The Captain, Part 2

Angels come in all different shapes and sizes; sometimes they're dogs that save you from a fire, sometimes they're a good samaritan who helps you out with a flat tire and sometimes, just sometimes, they take the form of a parking lot attendant named Lindy.

On January 15, 1998 Christina & I went up to see the Colorado Avalanche play and as our norm we got there crazy early to watch the players dirve in. Sometimes they even stopped and signed autographs, hence the reason we always got there hours early. Christina was always hoping that Joe Sakic, the captain of the Avs, would stop and he never did. He was (still is) her very very favorite player and every time we went to a game she left disappointed. Joe never seemed to have the time to stop before or after.

So that fateful day we were standing behind the barrier and got to talking to the parking attendant, Lindy. He was a friendly chap and soon Christina was telling him about Joe and how he was the only player she had yet to meet. Lindy picked up an orange cone and, using our sharpie, wrote "JOE PLEASE STOP" and set it by the player entrance. Joe drove in, passed the cone but didn't stop. It was a nice try and one that actually got him in trouble with the parking lot boss. Oops.

After the game we were milling around by the player parking lot and here came Mr. Joe Sakic. Everyone started hollering at him as he's stowing his gear into the back of his SUV. Lindy went wandering over to him, talked to him a bit and then damned if Joe didn't start walking over. Christina lost her mind! She couldn't believe it! Her hero was walking towards her!!! The other fans were grouping around getting autographs and asking for things like sticks and a skate (he said no) and a couple people asked for a picture. His response was "Sorry, no time." This whole time I'm zipping around like a stalkarazzi, snapping pictures left and right when suddenly I hear, "HEATHER I NEED YOUR HELP!!!" Joe had reached Christina and in her panic she had dropped all her hockey cards. She scrambled to pick them up and Joe stood by patiently as she did. He signed a Sakic card for her (an expensive one, to boot) and then she asked if she could have a picture. "Okay," he said. "But just one."

How cool is that? Everyone else was told no but for her, his number 1 fan, he totally had the time! As you saw in the shot below, she was terrified!! Sadly, I snapped the picture a split second too soon to get the beautiful smile that spread across his face. After she thanked him, he walked away then looked back over his shoulder and gave her a look that I can only describe as Approving. He just looked so happy that that girl was such a huge fan of his. The phrase has been immortalized now and is always capitalized: The Approving Look.

The only other thing I remember about that night is walking back to the car and Christina said, "I'm gonna scream! I'm gonna puke! I'm gonna pass out!!!" Halfway home it overtook her and she let out a scream. But she didn't puke and she didn't pass out. And she gained the greatest memory of her sports hero.

And the weird thing is - we never saw Lindy again! That's why we totally believe that he was an angel sent to make Christina's greatest dream come true!

The Captain

I feel bad because my first post should have been about this guy, but Rachel Bolan just does something to my mind! So, now we have #19...two time Stanley Cup Champion....Conn Smythe Trophy Winner in 1996....2001 NHLPA MVP and Lady Byng trophy winner for sportsmanship....2002 MVP for the Gold Medal Winning Canadian Olympic team....The Captain of the Colorado Avalanche...JOE SAKIC!!!!! He has been my hero since the Avs came to Colorado in 1995. The sad part is I didn't get to meet him until years later.



It was an interesting night...January 15th, 1998. I like the way Heather tells the story. I'll try the short version. We went up early for the game as we always do and ended up talking to a friendly parking lot attendant. He swears that he had nothing to do with Joe signing autographs but Heather and I know the truth. At the end of the game, we went out to the parking lot to get some autographs. After getting to meet players such as Mike Ricci, Stephane Yelle, and Adam Deadmarsh, we thought that was it. We continued to talk with the parking lot attendant anyway just in case. Pretty soon I saw Joe...I could spot that man from miles away. When I shouted to him, the nice man walked over to him and soon Joe was walking to the other side of the lot to sign. I was so excited that I ran and when I got there blanked out everything else that happened. I DO remember yelling "Heather...I need your help" as I had dropped all my trading cards on the ground. I remember feeling very embarrassed and looking up to see if Joe was watching me make a spectacle of myself. I saw him signing an autograph and looking back at me with a smile. Most of the people around were just being dumb saying things like "Can I have a stick" or "Joe, give me one of your skates". I was the last one he came to and I just asked for a picture....he kindly obliged. So the picture was taken and we laugh to this day about how terrified I look in the picture. I was completely in awe meeting this man..it's not just the looks (although he is BEAUTIFUL). He is a great person, father, husband, man, and an AMAZING player!
I've met him a few more times after that at luncheons, practice, after or before games and such. He's always very polite and appreciative. I had him sign a picture of my niece standing next to a post of him. I put the picture out for him and he smiled real big...it made me feel good.



