Baltimore statue will honor Frank Zappa A bust of legendary musician and Baltimore native Frank Zappa will officially be dedicated Sept. 18, The Baltimore Sun reports. Members of Zappa's family are expected to attend the ceremony, which will take place at Eastern Avenue and South Conkling Street in Highlandtown, where the bust will be erected.
The location outside the Southeast Anchor Library was chosen in part because Zappa was a staunch advocate for free speech. The bust, which will sit atop a tall column, is a gift to the city from a Zappa fan club in Lithuania, and is being readied for shipment to the United States.
For the last year, Harry Connick, Jr.and his entourage has been using my massage team while on tour. I know the managers Ted and Tom very well and they love our team. Harry does too. I had never met Harry until this past wednesday, but that never stopped him from talking about our massage team WHILE on stage, during his show. He has done this a few times already. The managers and my massage assistants have reported back to me "Harry spoke about us on stage, he said "I want to thank Dr. Dot and her wonderful massage team for making us feel good" etc. This is the BEST form of PR one could ever hope for. How sweet is he to do such a thing?
My heart was melting each time I head that. What a man I thought. EVERYONE on my massage team that has massaged Harry and his entourage was taken by his charm and their warm hearts. I have been anticipating meeting him myself for a long time now.
I spent Tuesday massaging Arturo in the Ramones museum (video to come) and then Tuesday night massaging Tom, one of Harry's managers (artist usually have a few with them: tour, production, assistant, etc). Then Wednesday I went to the Schiller Theater to massage them all. I had been there a few times before, namely to massage Hans Klock , the Dutch Magician, who has since carved a huge name for himself engaging Pamela Anderson in his new Las Vegas based act.
< Happy + proud to say, this is a standard view of the backstage area of most
Harry Connick, Jr. shows
The Schiller Theater must be an OLD building as many folks on the entourage were agreeing that it looks like Adolf used to hang out in there. It has a big Nazi feel to it, really. It's scary!!
I hung out while Harry napped and massaged his lovely assistant Megan. Young girl from NYC, suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper sweet. She went to wake Harry and told him "you know that massage team "www.drdot.com" we always use? Well, the REAL Dr. Dot is here today to massage you". He came out of his dressing room all sleepy eyed (read: cute) and saw me sitting there and said "You're the real Dr. Dot!??" and before I could even answer, he said "You're GREAT Dr. Dot!!" . I was laughing so hard. He is SO sweet!! His Southern accent and genuine way of speaking and looking you in the eye is so refreshing. I told him "how do you know? I haven't massaged you yet" and he went on to say he loves my team and can't wait to get a massage from me later.
The sound check started. I counted at least 14 people in his band. Big band set up, which has a swing/jazz vibe to it .He stood facing the band, conducting them and singing without a microphone along to the music. I heard that he is VERY spontaneous, never has a set list and this keeps EVERYONE on their toes, especially the sound techs. He has a cult following and has sold over 40 million records. I had never seen him live before so I was excited to see what he was all about. The sound check took hours because it was their first day back after a tiny break. He is a perfectionist, I could tell, like Mr. Zappa. The band was tight so all the hard work pays off. There aren't that many artist today, that write all their own music, lyrics, sing the songs themselves and play at the same time. There are a few, but not enough in my opinion. He is extremely talented and the show sounded PERFECT.
The Schiller Theater is one of those venues that do not allow you to simply go in and out of the main hall without assistants. As in, they don't want people making any noise, disturbing the crowd or audience, so if you leave to piss, the guard will have to escort you back in ONCE the song is over. The Germans really take the spectator thingy to a whole different level. Which is good, as they REALLY pay attention when someone is on stage. They are not talking about their love life, children or what they ate earlier to their friends during the show. I wanted to view some of the show, but not all as it was hot as hell in there and maybe someone else wanted a massage during the show (management, truck drivers ,etc).
So I like to pop in and out, which is tricky in such a venue. I sat at the sound board for a few songs and I can tell you, the sound was absolutely PERFECT. It sounded like you were in his recording studio with him. His piano playing, voice, band, were all flawless. No wonder he has such a big following. It doesn't hurt that he is extremely attractive either. The ladies were melting. No wonder it was so fucking hot and moist in there.
Speaking of truck drivers, I got along really well with an English driver named Al. He made me laugh and blush till my face hurt. Told me how everyone on tour now a days has to multi-task. It's not enough to just be a driver anymore, you have to also run the spot lights. Same with tour managers, they usually end up being the body guard or running a monitor or two during the show. I feel bad for the people who tour for a living, it's hard work, they get lonely and massage is the least I can contribute to the people who make live music a reality. Bless their hearts.
I was wondering why every one had NOLA written on their hats, shirts, etc. Nola is short for New Orleans, that is where Harry is from and that is the name of his current album too. The stage was set up to look like you were in New Orleans. Street lamps and all. There was no opening act and I am almost certain the show was about 3 hours long.
After the show, we all went out back to leave for the hotel and Harry was surrounded by fans and he took his time making sure everyone got their autograph. He is really nice to his fans. They weren't just female fans, it was 50% male, 50% female.
