravings.
Roger wrote 98% of all Pink Floyd lyrics and music, (for example, Roger wrote the Wall and The Pro’s and Cons ALONE, and then presented them to the rest of the band and said “I will do one of these as a solo project, which one would you all like to do as a group. They chose the Wall. The Pro’s and Con’s is just as good, if not better, than the Wall. “Reg” is beyond AWESOME. He IS Pink Floyd in my opinion. I can not go see “Pink Floyd” if Roger isn’t there. I have videos of Floyd when Gilmour wasn’t even in the band. I do love Gilmour and the rest of the band, but I am a Roger fan and stand by that 100 %. Once in 1987, Roger was on tour and so were Pink Floyd. In Providence, RI, “Pink Floyd” (without Roger!) played and the very next day, Roger played ( I went to the show). There were so many fools walking around wearing shirts that said “Fuck Roger” I wanted to hurl! They bought them at the Pink Floyd show and they were black with the same writing as there is on the Wall album. How tacky. Enough ass kissing you say? Bollocks, don’t get me started, I could go on and on about “Reg” (Roger’s nickname). My 4 musical favorites are Beatles, Zappa, Floyd and the Stones; sometimes it changes, as in, some months it’s Floyd, Beatles, Stones and Zappa, and other times it’s Zappa, Stones, Floyd, Beatles; know what I mean? Those are my top three, and just like you shouldn’t choose your favorite child, don’t press me to choose just one favorite. Although over the years I have sort of loved the Beatles way more than the Stones. Long story..
I remember driving around NH, in between Grateful Dead tours, with my younger brother and sister, CRANKING the cassette: Ummagumma. I made them listen to it repeatedly. Then it was onto Meddle, Pipers at the Gates of Dawn, Saucerful of Secrets, Obscured by Clouds, Relics, a Nice Pair, even Barretts INSECTS album. I raised my daughter on great music although I never played Zappa for her until she was 18. His lyrics are rated PG. heh heh.
Jasmine can play ‘Wish you were here’ and some Beatles tunes on her guitar, which is so satisfying to me.
I have seen over 3,000 shows now, all for free. The only time I have bought tickets was before I turned 15 and for a Roger Waters benefit show in 1990 here in Berlin, his WALL show and then again for the Zappa plays Zappa show and more recently the June 8th Roger Waters show here in Berlin. Those shows were so important to me, that I didn’t want to risk it, what if no one wanted a massage? I had to be sure we were getting in. I ended up getting backstage for Zappa plays Zappa and gave my tix away to Jasmine’s pal and luckily, the same happened at the Roger Waters show.
It was looking like Jasmine and I would just be in the audience to see the show, but in the last minute, I decided to just try- I called Simon, a tour manager turned friend, whom I have known for a few years now. He worked with Dave Gahan and I saw him backstage at Live 8 with Roger Waters. He called me and he said “Dot, where are you? Can’t believe we are in Berlin and you’re not backstage”.
Um, say no more, Jasmine and I grabbed a cab and were bouncing off the taxi walls with insane excitement. The taxi driver was about 70 years old and took the longest, slowest possible route which made me want to explode, but nevertheless, we got there as the show started as we ran towards the stage singing the first song “In the Flesh” out loud (all of the Germans were looking at us like WTF??!!), but we didn’t give a flying fuck.
I was wearing an English Football (er, soccer for you yanks) shirt and this made me the object of hateful glares all night from the German football fans. They kept saying to me in amusing English “You are VEARING zeeee VRONG SHIRT!”. heh heh, we’ll see mates, we’ll see.
Jasmine wanted to watch the show from the side, but I dragged her backstage as I wanted to thank Simon profusely for the backstage passes. He was super happy to see us and insisted we watch the show ON the stage in the VIP section. Jasmine was basically hyperventilating at this point from too much joy at once. She and I have watched Live at Pompeii an unhealthy amount of times and she has never seen Roger live before. *sigh*.
Simon bring us drinks on stage, hello, could he be any fucking nicer? Simon is the bomb!!!! ^
Please don’t read me the riot act here, yes, Jasmine had a beer. She will be 17 on Monday (June 19th) . Hello! They all start really young here in Europe, enjoying their beverages. If you try to prevent/forbid it, they just do it even more. I just go with the flow and trust her judgment.
The sound was amazing, I haven’t head such amazing sound quality since last years Live 8 when Pink Floyd reformed.
Roger is a perfectionist and I am grateful for that. My ears were smiling all night long. Jasmine started to weep during Wish you Were Here. You know how certain songs remind you of a certain person/time, well, that song had a lot of folks bleary eyed. I love how Roger goes to the edge of the stage and sings, even when he isn’t in front of a mic. I told him that I like that and he said he likes to encourage people to sing along and it works. The whole place seemed to know every word to every song, even though English isn’t their mother tongue.
^ Has been playing guitar for Roger for ages. Mr. Andy Fairweather Lowe, the Great!