I could go on for days about him, so I'll stop here...for now! Maybe just one more picture....



The one and ONLY #19-Joe Sakic...thanks for reading!!

The Introduction of Gunh

"Gunh" - pronounced just like it looks - is a word that came into existance about 9 years ago. Christina & I had gone to the Sheraton Hotel to watch Colorado Avalanche players, in town for training camp, walk to and fro. Our plan was not to talk to any of them or bother them at all; we just wanted to look. And we saw some beauties! Valeri Kamensky and Sandis Ozolinsh walked right by the bench we were sitting on talking to each other in Russian, Peter Forsberg sauntered by and Yuri Babenko wandered off into the night.

We had decided that maybe we were being too obvious and we should go inside the club and sit. Surely some Avs players would go in there, right? So we went to the front lobby and asked the clerk if you had to be hotel guests to go in. He said no, go right ahead so we turned to go and BOOM! Christina ran smack into Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote's massive chest. She looked up at him and all that game out when she saw who it was, was "Gunh!" He just laughed and said, "It's okay." The worst part was Joe Sakic, Christina's all time favorite man, was with him. But by the time she was able to see past Foote's chest, Joe was gone.

That moment provided us with a word to use whenever we saw a beautiful man that words just couldn't describe. For example:

Peter Forsberg definitely deserves a "Gunh!"

Or this....

Actually, I usually just sigh when I see Ewan McGregor...

But then there's this "Gunh"-nable fellow:

Awww...Peyton Manning....

But the reason I got to thinking about the word and the meaning of Gunh is last night I was surfing the web like I do when I'm bored at work and I found this picture that has to be the be-all end-all pictures of Snake Sabo. Sadly, here at work I can't post the actual picture so you have a do a little legwork and follow the link. To make up for it, here's a nice one of his buddy, Rachel:


We'll be posting more guys to go Gunh for soon! Stay tuned!

The Oldest Crush

We've all got crushes that we develop on famous people...but sometimes one just sticks with you over the years. Mine is Dave "Snake" Sabo, the guitarist from Skid Row.

Stop looking at Sebastian Bach!!! Look at Snake in the upper left corner! That's better. Anyway...somehow Snake has ended being the end-all, be-all of famous crushes for me. It started because I thought he was cute, had a great voice when he talked in interviews on MTV and had some awesome hair.

I was completely addicted to Skid Row's debut album - in fact when I was in Grand Junction, I went to the mall record store with my cousin. Between us we had enough to buy the tape and we listened to it over and over in her brother's car because they didn't have a stereo inside their house. Then, even though she paid the bigger half, I took the tape home with me! When Slave To The Grind came out I was a giant pile of excitement. "Monkey Business" was the hottest song I had ever heard at the time. And "Get The Fuck Out" completely appealed to my little rebellious side.

Then, sadly, somehow I moved away from listening to them. I bought B-Sides Ourselves and Subhuman Race when they came out but never listened to them. When, in 2000, Christina asked if I wanted to go see the Kiss Farewell Tour with them at Fiddler's Green I of course said yes. When I found out Skid Row was opening I was all the more excited. I had never seen them live in their heyday and even though the lineup was a tad different (new singer and new drummer) I was jazzed to see Snake, Rachel & Scotti.

