The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 13 July - 18 July 1996
JULY 13TH
A horror day! Where do I start? Today exausted all of us,band,crew-all of us. It started with an early morning flight (suprise). Angus,Dougald get a very early flight and carry the usual guitars on board-the reason is that United nearly destroyed one of Neils guitars a few days earlier. We are staying at the Denver Renaissance Hotel and the gig is in Boulder-so its a bit of a drive. Angus and Dougald drop me off at the Hotel-they head to Boulder for some serious tour washing-thankfully someone at the gig gave me a fantastic Green bay packers tshirt-so I'm not too smelly today. The Finns check in,in a few hours,so i'll get on the bus with them. Hours later....still no Finns. Bill our tour manager doesnt have his cellular working and United dont have any direct numbers so I cant find anyone. I'm alone....... I finally track down Angus who tells me the Finns flight is delayed by 4 hours. I try to call them on skyphone but no one answers. Am seriously worried that I will miss the gig/work as the band are sure to head straight to the gig. I dont want to get stuck at this hotel...christ there isnt even a shopping mall nearby. I crack into the United Computer and track down what flight they are on.I decide to make the long trip to Denver airport and meet them as they dissembark from the plane. I arrive at the airport with time to spare and I sit and watch the Finns plane sit on the tarmac for a further 45 minutes. Finally it reaches the gate .....BUT..(you guessed it) none of the touring party is on board!!! Their seats were empty..they must of jumped onto an earlier flight. I run to the concourse train and finally get the Hotel shuttle back to the Renaissance. I catch Bill and the band just before they head to the show-they decided to call by the hotel to get changed,the kids were pretty tired so they didnt go to the show. I made it by a whisker. I love being in the van with these guys-its the time of truth and despite it being a shitty day its still a joy. Its one of those times when you see the people behind the myth-that sounds a bit dramatic-but its kind of true. We zoom along the motorway and no one can jump aboard and interupt us. Its a good time to have a sing,talk some business. Tim and Neil patiently sign CDS (yet again)- when you are feeling crappy its probably the last thing they want to do. Tim usually sits in the back near me,Neil closer to the front. Bill drives-he's fast and safe. Grant sits in the front too. Sharon behind Grant (next to Neil). The flat plains of Denver make way for a John Denver-ish woodland postcard. Sharon bursts into Rocky Mountain High-I think I sing it off key......you get a bit hesitant about letting it rip around those Finns. We are all in bad moods and running late. I mention that some of our best gigs have been done when we have been in terrible moods. We finally get to the Venue....Tim kicks in the door. I run into the foyer of the Boulder Theatre and start to set up merch-halfway through the "special guests" act. A whole new fresh batch of clubbers come up and say Hi-it still amazes me that so many people are at the shows. I'm slowly putting faces to the names. A lot more people have been reading the diary site, am trying to type slower,and as you gathered its NOT proof read. Warts and all. Sharon does the lights "blind"-she never made it to soundcheck. She's getting pretty good. It must be hard being Neils wife and to remain your own professional self. Afterall how many people on the tour will tell "Neils Wife" that she is shit at lights? Thankfully she has a keen eye and she probably doesnt know just how many people do respect her...I actually think neil is Sharon Dawn Finns Husband!!!!! On Ya Dawnie. We were told that a heavy metal band were the "special act" for tonight-Ron Sexsmith had a wedding to attend. Its NOT a heavy metal band but a local lad called Stewart Lewis. he was the suprise of the night-I loved his music so much I actually purchased his album "Faces in the Crowd"-well worth a listen.Not bad! The Finns have hit the local red wine and are determined to have fun. The ENZ songs really go off at this show.They spill the news that the infamous HARRY FINN writes all the songs-and we find out more about harrys past-He was brought up as a woman! Two encores later and a very happy Crowd leave the Venue. I drag a clubber (Steve) backstage-he helps me carry my bags etc. I usually ask people backstage if they havent asked me too already. If someone hounds me to get them backstage it usually ends with me pushing them out the front door! say goodbye to Stewart lewis and his friends and we swap email addresses. I make a quick "sandwhich to go" and take my usual seat in the van. Steve almost falls in and gets kidnapped on our musical journey. Tim says that I was right-after a shitty day it was a good gig. Home to the airport Hotel,do the books,order room service,pack the bags and drop a melatonin.