I am wearing the RIGHT shirt! ^
< Jasmine and I in heaven!
The set list ^ which Roger Signed the next day after his massage. So, I massaged Simon after the show and he said that Roger wanted a massage the next day at 6pm, You know I was there early, with bells on, so to speak. Simon brought me to Roger’s room to set up and get prepared for when Roger returned from Golfing. It was the first warm and sunny day in ages in Berlin, great for Golfing. Funny how so many rock stars go Golfing in Berlin (Alice Cooper is one of many).
The TV was on and the first game of the World Cup was on. Germany vs Costa Rica (Germany won that game 4 – 2 by the way). Roger arrived and was in a great mood. He remembered me and was really sweet. I started his massage with my special invention (started doing this method when I was 5 years old on my mom) the “Bite Method massage”. He was keeping one eye on the game most of the time and he loved the massage. I was paid in advance for 90 minutes but I massaged him for 2 and a half hours ( I was making it last as long as possible
We had some small talk, I usually don’t speak during a massage, but we had tiny breaks to have a sip of water etc, and I asked him why he has never done “Across the Universe” live. He didnt recall ever doing that song and I said “I have it on video, you and Andy Fairweather Lowe on guitar”. “ah yes”, then he remembered. He said that he never thought about doing it live, but hey, if he ever does, feel free to thank me. He does an AMAZING version of that song. I asked him about the gorgeous turquoise/silver ring on his right hand. He said he has had it on since 1969. He banged it once and it bent and he can’t get it off. I found that to be really cute. By the way, no need to ask me “Did you ask him if Pink Floyd will ever get back together” because I would NEVER fucking ask him that stupid question. Don’t ask Sting about the Police; Eric about Cream and don’t ask Roger about Pink Floyd, it’s insulting and fucking annoying.
I love his work with Pink Floyd but I also love all of his solo albums, so we talked about those instead. I asked him why there is no dvd for the Pro’s and Con’s tour, He said they didn’t video tape that tour or Radio Kaos tour either. I find that VERY unfortunate. I own the “In the Flesh” dvd, it’s from Roger’s 2002 solor tour, it has Doyle Bramhall on guitar and it fucking ROCKS!!!! If you don’t have it yet, I highly recommend it. I have two copies, one for my NYC place and one for my Berlin place. Can’t be without that. Doyle isn’t on this tour, he is cheating on Roger with Eric Clapton (so all is forgiven). Clapton played the night before here in Berlin, so Roger and Doyle were up most of the night chatting and having a drink or two. Roger waited as long as he could for Eric to return from a recording studio, but he had to hit the hay eventually and they missed each other by minutes. Clapton played guitar on Rogers ‘Pro’s and Cons of Hitchhiking’ album, oh GOD, it’s AMAZING!!!
Note: I asked Roger (as I do every musician I massage) what he thought of Zappa. He said ” I used to hang around Frank a lot in the 60’s and even stay at his house for a long while, and ended up breaking Suzy Cream-cheese’s heart, unforunately.” He almost forgot about jamming with Frank until I reminded him. He said “are you sure?” Yes, I am very very sure:
Pink Floyd jamming with Frank Zappa ^
< THE ring
Rubbing Roger’s feet ( me= happy)
Roger said, even though there was no live footage for the Pros and Cons tour, he had JUST received a dvd the day before of never before seen videos he made back in the day for the Pros and Cons Album, Radio Kaos and even Amused to Death (“What God wants, God gets” with Jeff Beck on Guitar).
He said “after the massage you can see them if you like”. Uh, ya think? YAY! He set up the videos on his lap top for me to watch and HE put the head phones on me and headed for the shower. I sat there for almost 30 minutes with my jaw open, one constant “WOW”. The videos he made simply MUST be released. I told him all of his fans would buy them. He seemed open for comments/feedback. Looking into his eyes is so exciting, I am still smiling. Bad news is, he is engaged and very much in love. I told him I find that to be a pain in the ass and extremely unfair. He is ALWAYS taken. I told him him it’s not fair and he should give other girls, like me for example a chance. He just grinned, never said a word when I was talking that shit. I did tell him his ass was in GREAT shape and he is still HOT. Again, just a grin
Face the facts, I have the balls to say what you want to say, it’s as simple as that. heh heh. Jasmine didn’t make it to school that day (day after the show), we both slept until 2pm (already has those rock star habits). I wrote her yet another rock and roll excuse note “sorry, Roger Waters was in town”. The last one was “Zappa plays Zappa was in town”. Her home room teacher smiled and said “Jasmine, you are lucky I am your homeroom teacher. Tell your Mom I am jealous”.
She made an incredible portrait of Roger and I brought it for him to sign. He was really flattered and signed it “To Jasmine, love Roger”. She is gloating.
^ This is now one of my favorite photographs. He is smiling at me. Not the camera. I can die peacefully now.
;;
“
< The newspaper the next day, after the BITCHFEST show….itvch
< Jasmine and I in heaven!
< THE ring