Christina's sister Tish is the biggest Kiss fan you will ever meet and Paul Stanely is her ultimate famous crush. So we went up to Denver early early and drove around the venue to see if we could spot her man. Throughout the afternoon Christina's brother Tony was constantly picking out the grungiest, yuckiest dudes and saying they were my boyfriend. I played along until we were in the parking lot of Long's Drugs. We were stopped behind a white van and these three guys were getting out. The one on my side had longish lanky hair dyed a fire engine red on top. I was just thinking he was kinda cute when Tony said, "THERE'S your boyfriend, Heather." "Actually he's kinda....HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!! That's Snake from Skid Row!!" I screamed it and my window was all the way down. He had to have heard me...I think he might have looked over but I don't quite remember.

The other 2 with him were the new singer Johnny Solinger and Christina's soon-to-be ultimate man, bassist Rachel Bolan. I was losing my mind about here - we were at Long's Drugs for crying out loud and these rock stars were just wandering in!! We ran in and found Rachel & Johnny, had a picture taken with them. You will never see that picture because I am 200 pounds of sunburned goo in it! (The day before I had seen Badfinger in concert outside at the AFA - another story for another time.) I never saw Snake in there - I was too freaked out to go look for him. But their set at Fiddler's that night was amazing! Johnny blew my mind and Snake was SO hot!



That started a Skid Row kick of epic proportions for Christina & I. We watched their home videos over & over again, listened only to their CD's, including the 2 I had never listened to before. Subhuman Race quickly became my favorite. 2 years later we heard they were touring with The Rock Never Stops Tour. They would be stopping twice in Colorado: the first show in Denver and 2 weeks later at the State Fair in Pueblo. We bought tickets they day they went on sale then started a huge diet! I wasn't about to be the "fat groupie named Heather" that Henry Rollins was talking about...

August finally rolled around. The Denver show...blew my mind. We were front row center and Skid Row just rocked the house. I got a pick from Snake and Christina & I got winks from Johnny while we were singing along to their new song "Thick Is The Skin." There was a lady behind us who kept hitting Christina in the back of the head with her pumping fist so I elbowed her in the chest...she tried to get us thrown out but it didn't work! Skid Row did a Meet & Greet afterwards and Snake was the first guy in the line. God, he was so sweet!! I got a hug and a cute picture of him with drummer Phil Varone. Christina suggested that our song for that night be "Kiss Me Deadly" by Lita Ford because of the line, "Didn't get laid, got in a fight..."

The State Fair show was the deal-sealer, however. Like Christina mentioned in her post below, the tour buses were fair game . We got to go over and meet the guys...Snake's birthday was coming up the next month so I got him a card and gave it to him and got a picture with him.

I love this picture!! After a smokin' set, they did another Meet & Greet. This time we were in a line that wound around - when we came around the corner where we could see the guys, Snake was first. He caught sight of me and smiled & waved....LOVED the fact that everyone turned to see who he seemed to know! I had bought an 8x10 of the group that he signed, "Heather, thanks for the birthday card. Snake." Then he signed my stuffed snake that I won that afternoon "Fuckin' right," his what you might call motto. Then...I got all brave and asked him for a kiss. Damned if he didn't comply! Made my night! I could die a happy, happy woman!

I have never met any famous person who was sweeter than Snake Sabo. A complete doll and a killer musician. If you're interested in their new stuff, go get Thickskin and Revolutions Per Minute. And check out Snake's MySpace!!

My First Time

This is my first experience with a blog and who better to share my first time with than Rachel Bolan!!! I adore this man for many reasons musically and personally and I'm about to share why.



I've always been a big fan of music and musicians. I couldn't have said it any better than Kate Hudson did in "Almost Famous" so I will just say I was, is , and always will be a "band-aid". It actually all started with L.A. Guns (musically) and then Blas Elias (good looking musicians). My sister and I traveled to a lot of shows and met a lot of bands. The one that stood out for a long time for me was Slaughter.



They treated us well every time they came to town or anywhere near for a while. To give credit where credit is due...Tim Kelly was the main reason those guys were the best to meet when they came around. His death was really hard for me and we really miss him!