JULY 14th
Wake up at 8.30 and meet Bill,Grant and the Finns on level ten for a continental breakfast. We have today off. We fly out on time,but my seat is triple booked. Sit next to Grant instead and he passes me a cd of Tims roughs. Still a bit of work to do on the songs and the titles may change. My fave tracks are -"Only Child"-this would make a good single,"Feeding the Gods"-fantastic-very wonderfully weird,kind of a metaloid Bowie song-very adventurous-the average Tim fan will hate it I'm sure..."say it is so" is also really good. The roughs have 15 songs on this CD. We'll keep you posted,there will be more info on the upcoming Tim website I'm sure. All of us head to the "Sushi B" for a lovely Japanese Dinner. Another Discovery Person-Aimee comes along. She's like Cindy-happy and always willing to please us. I love the people at this record company-I'm not slagging Capitol,but there is a lot to be said about working with a small passionate label. Neil and Aimee shout us dinner-burp! One of our best friends-Dianne from san Jose is on the road with us for a few days-my personal assistant.-she fits in well with everyone on the road and we all just want to hug her. After Dinner we leave Dougald and Angus to get up to their mischief and we all head to a remote beach for a paddle and splash. I slip off my Docs and I jump in the surf-its not too cold. I drag Dianne in-she's little and cute so naturally she gets her jeans wet.We both smell like a seaweed sandwhich. neil looks very relaxed with this family atmosphere-Crowded House are a million miles away. I feel happy for him. I comment that this beach is like a small kare Kare. We sing songs as we drive through the night. "Diahorea,Diahorea,Diahorea,gotta go,gotta go go go go"- Freddie mercury would turn in his grave. Drop Grant and Elroy off and head for coffee. An Aussi girl is serving at the counter-she recognises us (well neil) and is very cool-great silver shirt. She comes from melb. Its an internet cafe and I was tempted to drag up the diary site. Its midnight and we play the Filmore tomorrow-goodnight dear Diary.
JULY 15TH
Weve had some really nice Hotels on this tour-we are staying at the Miyako in JapanTown. The rooms are Japanese Trad-but no futons..except in Neil and Sharons room. Find this quote in the "Teachings of BUddha" book. "Following the noble path is like entering a dark room with a light in the hand. The darkness will be cleared away and the room will be filled with light". I promise to be good today Lots of club members at the show. Marjorie from Vancouver and other Canadians fill up the front tables. Word must be out on the internet that I am without clothes,someone brings along a fresh tshirt (a great california shirt-with the Cal. flag on the front-a huge bear). Thankfully clubbers have good taste in shirts. I am really looked after on this tour. Get Tim and neil to sign some early Enz photos, Tim wants to go through my Enz photo collection when he returns. He has the fever. The Hotel totally f*cks up our tshirt situation by misplacing 150 shirts,so its mostly CDS tonight. I get the night off,so I look after Elroy. Liam and friend bombArd cars with grapes from the band room...Elroy springs two people relieving themselves in a shop window..another classy neighbourhood. Our Filmore poster for the Venue sucked. Each band gets its own poster,ours sucked big time. A stupid fish in a tux..oh funny joke-fin (finn)-everyone else had cool posters. Neil plays the "Best of classic guitar riffs " on his ukelele. Dianne supplys the band and aftershow guests with a huge FINN cake (album cover icing on top).This is the only time I've seen them eat cake. In my room after the show I find out that not only has the "Best of Crowded House" album debuted at #1 in Australia,but ENZso debuted at #4! Call both Neil and Tim and congratulate them before they go to sleep. I can see them smile down the phone. Sleep tight guys.