A driver was packing my massage table into a van and I was about to step into it as Harry approached his limo and he said "Dr. Dot! I want you to ride with me! I want to get to know you, get in!". He said this rather loud and everyone heard. I said ok, and hopped into his car with him. Makes perfect sense, as if we don't chat in the car, we would waste precious massage minutes chatting. Not good.
So, in the back of the car, there was Harry and I and in the front, the driver and his assistant, Megan. Harry was full of questions about my massage team. How did I start out? When did I start out? He was also full of compliments, saying how brilliant an idea it was and how great each one on my team is. We both laughed about the nut case I had to fire in Vancouver. I won't mention her name, but she did give a good massage but otherwise she was a fucking NUT! First of all, my team lost the Buck Cherry account because of her. The guitarist Jimmy gave me his cell number ages ago, and said to have my team check in with him to see if he or the rest of the lads want massage at each stop on their tour. Dumb ass up in Vancouver CALLED him at 8am, demanding to know how much she would be making, how long they would want her there and if she would be fed. Naturally he told her to fuck off and hung up on here because NO ONE in the biz should be disturbed before NOON! Artist should never be disturbed before like 4pm, managers noon. What a dumb bitch. She claimed she didn't know (yeah right, rock stars get up at 8am every day, wtf?) so I gave her another chance.
Big mistake. At the Harry Connick, Jr. show in Vancouver, she was in the massage room with Harry and instead of going out of the room and letting him get undressed and get on the table, she stood there watching. Trying to be polite, he said "oh, you can come back in a minute" and she just said "no, that's fine, I'm ok" and just stood there and watched him undress like a horny dude watches strippers undress. THEN during the face massage, she looked deep into his eyes and went off about how she can "see into his soul" and how she "knew what he was thinking" and how they were "as one" blah fucking BLAH, what a freak!! You should not talk during a massage let alone talk BULLSHIT during a massage. I hate that voo-doo bullshit some therapist pull out their asses during a massage. Less voo-doo please, and more fucking massage work!!
She freaked him out so bad, he had to stop the massage and leap off the table, grabbing his clothes and beat feeting it out the door. Then management tried to politely ask her to leave, but she hid! No one could find her. She ended up in the press pit or some shit like that and then once she was brought backstage demanded to be fed. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nightmare from hell.
Harry and I had a laugh about her. He said that he never would let one rotten egg spoil a dozen good eggs, and all was forgiven. In fact, it was me who brought her up, he had already "forgotten about her". Whew! 🙂
Harry asked me many questions, he was wide eyed and all ears, listening to my story of how I became Dr. Dot and formed my team of "Dot bots" as many people on tour cunningly name my assistants. Then, he started dialing on his iPone as I was still talking and he interrupted me by starting a conversation with his wife back in NYC "Honey, you know what? I am riding next to the legendary Dr. Dot!". I swear to God I am not making this up. I was smiling ear to ear, as was Megan in the front seat, it was SO CUTE! He then went on to tell her how he always uses my team but this time he was about to get a massage from the "REAL Dr. Dot!". OMG, I was in heaven. I love it when people are so into massages. He definitely LOVES massage.
And as I found out during the massage, he loves DEEP TISSUE massage. I mean, seriously deep tissue. I was trying my hardest to make him whine from pain, and sadly, I could not. I mean, am I getting old? Losing my painful touch? Or is Harry Connick, Jr. made of some secret steel found only in New Orleans? No music or talking, the room was silent for over two hours. I was sweating my ass off trying to go as deep as possible. Finally found a spot where I could make him at least acknowledge my "hands of steel", the arch of his feet. I can go mad deep on the feet. yay! He did say several times during the massage that it felt great, but I had the feeling I wasn't strong enough. He is a solid man, solid as a rock… super fit!!
Normally I ask artist/stars to pose for a picture before the massage as I know I will make them an oiling, puffy mess from the massage. Harry opted to pose after the massage. Takes a brave person to do that lol, I know I would avoid posing after I get a massage at all cost as I am puffy and greasy, hair looks like Nick Nolte's did after his arrest (mug shot), but hey, Harry still looks amazing. Those blue eyes, oh LAWD!
My gay uncle Jack is thrilled I finally massaged Harry, as he was a regular on Will & Grace for ages, so he has a big gay following too.. I heard he has been in a few movies too, but I haven't seen them..
Anyways, I am mad impressed by Harry and his talent. He is on tour, so if you read that he is heading towards your area, go see him, it's worth every cent, every minute of your time. Pure pleasure.
Nov 5 Madrid, Spain Teatro Circo Price Nov 6 Malaga, Spain Teatro Cervantes Nov 7 Zaragoza, Spain Sala Multiusos Nov 10 Barcelona, Spain Palau de la Música
11/13/07 Dublin, Ire RDS Main Hall
11/14/07 Belfast, UK Waterfront Hall
11/16/07 Glasgow, UK Clyde Auditorium
11/17/07 Birmingham, UK Symphony Hall
11/18/07 Birmingham, UK Symphony Hall
And last but not least, I showed some of the Harry Connick, Jr. crew around Berlin^
< Happy + proud to say, this is a standard view of the backstage area of most