Then I met some other musicians when I thought my "band chasing" days were over. I never thought I would ever get to meet them, they seemed "too big" when I was meeting guys from Slaughter, Firehouse, Trixter, etc. I think I was just waiting for the the new line-up to meet Skid Row. Honestly it wasn't so much a "meeting" as it was asking for a picture in the middle of a Long's Drugstore in Denver. Johnny Solinger, Snake Sabo, and Rachel Bolan were the NICEST guys as we approached them buying their necessities to ask them for the picture. I normally wouldn't have bothered them on their own personal time but I thought this may be my only chance to meet these guys. Then we met them at the Denver Coliseum in a "meet and greet" line-up after their set. Heather and I had just enjoyed a GREAT show almost got into a fight (which is a story for another time) and were ready to come face to face with these guys again.



I had never met a group of guys that were so into what they were doing and appreciating every minute of the people that support them. I told Scotti Hill that I enjoyed watching him perform and looked at me with intensity and sincerity and said, "I LOVE what I do". Johnny was amazing, it was like he had been the Skid Row frontman since the beginning. Snake and Phil were having fun at the end of the table and we just felt so welcome by them. I could go on about each one individually, for now I'll start with Rachel.

We met the guys a few more times after that, but there was one time that stood out. It was at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo. The tour buses were openly accessible, except for the guards, but when we yelled for Rachel, Snake and Scotti, they didn't hesitate to come and greet us. I had taken the chance of bringing in my scrapbook that I had made all about Rachel and SUCCESS....he saw it, took the time to go through it and tell me a little bit about some of the pictures before signing it. I really can't put into words how this meeting made me feel. Even after the show we were outside by the buses again and when Rachel came out to go find himself a funnel cake, he came over and talked to us more like we were old friends, gave me a hug, then got back on the bus. In later posts, I will probably go on more about these guys and even more about Rachel.

I just want to take this time to thank all the guys from Skid Row. You guys play your hearts out because you love it and the fans love it, and it shows!!



To Rachel, you are an awesome person, and amazing musician. I look forward to seeing you again soon!

And to the readers, check out their site to hear their new music and check on tour dates!

Artist of the Day

Today's featured artist is going to be one of my all time favorite musicians. Marc Bolan & T Rex pretty much started the glam rock movement and did it with such groove and style that no one can compare.



I was first introduced to T Rex when I was in junior high and The Power Station released their cover of "Bang A Gong (Get It On)." They started playing the original version on the oldies station and I adored it. But it wasn't until about 5 years ago when I watched Velvet Goldmine and heard the cover of "20th Century Boy" that I knew I needed to add Marc Bolan to my music collection. I picked up "The Very Best Of Marc Bolan & T Rex" and played it non stop for about a month.



I couldn't get enough of his music, especially the song "Raw Ramp." His voice was so sexy in that song and how he growled...it would make me shiver. Still does, actually. So if your life is Marc Bolan-less, do yourself a favor and go get some of his stuff!!!

Trivia: The mother of Marc Bolan's son, Rolan (yeah..Rolan Bolan. Kills me) was Gloria Jones. She was a singer who recorded the original version of "Tainted Love" which Soft Cell turned into a mega-hit in the 80's and that Rihanna sampled in her recent hit "SOS." That's another song you should add to your "Gotta Hear" list!


Glora Jones, Marc Bolan and son Rolan.

I Get Lost

So!

One of the things Christina & I wanted to do on this little site was introduce you to some guys we liked. Since he was on TV last night, why not start with one of my faves?



Ahhhh....Josh Holloway a.k.a. Sawyer on Lost. Such a hottie. I'm a sucker for the bad boys in shows & movies so he's perfect - a bad boy with a heart! If you don't watch Lost, he's worth it, trust me!

A little trivia...in the Aerosmith video for "Cryin'", he was the guy that stole Alicia Silverstone's backpack and got kicked for it! He's so young in it but you can see shades of Sawyer peeking through! :)

Reasons to love him:


The boy looks hot wet...


And the dimples...


And the "I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass" look!

Sweet Dreams!

Intro

This is going to be a blog about our two favorite things: music and cute boys. Not nescessarily in that order! :-)

My friend Christina & I are going to try and post about the best music out there and the cutest guys! I hope you hang on for the ride - it should be great!