JULY 16th
Wake up in the morning sporting a new haircut. had it done yesterday in San Fran. My hairdresser Frank from Studio 325,located at 325 Kearney St,San Fran. (Call 415-7884142 for appointments..this is not a paid advert!),transformed me from a Robert Smith clone (no lipstick) to something more finer (with lipstick). Climb out of bed and have a traditional Japanese bath-lots of pre-wash,scrubbing etc. love the bath-its so deep. Bill leaves early so I'm left with all the tickets for the tour. Grant does his "special bit" at the airport (plus a signed cd) and we all end up on an earlier flight. This man is good-what a manager! Arrive LA.(man). The airport still sucks-wait an hour for our bags and Grant weaves through traffic to the Marquis-our final home for the USA tour. Its such a Rock Star Hotel. Gene Simmons from Kiss was eyeing everything female prior to the Kiss reunion tour...at least he kept his tongue IN! I have a great room,hangs over the pool and Dianne is napping in the bed. Tonights show is at the John Ansonford Theatre-we miss the van so we take a taxi..already heaps of fans are waiting outside. Finally we meet...ERICKA!!! Yes the legend is real,ERICKA-a woman,myth or machine...probably all three. There she is parading around backstage,without a pass,looking like a cast extra for Laverne and Shirley-all thats missing is Boo-kitty. This woman is a goddess,injured in the hunt. Her long blonde hair is streaked with the blood of her victims (probably people that canned the Finn album-she loves their music). We love her dearly. Its a celebrity packed show tonight-Sheryl Crow was there,Jamie Lee Curtis with her cast iron handshake..all those muscles!! But the highlight for many, especially the worlds best tour manager-Billy Cullen-was the meeting of the great minds- Billy and Derek Smalls (from Spinal tap). Its the first time Billy has gushed...pushing his way past Jamie Lee and grabbing Dereks hand in a fit of hero worship never before seen on this tour. Sadly no photos were taken of this earth shattering event. Way to go Billy! Jamie Lee creates an incredible autograph for Liam-its a drawing of her hanging out of the Helicopter (a scene from the "True Lies" movie). Climb into the back of the van with the guitars...a wee bit squashy. Tonight is meant to be our Hotel party. Its a bit tragic. Of course Russell Crowe turned up (the actor) and I rib him "hide the Tequila" after he spent $800 at our Sydney party. Aimee from Discovery keeps asking for the "nude celebrity" website that my hairdresser discovered. She especially wants the nude shot of Christian Slater...he has the biggest "modem" of them all!!!!!Apparently there is a shot of Keanu giving someone head...makes this site look boring! Only have 2 drinks and waffle so much crap-my mouth is in overdrive tonight. The bar closes,so Billy,Ericka,Dianne and myself jump in the van and drive to "Ricks"..we are a bit tour mad-the menus are so stupidly big-we give Ricks the big heave ho and head to "Norms"-very cool. The waitress NEVER smiles,we're laughing and having so much fun,in fact we are the only people laughing-is life THAT bad? me thinks not! I tip the waitress big in the hope she will smile. She almost does,the little muscles around her mouth wiggle,but its an up hill battle but she made some effort. Home at 4.30. Dianne and myself have almost wet our pants over a certain celeb. that...oh better not! Somethings are not meant for this site.
JULY 17th
Sleep in till 8.30. Do bookwork for the tour and sit on the window sill-in the sun. Dianne sleeps very quietly...is she dead..this is abnormal-waker her up. We cab it to the Beverly Centre to see "Independence Day"-Americas biggest movie. OK Marck bailey is usually WRONG-we all know this (grin),but he told me that Bill Pullman was terrible as the president of America...he was right..BUT the special effects made up for it. Incredible the first few -makes you feel all cold inside,especially when the Aliens destroy New York and Washington (the whitehouse really explodes!!). Mankind should really reconsider having ANY nuclear weapons. Of course the Earthlings woop the Aliens arses (do they have arses?) but the major cities are in ruins. Even Sydney has a crashed saucer-Melbourne escapes (of course-so Jeff Kennet survives-BUMMER). Apart from seeing the movie we also watched the shorts for the movie "Trainspotting". We did some "Tori Spotting". YES queen of the malls MS Tori Spelling-Beverly Hills #1 Virgin was roaming about the Beverly Centre. She spotted us on the second level and quickly fled the building,knowing she was out-celebritied....we asked her how she was feeling and she stompted her foot 3 times...or was she simply having an attack? next we hit the stores...one of our faves...:"Z Gallerie" is located at the centre..quality items. Back to the Hotel,grab our gear and jump in the van for the gig. The special alarm that we installed goes off...yes its another Tori sighting at 3.00. There she is in all her "donnafied" glory putting gas in her truck....oh to be in the truck with Tori...life would be complete. Suggest to Tim to write a song about Tori-he wont be baited! So this is it,last gig on the tour-a club member presents me with a pen set and I almost get teary eyed. Dianne spots a Crowdies album advert on the front of Bi;;board,Capitol are doing "something"for its release afterall.. Discovery are incredible,a big painting of the FINN album is on the front of the Coconut teazer Venue on Sunset Blvd. Mark hart comes along to soundcheck with his daughters. he wants to be put on the club list so he knows whats happening with the band. Neil trashes his Ukele during the shows encores and throws it into the crowd. "mary of the SouthSeas" was pretty exceptional and "Catherine Wheels" was added back into the set. We finish off the day with the sight of Tori running up the stairs...but she DIDNT go backstage. Is LA being taken over by Tori Clones...let us in on the joke...please! Liam hides from Fishcakes (work that one out).The "Girls" all get together for a famous for "sixteen" photo shoot BUT I think we held up too many fingers. Room service for dinner.
JULY 17th
Day off. Christina who runs Tims upcoming site drops in...its a sunny California day and we cruise Melrose with the top down in her blue convertable. had a sloppy hamburger at Johnny Rockets. Went to a favourite haunt called "RED BALLS" on melrose...didnt buy anything. CHristina (God bless her and all her "I'm sorrys") suprises me with a Blue Mondorama jacket-it has a great "media control" patch on the sleeve. Blew my mind. Its waterprppf so I can wear it during Melbourne "Big wet". We find a metal toy called "Little traveller"....you wind him up and he carrys a metal bag along.....the scary part is that "Little traveller" HAS MY FACE! After 361 flights someone must of made a fitting tribute in the form of a bag carrying doll! Move over barbie-"Little Traveller" has arrived.....an an airport near you! We meet up with Elizabeth and she takes us to a restaurant on beverly Blvd..and I give everyone wrist ties made out of hemp and beads. Next stop Aarons for some cheap cds-Blur Ammonia,and Lisa Loebs. Spot someone carrying the new Crowdies CD out of the shop and comment on their good taste. Sit on the balcony in front of the computer and talk family "stuff" with Dianne..she goes back to san Jose today-she's neat to have on tour. I'm feeling homesick-miss Mark and the office and need to hug Hairball.
JULY 18th
Walk to Tower for some blank cassettes,just have enough money for a sandwhich for Lunch from "Pink Dot". Buy the "Letters to Rollins" book-its funny. Check out of my room and move into Billys. Answer his phone and try to work out what his red spots are........the guys do a CNN interview in the Hotel gardens, I miss it. We leave for the Virgin Store signing/mini gig. Its a great crowd, the Virgin people tell us its the most people they've had there. See Ericka and cant find Elizabeth-I did look for her. Take lots of photos. Billy and myself plan to leave as soon as the guys finish playing so we can catch our flights home. Its his wedding anniversary tomorrow-he's such a romantic!...but what are the red spots???? Cant even remember the set-all I can think of is "I have to catch that flight". Run neil and Tim to the band room and in my excitement I lead them into a glass corner....what happened to the band room-oh there it is. Hug Tim and Neil doesnt let go.I'm feeling close to him again-its good,both Finns mean a lot to me-how do you tell them without it sounding gushy. Kiss dawn and scruff Liams hair. Doug and Angus get a hug-keep hugging people ,even total strangers and finally we get to the car park. Billy drives very fast and I make it to the airport on time...BUT UNITED are being pschos.They wont let many of us board because there is a flight weight restriction. After 1 hour,and incredible threats,lies and anything else I could think of (see Grant I was watching) I got on board. Heaps of people didnt. I was very proud that I did this,if I stayed in LA in that frame of mind I would of trashed the hotel room. I arrive Melboure and Mark and Alison are waiting-we hug and head straight to the Blue Elephant for Coffee and Breakfast-aghhh its good to be home.
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